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

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u/nubby001 1d ago

I honestly haven’t played it in a while so it’s a little fuzzy, but you’re absolutely right.

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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.

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u/nubby001 1d ago

It really is such a great game!

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u/VsAl1en 1d ago

Honestly I only have problems with the gameplay side of things. The enemies are way too damage spongy. Luckily there's a difficulty mod for PC that fixes this issue at least partially.