r/JRPG • u/Marinebiologist_0 • Apr 27 '25

News Clair Obscur has achieved the highest concurrent player rate ever for a JRPG on Steam.

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Incredible numbers, this doesn't even include the Xbox Gamepass player count. The last time I remember a JRPG getting this level of attention was Persona 5 and NieR Automata in 2017. It'll be interesting to see how massive Persona 6 will be, if it launches day 1 on all major platforms.

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u/IllustriousSalt1007 Apr 27 '25 edited Apr 27 '25

Thank you. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for so many JRPG fans to comprehend such a simple concept.

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u/RexLizardWizard Apr 27 '25

There’s nothing redditors love more than being pedantic and getting to be smug. This gives them an excuse to do both.

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u/99-Potions Apr 27 '25

I remember most people in this subreddit were in agreement that JRPG is a style and not a literal definition of "Japanese-only" RPGs. Around when Elden Ring came out, the topic got weirdly divisive and has been since.

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u/Psnhk Apr 27 '25

Agreed but I don't consider Clair Obscur's designs, music, or dialogue to be particularly Japanese styled. It comes off as not a JRPG like FF16.

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u/IllustriousSalt1007 Apr 27 '25

I totally respect that opinion, even if I may or may not personally agree with it. The important thing is that you are measuring the contents of the game instead of the geographic location where it was developed. Once people agree to get past that initial roadblock, I think there’s wiggle room for disagreement on how to define the genre.

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u/0bolus Apr 28 '25

JRPG is the style of RPGs that originated in Japan. They don't need to have Japanese culture in them to be JRPGs. I don't need to wear kimono to eat Japanese food.

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u/Psnhk Apr 28 '25

I never said they need to have Japanese culture or wear kimonos, that's something you made up. I said it's not particularly Japanese styled.

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u/0bolus Apr 28 '25

Then what do you mean by Japanese style?

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u/Psnhk Apr 28 '25

You also called them "the style of RPGs that originated in Japan" but now you act like you don't know what that means or it could only mean things like wearing kimonos to eat Japanese food? Is someone actively hitting you in the head with a baseball bat as you type?

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u/0bolus Apr 28 '25

I'm just asking what you consider traits that makes an RPG "Japanese style." What is your deal?

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u/theseareclearlyjokes Apr 30 '25

I think you just haven’t explained (from what I can see in this thread) what about it isn’t JRPG style. Its gameplay resembles Like a Dragon/Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth, the exploration and overworld traversal resembles classic final fantasy and other JRPGs, the way stat distribution works reminds me of Atlus games. It’s very narrative and character-driven and, like many JRPGs, is literally a story about killing god. It lacks the typical character creation stuff you get in Western CRPGs. Later game play elements I don’t want to spoil are also lifted from JRPGs, some of the character play styles are lifted directly from other JRPG characters…the designers said they were inspired by JRPGs during creation. So, considering all that, I think that it’s a fair question—even if their comment about kimonos nshit was a little snide. You didn’t really explain your point of view.

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u/Mysterious_Pen_2200 Apr 27 '25

Because people are stupid.

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u/Midi_to_Minuit Apr 29 '25

I mean it's not JRPG fans, iirc there were a few JRPG creators who were not fond of the term?

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u/AscendedViking7 Apr 27 '25

RPG made in Japan = Japanese Role-playing Game.

It’s a category based on origin, not mechanics.

The only requirement for an RPG to be a JRPG is that it’s made by a Japanese developer.

That’s literally it.

It's ok to be wrong. Brushing off that fact doesn't make you correct. :P

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u/IllustriousSalt1007 Apr 27 '25

No, it is you who is incorrect, and the condescension in your incorrect reply makes it even sweeter.

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u/AscendedViking7 Apr 27 '25

The definition is already well-established for the past 40ish years.

'JRPG', or JAPANESE Role-playing Games, originally referred to RPGs developed in Japan, and while over time some people also associate it with a certain style (turn-based combat, anime aesthetics, etc.), the foundation of the term is geographic origin, a way to differentiate RPGs from Japan and RPGs from the West because RPGs from Japan were novelty at the time.

That's not an opinion, I'm not incorrect.

That's historical fact.

You can disagree with how the term is used today, but pretending the origin of the term was ever about mechanics alone is just pointless revisionism.

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u/kangasplat Apr 27 '25

That text you just cited literally proves you wrong. How can you be so bad in reading comprehension?

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u/IllustriousSalt1007 Apr 27 '25

If I thought that there was even a chance that you would be open to new ideas and information that challenge your beliefs, then I would attempt to open a dialogue with you. But it’s clear from your immature opening comment and condescending vernacular that you are completely shut off and closed minded on this topic, and I’m not going to waste my time arguing with someone like you. Have a good one.

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u/AscendedViking7 Apr 27 '25

Understood.

Reality isn’t for everyone, that's why we are here scrolling through Reddit.

JRPGs are, and always have been, RPGs made by Japanese developers.

If pretending otherwise helps you sleep at night, by all means, carry on. Wishing you the best, man.

Bless your heart.

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u/IllustriousSalt1007 Apr 27 '25

Extremely immature of you to abuse the Reddit Cares system and report me as suicidal as a roundabout way of telling me to off myself. But based on our short exchange, I am not surprised at all. Hope your life starts getting better, friend.

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u/AscendedViking7 Apr 27 '25

What? I legitimately never touched Reddit Cares...?

You can live as good a life as you want, man, I'm just here because I love JRPGs.

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u/IllustriousSalt1007 Apr 27 '25

We both know that’s not true. Have a good one.

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u/AscendedViking7 Apr 27 '25

You can report the message you got and Reddit will be able to see who sent it.

I'm not the one who did that, I promise you.

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u/lobeyou Apr 27 '25

But that actually just isn't true.

While you are correct what the origin of the term is, definitions of things actually change all the time, and JRPG hasn't been about the origin of the game for most of the history of the genre now.

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u/Vykrom Apr 28 '25

CRPG used to mean Classic RPG, and you could never have a CRPG on Consoles.

You even admit the definition you use has probably changed. And yeah. It has

People used to call Diablo all sorts of things. Action RPG. Hack'n'slash. Dungeon crawler. They were all understandable. But those definitions have since changed and evolved to be more usable for the genres they represent. Same with CRPG and JRPG. Ya gotta keep up with the times, man

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u/Sofruz May 01 '25

It doesn’t matter what the original definition is when that definition is over 30 years old by now. Words change and JRPG has a different meaning now, which is cited in that definition you posted.

We don’t sit here and use words in their original definition from hundreds of years ago do we? Why would you do the same here?

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u/AscendedViking7 May 01 '25

Sure, language evolves, no argument there.

But when we're talking about a term like JRPG, which is literally an acronym with a geographic origin baked into it, it's not exactly the same as a 400-year-old word whose meaning has drifted over centuries of usage.

We're not talking about the word "awful" slowly shifting from "full of awe" to "bad."

We're talking about people trying to redefine an acronym that still literally stands for Japanese Role-Playing Game.

Like, if someone called The Witcher 3 a JRPG because it has dialogue choices and a leveling system, people would (rightfully) go "Uh... it's Polish." Because where it's made still matters, that's the whole point of the label.

It's not about clinging to ancient definitions.

It's about not throwing out the core of what the term actually means just because some people got used to a vibe.

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u/Vykrom Apr 28 '25

If you're looking for something, your definition is completely unhelpful as a genre

If someone wants a good turn-based game, this game comes up, as do plenty of JRPGs

You're insinuating this be called a WRPG where people will see this game and Witcher 3, and they're wildly different

This isn't a history lesson, it's a genre based on tastes so people can look in categories and find things they like

As the other commented pointed out. You don't have to be "from the country" to make "country music"