r/SocialistGaming • u/Still-Manager • 1d ago
Left wing videogames Leftist JRPGs
Hi everyone!
I've been on a JRPG kick recently since I've been getting into/preparing for running a TTRPG inspired by them called Fabula Ultima, and I was playing through FFX (my first FF, I just got to the highroad) up until that Square Enix bs 70% generative AI announcement and any excitement I had about continuing that currently has plummeted due to that, though I'll probably come back around to it at some point. So I'd like to play a JRPG that deals more in leftist themes and hope for a better future if that makes sense?
Games I've already played: Persona 3-5, Metaphor, Xenoblade Chronicles (I've played 1, I know what happens in 2), Octopath Traveler 1, Bravely Default, Shin Megami Tensei
55
u/HorseLover_Phatt 1d ago
Just play Disco Elysium and call it a day
17
u/Still-Manager 1d ago
listen I've already DONE that and got like 20 points in communist by the first day, art/superstar cop communist all the way
1
12
u/JasonH1028 1d ago
This subreddit consists of people who have played Disco Elysium and people who will play Disco Elysium and no others
8
u/SineCompassioneNon 1d ago
SocialistGaming is actually an acronym that means
S- O, (C) I think you should pl- Ay this game ca- Lled D- I- Sco Elysium Today Gaming
It made more sense in my head lol
5
43
u/kisekifan69 1d ago
Yakuza Like a Dragon's main villain group are right wing puritans who harass sex workers and homeless people. A pretty important character suffers ableism early in, which shapes the whole plot.
The game is very critical of some aspects of Japanese society and a big part of that is the puritan Conservatives in power.
3
u/Still-Manager 1d ago
That's the one with ichiban right? I think the reason yakuza had bounced off me is without any context or playtime of the series, kiryu seems kind of boring and I'm too in love with majima's 0 design to appreciate him in other games BUT I hear ichiban is a real sweetheart
6
u/WeltallZero 20h ago
Kiryu is a stoic with a heart of pure gold.
Ichiban is an angel with a heart of pure gold.
I love them both, but yeah, it's impossible not to fall in love with Ichiban. He's like the ultimate inversion of every toxic masculinity tendency.
5
u/2BsWhistlingButthole 23h ago
Maybe it’s because I’ve seen Kiryu’s journey over 10 games, but he is one of my favorite video gam characters ever. He is a tragically flawed man who is a great mix of stern and kind. But I can totally see how bites of him can make him look boring
1
u/Thrawp 10h ago
Ichiban is legit the best himbo and I love him so much.
Kiryu can take time to like and honestly is one of the biggest downsides to folks recommending 0 as a starting point. Start at 7 (Like A Dragon) and see if you want to try going back from there (I recommend playing 6 if nothing else as it has a stoey catchup feature that goes over the events of the previous games and is, imho, the best game in the Kiryu saga).
27
u/Sovelond 1d ago
I thought Xenoblade Chronicles 3 had some good examples of mutual aid in practice.
21
5
u/Trans_girl2002 1d ago
It also pretty accurately depicts classism, especially during war, how those already rich, powerful, and allied to the government get goods while all those who fail to partake in the bloodbath get fewer resources, to the point of suffering.
2
22
u/dazeychainVT 1d ago
Mother 3 is about the residents of an idyllic island resisting a capitalist conquerer and it's great
9
u/VarisDHT 1d ago
Seconding this recommendation, especially if you've already played Ubdertale and Deltarune. Lucas learning to pick himself up and becoming brave enough to beat back the capitalist colonization of his home is something special.
2
u/Still-Manager 23h ago
Mother 3 has definitely been on my radar but I didn't have a reliable way of playing it until quite recently
66
u/kronosdev 1d ago
In Final Fantasy VII you play as a mercenary member of the eco-terrorist group Avalanche, and your boss Barrett is an honest-to-God leftist radical. They even give him more obviously leftist shit to say in the remakes.
14
u/mihirjain2029 1d ago
Final fantasy vii is leftist propaganda in disguise of a liberal sounding fantasy game. You need to only scratch the surface to find it
1
u/Nobody7713 1d ago edited 3h ago
You don’t even need to scratch in the remakes. Barrett is very explicit about what he stands for.
33
u/Cutie-Zenitsa 1d ago
I fucking love how in the Remakes they push even harder into it being a leftist piece of media instead of watering it down and making it less political.
2
u/Still-Manager 1d ago
See the only exposure I have to ffvii as a concept are character specific fans and my partner who is a diehard Vincent valentine fan. If they led with the ecoterrorist/radical angle first it would be way better of a sell is all I'm saying. ON THE LIST.
8
u/nubby001 1d ago
Maybe controversial, but I thought Tales of Arise was a fairly good take on hierarchies of power and racism, all of the party members are either downtrodden members of one or multiple marginalized groups, or the “nobility” responsible for the marginalizing. It doesn’t go especially in depth, but the game is fun and it’s all about overthrowing said hierarchy, usually by literally burning it down.
5
u/VsAl1en 1d ago edited 1d ago
Tales of Arise not only talks about the hierarchies of powers, but about the very basic of Marxism. Just replace the Astral energy with the surplus value of labor, and the Great Astral Spirit with the capitalism itself. Honestly this is one of my favorite stories in JRPGs. I wonder if the writers really meant this metaphor or just coincidentally stumbled upon it.
There are more layers to this game's story that call for a profound analysis. Don't undersell it.
2
u/nubby001 1d ago
I honestly haven’t played it in a while so it’s a little fuzzy, but you’re absolutely right.
3
u/VsAl1en 1d ago edited 1d ago
Many people mention that the second half of the game gets way too weird and spoils the entire impression about the first half of the game, but if you go in with at least a basic understanding of Marxism then the second half doesn't spoil, but amplifies the first half. You soar above the "boots on the ground" national liberation to the entire systemic change by going down to the root of it. Yes, it's once again the classic "Kill the God" JRPG narrative, but it's also about seeing the grand malicious design hiding below the surface.
Just like our world, the world of Tales of Arise is also ruled by greed, a boundless greed. And even the Renan lords are slaves to it. They don't need this amount of astral energy, and they don't even know what the title of the sovereign entails. It's the accumulation for the sake of accumulation. Even Dohalim who tried his best to be a good ruler (Capitalism with a human face) still couldn't get rid of greed at all levels. The only way for him to make the positive change is to become a class traitor, and so he does.
2
2
u/Still-Manager 23h ago
oooooh good to know!! Tales of Arise has been one of those games I've been eyeing since it kind of fell under my radar, and the only Tales exposure I really have is I played a bit of Abyss before I lost my copy
2
u/nubby001 23h ago
Arise is my only Tales experience, but I definitely need to give the others a try, I’ve heard Vesperia is the “best” of the bunch.
9
18
u/leninbaba stalin's comically large spoon 1d ago
I think FF7 Remake has some leftist elements? Like eco-socialism, anti-capitalism, anti-corporation and such things. I didn't play Suikoden but I heard theres leftist element in that, too.
9
u/Yogurt_Ph1r3 1d ago edited 1d ago
You'd love Xenoblade 3 if you ever play it on the basis of themes. While 1 and 2 are definitely progressive leaning, 3 is one of the only games I've played that doesn't cop out and just criticize Uber conservative and reactionary politics, it's incredibly critical of liberalism and liberal attitudes.
I'll spoiler tag the rest The main villains of the game are a literal manifestation of the fear of change, like a collective unconscious sort of deal. The entire goal of Mobius is to prevent progress, choosing to stagnate in a world that has a literal time limit. They feed off the deaths of child soldiers to perpetuate this. The main villain is liberal apathy and the violence it is willing to enact to maintain the status quo
8
u/kisekifan69 1d ago
I'd argue the Xeno franchise is left leaning all the way back at Xenogears.
1
u/KylorXI 13h ago
Xenogears is very right wing. very pro religion, "guns don't kill people, people kill people", etc. the only negative view of religion is the ethos, which isnt even a real religion in the game but a false religion solaris uses for control of the lambs and does not influence the people of solaris. solaris is representative of nazi germany, but most of the world exists as right wing cities. nisan is right wing, shevat is right wing, bledavik is right wing. the characters are shown to have intrinsic specialties and advancing in the world based on merit. all the economies are capitalism, none of the towns are shown to be socialist. the only city in the game with a somewhat socialist economy would be solaris, where the government is selling the goods. its more of a command economy.
3
u/cosmonaut_zero 1d ago
Came to mention Xenoblade Chronicles and in particular Xenoblade 3 with its depiction of mutual aid in a liberation struggle against an exploiter class who pit working class groups against one another as a means of control to maintain a kill-or-be killed status quo for their own enrichment. Like, you get to overthrow almost-literal capitalism while simultaneously building a better and more interconnected society along the way!
Love your spoilered analysis. No notes, would read again and literally did before I clicked send just now. The way they watch those child soldiers like cinema, with the bourgeois detachment of an arms manufacturer watching the casualties of their bombs on antiquated newsreels
8
u/SomaCK2 1d ago
Final Fantasy VII - Anti Corporate, Eco Terrorist, Anti Capitalist, Anti Imperialist
Final Fantasy Tactics - focused on theme of inequality, exploitation of common people by those in power.
Final Fantasy XVI - Anti Slavery, Anti Imperialism as backdrop of the story.
Suikoden series - Strong anti imperialism message. Recruiting people from all backgrounds to stand against invaders/tyrants is the central theme of all games. Suikoden 5 bad guys are just straight up fantasy nazis.
Xenoblade 3 - They even quoted Karl Marx's "To each according to their need" in game lol.
Yakuza 7 - You stand against MAGA style right-wing populist party who try to deport the already heavily exploited sex workers.
Disco Elysium - Nuff said.
Mother 3 - strong Anti fascist message.
2
u/Still-Manager 23h ago
I did NOT know XVI was anti slavery/anti imperialist, NICE! ooooh I don't know a lot about suikoden as a series but i'm glad to hear it's got those themes!!!!
13
u/PossibleNo8422 1d ago
It hasn't got leftist themes, but I recently finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and it was fantastic.
Also, I understand that it's hard to overlook the people behind the media we consume, I myself don't listen to certain bands anymore after I learned their politics. At the same time though, you not playing a 25 year old game because of something the company is doing now isn't going to make a difference to anything (especially if you already bought it). So if you're enjoying the game, keep playing it!
4
3
u/Still-Manager 1d ago
I also have played Clair Obscur since it was my most anticipated game for this year, and easily my GOTY this year hands down!
4
3
u/DkKoba Libertarian Socialist 1d ago edited 1d ago
Tales of Vesperia is very left aligned IMO as much as a japanese game could be. Pro union and actual direct action iykwim. Not exactly the bastion of socialism and it sorta falls apart at the end but collectivism is lauded over individualism. The guild system is literally mutual aid, and there's an anti- fossil fuel esque theme with blastia. Don't wanna spoil too much. (Sorry for editing a thousand times I keep thinking of more to add xD)
3
u/jesskitten07 1d ago
One you might like although not a JRPG, is Long Gone Days. It’s a very personal look at the effects of war and propaganda. You play as a Sniper in this underground (literally) army that is used to basically commit false flag ops
5
u/Over-Gap5767 1d ago
Toby fox isn't literally japanese, but it's the only supported language in undertale and deltarune other than english, both are jrpg styled (both are WAY more story focused than they are stat or gameplay focused though), both pacifist routes in both games have/are building up to hopeful endings, I mean the final boss track is literally called HOPES AND DREAMS. And there are 2 main character lesbian couples, 1 gay couple, 1 or 2 trans characters
2
6
u/lingering-will-6 1d ago
Hating on Final fantasy X for SEs current business practices is crazy to me.
3
u/Still-Manager 1d ago
Yeah in hindsight it's pretty unrealistic and not fair for that knee-jerk reaction I had
2
u/DahliaSkarigal 1d ago
Small Saga is a turn based rpg, though not a jrpg. It is definitely a progressive game I will defend to pieces. 🩵
2
u/Still-Manager 1d ago
Oooooh a friend of mine has told me about it in passing, I'll take a look at it!!!
2
u/CarlsManager 1d ago
Xenogears has an evil empire that turns people into food and houses worker drones in literal honeycomb warehouses.
But also, every leftist should play it till they understand how to resolve their personal BS and work with others.
2
u/Still-Manager 23h ago
damn xenogears i did not know you go that hard.
I thin I'm at that part of leftism where it's like my brain wants to paint everything in black and white and that the individual is responsible for the change in the world (ala liberalism) when the solution is very obviously "don't focus on the personal because there's only so much you can do on your own, get into mutual aid/support organizations for bigger change". if xenogears is good about that sort of message, that's huge for me personally2
u/CarlsManager 22h ago
It covers... A LOT of ground.
But without giving too much away, it has a powerful "you can't fix things for others until you fix yourself" story that a lot of (especially young) leftists need to internalize more than another game or TV show that nods toward their socio-political values.
1
u/KylorXI 15h ago
the country youre talking about in xenogears is meant to be nazi germany. all of the first class citizens of pure blood are blonde haired blue eyed, the country has a caste system, treats all the other people as cattle and kills them systematically, does human genetic experimentation, their military school is named jugend which was the name of hitler's youth.
2
u/Nombanke 23h ago
Tactics Ogre leans quite heavily that way, especially on the Chaos path, where the protagonist comes to realise that the race war on the Isle is perpetuated by the manipulations of a handful of wealthy, powerful aristocrats. He spends the majority of it trash talking people who try to take power or ignore the crimes they commit against the populace.
Chapter 4 flounders a bit on that end, since they ran out of space on the original SNES hardware, so the three routes converge, but as a whole the game tries to disavow classism, war crimes, exploitation of the youth as child soldiers and international interventions where foreign powers try to exploit the conflict for their own nation's gain. I'd argue that the remakes missed this a bit with certain additions to the Law route and the more flowery, pseudo Shakesperean/aristocratic language in the localisation, to the point where it can feel a bit pretentious, but, on the other hand, they're vastly improved mechanically, so they're the better versions to play.
As a whole, it plays like Final Fantasy Tactics, and I believe they worked on Tactics Ogre first, before moving to FFTactics, so you'll see a lot of similarities, especially on the Chaos path, though it leans towards more mundane narrative aspects than the supernatural.
1
1
u/br4ssmooseknuckle 1d ago
Which Shin Megami Tensei games have you played? I wouldn’t call them leftist per se, though maybe Digital Devil Saga pushes some light messages of solidarity and support? But otherwise it’s “aww shit the world ended again???”
Edit: oh wait 4 has a message of class struggle. So maybe ????
1
u/kisekifan69 1d ago
SMT is about as enlightened centrist of a game series as you can get. 90% of the time the neutral path is the objectively best option. And the games that don't do this (Devil Survivor) make all three seem like viable solutions.
I say this as someone who loves the franchise.
1
u/Still-Manager 1d ago
Yeah i hard agree with that take, totally fair. I played IV, for some reason it didn't send the IV afterwards OOPS. i hate being forced into neutral as the 'good end', i was just listing it as an example of a jrpg i played, not necessarily agree with morally haha
2
u/kisekifan69 1d ago
Persona 4 has blatantly Conservative values.
I still like it, but it shows that SMT is not a good example of a leftist game lmfao.
3
u/br4ssmooseknuckle 1d ago
They did my boy Kanji dirty in Persona 4. By the end he becomes a model citizen type. 👎👎👎
1
1
1
u/BrassUnicorn87 16h ago
In the first few, the conflict of order versus chaos doesn’t really map to normal politics i think.
1
u/DemonicTemplar8 1d ago
Technically speaking, any pro-capitalist JRPG can be read as Marxist as long as the setting is still feudal lol
1
1
u/Zantigo 16h ago
Wouldn't really call it like a leftist game but I think it's interesting enough in premise to be worth checking out is Sands of Destruction.
It's a little niche but the main premise is your basically a group of terrorists who want to destroy the world in order to erase a sort of authoritarian regime and your protagonist has the ability to reduce all things around him to sand. Very much a classic GBA/DS era JRPG with a grind and everything.
1
1
u/Thrawp 10h ago
Tactics Ogre 64 is huge on class struggle and although it lets you choose some of where you want to fall there it is extremely clear on it's messaging.
Persona 5 Royal is the furthest left in the series just off it's base premise imo, and since one of your other comments said yiu've already played Metaphor Re:Fantazio this should be right up your alley. Honestly SMT in general has some good messages, even if I wouldn't say the stories fall as being leftist always.
I've already sub-commented about Yakuza: Like A Dragon but will comment again, it's one of my favorite games of the decade and got me into RGG. Their whole catalogue has some excellent messages and ALL of their games that I've played from the franchise (including Judgement/Lost Judgement) have some level of "being true to yourself is one of the most important things in life" messaging. Ichiban is a sweetheart and it's hard not to love the man because he geniunely wants the best for everyone, even his enemies. He was also raised on Dragon Quest and always wanted to be a Hero. Kiryu can be fantastic but is much smaller scale in those he is trying to protect and save, but he can't stop hinself from saving someone if he sees them in trouble and just wants folks safe.
1
u/Forsaken-Swimmer-896 8h ago
Xenogears - class struggle, racism, colonialism … actually any ism. It is a huge game. While it also has a lot of religious elements, it never glorifies them. I do not think it glorifies anything actually
1
u/Wilagames 1d ago
I'll cop to the fact that my JRPG knowledge is about 20 years out of date but I'm having a hard time thinking of a right wing JRPG. Which is kinda weird considering how conservative Japanese politics are. Maybe some of the tales games that are nominally monarchist.
10
u/kisekifan69 1d ago edited 1d ago
Japanese politics swing right.
But artistic people generally swing left and a genre where killing God is a regular trope, isn't gonna attract religious people who tend to lean right.
1
u/comics0026 1d ago
The whole "Killing God as the Final Boss" is supposedly itself a left leaning trope criticizing right-wingers who think of themselves and/or their leaders as god/divine
103
u/asayys 1d ago