Radiant Historia

Time vs. History in JRPGs

This paper examines how Japanese Roleplaying Games (JRPGs) that use time travel as a narrative or gameplay mechanic represent history, and what those representations imply for both players and scholars of Historical Game Studies.

• The paper argues that fantasy JRPGs with time-travel mechanics shape how players understand history, rather than merely being interpreted through modernist academic frameworks.
• It introduces the concept of chrononormativity, the conventional linear expectation about time, and asks whether departures from it lead players to see history as fractured and in need of repair.
• The analysis closely reads a selected set of titles, including Final Fantasy XIII-2, Radiant Historia, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Tales of Phantasia, and Tales of Destiny 2.