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Let's Put it to a vote, do JRPG mean country of origin? or Style of game?
Angst
Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,268
Personally I strongly believe it means the style of the game. So things like Clair Obscur, Sea of Stars, etc are all JRPG's despite not originating from Japan. In so many other communities on the internet, I see this as a contentious opinion.
What say you Era?
reksveks
Member
May 17, 2022
7,365
like anime, style
DNAbro
Member
Oct 25, 2017
29,957
It means whatever I feel like at the time
super-famicom
Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
30,324
For me, JPRG is a RPG made in Japan/by Japanese developers (a studio based in Japan). I don't consider Expedition 33 a JRPG, just a RPG heavily inspired by them.
VoidShaman
Member
Jul 11, 2023
1,352
It means what you want it to mean. Apparently.
PlanetSmasher
The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
132,391
super-famicom said:
For me, JPRG is a RPG made in Japan/by Japanese developers
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Same. If people try to claim it's something specific to turn-based party-driven RPGs, that means Kingdom Hearts isn't a JRPG and that's ridiculous.
geehepea
Member
Aug 5, 2024
348
super-famicom said:
For me, JPRG is a RPG made in Japan/by Japanese developers (a studio based in Japan). I don't consider Expedition 33 a JRPG, just an RPG heavily inspired by them.
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This.
I would much prefer the term JRPGlike to catch on for titles which take inspiration from the real thing in the same way we do for Souls titles. We need to be able to differentiate them or the term loses all meaning.
Tagyhag
Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,084
I always thought it was country of origin but if most people say it's the style then I'll have to try to relearn it.
Sadnarav
Member
Nov 6, 2019
993
Undertale is an JRPG
Clive
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,444
It means it looks anime. It's more or less 100% graphical style. Something needs to look JRPG.
Last edited: Yesterday at 2:50 PM
Nappuccino
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
14,861
I think it, unfortunately, means a style. Which means we should develop a new term that doesn't equate an entire nation with a singular game design.
That said, I love the style of game.
nsilvias
Member
Oct 25, 2017
29,915
certain design philosophy. not necesarily turn based or anime or wacky japan like some ppl think lol
EddyLovesTunaRolls
Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,358
whoever came up with the name roguelike was on the right track. We can start calling all of these games Dragon Quest Likes. That's sure to catch on.
skillzilla81
"This guy are sick"
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
11,277
It's a style of game.
Especially when JRPG is something that is prejudicial and you've got Japanese devs that have said they don't like the term.
OP
OP
Angst
Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,268
Nappuccino said:
I think it, unfortunately, means a style. Which means we should develop a new term that doesn't equate an entire nation with a singular game design.
That said, I love the style of game.
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I always just thought of it as
"Western Style RPG"
or "Japanese Style RPG"
jroc74
Member
Oct 27, 2017
33,918
I always thought it meant style.
Cool to see I'm not alone, lol.
RPGsandFGCs
Member
Jun 30, 2024
919
California
Thinking any RPG that comes out of Japan is a JRPG is on-it's-face ridiculous, likewise thinking that JRPGs can only be made in Japan. It's a genre, it's a style, it's vibes, and those have little to do with the geographic location where a thing is made.
Now it's called JRPG because historically they come from Japan, but I think it's very limiting to think that's the only place they can.
delete12345
One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 17, 2017
21,857
Boston, MA
I would definitely say it's a "style of RPG", the ones where the focus isn't on the player's main character(s) but how the characters interact and all that jazz. It enriches the backgrounds of the characters, kind of like adding more layers on top of a player character that brings more life to it than just reading the bio descriptions.
PlanetSmasher
The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
132,391
skillzilla81 said:
It's a style of game.
Especially when JRPG is something that is prejudicial and you've got Japanese devs that have said they don't like the term.
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Other Japanese devs have also said they like or are proud of the term. We shouldn't treat Japanese people as a monolith who are only capable of feeling one way about a given topic.
JSRF
FFMPEG Master
Member
Aug 23, 2023
3,339
I think people have trouble with it because modern Japanese JRPGs aren't necessarily turn based and don't resemble something like Final Fantasy IV or whatever all that much.
To me a JPRG is a game that has a gameplay design that you can trace the heritage of back to those 90's era Japanese RPGs. It doesn't have to be turn based or a modern take on those 90s RPGs, and it doesn't have to be from Japan.
Pyro
God help us the mods are making weekend threads
Member
Jul 30, 2018
18,768
United States
It's all about the style or, to put it another way; I know it when I see it.
ClearMetal
Hey, it's that sheep!
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,852
the Netherlands
Style of game, just like every other video game genre that I can think of.
This claim that games like Dark Souls are JRPGs is so exhausting to me.
DarkChronic
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,652
Yeah I've always associated it with style of game. I keep calling Expedition 33 a JRPG, lol. As in, "A French studio made a JRPG".
J_ToSaveTheDay
"This guy are sick" and Corrupted by Vengeance
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
22,485
USA
I've dropped needing to exclusively originate from Japan to my perceptions of the definitions of both JRPG and anime. A long time back, in fact. I still think both categories owe their origins to Japan, but I think they're both more of a design style that was influenced by or making homage to design that originated in Japan.
super-famicom
Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
30,324
EddyLovesTunaRolls said:
whoever came up with the name roguelike was on the right track. We can start calling all of these games Dragon Quest Likes. That's sure to catch on.
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The thing is, everyone uses roguelike wrong. Roguelike is a game like Rogue.
Roguelike - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
The exact definition of a roguelike game remains a point of debate in the video game community. A "Berlin Interpretation" drafted in 2008 defined a number of high- and low-value factors of "canon" roguelike games Rogue, NetHack and Angband, which have since been used to distinguish these roguelike games from edge cases like Diablo. Since then, with more powerful home computers and gaming systems and the rapid growth of indie video game development, several new "roguelikes" have appeared, with some but not all of these high-value factors, nominally the use of procedural generation and permadeath, while often incorporating other gameplay genres, thematic elements, and graphical styles; common examples of these include Spelunky, FTL: Faster Than Light, The Binding of Isaac, Slay the Spire, Crypt of the NecroDancer, and Hades. To distinguish these from traditional roguelikes, such games may be referred to as "rogue-lite" or "roguelike-like". Despite this alternative naming suggestion, these games are often referred to as roguelike and use the roguelike tag on various market places such as Steam.
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Yes, I am being pedantic and I will stand by this.
OP
OP
Angst
Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,268
JSRF said:
I think people have trouble with it because modern Japanese JRPGs aren't necessarily turn based and don't resemble something like Final Fantasy IV or whatever all that much.
To me a JPRG is a game that has a gameplay design that you can trace the heritage of back to those 90's era Japanese RPGs. It doesn't have to be turn based or a modern take on those 90s RPGs, and it doesn't have to be from Japan.
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For me I think of it in DnD terms kinda.
A Western RPG feels like a traditional DnD campaign. Make your own adventure
A JRPG feels more like you're experiencing a very specific pre-defined adventure.
skeezx
Member
Oct 27, 2017
23,666
like 20 or so years ago it meant "from Japan" now it's definitely a genre style
Sabin
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,077
First it were RPGs from japan but over the last 2 decades it evolved into a style gaming and went past the borders of Japan.
See recent western example like Clair Obscure, Chained Echoes, Sea of Stars, CrossCode etc that use such a style.
jaymzi
Member
Jul 22, 2019
7,183
What does Jdrama mean?
Style of drama or drama made in Japan.
Smooth1e
Member
Jun 5, 2021
478
Style of game. It's kind of hard to describe what exactly it'd be though, kind of a "know it when you see it" deal. Like it's easy to narrow it down to turn based party-based RPGs but that would exclude stuff like Kingdom Hearts and Ys which would be absurd
Dinjoralo
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,664
I say it means the style of game. That's fundamentally what genre names are for, there are numerous other names that aren't taken literally. The Persona games aren't CRPGs because some of them have versions made to be played on computers.
ghibli99
Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,456
super-famicom said:
For me, JPRG is a RPG made in Japan/by Japanese developers (a studio based in Japan). I don't consider Expedition 33 a JRPG, just a RPG heavily inspired by them.
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Yep, same. I tend to refer to them all these days as RPGs though, unless I need to make a more specific reference/example.
In a day and age where games like Elden Ring and Zelda are called RPGs though, who knows anymore. And is it really important?
Last edited: Yesterday at 2:48 PM
PlanetSmasher
The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
132,391
Angst said:
For me I think of it in DnD terms kinda.
A Western RPG feels like a traditional DnD campaign. Make your own adventure
A JRPG feels more like you're experiencing a very specific pre-defined adventure.
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Why would we need to use "JRPG" to denote "not make your own adventure" though? Why is the J relevant for that?
Kuga
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,560
A JRPG is a style of RPG with historical roots in Japan and Japanese-made games. By no means is it a requirement that a JPRG is made by a Japanese developer, exactly how a WRPG doesn't need to be produced by a Western developer in order to be called a WRPG.
SludgeFarmer
Member
Feb 17, 2025
133
it's obviously squishy, but for my money it's a style of game with a specific history and established, recognizable conventions. clair obscur and chained echoes fall into that category. the name is a bit confusing on its face, but I know what people are talking about when it's brought up
Kalentan
Member
Oct 25, 2017
50,558
It started out meaning an RPG from Japan, but Japan established a specific style and so now the term refers to a specific type of RPG.
LinkSlayer64
One Winged Slayer
Member
Jun 6, 2018
2,860
super-famicom said:
For me, JPRG is a RPG made in Japan/by Japanese developers (a studio based in Japan). I don't consider Expedition 33 a JRPG, just a RPG heavily inspired by them.
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Oh cool, we now have The Last Airbender dilemma but for video games.
Tathanen
One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,147
In 2025 it is our responsibility to find a new word that the J stands for, and canonize it as a non-geographic genre.
super-famicom
Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
30,324
LinkSlayer64 said:
Oh cool, we now have The Last Airbender dilemma but for video games.
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Avatar The Last Airbender is a cartoon :)
Reflecting Sky
Member
Mar 17, 2024
2,602
It means Made in Japan to me.
Nameless Hero
Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,312
What if the studio is in Warsaw but it's a team of Japanese developers? JRPG?
What if 51% of the team are Japanese? JRPG?
What if only 10% are but it's the game directors? JRPG?
If Larian moves to Japan and makes Baldur's Gate 4 there, is that a jrpg now?
bloodgate
Member
Dec 18, 2019
599
Iowa
I've always thought it was referring to a style and I'm feeling really dumb if that's not the case.
OP
OP
Angst
Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,268
PlanetSmasher said:
Why would we need to use "JRPG" to denote "not make your own adventure" though? Why is the J relevant for that?
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So if I was trying to explain the way that the game plays to someone else.
Like I don't typically enjoy WRPGs. I don't enjoy the blank slate characters, or the choose your own adventure.
I do really enjoy JRPGs though, because they have defined stories, defined outcomes, and defined characters.
If you were telling me I should play an RPG. I would ask which one it plays like. If it plays more like a JRPG, I'm more interested. If it plays more like a WRPG (Skyrim, fallout, etc) I'm significantly less interested. The "J" is shorthand to know what kinda experience its going to be.
In other words, saying something is an "RPG" isn't very helpful to me.
Naha-
Member
Feb 6, 2019
1,508
"Anime" style type of game for me. Like, Souls games are obviously made by Japanese devs but I would never consider them a JRPG.
psynergyadept
Shinra Employee
Member
Oct 26, 2017
18,972
super-famicom said:
For me, JPRG is a RPG made in Japan/by Japanese developers (a studio based in Japan). I don't consider Expedition 33 a JRPG, just a RPG heavily inspired by them.
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this is my take as well.
Faiyaz
Member
Nov 30, 2017
6,580
Bangladesh
Clair Obscur is a jRPG-like.
PBalfredo
One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,884
It's a style of game that was popularized in Japan, but the country of origin does not matter.
If someone says "I'm in the mood for a JRPG" and you present them with E33 or Dark Souls, they're going to pick E33.
Camrot
Member
Oct 27, 2017
33
Knowing which country the game is made in is ultimateley pointless in terms of the gameplay experience. Why should it matter where a game is made? JRPG is a genre that originated and got very popular in Japan, just like the metroidvania genre tells you the genre originated (and got popular) with the metroid and castlevania games.
super-famicom
Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
30,324
Nameless Hero said:
What if the studio is in Warsaw but it's a team of Japanese developers? JRPG?
What if 51% of the team are Japanese? JRPG?
What if only 10% are but it's the game directors? JRPG?
If Larian moves to Japan and makes Baldur's Gate 4 there, is that a jrpg now?
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If Larian moves to Japan and registers as a Japanese company and pays taxes there, then if they make a RPG I would call it a JRPG.
Musubi
Unshakable Resolve - Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,393
I believe the term should just be retired. I just find it incredibly weird. We don't designate any other genres of game by the country of origin.
English
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Dutch
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Portuguese (Brazil)
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