Best Handheld JRPGs

JRPGs may have risen to stardom on home consoles like the NES and SNES, but throughout their entire existence, they have also thrived on handheld systems. In particular, consoles like the Game Boy Advance, PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS have produced some absolute masterclasses in JRPGs.

The bite-sized nature of handhelds lends itself brilliantly to the genre, as well. Getting a little bit of time, doing some grinding, then putting it down, has allowed me personally to experience even more JRPGs than I might have in the past.

Home consoles, and now even PCs these days thanks to an expanding market, certainly have a firm grip on the genre. Even so, handheld JRPGs are no slouch, and these games offer some superb experiences to be had on the go.

Some of them may not be as popular or successful as their home console counterparts, but these are still absolutely fantastic portable JRPGs. Any of them are worth digging out an old console for today.

10 Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

The Beginning Of A Delightful Spin-Off Series

The Mario & Luigi series has often been criminally overlooked. Ever since it first launched in 2003 on the Game Boy Advance with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, this adorable and endlessly charming JRPG series has been one of my favorites.

The witty dialogue, lovely sprite art and phenomenal battle system have been trademarks of the series since the beginning. And with each subsequent entry, the franchise never lost that spirit.

Superstar Saga in particular is just an absolute gem, tapping into a style of comedic JRPG that doesn't really exist much these days. It's funny, heartwarming and the battle system still feels so much fun to engage with almost twenty years later.

9 Golden Sun

Free Camelot From Mario Sports Purgatory, Please

Golden Sun has seen quite a bit of traffic lately. It used to be a franchise that no one seemed to remember, but these days, there are more people than ever asking for more Golden Sun on social media.

That is nothing but a good thing, as Golden Sun is easily one of the greatest handheld JRPGs of all time. The GBA had a pretty outstanding JRPG library, and Golden Sun sits among its very best.

It has so many fun characters, some fantastic sprite art and music, as well as an addictive battle system. Golden Sun just looks so visually appealing in action, as the battle window is so full of life and energy.

A lot of JRPGs have cool battle windows, but the one in Golden Sun is so dynamic and fun to look at. The way characters are positioned, as well as the way they move so fluidly, is a treat.

8 Persona 4 Golden

You Have How Many Hours In Persona 4 Golden?!

If you were a gamer growing up in the 2010s, as well as being lucky enough to own a PS Vita, chances are that Persona 4 Golden buried its hooks into you. I count myself among them, as this game dominated my life on the Vita for an alarming number of hours.

This was the game that moved the needle the most for the Persona franchise at the time. It was an enormous, global phenomenon that greatly contributed to the series becoming what it is today.

In many ways, Persona 4 walked so that Persona 5 could run. And that's not just a bunch of 2010s nostalgia, either.

Persona 4 Golden is legitimately one of the greatest JRPGs of all time. The combat is pitch perfect, it has some of the best music in the series and the social links are some of the best in the franchise.

7 Shin Megami Tensei IV

The Most Overlooked SMT Game

While a lot of JRPGs target home consoles and PCs due to their powerful hardware, a lot of developers shifted their focus to systems with the largest install base during the 2010s. The Nintendo 3DS was impossible to ignore, as it had an install base of nearly 80 million.

Atlus took advantage of this to a great degree. They developed multiple games for the 3DS, including Etrian Odyssey V, Radiant Historia, and, of course, Shin Megami Tensei IV.

There are a lot of great games in this oddball JRPG series, but SMT4 remains my absolute favorite. It has such a wonderfully dark, ominous atmosphere.

Aesthetically, it's such a home run. The art direction is so consistent, and the music absolutely rips. It is sadly not available on any modern hardware, but finding a 3DS to experience this gem is worth the trouble.

6 Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7

No, I'm Crying, I'm Definitely Crying

Like so many older millennials, I have a deep, emotional connection with the universe of Final Fantasy 7. So, when Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 came out on the PSP back in the day, it was destined to become one of my favorite games of all time.

All these years later, Crisis Core still holds up. The combat is so unique and refreshing, using a slot machine-style gacha system. It just feels so good to play.

Its story is rooted in the themes of fate and predestination, which would have a major influence on every subsequent Final Fantasy 7 universe game. Crisis Core's impact on the Final Fantasy 7 universe is still being felt to this day.

5 Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

Embrace The Handheld Darkness

It took me quite a while to get around to the Kingdom Hearts series. But thanks to the various ways to play the entire series now, it's easier than ever to experience this whimsical mash-up of Square Enix and Disney.

One of my favorite entries since playing the franchise has always been Birth By Sleep. The original version came out on the PSP, which I just recently had the chance to go back and play on its original hardware after experiencing the HD remake for the first time.

Birth By Sleep really works because of how it manages to be inherently connected to the franchise's absurd mythology, but still feels like a satisfying, self-contained story. It will absolutely melt your brain with its lore, but the combat and story are top-tier.

4 Xenoblade Chronicles 3D

I'm Really Feeling It!

Xenoblade Chronicles was already an immense, huge open-world JRPG filled with seemingly impossible spectacle and grandeur for the hardware it was released on. What's even more impressive is how Monolith and Nintendo managed to get the entirety of the game running on the 3DS.

This isn't just a standard impossible port. This almost feels like dark magic, as it takes one of the biggest, most ambitious games of all time and transplants it into a handheld device.

It retains all the wonderful characters, delightful voice acting and infinitely engaging battle system from the Wii game. Xenoblade Chronicles is one of the most impressive JRPGs ever made, and to have it on one of the most incredible handheld systems of all time is doubly impressive.

3 Pokémon FireRed And LeafGreen

The Best Way To Play Timeless Classics

Pokémon Red and Blue were generational JRPG releases back in the 1990s. The landscape of pop culture was never the same after those games launched, but Game Freak knew what everyone else already knew about them as the Y2K-era began.

They were certainly showing their age, and with the power of the Game Boy Advance, Game Freak was able to give these games the proper glow-up they deserved. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen aren't just great remakes. They are the way these games are meant to be experienced.

There are so many excellent quality-of-life improvements, including the ability to pick your gender for the first time in franchise history. Combat feels so much quicker and fast-paced, the sprite art is stupendous, and the new soundtrack is perfect.

2 Mother 3

Mother Knows Best

Mother 3's long, painful development process is well documented, but what a lot of people miss about it is just how achingly beautiful and lovely the finished product is. It may have seen a lot of things cut or stripped down, but there's simply no denying how unbearably gorgeous the final game really is.

From start to finish, Mother 3 is filled with heart, humor and sobering examinations of human behavior that no other game has tackled in quite the same way.

Its melancholy story gives way brilliantly to its combat, which refines and perfects the systems seen in previous Mother games. The rhythm-based mechanics are so much fun, and its extraordinarily absurd enemy design adds so much charm and wickedness to an already delightful world.

1 Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels Of The Starry Skies

A Key Nintendo DS Title

If you were a JRPG developer and putting your game on the Nintendo DS line of systems back in the 2010s, no one would really blame you. These systems were moving so many units, that not prioritizing them would be insane.

Square did exactly that with Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies in 2009, and among the many great games in the franchise that have been released since then, I find DQ9 to be one of the absolute best.

Dragon Quest IX is bursting with content. The amount of side quests, extra activities, mini-games and secret bosses is staggering.

It also has one of the most incredible stories in the franchise's history. This heartwarming tale is full of life, and the emotions it creates have stayed with me ever since I first played it way back in the day.