The JRPG subgenre is one with a dense, rich catalog of classics, and the genre has deservedly persevered in gaming's modern age. Even amid so many other popular genres and subgenres - like first-person shooters and action RPGs - JRPGs have had games released in recent years that have become modern classics.
The likes of Persona, Dragon Quest, and Final Fantasy are all still respected franchises in the industry, to name a few. OpenCritic is a video game review aggregator, and the top ten modern JRPGs scored present great examples from these aforementioned franchises and more.
Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest (86/100)
The Fire Emblem series boomed in global popularity with Awakening on the Nintendo 3DS, and Intelligent System's Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest was a solid continuation of that success. This was one game as part of a trio that functioned as versions of each other, alongside Birthright and Revelation.
They each have their respective storylines with compelling political intrigue and character drama, along with a further streamlining of what made Awakening so tastefully accessible without sacrificing high quality. Of the three, Conquest received the edge on OpenCritic's aggregated scores, with reviews citing the game's higher challenge compared to Birthright being more exciting.
Pokémon Sun & Moon (87/100)
Pokémon is the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, and while things like merchandise are the biggest money-makers, the games pull their fair share of the financial weight. Sun and Moon on the 3DS were part of the last generation to feature on the handheld, and though its tech capabilities are tight, they certainly pushed the system to its limits.
It admittedly featured some mechanics that continually aged poorly in the Pokémon games. But aside from critiques like intrusive dialogue and tutorials, the Alola region was a wonderfully vibrant locale with some well-designed new species to capture and battle with.
Persona 4 Golden (87/100)
Atlus' Persona 5 rocked the gaming scene and made the Shin Megami Tensei spin-off series a worldwide phenomenon. But before the series became as mainstream as it is now, Persona 4 Golden on the PlayStation Vita earned its status as one of the best RPGs in general. Its re-release on PC via Steam was a smash-hit, capitalizing on the more recent entry's acclaim.
Golden adds a wealth of engaging content on what was already in the vanilla PlayStation 2 release, with the story, voice acting, life-simulation elements, and deep RPG mechanics and combat making it a worthy ~70-hour playthrough. Thanks to its stylized art style, Persona 4 Golden also holds up visually in 2022.
Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (87/100)
On the PlayStation 3, developer Level-5's Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch was one of the most acclaimed yet overlooked JRPGs. Its sequel would have a lot to live up to, and Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom did so admirably by expanding on everything the original succeeded in.
The game is inspired by one of the best anime movie studios - Studio Ghibli - and tells a touching coming-of-age story set to a high-fantasy backdrop. Aside from its charming art style and heartwarming narrative, Ni No Kuni II also received praise for its use of more action-focused combat, engaging side mini-games, and its abundance of worthwhile side quests.
Tales Of Arise (87/100)
More recently, last year's Tales of Arise by developer/publisher Bandai Namco proved to be an exciting return to form for the Tales series. The games had been dropping off in quality in their later entries, but Arise builds upon the franchise's foundations to create a lush, colorful open-world RPG.
Its real-time action-based combat has been polished to an almost immaculate degree, maintaining previous games' core fundamentals while being an exhilarating change of pace at the same time. The story handles heavy themes of slavery, racism, and classism tastefully - even if it doesn't go quite deep enough - and features a wide cast of unique characters with great dynamics that are worth getting invested in.
Final Fantasy VII Remake (88/100)
Fans had been eagerly anticipating for Square Enix to remake the original PS1 classic for a few console generations. The publisher/developer finally delivered in 2020 with Final Fantasy VII Remake, however, they're expanding it into a whole series. This first entry focuses on the Midgar portion of the story and switches from turn-based to real-time-action combat.
The game's highest marks were its exceptionally refined combat system, refining to perfection what XV tried before it. And while some are concerned with the creative liberties the story might take going forward, its narrative was praised for tastefully expanding on each characters' arcs and personality. Given the nature of each game entry, VII Remake is also a great mainline Final Fantasy game for newcomers.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (88/100)
This series' first mainline appearance on the Nintendo Switch was highly-anticipated, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses was a big next step in the franchise's gameplay conventions. Players take control of a protagonist that can wander a central school hub as a teacher in between the strategy-RPG sequences.
On top of the tactical combat being more engaging than ever, the school hub opens up a social life-sim element filled with charming characters and their entertaining interactions. It's a system that Persona fans will find themselves at home with, and a solid new standard for future main-series releases. Likewise, the story doesn't disappoint, as its two-half structure is both engrossing and rich in replay value.
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (89/100)
During the Nintendo Wii era, Xenoblade Chronicles was one of the gaming giant's most acclaimed first-party JRPGs. It had an interesting and inventive story for the time of its release, along with a good combat system and streamlined user interface navigation. Likewise, its transition into an open-world setting was a noteworthy evolution for the overarching Xeno franchise.
The Definitive Edition remaster for the Switch only adds to the experience, as it polishes the graphics and introduces other welcome quality-of-life enhancements - including new playable content. This remaster is a worthy release to make the Wii classic an accessible and smooth experience today.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes Of An Elusive Age - Definitive Edition (92/100)
While it's not on the same scale of international popularity as Final Fantasy or Persona, Dragon Quest is a revered titan of the JRPG subgenre, and its most recent main entry gave the series a deserved share of the spotlight. The game received great acclaim upon its initial release, and Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition is the best way to play the game.
It's a particularly excellent RPG to play on the Nintendo Switch thanks to the hybrid console's form factor making it a comfortable way to play this genre. DQXI is a good jumping-on point for new fans and features a colorful cast of characters, a deep turn-based combat system, a well-written fantasy epic, and plenty of side quests.
Persona 5 Royal (94/100)
2017's worldwide Persona 5 launch alone ranks high on every gaming review aggregator, but Royal spoiled fans with the ~20-30 extra hours worth of content on top of the base game's ~90. While Shin Megami Tensei handles bigger, more complex concepts in its story, Persona 5 Royal features a scaled-down and more intimate narrative.
The rag-tag group of rebellious teenagers - known as the Phantom Thieves - acting as colorful vigilantes by night oozes charm and style, with the aesthetic, art style, and acid-jazz soundtrack crafting a memorable atmosphere. In addition to the already resonant story of the vanilla game, Royal's extra plot content adds new characters go along with it.