How a New Generation of Indian Learners Is Treating Retro Gaming as Cultural Education
By Icicle Disaster
After spending four years documenting educational trends in India, I never expected to discover a particular pattern in 2022. Students, especially those in the 17-25 age group, are rediscovering Japanese role-playing games in huge numbers. This phenomenon goes unreported in the student gaming habit coverage, which continues to focus on Mobile Legends, BGMI, and Free Fire. However, the shift is noticeable on Discord servers, Reddit posts, and YouTube comments. A new Indian learner cohort is not viewing JRPGs solely as a form of entertainment; they see them as a means of cultural education. The platforms they're using to access these games should be monitored by educators and parents who have not previously done so.
The time period is also important, as India has never been a big market for console gaming during the time span of 2000 to 2013, which is when Playstation 2 was dominating the market, and where many JRPGs were being released and commercially doing extremely well in the Japan and Western regions. During these times the average Indian family did not have the disposable income to purchase a console, and even if they could, the game releases were extremely delayed in terms of availability. In those times, the biggest gaming culture in India was based around PC gaming with games such as Counter Strike and then later Dota 2. There was a whole generation in India that knew about JRPGs, but had very little means to actually play those games. The genre became a cultural touchstone characterized by video game music that was circulated on YouTube, fan art that was shared on various social media platforms, and game play clips from streamers that were based in other countries, yet extremely few people had the opportunity to play the games.
What has changed is accessibility. Cheap broadband also changed access to games. Services like Steam and legit emulation for games like RetroAchievements and ports of classic JRPGs to modern systems means students can finally access the genre. For about five hundred rupees, a budget laptop can buy a college student in Bengaluru a legit copy of Final Fantasy X, Persona 4 Golden, or Suikoden II. Genre-defining PS2 era remasters are becoming available, and if they aren't, there are guides for first-time emulators. The last two decades of infrastructure are finally in place.
The reasons JRPGs engagement is from students might be an indicator of value worth looking into. I think with JRPGs students are able to join in on the storytelling that other genres have difficulty doing from a time engagement standpoint. College students can study for a maximal amount of time as they can play a game, save it, and continue it later. They also have to put in a lot of effort to progress in the game, which is similar to the effort necessary in their academic work. They also have to put in a lot of effort to progress in the game, which is similar to the effort necessary in their academic work. For students who have to create their own knowledge in their academic life through patience and effort, other quicker games might be less appealing. For sustained narrative companionship, mobile gacha games and competitive multiplayer titles offer the engagement that JRPGs do not.
Indian students find nostalgia in the PS2 era, and for good reason. It showcases a peak in the genre's commercial and artistic ambitions. With voice acting and cinematics, Final Fantasy X changed the JRPG market. Final Fantasy XII influenced the genre with its new take on the combat system. Persona 3 Modern era School life was the template. With Suikoden V weaving the final threads of one of the most ambitious narratives in gaming. With renewed attention by way of full 3D graphics and English voice acting, Dragon Quest VIII brought the series to the West. Each of the above is now legally and easily accessible for students to experience as a complete artistic statement. https://icicledisaster.com/best-ps2-jrpgs/ has a complete guide to the most influential PS2 JRPGs and how to access them on modern platforms. It also contains both the historically relevant games and overlooked masterpieces that defined the era.
There is an educational element to JRPG gameplay, even if it is a topic that is seldom mentioned in discussions of mainstream pedagogy. Engaging with a JRPG develops a host of cognitive processes that are also present in the classroom, since the classroom demands the same cognitive resources. The same type of complex problem-solving is required to strategically plan character progression. The same type of high-level working-memory required for tracking numerous and complex plots is the same type of working memory that is utilized when reading a long novel. The historical and cultural elements of Japanese JRPGs enrich players' cultural literacy and expose them to new ideas and narratives, structures, myths, and philosophies. While this type of gameplay does not replace the need for formal academic study, it does provide unique, supportive cognitive development that few other types of entertainment do.
Shifting to Steam has dramatically changed economics in the genre for Indian students. During major sales, Indian students can buy Steam Library purchases for about 200 to 700 rupees. Discounts even lower the pricing. This is starkly different than the release pricing for PS5 and Nintendo Switch games, which are priced between 3000 to 5000 rupees. For Indian students, spending 5000 rupees on Steam allows them to build a quality JRPG collection, spanning multiple franchises and different time periods, giving them months or even years of entertainment for less than the price of a single game. Compared to older generations, the pricing works for Indian students.
In the past two years, one of the most important innovations for Indian gamers has been the Steam Deck by Valve. Though the portable handheld PC has not been launched in the Indian market, it has been common practice to purchase it through the Steam Deck grey market. Offering access to the full Steam library, the Steam Deck also allows for easy emulation of older PlayStation and Nintendo games, as well as other PC games. This makes it an invaluable tool for gamers. With the Steam Deck, Indian students can continue to enjoy gaming experiences without having to set up a dedicated gaming space. Additionally, the roughly fifty thousand rupee price to import a Steam Deck is similar to that of a mid-range smartphone. This makes it more economically accessible than traditional gaming consoles for more Indian students. For gamers interested in JRPGs and want to know how they run on the Steam Deck, Icicle Disaster has a great reference for JRPGs. The gamer can find detailed performance notes and practical pointers on hundreds of JRPG titles.
Although still small, the Indian JRPG community is beginning to develop in a number of interesting ways. Indian members are participating in Discord servers dedicated to franchises such as Persona, Trails, or Final Fantasy. Indian users are frequent contributors in the Reddit community r/JRPG, where they request recommendations, post screenshots of their playthroughs, and engage in discussions related to game translations. Indian YouTube content creators have also recently begun producing JRPG content in both Hindi and English. Furthermore, Indian gamers who are willing to engage with English gaming content have been able to overcome the 'translation challenge' and are now able to access the English localized titles that were previously available.
One legitimate concern regarding this trend is the potential impact on students' academic work. While it is true that time spent on JRPGs can negatively impact academics, this can also be said for any hobby that is pursued without any discipline. If students are spending hours and hours playing JRPGs, they are going to negatively impact their academic performance. However, this can be said for any form of entertainment and, compared to other entertainment options, JRPGs are actually pretty good at promoting time management. In fact, most modern JRPGs have save anywhere systems which means that players can play for only thirty minutes and save their progress. Additionally, the storylines of JRPG's are divided into episodes which mean that players can take a break for a few days without needing to remember what was going on in the storyline. Because of this, students who play JRPGs as if they were reading a long novel, where they allocate time for it and stick to that amount of time, will find that this hobby actually works around their academic goals.
The rediscovery of JRPGs has interesting implications for the curriculum, even if they exist at the fringes of formal Indian education. Gaming clubs at schools and colleges often now include JRPG appreciation alongside esports. Some computer science instructors use the mechanics of JRPGs as case studies to explain object-oriented programming because the inventory system, character class, and combat state machine structures are easily translatable into teachable coding structures. Some cultural studies departments use JRPGs to examine the primary texts of Japanese cultural exports and their influence on global youth culture. While none of this is particularly mainstream, the next decade will likely see meaningful expansions in formal Indian academic discussions around JRPGs.
My perspective is influenced by the dozens of Indian student interviews I've conducted in the last year. The patterns remain constant regardless of region or economic class. Students serious about engaging with JRPGs do so with reading literature beyond their assigned texts. They often express better written communication skills than their peers, as they do with verbal communication, and are more likely to share detailed commentary on narratives and characters. While the correlation is significant, it stands out in stark contrast to the digitally-induced culture Indian students are facing in this smartphone era, suggesting the need for close observation and research by educators.
When it comes to thinking about gaming as an actual career, parents especially do not have to worry about JRPGs as they are not on par with the games that some adults think are the same as pointless procrastination. Mobile games that may be popular with Indian students, are not gaming on the students' behalf. Those games run on time exploitation, quick monetization, and short attention span. Also, the popular competitive games are not gaming on students' behalf as they have a stressful communication environment and a time-this is-your-reminder situation. This contrasts with JRPGs as they are usually single player, have a narrative, and are not monetized through microtransactions. JRPGs are not meant to be consumed quickly and instead are meant to be played over the span of months. The game, Final Fantasy X is a game that takes about 35 hours to complete. This game, in terms of narrative, is about morality, religion, and sacrifice. It is certainly a reasonable question to compare it to an equivalent Netflix series, but gaming JRPGs should be considered active rather than passive when thinking about this.
If you're wondering how to get started with JRPGs, my advice is to focus on one game rather than trying to split your attention across multiple games. Steam has Persona 4 Golden on sale for under 500 rupees and offers a complete 80-hour experience. It is a self-contained product that shows all the strengths of the JRPG genre. Other games such as Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, Final Fantasy X Remaster, and Octopath Traveler II are good games, but they are not as complete as Persona 4 Golden. Once you pick one game, a key consideration is that you need to be able to focus on that one game instead of getting distracted by other games as the pacing in JRPGs is much slower compared to other genres.
To put this in a wider context, Indian students who are starting to rediscover JRPGs are also starting to rediscover a very valuable way of engaging with media that is not designed to reward the user with faster, more instant gratifications. It is a good counter to an attention economy that is designed to be more shallow. The attention that is required to experience the full JRPG experience is the same attention that is needed when conducting academic work. The gaming experience, if completed to a good standard, will positively influence other academic pursuits.
Currently, the rediscovery of old JRPGs shows a new route and an opening of new opportunities for older games of other genres. Due to the combination of emulation, and Steam, we can not only access old PS2 JRPGs, but also adventure games, point and click games, narrative driven indie games, and even some experimental games that may have been released in other parts of the world, but not in India. This demonstrates that rediscovery of JRPGs may only be the start of a new cultural phenomenon. Educators aware of this can ease them off more mindless entertainment and direct them to games that are more beneficial to their mental development. Game recommendation systems like the Icicle Disaster catalog can help students not to waste their time on games that are not worth it.
As for the future, it is even more promising. The barriers that hitherto existed are being lifted and going away, while the Indian gaming market is also growing. As JRPGs are becoming even more prevalent to older titles, along with the cross cultural exchange with the rest of Asia, the Indian youth's budding interest in JRPGs may very well turn into a lasting hobby, while giving educators and parents the opportunity to help students embrace the cultural phenomenon.
This is the first time I have had the opportunity to examine the emergence of JRPGs with Indian students and I relish the opportunity to provide commentary on what I believe to be the most important aspects of this significant phenomenon. What stands out as rather remarkable and what is likely to surprise many is the growing and evolving behavioral ecology surrounding the JRPG arena. Coupled with the increase in behavioral ecology surrounding the genre of gaming is the remarkable evolution and transformation of the gaming ecosystem. The escalation in complex behavioral ecology in support of JRPGs and equally evolving gaming ecosystem has created behavioral communities. A clear processing of the social structures of these systems is accessible to Indian students. According to what I hope I will not be berated for saying, students will likely have to exhibit self-control and self-motivation. If this is the case, we are likely to be presented with a remarkable phenomenon. I am sure my fellow teachers will appreciate it as well.
