Summary

  • RPGs offer the joy of watching your party evolve into close friends through exploration, story, and battles.
  • A great job system in RPGs allows for flexible character classes and powerful moves, rewarding creativity.
  • Games like Final Fantasy 14, Dragon's Dogma, Like a Dragon, Golden Sun, and many others have impressive job systems.

One of the great pleasures of an RPG is✱ how your party grows as you play; you start with a motley crew of strangers, but by the end of the game, you've seen them develop into close friends and companions. This emotional arc is created through exploration, story progression, and battling - often through a great job system.

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In RPGs, jobs are essentially character classes that you can choose from, letting you build out your party's abilities by selecting new moves as you level up. A great job system is flexible🌱 and fun, rewarding your creativity with ultra-powerful movesets. And these games have some of the best job systems of them all.

Updated February 22, 2025 by Jacob Whaling: We've added a few more RPGs with amazing job systems.

20 ♓Metaphor: ReFantazio 𝔍

An Instant Classic

metaphor-refantazio-tag-page-cover-art.jpg

Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Metaphor: ReFantazio
RPG
JRPG
Action
Adventure
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 93/100 Critics Rec: 98%
Released
October 11, 2024
ESRB
T For Teen // Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of 𓆏Alcohol, Violence
Developer(s)
꧅ Studio Zero ಌ
Publisher(s)
Atlus
Engine
GFD

WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL

Number of Players
1
Steam Deck Compatibility
Playable
PC Release Date
♍ October 11, 2024 ℱ
Xbox Series X|S Release Date
October 11, 2024 ♛
PS5 Release Date
October 11, 2024 🔴
How Long To Beat
65 Hours
X|S Optimized
Yes
File Size Xbox Series
81.15 GB
How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
104 hours
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty

Top JRPG studio Atlus is best known for their Persona series, and with Metaphor: ReFantazio they take the best parts of those games and add a superb job system. Each character has a default j🔴ob, calle🃏d an Archetype, but can swap to any others you unlock.

You can carry skills across from one job to another, crafting your perfect character class and earning more skill slots by improving your relationship with the cha💦racter the job was originally tied to. This works with their turn-based combat, which allows you to hit enemy weaknesses for extra turns, to make one of the best JRPG experiences in years.

Leveling a job earns you the skills associated with it and can also unlo𝕴ck more advanced jobs. Don't stop once you've unlocked your desired job and equipped it with the skills you want though, fully leveling an Archetype earns that character a permanent stat bonus so it's worth hitting them all if you're on a higher difficuꦗlty.

19 Final Fantasy 14 🍌

Dozens Of Options

ff14-cover.jpg

Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Final Fantasy 14 (2010)
MMORPG
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 86/100 Critics Rec: 92%
Released
August 27, 2013
ESRB
T for Teen: Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Language, Suggestive ༺Themes,♓ Violence
Engine
Crystal Tools
Multiplayer
🐽 Online Multiplayer 🎉

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Cross-Platform Play
PC, PS4, PS5 & Xbox ဣSeries X|S
Cross Save
no
Steam Deck Compatibility
yes
Metascore
90
Platforms That Support Crossplay
꧂ 🤪 PC, PS4 & PS5
PS Plus Availability
N/A
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty

One of the most successful MMO's in history, Final Fantasy 14 proudly draws on the history of the entire series to present you with an almost overwhelming number of Job and Class options. Gunbreaker, Black Mage, Summoner, and more fill out this impressive cata🔯logue.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Once a Job or Class is unlocked, you can switch to it anyꩲtime by equipping the weapon associated with it,🌞 meaning you can freely change as you go. There are also crafting and gathering options, like Fishing, and even three different job paths for your chocobo.

18 Dragon's Dogma

Jobs Done Your Way

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Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Dragon's Dogma
Action RPG
Systems
Released
May 22, 2012
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Parti🐓al Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Developer(s)
Capcom
Publisher(s)
Capcom
Engine
MT Framework
Multiplayer
🌠 Online Multiplayer
Franchise
Dragon's Dogma

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Platform(s)
PS3, Xbox 360

Capcom'sꦐ undersung Dragon's Dogma is an excellent example of what crafty developers can do by combining action-꧃RPG gameplay with a flexible job system. The game offers nine different Vocations, allowing you to choose between three basic ones at the start, slowly expanding your options.

You can grind one Vocation up to its advanced form, which offers expanded offensive options, or you can choose a hybrid Vocation that lets you combine two skill sets into one. You can swap🌳 between them at any time, and your AI-controlled assistants, called Pawns, can also use different Vocations. This system lets you change your setup for different situations, encouraging experimentation and creativity.

17 𝓰 G🙈olden Sun

It's Pronounced Djinn

Key art from Golden Sun, showing the party members posing on a mysterious, colorful background
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Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Golden Sun
Systems
Released
November 12, 2001
ESRB
e
Developer(s)
❀ ꦜ Camelot Software Planning
Publisher(s)
Nintendo
Engine
GSHTML5
Multiplayer
💧 Local Multi🃏player

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

Release
♐ 2001-11-12

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Golden Sun is one of the best portable RPGs, and its delightful iteration of a job system is one huge reason why it's still so beloved today. The game uses elemental spirits called Djinn, which you can find scatter🉐ed throughout the game's world.

Djinn are innately tied to character classes; if you equip enough Djinn of a particular element onto a certain character, they'll instantly change their class. Moreover, you cꦕan swap Djinn in and out during battles, letting you change your character classes in the middle of a tough fight. The Djinn create a game full of opportunities for unique strategies.

16 🎃 Crystal Project

Perfectly Unique

The Crystal project title screen featuring four characters.

Crystal Project 🌱is an indie-developed open world JRPG where you choose how your adventure unfolds. Exploring the world for crystals unlocks new classes and abilities, and thereꦚ are over 20 classes to unlock and customize.

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Although Crystal Project may lack in plot and story, it more than makes up for it with its excellent exploration mechanics and self-guided play. Part Metroidvania, part JRPG, part platformer; Crystal Project takes the best aspects of each of these genres and📖 rolls them into one unique and unforgettable game.

15 𝓰 Yakuza: Like A Dragon

A Bold New Direction

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Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Yakuza: Like A Dragon
5.0/5
Top Critic Avg: 86/100 Critics Rec: 91%
Released
November 10, 2020
ESRB
M for Mature: Blood, I🦋ntense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
Developer(s)
Ryu G🌠a Gotoku Studio
Publisher(s)
Sega
Engine
Dragon Engine

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Yakuza: Like a Dragon, known internationally as 💞Yakuza 7, introduces a new cast of characters and an entirely new battle system. It also marked the first time a Yakuza game was available with both the original Japanese cast, and a localized English version.

Franchise
Yakuza
How Long To Beat
45 Hours
X|S Optimized
Yes
File Size Xbox Series
39 GB (November 2023) 🤡
Metascore
86
PS Plus Availability
N/A
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty

Yakuza: Like A Dragon's punny title immediately indicates what it's all about.💮 "Like a dragon," you know, like Dragon Quest? And like the series that inspired this turn-based take on the relatively realistic Yakuza universe, Like A Dragon has an excellent job system to goඣ along with its turn-based combat.

Like A Dragon's system works fairly traditionally: each character is given a selection of classes that level up the more you use them. Each level will unlock new skills, but while m🍃ost class skills don't carry over, you'll occa༒sionally unlock special Character Skills that remain persistent even when you change classes. This creates a fun system that you can totally exploit if you make the right choices.

14 ꦫ Blue D♕ragon

An Underrated Classic

A screenshot from Blue Dragon, showing the party running from an explosion behind them
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Your Rating

Blue Dragon
Systems
Released
August 28, 2007
ESRB
t
Publisher(s)
Microsoft G🧸ame Studiosꦗ

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Platform(s)
Xbox 360
Developer
🎉 Mistwalker, Artoon ༺
How Long To Beat
46 Hours

Blue Dragon wears its traditionalist influences on its sleeve - which makes sense since the game was directed by Final Fantasy mastermind Hironobu Sakaguchi. This extends to its job system🐻, similar to Like A Dragon'🐈s, in that jobs level up separately from your character.

But as the 🌞game progresses, you'll unlock new jobs for each of your characters automatically as you level up; you'll receive a new job to choose from every ten levels. Each job has unique skills, but a new job will also come with empty slots that you can fill with any unlocked skill from any other job. This gives Blue Dragon's system a lot of flexibility, allowing you to build bespoke classes as you go.

13 Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth 🦂

Ichiban Dusts Off His Resume

mixcollage-06-dec-2024-09-30-pm-5583.jpg

Your Rating

168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Like A Drag🍷on: Infinit✃e Wealth
5.0/5
Top Critic Avg: 90/100 Critics Rec: 97%
Released
January 26, 2024
ESRB
🔯 M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Simulated Ga♛mbling, Strong Language
Developer(s)
Ryu Ga Gotoku🔯 Studio
Publisher(s)
Sega
Engine
Dragon Engine

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Franchise
Yakuza
How Long To Beat
60 Hours
Metascore
93
PS Plus Availability
N/A
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty

Many were skeptical at the announcement Like A Dragon would be shiftꦍing from being an action brawler to a turꦐn-based RPG, but the success of a second game in that vein proves that it was an inspired choice. Infinite Wealth establishes itself as a heavy hitter in the genre, with exciting new jobs in tow.

With options inspired by American culture and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the setting of Hawaii, new Jobs 🦩like Geodancer and Aquanuaut ꦚhelp keep things fresh. A new skill system also allows for skills to be carried from one job to another, opening up your options.

12 🤪 🦹 Fantasy Life

Always Something New

Fantasy Life official art showing a knight on a horse overlooking fields with animals and plants.
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Your Rating

Fantasy Life
RPG
Life Simulation
Systems
Released
October 24, 2014
ESRB
⛄ E🤪10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol
Developer(s)
Level-5
Publisher(s)
Nintendo
Engine
Unreal Engine
Multiplayer
ꦛ On꧙line Multiplayer

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

How Long To Beat
30 Hours

Fantasy Life is an action RPG for the 3DS that places youಌ in the world of Riveria, where you can do pretty much anything you want to. After making your character and choosing between one of twelve different jobs; from Mercenary to Carpenter, you can explore the world and level up each of your jobs, changing whenever you feel like it.

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14

Fantasy Life also has an incredibly charming story with memorable characters and tons of content to explore. Each job has its own story quests as well, and they all play differently from each other so switching to a new one is always a fresh expe🍎rience.

11 Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark

Inspired By The Greats

fell-seal_-arbiter-s-mark-tag-page-cover-art.jpg

Your Rating

Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark
Tactical
RPG
Systems
Top Critic Avg: 83/100 Critics Rec: 87%
Released
April 30, 2019
ESRB
T for Teen - Violence,🧸 Blood
Developer(s)
𝓰 6 Eyes Studio
Publisher(s)
1C Enterta✨inment
Engine
Unity
Steam Deck Compatibility
Verified

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL

PC Release Date
🤪 April 30, 2019
Nintendo Switch Release Date
𓃲 August 19, 2019
How Long To Beat
37 Hours
OpenCritic Rating
Strong

Reviving classic RPG tropes isn't just for big-name ♔developers like Sakaguchi. In recent years, indie developers have gotten in on the trend, resulting in excellent games that nod to the past while building on classic mechanics. Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark is one of the best examples.

It's heavily inspired by a certain tactical RPG thꦜat you'll see further down this list, and like its predecessors, Fell Seal boasts an excellent job system. The game lets you choose between twenty basic classes available to all characters, and particular characters will have their own unique classes to add to the list. You can also set sub-classes to expand your characters' abilities and movesets, giving you plenty of incentive to replay the game and try out new builds.