The RPG genre has stood strong for the longest time as one of the most popular tropes around, developing as the years passed to adapt to the rapid modernization of gaming and establish itself as one of the most accessible genres around. This development can certainly perplex some people who generally considered RPGs to be wildly complicated and hard to get into.
However, as times have passed, RPGs have become more simplified in order to remain mainstream, which can be perceived as a good thing and a bad thing. While greater accessibility is undoubtedly welcome, some people who were more used to the old-school style of RPGs would definitely be missing the following tropes that were quite common in this genre at one point.
10 A Chosen Hero Destined To Save The World
Pretty much any fan of RPGs would be well-aware of games that used to stick to the same old tired trope of a chosen one who is destined to save the world — a lazy plot device that has faded out in mainstream RPGs over time.
While some games still utilize this trope today — with Dragon Quest XI being a great example of this — that's more to do with paying homage to the classics as opposed to actually being a new plot device.
9 A Damsel In Distress Who Needs Saving
A staple that has existed since Mario made its legendary debut in gaming, there was a time when the RPG genre was obsessed with placing a woman — preferably the romantic partner of the hero — in a dire situation that players needed to rescue her from.
Shades of this trope might still be seen in games sometimes, but there's no denying the fact that most modern RPGs don't really feature this tired plot device in their games much, if at all.
8 A Classic High-Fantasy Setting
There was a time when the concept of role-playing was reserved for high fantasy worlds that were brimming with powerful magic, mythological creatures, and everything else along the same lines.
However, as RPGs developed, they broke free from the chains of high fantasy and nestled themselves comfortably in a host of other popular settings as well.
7 A Gang Of Ragtag Adventurers Being The Main Cast
The idea of sitting down and assuming the roles of an unlikely group of adventures who fight against a greater evil was something commonly associated with role-playing games that is still present in modern times... albeit in a more muted context.
People now actually have motives and reasons if they ever roam around with a group in modern RPGs — a contextualization that is very much welcome when it comes to enjoying the story of these games.
6 Highly Impractical Costumes
Of course, it would be impossible to talk about RPG tropes without mentioning a rather ridiculous trope that has thankfully stopped rearing its head in modern titles... although there are still some JRPGs that tend to walk the line when it comes to this trope.
The whole idea of wearing armor is to cover one's entire body in order to withstand powerful attacks. So, it's rather odd when a piece of armor that was meant to offer greater protection ends up covering even less of a person's body! This is a trope that female characters have suffered from for the longest time in video games, and it's great to see that this aspect of RPGs isn't the norm anymore.
5 Having Villains Attack The Hero's Village
Another common trope used in classic RPGs that helped establish a motive for the hero while simultaneously cementing the role of the antagonists, the act of burning the hero's village down is a rather simple way to drive forward the plot.
However, it's definitely a lazy one, and players are glad to see that modern RPGs take more time to craft unique motivations for characters instead of relying on these age-old tropes that clearly haven't aged all that well.
4 Level Grinding
While RPG fans might argue against the fact that level grinding is a thing of the past, there's no denying the fact that most modern titles featuring a leveling system don't force the player to grind out EXP throughout the game.
Instead, most games are crafted delicately to ensure that player progression isn't halted because of something as mundane as being at a lower level.
3 Number Crunching
Another aspect of classic RPGs that has receded in modern times is definitely the act of managing a ton of stats, resistances... and just a while host of numbers in general.
While some people might still find the idea of micromanaging these numbers appealing, there's no denying the fact that players who wish to enjoy a seamless and exciting gaming experience would be better off playing modern titles that are tailor-made to only focus on the numbers that matter... as opposed to pretty much every quantifiable thing in the game.
2 Extremely Frustrating RNG
Speaking of numbers, one can't help but mention three letters that have served as the bane of most RPG players everything — RNG. Random Number Generators have proven to be a massive annoyance when players want to farm rare items, avoid bad luck in a battle, or just not get frustrated while trying to accomplish the simplest things.
Given how tightly woven most modern RPG titles are, it goes without saying that frustrating RNGs have become a thing of the past... aside from some unwelcome appearances in JRPGs.
1 Save Points
Given that saving in video games has pretty much become a given in modern times, it goes without saying that the concept of save points has become rather moot in modern RPGs.
Save Points were more important during the old age of gaming when memory was limited and saves weren't all that efficient. That technical limitation has become a thing of the past... and so have these save points as well.