Nintendo wants to dazzle us with Japanese role-playing games in early 2016

When we think of most Japanese role-playing games that come out today, austere affairs with limited budgets generally come to mind. Nintendo apparently wants to change that.

Thursday’s long-awaited Nintendo Direct came as a surprise to many, as the bulk of the show was spent on the multitude of JRPGs in their early 2016 lineup, discussing Xenoblade Chronicles X, Hyrule Warriors: Legends, Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam, the three Fire Emblem Fates games, Final Fantasy Explorers, and two highly anticipated Dragon Quest remakes. That’s more RPG content at once than Nintendo’s ever had since the Super Nintendo era. Previously, it’s been shy to support the genre quite to this degree because of its perceived waning popularity, so this about-face is something of a surprise.