The solo developer behind So Romantic and the new Cyberpunk JRPG Jack Move, Edd Parris, loves the video game classics. Parris' first commercial game was heavily influenced by the greats from the PlayStation 1, and the writing relies on a very traditional story arc. However, it was also important that Jack Move, a more modern rendition of the turn-based JRPG genre, would not fit the mold entirely.
The story is partly an age-old fable that simultaneously offers more progressive takes on the archetypes. The battle is seemingly a scrupulous copy of tested RPG classics, but beneath the technical surface, it has a fresh, light-hearted anime Cyberpunk vibe. The art style brings players back to the pixelated graphics but runs smoothly as one would expect from a modern game. Game Rant spoke to Jack Move developer Edd Parris about the prototypical aspects he wanted to incorporate and the ways he kept the game fresh.
Jack Move's Classic Story With Reversed Roles
Classic damsel-in-distress storylines are still popular in games, and RPGs are no exception. The princess has been captured, and the king has called for a young hero to save his daughter. Different variations of this have been used over and over again and for a good reason. It was already cemented as the foremost story arc in video games during Parris' introduction to games. He was greatly inspired by PlayStation 1-era graphics and experienced some of his first RPGs on a Game Boy. It was simple and effective, and that is what Parris needed for Jack Move, too.
From the beginning of Jack Move's development, the setting was a futuristic Cyberpunk universe instead of the typical medieval RPG world. The game was inspired by Ghost in the Shell, Akira, and other Cyberpunk-themed anime. Therefore, instead of a knight in shining armor slaying a terrifying monster, the premise needed to be tied with an evil corporation oppressing the population. However, Parris didn't want the story to be a carbon copy of the familiar tale. It needed to be refreshed and reworked.
"The protagonist is female, rather than a young boy in the village... Trying to mix it up, and make it a bit more interesting. There are some twists and turns in there, some backstabbing."
Instead of the traditional hero, Jack Move's protagonist became a young girl called Noa. The talented hacker is accompanied by her best friend and strategist Ryder, and the target of the kidnapping was Noa's estranged father. While the setup had changed, the prototypical Hyperion-like evil mega-corporation, Monomind, and the dark technocratic world it imposes on people, remain loyal to Jack Move's Cyberpunk roots.
Twists in Jack Move's Gameplay
For both budgetary and design reasons, Parris intended to make the gameplay simple as well. He wanted the gameplay to reflect the story, which meant cutting down on complexity. Like with the story, Parris needed something that would be casual and reminiscent of the classics but with a twist. Instead of the three party members of his favorite Final Fantasy game, Parris opted for a party of one. This meant that gameplay would focus on switching skills and upgrades on Noa, instead of managing different party members. Noa needed to be the tank, the healer, and the mage all at once.
"It's also going to make it quite interesting because you have to then swap out your spells. You'll have to swap in all your buffs, buff yourself and debuff the enemy, and then swap out to offensive spells."
Parris is the first to admit that the battle system, or the story for that matter, is not the most complex. That's not what he was going for. Instead, Jack Move had to be easily approachable but offer enough depth to keep players engaged. He was aiming for a polished game that delivered familiar gameplay and a recognizable story arc with a few unexpected twists, and he feels the team has achieved exactly that with Jack Move.
Jack Move is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.