If you’ve only played one JRPG series, there’s a good chance that it’s Final Fantasy. Square Enix’s juggernaut franchise has made its mark on the genre time and time again, with involved stories and a grand sense of presentation winning countless fans over the decades. Final Fantasy games are far from the only great JRPGs, though, and anyone who loves them could benefit greatly from checking out some other options.
That being said, the wide-ranging landscape of JRPGs can be difficult to navigate. Some choices will be better than others for Final Fantasy fans, and the following are all unlikely to steer anyone wrong.
Star Ocean: The Second Story
The Star Ocean franchise has a lot of greatness in it, but it’s struggled with consistency even more than the notorious swings of the Final Fantasy series. Star Ocean: The Second Story, however, avoids all the pitfalls to deliver a fantastic experience across the board. There’s also no need to worry about the title, as The Second Story offers its own self-contained narrative.
Fans of Final Fantasy‘s sci-fi entries should prioritize Star Ocean in particular, as it brings a very Star Trek sensibility to the table. The biggest diversion is its surprising amount of player choice for a JRPG, with an empahsis on character relationships and a huge array of endings. The original game is beloved, but the modern remake Star Ocean: The Second Story R has also earned a strong reputation as a loyal remix of the classic.
Ni No Kuni
In the same way that Final Fantasy games can be common JRPG entry points, watching Studio Ghibli films is one of the easiest ways to get into anime. Ni No Kuni brings the Ghibli appeal to the JRPG space, with the first game featuring direct involvement from the legendary studio.
Like Ghibli films, Ni No Kuni features a fundamentally sweet story that nonetheless contains a respectable amount of depth, nuance, and bittersweet elements. While the gameplay loop isn’t always as exciting as the best Final Fantasy games, the art is worth the price of admission by itself.
The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky never had the glamorous presentation of a mainline Final Fantasy game, originating as a PSP title that naturally lacked the technical splendor of contemporary console counterparts. It wasn’t stingy in its ambition, however, telling a lengthy story with robust world-building and intrigue.
Trails of the Sky got a major refresh recently thanks to the release of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, which gives it a 3D facelift while retaining the original game’s core strengths. The Legend of Heroes franchise is long-running and varied, but if you’re going to start somewhere, Trails in the Sky is a great choice.
Octopath Traveler 2
The experience of old-school Final Fantasy games can’t quite be replicated in a modern 3D environment, but that doesn’t mean it’s been abandoned entirely. Octopath Traveler‘s HD-2D approach offered a fresh way to blend classic and modern sentiments, and it’s reappeared in plenty of JRPGs since.
Out of the lot, Final Fantasy fans should prioritize Octopath Traveler 2, which takes everything that worked about Octopath Traveler and fixes everything that didn’t. The game places a huge emphasis on the party as a whole, abandoning the typical imbalance to give each member an equal share of the story. With fun combat, an interesting story, and a gorgeous pixelated world, this is one of the best ways to have an experience comparable to Final Fantasy 6 today.
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts doesn’t really need much of a recommendation at this point, as the series is as thoroughly saturated in culture as you’d expect for a crossover between Final Fantasy and Disney itself. Even so, it’s certainly worth a mention as a good alternative for Final Fantasy fans who haven’t yet embarked on Sora’s adventures through cartoon worlds.
The parade of Final Fantasy characters that shows up in the Kingdom Hearts series should be enough of a calling card, but the original story and characters prove to be iconic in their own right. While the action-packed games often don’t feel much like JRPGs at all, they retain just enough of the classic formula to loosely qualify.
Lost Odyssey
Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi hasn’t been involved with the series in a long time, but that doesn’t mean he stopped creating JRPGs. Since his departure from Square Enix, he’s dropped games like Lost Odyssey, The Last Story, and Fantasian, all of which carry forward plenty of the same DNA.
Of the lot, the best bet for Final Fantasy fans might be Lost Odyssey. While the Xbox 360 RPG isn’t incredibly convenient to access these days, fans still uphold its story as a masterpiece, and as an unusual blend of semi-realistic modern presentation and turn-based combat, it’s gone on to inspire games like Clair Obscur years later.
Tales Of Symphonia
At a glance, Tales of Symphonia‘s cutesy anime art style might not be for everyone. Give it a chance, though, and it quickly reveals an experience capable of competing with the best Final Fantasy titles. Nothing in Tales of Symphonia necessarily reinvents the wheel, but it’s all executed with unusual consistency and packed with fantastically fun details.
If chatting up NPCs and poking around towns are some of your favorite Final Fantasy activities, you’ll be right at home in Symphonia, which constantly rewards curiosity with lovable NPCs and hidden surprises. Like some of the best Final Fantasy games, it also delivers a story that blends fantasy and technology and constantly develops in new directions. It’s not the only great Tales game, but it might still be the very best.
Dragon Quest 11
Few JRPG franchises are in the same ballpark of popularity as Final Fantasy, but Dragon Quest might be able to go toe-to-toe. The original Dragon Quest arguably defined the mold for the entire genre, and decades later, the series is better than it’s ever been.
Dragon Quest 11 contains all the franchise’s trademark charm, with fun characters, a compelling sense of adventure, and smiling slimes galore. It also exemplifies Dragon Quest‘s ability to transcend its cute exterior, delivering a memorable story that never stops developing across a lengthy runtime. While the series has never been as interested in redefining its comfort zone as Final Fantasy has, some things are classic for a reason.
Xenoblade Chronicles
Every JRPG with Xeno- in front owes a lot to the existence of the Final Fantasy franchise, as director Tetsuya Takahashi originally pitched Xenogears as a script for Final Fantasy 7. Xenogears and Xenosaga can still hold plenty of appeal for Final Fantasy fans, but if there’s one game that’s the most likely to hook newcomers, it’s Xenoblade Chronicles.
Xenoblade Chronicles translates the massive overworlds of JRPGs into something much more tangible, with the original version of the game squeezing every drop of potential out of the Wii hardware to deliver a groundbreaking open-world experience. The story is equally ambitious, and the science-fantasy setting should be perfect for fans of Final Fantasy‘s genre-blending entries. Recently, the Switch version of the game received a Switch 2 upgrade, so Xenoblade‘s wide, grassy vistas are now more breathtaking than ever.
Chrono Trigger
If there’s any JRPG that’s an absolute must for fans of Final Fantasy, it’s Chrono Trigger. Designed by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, Chrono Trigger shares plenty of strengths with Square Enix’s flagship JRPG franchise. From the ATB combat system to the richly detailed art, a newcomer might be forgiven for mistaking it for Final Fantasy outright.
If anything, though, Chrono Trigger might be even better. With writing by Dragon Quest‘s Yuji Horii and character designs by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, there’s a reason the game’s developers were called Square Enix’s “dream team.” Add in a more bespoke approach to combat encounters and a fun time-travel twist, and Chrono Trigger quickly reveals itself as an irresistible Final Fantasy alternative.
- Video Game(s)
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Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, The Final Fantasy Legend, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Adventure, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy Legend II, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Final Fantasy 5, Final Fantasy Legend III, Final Fantasy VI, Chocobo’s Mysterious Dungeon, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Tactics, Chocobo’s Dungeon 2, Final Fantasy VIII, Chocobo Racing, Chocobo Collection, Final Fantasy Anthology, Final Fantasy 9, Chocobo on the Job, Final Fantasy Chronicles, Final Fantasy Origins, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XI, Chocobo Anywhere, Chocobo Land: A Game of Dice, Final Fantasy X-2, Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 3 (3D Remake), Final Fantasy VI Advance, Final Fantasy 12, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire Of The Rift, Final Fantasy 12: Revenant Wings, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring Of Fates, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon, Final Fantasy 4: The After Years, Dissidia Final Fantasy, Crystal Defenders, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes Of Time, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles – My Life as a Darklord, Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book: The Witch, The Girl and the Five Heroes, Final Fantasy 13, Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, Final Fantasy 14 (2010), Final Fantasy Dimensions, Chocobo Panic, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy 4: The Complete Collection, Final Fantasy Type-0, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy: All The Bravest, Pictlogica Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Tactics S, Final Fantasy Agito, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13, Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn, Final Fantasy Artniks Dive, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, Final Fantasy Record Keeper, Final Fantasy Explorers, Mobius Final Fantasy, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Final Fantasy XV, A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV, World Of Final Fantasy, Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV, Dissidia: Final Fantasy – Opera Omnia, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition, World of Final Fantasy Maxima, Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy!, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition, Final Fantasy I-VI Pixel Remaster, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Chocobo GP, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, Final Fantasy XVI, Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Cast
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Ming-Na Wen, Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods, Takahiro Sakurai, Ayumi Ito, Aaron Paul, Lena Headey, Sean Bean, Yudai Chiba, Ren Osugi, Kentaro Sakaguchi
- Created by
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Hironobu Sakaguchi