The best JRPGs where you start with nothing

Key conclusions

• Some JRPGs start with characters at the bottom, e.g
  Code Wayne
  forcing players to prove their worth.
• Final Fantasy 12
  features Vaan, a street kid who doesn't become a chosen one, but follows the events.
• Link to
  Ocarina of time
  starts completely empty-handed, unlike usual
  Zelda
  the formula of having some gear.

The first thing that comes to mind is when JRPG Trails Are Made is a hero's journey where a young hero awakens to some new power or destiny and must go on an adventure to figure it out and save the world. So players are used to running a main character that starts with an advantage, even if they have to get stronger over time.

However, not every JRPG chooses such a classic story, and some even choose to turn it on its head by introducing a character who isn't inherently special and has to prove his worth. All of these JRPGs start playing from nothingoften in less than ideal conditions.

8 Code Wayne

Slaves of blood

World Code Wayne is a dark post-apocalyptic future where demi-human hybrids hunt for an ever-dwindling resource called Blood Beads. The player begins as a slave tasked with hunting these beads not even for their own benefit, but for their masters. To make matters worse, they hunt for these Beads in monster-infested ruins with nothing but lead pipe for protection.

must admit Code Wayne later returns to a more “chosen” trope. After defeating their first boss, players discover that they have the ability to absorb other people's codes, which essentially function as the game's class system. The players here definitely start from the bottom.

7 Shenmue

Simulator from 9 to 5

Shenmue tells a tale of revenge that wouldn't be out of place in a martial arts movie. The game begins with the death of the main character's father, and players must track down his killer with little to no information.

Not only has the main character Ryo lost his father, but he still has some work to do to find clues, earn money, and become stronger before he can get revenge by bringing him to the fore. Shenmue delights in portraying the in-depth details of Ryo's life that most games would miss out on editing, such as his day job or training regimen.

6 Final Fantasy 12

Starting with the streets

Of all the main ones Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy 12 can have a protagonist who starts at the lowest point. Players begin, after introductions, playing as a young war orphan Vaan. He's a street kid who relies on the kindness of an old man to survive and essentially kills rats for a living.

It's the incentive to escape this life, as much as anything else, that starts Vaan and his street companion Penel on an adventure that leads them to the rest of the player's party. What's interesting about Vaan's character is that he doesn't come off as special. He just follows the big events he gets into and tries to do what he thinks is right.

5 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The link remains empty

The The Legend of Zelda the games often use the same approach to powering up Link as the Metroidvanias. Link solves puzzles or discovers secrets, and he gains a new ability or tool that allows him to go to new places on the map. But usually he at least starts with something to fend off the monsters.

Not in Ocarina of timewhich sees Link start completely empty-handed. He even has to move around and solve a puzzle to get his sword. All other equipment must also be earned or bought. Ocarina of time really starts Link off at the bottom before later giving him some impressive time-altering powers.

4 Dark souls

Prisoner of fate

Everyone Souls games allow the player to start from scratch if he wants to. The Deprived starting class and its equivalents are important for level 1 runs and other challenges. In the original Dark soulshowever, even if players choose an equipped starting class, they must complete Undead Sanctuary before they can claim their gear.

This, of course, includes encountering an asylum demon in one of the most memorable intros in all of gaming. The setting gives players a feel for how harsh and scary the world is Dark souls will, long before they are even equipped to handle it.

3 Person 4

Daily school drama

The Person the series often uses a similar setup for all of its main characters. The main character has to move to a new city, live with a relative and study at a local school. Unlike Persona 5which begins with a glimpse of what the Joker can do, Person 4 puts players in the role of a middle schooler.

Person 4 takes starting from nothing seriously. The players are in a new city, so they have no friends or money unless they work part-time. It even takes a while for the game to reveal the main plot twist where the protagonist awakens his power as a Persona user. There are play days worth of school drama to work on and friends to meet first.

2 Yakuza: Like a dragon

Left to die

The Yakuza the series often challenged players to build themselves from humble beginnings. However, few games have given their hero as much bad luck as Ichiban Kasuga gets in his intro.

Not only does Yakuza: Like a dragon let's start with Kasuga being released from prison, serving time for a crime committed by someone else, soon his own boss shoots him in the head. He was left to die in a new town, homeless and friendless, until he was rescued by a homeless boyfriend, Nanba.

The entire story of the game revolves around Kasuga climbing up the straps as well. He needs to quickly learn how to earn money and take care of himself, as the events of the game begin to gather momentum.

1 Bloodborne

Animals throughout the store

FromSoftware likes to start the player from a disadvantage, and BloodborneThe introduction emphasizes this point. After a cryptic opening scene with a mention of a contract and a strange blood transfusion leading to a blood-soaked nightmare, players wake up in a seemingly abandoned medical clinic.

Players will soon encounter a werewolf-like beast feasting on a corpse below, which players must either run away from or fight unarmed. Either dying here or running to the nearest lamp will take players to the Hunter's Dream where they can rest a bit and finally equip their starting weapon.

of course Bloodborne also has its own version of the Deprived class, called Waste of Skin, for players who really want to start at the bottom rung of the ladder. A pervasive sense of terror and vulnerability in BloodborneThe introduction would fit in any survival horror game.