They were biased to mobile games because it's the most lucrative, and so game studios index on that. If you go further back, there were wildly popular CRPGs tha

They were biased to mobile games because it's the most lucrative, and so game studios index on that. If you go further back, there were wildly popular CRPGs that just weren't very widely marketed outside of China. They were AAA grade of that era, but never officially translated nor marketed. Jinyong Heroes, Calamity of Heaven and Earth, Heroes of the Celestial Sword were all popular CRPGs within China on the level of Final Fantasy, but were merely cult classics outside the country. None of them were homages, and didn't have this ethnic level of cultural influence.