History of Eastern role-playing video games

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(Redirected from
Japanese role-playing games
)

This article is about role-playing video games developed in East Asia. For role-playing video games developed in the Western world, see History of Western role-playing video games.
"JRPG" redirects here. For Japanese pen-and-paper role-playing games, see Tabletop role-playing games in Japan.

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While the early history and distinctive traits of role-playing video games (RPGs) in East Asia have come from Japan, many video games have also arisen in China, developed in South Korea, and Taiwan.

Japanese role-playing games

Japanese computer role-playing games

See also: Action role-playing game, Tactical role-playing game, and Video games in Japan

Origins (early 1980s)

Yamaha YIS503II MSX personal computer

While the Japanese

ASCII Entertainment) became popular and influential in Japan.[3] Early Japanese RPGs were also influenced by visual novel adventure games, which were developed by companies such as Enix, Square, Nihon Falcom and Koei before they moved onto developing RPGs.[1][4] In the 1980s, Japanese developers produced a diverse array of creative, experimental computer RPGs, prior to mainstream titles such as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy eventually cementing genre tropes by the 1990s.[5]

Japan's earliest RPGs were released in 1982. The earliest was

adult content.[11] These early experimental Japanese RPGs from 1982 are considered "proto-JRPGs" and predated the arrival of Wizardry and Ultima in Japan.[14]

Mid-1980s

In June 1983, Koei released Sword & Sorcery (剣と魔法) for the PC-8001, and it also revolved around rescuing a princess in addition to killing a wizard.[15] That same year, Koei released Secrets of Khufu (クフ王の秘密), a dungeon crawl RPG that revolved around a search for the treasure of Khufu.[9] ASCII released its own RPG that year called Arfgaldt (アルフガルド), an FM-7 title also featuring adventure game elements.[9]

Also in 1983,

hit points lost with each normal action.[16]

NEC PC-8801 version of Hydlide (1984), an early open world action role-playing game

The trend of combining role-playing elements with arcade-style action mechanics was popularized by

health regeneration mechanic where health and magic slowly regenerate when standing still, a feature also used in Falcom's Ys series from 1987 onwards.[26] The Tower of Druaga, Dragon Slayer and Hydlide were influential in Japan, where they laid the foundations for the action RPG genre, influencing titles such as Ys and The Legend of Zelda.[27][28]

Also in 1984,

best-selling computer games at the time and was voted Game of the Year by Login, the largest Japanese computer game magazine at the time. The game is thus credited for bringing wider attention to computer role-playing games in the country.[29]

Dragon Slayer's success led to a 1985 sequel

platform game view during exploration and an overhead view during battle.[22] Xanadu also featured innovative gameplay mechanics such as individual experience for equipped items,[30] and an early Karma morality system, where the player character's Karma meter will rise if he commits sin which in turn affects the temple's reaction to him.[21][30] It is also considered a "proto-Metroidvania" game,[31] due to being an "RPG turned on its side" that allowed players to run, jump, collect, and explore.[32] The way the Dragon Slayer series reworked the entire game system of each installment was an influence on Final Fantasy, which would do the same for each of its installments.[33] According to GamesTM and John Szczepaniak (of Retro Gamer and The Escapist), Enix's Dragon Quest was also influenced by Dragon Slayer and in turn defined many other RPGs.[19] Falcom would soon become one of the three most important Japanese role-playing game developers in the 1980s, alongside Enix and Square,[19] both of which were influenced by Falcom.[19][34]

dialogue conversation system, where the player can recruit allies by talking to them, choose whether to kill or spare an enemy, and engage enemies in conversation, similar to the later more famous Megami Tensei.[40]

Golden Age (late 1980s–early 1990s)

The late 1980s to early 1990s is considered the golden age of Japanese computer gaming, which would flourish until its decline around the mid-1990s, as consoles eventually dominated the Japanese market.

automap, and the player could upgrade equipment and earn experience to raise stats.[41][42] Unlike first-person RPGs at the time that were restricted to 90-degree movements, WiBArm's use of 3D polygons allowed full 360-degree movement.[42]

Another 1986 release was Falcom's

password save system in an arcade game.[49]

In 1987,

first installment of its popular, long-running Ys series in 1987. Besides Falcom's own Dragon Slayer series, Ys was also influenced by Hydlide, from which it borrowed certain mechanics such as health-regeneration when standing still, a mechanic that has since become common in video games today.[19][26] Ys was also a precursor to RPGs that emphasize storytelling,[52] and it is known for its 'bump attack' system, where the protagonist Adol automatically attacks when running into enemies off-center, making the game more accessible and the usually tedious level-grinding task more swift and enjoyable for audiences at the time.[53] The game also had what is considered to be one of the best and most influential video game music soundtracks of all time, composed by Yuzo Koshiro and Mieko Ishikawa.[53][54][55] In terms of the number of game releases, Ys is second only to Final Fantasy as the largest Eastern role-playing game franchise.[53]

turn-based combat. It was mostly set in a mansion infested with undead creatures, and the player controlled a party of several characters with different professions, including a scientist who constructs tools and a journalist who takes pictures.[59]

role-playing shooter, combined first-person shooter and role-playing game elements along with 3D polygon
graphics.

In 1988, Arsys Software's

Ys II introduced the unique ability to transform into a monster, which allows the player to both scare human non-player characters for unique dialogues as well as interact with all the monsters. This is a recurring highlight in the series, offering the player insight into the enemies.[53] Also that same year, War of the Dead Part 2 for the MSX2 and PC-88 abandoned certain RPG elements of its predecessor, such as random encounters, and instead adopted more action-adventure elements from Metal Gear while retaining the horror atmosphere of its predecessor.[58]

1988 also saw the debut of

turn-based, but instead used real-time strategy and action role-playing game elements.[68] A similar game released by Kure Software Koubou that same year was First Queen, a unique hybrid between a real-time strategy, action RPG, and strategy RPG. Like an RPG, the player can explore the world, purchase items, and level up, and like a strategy video game, it focuses on recruiting soldiers and fighting against large armies rather than small parties. The game's "Gochyakyara" ("Multiple Characters") system let the player control one character at a time while the others are controlled by computer AI that follow the leader, and where battles are large-scale with characters sometimes filling an entire screen.[71][72]

Nippon Ichi's Last Rebellion (2010).[79]

Decline and independent titles (late 1990s–2000s)

See also:
Dōjin soft and RPG Maker

From the mid-1990s, the Japanese video game industry began declining. This was partly due to the death of the

NEC PC-9801 computer format, as the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation became increasingly powerful in the console market while the computer market became increasingly dominated by the IBM Personal Computer and Microsoft Windows 95. This led to many Japanese PC manufacturers either continuing to develop for Windows 95 or moving over to the more lucrative console market. While most developers turned their attention to the console market, some developers dedicated to content unsuitable for consoles (such as eroge and complex military strategy games) continued their focus on the PC market.[1]

In 1996,

adult content.[41]

Lastly, in the late 1990s, a new Internet

MTVN's Dave Williams remarked that "games like this [user generated] have been sort of under the radar for something that could be the basis of a business. We have the resources and we can afford to invest more... I think it's going to be a great thing for the consumer".[82]

Steam and resurgence (2010s)

In the 2010s, Japanese RPGs have been experiencing a resurgence on PC, with a significant increase in the number of Japanese RPGs releasing for the

Recettear (2007) for Steam,[83] selling over 500,000 units on the platform.[84] This led to many Japanese doujin/indie games releasing on Steam in subsequent years.[83] The early part of the decade also saw the debut of Nihon Falcom's Ys series on PC as well as FromSoftware's Dark Souls, which sold millions on the platform. Other Japanese RPGs were subsequently ported to the platform, such as the previously niche Valkyria Chronicles and The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, as well as ports of several Final Fantasy games.[83]

By 2015, Japan had become the world's fourth largest PC game market, behind only China, the United States, and South Korea.[85] The Japanese game development engine RPG Maker has also gained popularity, with hundreds of games being created with it and released on Steam by the late 2010s.[86]

Japanese console role-playing games

See also: Action role-playing game, Tactical role-playing game, and Video games in Japan

Origins (mid-1980s)

The earliest RPG on a console was

life meter (called "Vitality" in-game),[92] also ported to the NES in 1987.[93]

Dragon Quest (1986), which combined the overhead exploration of Ultima with the first-person menu-driven combat of Wizardry,[94][95] created a streamlined gameplay format that made console RPGs accessible to a wider audience.[96]

In 1985,

damsel-in-distress storyline that many RPGs follow,[103] and a romance element that remains a staple of the genre,[104] alongside anime-style art by Akira Toriyama and a classical score by Koichi Sugiyama that was considered revolutionary for console video game music.[97]

The gameplay of Dragon Quest itself was non-linear, with most of the game not blocked in any way other than by being infested with monsters that can easily kill an unprepared player. This was balanced by the use of bridges to signify a change in difficulty and a new level progression that departed from D&D, where in the 1st and 2nd editions, players are given random initial stats and a constant growth rate. Dragon Quest instead gave the player some extra hit points at the start and a level progression where the effective rate of character growth decelerates over time, similar to how the more recent editions of D&D have balanced the gameplay.[105] Dragon Quest also gave players a clear objective from the start of the game and a series of smaller scenarios to build up the player's strength in order to achieve that objective.[106] The ending could also be altered depending on the moral dialogue choice of whether or not the protagonist should join the antagonist on his evil conquest towards the end of the game.[107] The game also had a limited inventory requiring item management,[108] while the caves were dark, requiring the use of a torch to display a field of vision around the character.[99] With Dragon Quest becoming widely popular in Japan, such that local municipalities were forced to place restrictions on where and when the game could be sold,[102] the Dragon Quest series is still considered a bellwether for the Japanese video game market.[109] Dragon Quest did not reach North America until 1989, when it was released as Dragon Warrior, the first NES RPG to be released in North America.[102] The release of Dragon Quest was followed by NES remakes of the early Wizardry and Ultima titles over the next several years by Pony Canyon.[110]

Other releases at the time were the action role-playing games

Rygar (1987), which were notable as some of the first Japanese console RPGs to be released in North America, where they were well received for being a new kind of RPG that differed from both the console action-adventures (such as Castlevania, Trojan, and Wizards & Warriors) and American computer RPGs (such as Wizardry, Ultima, and Might & Magic) that American gamers were previously more familiar with at the time. Deadly Towers and Rygar were particularly notable for their permanent power-up mechanic, which at the time blurred the line between the power-ups used in action-adventures and the experience points used in RPGs.[111]

Evolution (late 1980s)

In 1987,

platform gameplay of the original Wonder Boy with many RPG elements,[119] which would inspire later action RPGs such as Popful Mail (1991).[120]

airships being inspired by Castle in the Sky.[129] Some of these 1987 releases proved popular and went on to spawn their own RPG franchises, particularly the Megami Tensei, Phantasy Star and Final Fantasy
series. In particular, the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series remain popular today, Final Fantasy more so in the West and Dragon Quest more so in Japan.

In 1988,

sports RPG mode.[138]

Sega's Phantasy Star II (1989) was an important milestone in the genre, establishing conventions such as an epic, dramatic, character-driven storyline,[113][139] and science fiction setting.[140]

In 1989,

voice dubbing. Ys I & II went on to receive the Game of the Year award from OMNI Magazine in 1990, as well as many other prizes.[146]

1989 also saw the release of

sidequests rather than an epic narrative.[152] That same year, River City Ransom featured elements of both the beat 'em up and action RPG genres, combining brawler combat with many RPG elements, including an inventory, buying and selling items, learning new abilities and skills, needing to listen for clues, searching to find all the bosses, shopping in the malls, buying items to heal, and increasing stats.[153] It was also an early sandbox brawler reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto.[154]

Golden Age (1990s–mid-2000s)

The 'golden age' of console RPGs is often dated from the 1990s[155][156] to the early 2000s.[157] Console RPGs distinguished themselves from computer RPGs to a greater degree in the early 1990s. As console RPGs became more heavily story-based than their computer counterparts, one of the major differences that emerged during this time was in the portrayal of the characters, with most American computer RPGs at the time having characters devoid of personality or background as their purpose was to represent avatars which the player uses to interact with the world, in contrast to Japanese console RPGs which depicted pre-defined characters who had distinctive personalities, traits, and relationships, such as Final Fantasy and Lufia, with players assuming the roles of people who cared about each other, fell in love or even had families. Romance in particular was a theme that was common in most console RPGs but alien to most computer RPGs at the time.[158] Japanese console RPGs were also generally more faster-paced and action-adventure-oriented than their American computer counterparts.[159][160] The console RPG market became more profitable, which led to several American manufacturers releasing console ports of traditional computer RPGs such as Ultima, though they received mixed reviews due to console gamers at the time considering them to be not "as exciting as the Japanese imports".[159]

During the 1990s, console RPGs had become increasingly dominant.[161] Console RPGs had eclipsed computer RPGs for some time, though computer RPGs began making a comeback towards the end of the decade.[162]

Early 1990s

In 1990,

Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom, which featured an innovative and original branching storyline, which spans three generations of characters and can be altered depending on which character the protagonist of each generation marries,[171] leading to four possible endings.[113]

Final Fantasy IV (1991) helped popularize dramatic storytelling in RPGs (alongside the earlier Phantasy Star games) and introduced the hybrid "Active Time Battle" system.

In 1991,

Metal Max series continued to allow tank customization and open-ended gameplay,[180] while also allowing the player to obtain an ending at almost any time, particularly Metal Saga, which could be completed with an ending scenario just minutes into the game, making it the shortest possible RPG.[181] Telenet Japan released a console remake of its 1988 action-platform RPG Exile,[182] which was controversial, with a plot revolving around a time-traveling Crusades-era Syrian Islamic Assassin who assassinates various religious/historical figures as well as modern-day political leaders,[66] with similarities to the present-day Assassin's Creed action game series,[183] while the gameplay of Exile involved taking drugs that increase or decrease statistics and affect the player's heart-rate, displayed using a heart monitor.[66]

In 1992,

adult content to consoles,[194] though such content had often appeared in Japanese computer RPGs since the early 1980s.[37] That same year, Game Arts began the Lunar series on the Sega CD with Lunar: The Silver Star, one of the first successful CD-ROM RPGs, featuring both voice and text, and considered one of the best RPGs in its time.[195] The game was praised for its soundtrack, emotionally engaging storyline, and strong characterization.[196] It also introduced an early form of level-scaling where the bosses would get stronger depending on the protagonist's level,[197] a mechanic that was later used in Enix's The 7th Saga[198] and extended to normal enemies in Square's Romancing Saga 3 and later Final Fantasy VIII.[199]

Mid-1990s

In 1993, Square's

Romancing Saga 2, which further expanded the non-linear gameplay of its predecessor. While in the original Romancing Saga scenarios were changed according to dialogue choices during conversations, Romancing Saga 2 further expanded on this by having unique storylines for each character that can change depending on the player's actions, including who is chosen, what is said in conversation, what events have occurred, and who is present in the party.[208] PCGamesN credits Romancing SaGa 2 for having laid the foundations for modern Japanese RPGs with its progressive, non-linear, open world design and subversive themes.[209]

In 1994,

Quintet and Ancient was a predecessor to Pokémon in the sense that the protagonist does not himself fight, but sends out his robots to do so. Like Pokémon, Robotrek was designed to appeal to a younger audience, allowed team customization, and each robot was kept in a ball.[220]
However, unlike the mentioned game, the protagonist sometimes use Big Bombs or Weather as a defense.

During this period, comparatively few Eastern RPGs were released in Europe. The market for the genre was not as large as in Asia or North America, and the increasing amount of time and money required for translation as JRPGs became more text-heavy, in addition to the usual need to optimize the games for PAL systems, often made localizing the games to Europe a high-cost venture with little potential payoff.[221][222] As a result, JRPG releases in Europe were largely limited to games which had previously been localized for North America, thus reducing the amount of translation required.[222]

In 1995, Square's

Seiken Densetsu 3 allowed a number of different possible storyline paths and endings depending on which combination of characters the player selected.[235][236] Beyond the Beyond introduced a turn-based battle system dubbed the "Active Playing System", which allows the player to increase the chances of landing an improved attack or defending from an attack by pressing the X button at the correct time during battle, similar to the timing-based attacks in the later game Final Fantasy VIII.[237]

In 1996, the tactical RPG

Story of Seasons series introduced a new form of gameplay: a role-playing simulation centred around managing a farm. The series would later inspire popular social network games such as FarmVille in the late 2000s.[138]

Late 1990s

Sega's

dialogue choice within a time limit, or not to respond at all within that time; the player's choice, or lack thereof, affects the player character's relationship with other characters and in turn the characters' performance in battle, the direction of the storyline, and the ending. Later games in the series added several variations, including an action gauge that can be raised up or down depending on the situation, and a gauge that the player can manipulate using the analog stick depending on the situation.[241] The success of Sakura Wars led to a wave of games that combine the RPG and dating sim genres, including Thousand Arms in 1998, Riviera: The Promised Land in 2002, and Luminous Arc in 2007.[242]

Final Fantasy VII (1997), with its use of 3D graphics and CD-ROM discs, was an important milestone that popularized the genre worldwide.

The next major revolution came in the late 1990s, which saw the rise of

dozens of minigames, and much higher production values. The latter includes innovations such as the use of 3D characters on pre-rendered backgrounds,[246] battles viewed from multiple different angles rather than a single angle, and for the first time full-motion CGI video seamlessly blended into the gameplay,[244] effectively integrated throughout the game.[243] Gameplay innovations included the materia system, which allowed a considerable amount of customization and flexibility through materia that can be combined in many different ways and exchanged between characters at any time, and the limit breaks, special attacks that can be performed after a character's limit meter fills up by taking hits from opponents.[244] The materia system is similar to, but more sophisticated than, the slotted item system in Diablo II (2000).[247] Final Fantasy VII continues to be listed among the best games of all time, for its highly polished gameplay, high playability, lavish production, well-developed characters, intricate storyline,[246] and an emotionally engaging narrative that is much darker and sophisticated than most other RPGs.[248] The game's storytelling and character development was considered a major narrative jump forward for video games and was often compared to films and novels at the time.[249]

The explosion of Final Fantasy VII's sales and the ascendance of the PlayStation represented the dawning of a new era of RPGs. Backed by a clever multimillion-dollar marketing campaign,[250] Final Fantasy VII brought RPGs to a much wider console audience and played a key role in the success of the PlayStation gaming console.[251][252] Following the success of Final Fantasy VII, console RPGs, previously a niche genre outside Japan, skyrocketed in popularity across the world.[253] The game was soon ported to the PC. The game was also responsible not only for popularizing RPGs on consoles, but its high production budget played a key role in the rising costs of video game development in general, and it led to Square's foray into films with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.[243]

Later in 1997, Square released

third-person one-on-one combat system and a storyline that, while being mostly linear, offered a difficult moral choice towards the end of the game regarding which of two characters to save, each leading to a different ending.[258] LandStalker's 1997 spiritual successor Alundra[259] is considered "one of the finest examples of action/RPG gaming", combining platforming elements and challenging puzzles with an innovative storyline revolving around entering people's dreams and dealing with mature themes.[260]

In 1998, Square's

multiplayer gameplay and was released in North America that year.[220] Pokémon has since become the best-selling RPG franchise of all time.[263][264][265] Another 1998 title, Suikoden II, was acclaimed for its "winding, emotionally charged narrative" that involved recruiting an army and gave players the choice of whether to "redeem or kill" key characters.[266] The same year also saw the release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which was considered an action RPG at the time and was "poised to shape the action RPG genre for years to come".[267] While it is still considered one of the best games of all time, its status as an action RPG continues to be debated, much likes its predecessors.[266]

In 1999, the cinematic trend set by Final Fantasy VII continued with

heterosexual relationships as well as friendships) of their choice, allowing a form of fan fiction to exist within the game itself. This type of social system was later extended to allow romantic lesbian relationships in BioWare's 2007 sci-fi RPG Mass Effect. However, the relationship system in Star Ocean not only affected the storyline, but also the gameplay, affecting the way the characters behave towards each other in battle.[278] Another 1999 RPG, Persona 2, also featured dating elements, including the option to engage in a homosexual relationship.[279] That same year saw the release of Chrono Cross, which became the third game to receive a perfect score from GameSpot, after The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Soulcalibur.[280] The game featured two major parallel dimensions, where the player must go back and forth between the worlds to recruit party members, obtain items, and advance the plot, with events in one dimension influencing the other.[281] Like its predecessor Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross featured a New Game+ option and multiple endings, with at least a dozen possible endings based on the player's actions.[282]

Early 2000s

In 2000,

Grandia, and Tales) that established its dominance over the RPG market.[266]

In 2001,

Shadow Hearts series was released. The series would later be acclaimed for its darker Lovecraftian horror narrative revolving around "an emotional journey through the reluctant anti-hero's quest toward redemption".[266] Much like the Chrono series, the Shadow Hearts games offer multiple endings.[287]

In 2002,

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, the third main entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series. Much like its predecessors, it was "psychologically challenging" and featured a branching narrative with multiple endings. Nocturne "carved out a toehold for the series in America with its post-apocalyptic adventure set in a bombed-out Japan" where instead of "trying to stop the apocalypse", the "demonic main character's end goal is to assert his will on the new world".[266]

Mid 2000s

In 2003,

handheld video game Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand had a unique stealth-based action gameplay that made use of a solar-power sensor.[288]

In 2004,

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, and Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
were released.

In 2005,

Final Fantasy IV Advance and Metal Gear Acid
were released.

In 2006,

Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra, and .hack//G.U. vol.3//Redemption
.

Relative decline (late 2000s)

In 2006,

Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk
.

In 2008,

Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice and Valkyria Chronicles
.

In 2009,

PC World
's Game of the Year.

space simulator elements,[297] and features a non-linear branching narrative with numerous choices that can have dramatic consequences,[298] and an epic scale spanning hundreds of planets.[299]

Aftermath (early 2010s)

In the early 2010s, new intellectual properties such as

Nintendo of America announced its decision to not localize the games, not having enough faith in their commercial appeal to American audiences. In response, a widespread internet campaign known as "Operation Rainfall" petitioned the release of Xenoblade, The Last Story, and Pandora's Tower in America, with participants flooding Nintendo's official Facebook page with requests and sending mail to NOA's headquarters. The former two games were released in America in 2012, with Xenoblade debuting at the top of GameStop
's best seller list the week of its release. Despite this, the sales of both games were far less than those of console WRPGs such as Mass Effect 2 and Fallout 3.

On handhelds, the 2010 Atlus title

Tactics Ogre features a similar "World" system that allows players to revisit key plot points and make different choices to see how the story unfolds differently.[302] Imageepoch's 2011 title Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari (Final Promise Story) for the PSP has a strategic command-based battle system where enemies learn from previous skirmishes and where characters can die permanently during gameplay which in turn affects the game's storyline.[303]

In 2011, Nintendo made a conscious effort to revitalize the Pokémon brand with the Pokémon Black & White duology, which streamlined the battle system and introduced an entirely new lineup of characters in a new region based on New York City. These games were followed up with a direct numbered sequel in 2012, a first for the main series. 2012 also saw the release of Pokémon Conquest, a crossover with the Nobunaga's Ambition series of strategy role-playing games.[304]

In 2012 and onwards, a surge in new JRPGs such as

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch and Tales of Xillia are generally well received by fans of the genre and some critics while a number of popular WRPGs such as Mass Effect 3 and the PC version of Diablo III suffered from poor feedback by non-critic reviewers, especially on Metacritic. JRPG installments from mainstream franchises such as Paper Mario: Sticker Star performed well below expectations, continuing the decline of mainstream JRPG franchises except Pokémon. With the exception of Pokémon games, individual JRPG sales continue to pale in comparison against individual WRPGs such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim[305] and Guild Wars 2.[306] However, JRPGs released by Nintendo continue to prosper, with Dragon Quest IX,[307] Fire Emblem Awakening, and Bravely Default[308] selling well above expectations for the genre, and Final Fantasy XIV has reported such a strong revenue that Square Enix, its publisher, had expected turning a profit,[309]
so while certain games may still be ill-received, others are performing fairly well.

New directions and renaissance (2010s–present)

Hunting RPGs are a type of action RPG subgenre featuring the player and an optional team of up to three other players hunting down larger monsters with a set amount of time, using weapons crafted from the materials extracted from the map and/or from the monsters themselves. Unlike most RPG genres, the monsters have no health bars or hit points, but have stronger attack and defense stats, forcing the players to use survival items and coordinated strategies to eliminate a specific monster. First appeared in

God Eater
 franchise.

Soulslike games are a relatively new genre born due to popularity of the Dark Souls series.[310][311][312][313] Those games generally have common elements like high difficulty, high-risk combat with hard-hitting enemies, sparse checkpoints, and enemies dropping souls (or some other resource used for upgrading stats and/or weapons that is lost upon death), but the player has one chance to regain the dropped souls if they can reach the place of their death without dying again.

Since 2016, Japanese RPGs have been experiencing a resurgence,

Bravely Second, Fire Emblem Fates, Dragon Quest Builders, World of Final Fantasy, Exist Archive, and I am Setsuna.[316]

In 2017, Japanese RPGs gained further commercial success and greater critical acclaim.

Ys VIII, Etrian Odyssey V, Dragon Quest Heroes II, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, and Tokyo Xanadu.[322]

2018's

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux. Other notable games include The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II, Lost Sphear, Valkyria Chronicles 4, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country
.

In 2019,

3DS were released. Other notable JRPGs include God Eater 3, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Oninaki, and Code Vein
.

South Korean role-playing games

Main article:
Video gaming in South Korea
See also: Video games developed in South Korea and History of massively multiplayer online games

1980s–1990s

South Korea's RPG industry began in the early 1980/ with licensed and translated versions of internation titles. Later on, The country's first fully-fledged computer RPG was Sin'geom-ui Jeonseol, also known as Legend of the Sword, released for the

MSX2 platform.[333]

1994 saw the release of two major Korean RPGs: Astonishia Story, and an MS-DOS enhanced remake Ys II Special, developed by Mantra. The latter was a mash-up of Nihon Falcom's game Ys II (1988) with the anime Ys II: Castle in the Heavens (1992) along with a large amount of new content, including more secrets than any other version of Ys II. Both games were a success in Korea, Astonishia Story more so.[334][335]

Commercial

NCsoft
's dominance in the global MMORPG market for several years.

2000s–present

In 2002, the sprite-based Ragnarok Online, produced by Korean company Gravity Corp, was released. Though unknown to many Western players, the game took Asia by storm as Lineage had done. The publisher has claimed in excess of 25 million subscribers of the game, although this number is based upon a quantity of registered users (rather than active subscribers).[336] 2002 also saw the release of MapleStory, another sprite-based title, which was completely free-to-play—instead of charging a monthly fee, it generated revenue by selling in-game "enhancements". MapleStory would go on to become a major player in the new market for free-to-play MMORPGs (generating huge numbers of registered accounts across its many versions), if it did not introduce the market by itself.

In October 2003, Lineage II (NCsoft's sequel to Lineage) became the latest MMORPG to achieve huge success across Asia. It received the Presidential Award at the 2003 Korean Game awards. As of the first half of 2005, Lineage II counted over 2.25 million subscribers worldwide, with servers in Japan, China, North America, Taiwan, and Europe, once the popularity of the game had surged in the West. To date, the Lineage franchise has attracted 43 million players.[337]

Chinese and Taiwanese role-playing games

See also: Video games in China, Video games developed in Taiwan, Video games developed in Hong Kong, and Chinese-language-only video games

Ruyiji was released in Taiwan in 1986. It's a role-playing game and the first commercial Chinese game.[338]

Xuan-Yuan Sword, a Taiwanese role-playing game based on Chinese mythology, was released in 1990. It has become a series and its latest sequel was released in 2020.[339]

kung fu
skills to train and develop, as well as a grid-based movement system.

China has a number of domestically produced games. These include

The Incorruptible Warrior. There are a large number of domestically-produced MMORPGs in China, although many generally remain unheard of outside the country.[340]

Genshin Impact (2020), a Chinese open-world action role-playing game, features an action-based battle system involving elemental magic and character switching, and it also uses gacha game monetization for players to obtain new characters, weapons, and other resources.[341][342] According to some media reports, Genshin Impact was the biggest international launch of any Chinese video game at the time of its release.[343][344]

See also

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Further reading

External links

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