"The lead developer behind Metaphor: ReFantazio and recently gave a talk at the G-Star 2025 gaming conference in South Korea with the heady title 'When experience becomes memory - designing lasting impressions through art and structure' in which he argued there are three main eras of the JRPG, according to a report by that was translated by Gamesradar. According to Hashino, JRPG 1.0 encompasses the "true classics," which seems to include everything from the NES through at least PS2."
"The director doesn't seem to specify the boundaries, but lets peg it at Persona 4 through ReFantazio, a period which Hashino describes as being "higher quality due to how much more responsive they are to the player." Most importantly, there is "JRPG 3.0," which refers to the next generation of games that haven't yet been defined. How will the genre stay fresh in this new era?"
Turn-based RPGs continue to show vitality, with recent releases revitalizing interest in the form. JRPGs are framed as evolving across three eras: JRPG 1.0 comprises the true classics spanning roughly from the NES through PS2. JRPG 2.0 represents the modern era, exemplified by titles roughly from Persona 4 through ReFantazio, characterized by higher quality and greater responsiveness to players. JRPG 3.0 denotes an undefined next generation that aims to add greater dimensionality and to fundamentally change genre structure and presentation. There is optimism about future titles and potential reinvention of established formulas.
Read at Kotaku
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