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[Arulan]

Felipe Pepe has written another article, this time on the origins of Japanese RPGs.

He has previously written on CRPG history (Part I), the preservation of gaming history, classifying the RPG , and the dreadful Quest Compass. He's also working on the CRPG book project.

Article: 1982-1987 - The Birth of Japanese RPGs, re-told in 15 Games

Part I - The Glorious Japanese Tech

Forget PS4 vs. Xbone, or Nvidia vs. ATI. Back in the 80's, choosing hardware was serious business.

The Apple II, IBM-compatibles, Spectrum ZX and C64 held entirely different software, graphics, games, resources, prices, friends, romantic opportunities, etc... There are dusty old gravestones along untraveled roads which simply read "Bought a Coleco Adam".

In glorious Nippon, an early 80's gamer would have to pick between the Famicom (aka NES) or three mythical 8-bit machines we only hear whispers about: the PC-8801, the Sharp X1 and the FM-7:

Part III - Where we finally get a list (which is what people came to see)

Dungeon
ダンジョン (December 1983)

The Old Gamers History Vol. 3 book begins their timeline with Kei's Dungeon, claiming it has a known release date and among the early titles it's the one closest to "modern RPGs". It's easy to see why. Instantly familiar to anyone who played Ultima, Koei's Dungeon asks you to pick a class – Warrior, Thief, Cleric, Wizard or Ninja – and explore a large island in search of El Dorado.

While the towns are oddly text-only, the rest of the game is an impressive programming feat – the graphics are way ahead of their time (OMG, solid walls!), the overworld has a handy mini-map and the island's underground is a MASSIVE dungeon with multiple entry points that's over 250 x 250 squares!

The developers were probably all big D&D fans, as you’ll face Mind Flayers, Frost Giants, Flesh Golems and even the demon prince Demogorgon, awkwardly traced from the rule book:

Curiously, no beholders. I guess the Japanese also think that 1st ed. beholders look ridiculous.


Heart of Fantasy 2
夢幻の心臓II (November 1985)

The second game improved just about every aspect of the original.

It changed the wire-frame first-person dungeons into scrolling top-down maps, added better graphics, a five-character party and a three large interconnected worlds you can explore – the land of humans, of elves and of demons. It even has a line-of-sight system, where walls and other obstacles block you view:

Searching this game online wields many claims that it influenced / was copied by Dragon Quest. Things like the "Ultima exploration + Wizardry combat" mix, the various status effects or the shape of the world map are mentioned, but what stands out is that, while Heart of Fantasy 2 is a PC-exclusive, it abandons hotkeys for an accessible two-button menu-based interface – one of Dragon Quest's defining features.

The Old Gamers History book merely says this is a useless discussion that has been going for too long between fans – both are 2D RPGs who descend from Ultima and took their battle systems from Wizardry.

Regardless, this was a game loved by many, and playing it you can see why. It's a Japanese Ultima – not a mere clone anymore, but a solid title on its own right. If this was released in English back then, it would probably as fondly remember by us as well.

PS: This game totally deserves a fan-translation. wink wink, nudge nudge.


Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
デジタル・デビル物語 ストーリー 女神転生 (November 1987)

Based on a novel of the same name, Atlus' Megami Tensei stars Akemi Nakajima, a teenage hacker who uses his 1337 h4x0r s|<1llz to summon demons. Shockingly, it backfires.

As the demons &#8211; including Lucifer &#8211; run out of control, it&#8217;s up to Akemi and his girlfriend Yumiko to stop them &#8211; fighting the demons, or simply talking to them and recruiting them to your party. A very cool feature is that you can also fuse demons into more powerful demons.

A cult classic, it receive a great sequels and spin-offs, including the amazing Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne (which you SHOULD play) and the now-mainstream Persona series (pfff, posers).

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Great primer on classics of the genre here. It's worth noting that Kazunari Tomi, the creator of Heart of Fantasy/Mugen no Shinzou (II), went on to co-develop the Lunar games (with Game Arts) as head of Studio Alex.

 

[Aeana]

I always try to bring up Mugen no Shinzou 2 in discussions like these because it seems like people outside of Japan completely missed that link between Ultima and Dragon Quest. I'm glad this mentions it.

 

[III-V]

Thanks, I subbed. I need to dig into this more.

 

[rackham]

So what games would the death of JRPGs be

 

[Rathorial]

These type of articles always remind me of how important/influential Wizardry and especially Ultima were.

 

[LelouchZero]

Amazing! Thanks for posting!

 

[kamineko]

I love this kind of thing. Thanks TC

 

[Arulan]

I always try to bring up Mugen no Shinzou 2 in discussions like these because it seems like people outside of Japan completely missed that link between Ultima and Dragon Quest. I'm glad this mentions it.

Yep!

These type of articles always remind me of how important/influential Wizardry and especially Ultima were.

Video game history is fascinating, and also very useful in modern discussions on genre and design. You can usually look back at a game's inspirations and trace through those branching points. Yes, Ultima and Wizardry had a profound influence on Japanese RPGs. Another interesting branching point is that of Dark Souls. Looking back to King's Field, the trace doesn't originate from traditional Japanese RPGs, but rather from Ultima Underworld, which is also a very influential branching point for many other games as well.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

These type of articles always remind me of how important/influential Wizardry and especially Ultima were.

Wizardry is virtually unknown in the West now (Ultima less so) but its amazing the through line you can make from that series to Final Fantasy and SMT.

Hell they even still make wizardry games for japan only. That's nuts.

 

[Khalifa Jayy]

Subbing to learn.

 

[jman2050]

Yep!

Video game history is fascinating, and also very useful in modern discussions on genre and design. You can usually look back at a game's inspirations and trace through those branching points. Yes, Ultima and Wizardry had a profound influence on Japanese RPGs. Another interesting branching point is that of Dark Souls. Looking back to King's Field, the trace doesn't originate from traditional Japanese RPGs, but rather from Ultima Underworld, which is also a very influential branching point for many other games as well.

Not to mention that most everything we associate with MMORPGs was all because of the foundation Ultima Online set ages ago.

I feel like Richard Garriot still doesn't get nearly enough credit for how influential his game design sensibilities were and still are.

 

[Man God]

Ultima and Wizardry. They both go back to Dungeons and Dragons. Which goes back to Chainmail. Which goes back to Tolkien, who cribbed a bunch of stuff from various mythologies.

The original Monster Manual might be the single most influential document in the creation of all of these RPGS though.

 

[Megalosaro]

Not to mention that most everything we associate with MMORPGs was all because of the foundation Ultima Online set ages ago.

I feel like Richard Garriot still doesn't get nearly enough credit for how influential his game design sensibilities were and still are.

I agree. He's pretty famous though. Even my dad knows who he is, and he hasn't really paid attention to gaming in 25 years.

He adored Ultima 3 tho.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Ultima and Wizardry. They both go back to Dungeons and Dragons. Which goes back to Chainmail. Which goes back to Tolkien, who cribbed a bunch of stuff from various mythologies.

The original Monster Manual might be the single most influential document in the creation of all of these RPGS though.

The original D&D Manual? 100% no contest

 

[btrboyev]

Phantasy Star was so far ahead of anything else, it's crazy to think it came out at the same time as the first final fantasy and not even a year after dragon qwest. You didn't even get dungeons that looked that good in the 16-bit era.

 

[Man God]

Phantasy Star was so far ahead of anything else, it's crazy to think it came out at the same time as the first final fantasy and not even a year after dragon qwest. You didn't even get dungeons that looked that good in the 16-bit era.

Outside of the portrait art most of PS1 looks better than PS2. Especially the dungeons.

 

[rockyt]

interesting stuff

 

[Lernaean]

Great article, thanks for the heads up!

 

[MrDoctor]

Phantasy Star was so far ahead of anything else, it's crazy to think it came out at the same time as the first final fantasy and not even a year after dragon qwest. You didn't even get dungeons that looked that good in the 16-bit era.

yep, too bad the sequels went in the exact opposite direction

 

[Spiral Insanity]

Love the subject.

 

[Arulan]

Not to mention that most everything we associate with MMORPGs was all because of the foundation Ultima Online set ages ago.

I wish more MMOs were like Ultima Online though.

I agree. He's pretty famous though. Even my dad knows who he is, and he hasn't really paid attention to gaming in 25 years.

He adored Ultima 3 tho.

It's interesting to note how Ultima's legacy has mostly endured throughout the years, while Wizardry is largely forgotten (in the west).

 

[thecrpgbook]

It's interesting to note how Ultima's legacy has mostly endured throughout the years, while Wizardry is largely forgotten (in the west).

Richard Garriott is only rivaled by Miyamoto in his influence as a game designer, and he is still around, promoting his projects and keeping the legacy around. The guy is amazing, he went to space FFS! He's a cool guy to talk to, and he likes to give interviews.

Meanwhile, Sir-Tech imploded in the 90's due to horrible managing and legal issues, with both Wizardry creators, Woodhead and Greenberg, abandoning gaming. D.W. Bradley took the reins, the then also left later. These were the series creators, and they won't talk to the press anymore. They probably can't talk, even if they wanted to. Hell, the Siroteks made such a spaghetti out of this that they can't even sell Wizardry 1-5 on GOG!

That makes a huge difference. How you gonna keep the franchise alive when you can't even sell the games anymore?

Now look at Brian Fargo - in the last 5 years he gave Wasteland and Bard's Tale an exposition and relevance they didn't have since the mid 80's... Gaming history is poorly kept, there's little awareness. Unfortunately, unless there's someone constantly pushing the agenda, unless there's money involved, games get forgotten. :/

 

[Rathorial]

Wizardry is virtually unknown in the West now (Ultima less so) but its amazing the through line you can make from that series to Final Fantasy and SMT.

Hell they even still make wizardry games for japan only. That's nuts.

Wizardry is just one of those series that got forgotten because the company imploded, no single person ever became one of those Molyneux or Garriot figures, and legally I don't even know who owns the rights for the game series anymore.

I can't assume it matters, because Japan indeed released multiple later entries that never even got localized to the west, including an MMO not far back in 2012. Indeed nuts.

Yep!

Video game history is fascinating, and also very useful in modern discussions on genre and design. You can usually look back at a game's inspirations and trace through those branching points. Yes, Ultima and Wizardry had a profound influence on Japanese RPGs. Another interesting branching point is that of Dark Souls. Looking back to King's Field, the trace doesn't originate from traditional Japanese RPGs, but rather from Ultima Underworld, which is also a very influential branching point for many other games as well.

The history is really fascinating, and weirdly not spread around or retold much. Ultima and Wizardry specifically are among the most interesting because they influenced both Japan and the West. Wizardry definitely had a bigger mark on Japan than here from Final Fantasy to Etrian Odyssey, but still that dungeon crawler experience was replicated in the west by Might and Magic & Legend of Grimrock. Ultima 3's party-based combat was even influenced by Wizardry.

Ultima though is crazy, just because it was so old and early that game packaging wasn't even a standard yet, and Garriot sold his first games in bags. You had the mainline Ultimas innovate with early tile-based combat, one of the earliest open-worlds, player choice and morality systems years before others did it. Ultima Online popularized the MMO, birthed many of its conventions, and the sandbox nature with dynamic events driven by players is if anything oddly coming back into vogue.

Ultima Underworld is probably the most important game to me. Its influence brought about King's Field and the Souls series, which along is great. It had influence on Elder Scrolls as well. It was the precursor to the Immersive Sim, my favorite style of game, with classics like Deus Ex and Thief, and more modern stuff like Dishonored and Bioshock. It was even among if not the first game to let you look up and down in 3d space.

Now that I think about it, outside of Doom and Mario, I can't think of a more influential series within gaming than Ultima.

 

[Tizoc]

Yep!

Video game history is fascinating, and also very useful in modern discussions on genre and design. You can usually look back at a game's inspirations and trace through those branching points. Yes, Ultima and Wizardry had a profound influence on Japanese RPGs. Another interesting branching point is that of Dark Souls. Looking back to King's Field, the trace doesn't originate from traditional Japanese RPGs, but rather from Ultima Underworld, which is also a very influential branching point for many other games as well.

That is a kickass cover! Thanks for linking to this article. I've actually been wanting to do an Ys 1 write up for them but I hadn't updated my write up in weeks ^^;

 

[asagami_]

Ok, I subscribe to this thread. The topic is pretty interesting to me, thanks for share it!

 

[Archtreyz]

I love longer form looks into the history of games. I remember back when Tech TV was a thing and they had that ICONS show that went into the history of developers and gaming characters. Such good stuff.

 

[thecrpgbook]

BTW, I'll take this chance to ask: Any of you can think of a JRPG heavily inspired by post-83 CRPGs?

Ultima and Wizardry were super influential in Japan, but note that they abandoned after Ultima III. We never got something like Ultima IV, VII, VIII, IX.... Same for Wizardry - there aren't any Wizardry 7 or 8 clones out there.

It's odd, because classics like Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder, Baldur's Gate, Deus Ex, Diablo, etc all made into Japan, but never got copied. And, sadly, games like Fallout 1 & 2 or The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall & Morrowind never made it. :/

It goes both sides really... not many JRPG-inspired CRPGs out there. We had Heroes of the Lance, which tried to copy Sorcerian, and stuff like Anachronox and Septerra Core going after Final Fantasy VII, but not much else I can think of...

 

[Tizoc]

BTW, I'll take this chance to ask: Any of you can think of a JRPG heavily inspired by post-83 CRPGs?

Ultima and Wizardry were super influential in Japan, but note that they abandoned after Ultima III. We never got something like Ultima IV, VII, VIII, IX.... Same for Wizardry - there aren't any Wizardry 7 or 8 clones out there.

It's odd, because classics like Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder, Baldur's Gate, Deus Ex, Diablo, etc all made into Japan, but never got copied. And, sadly, games like Fallout 1 & 2 or The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall & Morrowind never made it. :/

It goes both sides really... not many JRPG-inspired CRPGs out there. We had Heroes of the Lance, which tried to copy Sorcerian, and stuff like Anachronox and Septerra Core going after Final Fantasy VII, but not much else I can think of...

Ummmmm Brandish from Falcom? Granted I only ever played the remake of Brandish 1 but it has that classic PC RPG feel to it.

 

[cireza]

Outside of the portrait art most of PS1 looks better than PS2. Especially the dungeons.

Phantasy Star II depicts its universe with much more accuracy than Phantasy Star I, something that is more important to me. Not saying that the first game was not mind-blowing : it definitely was.

I consider the original series (PS 1-4) as the greatest RPG series. So many innovative and fantastic ideas.

 

[Arulan]

BTW, I'll take this chance to ask: Any of you can think of a JRPG heavily inspired by post-83 CRPGs?

Ultima and Wizardry were super influential in Japan, but note that they abandoned after Ultima III. We never got something like Ultima IV, VII, VIII, IX.... Same for Wizardry - there aren't any Wizardry 7 or 8 clones out there.

It's odd, because classics like Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder, Baldur's Gate, Deus Ex, Diablo, etc all made into Japan, but never got copied. And, sadly, games like Fallout 1 & 2 or The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall & Morrowind never made it. :/

It goes both sides really... not many JRPG-inspired CRPGs out there. We had Heroes of the Lance, which tried to copy Sorcerian, and stuff like Anachronox and Septerra Core going after Final Fantasy VII, but not much else I can think of...

I suppose it depends a little on whether you consider JRPG to mean RPGs from Japan, or as characteristics that make up a genre. Dark Soul's lineage to Ultima Underworld is noteworthy. You already pointed out opposite examples such as Anachronox, but you could also include Undertale. Again, depending on your definition of genres, you could look at Strategy/Tactical RPGs such as Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics, which appear to have a very different origin point, although it may be prior to '83.

 

[Megalosaro]

Looking over the list, it's cool how a few of those franchises are around still to this day.

Dragon Slayer just had a new game come out that come out, both Tokyo Xanadu and Legend of Heroes Trials of Cold Steel.

Abd of course Shin Megami Tensei and Dragon Quest are self explanatory.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

This is great, but how did it not get a proper editing pass?

 

[Haruka]

BTW, I'll take this chance to ask: Any of you can think of a JRPG heavily inspired by post-83 CRPGs?

You probably never heard of it, but Dungeon Magic: Sword of the Elements seems somewhat inspired by the Bard's Tale. I really can't think of any other examples, though. Especially not any from the Famicom.

 

[Lynx_7]

I've never even realized the MegaTen franchise actually predates Final Fantasy by a few months. That's kinda mindblowing to think about.
Cool article.

 

[jay]

Phantasy Star was so far ahead of anything else, it's crazy to think it came out at the same time as the first final fantasy and not even a year after dragon qwest. You didn't even get dungeons that looked that good in the 16-bit era.

I can't believe how jerky Arcana's dungeons are. Shining int he Darkness is better but still not Yuji Naka smooth.

 

[Azoor]

Phantasy Star doesn't get the love it deserves.

 

[Afro Republican]

The OP is saying a game, which may be influencial, was a very popular game yet it does not have the sales figures to back it up.

 

[ElectricThunder]

Great article---the well indeed runs deep and disparate...if only creators the world over could've had access to even a fraction of the collaboration and communication means, language barrier withstanding, the world came to enjoy only a scant decade or so later.

Hard sales data on much of the lot is probably beyond impossible by a long shot, but the key thing is keeping the titles preserved for posterity and hopefully wringing as many details from their respective production teams as possible.

I wonder what the list would look like for China/Korea/etc along much the same sort of lines...

 

[tuffymon]

Thanks, this was a nice nostalgia run, with a bit of learning thrown in.

@Azoor, totally agree, phantasy star 4 was one of the best rpgs made imo.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Every time the subject of early Japanese computer games and RPGs comes up, there's always this shocking realization of how so much of it is blank space titled simply "Here Be Dragons" with one lone island named "Nihon Falcom" adorning it.

Then I catch a chunk of information like article and this clip (pro tip: WATCH THIS) and that yawning nothingness begins to take on more detail and the realization of how much there is to learn, and what may be forgotten for good is even more shocking.

BTW, I'll take this chance to ask: Any of you can think of a JRPG heavily inspired by post-83 CRPGs?

Ultima and Wizardry were super influential in Japan, but note that they abandoned after Ultima III. We never got something like Ultima IV, VII, VIII, IX.... Same for Wizardry - there aren't any Wizardry 7 or 8 clones out there.

It's odd, because classics like Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder, Baldur's Gate, Deus Ex, Diablo, etc all made into Japan, but never got copied. And, sadly, games like Fallout 1 & 2 or The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall & Morrowind never made it. :/

It goes both sides really... not many JRPG-inspired CRPGs out there. We had Heroes of the Lance, which tried to copy Sorcerian, and stuff like Anachronox and Septerra Core going after Final Fantasy VII, but not much else I can think of...

It's surpsingly recent; Mass Effect cribs a ton from Persona 3 and 4 (by their own admission).

 

[thecrpgbook]

The OP is saying a game, which may be influencial, was a very popular game yet it does not have the sales figures to back it up.

Which game are you referring to?

 

[thecrpgbook]

Updated the article with a closing section based on some questions I got:

Part IV - The end of an Era

By the end of 1987 consoles had become the definitive platform for JRPGs – and for Japanese games overall, a complete reversal of the situation in the US.

Even with the popularization of 16-bit computers later on, the PC was left for niche titles which required their amazing capabilities to render high-res still images: Visual Novels and erotic games – including erotic JRPGs like Rance and Dragon Knight. Only Falcom would remain strong defenders of PCs JRPGs – which might explain why they are barely known in the West.

As such, Western CRPGs lost all relevance to the Japanese market – Dungeon Master, Wasteland, SSI's Gold Box series, Diablo, Daggerfall, Baldur's Gate, Fallout, System Shock 2, Deus Ex, Morrowind, Gothic and other classics either never made to Japan or barely made an impact. Even the Ultima series, so influential years before, lost all relevance – have you ever seen a JRPG based on Ultima VII?

Wizardry, on the other hand, would gain new life in Japan. While Sir-Tech imploded in the 90's, the Japanese would acquire the serie's license and produce over 30 Wizardry games, remakes and spin-offs, plus novels, manga series, anime, toys, mobile games, tabletop RPGs and even a MMORPG:

But that's a story for another time...

 

[Just take it with you.]

Every time the subject of early Japanese computer games and RPGs comes up, there's always this shocking realization of how so much of it is blank space titled simply "Here Be Dragons" with one lone island named "Nihon Falcom" adorning it.

Then I catch a chunk of information like article and this clip (pro tip: WATCH THIS) and that yawning nothingness begins to take on more detail and the realization of how much there is to learn, and what may be forgotten for good is even more shocking.



It's surpsingly recent; Mass Effect cribs a ton from Persona 3 and 4 (by their own admission).

I believe Chris Avellone has also cited Chrono Trigger as being an influence on Planescape Torment. (And I believe there is an interview floating around out there where it is stated that the game that wound up becoming PS:T started life as a "make a game like King's Field" project, interestingly enough.)

But as for Japanese RPGs cribbing from post-Wizardry and Ultima 3, I really can't think of any. King's Field and Souls have been noted above, but somebody should track down Naotoshi Zin (or someone else who was at From at the time), so we can get a clearer picture here.

With more Western games making some minor inroads into Japan, maybe we might see Japanese RPGs taking influence from more recent non-Japanese RPGs, but who knows?

 

[MoonFrog]

I believe Chris Avellone has also cited Chrono Trigger as being an influence on Planescape Torment. (And I believe there is an interview floating around out there where it is stated that the game that wound up becoming PS:T started life as a "make a game like King's Field" project, interestingly enough.)

But as for Japanese RPGs cribbing from post-Wizardry and Ultima 3, I really can't think of any. King's Field and Souls have been noted above, but somebody should track down Naotoshi Zin (or someone else who was at From at the time), so we can get a clearer picture here.

With more Western games making some minor inroads into Japan, maybe we might see Japanese RPGs taking influence from more recent non-Japanese RPGs, but who knows?

I mean, you have people like Yuji Horii citing TES as influential to DQ IX, but yes, he is an older creator.

Or look at say ARR and western MMO. Or, along those lines, MMO combat in, say, Xenoblade from another producer who says he has a fondness for western games.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Response in bold:

Even with the popularization of 16-bit computers later on, the PC was left for niche titles which required their amazing capabilities to render high-res still images: Visual Novels and erotic games – including erotic JRPGs like Rance and Dragon Knight. Only Falcom would remain strong defenders of PCs JRPGs – which might explain why they are barely known in the West.

Apparently it doesn't matter that the PC-98 was your best choice for computerized wargames, based on both military history and fantasy, nor do large multi-platform adventures like Illusion City, Emerald Dragon, Alshark (based in part on Binary Systems's Starflight), Star Cruiser, Rune Worth, games based on Lodoss War, &c. In addition to Falcom, companies like Telenet/Wolf Team (Yougekitai: Jashin Koumaroku, Suzaku), Right Stuff (Chilam Balam, Foresight Dolly), Glodia (Die Bahnwelt, Zavas II), Micro Cabin (Elm Knight, Xak III, Gal Act Heroism), and T&E Soft (Hydlide III, Sword World PC) all made xRPGs going into the PC-98 era. Some games went against expectation by achieving fluid movement on-screen (Brandish series, Elm Knight), others integrated elements from wargames and other genres in order to hybridize (Zavas II, Sword World PC).

I hesitate to call Falcom "barely known in the West" as of 2012, let alone this year thanks to Trails of Cold Steel II releasing on PSN. Hardy old Turbo-Grafx 16 players knew about the company and its Ys games since ages ago, with Telenet and Wold Team lagging behind.

As for which Japanese xRPGs on PC demonstrate influence from later non-East Asian xRPGs, you're right, there aren't many. Artdink and System Soft had competing "simulation RPG" series, Lunatic Dawn and Tir-nan-og respectively, both of which focus heavily on tabletop-style adventuring, character development, and randomized playthroughs to some extent. Bothtec's Relics series on Windows, though more linear and action-based than Lunatic Dawn, has branching story paths, party management and isometric view a la mid-1990s Western CRPGs, and decent interaction. The Relics games still need translation, but you can now play two of the major Lunatic Dawn games thanks to fan patches.

 

[Meffer]

Dragon Quest is so important for JRPGs. It was one of the first JRPGs aimed for the mainstream, the fact that they had Toriyama for the art was genius.

 

[randomkid]

There's a lot more cross-pollination between east and west than people think. Recently I found out about a random Hudson RPG on PSX called Weltorv Estleia, here's a GameFAQs description.

Hudson Soft made this completely 3D, non-linear medieval fantasy game back in 1999 see if anything seems familiar. At the beginning you create a character male or female and then shape their physical appearance: height, hair, weight and even dominate hand. Then you pick clothing from a huge, assorted list. You also determine physical strength, personality, and intellect. After that you are free to explore and interact with the world's inhabitants as you like, you may become the most villainous or valiant of legends, get married, or wander aimlessly helping and hindering at your whim. Quests are dynamic; as you speak to someone you learn a key phrase or word and you gather similar information to find the appropriate location for the quest. Once you arrive, the quest begins. Some quests are obvious with others being more difficult to discover. Completing a quest nets you some loot. The one thing about this game is that technical limitations hinder what is a very ambitious game of grand scope.

Horii has cited Elder Scrolls as a direct influence on DQ9 (and Myst on DQ7 heh). Kawazu is always interpolating obtuse tabletop mechanics in his games and I'm sure there's some SaGa interview where he cites western classics. The Megaten franchise is filled with games with skill checks and choice and consequence. This stuff is all much more fluid than the labels "JRPG" and "WRPG" would have you believe, which tend to obscure rather than illuminate.

 

[djtiesto]

So what games would the death of JRPGs be

Do you deliberately go into every single thread that even remotely has to do with Japanese gaming and shit on it? (BTW the answer to your question is none)

Anyways, OP article is pretty interesting. I'd love to see him do something for console RPGs like he did for computer RPGs.

 

[MrDoctor]

BTW, I'll take this chance to ask: Any of you can think of a JRPG heavily inspired by post-83 CRPGs?

i sometimes think of growlanser as the japanese take on baldur's gate -- rts-styled combat with sizable helpings of delicious Choice & Consequence. you can also find ultima underworld influences in some games, as has been mentioned before me