Summary
JRPG fans have been eating good in the past few years, especially for those with aPlayStation 5. Between some absolutely stellar remasters and remakes and a ton of original games, there are tons of great games to dive into.
With all these amazing JRPGs running around, it can be a bit of a struggle to dive right into a new game, especially since they are often 30 to 60-hour adventures. If you’re struggling to narrow down your next JRPG pick, take a look at some of these great games for your PS5.
10Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir
One of the premier video game studios in gaming history, Vanillaware brought to life the fantasy epic of Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir. Originally released back in 2007 on the PlayStation 2, Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir utilizes a unique side-scrolling view, with every element of the game having a hand-painted style to truly draw out the beauty of the world.
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir tells a weaving story across five main perspectives, all surrounding a massive war that has broken out across the various nations of Erion. Even as the world crumbles around the main characters, tales of love, determination, and honor shine.
9Octopath Traveler 2
If five perspectives in a single game seemed like a lot, Octopath Traveler 2 takes it to the next level with eight separate characters, each with their own stories, motivations, and impacts on the world. Working behind the scenes of each character’s adventures is an overarching cult called the Moonshade Order, who want to envelop the world in an eternal night in honor of their evil god.
Octopath Traveler 2 iterates on everything that the first game succeeded in, bringing the tried and true turn-based combat that has become iconic in classic JRPGs. One of the best improvements that Octopath Traveler 2 made over the first is a better sense of unity with the characters by having them interact with each other more, making for a better flow of the game.
8Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion
The tragic tale of Zack Fair comes to a depressing light throughout the events of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion. Originally released back in 2007 on the PlayStation Portable, this action JRPG saw a remaster thanks to the success of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the reimagining of the series.
Taking placeseveral years before the events of Final Fantasy 7, Crisis Core follows Zack Fair as he finds himself in the middle of a massive conspiracy with incredibly powerful genetic super soldiers, a megacorporation’s war with a private nation, and how a hero can fall despite saving the day.
7Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…
Some of the best JRPGs you can find on the PlayStation 5 are updated versions of classic games that might not have received the love they deserved back during their original release. Nier Replicant is just one of those games, taking advantage of the explosive popularity of Nier: Automata to bring this game back to the public’s view.
One of the coolest things about Nier that many players might not realize, is that it is related to another classic JRPG series, Drakengard, being connected to one of the endings from the original Drakengard game.
6Persona 3 Reload
Pulling inspiration from the PlayStation 2 era, Persona 3 Reload is a brand-new version of the high school simulator and demon-summoning game. The whole game has been rebuilt from the ground up to bring players back to uncover the mystery of the Dark Hour and the cast’s mysterious powers.
Persona 3 is often seen as one of the main games that catapulted the series into the spotlight for many gamers, bringing the deeply compelling plot and theunique approach to character developmentto a wider audience. Even though Persona 3 Reloaded doesn’t utilize some of the improvements made to both Persona 3 FES or Persona 3 Portable, like the addition of a female protagonist and the epilogue chapter of The Answer, it is still an utterly fantastic JRPG.
5Tales Of Arise
The latest in a long line of Tales Of games, Tales Of Arise is an action-based JRPG and is actually the seventeenth main game in the franchise, though most of the games aren’t directly related and very rarely even take place in the same universe. The anime aesthetics of the game are gorgeous, making the game feel like a full cinematic adventure.
This iteration in the series takes a notably darker tone than many other entries, with a story about two individual planets, Dahna and Rena, whose two peoples are in frequent conflict as Dahna is enslaved by the ruling powers of Rena. The two main characters each come from one of these planets, Alphen from Dahna who cannot feel pain, while Shionne hails from Rena and causes pain to anyone who comes into contact with her. The two team up with a cast of other characters to break the cycle that joins the planets.
4Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
The always excellent Yakuza series has been enjoying a recent and somewhat radical redesign, moving away from the traditional action-based combat and moving into a more traditional JRPG style.
Infinite Wealth has a bigger focus on strategy, placing emphasis on enemy placement when you enter the almost completely seamless combat sequences. There is so much to do in these games, it is almost intimidating, especially as Infinite Wealth continues to innovate and add features, like Dondoko Island, which lets you build and design your own private island, in a silly and delightful addition to the game.
3Final Fantasy 16
Another series that took a bold departure from past entries is Final Fantasy 16.Taking the game in a darkerand more narrowed direction than previous games, Final Fantasy 16 follows Clive, the firstborn son of a ruling family, but one who has been passed over in favor of his younger brother who inherited the power of the Eikon Phoenix.
Clive’s life takes a turn for the worse after he becomes embroiled in a war and is taken captive for years. Final Fantasy 16 is a much grimmer game compared to other entries in the mainline series, while also adapting more of the action-based combat that the series has gradually been working towards.
2Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade
The seminal Final Fantasy 7 returned to revolutionize the JRPG genre with Final Fantasy 7 Remake, a ground-up reimagining of the PlayStation 1 classic to bring the game up to the latest console generation and to really give the characters a chance to shine alongside the compelling story.
Cloud Strife’s and his friends' journey has been greatly expanded, with the Remake taking players only up until they leave the megacity of Midgar, which is a relatively early part of the original game. The Intergrade version of the Remake adds even more content, with an additional episode dedicated to Yuffie and what she was doing during this relatively unknown part of her history.
1Persona 5 Royal
Persona games are few and far between, often taking years between mainline game releases. Persona 4 was released back in 2008 on the PlayStation 2, and then took a solid eight years until the release of Persona 5. But the wait was worth it.
Personal 5 Royal takes the original game and gives it a boost in quality of life elements and adds an entire extra semester worth of content, as well as packing in all the DLC that was released for it. Expertly blending high school simulation with dungeon-crawling JRPG elements, Persona 5 Royal is everything you could want from a game and more.
