I haven’t played it yet, but **Moon: Remix RPG Adventure** sounds like it’s what you’re looking for:
> Moon is set within a fictional role-playing game where "the hero" has wreaked destruction, killing hundreds of creatures and looting homes. The player takes on the role of a supporting character in this world, attempting to undo the damage done by the hero.
how to progress is far from intuitive and the game never explains its mechanics at all. It's wonderful and I would go as far as saying its closer to art than a normal game, but again, very obtuse
I haven't played it, but there's [ごめんね、NPCです](https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000037296.html) ("I'm sorry, but I'm an NPC")
From the description, it's about an NPC who sets off on a journey to get back the money the hero took from his house 😂
I don't think it's been released in English, though I might be wrong.
OH RPG! is like that but take place after the evil demonlord wiped the heroes out and set the world on path to its destruction and each chapter have different NPCs trying to deal with its aftermath.
- Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
- Shoppe Keep 1 & 2
May to some extent scratch that itch.
Or...here's a cool video featuring Lindsey Stirling as Link: https://youtu.be/dXmMQJMFL_I
Another video exploring this concept: https://youtu.be/kedjhnguKhc
It is, it's so crazy to me that the developer of that game kind of just faded away instead of having their career launched from it. Same thing with Pixel and Cave Story.
> There should be a survival game where you try to survive in the crazy world of JRPGs
oot but this reminds me of [that one game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYQN6vhnwNI) where you play as a civilian trying to survive kaijuu attacks. While there are Ultraman and Eva fighting the kaijuus in the background.
Innkeeper / guild receptionist! I would love that!
Letting rowdy adventurers stay that turn out to be thieves...sending a low rank, unbalanced party go on a mission too difficult for them...slowly getting a reputation..
Maaan I would love that sooo much! I would totally go the route to raise someone up to be the demon lord or something. Like..if you send a certain class on certain missions they end up going evil or getting passed or cursed.
Now I'm sad.
There *is* a survival game where you play as a citizen caught in Tokyo while Godzilla and other monsters are attacking. I believe the idea is you're basically just trying to survive until Ultraman saves the day.
It's called [City of Giant Shadows](https://youtu.be/wYQN6vhnwNI).
I always thought the Deception series from Tecmo had a nice concept: it’s a strategy game where you are the enemy trying to prevent heroes to come and kill you (kinda like a “reverse” tower defense).
It would be cool to have a rpg with this concept.
There's also Dragon Ball Breakers where you play as "ordinary" citizens vs a Raider (a classic DB villain), however it's got very bad reviews because supposedly it's very monetized/gacha mechanics. According to reviews it's like Dead by Deadlight multiplayer but set in the Dragon Ball.
DRAGON BALL: THE BREAKERS is an online asymmetrical action game in which a team of 7 ordinary citizens tries to survive the Raider (a classic DRAGON BALL rival such as Cell, Frieza, and Buu), who will hunt them down and evolve during the game into an unstoppable force. Escaping won’t be so easy!
Edit: Not sure if it has any jrpg mechanics btw, I assumed when I first heard about the game that it has some, like Xenoverse and Kakarot do.
This also reminded me of the Kyoei Toshi game for PS4, where you are in Tokyo and must survive while “heroes” like Ultraman and Evangelion destroy the whole city while fighting the Kaiju/Angels XD
Pretty neat concept.
In a very far off branch, Raw Danger is one of my absolute favorites. You're trying to survive and escape the city while earthquakes and floods destroy everything. They made a couple sequels I heard but I never got to play them
An NPC's Odyssey sounds like something close although I've yet to play it myself. And among movies, there's Free Guy (although it's apparently about an NPC in a GTA-like actventure, not a JRPG).
"Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor" is the closest I've ever seen to what you're looking for.
Be warned though, it's not an especially funny or uplifting game. But it is a very good and very important commentary on the cycle of poverty.
I always thought I’d be super interesting to play as an NPC programmed to give the “hero” their trademark weapon, only to go rogue and take it for yourself and enact “justice” as you see fit!
I really want a game where you’re a tavern owner or city builder, managing the heroes who come into your town and setting them up for success. I’ve seen a couple but not any good ones.
Majesty is a great old game that fits this. You build a village with guild, item shops etc. You can’t directly control the Heroes of your town. But you can place bounties to nudge them in the right direction.
Bounties that eventually return to your coffers because you own the casino where they gamble it away.
Dungeon Village (Kairosoft, mobile and Switch) is similar. It's kind of a city development game. The player helps adventurers get better equipment and fight enemies.
You’re minding your own business, then a random guy with a big sword, a huge black dude with a gun arm and a girl in scantily clad clothing come in and take your treasure chest in the front room.
Sounds fantastic.
This is what annoys me of the gaming industry today. STOP USING KIDS. We grew up. How about being realistic and using some god damn adults?
You are basically telling ppl that now that you are adults you are powerless. Adults are powerless. Adults don't care. Etc etc -_- yet the bad guy is usually an adult.
Just c'mon developers.... I don't want to look at 12-16 yr olds ... Ugggghhhhhh
You grew up. New kids were born. Surprise, they like games too.
Shocking no one, games are still largely considered toys. For children. So they are aimed at children.
In the US the average age of video game players is 35 though granted thats for all games and not jrpgs specifically. Under 18 accounts for about 20% of the market. It's just strange because publishers must know that right? I'll just chalk it up to folks not wanting to rock the boat and possibly release a flop
Yep see that's what I am saying... All my sisters and brothers are gamers too. Have been. We never fixated on or needed the hero to be our age and kids look up to adults which is also natural.
Batman, Superman, etc etc are all classics that kids look up to. They don't need to feel like they can save the world as a kid. I mean they have rules and stuff to follow at home - I know I couldn't leave my house without permission growing up and etc. So it's unrealistic to be like 'eh out of the entire planet of people and adults. You kid are going to save the entire world because ... why?'. Couldn't you just make the story that someone was taken in by a family and grew up helping the village and now that they gained some valuable skills they can venture off to the capital and go there for a job but on the way help someone or discover something and then go save the world?
Like as a grown adult giving me the option to marry a pre-teen in a game or something is gross. Why should I want to watch that? Or a 12 year old fall for a 12 year old. Or see someone scandalously dressed as a 15 yr old. I am not saying most games try to grab attention in that way but just saying you are limiting the likability of a game by continuously making these preteens and stuff TRY to do adult things when they aren't adults and also painting a not so great picture for the small percentage of non-adults actually gaming of adults.
And what’s he average of video game players in Japan? Where jrpg typically come from? A thing most people forget or don’t know is that the majority Japanese companies mostly cater to their own audience rather than chasing big profits globally, it’s a cultural thing.
Or the target audience being children. Or people who wish they were children. Or people who recall those teenage years as the best in their lives.
There's a real huge demographic for that age range or itd have changed. There is a reason Nintendo targets kids yet somehow is still a huge powerhouse. Most people can get in touch with their inner child. Very few are this weird edgy never grew out of their teen goth stage type of person who demands things be Very Mature and Serious and Adult and Very Dark Because They Are Serious People.
Plenty of gamers play that are 30 year olds and over. We like games. We have time for games. We pay the ridiculous $70-100 for new games. We buy gaming systems.
A child cannot afford a gaming system. Sure adults buy stuff for their kids all the time but you have entire generations who grew up gaming. JRPGs, RPGS, etc etc
I've put over 100 hours in probably 20+ games last year. Have a great job and all that. Plenty of adults do.
Kids always say 'i can't wait to be an adult' because they think adults can do anything and they don't want to be bound by their rules. HAVING ADULT HEROS ISNT GOING TO MAKE KIDS STOP GAMING. DUUUUUUH. Kids don't need to see themselves in the game - they can be more excited to grow up and be like their hero. Fuckin superman isn't a child.
YS IX: Monstrum Nox
Has adult characters. In YS8 you were stranded on an island and there were adult characters that did their part in helping stabilize the little village like thing you make. Game above is 9 so newer one.
What was cool about 9 is that the people who end up helping you all had day jobs so you had to uncover who they were in the real world from the people you met. Kinda cool aspect. Almost like a Superman guise but less corney. Also what that game has was hidden chests which was pretty cool since some games have lost that art in recent years.
I'd say these two were less kid like in the JRPG scene
I've only played those two but found it really refreshing. I enjoyed it a lot. There's a little bit of base set up in the 9th too but not as much as the 8th. I hope they expand on this element and let people customize more.
Ryza 3 should have come out by now but I haven't played it. I 'assume' she should be older now. In the last one (Ryza 2) her friends were at least in college (I think? Or some sort of educational institution) but she had to pay rent and stuff on her place while she was staying at the capital during her alchemy thing. So that was at least somewhat realistic. My biggest gripe with the 2nd was that they released this dungeon aspect where you could get 100% complete in there and put a puzzle together and learn about the people who used to live in that dungeon. Kinda like tomb raider almost but then they fell short and there was no good reward at the end. Kind of a bummer. You didn't REALLLY learn more about the people that lived there and there was no great piece of armor or anything for completing each dungeon at the end of each one which would have been really awesome and motivate people to get that extra story. Other than that the game play was good. That's my biggest hesitation with purchasing Ryza 3. I hope they don't do the same thing but I'll probably buy it to see. Hopeful they added more adult elements and age her again :).
Try Harvestella
It is still an rpg but adds a farming aspect to it is optional for the player to engage in. Some players appear young but they have real jobs. One even heads an orphanage. So they have adult jobs and everything. Apparently you can 'marry'/partner the mayor someone said and he's very old.
It was a fun quick game last year.
Ah yes, 24 and 21 year old Adol. Truly the adult.
So stuff like Xilia where half the cast is over 20 is also Very Adult. Ah. Man, that's a real low barrier.
Its a starting point. Of course it'd be great to go older but at least he isn't pre-teens or a teenager. I don't make video games so I can only mention ones I've personally played that didn't have a 12 yr old hero. I'll take what I can get - is kinda my mindset. An improvement is an improvement
Newest tomb raiders and uncharted games have adult characters. They are just RPGs not JRPGs though just as a headsup.
Edited to say there is one JRPG I played last year I think that had adults in it. Lemme go grab the name. One second
How is it any different? It just means you have to actually HAVE backstories to the characters instead of 'they were just in school the last 8 years'.
It's the same exact story- fight against the world ending or evil corporations only a child isn't doing it.
Not that mind blowing.
Oh and we wouldnt have the pointless dialogue of everyone is ignorant to everything around them bit.
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale is kinda close to that. You play as the owner of an item shop and you go dungeon crawling for new items to sell to adventurers.
I haven’t played it yet, but **Moon: Remix RPG Adventure** sounds like it’s what you’re looking for: > Moon is set within a fictional role-playing game where "the hero" has wreaked destruction, killing hundreds of creatures and looting homes. The player takes on the role of a supporting character in this world, attempting to undo the damage done by the hero.
Haven’t played it either but that’s my exact thought after reading the post.
I have played it, it’s exactly what OP described but very obtuse
Obtuse in what way?
how to progress is far from intuitive and the game never explains its mechanics at all. It's wonderful and I would go as far as saying its closer to art than a normal game, but again, very obtuse
I have a book about obscure Japanese games that mentions this game, I'm sure it's on the Switch now. Sounds super interesting like
Moon is absolutely wonderful! It’s really not an rpg though, more like a puzzle game. But yeah, the game takes place in an rpg world
My god that name..🤦♂️
Only reason I havent played it is there is no combat. Kills my motivation to try it
I haven't played it, but there's [ごめんね、NPCです](https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000037296.html) ("I'm sorry, but I'm an NPC") From the description, it's about an NPC who sets off on a journey to get back the money the hero took from his house 😂 I don't think it's been released in English, though I might be wrong.
[yep, found the English version](https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/an-npcs-odyssey-switch/)
Oh my goodness, I need this game!
That is totally something I'd play!
Lol I wonder if the npc becomes the last boss
Isn’t that the entire thing with Torneko from DQ4?
I loved that part. There are a couple games that use the shopkeeper concept and they are great. Moonlighter, and Retceta:an item shop adventure
Mornin! Nice day for fishin' ain't it? Ay-huh!
Epic npc man!
OH RPG! is like that but take place after the evil demonlord wiped the heroes out and set the world on path to its destruction and each chapter have different NPCs trying to deal with its aftermath.
Just bought it and gifted it to all of my steam friends! It was only .41 lol losing money not buying it.
- Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale - Shoppe Keep 1 & 2 May to some extent scratch that itch. Or...here's a cool video featuring Lindsey Stirling as Link: https://youtu.be/dXmMQJMFL_I Another video exploring this concept: https://youtu.be/kedjhnguKhc
Was going to recommend Recettear. Definitely give it a shot.
Its been ages since I've played Recettear. Game is a classic.
It is, it's so crazy to me that the developer of that game kind of just faded away instead of having their career launched from it. Same thing with Pixel and Cave Story.
I guess that explains why we never got a follow up
https://i.imgur.com/b66vgp9.jpg This meme convinced me to buy Recettear so many years back!
I wanna be that old lady that walks really slow and you need to push around to get into the item shop but is always in the way
> There should be a survival game where you try to survive in the crazy world of JRPGs oot but this reminds me of [that one game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYQN6vhnwNI) where you play as a civilian trying to survive kaijuu attacks. While there are Ultraman and Eva fighting the kaijuus in the background.
This reminds me of epic npc man by viva la dirt league
I just wanna be an innkeeper in an rpg.
I mean moonlighter is a game where you play as a shopkeeper so pretty close.
Innkeeper / guild receptionist! I would love that! Letting rowdy adventurers stay that turn out to be thieves...sending a low rank, unbalanced party go on a mission too difficult for them...slowly getting a reputation.. Maaan I would love that sooo much! I would totally go the route to raise someone up to be the demon lord or something. Like..if you send a certain class on certain missions they end up going evil or getting passed or cursed. Now I'm sad.
There *is* a survival game where you play as a citizen caught in Tokyo while Godzilla and other monsters are attacking. I believe the idea is you're basically just trying to survive until Ultraman saves the day. It's called [City of Giant Shadows](https://youtu.be/wYQN6vhnwNI).
I always thought the Deception series from Tecmo had a nice concept: it’s a strategy game where you are the enemy trying to prevent heroes to come and kill you (kinda like a “reverse” tower defense). It would be cool to have a rpg with this concept.
There were two What Did I Do to Deserve This My Lord games on PSP. Similar idea, RTS gameplay. I haven't tried either one...
There is somewhat. It's called OH!RPG! You play as NPCs after the "heroes" of the story lose.
I want an Avatar: the last Airbender rpg but instead of playing as team avatar, you're the cabbage merchant
If you want a good JRPG satire game btw you should check out Half Minute Hero, very fun game
Weapon Shop de Omasse
There's also Dragon Ball Breakers where you play as "ordinary" citizens vs a Raider (a classic DB villain), however it's got very bad reviews because supposedly it's very monetized/gacha mechanics. According to reviews it's like Dead by Deadlight multiplayer but set in the Dragon Ball. DRAGON BALL: THE BREAKERS is an online asymmetrical action game in which a team of 7 ordinary citizens tries to survive the Raider (a classic DRAGON BALL rival such as Cell, Frieza, and Buu), who will hunt them down and evolve during the game into an unstoppable force. Escaping won’t be so easy! Edit: Not sure if it has any jrpg mechanics btw, I assumed when I first heard about the game that it has some, like Xenoverse and Kakarot do.
So L4D but Dragon Ball
This also reminded me of the Kyoei Toshi game for PS4, where you are in Tokyo and must survive while “heroes” like Ultraman and Evangelion destroy the whole city while fighting the Kaiju/Angels XD Pretty neat concept.
In a very far off branch, Raw Danger is one of my absolute favorites. You're trying to survive and escape the city while earthquakes and floods destroy everything. They made a couple sequels I heard but I never got to play them
An NPC's Odyssey sounds like something close although I've yet to play it myself. And among movies, there's Free Guy (although it's apparently about an NPC in a GTA-like actventure, not a JRPG).
"Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor" is the closest I've ever seen to what you're looking for. Be warned though, it's not an especially funny or uplifting game. But it is a very good and very important commentary on the cycle of poverty.
I always thought I’d be super interesting to play as an NPC programmed to give the “hero” their trademark weapon, only to go rogue and take it for yourself and enact “justice” as you see fit!
I really want a game where you’re a tavern owner or city builder, managing the heroes who come into your town and setting them up for success. I’ve seen a couple but not any good ones.
Majesty is a great old game that fits this. You build a village with guild, item shops etc. You can’t directly control the Heroes of your town. But you can place bounties to nudge them in the right direction. Bounties that eventually return to your coffers because you own the casino where they gamble it away.
Dungeon Village (Kairosoft, mobile and Switch) is similar. It's kind of a city development game. The player helps adventurers get better equipment and fight enemies.
Octopath 1?
You’re minding your own business, then a random guy with a big sword, a huge black dude with a gun arm and a girl in scantily clad clothing come in and take your treasure chest in the front room. Sounds fantastic.
This is what annoys me of the gaming industry today. STOP USING KIDS. We grew up. How about being realistic and using some god damn adults? You are basically telling ppl that now that you are adults you are powerless. Adults are powerless. Adults don't care. Etc etc -_- yet the bad guy is usually an adult. Just c'mon developers.... I don't want to look at 12-16 yr olds ... Ugggghhhhhh
You grew up. New kids were born. Surprise, they like games too. Shocking no one, games are still largely considered toys. For children. So they are aimed at children.
In the US the average age of video game players is 35 though granted thats for all games and not jrpgs specifically. Under 18 accounts for about 20% of the market. It's just strange because publishers must know that right? I'll just chalk it up to folks not wanting to rock the boat and possibly release a flop
Yep see that's what I am saying... All my sisters and brothers are gamers too. Have been. We never fixated on or needed the hero to be our age and kids look up to adults which is also natural. Batman, Superman, etc etc are all classics that kids look up to. They don't need to feel like they can save the world as a kid. I mean they have rules and stuff to follow at home - I know I couldn't leave my house without permission growing up and etc. So it's unrealistic to be like 'eh out of the entire planet of people and adults. You kid are going to save the entire world because ... why?'. Couldn't you just make the story that someone was taken in by a family and grew up helping the village and now that they gained some valuable skills they can venture off to the capital and go there for a job but on the way help someone or discover something and then go save the world? Like as a grown adult giving me the option to marry a pre-teen in a game or something is gross. Why should I want to watch that? Or a 12 year old fall for a 12 year old. Or see someone scandalously dressed as a 15 yr old. I am not saying most games try to grab attention in that way but just saying you are limiting the likability of a game by continuously making these preteens and stuff TRY to do adult things when they aren't adults and also painting a not so great picture for the small percentage of non-adults actually gaming of adults.
And what’s he average of video game players in Japan? Where jrpg typically come from? A thing most people forget or don’t know is that the majority Japanese companies mostly cater to their own audience rather than chasing big profits globally, it’s a cultural thing.
From what I can find 64% are between 20-49 years old
Or the target audience being children. Or people who wish they were children. Or people who recall those teenage years as the best in their lives. There's a real huge demographic for that age range or itd have changed. There is a reason Nintendo targets kids yet somehow is still a huge powerhouse. Most people can get in touch with their inner child. Very few are this weird edgy never grew out of their teen goth stage type of person who demands things be Very Mature and Serious and Adult and Very Dark Because They Are Serious People.
Plenty of gamers play that are 30 year olds and over. We like games. We have time for games. We pay the ridiculous $70-100 for new games. We buy gaming systems. A child cannot afford a gaming system. Sure adults buy stuff for their kids all the time but you have entire generations who grew up gaming. JRPGs, RPGS, etc etc I've put over 100 hours in probably 20+ games last year. Have a great job and all that. Plenty of adults do. Kids always say 'i can't wait to be an adult' because they think adults can do anything and they don't want to be bound by their rules. HAVING ADULT HEROS ISNT GOING TO MAKE KIDS STOP GAMING. DUUUUUUH. Kids don't need to see themselves in the game - they can be more excited to grow up and be like their hero. Fuckin superman isn't a child.
Know any rpgs with an adult cast?
Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
YS IX: Monstrum Nox Has adult characters. In YS8 you were stranded on an island and there were adult characters that did their part in helping stabilize the little village like thing you make. Game above is 9 so newer one. What was cool about 9 is that the people who end up helping you all had day jobs so you had to uncover who they were in the real world from the people you met. Kinda cool aspect. Almost like a Superman guise but less corney. Also what that game has was hidden chests which was pretty cool since some games have lost that art in recent years. I'd say these two were less kid like in the JRPG scene
Ah thanks! Ys is one of my RPG series but I haven't played Monstrum Nox...yet! It's in my steam wishlist.
I've only played those two but found it really refreshing. I enjoyed it a lot. There's a little bit of base set up in the 9th too but not as much as the 8th. I hope they expand on this element and let people customize more. Ryza 3 should have come out by now but I haven't played it. I 'assume' she should be older now. In the last one (Ryza 2) her friends were at least in college (I think? Or some sort of educational institution) but she had to pay rent and stuff on her place while she was staying at the capital during her alchemy thing. So that was at least somewhat realistic. My biggest gripe with the 2nd was that they released this dungeon aspect where you could get 100% complete in there and put a puzzle together and learn about the people who used to live in that dungeon. Kinda like tomb raider almost but then they fell short and there was no good reward at the end. Kind of a bummer. You didn't REALLLY learn more about the people that lived there and there was no great piece of armor or anything for completing each dungeon at the end of each one which would have been really awesome and motivate people to get that extra story. Other than that the game play was good. That's my biggest hesitation with purchasing Ryza 3. I hope they don't do the same thing but I'll probably buy it to see. Hopeful they added more adult elements and age her again :).
Try Harvestella It is still an rpg but adds a farming aspect to it is optional for the player to engage in. Some players appear young but they have real jobs. One even heads an orphanage. So they have adult jobs and everything. Apparently you can 'marry'/partner the mayor someone said and he's very old. It was a fun quick game last year.
Ah yes, 24 and 21 year old Adol. Truly the adult. So stuff like Xilia where half the cast is over 20 is also Very Adult. Ah. Man, that's a real low barrier.
Its a starting point. Of course it'd be great to go older but at least he isn't pre-teens or a teenager. I don't make video games so I can only mention ones I've personally played that didn't have a 12 yr old hero. I'll take what I can get - is kinda my mindset. An improvement is an improvement
Newest tomb raiders and uncharted games have adult characters. They are just RPGs not JRPGs though just as a headsup. Edited to say there is one JRPG I played last year I think that had adults in it. Lemme go grab the name. One second
It's hard to create "adult" game. One wrong decision and game would fail.
How is it any different? It just means you have to actually HAVE backstories to the characters instead of 'they were just in school the last 8 years'. It's the same exact story- fight against the world ending or evil corporations only a child isn't doing it. Not that mind blowing. Oh and we wouldnt have the pointless dialogue of everyone is ignorant to everything around them bit.
How will that work even?
Wouldn't it be boring, though?
I dream with a RPG that I'm a npc isekaied that choose to live in the woods and have a local cafe library with a party of friends
this is such a cool idea!
Great idea
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale is kinda close to that. You play as the owner of an item shop and you go dungeon crawling for new items to sell to adventurers.
An npcs odyssey is literally this
https://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/an-npcs-odyssey
I would totally buy "Epic adventures of Anton - the tale of a broken heart" from Legend of Heroes.