Summary
In the long and storied history of JRPGs, the genre has been defined by a lot, but one of the less appreciated concerns is just how often they turn toward existential themes. That’s what happens when a trope develops where the player is usually tasked with killing god at the end of the game, so it’s no real surprise…
Whether it’s mutagenic viruses that mull on the nature of free will or endless cycles of cosmic horrors rewriting reality as they see fit, JPRGs offer plenty of material for gamers looking for an existential crisis.
As one of the first rated M games released by Square, an adaptation of a book, and an early attempt to fuse JRPG mechanics with horror gameplay,Parasite Evewas a big swing by the venerated JRPG company. Luckily, it paid off big-time, even if it remainscriminally underrated in the modern day.
The game brings up a lot of major existential themes too. Because the plot revolves around mitochondria in cells becoming sentient, the game raises questions about what it means to exist if humans are made up of smaller organisms, and it also challenges the idea that humans are dominant in the evolutionary hierarchy.
Final Fantasy 10was a massive leap forward for the venerated JRPG franchise that took bold steps, including the transition to a fully 3D world with graphics that still hold up pretty well to this day. The game takes lots of inspiration from island cultures around Southeast Asia and has a unique relationship toFinal Fantasy’s reoccurring pantheon of gods that has endeared it in the hearts of many fans who quietly maintain thatit’s one of the best games in the franchise.
InFinal Fantasy 10, players take control of Tidus, who must try to find a way to conquer the world-ending force known as “Sin,” which cyclically seems to destroy worlds as many preach that Sin is mankind’s punishment for the use of technology. The possibility of Sin re-emerging is the existential crisis that fuels the entire game world, and it’s a compelling question whether Tidus can even fight it at all.
Following upChrono Trigger, one of the most venerated JRPGs of all time, is no easy task, butChrono Crossmarks an admirable attempt at developing the original game’s ideas, and bringing them to the realm of parallel dimensions that are key to the game’s unique story and characters.
Players take the role of Serge who travels to a parallel world where he died as a child, which has a lot of knock-on effects as these parallel dimensions diverge. The existence of fate (with a literal supercomputer in the game called FATE that acts as a goddess of technological determinism) in the world is a constant struggle, as the game’s characters wonder how mutable their identity may be in a world of parallel dimensions and whether struggling against the existence of fate is even possible.
Earthboundhas a deceptive legacy, both as a cheery JRPG with a simplistic art style and as a kid’s game on account of its child protagonists. However, anyone who has ever playedEarthboundwill know that a lot of this friendliness is just a veil over a much more sinister and existentially driven plot about the nature of cosmic horror itself.
Taking control of Ness, players must come face to face with Giygas, the embodiment of cosmic horror that wants to sentence humanity to a dimension of eternal darkness. Fan theories run rampant on Giygas, with some thinking that Giygas is an unborn fetus, or that it is a literal Lovecraftian god. No matter the truth, Giygas and the evil it represents that can dominate reality with little effort is an existentially horrifying idea and one that has cementedEarthboundas a time-honored classic.
As (probably) the most popular and best-loved entry into theFinal Fantasyfranchise,Final Fantasy 7already has a fearsome reputation among JRPG fans. One major reason is due to its stories and the themes that were well ahead of its time, particularly due to the environmentalist themes that drive the motivations of many of the several heroes as they face off againstthe game’s roster of formidable bosses.
Final Fantasy 7is one of the earliest examples in video games of eco-existentialism, the idea that an existential crisis can be triggered by the degradation of the environment that’s on a seemingly irrevocable path toward destruction. Add on top of that Cloud’s central struggle with his own identity, andFinal Fantasy 7packs a surprising amount of existentialism beneath the hood.
AllPersonagames are known to get a little dark from time to time, but none are yet to get as dark asPersona 3, the beginning of what could broadly be considered to be the modern entries in the franchise. InPersona 3,players have to shoot themselves in the head to summon their magical abilities. Yeah, this game has some pretty dark ideas on its mind.
Yet, like mostPersonagames, there’s an optimistic heart at the core of a game that is centrally concerned about the existential crisis known as death and whether it’s better to resist it or embrace it. There’s loads of depth here, and it remains probably the most underrated entry in the modern entries of the game that’srecently been re-released in its most complete form ever.
Though theShin Megami Tenseiseries is the somewhat neglected little brother in the Atlus catalog, it more than makes up for its comparative lack of popularity with compelling and darker worlds thanPersona, none more thanShin Megami Tensei 3.
InShin Megami Tensei 3, players awake in a post-apocalyptic version of Tokyo ravaged by supernatural creatures and a dwindling subset of humanity trying to understand how to proceed to the next day. Yet, the game has a quiet pulse of optimism, making the case that only by encountering meaningless can we live authentically. It’s deep stuff, and well worth the play.
No other mainstream game has been released in the past decade or more with as much existentialist philosophy built into its bones asNier: Automata. Players take control of units in the Yorha unit, sentient androids, tasked with destroying other robots on a ravaged earthas they tackle a litany of brilliant side quests.
However, no single-sentence plot synopsis can truly encapsulate the sheer depths of existential chaos the game plunges into, actively taunting the player about the meaninglessness of their journey, then performing one of the single most compelling gameplay about-turns in video game history that’s so optimistic it’s hard not to feel like it’s all going to be okay. To say more would spoil it, but no game has engaged with existential questions in such a thorough fashion thanNier: Automata.
