One aspect of growing up is learning that things don't always fit neatly into boxes. While genres can be a useful way to group pieces of fiction, they tend to start to falter when you are presented with edge cases. Of course, how big of a problem that is up to you. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Which brings us to the JRPG.

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What defines a JRPG? Can they originate from countries outside of Japan? Do the🐻y need to have a certain style of combat? I'm plunging straight down the rabbit hole with this one. Join me in embracing the chaos as we explore some of the more controversial games that can be classified as JRPGs.

8 Clair Obscur: Ex✱pedition 33

No, I'm Not Calling It An FRPG

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
55
9.6/10
Released
April 24, 2025

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL

Once a year, the Paintress wakes and paints upon her monolith. Paints her cursed number. And everyone of that age turns to smoke and fades away. Year by year, that number ticks down and more of us are erased. Tomorrow she’ll wake and paint “33.” And tomorrow we depart on our final mission - Destroy the Paintress, so she can never paint death again.

We are Expedition 33.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a ground-breaking turn-based RPG with unique real-time mechanics, making battles more immersive and addictive than ever. Explore a fantasy world inspired by Belle Époque France in which you batt꧟le devastating enemies.

ESRB
Mature 17+ // Blood 🗹and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Developer(s)
ꦦ ♍ Sandfall Interactive
Publisher(s)
🙈 Kepler Interactive
Engine
💞 🃏 Unreal Engine 5
Cross-Platform Play
No
Cross Save
No
Number of Players
Sing𝕴le-player
Steam Deck Compatibility
Playable
PC Release Date
Ap⛎ril 24, 2025
Xbox Series X|S Release Date
April 24, 2025 🅠
PS5 Release Date
🌞 𒁏 April 24, 2025
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty
X|S Optimized
Yes
File Size Xbox Series
42.33 GB
Wiki

Let's start with a softball. ꧃Expedition 33 is as traditional a JRPG as you are going to see on this list. We're talking a classic progression system, turn-based battles, party members, and an emphasis on telling a story with a set of established characters.

The people who push back against Expedition 33 being a JRPG focus on one aspect: it wasn't developed in Japan. Personally🦩, I struggle to see how the country of origin factors in at all when grouping media. How many Japanese developers are needed before you earn the J in JRPG? What about Japanese immigrants? Do theꦅy count? I don't buy it. Expedition 33 is a JRPG.

7 Yakuza

It Is Certainly Closer To Final Fantasy Than Grand Theft Auto

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Yakuza Kiwami
Action
Adventure
Systems
Released
August 29, 2017

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
4.0/5

Back and better than ever, the Yakuza series has been updated for modern gamers to experience the action, fun, and coolness of Kiryu and cohorts.

1995, Kamurocho… Kazuma Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima, takes the fall for the murder of a crime boss to protect his sworn brother, Akira Nishikiyama, and his childhood friend, Yumi.

2005… Akira Nishikiyama has become a changed man. Yumi is nowhere to be found. Ten billion yen has gone missing from the Tojo Clan's coffers, putting the organization on the brink of civil war. And Kazuma Kiryu is released from prison to a world he no longer recognizes.

With enhanced gameplay, an expanded cinematic story, the return of the battle styles from Yakuza 0, more nightlife spotsไ, and re-recorded audio by the series cast, Yakuza Kiwami is the ultimate and most “extreme” versi🦋on of the original vision of the series, now optimized for PC with 4K resolutions, uncapped frame rates, customizable controls and ultra-widescreen support.

ESRB
M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Intense Violence, Partial N𝐆udity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
Developer(s)
🍎 Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Engine
ꦉ Dragon Engine 🀅
Franchise
Yakuza
PC Release Date
💎 August 29, 2017
Nintendo Switch Release Date
🌌 🉐 October 24, 2024
OpenCritic Rating
Strong
How Long To Beat
18 Hours

I'm going with Yakuza for the series name instead of Like A Dragon, as w൩e are primarily talking about the action entries, and Yakuza is the name they all released under in the West.

I can't even get to the fun part of this list because I'm still having to clear out the entries that are very obviously JRPGs. I don't get how some Yakuza fans argue against this one. All the Yakuza titles have a leveling system, a fixed narrative, and random battles. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Some people insi𓆏st it is a beat 'em up, which I quasi-agree with. The Yakuza games follow in the footsteps of River City Ransom, which was a Beat 'em Up-JRPG hybrid. Though Yakuza inargu🐷ably leans into the JRPG elements more heavily.

However, if you really want to insist that the Yakuza games are modern Beat 'em Ups, let me ask you this. Is the stage progression linear like in most Beat 'em Ups? Co-op is typically considered a prerequisite of the genre. Do the Yakuza games have co-op? No? Yet, they do have leveling, equipment, side-quests, and, once again, random battles. You are lucky that I acknowledge the Beat 'em Up argument ❀at all.

6 ♊ Parasite Eve 2

It Still Has The JRPG Gene

A woman and man stand in an office in Parasite Eve
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Parasite Eve 2
Survival Horror
Action RPG
Systems
Released
September 12, 2000

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL
ESRB
t
Developer(s)
♏ Square Product Development Division 5 🐎
Publisher(s)
﷽ Squ🔜are, Square Electronic Arts
Platform(s)
PS1, PS3, PS Vita
How Long To Beat
12 Hours

I see why this discussion pops up every once in a while. Parasite Eve 2 absolutely leaned more heavily in the direction of Survival Horror than the first game. The camera angles mimic what you'd see in a cl𒀰assic Resident Evil game, and the com✤bat definitely moved more towards action by ditching the AT bar.

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Parasite Eve 2 still gives you experience points after battle, but unlike the first game, you don't level up traditionally. Instead, you use that EXP to unlock abilities. However, despite all these changes, the JRPG elements are still there. The magic system, elemental weaknesses, and all of that stuff could have been ripped straight from a Final Fantasy game. Additionally, though the AT bar is gone, the way weapon load🃏ing and firing has been implemented delivers a similar pacing. Additionally, when using abilities, you freeze time, which feels very similar to Final Fantasy 7 Remake's battle engine.

Both Parasite Eve games are JRPG-Survival Horror hybrids. The difference is that Parasite Eve 1 leans more toward the JRPG side, while Parasite Eve 2 leans more toward the Survival Horror side. Some people are so fixated on the ways Parasite Eve 2 moved away from the original game's JRPG mechanics that they can't see how much of that JRPG DNA remains. At its core, this is still a JRPG.

5 Nieꦍr: Automata

2B A JRPG Or Not 2B A JRPG, That Is The Question

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: NieR: Automata
Action RPG
Systems
Released
March 7, 2017

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Nier: Automata is a continuation of the Nier series, developed 𝓰by PlatinumGames and published by Square Enix. It takes place during a war between androids and machines, and sees you navigate an open world as the android 2B, 

ESRB
𝄹 M for Mature: Blood⭕, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Violence
Engine
🎐 Proprietary Engine
Franchise
NieR
Platform(s)
PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty
How Long To Beat
22 Hours
Wiki

Nier: Automata is another fun one. It has a leveling system, side-quests, and that classic narrative focus. However, it also has that familiar🐟 Platinum style of combat, with the dodge roll slowdown and everything! Funny enough, I have seen far more people argue that Automata isn't a JRPG than I've seen people argue that the original Nier isn't a JRPG.

Honestly, I think the reason some people are less likely to see Automata as not being a JRPG all comes down to how recognizable that combat engine is. People see Automata in action, and they see Bayonetta. For some reason, the clunkier combat of the original feels more like a JRPG to people. But despite taking elements from other genres (including bullet hell titles), the primary package is still a JRPG. That is the core of the experience.

4 𒈔 Wizardry Variants Daphne 🔴

The Rare JRPG Metamorphosis

Alice the legendary elf priest in Wizardry Variants Daphne.
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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Wizardry Variants Daphne
RPG
Dungeon Crawler
Roguelike
Systems
Released
March 6, 2025

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

Wizardry Variants Daphne carries on the lineage of the classic RPG series, Wizardry. The portal to the labyrinth of despair, where even destඣruction is pleasure, has opened once again.

Once every 100 years, the Abyss opens.

It is a curse of death that consumes the continent. A Warlock who coveted Death, devoured people and animals and enveloped the world in despair. Inheriting the power to seal the Abyss ov💮er generations, kings have continued to protect the kingdom from its curse. But now, the king has vanished, and the world is being consumed by death, moment by moment. Resistance itself is meaningless. There is naught but to perish.

Developer(s)
𒅌 𝔍Drecom Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s)
💦 🐲 Drecom Co., Ltd.
Engine
Unity
Number of Players
ℱ 𝐆 Single-player
Steam Deck Compatibility
Unknown
PC Release Date
March 6, 2025 🧔
Platform(s)
PC, Mobile

Okay, this is another fun one. The Wizardry series is, classically, a Western-developed RPG franchise. They were light on story, and primarily saw you 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:work your way through dungeons in the first-person perspective. This typꦇe of game used to be popular in the 𒁏West, but that popularity died down greatly, and with it, the Wizardry series died. Well, it died in the West, at least.

You see, the series was quite influential in Japan. So, long after Wizardry became irrelevant in the West, Japanese developers were making sequels that released exclusively in Japan. There have now been more Japanese-exclusive Wizardry games than Western-made Wizardry games. Moreover, a number of popular JRPG franchises, like Etrian Odyssey, closely imitate Wizardry. Hell, some modern Wizardry games, l🌠ike Variants Daphne, even have that anime aesthetic often associated with JRPGs.

Incredibly, it would appear that over time, a series of games that classically belonged to the WRPG genre has become a JRPG franchise. Is this retroactive? Are all Wiz💮ardry games now JRPGs? I think you could most certainly make the argument. But there is no question in my mind that the most recent releases, such as Variants D🌺aphne, are JRPGs.

3 Undertale

More Than A Meme

This is the Expedition 33 argument all over again, but with a twist. Undertale is another JRPG that wasn't developed in Japan, so that is one thing the 'Undertale isn't a JRPG' crowd gloms onto. There is another element as well. While you can play it like a JRPG, leveling up, acquiring items, and such, many people feel as though the real Undertale experience doesn't involve those elements at all. That stuff is all a red herring. The real game is more of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:an unconventional bullet hell shooter.

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I do like that second argument better than the first, but at the end of the day, Undertale still has all the components of a classic JRPG, and you can complete the game playing it as one. All these indie Earthbound-like games add their own quirks to the formula, but at its core, Undertale is a JRPG that allows you to go a little off script.

This is just an aside♊, but the talk command also feels like it comes straight out of the Shin Megami Tensei series.

2 💃 Dark Souls

The Dark Souls Of The Is It A JRPG Discussion

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Dark Souls
9.0/10
Released
September 22, 2011

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
ESRB
M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence ꩲ
Developer(s)
𓃲 From Software
Publisher(s)
🍸 Namco Bandai ﷽
Engine
Havok
Multiplayer
ꦦ Online Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play
No, Dark Souls 3 is not cross-platform between PS4 and PC ☂
Cross Save
Dark Souls always save your gam🎐e data using steam cloud ไ
Steam Deck Compatibility
yes
PC Release Date
𒅌 August 24, 2012 🌄
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty
How Long To Beat
100 hours
X|S Optimized
no
Wiki

The Dark Souls games are a spicy topic of conversation in the world of 'is it a JRPG'-based discourse. With its leveling mechanics, and magic systems, and side quests, there are clearly enough here to call it an Action-RPG. This simplistic argument would be to say that the Dark Souls games are Action-RPGs made in Japan. Therefore, they are JRPGs, but you know I don't love that position.

Instead, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:I would point to ♊the Shin Megami Tens♌ei series, one of the pillars of the JRPG genre. Unquestionably, SMT games are JRPGs. No one argues they aren't, but what do you do in most of them? Wander wastelands, explore ruins, and interact with shady NPCs here and there. Basically, th𝓡e SMT games are Dark Souls, but with a little Pokemon-esque demon catching thrown into the mix. I think there is enough connective tissue there to firmly grant the Dark Souls games JRPG status.

1 ꦜ Monster Hunter

How Deep Does This Go?

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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Monster Hunter World
Action RPG
Systems
Released
January 26, 2018

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Well-received by fans of the long-running series, Monster Hunter World launched for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in 2018. It swapped the series' separated zones for fully-connected areas, and streamlined systems to encourage new players. An expansion, Iceborne, was added in 2020. 

ESRB
T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence ജ 💟
Developer(s)
Capcom
Publisher(s)
Capcom
Engine
M🔴T Framework
Multiplayer
🥂 Online Co-Op
Platform(s)
PS4, Xbox One, PC
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty
How Long To Beat
48 Hours
Wiki

Metascore
90

This list hꦕas largely looked at hybrids and edge cases. Well, with the Monster Hunter games, we have one o♏f the edgiest of edge cases. Right away, one of the big strikes against it is the narrative. Monster Hunter is a gameplay first title, with the narrative being pretty supplemental to the experience. However, while that narrative is a component we strongly associate with JRPGs, there are a number of established games in the genre that don't place an emphasis on their stories. Like the early Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games.

Monster Hunter features side quests, and the weapon crafting gives players a very JRPG-like sense of progression. There are also weapons skills and other aspects that you would expect to see in a JRPG. Finally, Monster Hunter is all about grinding; one of the favorite pastimes of 🌌many JRPG enthusiasts.

This is more of an aside, but it is also worth mentꦰioning that Monster Hunter has an anime aesthetic, and a love for ma💧ssive swords. An aesthetic classically associated with the JRPG genre.

You may find yourself scrunching your nose at this one, and I'm not going to lie, I'm right there with you. Yet, I also see that the Monster Hunter ganes have enough RPG aspects that they comfortably fits into the Action-RPG subgenre. So, what does it need to have in order to cross over into JRPG territory then? Well, that's the whole point of this list, right? There is no established understanding of what a JRPG is. There are a ton of characteristics, mechanics, 🗹and qualities that are associated with the genre. If a game has enough of them, then the argument can be made that it is a JRPG. And for that reason alone, the Monster Hunter Games are JRPGs.

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