The JRPG is a time-tested genre that spans back to the early days of gaming consoles. Some of the oldest franchises that are still popular today are JRPGs, like Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and Megami Tensei. These are games with large parties of characters, incredible stories, and finely tuned (typically turn-based) gameplay. It can be incredible to just sink your teeth into a long JRPG for dozens of hours.
However, with how busy people are these days, it’s hard to find time to sit down and play a JRPG on the big screen. Fortunately, the Nintendo Switch just so happens to be home to the best in JRPGs. It has both the classics and a fair number of modern JRPGs as well. If you’re looking for a good JRPG and don’t trust the opinions of randoms, Metacritic can help to make that next game purchase.
10 Octopath Traveler – 83
Octopath Traveler, from the development studio behind Bravely Default, takes inspiration from Square’s classic titles. This time, Octopath takes inspiration from the SaGa series of games. These titles feature a number of playable protagonists in an interconnected world that isn’t entirely linear, and Octopath is similar in that regard.
The visuals are stylish and impressive, the music is incredible across the board, and the story is even somewhat coherent! However, the make-or-break point will be the gameplay. While the turn-based, strategic gameplay based around exploiting weaknesses is incredibly solid, battles can definitely take an eternity to complete. Try out the demo at least, because it’s absolutely a great game.
9 Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – 83
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a massive, self-indulgent game. Like the previous Xenoblade titles, XC2 is loaded with sidequests and monsters to hunt. The various continents have tons of places to explore and secrets to uncover, both for quest completion and for fun. The gameplay is fairly different from the other two titles, but fun in its own way.
The thing that sets XC2 apart from previous titles is the sheer amount of characters in the game. Aside from the main cast, all of the Rare Blades have their own personalities and quests to complete. The character design isn’t for everyone (a problem with the genre in general), and even people used to gacha-style games will be floored by some of the designs. Despite that, the game is a blast to play and is just pure fun.
8 Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – 84
Ni No Kuni is absolutely divisive for JRPG fans. The Ghibli-inspired world, story, and style are all wonderful and evocative. It’s a game that feels adventurous and huge, even though the world isn’t actually that large. The story is somewhat simple, but still very heartwarming and worth seeing through to the end. There’s a lot to love with the game.
However, the actual gameplay is a huge sticking point. The game feels like a watered-down version of Final Fantasy XII with a creature-collection aspect slapped on top haphazardly. The AI for party members is just terrible, and combat itself can be a slog at times. Despite that, when it comes together, it’s actually fairly satisfying to play. This isn’t for everyone, but on a sale it’s worth picking up.
7 The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III – 84
In terms of long-running RPG franchises, the Legend of Heroes series from Falcom stands as one of the oldest. Despite its relatively niche following in the West, the series has persisted and large improves with each new entry. This stays true with Trials of Cold Steel III, which isn’t even the second most unwieldy name on this list.
The game is the third in the current saga, and it delivers everything fans wanted. Critics say that the sidequests are engaging, the combat is fine-tuned through years of iteration, and the story is a love-letter to everything the genre has to offer. While the port of the game has its issues, being able to play portable is worth the performance hit. This game looks to be exactly what fans would want.
6 Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout – 84
The Atelier series is another long-running franchise that has only recently gained notoriety in the West. The games typically follow not a world-saving protagonist, but an Alchemist who braves the toughest dungeons to craft and sell the highest quality potions and equipment. It’s a fun change of pace, and each title has its strength and weaknesses.
Atelier Ryza is likely the first title for many people getting into the series. Although it’s held back by fanservice-y character design and a lackluster overarching story, the gameplay is wildly addictive. The gameplay loop of exploring dungeons to craft items to explore more dungeons is just perfect. It isn’t too grindy, and the music is nice as well. It’s another game that’s just fun to play.
5 Dragon Quest Builders 2 – 85
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is quite a leap away from the traditional Dragon Quest games. It takes more queues from Minecraft than it does Dragon Quest, which is certainly a choice. The player must rebuild a world on the brink of destruction and defeat a god through the power of friendship, as is tradition.
For fans of the first Builders game, the sequel is everything from the first and more added on top. It has more things to build, more quests to complete, more characters to talk to, and a bigger world overall. There’s a ton of game to play; at times, there’s a bit too much game to play. However, in dollar-per-hour value, this game is hard to beat.
4 Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling – 85
Nintendo fans who also love JRPGs are probably still pining for Paper Mario to come home. While Paper Mario: The Origami King is a wonderful little game, an RPG it is not. Fortunately, fans do what Nintendon’t and brought the classic Paper Mario experience back in a fresh coat of paint with Bug Fables.
Bug Fables looks, sounds, and plays exactly like you’d expect a spiritual successor to Paper Mario 64 to play. There are some changes, largely in how the player’s party is composed, but everything else is fairly on-point. However, in terms of building a unique and interesting world, Bug Fables has the classic games beat by a long-shot. It has great character moments, fantastic boss battles, and is just adorable on all levels.
3 Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age – 85
Final Fantasy XII is a game that needs no introduction. The story of the Sky Pirate Balthier and the Princess Ashe is one that many fans aren’t likely to forget. It has its problems, mostly all loaded into the oatmeal-like main character of Vaan, but aside from that it’s a classic.
The Zodiac Age alters the game significantly. While the License Board in the original is far from perfect, the new job system added in the rerelease fixes any of those problems and adds plenty of variety for building characters. It’s still somewhat of a grind and definitely a tad slow, but the world of Ivalice is just so wonderful to explore.
2 Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition – 89
Xenoblade Chronicles is the best JRPG of the seventh generation of consoles, and it’s not even close. The world is beautiful and open, the music is gorgeous and powerful, and the story is classic in all the right ways. The cast of characters is diverse and loaded with fun personalities that have a lot of depth. Even the side quests are often meaningful to complete, which is a rarity.
The Definitive Edition rerelease is just the best version of the game. The world of Bionis has never looked as vibrant as it does now. The re-orchestrated music is a bit inconsistent in comparison with the original, but on its own is still incredible. There’s no reason for a JRPG fan to not play Xenoblade Chronicles.
1 Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of An Elusive Age – Definitive Edition – 91
Dragon Quest, or the artist formerly known in the West as “Dragon Warrior,” needs no introduction. As the original JRPG franchise, there’s a lot that gaming as a whole owes to the Dragon Quest series. And on top of its historical importance, DQ11 is also just outright one of the greatest RPG’s of the past decade.
Everything that’s good about JRPGs is found in DQ11. It has a vibrant cast of characters, each with their own struggles. The story takes unexpected twists and turns that subvert player expectations. The music isn’t even MIDIs this time (mostly), which is a godsend. On top of all that, the gameplay is as perfect as turn-based RPGs can get. With such a generous demo available on Switch, it’s worth sampling for any fan of RPGs or games in general.
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