Kazuhisa Wada, director of the Persona series, has wanted to lay his cards on the table regarding the supposed return of turn-based RPGs. According to him, this genre never disappeared; it simply lost visibility in the West. Recent titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 or Baldur's Gate 3 have made new generations rediscover a system that has always been there, even if outside the media spotlight.
The turn as a technical foundation for modern narrative đ˛
Wada explains that turn-based combat is not a limitation, but a design tool that allows greater control over narrative pacing and strategy. While action games require reflexes, turns give time to think and digest the story. Titles like Persona 5 or Baldur's Gate 3 itself demonstrate that, with a clear interface and dynamic animations, the system feels as fluid as any real-time action.
The lost turn that found its way back home đšī¸
It turns out that turn-based RPGs weren't dead, they were just faking their demise so they'd be left alone. While Western developers jumped on the real-time action bandwagon, Japan kept doing its own turn-based thing. Now that Baldur's Gate 3 has sold like hotcakes on a Sunday, suddenly everyone thinks it's a brilliant idea. Good thing Wada has come to remind us that the genre never left; it was just waiting to get attention again.