Even though he lays things out, the process isn’t prescriptive. “Sometimes, I think that a character will probably react in a certain way. What I’m trying to get them to do is direct them towards a goal.”

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Murayama’s process is organic. Because he thinks deeply about each character early in the process, he understands what they want and how they react. He has an idea of who they are. This helps him herd them naturally towards the climax. This is his strength as a storyteller.

“I have the big picture of where the characters need to go, but I don’t force them,” Murayama said. “Doing so would destroy them as characters. So what I try is how I can get them to get them headed in a particular direction. I think, for example, if I do something, then perhaps the character will react a certain way, and that brings the character to life.”

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Unlike a novel, which involves the reader’s imagination, a game actively involves the player in the storytelling process. Surely that makes writing JRPGs difficult, I asked.

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“I’ve done more than just writing,” Murayama replied. “Since the first Suikoden, I’ve worked as a director, so I’m aware of how much time players need to play, how much story they need, and how to balance that. I’ve been doing this for decades, so there are techniques involved. If you had never done this, writing an RPG might be difficult.”

In closing, I asked Murayama to define what he thought JRPGs were. “Japanese role-playing games are like bentos. You have all these different dishes you can enjoy in the bento box.” Then what would he compare Western RPGS to? “They’re like steak,” he replied, smiling and gesturing cutting a big hunk of meat.

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The Alliance Alive HD Remastered, Murayama’s most recent JRPG saga, will be released on the Nintendo Switch next month.