Games with "adult" themes but that aren't really "adult" games

[Lweo4]

This year I'm on a binge of playing the Tales Of games that I didn't play yet, which is my favorite series, and I realized that almost every game has an "adult" theme even though they're aimed at younger audiences, I finished Xillia 1 and 2, and it touched a lot on themes like discrimination etc, I played Symphonia right after and it also features themes about this, and the same was for Rebirth (I still need to finish). Games like this that I can remember are ones like FF7 and FF Tactics.

I would like games, in preference JRPGS, that touch on themes normally considered more "mature", but that aren't "adult" per se. Normally, I feel that when a game is for "adults" it dwells too much on gore, violence, etc. I feel that the subtlety of a game touching on mature themes but without trying to be adult feels refreshing.

It can be on ANY platform or genre (even visual novels).

 

[garbodorman]

shin megami tensei games are for edgy teenager.

 

[Lweo4]

shin megami tensei games are for edgy teenager.

I love SMT, but I don't really feel like they're trying to be mature without being adult, as you said, is for "edgy" teenagers.

 

[Repoaccount1]

Yakuza

 

[garbodorman]

I love SMT, but I don't really feel like they're trying to be mature without being adult, as you said, is for "edgy" teenagers.

oh. i misunderstood the post.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Megaman 9 has robots being discarded merely by a "Expiration law" and then scrapped, Wily used it as a ploy to make himself an army, but in the end Mega admits they has a point

 

[Ad Infinitum]

I think most JRPGs are at least edgy, if not outright lewd

 

[MrSoFarAway]

Earthbound
Mother 3
Popolocrois (not sure about this one, i guess it does grasps some adult elements, but very few)
Final Fantasy 9
Legend of Mana

 

[Idcmaccias1]

Xenogears

 

[Graw]

I find the Dragon Quest games can get pretty bleak and mature sometimes even though the games themselves seem whimsical and cheerful. Some of the smaller town vignettes are downright depressing and deal with some pretty mature themes. Death, dealing with loss, regret, things like that. There's a few of them in DQVI and DQVIII I remember being particularly depressing.

 

[Heidegger22]

Grandia II

Questions the validity of religion, social control etc. Many of the themes are Nietzschean but presented in a lighthearted way. The "romance" is unconventional as well.

 

[Stare best girl]

I'm surprised that Xenogears and Xenosaga trilogy are very mature to be T-rated games that even shows more graphic scenes than Megaten games(which during PS2 era all of them were M-rated and CERO B or C)

 

[Bakuma1997]

I find the Dragon Quest games can get pretty bleak and mature sometimes even though the games themselves seem whimsical and cheerful. Some of the smaller town vignettes are downright depressing and deal with some pretty mature themes. Death, dealing with loss, regret, things like that. There's a few of them in DQVI and DQVIII I remember being particularly depressing.

V's Main character make Lucas from Mother 3 look like a privileged kid

 

[Frickinfrik]

Ratchet & Clank series. It has a lot of adult humor and subtle innuendos.

Metroid Prime Quadrology.

Ocarina of Time

Twilight Princess

Majora’s Mask. It dives into the stages of grief. Also the impending apocalypse.

Super Paper Mario. Has themes of loss and despair.

Paper Mario Thousand Year Door. Has a literal Pianta Mafia, has themes of war in one part of the game, has a transgender character and Rougeport is portrayed as a ghetto town.

Crash 4 its about time. Has adult humor in it.

Shadow the Hedgehog. Self-explanatory.

Sonic 06.

SA2. Rouge.

Super Mario Strikers and Strikers Charged. A more grittier take on the Mario series.

 

[petran79]

Wheels of Aurelia

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

I mean, yeah, most of the Tales games do this very well:
Graces f deals with growing up and growing apart from your friends, and what happens when you end up on conflicting sides of a war.
Berseria is about grief, revenge and what it really means to be a family. It was honestly a more mature and nuanced revenge story than something like the Last of Us II.
Zestiria explores religious idealism, how heavy the weight of expectations placed upon a "chosen one" really are and the sacrifices such a title requires to be lived up to.

Also, Ni No Kuni II. It has what could be the start of a very basic revenge story, but ultimately tells a story of rebuilding from loss, of building a better future for everyone.

 

[Turbo Kid]

Final Fantasy 6 had to have certain elements changed and censored I think because they were too dark. Suicide, a woman being beaten half to death, etc.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War looks like a cartoon but tells a story about war and even has historical anecdotes about war.

Valkyria Chronicles has a pretty art style and silly anime characters, but the story touches on war, prejudice, and other serious issues.

The Mega Man franchise touches on the ramifications of robots and AI. It's all silly and fun in the original Mega Man games but gets a bit darker and more serious with each subsequent series like the Mega Man X series, the Mega Man Zero series, etc, etc, etc.

The Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors games have characters that are over top anime type characters, but those characters are based off of real life historical figures who dealt with war, violence, betrayals, and all kinds of other drama in real life.

The Sexy Brutale - You just have to play this one, I won't spoil anything.

Narita Boy - The flashback stories get very serious, don't want to spoil anything

13 Sentinels - There's a lot to unpack here, just play the game yourself. It has a cutesy art style, but the story deals with many mature themes.

Nier Automata - LOTS of mature themes in this game, even fourth wall breaking stuff targeting you the player

 

[bjork]

Disco Elysium probably fits here since you said any platform or genre. Go for the final cut version and say hi to Cuno for me.

 

[Aziamuth]

Drawn to Life

 

[MrChester]

This isn't really what you're looking for, I just wanted to bring them up.

Motherhood is a consistent motif in these games and the idea of "the call of motherhood" is revisited several times - it's a topic that's incredibly foreign to younglings but I think they handle it in a way that's very easy to grasp. They also manage to express this theme without being too overbearing or straight-up misogynistic like in Other M

 

[Muklas]

I find the Dragon Quest games can get pretty bleak and mature sometimes even though the games themselves seem whimsical and cheerful. Some of the smaller town vignettes are downright depressing and deal with some pretty mature themes. Death, dealing with loss, regret, things like that. There's a few of them in DQVI and DQVIII I remember being particularly depressing.

DQV has you ending a generation with both parents turned to rock, which the kids then have to go look for.

 

[RustySK]

I wouldn't so much call those adult stories as I would call them actual, or potentially even good stories. As opposed to the entertainment equivalent of hot air the industry likes to serve up these days. The death of ambitious storytelling in the majority of the mainstream by way of market research is a fairly recent thing.

For some random examples that I haven't seen mentioned yet - the Shining Force 3 trilogy, Shin Megami Tensei I and II, Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre (this one might be skirting the line with how "adult" it gets honestly, could be a bit much), Vagrant Story - the list goes on.