8 Must-Play JRPGs Every Fan Should Know

Let's say that you, in 2024, have just discovered the world of JRPGs. Whether it was recommended by a friend to play Final Fantasy, or through some of the many famous games in the Persona franchise, or you happened to be interested in the turn-based combat style after accidentally coming across Sea of ​​Stars - Now, you are eager to learn more about the genre, have epic adventures with captivating characters, explore new worlds and get to know games from franchises that you never imagined.

From classics that gained recognition over the decades like Xenogears and Legend of Dragoon to titles that marked generations like Suikoden II, there is no shortage of options within the genre. The UmGamer team has many JRPG fans, and we discuss the subject quite often. In this article, we have prepared a guide with eight games in the genre that everyone should know!

Since most JRPG fans are introduced to the genre with some of the main franchises and series, such as Final Fantasy, Persona, Dragon Quest, Tales of, among others, we omitted games from these series from our list, making room for lesser-known titles, new ones, and/or ones that haven't been released for a few years.

Suikoden II

Released in: 1998

Developer: Konami

Available for: PlayStation. Suikoden I & II Remastered will be available for PlayStation 4 & 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and PC.

Despite its modest release in 1998, Suikoden II is one of the most acclaimed JRPGs of its generation. Its combat system with teams of six fighters, sharing skills with each other, makes it an innovative choice for fans of the genre, with more than 100 playable characters that can be encountered on your journey and help to build your own army to defeat the fearsome Luca Blight.

Players follow the story of a young hero in the midst of a civil war in a rich story deepened by political intrigue, friendship and rivalry between its main characters, in addition to dealing with themes such as inequality and the price of human greed.

Suikoden II was originally released for the PlayStation. A remastered version of the game and its predecessor is in production and scheduled for release on March 6, 2025 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox Series.

Xenogears

Released in: 1998

Developer: Square Enix

Available for: PlayStation

Xenogears is about to celebrate its 26th anniversary since its release in the West in October 2024, which almost didn't happen due to the sensitivity of the themes addressed for its time. Inspired by authors such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, this game was not afraid to address criticism of the use of religion as a political tool and mass control, bringing a sci-fi approach to the subject, in addition to dealing with xenophobia and the effects of trauma on the human psyche.

The peaceful and quiet life of Fei Fong Wong is suddenly turned upside down when a war between two opposing armies, with their giant robots - known as gears - occurs in the middle of his home village. In an act of impulse, Fei enters one of the Gears and becomes the one responsible for the destruction of his home and the death of his friends - this tragedy leads the protagonist on a journey of self-discovery as he explores the world.

Developed by Square Enix (formerly Squaresoft), Xenogears features an innovative combat system that uses button combos for special attacks, as well as combat with the “Gears”, with their own fuel mechanics and specific equipment.

The Legend of Dragoon

Released in: 1999

Developer: Japan Studio

Available for: PlayStation

Another of the PlayStation JRPGs that became a classic of the genre, The Legend of Dragoon was produced by the now-closed Japan Studio as a greedy four-disc project. Set in the fantasy world known as Endiness, the title follows the journey of Dart, a young warrior who discovers his destiny as Dragoon, a chosen group with the power to tap into the power of dragons.

With themes such as revenge and fate, The Legend of Dragoon is recognized for its artistic aesthetic inspired by classic medieval fantasy tales, moving away from the more exaggerated standards of other titles. Its combat system also brings innovations when compared to games of its time, such as the quick time events called “Additions”, where players needed to press a button when two squares converged on the screen between attacks to get a bonus.

NieR Automata

Released in: 2017

Developer: Platinum Games

Available for: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

More focused on the Action RPG genre and developed by Platinum Games (Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance), NieR Automata is the indirect sequel to NieR: Replicant, originally a spin-off of the Drakengard franchise. Despite this, the game is made and narrated to be an experience of its own, without requiring players to have access to the other titles to follow its story.

Set a few thousand years after the events of its predecessor, the title addresses a war between androids created by humans and machines from an alien race, where we follow 2B and 9S on a mission to discover the origin of the behaviors of the machines that, in some way, imitating humans.

NieR Automata has become a hit with the public by combining several narratives and subgenres: the game tells the story through different perspectives while combining shooter, side-scrolling and platformer mechanics, as well as a quick real-time combat system, based on combos and the use of different weapons and android abilities. Its story is also acclaimed by fans and critics for addressing themes of philosophy and society.

Lost Odyssey

Released in: 2007

Developer: Mistwalker, Feelplus

Available for: Xbox 360

Directed by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, Lost Odyssey combines traditional JRPG elements with an innovative narrative around a magic-induced industrial revolution, addressing the story of Kain, an immortal who has lost his memories and addresses themes of redemption and suffering as we follow the protagonist in his search for his past.

Lost Odyssey has many elements that refer to the classic games in the Final Fantasy franchise and is considered by many to be a game in the series in many aspects, except for its publisher and name. Its turn-based combat has some unique elements that distance it from traditional aspects of the Square Enix franchise, such as team formation or the “Aim Ring” system, similar to the Additions in The Legend of Dragoon.

Legend of Legaia

Released in: 1998

Developer: Prokion

Available for: PlayStation

The Legaia series is another of the classic JRPGs that failed to succeed with the generational transition of consoles. Its first game, however, is considered one of the best titles of the genre for its time, both for its darker story where your goal is not to prevent a great evil from happening, but to fight and survive against a catastrophe that has already occurred in the world, and for its combat system with sequences of commands to perform combos and use special abilities.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Released in: 2020

Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios

Available for: PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series.

The Yakuza / Ryu Ga Gotoku series has been around since the PlayStation 2 era and has established itself as a beat'em up, but the change of main character in the eighth game of the series brought new directions and, with them, the opportunity to change its gameplay style to a turn-based RPG similar to classic games of the genre. This change, in fact, has a reason within the title's story: Dragon Quest is Ichiban Kasuga's favorite game.

This change was by far the most abrupt that Like a Dragon had when compared to its predecessors, but it fit perfectly with the more relaxed air of the new protagonist and brought its dose of innovations in this regard, such as the possibility of using objects in the environment to attack enemies - a classic of the Yakuza series - and the use of real professions to create its own “Jobs” system.

Coupled with a thrilling narrative about loyalty, Yakuza: Like a Dragon has established itself as one of the best turn-based RPGs of the current generations, even receiving a direct sequel with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, released in 2024.

Chrono Trigger

Released in: 1995

Developer: Square Enix

Available for SNES, PlayStation, Nintendo DS, PC, iOS, Android

Our team considered whether adding Chrono Trigger to this list would be redundant, given how well-known the game is among both RPG fans and the gaming community. But we're talking about a game that's almost 30 years old - so it doesn't seem intuitive that younger generations would know this title.

Chrono Trigger was the result of joining industry legends such as Hironobu Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy), Masato Kato (Xenogears), Yuji Horii (Dragon Quest) with composers Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy), Yasunori Mitsuda (Xenogears) and the creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama - In a journey about time travel, our heroes cross several eras to save the world from the apocalypse, searching for the origins and means of preventing the awakening of Lavos, a gigantic calamity destined to destroy the world in the future.

Its combat system takes advantage of everything that the Active Time Battle of the Final Fantasy franchise has to offer and adds it with new mechanics, such as Dual Techs and Triple Techs, special attacks in pairs or even trios to deal more damage or even for benefits such as healing your characters.

Bringing together elements that marked an entire generation in a plot full of twists and turns and exciting moments, with a captivating and well-diversified storyline of characters, in addition to offering several different endings - which guarantees a lot of revocability - Chrono Trigger has established itself as a timeless classic not only of JRPGs, but also of the video game industry.