FromSoftware's Hidetaka Miyazaki Would Love to Try His Hand at a Traditional JRPG

FromSoftware boss Hidetaka Miyazaki has dreams beyond the Souls-like subgenre with which his name is now synonymous. Having pushed the boundaries of what an action RPG can even be, it turns out the one thing he'd like to turn his hand to is a traditional Japanese roleplaying game.

Miyazaki sat for an extensive chat with Rolling Stone, covering various subjects. The most interesting (to our mind) was a short section where the auteur creator expressed interest in making a JRPG at some stage, time and opportunity permitting. FromSoftware did release one in 2006, Enchanted Arms, although Miyazaki said if such a thing did come to pass, it would likely be unconnected to any of its existing IPs, with one intriguing exception:

"I don’t think there’s a scenario where I myself would make a King’s Field. The same can be said about Otogi and Enchanted Arms. I think many of these games are so intertwined with the directors who almost invented that style of game." The exception to that rule, of course, is the series where Miyazaki made his bones, and if we were so bold, one which would make for an incredible JRPG setting: "I worked on Armored Core 4 and Armored Core: For Answer. It enabled me to put my own interpretation on Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon and develop that."

Time will tell if that exciting reality ever comes to pass, but we imagine the studio currently has its hands full. Elden Ring's anticipated Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is only hours away, and we suspect it will be hugely successful for the studio.

What do you think of a traditional JRPG from modern FromSoftware? What would that even look l like? Just give us a Bloodborne tactics game, with the various factions and entities fighting for control of Yharnam, and we'll retreat into the darkness for good.