We're living in a golden age of JRPGs right now, with no shortage of games to choose from. Yet mainstays like Final Fantasy and Persona continue to dominate the discourse and will likely do so for a long time to come. You might want to venture off the beaten path and💛 pick s💃ome lesser-known titles, but where do you begin?
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Two-Decade-O♑ld JRPG꧂s That Still Hold Up
These games may be going throu🍎gh their twenties right n༒ow, but they still hold up pretty well.
Right here. We're showcasing some JRPGs that have been forgotten in history in the hope that they wi🐠ll set you off on your next quest. These games are not the most-known or the best-loved, b𒁃ut given the chance, they might just become a treasured gaming memory.
Updated on January 20th, 2025, by Asad Mubeen: When we published our list of obscure JRPG recommendations, the response was immediate and massive. It soon became apparent that our readers were eager for more recommendations and had ideas of their own about which games should be on this list. Between the community's picks and our own ensuing playthroughs, we managed to come up with even more obscure JRPGs to champion. Here is our updated list of JRPGs for you to enjoy.
15 Th🦩ousand Arms 🧸
Thousand Arms is obscure enough to lack even a cult fanbase, which is surprising given its cross-genre appeal. While most JRPGs of the time tended to be somber and grandiose, Tho♐usand Arms was a light-hearted adventure with breezy combat and a unique dating sim element.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Top 13 Best JRP♏Gs Of The PS1 Era
Fans of the JRPG genre remember the PlayStation era with fondness. Here is a look at the ten best JRP🥃Gs from tha🐼t time period.
In the years since, particularly after the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:influence of Persona and Fire Emblem, dating sim elements have become an all-but-guaranteed part of JRPGs. Thousand Arms was a pioneer in this aspect. Not many were willing to explore its steampunk world in 1999, but the game has become increasingly championed in recent years. Maybe it will have a c🌱ult fanbase one day.
14 ﷽ Cla൲ss Of Heroes Series
Class of Heroes
- Released
- June 26, 2🤡008
A first-person dungeon crawler in the vein of Wizardry, Class of Heroe🦄s refuses to ever fully die despite never quite making it. The games are set in an adventurers' academy and feature a vibrant art style aꦐnd charming characters. Few know of Class of Heroes, and those who do speak of its difficult, almost inaccessible gameplay.
Over the years after its 2008 debut, the series has changed publishers multiple times and managed to somehow always end up back in the running. After an Atlus-helmed localization and a brief stint with Gaijinworks late in the PSP's life, the series is now available on the PC, PS5, and Switch. It's plain to see why Class of Heroes never made it. The difficulty, p🐈articularly in the first game, verges on unfair.
However, it's also easy to see why its small fanbase can't let it go: something about its delightful art style and optimistic presentation captures your imagination, luring you down a dungeon-crawling path tha🍰t will leave you ๊shaken but exhilarated.
13 Revenant Saga 𓆏 🐟
- Released
- March 1, 2017 ♛
- ESRB
- 🌊 E🍰 for Everyone
- Developer(s)
- 🔯 Exe Create Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Kemco
- Engine
- Unity
- PC Release Date
- Marc🌼h 1, 2017
- Platform(s)
- PC, iOS, Android, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:PlayStation 3, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:PlayStation 4, Xbox One, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nintendo Switch, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xbox Series S, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xbox Series X
- How Long To Beat
- 15½ Hours
- OpenCritic Rating
- Weak
𝕴The mere mention of Kemco is enough to make people roll their eyes if they know the publisher, to begin with. Kemco specializes in low-budget RPGs, primarily developed for mobile phones but also available on most other platforms in the dark recesses of digital sto𝓡refronts. These are games very obviously made in RPG Maker and similar programs; production values are not their forte.
However, among the developers helmed by Kemco, Exe 🧜Create is one of the more passionate ones. The studio has its own long-running Asdivine series and managed a surprisingly solid showinꦜg with Revenant Saga.
Revenant Saga is a 15-hour story that will never win any awards except for quaint charm. However, its Wild Arms-inspired combat is quite fun and the storyline is honestly pretty compelling. It's easy to dismiss Revenant Saga as a joke, but the game deserves a fair shake. The game received a seq꧅uel called Revenant Dogma, but despite the improved graphics, its quality was more in line with Kemco's usual output.
12 Okage: Shadow King ๊ 🔯
Okage: Shadow King
- Released
- March 15, 2001 𒁃
- ESRB
- T foꦦr Teen 𒁃
- Developer(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertain💙ment ꦬ
- Publisher(s)
- ไ Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Number of Players
- ൩ Single Player 🍎
- Platform(s)
- 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:PlayStation 2, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:PlayStation 4
- How Long To Beat
- 💃 24.5 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- Included
2001 was a great year🍬 for JRPGs to be entirely overshadowed by Final Fantasy 10. Among the casualties of the more popular title is Okage: Shadow King. This game is perhaps most famous today for its Tim Burton-esque art style, but that's not the only reason it stands out.
Okage: Shadow King features a contemporary storyline that is entirely at odds with most JRPGs of its time. The script focuses largely on humor, with a good deal of the bizarre. The soundtrack is weird, and everything aside from the gameplay feels a bit off - in a good way. These days, it's easy to chalk up the game's newfo🎉und popularity to its attention-grabbing box art, but play it and you'll find Okage has something even more important: heart.
11 ꦓ 🐬 Moon: Remix RPG Adventure
The JRPG genre lends itself to parody quite easily due to how seriously these games take themselves at 🌳times. E🍒arthbound served as a light satire of the genre, but it wasn't until Moon: Remix RPG Adventure that JRPGs were deconstructed entirely.
Moon is set in a world where the hero is the villain. You play as a side character who has to set things right. No 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:JRPG trope is left unscathed as your character skips through dialogue and is chased out of ღhomes for entering them unannounce💙d.
This title remained Japan-exclusive for decades. It served as a massive influence on Toby Fox's Undertale: the latter gameও features such obvious homages as levels being called Love. In a happy turn of events, Toby Fox's professed love 𒆙of Moon inspired the original crew to localize the game nearly 23 years after the fact.
10 Lo𒉰rd of Magna๊: Maiden Heaven
Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven
Brought back from the brink of cancellation by Marvelous, Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven was launched on the 3DS to little fanfare. It didn't fade from the limelig൲ht - it never was in it to begin with.
This is a shame, because Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven is really cozy. It's lighthearted and charming and lasts about 15-20 hours, which makes it ideal when you want to play a JRPG but don't want to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:grow old by the time you finish it. The ending is pretty heartwarming as well.
9 Gungnir
Released late in the PSP's life cycle, Gungnir suffers the same setback as manyꦬ Sting Entertainment games: it's too unconventional for its own good. The game rewards strategy and lateral thinking and has a striking visual style, yet its ending managed to alienate the few who played it.
168澳洲幸运5💝开奖网: 17 Best Strategy Games On Nintendo Switch
If you love a challenge, check out these Nintendo Switch s⭕trategy games.
However, it's still a stellar strategy RPG with stunning map design. It may be too challenging for newcomers ไto the genre, but veteran tacticians looking for a challenge would be doing themselves a favor by checking it out.
8 🦄 S✱hining Resonance Refrain
The Shin🐲ing series has a few classics but has never been able to commit to a singular format or reach the heights of its competitors. With Shining Resonance Refrain, the series tries its hand at third-person ac🏅tion role-playing.
Shining Resonance Refrain is the best Tales game that isn't a Tales game. It has a likable cast, a fantastic soundtrack, and fun exploration. Returning to the city, which serves as a central hub, and go♓ing on dates with your party members is engaging as well. What Shining Reson🎀ance Refrain lacks in ambition, it makes up for in coziness.
Shining Resonance Refrain is an updated version of Shining Resonance, which was launched only in Japan. It features a new side story thꦐat💝 is unlocked from the start.
7 𓆉 Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ 𓂃
Tokyo Xanadu eX+
- Released
- December 8ꦚ,🌺 2017
- ESRB
- 🍨 T For Teen Due To Drug Referღence, Fantasy Violence, Language, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- 🅠 Nihon Falcom 🐷
- Publisher(s)
- 🐭 Aksys Games, Nihon Falcom 🌠
- Engine
- ꧙ PhyreEngine 😼
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- ﷽ July🤡 25, 2024
- Platform(s)
- PC, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nintendo Switch, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:PlayStation 4
- How Long To Beat
- 45 Hours
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
The first hour of To☂kyo Xanadu Ex+ is sure to test your patience. Its opening cutscene is so dialogue-heavy and runs on for so long that you might even start to wonder if you accidentally started a visual novel instead of a JRPG.
Bear with it. Once it gets started, Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ is a jo🧸y to play. Its breezy dungeon crawling and fast-paced combat is complemented b𝔉y a captivating plot and wonderful exploration. The modern-day setting makes this game a lovely virtual tour of Japan, where you can explore shrines, supermarkets, and side streets to your heart's content.
Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ is an updated version of Tokyo Xanadu and adds new chapters tꦕo theꦉ story.
6 ♌ Stella Glow
Stella Glow
Imageepoch's farewell to JRPG fans before their shutdown in 2015, Stella Glow is a sprawling adventure that provides over 50 hours of top-notch story, catchy music, and gratifying combat. It also features 💯one of the mosꦇt shocking plot twists in a handheld RPG.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网: 6 Most Shocking Plot Twists
These shocking plot twists add a new dimension to the🍨se great games.
If🦩 you have a 3DS and a mind for strategy, you should definitely give Stella Glow a go. It's not that difficult, so newcomers would feel right at home, too. Everyone who's played Stella Glow loves it; the problem is that so few people have played it.
