The setting of ICON, a planet called Arden Eld, is currently enjoying a period of peace called the Green Age, filled with scattered settlements and cities flourishing amidst the ruins of a long-fallen empire that once conquered the world with arcane and technological might.
The fantasy RPG ICON, currently available as a playtest on itch.io, was designed by Massif Press, the creators of the sci-fi Mecha RPG Lancer, as an explicit homage to their favorite "mythic fantasy" video games. Every one of these games was made by designers who clearly enjoyed playing JRPGs in the past and wanted to pay homage the games they loved in their own original epic fantasy tabletop RPGs. Some of the tabletop roleplaying games below draw inspiration from the world-building of Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, while others consciously try to capture of feel of playing one of these classic console games. The Final Fantasy franchise of games started out with similar plots and aesthetics, but steadily developed its own unique world-building motifs such as technology powered by magic, dirigible Skyships, power-channeling crystals, entities players can summon to assist in combat, environmentalist themes, and avian riding steeds called Chocobos. The Dragon Quest games are generally light-hearted (while still nuanced) in tone, featuring lists of magical spells with names like "Kaboom" or "Kafizzle," cute open-world enemies such as the infamous Blue Slime, character designs made by Akira Toriyama (the creator of the Dragonball manga) and consistently idealistic plots about bands of heroes saving the world from evil overlords. Related: FFXIV's Dragon Quest X Event Is Great If You Want DQ10 In The West The spells, characters classes, and many of the enemies in the earlier Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy installments borrowed a lot from western fantasy RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons over time, however, both franchises developed their own unique take on the heroic fantasy setting. Both these games wound up spawning massively successful franchises while also transforming the Japanese console RPG market in Japan, popularizing fundamentals such as turn-based menu combat, adventuring parties that recruit new members over time, and random encounters with enemies in the game world. The first Dragon Quest game was published in 1986 by Enix, while the first Final Fantasy game was published by SquareSoft in 1987 (both franchises are currently published by the merged company Square Enix). Gamers who who enjoy the gameplay and aesthetic of these two franchises will definitively enjoy the following tabletop games, each featuring settings and rule-systems that emulate, homage, and build on the motifs of "JRPGs."
If tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and video games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim are quintessential examples of fantasy roleplaying games in America, then video games like Dragon Questand Final Fantasy practically embody the heroic fantasy genre in Japanese culture.