Nick

I would agree, but I suppose what I meant by that is that these stories, despite having heavy themes, are still over the top in many respects. LaD, for example, is serious in moments but still presents a heightened version of reality. Characters don't speak naturally, real-world logic often doesn't apply, etc. This isn't a knock against the stories, but it separates them from other pieces of legacy media like literature and dramatic film.

Good point about BG3 and Octopath--Metaphor and Clair Obscur just feel more like those classic turn-based JRPGs to me. I think I'd like to see Square pull inspiration from them in FF17. That'd be sick.