10 JRPGs Perfect for Players Who Love Final Fantasy

The Final Fantasy series has produced some of the best video games of all time, spanning a wide variety of genres. While the mainline games started as turn-based JRPGs, the franchise expanded into action, shooters, tactics RPGs, fighters, and even rhythm games.

Final Fantasy isn't the only name in the world of JRPGs, nor was it the progenitor of the genre. There are tons of RPGs produced in Japan, some of which are even celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2026.

Square Enix has done an admirable job of ensuring its classic games are available on modern systems, especially those in the Final Fantasy series. Sure, there are some outliers, like the fantastic Final Fantasy Tactics Advance games, or the terrible Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, but the best ones are all available to play.

There's only so much time someone can spend in the world of spiky-haired protagonists with oversized swords. Sure, someone can spend countless hours in Eorzea, but that's going to get tiresome over time.

There are plenty of incredible JRPGs across a variety of systems that are worth playing. It's time to put down the Final Fantasy series and expand the horizons with some different titles.

10 Persona

The Schedule Is Addictive To Anime Fans

The Persona franchise started as fairly standard offshoots of the Shin Megami Tensei series, being demon-collecting games starring high schoolers. Everything changed with Persona 3, which introduced a whole new gameplay structure focused on actually attending high school.

Persona is notable for combining dungeons and battles with scheduling and social lives. The players' actions in the real world affect their adventures in the fantasy world, with success in the mundane world making them more powerful when dealing with the supernatural.

There's just something so addictive about the Persona games, as the little nuggets of progress made each day keep pushing the player forward. It's no surprise that so many players reach the endings of these 70+ hour games, as the incredible stories, coupled with the prodding gameplay loop, ensure that countless people want to get the credits.

9 Dragon Quest

Final Fantasy's Greatest Rival is Now Its Cousin

It's strange to think that Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy were once rival franchises in the JRPG space. The competition officially ended when Dragon Quest owner Enix acquired Final Fantasy owner Squaresoft in 2003, forming Square Enix.

It's easy to see why Dragon Quest holds its own against Final Fantasy, as it has produced some of the best JRPGs of all time. What the series lacks in innovation, it makes up for with amazing stories, characters, artistic direction, soundtracks, and battle systems.

It's taken Dragon Quest a long time to establish fans outside of Japan, but the most recent mainline entries and remakes of older titles have helped establish the series as a worldwide phenomenon. Square Enix just needs to hurry up and remake the Zenithia trilogy (Dragon Quest 4-6), as those are the highlights of the franchise and need modern retellings.

8 Pokemon

The Biggest JRPG Franchise of all Time

Final Fantasy 7 helped establish JRPGs outside Japan, but it was really Pokémon Red & Blue that helped turn-based RPGs build a massive worldwide fanbase. The Gen 1 games created an entire generation of RPG fans who still love the genre to this day.

Few franchises get players invested in characters without any dialogue, like the Pokémon games. These are titles where the player's digital monsters can become closer to them than the party members in other titles, as they fight to overcome Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, and the Champion.

There are few experiences more satisfying than traveling far and wide, catching new Pokémon, and gradually becoming the best trainer in each region. This might be why Game Freak is so reticent to shake up the formula. Luckily for the developers, the gameplay loop is so fun that people keep coming back for more.

7 Disgaea

The Franchise That Goes Beyond Level 99

RPG fans love seeing numbers go up. It's as true of video games now as it was in tabletop RPGs back in the '70s. There's something so satisfying about seeing character progression measured incrementally, with each step going up.

Those addicted to seeing numbers rise need to check out the Disgaea series, as few JRPG franchises go as far as it does in terms of levels and content. Anyone who loves endless min-maxing characters and plundering massive dungeons for loot needs to check out this series and throw themselves in.

Disgaea games are epic affairs to be sure, but the player needs a strong tolerance for anime if they're going to experience them, because few franchises go as far down the weeb rabbit hole as this. Every cringe anime trope is here, unfiltered and uncensored, just waiting to be scorched onto the eyeball for all eternity.

6 Ys

Adol Needs More Love

The Ys series is better known for its action and dungeon exploration, making it closer to The Legend of Zelda franchise than a traditional turn-based RPG. That said, Final Fantasy has also gone in this direction before, with modern entries leaving behind its turn-based roots.

The Ys games have produced some excellent action RPGs, with Ys 8: Lacrimosa of Dana standing out as one of the best, with the player shipwrecked on an island and needing to gather resources and survivors to escape. The combat across the series is always fast-paced and rewards tight reflexes, especially as many of the older entries star a single character, who must survive on his own.

Like Dragon Quest, it has taken the Ys series a long time to find a foothold outside of Japan, but the recent mainline entries have all been localized and are well worth checking out. Unlike Final Fantasy, the series also has one long-running storyline and protagonist, who keeps returning to be thrust into even more dangerous situations.

5 Digimon

Change Into Digital Champions

Pokémon has ruled the roost in the monster-collecting genre for a long time, but its most prominent rival, Digimon, has produced some bangers over the past few years, most notably Digimon Story: Time Stranger, which had far more care and thought put into its design than the past few Pokémon games combined.

The recent Digimon games have had a far more adult tone to their characters and storylines than the competition, beautifully contrasting the child-friendly monster designs with some grim narrative decisions.

The Digimon franchise deserves far more love from JRPG fans. While the older titles can be punishingly obtuse and challenging, the modern entries are fantastic and underappreciated gems. Agumon's time in the spotlight is long overdue, and it's time for Pikachu to step aside.

4 Xenoblade Chronicles

The Series is Really Feeling it!

Nintendo lacked a worldwide smash-hit RPG series for a long time, as it doesn't fully own the Pokémon franchise. The Nintendo Wii gave Nintendo its own action RPG series that had a slow start but has since blown up into one of its best: the Xenoblade Chronicles series.

Produced by Monolith Soft, the Xenoblade Chronicles series consists of fast-paced action RPGs with in-depth combat systems that reward player engagement. This is through extensive combo systems that allow party members to work off each other, in a manner almost reminiscent of Chrono Trigger.

The Xenoblade Chronicles series' storylines and worlds blend fantasy and sci-fi, with epic conflicts unfolding across massive settings. Fans also only need one system to play them all, as they're all available on the Nintendo Switch or on the Nintendo Switch 2 via backward compatibility.

3 Fire Emblem

The Series is More Than Just Smash Bros. Reps

It took far too long for the Fire Emblem franchise to find a fanbase outside of Japan. For many people, their only knowledge of the series came from character crossovers in the Super Smash Bros. series.

Everything changed when Fire Emblem Awakening was released on the Nintendo 3DS, with its perfect blend of tactical RPG action and visual novel/dating-sim elements. Romance became just as crucial to Fire Emblem as the combat, with future entries putting a tremendous amount of focus on the potential digital life partners.

Since Fire Emblem Awakening, the series has produced multiple classics, most notably Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which is a strong contender for the best RPG on the Nintendo Switch, thanks to its epic storyline campaigns that evoke Game of Thrones.

2 Yakuza/Like A Dragon

The Series That Makes Shockingly Great RPGs

It's essential to mention off the bat that this recommendation doesn't extend to the entire Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. It's only the two most recent mainline entries that can claim to be RPGs, as they marked the shift from brawler to turn-based gameplay.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is one of the finest RPGs of its generation, practically becoming a modern iteration of EarthBound. The game transforms modern-day Japan into a turn-based RPG, with a selection of weirdos acting as random encounters. It helps that it has a fantastic story and multiple minigames that can burn countless hours.

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio seems unwilling to completely let go of the standard brawler/action gameplay for the franchise, but it's mostly been kept to the spin-offs. Hopefully, the mainline Yakuza/Like a Dragon series sticks with the turn-based RPG format, as it has produced some incredible titles and has plenty of room for more contemporary adventures.

1 Shin Megami Tensei

The Devil is in the Details

Saying the Shin Megami Tensei series is weird would be the understatement of the century. This is a franchise where the world keeps ending, and a Japanese teenager must assemble a plucky squad of demons and gods from mythology to create the next iteration of reality. So, yeah, it gets pretty weird.

People who are bored with the standard fantasy RPGs need to check out the Shin Megami Tensei series, as it's the perfect cure for burnout. Not only are these games challenging and forcing the player to engage with their systems, but they're bursting with unique visuals and character designs, all of which are pleasing to the eye.

The Persona series is a good gateway to Shin Megami Tensei, as they tend to be more rooted in reality. Once the player is done with their school schedule, it's time to descend into the underworld and see what a truly bizarre and engaging RPG franchise looks like.