Gender locked race?

[Theodric]

Japan doesn't have an aversion to playable characters that are bestial. They might not be the main character in the games that they show up in, though they still play prominent roles.

Mareg in Grandia 2:



Kimahri in FFX:



Breath of Fire 2 had multiple non-human characters:



Final Fantasy VI had Mog:



There's a lot of others, though I don't want to spam the thread with too many images.

[Lacan]

Japan doesn't have an aversion to playable characters that are bestial. They might not be the main character in the games that they show up in, though they still play prominent roles.

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I don't doubt they appear in games as side characters, that has always been a thing in JRPGs for as long as I can remember. But the fact they are rarely the main character is telling. I mean, just look at the census numbers for people playing Roes. There really isn't a demand for full on beast races, that's why I can't see them putting so much effort into making a race that only a small percentage of the playerbase would actually enjoy. I could be wrong though, it just doesn't seem likely to me at all.