Dunno why

Sounds like we need a JRPG that start with a character that left the village in a quest for wealth and fame, but ultimately got stuck along the away in a city, never truly reaching the heart of the kingdom.

Instead of heroic battles of good vs evil, the character performs repetitive tasks for XP and Gil, but the leveling system is broken. Over 50% of the players gil is spent just to prevent the player from being sent back to his home village. 30% is spent to keep stats like hunger and sleep in the “medium danger” zone. The player may choose how to spend the little remaining Gil, but nearly every option is a bombastic purchase that serves as a means of escapism for the player, never truly contributing to happiness.

The player’s body slows down during leveling, so despite the XP gains for activities, there’s also a force pulling the player away from overcoming the challenges.

Oh, and no party system. The player dreams of grouping up to go on an adventure, but the anxiety of being away from the aforementioned escapisms makes the player a virtual recluse. Romance is out — the player does not love their life and, thus, will never truly learn how to love another. Each failed romantic attempt in the players life will only give the player overconfidence for the next, but it is doomed to fail faster and faster each time.

Make it a “dark souls”-style asynchronous multiplayer game where the player can see others succeeding all around them and making the game look easy. Surely that will give our protagonist the boost they need to finally overcome the obstacles of laziness and self abjection. Also “Comparison is the thief of joy,” so maybe just show other player’s stats growing while the protagonist is toiling away at tasks in the city — looking longingly at the kingdom that they’re slowly realizing they’ll never reach.

Toss in a soundtrack of music that’s 10 years out of date because “the new stuff sucks” and you’ve got a hit game!