When it comes to mainstream Japanese RPGs, the first games that usually come to a player’s mind are Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and even the Tales of series. While these franchises are considered to the top three selling JRPGs, they aren’t the only series that is popular with hardcore fans of the genre.
Hardcore JRPG fans have been wise to just how varied and deep the choice has become for fans of the genre over the last few decades. However, gamers that have a passing interest in the anime-inspired genre may have missed out on several gems of the years. Let’s take a look at 10 JRPGs that are popular with fans but may have been missed by everyone else.
10 Alundra
Alundra or The Adventures of Alundra was released on the original PlayStation in 1997. It’s an action-adventure RPG with similar mechanics to The Legend of Zelda series. The game is the spiritual successor to another forgotten RPG classic called Landstalker, which was released on the Sega Genesis/Megadrive.
Alundra is both incredibly challenging and addictive, and while the game can offer up some frustration, it makes it all the more satisfying when completing puzzles or getting past obstacles. More importantly for RPG fans, the story is great with an amazing world to explore and wonderful NPCs with which to interact.
9 Kartia: The World Of Fate
Released worldwide in 1999, Kartia: World of Fate was also known as The Legend of Kartia in European territories. It is a tactical RPG developed by the creators of Persona 5 and it puts players in the shoes of two protagonists, effectively dividing the game into two intertwining volumes.
Kartia features fantastic art and character designs from Yoshitaka Amano, who is best known for his work on Final Fantasy. Additionally, the game features well-developed characters and an excellent story despite its linearity compared to similar games in the genre like Final Fantasy Tactics.
8 Langrisser I & II
Developed by Careersoft, the Langrisser series is a popular tactical RPG series for importers. Unfortunately, only the original Langrisser was released in the West under the name Warsong on the Sega Megadrive/Genesis.
The series gained popularity with JRPG fans, due to the Growlanser series getting localized. The Growlanser series – another great overlooked JRPG series – is considered a spiritual successor by its developers. The first two games have been remastered and re-released on the Nintendo Switch and the PS4 in 2020 as Langrisser I & II, and despite being nearly 30 years old, they still stand the test of time.
7 The Lunar Series
The Lunar series began on the Sega Saturn in 1996 and was remastered with additional scenes and content for the PlayStation and released in the US in 1999. The best games in the series are considered to be Lunar Silver Star Story and Lunar Eternal Blue.
Developed by Game Arts, the Lunar games are light-hearted RPGs with loveable characters, memorable worlds, and Ghaleon who happens to be one of the best villains in the genre. Fans should also take the time to seek out the beautiful remake of the first game released on the PSP as Lunar Silver Star Harmony. Despite the remakes and remasters, however, the series has never achieved the mainstream popularity it deserves.
6 Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga Duology
Developed by Atlus and released on the PlayStation 2, Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga is a two-part series that exists in the same universe as the Persona series. The games were released in 2005 and 2006 respectively, and despite being critically acclaimed at the time, it never achieved mainstream recognition in the West.
Digital Devil Saga features some of the best writing seen in the genre and the plot is mature, dark, gripping, and heartfelt all at the same time. Additionally, the games feature some of the best cell-shaded character designs which still hold up to this day, and more than worthy of a remaster on modern consoles.
5 Vanguard Bandits
Vanguard Bandits is a tactical RPG for the PlayStation. It was released in 2000 and developed by Human Entertainment, who was better known at the time for making the Fire Pro Wrestling series. The game is set in a medieval fantasy world and features giant mechs, also known as ATACS.
There is a branching storyline that spans a total of 56 missions, with different outcomes and endings. The translation by Working Designs, who also worked on the PS1 Lunar Silver Star Story and Lunar Eternal Blue box sets, did another incredible job with this overlooked gem.
4 The Front Mission Series
The Front Misson series are turn-based tactical RPGs developed by Square. The series saw its first entry on the Super Famicom in 1995. The first game was eventually ported to the Nintendo DS and Front Mission 3 and Front Mission 4 were released on the PS1 and the PS2 respectively.
They are turn-based tactical games that play similarly to Final Fantasy Tactics, with stories and wars that revolve around giant mechanized tanks known as Wanzers. As one would expect of a Square RPG from the 90s and early 2000s, the stories are epic and accompanied by great cutscenes.
3 The Xenosaga Trilogy
The Xenosaga series began in 2002 for the PlayStation 2. It was developed by Monolith Soft as a spiritual successor to JRPG hit Xenogears, which released on the PS1. The science-fiction JRPG series was supposed to span a total of six episodes, but the series was wrapped up surprisingly well in its third entry.
The Xenosaga games are some of the most unique and epic RPGs on the PlayStation 2, with incredibly deep and layered stories that focus on philosophy and religion. The depth and ambition were unprecedented at the time, and just like Xenogears, it has gained a cult following. Nowadays, Monolith Soft is owned by Nintendo and is exclusively developing the Xenoblade Chronicles series for the Nintendo, and the games carry many of the same themes as Xenogears and Xenosaga.
2 Valkyria Chronicles Series
Valkyria Chronicles was first released on the PlayStation 3 in 2008 and was one of the most criminally overlooked games on the system. However, the tactical RPG series got something of a second wind on modern consoles, with a remaster of the original game and an excellent sequel in Valkryia Chronicles 4.
Despite being set in an alternate fantasy universe, the games tell emotional tales of war and friendship in a far more believable way than most Western games set during World War II. The Valkyria Chronicles series are tactical RPGs, but unlike most games in the genre, the games are third-person putting its players right in the thick of the action.
1 The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel
First released in 2013 for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel has so far spanned three games, which have been remastered and ported to the PlayStation 4 with a fourth and final entry in the saga to release on the system in late 2020.
The Trails of Cold Steel series is easily one of the vastest and detailed JRPGs ever created. The character development and world-building are unrivaled. The series runs concurrently with the previously released Trails in the Sky series, which was released on the PSP and on Steam, making the world that much deeper and more layered for players.