Well if you got to this post hoping to discover a rare gem you could sink your weekend into, then you’re about to be very disappointed. I’m the most basic gamer girl out there. The very first 5 JRPG titles that flashed into your mind, almost subconsciously are probably the exact ones I’m about to name. There you go, you don’t even need to read the post now!
No wait! Don’t go! I was only kidding…yeah that’s right. Where else are you ever going to hear about games like…Final Fantasy…
Kingdom Hearts
I am currently playing KH 2. I had always heard about the franchise and had always wanted to get into it but for some reason never got around to playing the games. Quarantine changed that. I ordered a bundle with everything so far and started making my way through it.
I finished the first game. The cleared Chain of Memories which I actually really liked. I thought the mechanics were interesting and the story got a lot more intricate and well…weird. I then watched 358/2 days. Unfortunately, turns out the version I have is basically just a movie made up of all the cut scenes instead of an actual game. It doesn’t quite work. My advice would be to just read the plot summary and skip it. I started KH 2 last weekend and so far I’m digging it. It’s pretty similar to the 1 but I really want to see how Sora and Roxas come together. I also teared up a little when I saw Mickey which makes zero sense since I have never seen a mickey movie in my life. Man, I’m easy to please.
From what I have seen game 3 is an actual classic turn-based JRPG and I can’t wait!
Suikoden
I’m not sure in what order I’m putting these. Suikoden is more of an oldie and I admit I only played games 1 to 3. This said I played the heck out of Suikoden 3. I really loved that game and got super invested in the universe.
Suikoden games allow you to gather up a huge amount of playable characters and in-game three, there’s this little minigame where you can put on a play with whatever characters you have gathered. I spent hours obsessively putting on plays with different combinations of characters just to see how they would turn out. HOURS!
I would happily play another Suikoden game if a new one came out! And I hope one does. It’s a classic JRPG franchise that deserves to be revived.
Persona
Ok, so I guess these are officially in NO order! I played Persona 3 or rather small bits of it at a friend’s house (another JRPG enthusiast) when it first came out. I never got the game for myself for some reason so I couldn’t enjoy it to its fullest. But when Persona 4 came out… I actually missed it altogether.
It wasn’t until years later when I found a copy of Persona 4 on the PS store remastered for the PS3 that I actually started playing. And oh boy did I ever get into the game. I have subsequently cosplayed as 3 of the characters. I really loved Persona 4. enough to make me go back and play the 3 which I like a lot as well. When Persona 5 was announced I jumped at it.
I got the fancy preorder with the shiny case and schoolbag and everything. To be honest, I was a little afraid it wouldn’t live up to expectations. I was wrong. Although 4 will forever hold a special spot in my heart, 5 was a delight. I have finished it twice and I am considering buying the new version to play it all over again!
Final Fantasy
So this is my tied for the first pick. When you think JRPG, you think Final Fantasy, right? I have played 11 of the Final Fantasy games (Crisis Core is brilliant.) and although they’re not all masterpieces, I tend to always enjoy them at least on some level. I have yet to finish 15 that I restarted a few times already, but I do like it whenever I pick it up.
However, FF7 was my gateway JRPG and actually my gateway game altogether. I have always enjoyed video games and use to code little joke games in MS-DOS as a little kid for fun. But I never really thought of myself as someone who likes games until I played Final Fantasy 7. That’s when I realized, you, I’m a gamer girl. That’s what I want to do in my free time.
And FF7 is still one of my favourite games after all this time. I have not played the remaster yet. I’m actually waiting for the entire thing to come out. But I will. And I’m gonna love it.
Honourable mention: Fire Emblem
So why is Fire Emblem just an honourable mention? It probably deserves its own spot! It’s not like it’s not a super well know JRPG series. Well, it’s because I have only played 3 houses. I really liked 3 Houses. It’s one of those games I had to complete. Consequently, I finished it with all three houses and the fourth option as well. I also liked the DLC a lot. It ramps up the difficulty quite a bit which was refreshing.
I enjoyed 3 Houses enough that I would be happy to play the next Fire Emblem game. I should probably look into the past ones actually. Any one to recommend?
Tales
I feel like this list has just been a repetition of me saying I love this game over and over again. I love the tales series which happens to be one of the most prolific JRPG series out there. To be more specific, I love Tales of Vesperia which I am playing through for the third time. I own it on a few platforms now. But I quite liked Berseria and Symphonia, even Graces. I’m intrigued by Tales of the Abyss, I wonder if there’s a remaster available.
I’m hoping Tales of Arise will be out next year. And I will be buying it. Just take my money, please!
Every time I start a new tales game I just get submerged in a familiar and comfortable adventure that can make even the most boring Sunday afternoon riddled with excitement. I don’t actually remember the last time I had a boring Sunday afternoon so I’m talking theoretically here!
See, I told you it wouldn’t be exciting. And there are tons of other great franchises and individual games as well. These just happen to be the ones I have played the most.
What are some of your favourite, maybe I can discover my next game!
