What makes a JRPG a JRPG? Is it the sweeping stories? The protagonists with super spikey or multicolored hair? Or the simple fact that if an RPG video game was made in Japan, it qualifies as a JRPG? Most of you reading this may instantly go with the last option and call it a day. No one would fault you, as technically speaking, that is what a JRPG is. However, I would ask you to look beyond that definition and delve deeper into the genre to understand what makes JRPGs what they are and why a majority of them are many gamers’ favorites.
To define what a JRPG is, we need to look at what RPGs were like when video games were starting to take off in the late 70s-early 80s, and the answer starts with the granddaddy of all RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons. While the tabletop game was gaining popularity and notoriety (thanks to the Satanic Panic of the early 80’s) DnD formed the groundwork for RPGs to come, and in 1981, the world saw two of the most influential games for RPGs, Ultima and Wizardry. While these…
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