RPGs and simulation games have always been deemed the deepest genres as far as console gaming is concerned. Games belonging to these two genres usually offered a significantly more complex gameplay than other genres flourishing on consoles, and the player picking up such complex games could expect long playthroughs involving considerably more planning and organizing than in, say, your random Sonic or Mario entry. Such games were designed with teenagers or young adults in mind; roaming a fantasy world or pretending to be a farmer was a serious business that required a modicum of maturity, and if kids occasionally dabbled in RPGs or simulation games, they would more often than not find themselves overwhelmed by the complexity of the tasks required by such games. Even a kid-friendly franchise like Pokemon packs a lot of complexity behind its apparent simplicity; case in point, you won't see that many kids hanging around in Pokemon World Championships.
However, that delicious complexity of RPG and simulation games, which seemed to be inherent to these two genres and pretty much written in their DNA, has been under attack for the past five years. The battlefield is none other than the 3DS game library, much to my chagrin—I don't want to lambaste Nintendo yet again, especially since I had tons of fun with my 3DS lately; but the facts are undeniable. The 3DS is home to a number of RPGs and simulation games that ditched complexity and depth without a second thought to wallow in much more simple gameplay styles.
My first encounter with a game belonging to that new species was when I played Hometown Story two years ago. There was not much to do in that game, and the few tasks available were pretty basic; but it had a nice atmospheric quality that made me love it despite the bareness of the gameplay. I thought it was a nice experiment whose relaxing pace contrasted pleasantly with the hectic schedule promoted by most simulation games. Little did I know that this innocent game was the harbinger of a whole new trend that would hail extreme simplicity as its one and only guideline.
Hot on Hometown Story's heels came Fantasy Life, Moco Moco Friends, Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Return to Popolocrois—to name only the ones I've played; I'm pretty sure there are others like them lurking in the 3DS library. These games have one thing in common: they cross the thin line between simplicity and simplism. Instead of offering streamlined gameplays following the "easy to learn, hard to master" motto that infuses successful Nintendo RPG franchises such as Zelda and Pokemon, these games are merely content to propose a handful of basic tasks to accomplish in a rudimentary game world. Another most striking characteristic of these games is that they feel like they have been designed solely for kids. Not just kids, mind you: very young kids. Like, 5 or 6 years old at most. This is the first time ever in my gaming life that I've encountered RPGs and simulation games that look and play like genuine developmental toys. And just like any other developmental toy, they are too far below an adult's cognitive abilities to genuinely entertain said adult. Sure, they can be played, and they can even be enjoyable to some extent; but boy, do they make you feel like you're stranded with your children or nephews' toys.
Although there has been some RPG series aimed first and foremost at kids prior to the emergence of these games, the idea of an RPG whose gameplay is designed with very young kids in mind is a brand-new concept—a concept that makes little sense from a business point of view. There is a sheer and stark difference between a game that sports a kiddy vibe yet offers a potentially deep and complex gameplay that can be enjoyed by all—such as the main Pokemon entries—and a game that sports a kiddy vibe and offers a simplistic gameplay on par with a kid's abilities. The first will appeal to everyone, the second only to kids; no need to rack one's brain to point out which option is the soundest from a business point of view.
Now, one could obviously retort that each audience deserves games tailored for them and that the widening of the videogame spectrum should be celebrated rather than criticised; and I would fully agree with such statements, if not for the fact that the release of these kid-oriented games takes place in a wider trend of oversimplification of gaming. I cannot celebrate the fact that gaming is getting more simplistic, more hand-holdy, more directive and ultimely less interactive by the console generation and that complex and demanding games are slowly but surely becoming the exception rather than the ideal developers strive towards. RPGs and simulation games used to be the last bastion of complexity and depth, the last haven for console gamers craving multi-layered gameplays and long playthroughs; and if these two genres are now infected by the simplism that currently prevails in many other gaming genres, then I fear that it's only a matter on time before we see RPGs on rails and simulation games made only of QTE. Maybe they already exist on home consoles, for all I know.
Well, there's no stopping gaming "progress", I guess. Maybe I shouldn't worry so much; exigent RPGs and simulation games will very likely endure, if only as a niche genre. Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!
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