10 JRPGs You Need to Vote For on the GOG Dreamlist

3 hours ago 3

JRPGs You Need to Vote For on the GOG Dreamlist

Published Jul 3, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT

Murillo Zerbinatto is an Editor at DualShockers specializing in JRPGs, RPGs, reviews, guides, and lists. He has been writing professionally since 2018 and covering games since 2020, with previous work published at Xfire, RPGInformer, IndieGameCulture, and GameRant.

A longtime JRPG enthusiast, Murillo has played more than 250 JRPGs and earned over 100 platinum trophies, giving him deep hands-on experience with the genre’s progression systems, side content, collectibles, and completionist challenges. His coverage often focuses on franchises such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Trails, Tales of, and Star Ocean.

To our delight, or at least mine, JRPGs are having a wonderful renaissance in the industry lately. New releases in long-running series are breaking sales records, a ton of JRPG remakes are being announced, and many indies continue to look to the titles of yesteryear for inspiration to release their own incredible and ingenious versions.

Even so, many JRPGs remain trapped on legacy hardware and have never received a port, a remaster, or even a spot on a subscription service. On the other hand, several of these are being rescued by GOG, whose primary goal is to preserve games and their legacy. This beautiful initiative can also count on your help, because GOG features a Dreamlist where they ask players to cast their votes for which titles they want to see on the platform. While this does not guarantee that every highly voted game will show up, it certainly raises a flag for publishers.

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Because of this, I want to highlight 10 JRPGs you should vote for on the GOG Dreamlist in this breakdown so that, one way or another, they can become available on at least one modern platform, the PC, allowing us to revisit them officially. And who knows, maybe it will create enough noise to push developers to produce new entries or even remasters for these legacy titles.

For this list, I selected only JRPGs that are not currently available on PC across any digital storefront.

10 Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness

Come On, It's Not That Bad

I can already feel your disdain for Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness from here, along with the argument that many other JRPGs deserve a spot before this title should even be considered. But look, despite all its flaws and shortcomings, which I blame more on a tight budget than on tri-Ace itself, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness still features an incredibly fun gameplay loop and an excellent crafting system, just like the rest of the series.

Plus, and this was something I discovered recently, this and the original game are the only two mainline entries in the Star Ocean franchise that are not currently available on PC. While I understand that many players would prefer Star Ocean: First Departure R, I find it to be a heavily simplified version of the second game that, despite the merit of being the first entry, does not have much to add. Yes, I am openly admitting that I prefer the fifth Star Ocean over the first.

9 Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

Give Vincent Some Credit

cropped-PS2 Games So Bad That They're Good Dirge of Cerberus Final Fantasy VII

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy 7

No, I am not defending myself here. If it is for the sake of preservation and to showcase the complete mythology of Final Fantasy VII, then I absolutely believe that Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII deserves your vote and a return to a contemporary platform. I might end up eating my words since Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade featured Nero and Weiss, the latter only as a superboss, which leaves room for future entries to dive even deeper into this Shinra underground lore, but otherwise, you will never truly know what Deepground is.

And that is exactly where Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII comes in. I acknowledge that it features incredibly clunky gameplay, does not exactly represent what we expected from a Final Fantasy VII spin-off, and its ending is a bit megalomaniacal, but the lore is still highly compelling. And let's be honest, it is Final Fantasy VII, so it is hard to complain about receiving more products tied to this wonderful universe.

8 Grandia III

If HD Is Out of the Question, Bring the Original

GungHo released the Grandia HD Collection, which contains the first two games, back in 2019. If they were going to launch the sequels, either Grandia Xtreme or Grandia III, I suspect it would have happened by now. But well, it didn't. So, as a way to rescue the lost sequel of the franchise, how about we join hands and vote for Grandia III? Yuki deserves to fly again.

Since I was one of the twenty people in the world who actually played Grandia Xtreme, I understand how the quality of that game might have made players wary of Grandia III, though I personally enjoy both. I also know it might not look like a good business strategy to invest in an HD version of a game that didn't sell particularly well during its original era, but nothing is stopping the classic game from coming to GOG, right? Grandia III brings several of the features that make the series incredible, and I would love to revisit the title after all these years.

7 Suikoden III

Not Sure If Konami Will Relaunch This Entry

My argument here follows the exact same logic mentioned for Grandia. Konami re-released the remasters of Suikoden I and Suikoden II, and as great as those remasters are, they didn't feature drastic structural changes, largely because the gameplay loop holds up well, as does the pixel art. The script is excellent, and that didn't need to change.

Now, PS2 graphics, for the most part, were only beautiful on a CRT television back in the day, and many have aged quite poorly. Not that Suikoden III is exceptionally ugly, but re-releasing a remaster of it without completely overhauling the visuals might not be a highly effective draw for new fans. On the other hand, if they launch Suikoden III exactly as it was on the PS2 but through GOG, it will fit right into the expectations of the platform and easily win the praise of long-time fans of the franchise.

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6 Eternal Sonata

The Best Hidden Gem in the Genre

Whenever someone asks me which hidden gem among JRPGs I recommend, my answer is always Eternal Sonata. I stumbled upon the game completely by accident on my PS3 because I had never heard anyone so much as mention it, but when I played it, it was a delightful surprise. Eternal Sonata is incredibly fun, features a combat system that masterfully blends real-time action and turn-based strategy, and tells a story starring the composer Frédéric Chopin as the main protagonist. As such, it is no surprise that the central theme of the entire JRPG is music.

The game originally launched for the Xbox 360 and later received a port for the PS3, but to this day, it is rarely talked about. And for good reason, since you can only play it if you own one of those legacy consoles, especially because Eternal Sonata is not backward compatible on modern Xbox systems. Bringing the game to GOG is not just a way to introduce an incredible title to new fans, but an act of pure preservation, because otherwise, the title will be lost to the annals of time. Luckily, I still have my physical copy.

5 Shadow Hearts

Try the Judgment Ring

10 PS2 JRPGs That Are Fun from the Start - Shadow Hearts

Following the reveal of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a discussion began, not always a healthy one, about how turn-based games needed to innovate their systems by introducing reactive commands, timed inputs, and whatnot. Well, JRPG fans know perfectly well that Expedition 33 did not invent this style, and the developers themselves never hid this fact, constantly reinforcing their direct inspirations from Super Mario RPG and The Legend of Dragoon.

Another brilliant JRPG that features a timed input for virtually every single action in battle is Shadow Hearts with its iconic Judgment Ring. Upon initiating an attack, a ring appears on-screen, and we must hit specific target areas inside it. Hitting the standard areas allows the attack to execute, smaller areas trigger a critical hit, and if you miss the zone entirely, well, your action fails. It is a system that keeps you on your toes during every single fight.

Plus, Shadow Hearts boasts other fascinating mechanics and an incredibly interesting plot based on the real world but with a distinct tinge of horror. When Penny Blood was announced, I felt we would see a true return for the franchise, but that does not seem to be the case anymore. Well then, its return now depends entirely on GOG. And on you and your vote.

4 Parasite Eve

Horror JRPG at Its Finest

I have never liked the horror genre, whether in books, movies, or games. But then again, I didn't know that until I had my very first contact with the genre, right? And while my parents wouldn't let me watch horror movies, they had no idea that a video game would feature grotesque scenes of spontaneous human combustion and rats transforming into disgusting, mutated creatures. In short, Parasite Eve nearly traumatized me as a child.

Even so, I loved the game so much, from its ATB combat system to its realistic New York City setting and the stark contrast in tone compared to everything I had played before, that I pushed through to the end. It was a struggle, but I endured. This is a true testament to the fact that, against all odds, Parasite Eve stood out as an incredible title, and it would be highly worthwhile if it returned to the public eye via GOG. Aya Brea must return.

3 Dragon Quest

The Origin of JRPGs

NES JRPGs That Are Fun from the Start - Dragon Quest

Nowadays, if you want to begin your journey through the Dragon Quest franchise, there is a pristine and gorgeous HD-2D version that brings together not only the first title but also the second. To make things even better, we also have the standalone HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest III, completing the legendary Erdrick Trilogy, and all signs point to Square Enix not stopping there. It is one of the absolute best eras to be both a veteran or a brand-new fan of the series.

But what if you want to know exactly where it all began? How do you experience the origin of not just the franchise, but the entire JRPG genre? Through official means, you can't, unless you buy an original NES console and a physical cartridge on eBay. That is, unless GOG manages to secure the rights to publish the original Dragon Quest on its digital storefront. The classic JRPG is one of the most highly voted games on the entire Dreamlist, proving there is a massive nostalgic audience that would love to revisit, or experience for the first time, the forefather of the genre.

Disclaimer: The title currently appears on GOG as Dragon Quest (2004), which points to the mobile version, and some screenshots reveal exactly that. However, there are also screenshots of the original NES version, and looking through the user stories on the page, the vast majority of players are clamoring for that original console release.

2 Xenogears

Time for Fei to Return

Do I really need to say more? Xenogears is, for some baffling reason, trapped on the PS1 to this day. I know there is the whole issue regarding Disc 2 being notoriously rushed and incomplete, and that the overarching Perfect Works blueprint itself remains unfinished, but come on, the standalone work is easily one of the finest JRPGs out there. It is one of the few games that manages to effortlessly weave complex themes like religion, psychology, and philosophy without ever losing track of its plot.

From my understanding, Square Enix holds the rights to the IP, so it is entirely up to them to want to do something with the game. But I imagine Monolith Soft, and the fans, would absolutely love to see Xenogears playable on PC today, which is reflected by its more than 10,000 votes on the Dreamlist. The best part of all is that if Xenogears ever arrives on the service, it opens up the distinct possibility of the Xenosaga trilogy arriving right behind it. And let's be honest, the more Xeno we get, the better.

1 Breath of Fire III

Meet the Brood

Picture this: first, Breath of Fire IV launches on GOG. Capcom receives a financial report showing that it sold far better than expected, which raises the eyebrows of executives who then decide to put the game on Steam. A massive success. Naturally, the next logical step is to bring Breath of Fire III to the platform right after, right? It follows the exact same path to success, lands on Steam, and finally motivates Capcom to produce a definitive Breath of Fire collection complete with quality-of-life additions and trophy support. The perfect plan!

But seriously, Breath of Fire III is my absolute favorite JRPG of all time, so its inclusion here is already a given. Yet, this scenario I just laid out, as much like fanfiction as it might sound, genuinely sounds realistic to me. And that is without me even listing the stellar qualities of Breath of Fire III! It features a wonderful story, an incredible mid-game timeskip, timeless pixel art, the absolute best dragon transformation system in the series, and an incomparable soundtrack. It is a true masterpiece of the JRPG genre that deserves far more of the spotlight than it received throughout its entire lifespan. All you have to do is vote on the GOG Dreamlist and make our dreams, well, my dreams, come true.