Genuine question: What do "JRPG-themed" or "JRPG mechanics" even mean by this point, in light of Last Arc: Tactics Analogue?I think that "JRPG" as an intended genre for a system sounds silly. For example, if someone were to say, "I want a tabletop system based on HoYoverse gacha games," that would rightfully be met with "That is too broad. Narrow down it down to Honkai Impact 3rd, Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, or Zenless Zone Zero first." But people seem to think that there can be such a thing as a "JRPG"-themed tabletop system, where "JRPG" here actually means "half-remembered ideas from turn-based Final Fantasy games played over a decade and a half ago, and the art is anime-ish."I think that Fabula Ultima, for example, is okay-ish after having played it several times, but the whole "JRPG" theming does not hold much water to me. I must be an outlier, because my primary JRPG exposure is actually Tales, which is action. A while back ( https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/97965401/#97965664 ), I had a look at Last Arc: Tactics Analogue. It is a hodgepodge of D&D 3.5, Pathfinder 1e, Saga Edition, and D&D 4e. I thought that the rules were decent enough, and I would happily play them. I did, however, find it strange that the author was repeatedly marketing the game as having "JRPG mechanics."Well, it is out on full on DriveThruRPG, now. The game seems to be selling well. It is still aggressively marketing itself as a "JRPG" system with "JRPG mechanics." Again, I have no problem with the actual mechanics, but it really strikes me as odd that we are repackaging d20 systems from the 2000s as "JRPG" just by attaching vaguely anime-inspired artwork.I am saying this as someone who runs virtually all of their campaigns with anime-aesthetic art and heavy "You actually do get strong enough to fight gods and change the world" theming, whether it is in 13th Age 2e's Dragon Empire, D&D 4e Eberron, Mage: The Awakening, or something else entirely.What do you think?
>>98930704I haven't played enough JRPGs to know what a JRPG game would be like, but I've read enough words to know you're retarded.Many games are described as "cinematic". Cinema is incredibly broad and varied medium whose key features are all but impossible to reproduce in an RPG setting. If you think "cinematic" as an RPG descriptor means the game is like any and every piece of cinema, then you're an imbecile. Even if you're not sure what it does mean, it should be obvious it doesn't mean that.You have failed, on a very fundamental level, to understand the basics of language and communication.
>>98930704Ultimately it is drawing on early Final Fantasy like you said (sometimes with a hint of Dragon Quest), which themselves have roots that trace back to early attempts to adapt D&D to computer games. That's why a JRPG system is often basically just an OSR or d20 game, but usually with a thinner spell list and a few weapon techniques. Which does lean into some of the evolutions JRPGs made to give different classes more options than the standard 'attack' function. All of that being said, I did end up passing over Last Arc, since each of the six classes just read as an alternating gain of talents/techniques with none of it coming across as very unique or impactful. To say nothing of some of the weirdness in enemy statblocks. That aside, I'm also not sure which JRPG it's really trying to emulate. The logo screams Final Fantasy, but the FF games with this sort of customization are either those with job-swapping or a lack of jobs/classes entirely. For contrast, Fabula Ultima more readily wore its inspiration on its sleeve by having a bunch of different classes with a set list of abilities that were more clearly trying to copy Final Fantasy, and also behaves more like you'd expect from an FF game where you want to mix and match those classes to achieve certain results.Either way, whether or not one can define JRPG mechanics or not wouldn't stop people from using "JRPG-themed" as a marketing ploy. Last Arc sold because it was familiar enough to D&D players who liked Final Fantasy to pick it up.
