I have played many JRPGs and Western RPGs over the course of my gaming years. JRPGs such as the Final Fantasy series, Shin Megami series, Tales series, classics such as Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, etc... and Western RPGs such as the Elder Scrolls Series, Mass Effect Series, all BioWare RPGs and many more, have each played a major role in my gaming life. As such, it remains a mystery to me that JRPGs have learned so little from their Western counterparts. Now Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies has arrived and this time it seems that JRPGs have finally learned a thing or two from the Western RPG.

     JRPG's have started to lose some steam over the past couple of years and it's mainly because Western RPG's have really stepped up their game. Almost all Western RPGs are built around three tenements, which really help to build a strong game; Dialog with choice, Character Customization and an Open World where your actions matter. These three tenements really show how progressive Western RPGs have become and how traditional and static JRPGs have become. When a new JRPG like DQ9 comes around, it is important to see if anything has changed and if the JRPG genre is learning anything from the Western RPG and suffice it to say, it seems like they are beginning to learn.

     Character customization is probably one of the biggest revelations in the RPG genre and with each new RPG that is released, be it Japanese or Western, an in-depth character customization system is almost expected. As such, it has remained a mystery as to why JRPGs have seemingly ignored this simple, yet deep system but of course this has all changed with the advent of Dragon Quest IX. Dragon Quest IX features a fairly robust character customization system, especially for a game on a handheld system. Allowing you to create a male or female character, adjust your height, body build, hair style, eye and hair color and your face style.

     While Dragon Quest IX's character customization isn't as robust as many Western RPGs, most notably the Mass Effect series and games by Bethesda, it is a huge step in the right direction and one which all JRPG creators need to take notice of. It is great to see that JRPGs are making strides and slowly but surely breaking out of their traditional ways. It is a positive sign of things to come and I look forward to seeing more advancements in both JRPGs and Western RPGS alike.

     Below are images of my Dragon Quest IX party, which I created using the character customization system in the game. As you can see, the Dragon Quest IX character creator allows for some fairly different looking character designs, while still looking distinctly like a Dragon Quest character.

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