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The best JRPGs on PC

Byadmin

Jun 30, 2021


Want to know what the best JRPGs on PC are? JRPGs are a very different beast to western RPGs, which you’ll find in our best RPGs on PC list, and while some tactical RPGs can also use tropes found within JRPGs, there’s a lot more variety on how a fight plays out. Sometimes it’s just a turn-based combat system with a small number of characters, but more modern JRPGs experiment with realistic movement, and while tactical RPGs are pretty fixed in their chess-like structure, JPRGs allow you to switch between characters.

The genre has therefore evolved greatly since the early days of both the classic NES era Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy games. Ranging from vast open world adventures, to more refined turn-based combat. Some games do away with the fantasy in favour of a more realistic setting. Others focus on adding to the game’s overall package to flesh out the world.

Here are the best JRPGs on PC, and no, before you say anything, the list isn’t just games by Square Enix despite how tempting it was to include them all. The PC JRPG landscape has a lot to offer, including some cult classics and new favourites.

The best JRPGs on PC are:

One of the best JRPGs is Genshin Impact, which just got the Kazuha banner.

Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact is probably the closest game to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that we’ll see on PC, with a vast open world to explore and various dungeons and quests to complete. Over time, the game has grown much larger in size, with each new update introducing new mechanics like gardening, houses, and character hangout quests – as well as a slew of new Genshin Impact characters.

With regular updates, including the upcoming Inazuma region, it’s unlikely that Mihoyo’s RPG is slowing down anytime soon. This free game (that incidentally you can play for free right now) does use a gacha system for unlocking new characters, so you may want a bunch of Genshin Impact codes to get yourself some free primogems to spend on wishes.

Four of the characters in Persona 4 Golden, one of the best JRPGs, posing for a team attack.

Persona 4 Golden

This PS2 era RPG has a bit of a cult following, and it’s largely due to its slightly more macabre tone compared to most other JRPGs. Your character moves to a small country town just before a string of murders begin, the bodies all found near mysterious telephone poles. Compared to the other Persona games, it’s not as bleak, but it does have rather adult themes and explores characters that, in many ways are atypical for the genre, in a relatively mature way.

By socialising with friends outside of dungeons, you can build up your character’s bond to grant them bonuses, both in and out of battle. Its turn-based combat system is deceptively simple on paper as enemies do regularly go after weaknesses, but you’re also able to recruit new demons to aid your main character in battle. It helps that the PC version is the definitive version, even if it’s just an upscaled version of the updated game on PS Vita.

Four lads from Final Fantasy XV, one of the best JRPGs on PC, on a road trip. Noctis hates car seats.

Final Fantasy XV

What begins as possibly the worst stag any groom-to-be could ever dream of, Final Fantasy XV turns into an action-packed adventure that features its own unique battle system. You play as Noctis, the crown prince of the kingdom of Lucis, as he uses his warp ability and striking greatsword to keep enemies at bay, alongside his trusted allies and best pals Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto. You can indirectly control other allies in battle as well, by performing certain actions or using chunks of the Tech Bar to command them.

It’s certainly the best looking Final Fantasy game on PC, as you take to the road in the snazzy Regalia and explore the expanse of this open-world game – rustling up meals by the campfire or racing chocobos through meadows and completing many elaborate side quests. Although your road trip takes a huge detour and a dark turn, you’ll find yourself among friends who genuinely care for each other while at the same time mildly mocking each other, you know, like friends do. Although the beginning takes a while to get going, stick with it, because it’s an unforgettable journey.

Oliver from Ni No Kuni, one of the best JRPGs, is being given a stuffed doll by his mother.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch remastered

If you are looking for a JRPG with the visual quality of a Studio Ghibli film, why not play the game that the renowned Japanese studio actually worked on. You take on the role of Oliver, a young boy transported to an alternative world that’s linked with our own via the idea of soulmates – how every person in one world has a counterpart in the other.

Related: The best fantasy games on PC

This JRPG has a mixture of various tried and tested battle mechanics: the active time battle system from some Final Fantasy games, real-time movement from more modern RPGs, and familiars you can send out to aid you in battle, in a remarkably similar nod to the Pokémon games. It all works together well, and even though this JRPG can be rather difficult at times, it’s worth persevering. The story is whimsical and well told, with capturing and managing your familiars scratching the same itch that the Pokémon games do so well. It’s a hugely satisfying game that’ll keep you occupied for hours on end. Fair warning for when you begin Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch: we highly recommend having a box of tissues to hand.

Ichiban, the hero of one of the best JRPGs Yakuza: Like a Dragon, is holding his phone aloft as it emits light.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s combat is nothing like the previous Yakuza games, which were more about learning combos for real-time fisticuffs with street thugs and enemy Yakuza. Instead, Like a Dragon opts for a classic turn-based battle system, as whenever the new protagonist Ichiban throws down, he just starts “thinking in Dragon Quest terms”. The big difference here is that rather than silly names for regular spells, Like a Dragon has you battering thugs with bikes and summoning giant lobsters with a quick phone call. If that’s not setting the tone for this bizarre caper, then we don’t know what is.

It’s not just the turn-based combat that we love, but also the tons of side quests. This is where the classic Yakuza charm shines through, with minigames ranging from running your own business to a full-blown Mario Kart-style clone. It’s also one of the best looking Yakuza games – you only need to look at Ichiban eating bread to see just how impressive it looks.

A dancer in Octopath Traveler, one of the best JRPGs, performing on stage with a big audience watching.

Octopath Traveler

Octopath Traveler’s stunning visual style is the main draw to this JRPG – with a mix of 2D sprites set against gorgeous isometric backdrops. No matter if you’re walking around a snowy town or fighting monsters in desert plains, this JRPG is immensely pleasing to the eye, like something from a concept art book. Completing all eight character stories may sound daunting at first, but Octopath Traveler breaks down each story into digestible chapters, so as not to overwhelm, and it lets you explore at your own pace.

At times the gameplay can feel rather old-fashioned, with a similar focus on multiple protagonists that fans of Square Enix’s Saga series will recognise. However, each playable character has unique actions outside of battle, such as pickpocketing unsuspecting victims or inquiring with townsfolk for more information. They also have unique talents that are used in the turn-based battle system, which also uses the classic Final Fantasy job system, and its own risk-reward break and boost system that allows you to whittle down enemy defences gradually, then boost to strike harder at the cost of some of your turns. There’s a lot going on in this JRPG and it’s absolutely worth exploring for yourself.

The heroes of Chrono Trigger, one of the best JRPGs, walking through a castle.

Chrono Trigger

Let’s face it, this is the worst version of one of the greatest JRPGs ever made, but even with that caveat laid bare we would still highly recommend Chrono Trigger, largely due to its distinctive art style, designed by Dragon Ball’s Akira Toriyama. What begins with the disappearance of a young girl at a fairground soon becomes a saga about travelling through time to stop a monster from the future ending the world. With the help of a wide variety of allies, from tech-savvy friends to robots and a frog knight, your job is to prevent the world from turning into a post-apocalyptic nightmare.

Retro greatness: The best classic PC games

Combat is not too dissimilar from other Square Enix games of the same era, but linking up special moves with other allies is where it sets itself apart. When two compatible characters have their active time battle bar completely filled, you’ll get the option to combine their techniques for completely different effects. For example, while Crono’s cyclone tech is primarily for hitting all enemies with regular damage, if Marle is in your party and also has her bar filled, she can imbue him with healing magic to turn the cyclone into a powerful healing skill that restores HP to all allies. Part of the fun is discovering these powerful combinations to aid you in battle, all the while hopping through rifts in time. If you want the quintessential JRPG experience, we can’t think of a better game than this.

Three heroes from Grandia, one of the best JRPGs, looking over the top of the end of the world to find mountains and a river.

Grandia HD Remastered

Grandia is a hero’s tale about a young lad who answers the call to adventure after discovering a mysterious stone in a temple, and before long he meets fellow adventurers to see what lies in the journey ahead. While the story is the hook, it’s the surprisingly well thought out combat that reels you in. In a similar vein to Final Fantasy games of the era, Grandia has its own take on an active battle system that’s a lot of fun to play. Depending on where the pips representing your characters are at any time, it’s possible to use certain attacks like the single-hit criticals to interrupt an enemy that’s about to use a high-damaging skill or heal themselves.

Compared to other RPGs made in the era of 90s polygon backgrounds and 2D sprites, Grandia doesn’t age anywhere near as badly, and there is some rather laughably bad voice acting to enjoy. The second Grandia game is also on PC, but we think the first is still the best.

Many kids in South Park The Stick of Truth, one of the best JRPGs, sitting for a meeting.

South Park: The Stick of Truth

While its sequel is more of a tactical RPG, South Park: The Stick of Truth is probably the closest we’ll ever get to Paper Mario style combat. As the ‘new kid’ that’s just moved into South Park, where the rest of the town’s children are playing a town-wide fantasy game, you soon ally with Butters, Kenny (who is dressed as a princess), and Cartman as you try to recover the hallowed Stick of Truth. The story soon descends into utter madness, with alien abductions, Nazi zombies, and a jaunty trip to Canada. Your overall enjoyment of The Stick of Truth largely depends on whether you find Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s sense of humour ‘funny’, and whether or not you can stand callbacks to many prior episodes of the TV show.

One thing is for certain though: the battle system is actually pretty solid. Each action that either the ‘new kid’ or one of the South Park residents executes requires a button or sequence of buttons to be pressed at the right time, making for an engaging battle system that keeps you on your toes. Everything here is absurd, and yet it has some of the more memorable moments in a JRPG of recent years, especially if you live in Europe or Australia as their versions have censorship screens (Europe has a picture of the statue of David with his head in his hands, while Australia shows a crying Koala) that are somehow far funnier than the action they describe.

We hope you enjoyed this list of the best JRPG! If you did, how about browsing some of the best free MMORPGs on PC, or even our list of excellent story games?

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