Character creator fans rejoice, these JRPGs have some of the best customization options for creating a unique protagonist.
Most JRPGs tend to have premade protagonists. It’s one of the biggest differences between Western RPGs and JRPGs. That doesn’t mean premade protagonists are bad because some of the best games, like Final Fantasy 7 and Persona 5, are beloved because of the protagonists and party members. For Final Fantasy 7, the characters have stuck with fans so much that Square Enix even expanded the universe.
For Persona 5, players have an even deeper bond with their party as they can go on dates or hang out sessions, which can lead to romances. Premade JRPGs aside, let’s take a look at some games influenced by Western culture that have custom character options. MMOs and Soulslikes will be considered, even the Japanese ones, as they are a whole other breed from the following examples.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A
Pokemon Legends: Z-A is a newer example and the latest Pokemon game, and like most recent examples, players can fully customize their male or female avatar, including their basic face structure from their hair to their eyes. Afterward, players can continue to tweak their character by visiting barbers to get new haircuts and lots of shops to change clothes to fit the latest fashion.
Online, players get to show off their characters to opponents in battle, which is one of the reasons why anyone puts so much time into a character to begin with. Otherwise, the game itself is great as players can go around collecting Pokemon in certain areas within the city, along with facing opponents at night to ride in the city tournament. The battle system is still turn-based, but as players can spam attacks while they wait for cooldowns, it feels more active than most.
Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels Of The Starry Sky
Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Sky is an older example and a big deal for the Dragon Quest series. Players could customize their male or female hero for the first time in a mainline entry, which is a trend that carried over into the next game, Dragon Quest 10: Rise of the Five Tribes Online, which was an MMO, so it was more expected.
The cosmetic changes aren’t vast, but the best thing about the overall adventure is that players also get to hire and change up their party, too, which not many JRPGs tend to do. Later, players can get into the class system, called Vocations, to further customize their party to make it more powerful in turn-based combat. Finally, there is four-player co-op, meaning players can explore with friends and see how their heroes look.
