Elden Ring Director Wants to Make a Traditional JRPG

Elden Ring creative director and FromSoftware studio head Hidetaka Miyazaki has revealed that he’d like to take a shot at developing a traditional JRPG someday. The acclaimed game designer has largely been recognized for his work on Soulslikes in recent years, so seeing him express interest in making a title in a genre atypical of his past efforts is a bit surprising. Regardless, the prospect of a JRPG helmed by the creators of Elden Ring would likely set certain corners of the FromSoftware fanbase ablaze with excitement.

Although FromSoftware is nowadays best known for being the studio behind massively successful titles like Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring, the company has a rather eclectic library of games in its lengthy development portfolio. FromSoft initially made its debut with the bizarre King’s Field series of action RPGs. Afterward, the company branched out and worked on a wide variety of other games, like the 3D platformer The Adventures of Cookie & Cream and the cult-classic hack-and-slash Otogi. Ever since Hidetaka Miyazaki became president of the studio in 2014, though, FromSoftware has largely pigeonholed itself into a few genres. This hasn’t necessarily been a bad thing for the company, but Miyazaki is nonetheless looking to shake things up.

During an interview with Rolling Stone, Miyazaki stated that he’s interested in experimenting with new genres outside the Soulslike formula that FromSoftware established with its brutally difficult games. Specifically, he mentioned that part of him wants to create a traditional JRPG. While Miyazaki has yet to make such a game, FromSoftware itself has actually developed a JRPG before. After all, in 2006, the company released a Japanese role-playing game, published — oddly enough — by Ubisoft, for the Xbox 360 named Enchanted Arms. Though this particular title wasn’t received all that well, if Miyazaki were to make a game in a similar vein, it could end up being something special.

If Miyazaki Does Make a JRPG, It Likely Won’t Be a Sequel To Enchanted Arms

Despite Miyazaki’s interest in developing a JRPG, don’t expect FromSoftware to release Enchanted Arms 2 anytime soon. In fact, don’t expect the company to return to the worlds of most old FromSoft games at all under Miyazaki’s leadership, as the studio head isn’t interested in creating new entries in franchises that he wasn’t involved in the creation of. Explaining this stance of his, Miyazaki said that he thinks “a lot of these games are so intertwined with the directors who almost invented that style of game.” As such, he doesn’t see a scenario where he himself “would make a King’s Field. The same can be said about Otogi and Enchanted Arms.”

FromSoftware’s current approach of sticking to only a few genres has paid dividends for the company, as evidenced by the recent release of Elden Ring‘s new DLC, the critically-acclaimed Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. Even still, it would be interesting to see FromSoftware and Miyazaki branch out by making a traditional JRPG in the vein of a Final Fantasy or Tales game.

From Software

Based in Japan, FromSoftware is a development company best known for the Souls series and Armored Core franchise. Other popular games from From Software include Elden Ring, Sekiro, Bloodborne, and the King’s Field series.

Date Founded

November 1, 1986

Headquarters

Tokyo, Japan

CEO

Hidetaka Miyazaki

Parent Company

Kadokawa

Known For

dark souls , Armored Core