Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio director Katsura Hashino claims Japanese role-playing video games — typically categorized as JRPGs — are coming into a new age, dubbing the resurgence as JRPG “3.0.”
Talking at the Korean G-Star 2025 gaming convention (as reported by 4gamer and translated by GamesRadar+), Hashino advised that the foundational RPGs — suppose “true classics” like Dragon Quest or Ultimate Fantasy, though Hashinon didn’t point out particular video games — kind JRPG 1.0, the present crop of video games with their “present fashion, which feels greater high quality on account of how way more responsive they’re to the participant,” are JRPG 2.0. And JRPG 3.0 signifies the role-playing video games coming in the future.
Reflecting on the JRPG video games nonetheless to return, Hashino mentioned, “There will likely be a larger dimension to those video games, and they’re going to change the style’s construction and presentation at a basic degree.”
One of the large speaking factors round JRPGs revolves round fight, particularly if video games like Ultimate Fantasy ought to return to the turn-based fight of outdated. Ultimate Fantasy 7 Remake Half 3 co-director Naoki Hamaguchi lately mirrored on options like turn-based fight following the enormous success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which boasts conventional JRPG-inspired turn-based fight, saying: “In the event you would ask me, ‘Is [my next game] going to be an RPG?,’ sure, there may be undoubtedly a chance. However is it going to be a turn-based RPG? We’re taking this except for the undeniable fact that Expedition 33 was acquired effectively, we acquired a lot of ‘JRPGs are again’ feedback. For me, I am fascinated by what recreation expertise followers will get pleasure from. That is the most necessary level.”
In July, Naoki Yoshida, the director/producer of Ultimate Fantasy 14 and producer of Ultimate Fantasy 16, was requested in an interview with AnimeNewsNetwork whether or not mainline Ultimate Fantasy video games may return to being turn-based, in the wake of Clair Obscur’s success.
“With this query of turn-based versus motion, it tends to isolate the gameplay to only the battle system,” mentioned Yoshida. “That does not bear in mind what type of recreation the creators wish to ship to gamers. For instance, based mostly on a sure graphical high quality we wish to current to our gamers, or the narrative we wish to ship to our gamers, it pertains to how we arrange the recreation’s methods round it. This contains the battle system, recreation design, and gameplay really feel. It is not a clear-cut reply, whether or not it’s going to turn out to be all turn-based, or if it should turn out to be extra action-based.
“[I’m] not essentially going to be on Ultimate Fantasy 17, so we additionally do not wish to impede or restrict our future director or whomever will likely be producing the video games like 17 and even 18,” Yoshida continued. “We do not wish to put them on a rail.”
It later emerged that a number of members of the Clair Obscur group had lately visited Sq. Enix’s places of work and met with some of the growth leads there, together with Hamaguchi and Visions of Mana director Ryosuke Yoshida. In a social post, Hamaguchi described it as a “creatively wealthy change of visions and concepts.”
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has offered five million copies in five months, making it one of the greatest hits of the yr. It additionally acquired a record-breaking 12 nominations at this yr’s The Sport Awards, and is up for Greatest Course, Greatest Narrative, Greatest Artwork Course, Greatest Rating and Music, Greatest Audio, Greatest Unbiased Sport, Greatest Debut Unbiased Sport, and Greatest RPG, in addition to the ceremony’s coveted Sport of the Yr gong. Three of its performers are additionally up for Greatest Efficiency.
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Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, in addition to a critic, columnist, and guide with 15+ years expertise working with some of the world’s greatest gaming websites and publications. She’s additionally a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually Excessive Chaos. Discover her at BlueSky.