189-640: Radiant Historia is a role-playing video game co-developed by Atlus and Headlock for the Nintendo DS . It was released in Japan in 2010 by Atlus, and in North America in 2011 by their subsidiary Atlus USA . An expanded remake for the Nintendo 3DS , titled Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology , was released in 2017 in Japan and released in North America and PAL territories the following year, with
378-490: A party , and attain victory by completing a series of quests or reaching the conclusion of a central storyline. Players explore a game world, while solving puzzles and engaging in combat. A key feature of the genre is that characters grow in power and abilities, and characters are typically designed by the player. RPGs rarely challenge a player's physical coordination or reaction time, with the exception of action role-playing games . Role-playing video games typically rely on
567-460: A timeline as part of a game mechanic that lets players establish or alter the order of events within the game world. For example, in the indie role-playing game Microscope , players invent a timeline together, then select different segments of the timeline to embellish through roleplaying. In the card game Chrononauts , everyone plays timeline cards to change the order of historical events, creating an alternate history . A progress clock
756-621: A turn-based system. Travelling between alternate timelines is a key part of both the storyline and the gameplay, with the number of potential timelines unlocked influencing the ending. Radiant Historia was developed by a team with staff drawn from both Atlus' Megami Tensei series, and the tri-Ace title Radiata Stories . First proposed by Satoshi Takayashiki in 2007, the base concept underwent several changes due to suggestions from Atlus staff. The remake included redrawn artwork, voice acting, an additional story path, and an animated opening produced by A-1 Pictures . The music for both versions
945-470: A turn-based strategic layer with real-time tactical combat or vice versa. The video games X-COM: Apocalypse (1997), Fallout Tactics (2001) Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (2001), Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (2018), Pathfinder: Kingmaker (2018, added later per patch) and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous (2021) offer the option of turn-based or real-time mode via
1134-450: A big open world , and let you do whatever you like [which makes it] difficult to tell a compelling story." Hironobu Sakaguchi noted that "users like to categorise" WRPGs as "a sort of different style, born from first person shooters." In recent years, some have also criticized WRPGs for becoming less RPG-like, instead with further emphasis on action. Christian Nutt of GameSpy states that, in contrast to JRPGs, WRPGs' greater control over
1323-484: A classic of the genre. IGN ' s Audrey Drake lauded the storyline and battle system, though she disliked the amount of backtracking and redoing events necessary to explore all timeline options. James Jones of Nintendo World Report felt that Radiant Historia "should be on the must-own list of any fans of RPGs" and acted as a fitting end to Atlus's support of the DS platform. Mike Moehnke, writing for ' RPGamer , felt that
1512-408: A comic series written by Greg Rucka . Speaking in 2015, Maragos later remembered Radiant Historia as his favorite localization up to that point, citing it as far easier than the majority of other titles he had worked on. The game was released in North America on February 22, 2011. The game became a rarity following its release, with Atlus issueing a reprint in 2012 due to fan demand. Radiant Historia
1701-496: A configuration setting. In real-time games with an active pause system (also called "pausable real-time" or "real-time with pause"), players can pause the game and issue orders. When the game is un-paused, the orders automatically execute. This offers additional tactical options, such as letting players issue orders to multiple units at the same time. The Baldur's Gate series popularized pausable real-time for mouse-driven party-based computer role-playing games , although
1890-409: A finite number of points to the attributes of their choice. Gaining experience will also unlock new magic spells for characters that use magic. Some role-playing games also give the player specific skill points , which can be used to unlock a new skill or improve an existing one. This may sometimes be implemented as a skill tree. As with the technology trees seen in strategy video games , learning
2079-411: A fixed duration within the game, regardless of how much time passes in the real world. Some games use combinations of real-time and turn-based timekeeping systems. Players debate the merits and flaws of these systems. There are also additional timekeeping methods, such as timelines and progress clocks. In real-time games , time progresses continuously. This may occur at the same or different rates from
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#17327823620802268-575: A game action. Turns may represent periods of time, such as hours, days, or years. This is common in 4X video games like the Civilization series and world-building tabletop role-playing games. For example, in Dialect , sets of turns represent eras in a society's development; similarly, in The Quiet Year , each turn represents one week leading up to a community's destruction. This
2457-549: A gamemaster. Exploring the world is an important aspect of many RPGs. Players will walk through, talking to non-player characters , picking up objects, and avoiding traps. Some games such as NetHack , Diablo , and the FATE series randomize the structure of individual levels, increasing the game's variety and replay value. Role-playing games where players complete quests by exploring randomly generated dungeons and which include permadeath are called roguelikes , named after
2646-549: A genre-typical structure. Dale North of Destructoid gave general praise to its story and graphics, and enjoyed the battle system aside from some frustrating moments in boss battles. GamesTM was far less positive about its storyline and time travel mechanics, citing the battle system as its redeeming feature. In an import review for Eurogamer , Chris Schilling called it one of the best DS role-playing titles, though he criticised its linear structure. Shiva Stella of GameSpot felt that Radiant Historia would go on to become
2835-449: A greater degree in the early 1990s. As console RPGs became more heavily story-based than their computer counterparts, one of the major differences that emerged during this time was in the portrayal of the characters. Console RPGs often featured intricately related characters who had distinctive personalities and traits, with players assuming the roles of people who cared about each other, fell in love or even had families. Romance in particular
3024-536: A highly developed story and setting, which is divided into a number of quests. Players control one or several characters by issuing commands, which are performed by the character at an effectiveness determined by that character's numeric attributes. Often these attributes increase each time a character gains a level , and a character's level goes up each time the player accumulates a certain amount of experience. Role-playing video games also typically attempt to offer more complex and dynamic character interaction than what
3213-647: A hold as they had in the West due to their cost; there was little market for Western-developed games and there were a few Japanese-developed games for personal computers during this time such as The Black Onyx (1984) which followed the Wizardry / Ultima format. With the release of the low-cost Famicom console (called the Nintendo Entertainment System overseas), a new opportunity arose to bring role-playing games to Japan. Dragon Quest (1986)
3402-815: A large number of Western indie games are modelled after JRPGs, especially those of the 16-bit era , partly due to the RPG Maker game development tools . Another oft-cited difference is the prominence or absence of kawaisa , or "cuteness", in Japanese culture, and different approaches with respect to character aesthetics. WRPGs tend to maintain a serious and gritty tone, whereas JRPG protagonists tend to be designed with an emphasis on aesthetic beauty, and even male characters are often young, androgynous , shōnen or bishōnen in appearance. JRPGs often have cute characters, juxtaposed with more mature themes and situations; and many modern JRPGs feature characters designed in
3591-480: A limited notion of turns in specific instances, such as the free kick in soccer and the free throw and shot clock in basketball. In the card games Nerts and Ligretto , players must compete to discard their cards as quickly as possible and do not take turns. In turn-based games, game flow is partitioned into defined parts, called turns , moves, or plays. Each player is allowed a period of analysis (sometimes bounded, sometimes unbounded) before committing to
3780-641: A little box doesn't mean it belongs there." Nick Doerr of Joystiq criticizes the claim that JRPGs are "too linear", pointing out that non-linear JRPGs are not uncommon—for instance, the Romancing SaGa series. Likewise, Rowan Kaiser of Joystiq points out that linear WRPGs were common in the 1990s, and argues that many of the often mentioned differences between Eastern and Western games are stereotypes that are generally "not true" and "never was", pointing to classic examples like Lands of Lore and Betrayal at Krondor that were more narrative-focused than
3969-423: A major challenge in order to progress to the next area, and this structure can be compared to the boss characters at the end of levels in action games . The player typically must complete a linear sequence of certain quests in order to reach the end of the game's story. Many RPGs also often allow the player to seek out optional side-quests and character interactions. Quests of this sort can be found by talking to
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#17327823620804158-609: A military unit led by his friend Rosch. He uses skills acquired in each timeline to proceed further in each role, while also interacting with the Beastmen tribes, particularly the young shaman Aht and the sympathetic warrior Gafka. During his travels, someone wielding the Black Chronicle—a twin to the White Chronicle—is trying to interfere with his efforts. In both timelines he aids and is aided by Granorg's princess Eruca, who
4347-459: A mixed class, such as a fighter who can cast simple spells. Characters will also have a range of physical attributes such as dexterity and strength, which affect a player's performance in combat. Mental attributes such as intelligence may affect a player's ability to perform and learn spells, while social attributes such as charisma may limit the player's choices while conversing with non-player characters. These attribute systems often strongly resemble
4536-784: A newly generated artifact from the Red Chronicle. Radiant Historia was co-developed by Atlus , a company best known for the Megami Tensei series, and Japanese studio Headlock. Staff members had worked on both Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey and Radiata Stories , a 2005 PlayStation 2 role-playing game developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix . From Radiata Stories , original concept designer Satoshi Takayashiki acted as co-director and concept designer, while artist Hiroshi Konishi reprised his role as character designer. The director
4725-419: A non-player character, and there may be no penalty for abandoning or ignoring these quests other than a missed opportunity or reward. Players can find loot (such as clothing, weapons, and armor) throughout the game world and collect it. Players can trade items for currency and better equipment. Trade takes place while interacting with certain friendly non-player characters, such as shopkeepers, and often uses
4914-478: A number of new tracks. The soundtrack featured all the old and new music, in addition to arranged versions of multiple tracks including the original theme song "Historia". A notable addition was the new opening theme "Falling Flower, Flowing Water", which featured in the opening anime cutscene. Shimomura wrote both the music and the lyrics, while Shimotsuki returned as the singer. The 2-CD soundtrack album, titled Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology Original Soundtrack ,
5103-466: A number of user-configurable settings. Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel and Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura offered players the option to play in either turn-based or RTwP mode via a configuration setting. The latter also offered a "fast turn-based" mode, though all three of the game's modes were criticized for being poorly balanced and oversimplified. Early Ultima games featured timed turns: they were strictly turn-based, but if
5292-404: A pair of stop clocks may be used in order to place an upper limit on turn length. In exchange chess , four players on two teams play on two boards with each team taking one white and one black side. A taken piece can be given to a teammate and placed on their board. A player can abuse this game mechanic by taking an opponent's piece, giving it to a teammate, then waiting unusually long to play
5481-561: A part of Eruca's soul. Heiss, Stocke's uncle, believing the ritual and the sacrifice's suffering to be pointless, intends to let the Sand Plague consume Vainqueur; he abducted Stocke, gave him his present identity, and has been using the Black Chronicle to try and show Stocke the futility of the sacrifice's mission. From Heiss and Teo and Lippti, Stocke learns that the Sand Plague was caused by a runaway spell intended to stabilize
5670-442: A particular action will increase. Many role-playing games allow players to play as an evil character. Although robbing and murdering indiscriminately may make it easier to get money, there are usually consequences in that other characters will become uncooperative or even hostile towards the player. Thus, these games allow players to make moral choices, but force players to live with the consequences of their actions. Games often let
5859-483: A particular skill in the tree will unlock more powerful skills deeper in the tree. Three different systems of rewarding the player characters for solving the tasks in the game can be set apart: the experience system (also known as the "level-based" system), the training system (also known as the "skill-based" system) and the skill-point system (also known as "level-free" system) Older games often separated combat into its own mode of gameplay, distinct from exploring
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6048-551: A player may take during an interrupt sequence is limited by the number of points remaining in the player's action point pool carried over from the previous turn. Examples include the X-COM series of video games, the board wargame Advanced Squad Leader (1985), and attacks of opportunity in Dungeons & Dragons . Newer editions of Dungeons & Dragons also allow a Ready -action to prepare an action to be executed during
6237-581: A positive-feedback cycle that is central to most role-playing games: The player grows in power, allowing them to overcome more difficult challenges, and gain even more power. This is part of the appeal of the genre, where players experience growing from an ordinary person into a superhero with amazing powers. Whereas other games give the player these powers immediately, the player in a role-playing game will choose their powers and skills as they gain experience. Role-playing games usually measure progress by counting experience points and character levels. Experience
6426-402: A result, Japanese-style role-playing games are held in disdain by some Western gamers, leading to the term "JRPG" being held in the pejorative. Some observers have also speculated that JRPGs are stagnating or declining in both quality and popularity, including remarks by BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk and writing director Daniel Erickson that JRPGs are stagnating—and that Final Fantasy XIII
6615-470: A sequence of turns that is highly variable and has no set order. It is also possible for different players' actions to occur at the same time with respect to the game clock, as in real-time or simultaneously executed games. Examples of video games that use a clock-based system include Typhoon of Steel (1988) and MechForce (1991), both originally for the Amiga . In some games, the sequence of turns depends on
6804-442: A side-scrolling view. Most notably since Ultima Underworld (1992), role-playing games started implementing true three-dimensional (3D) graphics, where players typically navigate the game world from a first or third-person perspective. However, an isometric or aerial top-down perspective is common in party-based RPGs, in order to give the player a clear view of their entire party and their surroundings. Role-playing games require
6993-417: A simultaneous turn-based game. There are three types of player-alternated games: ranked, round-robin start, and random. The difference is the order in which players start a turn. In ranked player-alternated games, the first player is the same every time. In round-robin games, the first player selection policy is round-robin. Random player-alternated games randomly select the first player. Some games also decide
7182-494: A single paragraph) spread across 13 booklets, while the second contains 50,000 paragraphs spread across 14 booklets. Most of the games from this era are turn-based, although Dungeon Master and its imitators have real-time combat. Other classic titles from this era include The Bard's Tale (1985), Wasteland (1988), the start of the Might and Magic (1986–2014) series and the continuing Ultima (1981–1999) series. Later, in
7371-409: A smaller set of possible actions, since computers can't engage in imaginative acting comparable to a skilled human gamemaster. In exchange, the typical role-playing video game may have storyline branches, user interfaces, and stylized cutscenes and gameplay to offer a more direct storytelling mechanism. Characterization of non-player characters in video games is often handled using a dialog tree . Saying
7560-485: A special card interrupts an opponent's turn to perform an action. In the Mario & Luigi series, the player often has the opportunity to "counterattack" on the enemy's turn, causing damage and often halting the attack. In some turn-based games, not all turns are alike. The board game Imperium Romanum II (1985), for instance, features a "Taxation and Mobilization" phase in every third turn (month), which does not occur in
7749-415: A specialized trading screen. Purchased items go into the player's inventory. Some games turn inventory management into a logistical challenge by limiting the size of the player's inventory, thus forcing the player to decide what they must carry at the time. This can be done by limiting the maximum weight that a player can carry, by employing a system of arranging items in a virtual space, or by simply limiting
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7938-463: A spell, as ammunition is consumed by a gun, most games offer players a finite amount of mana which can be spent on any spell. Mana is restored by resting or by consuming potions. Characters can also gain other non-magical skills, which stay with the character for as long as the character lives. Role-playing games may have the player focus only on a single character throughout the game; the character may be joined by computer-controlled allies outside of
8127-534: A third magical book dubbed the Red Chronicle with the aim of stopping the desertification. Once all the artifacts are retrieved, Stocke persuades Heiss to lend the power of the Black Chronicle, then reunites with the group and Nemesia. Nemesia reveals that the desertification is caused by a Mana-consuming entity dubbed the Singularity, created by the Empire's experiments on Nemesia's secret lover Rhodan when creating
8316-528: A turn on their own board—thereby allowing the teammate to use the advantage for many future moves on their board. To avoid this, players are often limited to ten seconds per move—with their opponent being allowed to remove one of the player's pawns from the board for each additional ten seconds consumed. The turn-based strategy game Utopia (1982) featured an early example of timed turns. The early Ultima role-playing video games were strictly turn-based, but starting with Ultima III: Exodus (1983), if
8505-404: Is a tabletop role-playing gamemaster (GM) tool for keeping track of ongoing events that cannot be handled within a single turn, such as the player characters' continuous headway toward defeating a challenge, the gradual approach of an enemy, or a time-limited window of opportunity. The GM draws a segmented circle to represent a clock face, then fills in a segment whenever progress develops toward
8694-522: Is also common in both video games and tabletop games with dating sim elements. For example, in Persona 5 and Monster Prom , turns represent high school class periods, and in Visigoths vs. Mall Goths , each team's turn represents a specific hour at the mall. Turn-based games come in two main forms: simultaneous or sequential (also called player-alternated ). Diplomacy is an example of
8883-399: Is capable of performing a ritual to stop the Sand Plague consuming Vainqueur with a sacrificed human soul. He also learns that Hugo, a prominent religious leader of Alistel, has formed a pact with Granorg to depose its ruling queen Protea and is manipulating the war for his own ends; and that Heiss is acting for his own agenda, playing both sides against each other, and has intimate knowledge of
9072-467: Is completed. Other actions related to the Change command include erasing an enemy's upcoming turn and switching out the player party's unit turns. Radiant Historia is set on the continent of Vainqueur, a land populated by humans and Beastribes. Once ruled by an ancient empire, it is now divided between the warring kingdoms of Alistel and Granorg; the root of the war stems from Alistel's belief that Granorg
9261-484: Is found in other video game genres. This usually involves additional focus on the artificial intelligence and scripted behavior of computer-controlled non-player characters . The premise of many role-playing games tasks the player with saving the world, or whichever level of society is threatened. There are often twists and turns as the story progresses, such as the surprise appearance of estranged relatives, or enemies who become friends or vice versa. The game world
9450-574: Is given a book called the "White Chronicle" by Heiss. The group are ambushed by Granorg troops, with only a severely wounded Stocke escaping. He is drawn into Historia, a realm divorced from time, and told by its overseers Teo and Lippti that he can use the White Chronicle to alter events. Stocke makes the mission a success, saving Raynie and Marco along the way. Over the course of his adventure, Stocke follows two different timelines; one where he remains under Heiss, and one where he becomes part of
9639-496: Is largely predefined for the sake of telling a specific story, many role-playing games make use of a character creation screen. This allows players to choose their character's sex, their race or species, and their character class. Although many of these traits are cosmetic, there are functional aspects as well. Character classes will have different abilities and strengths. Common classes include fighters, spellcasters, thieves with stealth abilities, and clerics with healing abilities, or
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#17327823620809828-637: Is navigating a series of branching stories spread across alternate timelines using a book called the White Chronicle. Given to main protagonist Stocke during the game's opening, it is used to travel between different timelines during the course of the story. After its first use, the Historia can be accessed at special points scattered through the game world. Following a key choice within the story, there are two main timelines and numerous smaller branches from those timelines. Several events within one timeline can only be completed using information or items gathered from
10017-492: Is not even really an RPG; criticisms regarding seemingly nebulous justifications by some Japanese designers for newly changed (or, alternately, newly un-changed) features of recent titles; calls among some gaming journalists to "fix" JRPGs' problems; as well as claims that some recent titles such as Front Mission Evolved are beginning to attempt—and failing to—imitate Western titles. In an article for PSM3 , Brittany Vincent of RPGFan.com felt that "developers have mired
10206-492: Is notable for introducing automapping and in-game scrolls providing hints and background information. They also released Pool of Radiance in 1988, the first of several " Gold Box " CRPGs based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules . These games feature a first-person display for movement, combined with an overhead tactical display for combat. One common feature of RPGs from this era, which Matt Barton calls
10395-621: Is often rooted in speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy or science fiction ), which allows players to do things they cannot do in real life and helps players suspend their disbelief about the rapid character growth. To a lesser extent, settings closer to the present day or near future are possible. The story often provides much of the entertainment in the game. Because these games have strong storylines, they can often make effective use of recorded dialog and voiceover narration. Players of these games tend to appreciate long cutscenes more than players of faster action games . While most games advance
10584-404: Is relevant to many types of games , including video games , tabletop role-playing games , board games , and sports . The passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. In many games, this is done using real-time and/or turn-based timekeeping. In real-time games, time within the game passes continuously. However, in turn-based games, player turns represent
10773-406: Is responsible for the spread of the Sand Plague, a magical illness which drains living beings of their Mana energy and turns them to sand—the desertification of the continent is spreading, further inflaming the conflict. Stocke, an espionage agent for Alistel, is sent by his superior Heiss on a mission with mercenaries Raynie and Marco to escort a spy back to Alistel's capital; before leaving, Stocke
10962-406: Is usually divided so that each game location is an opportunity to reveal a new chapter in the story. Pen-and-paper role-playing games typically involve a player called the gamemaster (or GM for short) who can dynamically create the story, setting, and rules, and react to a player's choices. In role-playing video games, the computer performs the function of the gamemaster. This offers the player
11151-451: Is usually earned by defeating enemies in combat, with some games offering experience for completing certain quests or conversations. Experience becomes a form of score , and accumulating a certain amount of experience will cause the character's level to go up. This is called "levelling up", and gives the player an opportunity to raise their character(s)'s attributes. Many RPGs allow players to choose how to improve their character, by allocating
11340-458: The Battle Isle series of video games, players issue movement orders for all units in one phase, and attack orders in a later phase. In the board game Agricola (2007), turns are divided into three phases: "Upkeep", "Replenishing" and "Work." A fourth "Harvest" phase occurs every few turns. Some games that are generally real-time use turn-based play during specific sequences. For example,
11529-466: The Kingdom Hearts series and Legend of Mana . Shimomura acted as sole composer and arranger for the score. She was first contacted about working on the project via email, and while she initially thought it a prank was shocked when she realized the email was real. When creating the score, Shimomura used her usual technique of matching the score to imagery provided by the production team. Due to
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#173278236208011718-529: The Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. Some role-playing games make use of magical powers , or equivalents such as psychic powers or advanced technology. These abilities are confined to specific characters such as mages, spellcasters, or magic-users. In games where the player controls multiple characters, these magic-users usually complement the physical strength of other classes. Magic can be used to attack, defend, or temporarily change an enemy or ally's attributes. While some games allow players to gradually consume
11907-484: The Nintendo DS have had more original and experimental Japanese RPGs released in recent years. Western RPGs have also received criticism in recent years. They remain less popular in Japan, where, until recently, Western games in general had a negative reputation. In Japan, where the vast majority of early console role-playing video games originate, Western RPGs remain largely unknown. The developer Motomu Toriyama criticized Western RPGs, stating that they "dump you in
12096-664: The Sharp X1 computer in 1983 and later ported to the MSX in 1984, the NES in 1985 and the Sharp X68000 as New Bokosuka Wars . The game laid the foundations for the tactical role-playing game genre, or "simulation RPG" genre as it is known in Japan. It was also an early example of a real-time , action role-playing game . In 1986, Chunsoft created the NES title Dragon Quest (called Dragon Warrior in North America until
12285-504: The Ultima series, employed duplicates of the miniatures combat system traditionally used in the early role-playing games . Representations of the player characters and monsters would move around an arena modeled after the surrounding terrain, attacking any enemies that are sufficiently close. Earlier role-playing video games used a two-dimensional top-down view or tile-based first-person view. Early action-based role-playing games often used
12474-622: The United Kingdom , Perfect Chronology entered the 3DS gaming charts at eighth place. In IGN 's "Best of 2011" awards, the game was nominated for the "Best 3DS/DS Story" and "Best 3DS/DS Role-Playing Game" awards. Nintendo Life gave it an honourable mention for their Game of the Year award. RPGFan gave it the "Best Traditional RPG" award (tied with The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky ), while editor Neal Chandran chose it as his pick for
12663-500: The eighth game ), which drew inspiration from computer RPGs Ultima and Wizardry and is regarded as the template for future Japanese role-playing video games released since then. Also in 1986 The Legend of Zelda was released for the NES , while not generally considered an RPG itself did inspire many aspects of future action-RPGs. In 1987, the genre came into its own with the release of several highly influential console RPGs distinguishing themselves from computer RPGs, including
12852-520: The initiative statistic of each unit, no matter which side the unit belongs to. Games of this type are still technically sequential, as only one unit can perform an action at a time, and the duration of actions is not tied to the game clock. Examples include the video games The Temple of Elemental Evil (2003) and Final Fantasy Tactics (1997). Some games allow players to act outside of their normal turn by interrupting an opponent's turn and executing additional actions. The number and type of actions
13041-495: The role-playing video games Fallout (1997), Silent Storm (2003) and Baldur's Gate 3 (2023) are turn-based during the combat phase and real-time throughout the remainder of the game. This speeds up portions of the game where the careful timing of actions is not crucial to player success, such as exploration. Other video games, such as the Total War series, X-COM (1994) and Jagged Alliance 2 (1999), combine
13230-436: The " Golden Age " of computer RPGs, is the use of numbered "paragraphs" printed in the manual or adjunct booklets, containing the game's lengthier texts; the player can be directed to read a certain paragraph, instead of being shown the text on screen. The ultimate exemplar of this approach is Sir-Tech 's Star Saga trilogy (of which only two games were released); the first game contains 888 "textlets" (usually much longer than
13419-453: The "Best RPG" award. Game Informer gave it the "Best Old-School Homage" award. Samantha Nelson of The A.V. Club chose it as her staff pick for Game of the Year . RPGamer chose the game as Third Place for the RPG of the Year award. Role-playing video game A role-playing video game , role-playing game ( RPG ) or computer role-playing game ( CRPG ) is a video game genre where
13608-401: The 16-bit gaming era. The remake saw a generally positive response, with many praising the added story and gameplay content. Radiant Historia is a role-playing video game (RPG) set in a fantasy world and following a group of characters traveling across the war-torn continent of Vainqueur. The game's environments are explored from a top-down perspective, with different zones opening up during
13797-416: The 1980 video game Rogue . The game's story is often mapped onto exploration, where each chapter of the story is mapped onto a different location. RPGs usually allow players to return to previously visited locations. Usually, there is nothing left to do there, although some locations change throughout the story and offer the player new things to do in response. Players must acquire enough power to overcome
13986-422: The 1990s, and became known for being more heavily story and character-based, American computer RPGs began to face criticism for having characters devoid of personality or background, due to representing avatars which the player uses to interact with the world, in contrast to Japanese console RPGs which depicted characters with distinctive personalities. American computer RPGs were thus criticized for lacking "more of
14175-469: The Chronicles. Using the three Chronicles' combined powers, the party destroy the Singularity, negating the need for the sacrifice. Nemesia chooses to stay with the comatose Rhodan outside time. In their own world, the characters settle down to normal lives, with Stocke and Heiss parting as friends. Nemesia and Rhodan—who is beginning to recover from his coma—are brought into the real world by Stocke using
14364-451: The PCs enter these locations or perform certain actions. Combat options typically involve positioning characters, selecting which enemy to attack, and exercising special skills such as casting spells. In a classical turn-based system, only one character may act at a time; all other characters remain still, with a few exceptions that may involve the use of special abilities. The order in which
14553-625: The Ravager and Menzoberranzan , transferred the AD&;D license to several different developers, and eventually gave it to BioWare , who used it in Baldur's Gate (1998) and several later games. By the 2000s, 3D engines had become dominant. The earliest RPG on a console was Dragonstomper on the Atari 2600 in 1982. Another early RPG on a console was Bokosuka Wars , originally released for
14742-729: The V.A.T.S system in the real-time RPG Fallout 3 , where players could pause the game to target individual body parts. Final Fantasy XII (2006) expanded on active pause combat with its "gambits" system, which allows players to collect and apply preferences to the artificial intelligence routines of partner characters, who then perform certain actions in response to certain conditions. A similar "tactics" system later appeared in Dragon Age: Origins (2009) and Dragon Age II (2011). Knights of Xentar (1991) and Secret of Mana (1993) also allow an adjustable artificial intelligence to take control during combat. Some games use
14931-404: The White Chronicle. In both timelines, Stocke successfully overthrows Protea and defeats Hugo. Heiss then reveals that the ritual's sacrifices are Granorg royalty who are resurrected using part of another person's soul, then killed again to reunite the soul and stabilize Vainqueur's mana, slowing the Sand Plague. Stocke is revealed to be the intended sacrifice, Eruca's brother resurrected and given
15120-589: The ability to pause the game and issue orders to all characters under his/her control; when the game is unpaused, all characters follow the orders they were given. This "real-time with pause" system ( RTwP ) has been particularly popular in games designed by BioWare . The most famous RTwP engine is the Infinity Engine . Other names for "real-time with pause" include "active pause" and "semi real-time". Tactical RPG maker Apeiron named their system Smart Pause Mode (SPM) because it would automatically pause based on
15309-405: The alternate timeline. Events in both timelines are recorded in a journal that can be accessed through the party menu. Aside from points where the story dictates the player's action, navigating the timelines is a non-linear process. Story segments within each timeline, called "nodes", are color-coded depending on its content; brown nodes are chapters of the main story, blue boxes are events in which
15498-437: The ambitious scope of Final Fantasy VII raised the possibilities for the genre, with its dozens of minigames and much higher production values. The latter includes innovations such as the use of 3D characters on pre-rendered backgrounds, battles viewed from multiple different angles rather than a single angle, and for the first time full-motion CGI video seamlessly blended into the gameplay, effectively integrated throughout
15687-544: The category," pointing to Chrono Trigger (which he also worked on) and the Mana games. He further noted that there have been "other games similar to the style of Chrono Trigger ," but that "it's probably because the games weren't localised and didn't reach the Western audience." Xeno series director Tetsuya Takahashi , in reference to Xenoblade Chronicles , stated that "I don't know when exactly people started using
15876-643: The characters act is usually dependent on their attributes, such as speed or agility. This system rewards strategic planning more than quickness. It also points to the fact that realism in games is a means to the end of immersion in the game world, not an end in itself. A turn-based system makes it possible, for example, to run within range of an opponent and kill them before they get a chance to act, or duck out from behind hard cover, fire, and retreat back without an opponent being able to fire, which are of course both impossibilities. However, tactical possibilities have been created by this unreality that did not exist before;
16065-399: The characters were made the main protagonists. Stocke was originally a plain-looking assassin dressed completely in black, described by Konishi as an amalgamation of typical "cool" game character traits. When he became the main character, Konishi changed his main color to red, reworked his hair so it did not cover his eyes, and made his uniform more militaristic. While it was considered to allow
16254-460: The characters within a tile-based graphics system . Dragon Quest was highly successful in Japan, leading to further entries in the series and other titles such as Final Fantasy that followed the same simplifications made in RPGs for Dragon Quest . Because of these differences, the role-playing genre began to be classified into two fairly distinct styles: computer RPG and console RPG . By
16443-518: The collaboration as Radiant Historia was the type of project that would not have appeared within the company. When designing the gameplay, the Atlus staff kept the basic proposal intact while streamlining through refining the mechanics and simplifying sprite animations to quicken the pace of standard battles. The enemy AI was also adjusted to be less punishing while adding field actions to give players an advantage. The time-travel element caused problems for
16632-444: The course of the narrative. These self-contained environments are accessed using a world map, and can then be freely explored. Within these environments following the game's opening mission, the main character Stocke can manipulate boxes to clear paths and solve puzzles, in addition to other elements such as destructible objects and treasure chests containing consumables or items such as armor and weapons. A key part of Radiant Historia
16821-408: The development and customization of playable characters has come at the expense of plot and gameplay, resulting in what he felt was generic dialogue, lack of character development within the narrative and weaker battle systems. He also states that WRPGs tend to focus more on the underlying rules governing the battle system rather than on the experience itself. Tom Battey of Edge Magazine noted that
17010-520: The earliest role-playing video games on a microcomputer was Dungeon n Dragons , written by Peter Trefonas and published by CLOAD (1980). This early game, published for a TRS-80 Model 1, is just 16K long and includes a limited word parser command line, character generation, a store to purchase equipment, combat, traps to solve, and a dungeon to explore. Other contemporaneous CRPGs (Computer Role Playing Games) were Temple of Apshai , Odyssey: The Compleat Apventure and Akalabeth: World of Doom ,
17199-437: The early 2000s, the distinction between platforms became less pronounced as the same games appeared on both console and computer, but stylistic differences between Western role-playing games (WRPGs) and Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) remained, rooted in the earlier distinctions. Though sharing fundamental premises, WRPGs tend to feature darker graphics, older characters, and a greater focus on roaming freedom, realism, and
17388-466: The enemy's turn. This is also implemented in some video games, such as Solasta: Crown of the Magister (2020). The Silent Storm video game series includes an "Interrupt" statistic for each character, to determine the likelihood of out-of-turn action. In the video game M.A.X. (1996), defensive units may be set to fire out of turn instead of on their own turn. In the board game Tide of Iron ,
17577-513: The entire track. Shimomura brought in Shimotsuki as they had met a few years before over choral work for another project. As the song required six voice tracks to be overlaid, Shimotsuki needed to sing a lot, but needed little to no direction from Shimomura about how to portray the song. The violin was performed by Ayako Ishikawa, while the guitar work was by Hideyuki Yonekawa. The official soundtrack album, Radiant Historia Original Soundtrack ,
17766-462: The front will receive more damage while having a higher attack power. The player party can use specific actions to knock enemy units onto different squares of the grid, which can send enemies into prepared traps, or group enemies into a single square. When the latter happens, attacking the unit within that square using either standard or combination attacks will damage all units. Once the player turn ends, enemy units return to their original positions on
17955-436: The future, allowing Stocke to return to the world and live a full life. The other characters work to help Vainqueur rebuild, including beginning research into ways of stabilizing mana which will negate the ritual and the need for sacrifices. The expanded storyline of Perfect Chronology has Stocke interacting with a woman named Nemesia aboard a ship existing outside time; collecting artifacts, Stocke helps Nemesia bring together
18144-443: The game as a whole and praised the remake's new content as a good buy for both newcomers and owners of the original. Upon its release, Radiant Historia debuted in sixth place in game sales charts with over 32,800 units, being the second highest new release following Fallout: New Vegas . It sold through just under 44% of its initial shipment. By the end of the year, the game had sold over 56,500 units. Upon its North American debut,
18333-406: The game enables the party to slip by enemies unseen. Battles take place in a separate arena, with the battle itself and turn order information being displayed respectively on the bottom and top screen. There is an auto-battle function, where the party will automatically perform basic attacks. Successfully defeating the enemy party rewards the player party with money and experience points which level up
18522-410: The game favourably to classic role-playing games from the 16-bit and 32-bit eras, while also noting its bold choices compared to other recent RPGs. Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu lauded the breadth of choice in the story and the demanding nature of battles. Game Informer ' s Joe Juba said the narrative and its time travel mechanic "defies the predictability of traditional RPGs" while having
18711-403: The game reached the top of DS sales charts. The following month, the game had dropped to third place. Perfect Chronology debuted in Japan at #1, selling 21,429 units and pushing Nintendo Switch exclusive Arms to #2 after two weeks at the top of the charts. According to data from North America's NPD Group , the game was the third best-selling 3DS game in the region during February 2018. In
18900-409: The game to automatically pause when certain conditions are met, such as at the end of a round or upon the death of a non-player character . A variation of active pause, called "Smart Pause Mode" or SPM, is a feature of Apeiron's Brigade E5: New Jagged Union (2006) and 7.62: High Calibre (2007). The grand strategy games developed by Paradox Interactive exclusively use pausable real-time. It
19089-534: The game was an excellent purchase for genre fans despite some annoying elements in its presentation and pacing. The game's story received a great deal of praise for its handling of the time travel elements and dark tone compared to many other equivalent RPGs despite a few criticisms related to its handling of branching paths and the necessity of jumping between two timelines. The time travel mechanic and its interface met with general praise, though some reviewers were frustrated by its consequent linearity. The battle system
19278-435: The game world. More recent games tend to maintain a consistent perspective for exploration and combat. Some games, especially earlier video games, generate battles from random encounters ; more modern RPGs are more likely to have persistent wandering monsters that move about the game world independently of the player. Most RPGs also use stationary boss monsters in key positions, and automatically trigger battles with them when
19467-452: The game's text. Editing of text was handled by Nich Maragos, Scott Strichart, Mike Meeker and Clayton Chan, while the QA team was led by Richard Rodrigues. During their editing sessions, Maragos and Strichart both alternated between different chapters and kept in constant communication to ensure character dialogue remained consistent. The English script's tone was inspired by Queen & Country ,
19656-539: The game's themes of time travel and its darker side, the score was predominantly sombre in tone. As the game was unconnected to any previous intellectual property, Shimomura found composing the score far easier than most of her other projects. The first track Shimomura created for the score were the Alistel theme "Mechanical Kingdom" and the narrative theme "Where the Wind and Feathers Return". The battle theme "Blue Radiance"
19845-521: The game. The game was soon ported to the PC and gained much success there, as did several other originally console RPGs, blurring the line between the console and computer platforms. Computer-driven role-playing games had their start in Western markets, with games generally geared to be played on home computers. By 1985, series like Wizardry and Ultima represented the state of the art in role-playing games. In Japan, home computers had yet to take as great
20034-537: The genre-defining Phantasy Star , released for the Master System . Shigeru Miyamoto 's Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for the Famicom Disk System was one of the earliest action role-playing games , combining the action-adventure game framework of its predecessor The Legend of Zelda with the statistical elements of turn-based RPGs . Most RPGs at this time were turn-based. Faxanadu
20223-425: The grid. Chaining attacks together increases their effectiveness, which in turn grants a greater reward at the end of a battle. Both sides are able to use the "Change" mechanic. Using this mechanic, unit's place in the action queue can be shifted to another point in the queue, allowing them to take more actions than might otherwise be possible. Using the Change command causes a unit to take more damage until their action
20412-467: The grid. The battle system itself is turn-based , with each unit on either side being given a chance to perform an action. Rather than each unit acting once an action is decided, each action is queued once selected, and when all actions are selected the two sides perform their actions. The type of actions an enemy unit can perform depends upon their position on the grid; enemies positioned further back have weaker attack power and strong defence, while those at
20601-539: The key features of RPGs were developed in this early period, prior to the release of Ultima III: Exodus , one of the prime influences on both computer and console RPG development. For example, Wizardry features menu-driven combat, Tunnels of Doom features tactical combat on a special "combat screen", and Dungeons of Daggorath features real-time combat which takes place on the main dungeon map. Starting in 1984 with Questron and 50 Mission Crush , SSI produced many series of CRPGs. Their 1985 game Phantasie
20790-520: The label "JRPG" is most commonly used to refer to RPGs "whose presentation mimics the design sensibilities" of anime and manga, that it's "typically the presentation and character archetypes" that signal "this is a JRPG." Modern JRPGs are more likely to feature turn-based battles; while modern WRPGs are more likely to feature real-time combat. In the past, the reverse was often true: real-time action role-playing games were far more common among Japanese console RPGs than Western computer RPGs up until
20979-437: The late 1990s had become more cinematic in style (e.g. Final Fantasy series). At the same time, WRPGs started becoming more novelistic in style (e.g. Planescape: Torment ), but by the late 2000s had also adopted a more cinematic style (e.g. Mass Effect ). One reason given for these differences is that many early Japanese console RPGs can be seen as forms of interactive manga or anime wrapped around Western rule systems at
21168-415: The late 1990s have had a stronger focus on extensive dialog tree systems (e.g. Planescape: Torment ). On the other hand, JRPGs tend to limit players to developing pre-defined player characters , and often do not allow the option to create or choose one's own playable characters or make decisions that alter the plot. In the early 1990s, JRPGs were seen as being much closer to fantasy novels , but by
21357-934: The late 1990s, due to gamepads usually being better suited to real-time action than the keyboard and mouse. Some journalists and video game designers have questioned this cultural classification, arguing that the differences between Eastern and Western games have been exaggerated. In an interview held at the American Electronic Entertainment Expo , Japanese video game developer Tetsuya Nomura (who worked on Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts ) emphasized that RPGs should not be classified by country-of-origin, but rather described simply for what they are: role-playing games. Hironobu Sakaguchi , creator of Final Fantasy and The Last Story , noted that, while "users like to categorise" JRPGs as "turn-based, traditional styles" and WRPGs as "born from first-person shooters ," there "are titles that don't fit
21546-428: The late 1990s, which saw the rise of optical disks in fifth generation consoles. The implications for RPGs were enormous—longer, more involved quests, better audio, and full-motion video . This was first clearly demonstrated in 1997 by the phenomenal success of Final Fantasy VII , which is considered one of the most influential games of all time. With a record-breaking production budget of around $ 45 million,
21735-408: The latter version being published by Deep Silver . The game is set on Vainqueur, a continent divided between the warring nations of Alistel and Granorg. Alistel soldier Stocke is chosen to wield the White Chronicle, a tome capable of navigating multiple timelines, so he may prevent Vainqueur's desertification . Stocke and his party explore Vainqueur, fighting enemies on a grid-based battlefield using
21924-468: The main narrative; while Nintendo World Report ' s Neal Ronaghan said that the new content made the story overly complicated. Jeremy Parish, writing for Polygon , felt that the 3DS remake gave the game a chance to find an audience after going mostly unnoticed during its original release. Game Revolution ' s Cody Perez gave extensive praise to its storyline, combat, graphics, soundtrack and new content. Miguel Conception of GameSpot both enjoyed
22113-535: The mechanic was also present in earlier games such as in Knights of Xentar (1991), Darklands (1992), Tales of Phantasia (1995), Total Annihilation (1997) and Homeworld (1999). In Baldur's Gate , players may also let the artificial intelligence take control during combat and press the spacebar at any time to regain control of their characters. Further, in Baldur's Gate , players are able to configure
22302-461: The mid-1970s, as an offshoot of early university mainframe text-based RPGs on PDP-10 and Unix -based computers, such as Dungeon , pedit5 and dnd . In 1980 , a very popular dungeon crawler , Rogue , was released. Featuring ASCII graphics where the setting, monsters and items were represented by letters and a deep system of gameplay, it inspired a whole genre of similar clones on mainframe and home computers called " roguelikes ". One of
22491-591: The middle to late 1990s, isometric, sprite-based RPGs became commonplace, with video game publishers Interplay Entertainment and Blizzard North playing a lead role with such titles as the Baldur's Gate , Icewind Dale and the action-RPG Diablo series, as well as the dialogue-heavy Planescape: Torment and cult classics Fallout and Fallout 2 . This era also saw a move toward 3D game engines with such games as Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven and The Elder Scrolls: Arena . TSR , dissatisfied with SSI's later products, such as Dark Sun: Wake of
22680-576: The modern JRPG in unoriginality", citing Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada who stated that "they're strictly catering to a particular audience", the article noting the difference in game sales between Japan and North America before going on to suggest JRPGs may need to "move forward". This criticism has also occurred in the wider media with an advertisement for Fallout: New Vegas ( Obsidian Entertainment ) in Japan openly mocked Japanese RPGs' traditional characteristics in favor of their own title. Nick Doerr of Joystiq noted that Bethesda felt that JRPGs "are all
22869-421: The more fantasy novel approach of Squaresoft console RPGs such as Final Fantasy IV . However in 1994, game designer Sandy Petersen noted that, among computer gamers, there was criticism against cartridge-based console JRPGs being "not role-playing at all" due to popular examples such as Secret of Mana and especially The Legend of Zelda using "direct" arcade-style action combat systems instead of
23058-656: The more "abstract" turn-based battle systems associated with computer RPGs. In response, he pointed out that not all console RPGs are action-based, pointing to Final Fantasy and Lufia . Another early criticism, dating back to the Phantasy Star games in the late 1980s, was the frequent use of defined player characters , in contrast to the Wizardry and Gold Box games where the player's avatars (such as knights, clerics, or thieves) were blank slates. As Japanese console RPGs became increasingly more dominant in
23247-427: The necessity for a gamemaster and increases combat resolution speed. RPGs have evolved from simple text-based console-window games into visually rich 3D experiences. Role-playing video games use much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics as early tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons . Players control a central game character, or multiple game characters, usually called
23436-459: The number of items that can be held. Most of the actions in an RPG are performed indirectly, with the player selecting an action and the character performing it by their own accord. Success at that action depends on the character's numeric attributes. Role-playing video games often simulate dice-rolling mechanics from non-electronic role-playing games to determine success or failure. As a character's attributes improve, their chances of succeeding at
23625-727: The order of play using an initiative score based on players' attributes, positions within the game, or dice rolls. Dungeons & Dragons and Wizard101 are examples of this style. The term turn-based gaming is also used for play-by-mail games and browser-based gaming websites that allow long-term gameplay of board games such as Go and chess . Various adaptations of the real-time and turn-based systems have been implemented to address common or perceived shortcomings of these systems (though they often introduce new issues that did not exist before). These include: Timed turns are designed to prevent one player from using more time to complete turns than another. In chess , for instance,
23814-401: The other turns. In the video game King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame (2009), every fourth turn, the season turns to winter, the only time when buildings can be constructed. In the board game Napoleon (1974), every third player turn is a "night turn" when combat is not allowed. Other turn-based games feature several phases dedicated to different types of activities within each turn. In
24003-440: The party members, giving them higher statistics such as raised health and more powerful attacks. The arena is divided between Stocke's three-person party and the enemy group. The battlefield itself is laid out on a 3x3 grid, with enemy units being positioned in different squares of the grid, with some enemy types taking up multiple squares. The player party's position is fixed, but enemy units can use their turn to change position on
24192-510: The party to Historia, fusing with the souls of past sacrifices to become the monster Apocrypha; Stocke and his party defeat Heiss while destroying Apocrypha. In the normal ending, Stocke willingly becomes the sacrifice, allowing the ritual's completion and delaying the Sand Plague's advance. In the true ending—unlocked by completing all events across the game—Heiss willingly becomes the sacrifice in Stocke's place upon seeing Stocke's unshaken faith in
24381-601: The passage of time in the real world. For example, in Terraria , one day-night cycle of 24 hours in the game is equal to 24 minutes in the real world. In a multiplayer real-time game, players perform actions simultaneously as opposed to in sequential units or turns. In competitive games, players must consider that their opponents are working against them in real time and may act at any moment. This introduces additional challenges. Many sports, such as soccer or basketball , are almost entirely simultaneous in nature, retaining
24570-400: The path taken by the player, there are only two canon endings; the standard version, and an extended version unlocked by completing all side quests. Enemies, represented by sprites, are visible while exploring environments. Running into them will trigger a battle, but Stocke can stun them with his sword and either avoid battle or trigger a preemptive attack. A cloaking ability unlocked later in
24759-610: The platform divide between consoles and computers , respectively. Finally, while the first RPGs offered strictly a single player experience, the popularity of multiplayer modes rose sharply during the early to mid-1990s with action role-playing games such as Secret of Mana and Diablo . With the advent of the Internet, multiplayer games have grown to become massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), including Lineage , Final Fantasy XI , and World of Warcraft . The role-playing video game genre began in
24948-411: The player can make a choice which creates new paths in the timeline and can be revisited to take a different path, and dark boxes indicate a node with a bad ending or no way to continue the narrative. Experience points and currency earned in battles are carried over between timelines. Events across each timeline are tied to side quests the player can complete. While there are multiple endings depending on
25137-408: The player can pause the game to take aim with a weapon. In Vagrant Story , this allows players to target specific body parts while the game is paused. A similar mechanic was later used in the real-time role-playing game Last Rebellion (2010). Jagged Alliance 2 (1999) and Fallout (1997) allow players to target individual body parts during turn-based combat. The latter led to the creation of
25326-424: The player control an entire party of characters. However, if winning is contingent upon the survival of a single character, then that character effectively becomes the player's avatar . An example of this would be in Baldur's Gate , where if the character created by the player dies, the game ends and a previous save needs to be loaded. Although some single-player role-playing games give the player an avatar that
25515-565: The player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immersed in some well-defined world, usually involving some form of character development by way of recording statistics. Many role-playing video games have origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of the same terminology , settings , and game mechanics . Other major similarities with pen-and-paper games include developed story-telling and narrative elements, player character development, complexity, as well as replay value and immersion. The electronic medium removes
25704-608: The player determines whether the loss of immersion in the reality of the game is worth the satisfaction gained from the development of the tactic and its successful execution. Fallout has been cited as being a good example of such a system. Real-time combat can import features from action games , creating a hybrid action RPG game genre. But other RPG battle systems such as the Final Fantasy battle systems have imported real-time choices without emphasizing coordination or reflexes. Other systems combine real-time combat with
25893-549: The player to change the party's character classes during the course of the game. Another "major innovation was the introduction of day/night cycles; certain items, characters, and quests are only accessible at certain times of day." In 1989, Phantasy Star II for the Genesis established many conventions of the genre, including an epic , dramatic, character-driven storyline dealing with serious themes and subject matter. Console RPGs distinguished themselves from computer RPGs to
26082-896: The player to manage a large amount of information and frequently make use of a windowed interface. For example, spell-casting characters will often have a menu of spells they can use. On the PC, players typically use the mouse to click on icons and menu options, while console games have the player navigate through menus using a game controller. The role-playing video game genre began in the mid-1970s on mainframe computers , inspired by pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons . Several other sources of inspiration for early role-playing video games also included tabletop wargames , sports simulation games, adventure games such as Colossal Cave Adventure , fantasy writings by authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien , traditional strategy games such as chess , and ancient epic literature dating back to Epic of Gilgamesh which followed
26271-417: The player to rename Stocke, the team decided against it after multiple readthroughs of the script. Eruca was the first character Konishi designed, and proved problematic as he had trouble deciding what type of clothing she would wear. She was intended to have long hair typical of princess characters, but was given short hair based on hardware restrictions and the wish to convey a unique look. A different change
26460-435: The player waited more than a second or so to issue a command, the game would automatically issue a pass command, allowing the monsters to take a turn while the PCs did nothing. There is a further subdivision by the structure of the battle system; in many early games, such as Wizardry , monsters and the party are arrayed into ranks, and can only attack enemies in the front rank with melee weapons. Other games, such as most of
26649-403: The player waited too long to issue a command, the game would issue a "pass" command automatically, thereby allowing enemies to take their turns while the player character did nothing. Time compression is a feature commonly found in real-time games such as flight simulators . It allows the player to speed up the game time by some (usually adjustable) factor. This permits the player to shorten
26838-406: The player's control. Other games feature a party that the player can create at the start or gather from non-player characters in the game, coming into partial or full control of the player during the game. Although the characterization of the game's avatar will develop through storytelling, characters may also become more functionally powerful by gaining new skills, weapons, and magic. This creates
27027-461: The players, to be as exciting as the Japanese imports", and lacked the arcade and action-adventure elements commonly found in Japanese console RPGs at the time. In the early 1990s, American computer RPGs also began facing criticism for their plots, where "the party sticks together through thick and thin" and always "act together as a group" rather than as individuals, and where non-player characters are "one-dimensional characters", in comparison to
27216-410: The plot when the player defeats an enemy or completes a level, role-playing games often progress the plot based on other important decisions. For example, a player may make the decision to join a guild, thus triggering a progression in the storyline that is usually irreversible. New elements in the story may also be triggered by mere arrival in an area, rather than completing a specific challenge. The plot
27405-437: The precursor to Ultima . Some early microcomputer RPGs (such as Telengard (1982) or Sword of Fargoal ) were based on their mainframe counterparts, while others (such as Ultima or Wizardry , the most successful of the early CRPGs) were loose adaptations of D&D . They also include both first-person displays and overhead views, sometimes in the same game ( Akalabeth , for example, uses both perspectives). Most of
27594-484: The problems often cited against JRPGs also often apply to many WRPGs as well as games outside of the RPG genre. BioWare games have been criticized for "lack of innovation, repetitive structure and lack of real choice." WRPGs, such as Bethesda games, have also been criticized for lacking in "narrative strength" or "mechanical intricacy" due to the open-ended, sandbox structure of their games. Turns, rounds and time-keeping systems in games#Turn-based Timekeeping
27783-416: The proposed countries, it took six months to complete the final story and dialogue. Konishi designed all the main characters with a distinctive silhouette for players to identify. Based on input from Atlus staff, Konishi refined his initial draft designs. Both Stocke and Eruca were originally meant to be supporting characters, as at the time the protagonist was still to be a sword. After consulting with Atlus,
27972-409: The right things to the right non-player characters will elicit useful information for the player, and may even result in other rewards such as items or experience, as well as opening up possible storyline branches. Multiplayer online role-playing games can offer an exception to this contrast by allowing human interaction among multiple players and in some cases enabling a player to perform the role of
28161-463: The same amount of time has expired. In some real-time games, game actions are timed according to a common interval that is longer than the duration of play in the real world. For instance, non-player characters might only begin actions at the beginning or end of a round . Some video games such as the Baldur's Gate series use a rounds system based on tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons. The "Active Time Battle" (ATB) system
28350-436: The same basic structure of setting off in various quests in order to accomplish goals. After the success of role-playing video games such as Ultima and Wizardry , which in turn served as the blueprint for Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy , the role-playing genre eventually diverged into two styles, Eastern role-playing games and Western role-playing games , due to cultural differences , though roughly mirroring
28539-492: The same style as those in manga and anime . The stylistic differences are often due to differing target audiences: Western RPGs are usually geared primarily towards teenage to adult males, whereas Japanese RPGs are usually intended for a much larger demographic, including female audiences , who, for example, accounted for nearly a third of Final Fantasy XIII 's playerbase. In 2015, IGN noted in an interview with Xenoblade Chronicles X 's development team that
28728-500: The same time. One early example is the 1959 board game Diplomacy . Video game examples include Laser Squad Nemesis (2003), the Combat Mission series, Master of Orion series, Star Hammer: The Vanguard Prophecy (2015) and Battlestar Galactica Deadlock (2017). Clock-based games tie all unit actions directly to the game clock. Turns begin and end depending on the duration specified for each action, resulting in
28917-598: The same" and "too linear", to which he responded that "[f]or the most part, it's true" but noted there are also non-linear JRPGs such as the Romancing SaGa series. Such criticisms have produced responses such as ones by Japanese video game developers , Shinji Mikami and Yuji Horii , to the effect that JRPGs were never as popular in the West to begin with, and that Western reviewers are biased against turn-based systems. Jeff Fleming of Gamasutra also states that Japanese RPGs on home consoles are generally showing signs of staleness, but notes that handheld consoles such as
29106-510: The scenario writer on the original release, returned to write the new scenario based on Hirata's original concept. Hirata wanted to restore the original game's two discarded story routes, but instead opted for preserving the established scenario. A new gameplay mechanic was the "Support Skill" system, where characters could perform follow-up attacks, a system inspired by a similar mechanic in Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE . The remake
29295-409: The small number of tracks. Perfect Chronology was given a score of 85 out of 100 by Metacritic based on 44 reviews indicating "generally favorable reviews", being the highest-rated 3DS game of the year. In their review of the game, Famitsu gave praise to the new story content and voice acting. By contrast, C. J. Andriessen of Destructoid found the new content lacking due to its lack of relation to
29484-447: The subjective duration of long and relatively uneventful periods of gameplay. Many browser-based MMORPGs allocate a number of turns that can be played within a certain period of time, called a tick . A tick can be any measurement of real time. Players are allocated a certain number of turns per tick, which are refreshed at the beginning of each new tick. Tick-based games differ from other turn-based games in that ticks always occur after
29673-474: The system. The ATB system was also used in Chrono Trigger (1995). In simultaneously executed games (also called "phase-based", "We-Go" or "Turn-based WeGo"), turns are separated into two distinct phases: decision and execution . In the decision phase, each player simultaneously plans and determines their units' actions. In the execution phase, all players' chosen actions occur automatically and at
29862-476: The team as they worked out how to depict the White Chronicle as a game mechanic, while also putting in frequent text updates so players would not forget the story despite the game's place on the portable Nintendo DS meaning interruptions were likely. Atlus later described Radiant Historia as their most challenging development for the DS platform. Originally hinted at by a trademark in March 2010, Radiant Historia
30051-496: The term 'JRPG,' but if this game makes people rethink the meaning of this term, I'll be satisfied." The writer Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com states that " Xenoblade throws into high relief the sheer artificiality of the gaming community's obsession over the differences between" Western and Japanese RPGs, pointing out that it "does things that don't really fit into either genre. Gamers do love their boundaries and barriers and neat little rules, I know, but just because you cram something into
30240-503: The time, in addition to the influence of visual novel adventure games . As a result, Japanese console RPGs differentiated themselves with a stronger focus on scripted narratives and character drama, alongside streamlined gameplay. In recent years, these trends have in turn been adopted by WRPGs, which have begun moving more towards tightly structured narratives, in addition to moving away from "numbers and rules" in favor of streamlined combat systems similar to action games. In addition,
30429-583: The traditional role-playing " offered by Japanese console RPGs, which instead emphasized character interactions. In response, North American computer RPGs began making a comeback towards the end of the 1990s with interactive choice-filled adventures. Several writers have criticized JRPGs as not being "true" RPGs, for heavy usage of scripted cutscenes and dialogue, and a frequent lack of branching outcomes. Japanese RPGs are also sometimes criticized for having relatively simple battle systems in which players are able to win by repetitively mashing buttons. As
30618-513: The typical Western-style RPGs of the time. Due to the cultural differences between Western and Japanese variations of role-playing games, both have often been compared and critiqued by those within the video games industry and press. In the late 1980s, when traditional American computer RPGs such as Ultima and Defender of the Crown were ported to consoles, they received mixed reviews from console gamers, as they were "not perceived, by many of
30807-448: The underlying game mechanics (e.g. "rules-based" or "system-based" ); whereas JRPGs tend to feature brighter, anime -like or chibi graphics, younger characters, turn-based or faster-paced action gameplay, and a greater focus on tightly-orchestrated, linear storylines with intricate plots (e.g. "action-based" or "story-based" ). Further, WRPGs are more likely to allow players to create and customize characters from scratch, and since
30996-412: The universe of Radiant Historia , and after completing Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE talked with Atlus and learned that Radiant Historia had a strong following both in Japan and overseas, prompting Atlus to agree to a remake. Hirata returned to the remake as producer. The character art was redrawn by Masaki Hirooka, whose previous work includes Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia . His most notable redesign
31185-680: The world's mana and ensure the prosperity of the ancient empire. The empire's surviving royalty created the Black and White Chronicle to facilitate the ritual, allowing the Sacrifice to see hope in the future while the Caster meditated on the past; Teo and Lippti are the remnants of the sorcerer who created the Chronicles. Heiss was the intended Sacrifice, but escaped with the Black Chronicle, which ingrained his fatalistic views. After thwarting Heiss' attempts to change history in his favor, Heiss transports
31374-443: Was Eruca, who was given long hair as originally planned to better fit her character as a princess. The anime opening was created by A-1 Pictures . Hirata's main goals were to update the game so that it would appeal to a modern gaming audience, with these involving increasing gameplay speed and adjusting the user interface. After that he decided to create a new scenario, discussing with staff how to implement it. Haduki, who had worked as
31563-488: Was Mitsuru Hirata from Atlus. Having previously as a planner for multiple Megami Tensei titles, Radiant Historia was his debut as director. Field planner Tatsuya Watanabe, battle planner Sawao Kato, event planner Kenichi Takamori, and programmer Daisuke Yajima had all worked on earlier Megami Tensei titles; Watanabe and Takamori both worked on Strange Journey . The lead 2D and 3D designers were Tomohiro Okuno and Yasuko Sumiya respectively. The concept for Radiant Historia
31752-433: Was Stocke's initial supporting characters Raynie and Marco. Stocke was originally going to be accompanied by two expendable generic units, but as Hirata saw this would negatively impact the player experience, the new characters were added; they were designed to be contrasting personalities who would liven up the party during the opening segments. The character Rosch went through multiple redesigns during development, while Gafka
31941-446: Was a theme that was common in most console RPGs at the time but absent from most computer RPGs. During the 1990s, console RPGs had become increasingly dominant, exerting a greater influence on computer RPGs than the other way around. Console RPGs had eclipsed computer RPGs for some time, though computer RPGs began making a comeback towards the end of the decade with interactive choice-filled adventures. The next major revolution came in
32130-484: Was a track Shimomura took time over as she did not want it to grow repetitive due to its placement alongside the most common type of battle. For the boss theme "The Edge of Green", she added a sense of weight using a pipe organ. The use of pipe organ was also included to appeal to fans of her music from earlier projects. Shimomura created twenty-five tracks, mainly using an orchestral style, with some tracks also utilizing pop music instruments or folk elements. The track number
32319-520: Was already toying with the idea of incorporating time travel. An early idea was to incorporate the theme of immortality, which resulted in the main protagonist being an ageless sword rather than a living being. Following talks with Atlus, Takayashiki was persuaded to make the protagonist a human time traveler. Their consultation also altered Takayashiki's original ending concept of a ruined world. Takayashiki initially planned for sixteen endings across four different countries, but Atlus convinced him that this
32508-451: Was another early action RPG for the NES, released as a side-story to the computer action RPG Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu . Square 's Final Fantasy for the NES introduced side-view battles, with the player characters on the right and the enemies on the left, which soon became the norm for numerous console RPGs. In 1988, Dragon Warrior III introduced a character progression system allowing
32697-417: Was composed by Yoko Shimomura , with theme songs performed by Haruka Shimotsuki . Reception and sales for both versions have been positive, with both reaching high sales chart positions in Japan and the West. The original received praise for its gameplay and time travel mechanics, though opinions were mixed on its graphics and linear structure. Several critics compared it favourably to role-playing games from
32886-512: Was created by Atlus staff: " Radiant " referred to Stocke's mission across time to restore the world's light, while " Historia " came from the word "History". It was one of many suggested titles carrying a similar meaning. When creating the branching timelines, Takayashiki used a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to map out and keep track of the various timelines. The initial story was written in two months, but due to alterations and necessary adjustments to adjoining timelines, in addition to removing two of
33075-448: Was created by Takayashiki, who first pitched his proposal to Atlus in 2007. His initial concept was for a traditional RPG people would enjoy. Atlus was chosen due to Takayashiki's admiration for their past work. While the concept of the 3x3 grid-based battle system was conceived by Takayashiki in the initial proposal, many of the additional elements related to skills were contributed by Atlus staff. According to Hirata, Atlus were intrigued at
33264-550: Was double what she planned, resulting in her tunes going over the console's music file limits. The game used software developed by CRI Middleware for the sound and music environment. The main theme "Historia" was a vocal theme—an inclusion insisted upon by Shimomura—and was performed by Haruka Shimotsuki . Shimomura's aim was to create an "emotionally heartrending song with a good tempo, but with parts that were both calm and graceful", resulting in her use of acoustic guitar, violin and accordion, alongside incorporating light piano into
33453-419: Was for the tracks to be calm and soothing even if their original forms were more energetic. The tracks were arranged for piano by Sachiko Miyano and performed by Febian Reza Pane. The recording sessions were produced and supervised by Shimomura. Reaction to the piano album was generally negative. Shimomura returned as composer for Perfect Chronology . In addition to keeping the original score, Shimomura composed
33642-419: Was generally cited as both entertaining and demanding due to its positional system and enemy tactics; GamesTM referred to it as "one of the most engaging and rewarding battle systems since Final Fantasy XIII ". The graphics were more divisive; many praised them for their 16-bit style, while some saw them as either low-quality or lacking variety. Shimomura's score also met with general praise, though Juba noted
33831-457: Was impossible. He managed to preserve the branching narrative by cutting down the number of countries by half, and creating the Alternate timeline. Creating the alternate timeline caused problems during the later writing stages. The narrative retained the air of a historical drama from Takayashiki original proposal, creating a storyline where no-one was explicitly right or wrong. The game's title
34020-448: Was intended to leave an impression on players. The Beastkind designs reflected their in-world status as people of the forest. Several early Beastkind concepts were combined into those seen in the final game. Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology , an expanded remake of the original game for Nintendo 3DS , began development in 2016 following the completion of Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE , which Hirata directed. A remake of Radiant Historia
34209-664: Was introduced by Hiroyuki Ito in Final Fantasy IV (1991). ATB combines turn-based combat with a continuous flow of actions and variable wait times. Enemies can attack or be attacked at any time. The ATB system was further developed in Final Fantasy V (1992), which introducing a time gauge showing which character's turn is next. The ATB system has since been used in VI (1994), VII (1997), VIII (1999), IX (2000), and X-2 (2003). Both Final Fantasy XII (2006) and XIII (2009) used heavily modified versions of
34398-656: Was not released in Europe. The setting and world were created by Takayashiki, who consulted extensively with Konishi. The main writer was Yoh Haduki, who had previously written the scenarios for Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor and Growlanser Wayfarer of Time . Additional writers were Souzou Tonami and Kazuhito Okayama. Takayashiki's initial idea was for a historical drama featuring alternate timelines, which Konishi said would require an extensive cast. While nothing else had been decided, Takayashiki
34587-543: Was officially announced in July of that year. As reported by Japanese magazine Famitsu , the game was 80% complete at that point. The game was released in Japan on November 3 of the same year. A North American release was first announced in the same month, localized and published by Atlus' North American branch Atlus USA . Localization efforts for the game began in August 2010, with a large team including four translators for just
34776-565: Was originally in production for a different portable platform, the PlayStation Vita , but Hirata's commitment to Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE caused the project to be put on hold. When development on Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE was completed, development resumed. In the time that had passed, the 3DS's userbase had grown to a far larger size than the Vita, resulting in development being shifted to it instead. Hirata had long wanted to return to
34965-473: Was released in Japan on June 29, 2017. It was released in February 2018, in North America by Atlus, and in Europe by Deep Silver . Downloadable content , composed of both battle challenges and additional narratives, were released in the months following the game's Japanese and Western releases respectively. The music for Radiant Historia was written by Yoko Shimomura , a composer best known for her work on
35154-419: Was released on July 26, 2017 through Team Entertainment. A version of the soundtrack also came bundled with the Japanese "Perfect Edition". The game released to "generally favorable reviews" according to aggregate site Metacritic , receiving a score of 85 out of 100 based on 30 critic reviews. It was ranked as the third best-reviewed DS title of 2011. Owing to its premise and mechanics, multiple critics compared
35343-424: Was released through Team Entertainment on December 15, 2010. Critical reception of the album was positive among music critics. Atlus produced a CD containing five piano arrangements of tracks from the game, including a piano rendition of "Historia". Titled Radiant Historia: Piano Selection , it released alongside the game for the first printing. The piano collection was suggested by Shimomura by Atlus. The core concept
35532-541: Was the first such attempt to recreate a role-playing game for a console, and requires several simplifications to fit within the more limited memory and capabilities of the Famicom compared to computers; players in Dragon Quest controlled only a single character, the amount of control over this character limited due to the simplicity of the Famicom controller, and a less-realistic art style was chosen to better visualize
35721-581: Was the originally intended mode of the Civilization series before the developers decided to switch to turn-based. It has been present in the SimCity construction and management simulation series since SimCity (1989) and is also used in the Transport Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon series. In the single-character console RPGs Parasite Eve (1998) and Vagrant Story (2000),
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