I've written about this subject before, but every day it seems like there's a new screed, a new attention-grabbing editorial or essay. "Are JRPGs Obsolete?" "Do JRPGs No Longer Matter?" "Has The Age Of JRPGs Passed?" No. Shut up. "Will Xenoblade Revitalize The Japanese RPG?" "Will Ni no Kuni Revitalize The Japanese RPG?" "Will Persona Revitalize The Japanese RPG?" No. Nothing needs revitalizing. Shut up.
Allow me to prove my point. I've put together a list of ten JRPGs—all modern, all different, all excellent, all worth playing today. They represent every major console, Wii U aside, and they were all released within the past five years. All ten are worth your time.
Worth playing if only for the dreams—fantastic short stories that you'll see intermittently as you play—Lost Odyssey is a long, sprawling fantasy game designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the father of Final Fantasy. Released back before Japan abandoned all hope on the Xbox 360, this is the best JRPG you can get on Microsoft's console.
Otherwise known as The RPG Jason Won't Shut Up About, Trails in the Sky is a long and sprawling PSP adventure that captures everything there is to love about JRPGs: it's charming, funny, and chock full of great music, even if it can sometimes feel a little slow.
Allow me to quote my recent review: "Whimsical, charming, beautiful, fascinating, smart, pleasant, challenging, slow-paced, grand, surreal, and aggressively colorful... it's a fantastic Japanese role-playing game, one that will stun your senses and break your heart in the best possible way."
Almost a spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger, Radiant Historia captures the glory of a classic Super Nintendo RPG and throws in some modern conveniences: you can fast forward through dialogue, for example, and see random enemies before they get all up in your battle screen. Kidnapped
princesses, time travel, giant suits of armor: this one's got all the fixings of an old-school RPG.
As Stephen Totilo has pointed out, this game is reason alone to get your hands on a 3DS. Sort of like a chess game on crack, Fire Emblem tasks you with strategizing and scheming across big battlefields, leveling up your characters, and trying to figure out which people will make the best babies.
Few games are as smart and quirky as Nintendo's Mario-helmed RPGs, andBowser's Inside Story, released for the DS back in 2009, is proof of that. You spend most of the game inside Bowser's body. If that's not enough to convince you to play it, I don't know what is.
Proof that JRPG designers aren't afraid to experiment, Valkyria Chronicles is a tactical role-playing game set in a 1930s version of Europe, in which you move soldiers around a battlefield in what can be best described as a cross between real-time and turn-based battling, XCOM-style. This one is lovely, and not to be missed—even if Sega never will bring over the third one.
For a while I didn't think I would enjoy The World Ends With You, a Square Enix-helmed RPG that takes place in a twisted version of Tokyo, Japan. But there's something really appealing about the evolution of grumpy protagonist Neku from misanthrope to hero, and the battle system feels very good, especially on iOS
One of the best JRPGs this generation, The Last Story is only held back by its inferior hardware. This is a game meant to be seen in high-definition, but it's chained to the Wii, a console that can't output HD. Still, The Last Story is a lovely little love story with a really cool battling system that almost feels like a fantasy version of Gears of War.
Every day's great at your Junes. It's hard to find someone who doesn't love Persona 4, the RPG-slash-high school simulator that has you taking tests in the morning and fighting demons in the afternoon. Playing it on the Vita means playing it wherever you want, so for anyone without the bandwidth to sit in front of a TV for 60+ hours
Ten wildly different JRPGs, all great in wildly different ways. If you've played them all and you still think the JRPG is dead, or dying, or obsolete, or antiquated, or irrelevant, or afraid of change... well then you're just fooling yourself.
Luke Plunkett
fuck yeah lost odyssey. my favourite jrpg since FFXII. The voice acting is SO GOO
迷失之奥德赛去死吧。我最喜欢的是日式RPG是最终幻想12。它的声音和动作非常棒!
thebluick744
Lost Odyssey is the best final fantasy game of this generation... and it actually feels like a Final Fantasy game, which XIII did no
迷失之奥德赛是是这一代最好的最终幻想游戏,实际上它才感觉像最终幻想游戏,而不是最终幻想12
ason Schreier
I didn't love Xenoblade, but the fact that people are bringing up that game - and Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time, and Tales of Graces F, and Dragon Quest IX, and many of the other great modern JRPGs that didn't make this list - helps proves my point
Megatron1131
I plan to play all of these at one point except for Lost Odyssey. I've already started the Last Story. Persona 4G will be my next Vita game purchase.
raindog42
nothing that can be played on the PC eh?
没有一款电脑上的游戏吗?
I would say Tales of Vesperia is the best JRPG out for Xbox 360
我会告诉你薄暮传说是XBOX360上最好的日式RPG吗?
Hadrian Mosley
I can certainly agree with Radiant Historia, Fire Emblem, Last Story & Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. The rest I wasn't into that much. Xenoblade should be in there.
CrispyLardon and 2 more Reply
I think Xenoblade Chronicles should take the place of Persona 4 on this list since it is a new game.
However, Persona 4 is amazing
我认为异度之刃应该取代战场女武神4,因为它是一款新游戏
然后战场女武神4是令人惊讶的
Shiryu and 13 more Reply
I am confused, you mention "Xenoblade Chronicles" on the topic but then don't place it in the top 10? It's probably my favourite game ever
我很困惑,你在主题中提到了“异度之刃,但是却没有将其提名上TOP 10?这也许是我曾经最喜欢的游戏
Nicholas Payne
Right now I have the equipment to play 4 of these games
If I were home, I'd be able to play an additional 2.
现在我有可以玩(名单中)四款游戏的装备
如果我在家,我会在额外增加两款游戏。
I reaaaalllly want to play some of these games, like Persona 4 Golden, but I am not going to buy a Vita just for that game.
My likely-to-play platforms:
PC, iOS, Xbox 360, Android, PS3
Japan's likely-to-have-good-games platforms:
DS, PSP, Wii, 3DS, PS3, Vita
Liquid-X
I refuse to accept a list that does not include Nier.
我拒绝接受不包含Nier的游戏清单
Aumakua Reply
YEAAAAAAH!!! You're talking about Blue Dragon Plus right? Right?? THAT GAME WAS AWESOME!!!
I'm kidding of course.
YEAAAAAAH!!你是在谈论蓝龙2吗?是吗?这是非常棒的游戏!!1
当然,我是在开玩笑
Samakar
Ni No Kuni has completely stolen my heart. I never want this game to end! It's so wonderful!
女神异闻录完全偷走了我的心。我不想让这款游戏结束!它太棒了!!
theinfinitegoof
I'm with you. Xenoblade was one of the best games I've played in the past few years.
我同意你。异度之刃是我过去十年里玩过的最棒的游戏之一
Aikage Reply
So what you're saying is that I need to buy a DS.
所以照你所说,我需要买一台DS。
daydreamsurfer
SMT!! Also, Pokemon?! It's my LIFE.
聪明的!!没有口袋妖怪?!那是我的菜
Are Mario And Luigi or Fire Emblem really JRPGs? Fire Emblem is more of a turn-based strategy with RPG elements, like XCOM, and M&L is an RPG but doesn't really have any of the JRPG trappings