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/AverageGuilty6171 Apr 27 '25

See JRPG developers, all you have to do is not be Japanese!

17

u/KuttaFrmDa3 Apr 28 '25

There may actually be some truth to this lol, it seems the Japanese (what people in this sub call “anime”) tropes, writing style and character designs are the barrier to entry for the casual audience not the turn based combat. 

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u/Setsuna_417 Apr 28 '25

While that may be true that the Japanese storytelling isnt for everyone, removing that wouldn't really make it a JRPG then. Not everything needs to be made for everyone, after all.

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u/KuttaFrmDa3 Apr 28 '25

I agree with u. I play these games for a reason, and if I wanted a western style game, I would just play one instead. I’m not saying I want them removed all I’m saying is that turn based combat has never been a barrier to entry for games. For example, games like Darkest Dungeon and Baldur’s Gate have each sold like 15 million plus copies. 

My issue is with people saying things like, “This should be the new standard for JRPGs,” without realising that a decent number of people playing this game won’t show up for the next Persona or Dragon Quest. There’s people on the gaming subreddit saying they don’t like JRPGs but enjoy this game, and I’m willing to bet that's because the game’s not actually Japanese.  

What I don’t want is a whole load of JRPGs being made for people who don’t like JRPGs. This sub might call it “cringe,” but the Japanese ("anime") tropes are part of the reason I play these games and I know there’re referred to as “anime tropes,” but the truth is that it’s just a Japanese style of writing characters and stories, and it can be found in more mediums than just anime. People who say they don’t like “anime tropes” usually mean they don’t like shonen anime tropes not tropes as a whole as many Japanese games, from Atelier to Metal Gear, feature them.