It was a 3D Metroidvania, not really Soulslike IMO: the abilities unlocked as the game progresses that allow the player to explore places they couldn’t go or take shortcuts they couldn’t take are the staple of Metroidvanias, and so many people seem to forget it, but that rest to save / enemies respawn mechanic was in many Metroidvania games long before Dark Souls. I would also say that Souls-like games are characterized by their build variety and combat difficulty, which were notably absent from J:FO.
I would classify Soulslike as a subgenre of Metroidvanias, but sure. I also oversaw what is arguably the most characteristic characteristic in Soulslike games: the loss of all currency on death, with a possible retrieval.
It was a 3D Metroidvania, not really Soulslike IMO: the abilities unlocked as the game progresses that allow the player to explore places they couldn’t go or take shortcuts they couldn’t take are the staple of Metroidvanias, and so many people seem to forget it, but that rest to save / enemies respawn mechanic was in many Metroidvania games long before Dark Souls. I would also say that Souls-like games are characterized by their build variety and combat difficulty, which were notably absent from J:FO.
You know it can straddle two genres right? I don’t disagree that it also had metroidvania elements.
I would classify Soulslike as a subgenre of Metroidvanias, but sure. I also oversaw what is arguably the most characteristic characteristic in Soulslike games: the loss of all currency on death, with a possible retrieval.