Where would
the gaming world be without games being given the anime touch?
Japanese Role-Playing Games (JRPGs) are games that are
published, developed, and released in Japan then later released here in the West.
JRPGs are set apart from other JPRG genres because they’re uniquely designed
like an anime or manga series.
Many fans of anime and manga flock to JRPGs for several
reasons but it’s to mostly engage in a fantasy world with memorable characters
on a home console.
From One Protagonist
to Multiple Protagonists
JRPGs always start with a central protagonist, the hero of
the story or gamers preferred favorite playable character however they want to
call it. Protagonist starts of game with some life changing ordeal, chance encounter,
unspeakable tragedy, probably no different than heroes of different game
genres. The difference is the hero is thrust into a journey he/she didn’t ask
for and it helps them grow and become someone else along the way. Someone who
they never thought they’d become.
The hero isn’t the only shining star, the allies, teammates,
or party members are all playable characters and have prominent roles and
backgrounds of their own. They’re drawn to the protagonist which inspire them
to find their own answers in life or gained new resolve after a lifetime of failure.
The friends and comrades help the protagonist grow and he/she does the same and
spoiler alert: you get plot armor.
Fantasy
World and Beyond
The best characters are only part of the excitement, players
get to immerse themselves in a made up that has so much to offer. Whether it’s
based off a real-world location or inspired anime/manga locale there are so
many hidden secrets to find, monsters and bosses to kill, and quests, lots, and
lots of quests.
Side characters make the world a bit livelier by adding
their own to spin to the story giving the protagonists quests for hefty awards.
Fantasy worlds inside JRPGs are vast and the scenery of each area can be
breathtaking (depending on your point of view that is) and has in depth lore
regarding the game itself.
Gameplay
and Anime-Inspiration
Gameplay in JRPGs differ depending on the series and
developers, but they all share the elements one of them which is fighting with
party members. Players get to choose which party members should fight before
jumping into battle. Fighting in a JRPG can be most commonly turn-based or free
flow combat. Navigation is also key to traveling as characters have their own
gimmicks to further progress through the game and unlock secrets.
JRPGs can make the player feel like they’re in an actual
anime. The characters and world were designed with an anime touch thanks to Japanese
developers. On top of that voice actors are chosen for English and Japanese language
options, like listening to Japanese voices with English subtitles. Heck they're plenty of anime in the Isekai genre where main characters are trapped in their favorite JRPGs without warning and for unknown reason.
Example: Sword Art Online, Log Horizon, Overlord
If anyone's looking for JRPGs they might as well start with the Final Fantasy series published by Square Enix (www.square-enix.com) which is a company most known for other outstanding series like Dragon Quest.
Bandai Namco ( www.bandainamcoent.com) also has a plethora of series that might just rival Square Enix's long running franchises. They made games like the Tales of and Dark Souls trilogy as well as RPGs based off of popular anime.
That’s All…For
Now
This won’t be end of my take on JRPGS and how it impacted the gaming world. I’m just giving a proper introduction of what’s to come on this blog. Personally, JRPG is my favorite RPG genre of all time.
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