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[LakeOf9]

JRPGs as a genre have not been as healthy as they are right now since the PS2 era – there are so many of them releasing now, and there are so many amazing ones. There has been a bounty of plenty with JRPGs in the last few years. The PS4 and Switch's strong success led to Japanese developers having platforms to target their development efforts behind, and Steam's growth gave them a whole additional market to hawk their wares to.

So – a lot of fantastic JRPGs these last few years. This poll doesn't have anywhere close to all of them, and I may have missed your favorite! If so, I apologize. However, among these ones that I did list, which is your favorite, and why?

 

[Digital-Aftertaste]

Expedition 33 is not a JRPG...

 

[Hero_Select]

Fire Emblem is also not a JRPG...

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Rebirth, though E33 and P5R are close.

 

[Shifty1897]

Nier Automata is my pick. Since that's not on here... Persona 5 Royal is probably the "best", though my favorite is Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

Expedition 33 is not a JRPG...

It is.

 

[Yoboman]

Rebirth was the only one of those I finished, took ages though

Also played Metaphor, very good but got boring and felt outdated from the jump. Persona games have the worst pacing known to mankind.

E33 very enjoyable but still haven't finished it. May be the top when I finish it

Have DQXI in my backlog too but haven't started

Tried Trails in the Sky remake demo but way too generic anime cringe, does it get better?

 

[Spukc]

Fifa 98 was the best jrpg

 

[Labadal]

I have a soft spot for Octopath Traveler 2. The writing is not top tier, but I love the combat, job system, exploration, music, and graphics.

I have not played E33, KH3, or XC3.

The other games on the list, I have played and enjoyed. (I played OG P5, not P5R.)

 

[ShirAhava]

JRPGs as a genre have not been as healthy as they are right now since the PS2 era

I highly disagree

j/k


but honestly I'd play Valkyria Chronicles, Blue Dragon or Lost Odyssey over anything on that list
PS3/360 JRPG era >>>>>>>>>>>

But if I had to pick one Trails I guess most of the rest are either kinda overrated or far from my personal taste

I don't this is all that great of a time for JRPGS....quantity over quality nothing really that bad but nothing amazing either

I'd rather we had less output but greater level of games

 

[Hudo]

My brain says Metaphor (even though it's too long, imho). My penis says Persona 5. But my heart says Dragon Quest XI.

Shoutout to Yakuza: Like A Dragon.

 

[Judge Magister]

I highly disagree

j/k


but honestly I'd play Valkyria Chronicles, Blue Dragon or Lost Odyssey over anything on that list
PS3/360 JRPG era >>>>>>>>>>>

But if I had to pick one Trails I guess most of the rest are either kinda overrated or far from my personal taste

I don't this is all that great of a time for JRPGS....quantity over quality nothing really that bad but nothing amazing either

I'd rather we had less output but greater level of games

I highly disagree.

Valkyria Chronicles and Lost Odyssey are awesome but Blue Dragon?! lol
That game is laughable compared to some games in this list.

 

[MMaRsu]

You're missing Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance

 

[ShirAhava]

I highly disagree.

Valkyria Chronicles and Lost Odyssey are awesome but Blue Dragon?! lol
That game is laughable compared to some games in this list.

I play jrpgs for the story/characters/art direction just as much as the gameplay and in that respect BD is top tier

A jrpg with great gameplay and uninteresting everything else like Xenoblade C3 was too boring for me to finish

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Stealth Expedition 33 argument thread. Literally the first thing dude listed, didn't even try and sneak it in the middle of the list. I'm good.

 

[calico]

Of the ones of those I played:

Exp33 > Trails (og) > Metaphor > P5R > DQ11 > Rebirth

 

[Judge Magister]

XC3?! nah X
At first i was going for P5R but i couldn't vote against her...

 

[Sticks]

I own almost all of them but havent finished a single one lol.

 

[Brakum]

Expedition 33 is not a JRPG..

Fried potatoes in america are not french fries.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Xenoblade 3 by a country mile.

 

[mèx]

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, Xenoblade 3 and Metaphor.

I haven't tried Octopath 2 since I found 1 to bee too formulaic. FF Rebirth is great but the open world activities start to become a bit repetitive after a while.

Dragon Quest XI feels too vanilla, I can't find the strength to start it. Maybe one day.

 

[Signalis]

Final Fantasy VIII and Shadow Hearts 1, 2. But as for what's on the list I'd go for Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age(Because it closely captures the magic of 90s JRPGs)

 

[protonion]

God tier

Persona 5 Royal
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Metaphor: ReFantazio

Great tier

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Good tier

Trails in the Sky: 1st Chapter

Do not bother tier

Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Octopath Traveler II
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Kingdom Hearts 3

Shit tier

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

 

[keefged4]

I voted P5R but honestly I think it's a tie between that and LAD:Yakuza

 

[MMaRsu]

Where the fuck is Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance in all these lists? Better than Metaphor for 100% fucking sure.



I highly doubt CO33 is better

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

For me:

1. FFVII Rebirth
2. Xenoblade 3
3. Clair Obscur
4. Persona 5
5. Metaphor

FFVII Rebirth and Xenoblade 3 especially captured the spirit, epicness and scale of a PS1 era JRPG and scaled it up modern 3D CGI level quality (for FFVII) and 3D animated quality (for XC3) and both blew me away. FFVII:R gets my top vote because of the love and care put into the characters and world which truly felt huge and built without compromise which is what the original deserves.

Clair Obscur is arguably one of the best turn-based systems ever and felt like a fresh new fantasy epic that felt different from your typical JRPG and come the conclusion it left an impact and it was one of the most memorable new IPs I've come across since NieR. The narrative was choppy at times and apart from 3-4 characters I didn't really care much for the wider cast and there were no real towns or hub zones that I enjoyed which is was one of my favourite aspects in the genre. But overall it deserves GOTY for 2025 and I'm in for whatever the studio makes next.

Persona 5 and Metaphor I enjoyed alot and they are well worth anyones time, but I didn't care much for the characters compared to P3 and P4 and grinding aspects in both games (especially P5) meant I had to take a large break before going back to them.

 

[Lokaum D+]

God tier

Persona 5 Royal
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Metaphor: ReFantazio

Great tier

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Good tier

Trails in the Sky: 1st Chapter

Do not bother tier

Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Octopath Traveler II
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Kingdom Hearts 3

Shit tier

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

Metaphor above E33 this is what i call blasphemy.

 

[The Cockatrice]

I guess xcom can be a jrpg as well. Anyway Persona 5 Royal cuz its the only one i managed to replay 3 times.

 

[Mayar]

I have huge questions about this list.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - not JRPG
Fire Emblem: Three Houses - TRPG
Pokemon Legends: Arceus - How did this even end up here?
Kingdom Hearts 3 - not JRPG

 

[Boss Mog]

Well at least vastly overrated Metaphor has 0 votes. I'm proud of you GAF.

 

[Aion002]

Easily FFVII: Rebirth for me.

Although Tales of Arise, P5R and Yakuza Like a Dragon are also pretty cool.

 

[cireza]

That's a ton of bloated, uninteresting games. I wouldn't give my vote to any of them, there are much better games to play.

 

[Madjaba]

Xenoblade 3 + DLC is an epic conclusion to one of the best series ever.

 

[Ar¢tos]

Persona 4 Golden

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

FF6 and FF7 (original)

 

[begotten]

The great JRPG debate is so boring at this point. Also if you're going to make another thread on it, at least know the definition of JRPG first. List also looks like it was compiled by someone who started playing games 5 years ago.

If I had to select "among these" modern titles it's easily Xenoblade 3

 

[Madflavor]

E33, Rebirth and P5R are probably in the Top 3 spot, although I don't think there's a wrong answer between P5R and E33. Rebirth was almost a 10/10 for me, but it completely crapped itself with its final hour.

 

[Poppinfresh]

Fire Emblem is also not a JRPG...

It's more of a JRPG than E33 is.

Technically Fire Emblem is a SRPG, but if you're going to count something like Final Fantasy Tactics as a JRPG (most people do) then Fire Emblem qualifies.

 

[GHound]

Including a french RPG over dozens of JRPGs that have released the last five years in a JRPG poll is a choice.

 

[BennyBlanco]

SMT IV > Xenoblade 2 > this list

 

[StereoVsn]

Dragon Quest XI is the quintessential JRPG and is a really good entree in the series. As a bonus it even has that 16-bit mode!

 

[Gideon]

Love seeing dragon quest getting the deserved attention

 

[Saint Boot Gaming]

Impossible for me to only pick one of these.

 

[AmuroChan]

P5R
Trails
Yakuza: Like a Dragon

 

[Skifi28]

They're all so different, it's really impossible to choose just one. I'd say most of that list are must-plays. I personally picked Trails in th Sky, but I'm biased as I'm playing it right now and having the time of my life.

 

[tanners]

No Tales as an option? That was wild
for me:
Persona 5
Nier:Automata
Tales of Symphonia
Dragon Quest XIS
Octapath traveller

 

[TintoConCasera]

Poll is kinda shit, can't vote for my favorite.

 

[Exede]

Xenoblade 3 needs more votes....way more.

 

[Brigandier]

Xenoblade 2 is my best JRPG, But on that list Xenoblade 3 easily.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

This year, Final Fantasy IX for me.

The story is cute and easy to follow.

The characters—in fact, the entire cast—make you grow fond of them. They're charismatic, they make you laugh and cry. Garnet is beautiful.

The OST is the best and outstanding... better than most productions we have today.

The atmosphere is great.

It's one of my Games of the Year

 

[DelireMan7]

Haven't play enough of most games to vote.

Just here to watch people losing it when E33 is called a JRPG.