JRPGs should draw from BG3's innovative features to become more engaging and immersive.

Baldur's Gate 3 has been lauded as one of the best role-playing games of all-time, and for good reason. It's an incredibly deep game with seemingly endless possibilities. The characters are well written and the story is engaging. You feel completely in control of your own destiny. It's a game that, despite being based on Dungeons & Dragons rules, allows you to live out your own fantasy adventure.

In comparison, Final Fantasy 16 is a game that tried too hard to appeal to a western audience. Its director tried to suggest that the term JRPG was actually an insult, though it's unclear whether he actually believes that or not. The game's attempts to copy Game of Thrones five years late and its misguided attempts to mimic God of War as a role-playing game fell short.

The combat in Final Fantasy 16 is quite good, but eventually becomes repetitive. The graphics are decent, but the story is convoluted and overly serious, with no likeable characters. It mistakes complexity for depth, to the point where it becomes too much effort to keep up with what's going on. In the end, it's a very linear game with no meaningful character choices or decent side quests.

Baldur's Gate 3 is in stark contrast to Final Fantasy 16. It is open-ended and gives you the ability to do anything as long as the laws of physics and Dungeons & Dragons magic allow. In it, you can raise the dead, coat enemies with oil and set them on fire and more. It has a story with well-written characters, each with understandable motivations. Plus, the game is humorous and includes risqué love scenes.

At the end of the day, it's clear that JRPGs have to change if they want to remain relevant in the future. Final Fantasy 16 tried to go down the path of Western role-playing games and failed. It failed to identify the elements that needed to change and ended up getting the worst of both worlds. On the other hand, Baldur's Gate 3 made a great attempt at combining the best of both worlds, making for an incredibly enjoyable experience.

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