What makes for a good Japanese role-playing game? Is it the epic narratives starring melodramatic characters? Satisfying combat systems? Or is it the gorgeous worlds to explore? Personally, I’d say all of the above. This list puts together the best JRPGs you can play today, released within the last five or so years.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Available on: Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age is an incredible achievement in modernizing a classic JRPG-style adventure — so much so that Square Enix went ahead and made a 16-bit demake of the entire game for the Nintendo 3DS that you can also play in the Definitive Editions of the game. From Slimes to Cruelcumbers, iconic Dragon Quest monsters are here to defeat through turn-based combat in abundance, along with a wide range of colorful villages to visit with even more colorful residents. You won’t find a more whimsical adventure on this list that scratches that JRPG itch quite as well.
Similar Games: Trails of Cold Steel, Tales of Arise
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4
If you’re itching for something a bit more classic, you can’t go wrong with the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, which combines the first six Final Fantasy games into one glorious package. Even just checking out Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy VI makes this package worth it, as both are stellar titles in the JRPG genre that will provide over 50 hours of adventuring combined. Features like speeding up battles and double experience make these classic titles far more manageable as well.
Similar Games: Super Mario RPG, Tactics Ogre
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Available on: PlayStation 5, PC (eventually)
It’s not a JRPG list without at least one Final Fantasy game, and this one is the biggest ever made. A follow-up to the superb (depending on how you feel about the ending) Final Fantasy VII: Remake, Rebirth takes place during a massive chunk of the original 1997 game, expanding it into a monstrous open-world game full of nostalgic throwbacks that fans are sure to love. Even if you’re not a big Final Fantasy VII person, the great action-RPG combat will be enough to hook you — and so too will Queen’s Blood, the amazing in-universe card game.
Similar Games: Final Fantasy 16, Tales of Arise
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Since Fire Emblem: Awakening on the 3DS, the Fire Emblem series has evolved into a deep strategy role-playing game with strong social elements. Here, Fire Emblem: Three Houses edges out its successor, Fire Emblem: Engage, because it features both the Garreg Mach Monastery teaching sim to level up units but also an engrossing narrative of three kingdoms at war — one of which you choose to teach and lead into battle against the others. It’s by far the most comprehensive Fire Emblem title to date and a great JRPG for those who want a little more strategic depth.
Similar Games: Fire Emblem: Engage, Tactics Ogre
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
If you’ve been sitting out the Yakuza games, you’re missing out on some of the most creatively awesome JRPGs available. 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon introduced the series to a unique style of turn-based combat, and this year’s Infinite Wealth perfected it with proximity-based attacks that better reflect the series’ beat ’em up origins. This series is lauded for its storytelling, so if that’s what you’re looking for in a JRPG, you’re all set. While you might be intimidated to jump into this long-running series, Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth are perfect starting points.
Similar Games: Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Octopath Traveler 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
The worst thing about Octopath Traveler 2 is that Square Enix didn’t name it Sedecim Traveler. The best thing about it is its branching story split between 8 unique characters spread throughout the now iconic HD-2D style. Its combat system features the engrossing “boost” system, allowing you to choose when to go all out or hold back to build more points and exploit enemy weaknesses later. It has not one but eight traditional JRPG stories to experience that come together to defeat the Big Bad in the end, making it great for anyone who craves an old-school JRPG in a modern style.
Similar Games: Triangle Strategy, Bravely Default II
Persona 3 Reload
Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
You can’t go wrong with the best modern JRPG series out there. If you haven’t played a Persona game before, Persona 3 Reload is the perfect place to start before working your way back to Persona 5 Royal and Persona 4 Golden. Persona 3 released way back in 2006 on the PlayStation 2, but the 2024 remake packs in a ton of stylish quality-of-life features, keeping the engrossing social simulation gameplay and superb turn-based dungeon crawling intact. Throw in a great narrative and some amazing tunes, and you’ve got yourself an S-tier JRPG.
Similar Games: Persona 5 Royal, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
Sea of Stars
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
While not developed by a Japanese team, Sea of Stars was heavily inspired by two of the greatest JRPGs of all time: Chrono Trigger and Golden Sun. If name-dropping those two games isn’t enough to get you to try it out, I don’t know what will. Sea of Stars features some great turn-based combat that doesn’t wear itself thin during its 30-hour runtime set in a pixel world that is equal parts vivid and beautiful. Yasunori Mitsuda of Chrono Trigger fame provided some music for the OST as well, so this is about as close to a Chrono Cross sequel as we’re ever going to get.
Similar Games: Chained Echoes
Star Ocean: The Second Story R
Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Now this is how you do a remake. Star Ocean has always been a relatively underrated JRPG series; despite this, the remake of the second title in the series, 1998’s The Second Story, shows exactly how a faithful remake of a JRPG should be done. Not only does it ape the HD-2D style of Octopath Traveler in an equally beautiful way, it adds a ton of quality-of-life features — but more importantly, it includes tons of new mechanics to modernize the turn-based combat into something JRPG fans must experience. If you’re more of a sci-fi person, definitely consider checking out Star Ocean: Second Story R and its predecessor, Star Ocean: First Departure R.
Similar Games: Star Ocean: First Departure R, Octopath Traveler
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Despite being a Nintendo Switch exclusive, you’d be hard-pressed to find more gorgeous environments to explore, loaded with tons of different enemies to face through unique position-based combat made all the deeper by nearly 30 classes to swap between among the six heroes. The story also has a unique premise: two warring nations are locked into an eternal struggle until three heroes from each come together to break the cycle. And the great cast does an amazing job at carrying the 60-hour runtime. So if you’re looking for chill exploration to eat away a dozen weekends, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has you covered.
Similar Games: Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, Xenoblade Chronicles 2
And those are the best JRPGs you can play now in 2024 … so far! Of course, more games will come and go, so we’ll do our best to update this list as more great JRPGs are released!
Published: Aug 17, 2024 04:07 pm