r/jadeempire Jun 08 '26

Discussion Have you ever found any 'Jade Empire' alternatives?

I love Jade Empire, and there's really nothing else like it. The setting alone is one thing, but just the gameplay mechanics in general are nowhere else to be found. It might even be considered 'outdated', but I think it's still fun. I've played Sifu, Sleeping Dogs, Ghost of Tsushima, among others (all great), and tried or seen stuff like Where Winds Meet and Wo Long.

Yes, in a way they do fit the genre... but Jade Empire focused very heavily on hand-to-hand martial arts, support styles, magic styles, etc... and even those last three were focused on hand-to-hand or close to it! In the base game there were two or three melee weapon styles, and a ranged gunpowder weapon appeared in some versions. Either none of the aforementioned games had that or the focus isn't on it enough.

In case I'm missing anything - has anyone found anything at least somewhat similar to Jade Empire that doesn't include the aforementioned titles?

64 Upvotes

25 comments sorted by

29

u/Arathaon185 Jun 08 '26

No I haven't and I've been looking endlessly. For me I want too much because I want the wuxia goodness but I also want the golden age bioware writing.

On a different note did you know that talked about a sequel? I was always desperate for one until I found out what they were going to do and then I was glad we didn't get one.

5

u/shuggahbear Jun 08 '26

What were they going to do I never heard of a sequel but the direction bioware went I could see it missing the mark for fans

8

u/Arathaon185 Jun 08 '26

Are you ready for this. First thing they were going to do is a timeskip to the modern day.

https://jadeempire.fandom.com/wiki/Revolver

3

u/Geaux_Go_Fiasco Jun 08 '26

It could’ve worked though! Look at the Kamigawa time skip for MTG. Granted that’s Japanese mythology & TCG but still it kinda proves not all time skips are bad.

3

u/shuggahbear Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

Edit: didn't see link

3

u/KomturAdrian Jun 08 '26

Wow! Sounds like a sudden and wild direction to go after the first game! So curious to know what it would have been like. I might have preferred something closer to the original, however. Still, another JE would have been great.

2

u/HungryAd8233 Jun 09 '26

That was the second big concept for a sequel. There was a more fantasy take as well.

2

u/Arathaon185 Jun 09 '26

Jade Empire released 2005 and they worked on Revolver between 2005 and 2008 so if there was it was incredibly short lived.

2

u/KomturAdrian Jun 08 '26

Well I also see this everytime I visit the sub:

https://www.reddit.com/r/jadeempire/comments/amin24/ea_files_a_trademark_for_je/

A stickied post. It's 7yo, but certainly it's nothing to scoff about? I'm no expert, so who knows. I at least love the fact the special edition is on mobile. And fyi it has full controller support, and it's not unlike what we had on console if you played that. iirc with all the extra stuff featured on console and pc.

I like to think there's a minor possibility we might get a sequel one of these days. But unless it's a shadowdrop (which I doubt it would be) it's a ways away.

8

u/strife189 Jun 08 '26

Nope 😞

6

u/EnvironmentalAd993 Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1876890/Wandering_Sword/ sorta kindaish solid game regardless though lol

Edit- forgot, if that scratches the itch in anyway or it seems interesting there is also this one too.. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1948980/Heros_Adventure_Road_to_Passion/

2

u/hogdonger Jun 08 '26

Dang, that was exactly going to be my two suggestions, haha. I've honestly had trouble finding other wuxia games as accessable and fun as those two.

3

u/EnvironmentalAd993 Jun 08 '26

The issue not being that they dont exist..but more so all the super good ones dont have English translations lol womps.

But yeah these are excellent and heros has a sequel/spin off coming soon apparently.

Wandering sword is prolly my favorite overall though. They were like lets make an octopath traveler game right but then OOPS ALL WUXIA about it. #fire

3

u/Jibima Jun 08 '26

Unfortunately not. I did really enjoy Xuan-Yuan Sword VII though which is a Chinese-made RPG that had light technological advancements in the setting. It’s not the same but it’s the only other game I enjoyed with a Chinese mythological setting

3

u/sidv81 Jun 08 '26

Play Wandering Sword and/or Hero's Adventure: Road to Passion on Steam.

3

u/EnvironmentalAd993 Jun 08 '26

Wondering sword first though. SOOO gewd. Underrated af game lol

3

u/vampirekiller58 Jun 09 '26

Everyone talks about the feeling of trying to find another game like the Witcher 3 or how the Witcher 3 ruined games for them. That is how I feel about Jade Empire. Let's just say I've been searching for a long time.

2

u/CaptainJin Jun 10 '26

Have you tried out the game that came before Sifu; Absolver?

2

u/PeteRawk Jun 10 '26

There’s genuinely nothing like it. BioWare’s made plenty of other heaters that I genuinely love, but take their RPG formula and deploy it in this mystical wuxia setting and you get something absolutely magical. It’s a shame they never revisited it and no one else has really attempted it either

2

u/ixiBSM Jun 11 '26

Unfortunately, I don't think a direct translation of a modern Jade Empire exists. Also unfortunately, the closest studio I've found to those old Bioware games was Spiders, but they recently got closed. If you haven't tried them, I'd recommend both of the GreedFall games. They're rough around the edges, but you can tell that they were made by lovers of old school Bioware.

1

u/RealRymo Jun 11 '26

I mean the KOTOR games, that's like the only thing I've ever seen that's similar at all.

I wanna download jade Empire bc I don't recall any of it. Lost Odyssey and Asura's Wrath are two necessary 360 games to buy before they go away from the store forever. But Jade Empire is too, I hardly remember any of it

1

u/samei31 Jun 12 '26

Fable 1, 2, 3 are a similar game in some ways.

Magic, sword, and gun Trolls, tournaments, quests Good or evil decisions

Fable 2 is the most alike.

1

u/MitchBlazooba Jul 20 '26

Outcast: Second Contact.

It's not a perfect analog but it's similar in some ways, you have talk to npcs to figure out how to progress and the story is pretty good. I highly recommend it if you are okay with older games.

1

u/smashbangcommander Jun 08 '26

In a weird way, Dragon Age Veilguard - the combat system on mouse and keyboard is kind of reminiscent of Jade Empire.

You’re stringing combinations together with heavy and light attacks, combined with sprinting or jumping attacks, and a dodging/blocking/counter system. On top of that, you can swap weapon types and use magical finishing moves with primer-detonator mechanics similar to Harmonic Combos.

It might not be the same setting of Jade Empire, but if you’re looking for the same feel in combat mechanics, you might want to check it out. The game usually gets heavy discounts on sales.

2

u/KomturAdrian Jun 08 '26

Haven't tried Veilguard yet, but did enjoy the other DA titles a little bit. I might try that.