There is a reason why so many RPG and JRPG fans look to the past and get lost in nostalgia when comes to the SNES and PS1 era. However, it isn't just a case of looking back through rose-tinted glasses — games like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, and Dragon Quest 5 all stand the test of time when it comes to storytelling and character development.
For RPG fans, a great story, and characters transcend graphics and the limitations of technology. This rings true for modern-day classics too. While we have the benefit of stunning visuals and amazing soundtracks, the narratives are just as good. Many fans will claim that a lot of big-budget games have style but very little substance when it comes to story and characters, but that's not always the case. This is a list of stunning JRPGs that rival their SNES and PS1-era counterparts.
Updated August 14, 2022, by Michael Llewellyn: The RPG and JRPG genres can draw you into new worlds and adventures. The sense of escapism is why f𒊎ans still enjoy classic SNES-era JRPGs like Live A Live and Final Fantasy 6. These games are still as good today as they were over 20 years ago, thanks to their stories.
Thankfully, old-school JRPG fans still have choices in great modern titles that are just as good as their predecessors. This list has been updated to include even more modern JRPGs with stories that rival the classics.
9 Xen🦩oblade Chronicles 3
- Released: 2022
- Developer: Monolith Soft
- Platform: Switch
As one of the most critically acclaimed games in 2022, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the third ent💎ry in one of the best JRPGs on the Nintendo Switch. In terms of scale and scope, few games can match it. The maps are deeply explorable and filled with secrets, lore, and monsters to fight.
Despite its connections and allusions to Xenoblade 3's predecessors, you can play this title first and return to the first two games as if they were prequels. The science-fiction fantasy themes from the studio's past works, like Xenogears and Xenosaga, are present in all three Xenoblade titles.
8 Dragon Quest 1🍌1: Echoes Of An Elusive Age
- Released: 2017
- Developer: Square Enix
- Platform: 3DS, PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One
Next to Final Fantasy, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dragon Quest is Square Enix's biggest JRPG offering. Tonally, the classic series isn't as serious as Final Fantasy. However, the emotional investment and pure joy you'll experience are on par with its counterpart.
The studio's most recent entry in the series, Dragon Quest 11, recaptures the feel and magic of its predecessors. The character designs, setting, and tale of the Luminary will feel familiar. However, the execution, stunning visuals, and gripping story make it just as great as Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride and Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King. Very few games capture the magic of going on a grand adventure as the Dragon Quest series does, this entry more than lives up to legacy of the name.
7 𒉰 The Legend Of Heroes -🐻 The Trails Saga
- Released: 2006
- Developer: Nihon Falcom
- Platform: PC, PSP, PS Vita, PS3, PS4, PS5, and Switch
Despite not having AAA budgets, developers Falcom are considered one of the best makers of JRPGs. The studio has been around a long time, and next to their Ys series, the Trails series is arguably their 🍸mos🌸t well-known and ambitious yet.
In the West, the Trails series includes the Trails in the Sky trilogy and the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Trails of Cold Steel, and doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon. The games are narratively deep and have interconnected stories and characters that rival the MCU.
6 ಞ Final Fantasy 7 Remake 💎
- Released: 2020
- Developer: Square Enix
- Platform: PC, PS4 and PS5
After a long wait, the much-requested 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 7 Remake became a reality for fans in 2020. Thankfully, the action RPG not only lived up to fans' expectations but surpassed them in many ways.
Instead of being a scene-for-scene remake, this version of Final Fantasy 7 broke free of the constraints of the original and created something new. The game takes the narrative in a new direction without dishonoring what made the classic game so good. The Final Fantasy 7 Remake manages to be as good as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the opening chapters of the original while taking the story in a new direction that makes the anticipation for the sequel almos🎃t unbearable.
5 Radiant Historia ♔
- Released: 2011 and 2017
- Developer: Atlus
- Platform: DS and 3DS
Fans of JRPGs from the SNES era still consider Chrono Trigger as one greatest RꦇPGs of all time. The time-traveling masterpiece still holds up today and was created by a dream team of designers that included Akira Toriyama (Dragon Quest artist), Hironobu Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy creator), and Masato Kato (Ninja Gaiden writer). Additionally, the music was composed by legendary composers Nobuo Uematsu and Yasunori Mitsuda (Final Fantasy).
Unfortunately, a game like Chrono Trigger feels like a once-in-a-lifetime deal for fans. However, if one wants a time-traveling adventure that feels like the closest thing to modern-day Chrono Trigger, then Radiant Historia is the next best thing. The story in Radiant is arguably more complex and - just like Chrono - has a script that requires a lot of time hopping without tripping over itself. The game was first released in 2011 for the Nintendo DS and remastered for the 3Ds in 2017. Ideally, the newest version with additional story elements is the preferred choice, but you can't go wrong with either version to indulge in some great storytelling.
4 ✱ ꧑ Lost Odyssey
- Released: 2008
- Developer: Mistwalker and Feelplus
- Platform: Xbox 360 and Xbox One/Series X/S backward compatibility
As a game released in 2008, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Lost Odyssey is one of th🍨e older titles on this list. However, it is still a modern enough title that deserves mo💦re praise and recognition from fans of the golden era of JRPGs. Lost Odyssey was created by Mistwalk꧟er, a studio launched by none other than the creator of Final Fantasy himself, Hironobu Sakaguchi.
The aforementioned Chrono Trigger succeeded in putting together a team of developers and designers. In addition to Sakaguchi overseeing development as a supervisor, Lost Odyssey's talented team of developers will be familiar to JRPG fans. The studio Feelplus consisted of members that worked on The Legend of Dragoon and the Shadow Hearts series. Famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu created the soundtrack, and best-selling Japanese novelist Kiyoshi Shigematsu penned the script. Mechanically, Lost Odyssey plays and feels like an old-school JRPG, but its original take on the amnesiac protagonist packs 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:a timeless emotional punch.
3 💜 Tales Of Arise
- Released: 2021
- Developer: Bandai Namco Tales Studio
- Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
After a long break, the Tales franchise returned with one of its best entries in the series yet. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Tales of Arise was the revamp the series needed and finally succeeded in becoming a mainstream hit with Western fans. Despite being one of the top three Japanese RPG franchises, the Tales series didn't enjoy the same success in the West as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
Thankfully, that changed with Tales of Arise. Not only does it have the best visuals in the series, but the story and the cast are easily comparable with some of the game's predecessors. Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Vesperia are considered the best in the series, but Arise belongs in the conversation too. Arise looks and plays like a modern overhaul, but the series' roots are as strong now as they were nearly 30 years ago.
2 Persona 5
- Released: 2016
- Developer: Atlus
- Platform: PS3 and PS4
With its modern-day setting and focus on the occult, the Persona series has always stood out from the crowd of fantasy-based JRPGs back in the mid-'90s. The stories felt unique and the focus on character development improved with every entry.
However, it's Persona 5 that took the series to new heights in storytelling with its modern anime-style visuals that have a timeless look. The turn-based system is a nod to classic JRPGs, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:its stylized menus and speed feel like an evolution of the franchise.𝕴 Persona 5 and the expanded Persona 5 Royal have stories that are certainly better than the first two entries and are♚ easily on par with Persona 3 and 4.
1 💧 Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition
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- Released: 2011 and 2020
- Developer: Monolith Soft
- Platform: Nintendo Switch and the Wii
Coming from a team that created the iconic Xenogears and one of the most ambitious gaming trilogies of all time with Xenosaga, it's little surprise that Xenoblade is considered a modern classic. First released in 2011 for Western audiences, Xenoblade was remastered and expanded in the Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xenoblade is a stunning adventure already experienced with some of the best character development in two generations. The Definitive release, however, expanded the story that connects it with the sequel and sets up events for Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Fans of the classic Xeno series will be pleased to know that many of its predecessor's themes range from its religious overtones to mechs that carry over into this Xenoblade and its sequel.