Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s creative director and producer are in disagreement over the use of the term “JRPG”
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth creative director Tetsuya Nomura and producer Yoshinori Kitase disagree over the use of the term “JRPG” for their games.
Earlier this year, Final fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida sparked discussion of the term during a interview, who seems uncomfortable with the sentence. At the time he said: “For us as developers, it was the first time we heard it as a discriminatory term. Like we were being made fun of for making these games, and so for some developers the term JRPG could be something that might bring bad feelings will evoke because of what it was in the past.β
Now, in a recent interview with The guard to discuss the highly anticipated sequel to 2020 Final Fantasy 7 RemakeNomura and Kitase were asked for their opinions on the use of the phrase to describe Japanese role-playing games in the West.
Nomura and Kitase appear to be divided on the issue, with Nomura saying he doesn’t understand the meaning.
βI’m not too keen on it,β Nomura said. βCertainly, when we started doing interviews for the games I started making, no one used that term β they just called them RPGs. And at some point β I don’t remember exactly when β people started calling them JRPGs. And I don’t know exactly what the intention behind that is. I always thought it was a bit strange, and a bit weird. I never really understood it β or why it was necessary.β
On the other hand, Kitase doesn’t seem to mind the term and doesn’t consider it “derogatory” towards Japanese developers.
βPersonally, I don’t see it as derogatory,β Kitase shrugs. βI obviously think that in modern gaming, titles developed in the West are now the majority. So if (JRPG) is just used in terms of differentiation β maybe to show a slightly different approach to games or a unique flavor in terms of Japanese-made games β I’m absolutely fine with that.β
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth releases on February 29, 2024, exclusively for PlayStation 5, and will contain “almost 100 hours of adventure”. This was confirmed after the announcement Rebirth does not allow players to use their Remake save files, but Square Enix is ββoffering players some treats as compensation.
In the meantime, check out our list of the best RPGsjust like the best PS5 games you can play in 2023.