Forspoken's Isekai Genre Explained
Luminous Productions' Forspoken was shown off recently at the PlayStation Showcase. Previously referred to as Project Athia, the trailer gave PlayStation fans another look at Forspoken's world, combat, and downright gorgeous graphics. The trailer features a brief introduction to the game's protagonist Frey before she is quickly whisked away to a foreign world where her armband communicates with her and she is able to wield all sorts of elemental powers. There is a lot going on in the trailer, including Frey hitting an enemy with a spike of water before freezing it into ice, the protagonist battling with a massive dragon, and a hint that she has to save the realm from an evil and powerful foe.
However, Forspoken's new trailer also starts with Frey in the real world. There, she lives in a big city surrounded by skyscrapers and neon signs. She gets in fights on the streets while complaining to her cat about wanting to move somewhere with open skies, fresh air, and peaceful neighbors. While this brief introduction to the character and her origin story does serve to set up the game's premise for viewers, it also indicates that the game is utilizing a very specific genre in Japanese media, known as Isekai.
What Defines the Isekai Genre
At the core of Isekai is a character leaving their usual world behind to go to an entirely new one, usually through sudden teleportation, and often against their will. However, this teleportation tends to give the protagonist something special or unique about them that helps them thrive in their new world. This can be done in a variety of ways. The character could have a hidden power within them, could bring some technology from their world that is unique to their new one, or it could be as simple as having a unique physical characteristic, like red hair that helps them stand out. The worlds that characters are transported to can also vary. The genre has its roots in fantasy worlds, but lately, Isekai media has been very interested in sending characters to video game worlds.
The genre has also seen many iterations and modifications over the years that have led to various offshoots of Isekai storytelling. A very popular example sees protagonists becoming less important characters when they are transported, and even becoming minions to super villains or unimportant objects. Another sees powerful beings from one world coming to the real world and having to adapt to a far more mundane lifestyle than they are used to. A third offshoot sees characters simply pursuing a hobby they had never been able to follow before, like opening up a restaurant.
Famous Examples of Isekai in Media
The origins of the Isekai genre in Japan can be traced back to an ancient story about the fisherman Urashima Taro who is taken to an underwater kingdom by a turtle only to return to his own world and find that he has been gone for 300 years. However, the themes of Isekai can also be found in Western media and literature as well as in classic works like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Peter Pan. Modern Isekai stories, however, did not find popularity until the 1970s with the novel Warrior from Another World. The genre then broke into the games industry with titles like Moon: Remix RPG Adventure and 1999's Digimon Adventure.
The genre has become extremely popular in recent years, however, especially in Anime. There are many great Isekai anime for fans of the genre to enjoy, including The Devil is a Part-Timer!, Overlord, Sword Art Online, and Re: Zero. The genre has also been very popular in the games industry, with examples seen in titles like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Brutal Legend, Chrono Trigger, and the Ni No Kuni series. The Isekai format has even become so popular throughout different forms of media that many publishing contests in Japan have outright banned the genre for participants, while a museum dedicated to the genre was also opened in Japan earlier this year.
What Being an Isekai Means for Forspoken
While there are still many questions regarding Forspoken's gameplay and world, its adaptation of the Isekai genre does offer curious players some assumptive information regarding the ambitious title. For starters, the new trailer already established how the game will most likely fit into the genre. It appears to be following a more traditional Isekai plot, with Frey being suddenly transported to a new world and discovering that she has unique elemental abilities that give her the ability to save the world from impending destruction. However, it is not clear what exactly allows Frey to control her elemental powers in Forspoken or why she has a bracelet that is capable of communicating with her.
The setup in the trailer also likely points towards some of Frey's character arc in the game as well. Forspoken has a pretty stacked writing team behind it, and it seems likely that the game will be able to deliver a very satisfying story that follows Frey's journey to find the confidence and skills needed to be happier in her homeworld. This is a common character arc in the genre, and Forspoken has positioned itself perfectly to explore similar themes thus far. Of course, a lot more of the game remains to be seen, including exactly how Frey's abilities and powers will work as well as more of the game's fantasy world.
Despite what interested players don't know, Forspoken has made a pretty big splash so far, especially for a brand new IP in the games industry. The game looks very interesting and will likely be a strong entry in the slate of new titles that PlayStation has in the works. It will be very interesting to see how Forspoken fits into the Isekai genre as well as if its possible success will lead to more Western titles taking inspiration from the genre. Hopefully, players will get some closer looks at what Forspoken has to offer in the lead-up to its release.
Forspoken aims to release in 2022 for PC and PlayStation 5.
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