The franchise is one of the most influential in gaming, its impact reaching far beyond the confines of the ge♊nre. From the series’ penchant for dramatic storytelling to ever increasing innovations on turn based combat, Final Fantasy ꧅is effectively synonymous with “JRPG” at this point. But recent entries in th𒅌e series have moved away from the core tenets that once defined Square’s golden goose, and Final Fantasy XVI looks to be the fran🌞chise’s most radical departure yet.
Final Fantasy may be firm🔯 on leaving turn based gameplay behind, but there ar💟e plenty of RPGs that show the brilliance of turn based battles. Action RPGs may offer a reflex based challenge, but the best turn based RPGs demand a level of strategic thought that would put even Final Fantasy to shame.
Updated April 15, 2021: Final Fantasy XVI still doesn't have a set release date, but the RPG is shaping up to change the franchise. Final Fantasy VII Remake set a precedence for real time action XVI is capitalizing on. Considering Final Fantasy has been ultimately defined by its turn based gameplay, Square Enix is sure to lose a few fans in the transition. Final Fantasy may be entering a new chapter, but the RPG genre isn't hurting for turn based gameplay. There are more than enough high quality RPGs to satisfy those fans longing for Final Fantasy's turn based glory days.
15 Dragon Quest III
Final Fantasy owes much of its success ﷺto the progenitor of﷽ the JRPG genre, , but the series never quite tookꦓ ꦉoff with the same fervor in the west. It’s a shame as DQ often outdoes FF when it comes to pure turn-based gameplay. Dragon Quest III in part꧒icular fe𓄧atures a fantastic class system that beats both Final Fantasy I and III at their own game.
Not just that, DQ III is very much the quintessential JRPG– a game that defines the genre so definitively, playing it may as well be mandatory for RPG fanatics. While the game originally released on the NES in😼 the west as Dragon Warrior III, the game’s iOS release has since been ported to the Nintendo🔥 Switch.
14 Earthbound
Earthbound’s cult status is very well deserved, and while the RPG is hard to come upon these d♛ays, it’s a game worth the effort of hunting down. Set in the 90s and heavi꧙ly inspired by Americana, is quite unlike any other game on the SNES. While its tongue in cheek script may suggest it’s a parody of the genre, the plot progre🌃ssively becomesജ more dramatic, resulting in an eclectic coming of age story that makes masterful use of video gaming as a medium.
13 Persona 4 Golden
The modern series blends clas♛sic turn based gameplay with incredibly dense storytelling. Persona 3, 4, and 5 all push at least 80 hours with P5 in particular taking around 100 hours to complete per average play🐻through. Of the three modern Persona games, 4 is by far the most accessible.
Not only ꧑is its story generally lighter with plenty of levity, P4’s emphasis on its main cast and forcing them to confront themselves results in an incredibly memorable party whose chemistry is e🍰nough to carry the𒉰 game. Thankfully, Persona 4’s actual combat is downright stellar.
12 Shin Megami Tensei IV
Shin Megami Tensei and Persona can be considered two sides of the same coin, but they offer very diff♓erent experiences. Where t♈he average Persona gamꦺe is never too narratively or thematically taxin🦄g, the games emb🅠race an incredibly host💮ile post-apocalyptic setting.
Shin Megami Tensei also features a tougher difficulty curve, but this is in th😼e series’ benefit. Shin Megami Tensei IV is arguably the best entryp🏅oint for newcomers, es♎pecially with Nocturne’s remake releasing this May. SMTIV isn’t as aesthetically dark as its predecessors, but its story is arguably the bleakest of the lot🌌 and the combat’s been impr🌠oved on every front.
11 Lost Odyssey
Lost Odyssey should have been for the seventh generation of ♔gaming, an RPG developed by a literal dre🐼am team – Final Fantasy’s creator Hiro🍌nobu Sakaguchi, composer Nobuo Uematsu, author Kiyoshi Shigema🐽tsu, and mangaka Takehiko Inoue. Being locked on the 360 did the game’s legacy no favors, but Lost Odyssey is a genuine masterpiece. Literarily, Lost Odyssey is one of the best written games ever penned– wi🎃th a mature script that’s bound to draw a few tears. The combat is also a natural extension of Final Fantasy X’s CTB system, in many respects making Lost Odyssey feel like the “real” Final Fantasy XIII.
10 Blue Dragon
Blue Dragon was Lost Odyssey’s predecessor by Mistwalker, and while it doesn’t 🔜hit the same highs ღas Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon is nonetheless an incredibly charming JRPG. It’s very much an ode to old school RPGs– f🃏or꧂ better or worse– with a fairly straightforward story, but that’s part of Blue Dragon’s appeal. Art design by Akira Toriyama, another fantastic score by Nobuo Uematsu, and a battle system that’s surprisingly addictive while h𒊎iding a fair bit of depth, Blue Dragon is another 360 eꦚxclusive JRPG that was denied the popಌularity it rightfully deserved.
9 The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky
The Legend of Heroes franchise is a commitment unlike any other. Trails in the Sky is only the first piꦆece of a puzzle that takes hundreds upon hundreds of hours to solve (and is still being weaved by F♎alcom). The first Trails in the Sky is a fairly slow paced RPG, but that’s🎉 only because of how much it commits to the idea of a living, breathing world.
NPCs react ꦛto quiꦇte literally every happening in the main plot, often offering new insight into the world or side quests for players who think to backtrack and keep up with current events. The Legend of Heroes series isn’t for the impatient gamer, but Trails in the Sky is a great enough game to convery anyone in favor of the series. The start is especially slow, but it’s all worth it for the 🤪last act.
8 Super Mario RPG
SquareSoft’s take on the franchise, Super Mario RPG is a landmark title on the SNES and in video game history. This marked the first time Nintendo allowed another company to alter the Mario IP so radically and it resulted in one of the best RPGs ever made. The use of reaction based gameplay to diffജerentiate SMRPG’s turn based combat from Final Fantasy’s is downright genius, and the story– while true to the inherent charm of Mario– actually manages to raise the stakes while😼 prioritizing surprisingly strong character writing.
7 Breath Of Fire IV
Both PlayStation era Breath of Fire games are worth playing, but Breath of Fire IV features one of the most unique stories in any RPG. Perspective often shifts between the protagonist, Ryu, and Fou-Lu, the game’s main antagonist. Players actually take full control of Fou-Lu, leveling him up and s𝓰ee𓆏ing his side of the story before the final confrontation at the end of the game. The story itself is politically nuanced in spite of a censored localization and the battle system– while grindy– offers plenty of room for customization and strategy.
6 Radiant Historia
Originally released for the Ninten♋do DS and remade ꦺfor the 3DS, Radiant Historia is quite the hidden gem. The game focuses💫 on time travel, but like Chrono Trigger, it’s handled with an i🅰ncredible amount of tact. Radiant Historia embraces time as a theme, showing its full consequence in increasingly morbid ways while telling a story that actively challenges the notion o🦋f “fate” that permeates most JRPGs. Along with smart puzzles and a battle system that required genuine though♕t, Radiant Historia is a must play for fans of the genre.