If you are a JRPG fan and ready to kiss goodbye to your social life, this article is for you! These are not run-of-the-mill games you’re able to complete in a couple of hours. These games are the marathons of the gaming world, so be ready to sink an awful lot of precious time and energy into them.
10 Underrated JRPGs You Can Play On Steam Right Now
We’ve all heard of Pokemon and Persona, so let’s dig deeper for some gems!
Don’t get it twisted, though: These JRPGs are not just long for the sake of being long. Their storylines are rich, their characters are complex and multifaceted, and the side quests are engaging and well worth seeking out. Hundreds of hours will go by in a flash, and you will still be glued to your screen. So, clear your calendar, and get ready to play some of the longest JRPGs out there.
10Rune Factory Frontier
Main Story: 90.5 Hours, Completionist: 120 Hours
You can think of Rune Factory Frontier as an alternative toHarvest Moon, but with more RPG elements. Unlike Harvest Moon, you are not only farming but also engaging in combat with wild monsters and playing with magic. There’s also the social part of Rune Factory Frontier, as it allows you to build relationships with your townsfolk and even get married. You could potentially spend anywhere from 20 to 40 hours simply interacting with NPCs and develooping relationships throughout your playthrough.
The main plot, which takes about 90.5 hours, unfolds at a leisurely pace. You will spend a lot of your time taming roughly a hundred monsters, like Dragons, Hornets, and Silver Wolves. If you want to complete the entire game, you will likely spend 120+ hours in the effort,according to HowLongToBeat.
9The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV
Main Story: 63.5 Hours, Completionist: 134 Hours
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IVwraps up the Cold Steel arc and ties together plot threads from several games in the larger Trails series. The main plot alone takes roughly 63.5 hours to complete. That’s because you will find yourself in the shoes of Rean Schwarzer and his allies as they face off with the Erebonian Empire, and it’s going to be a long quest.
When it comes to side quests in Trails of Cold Steel IV, you will be diving into character backstories, like uncovering more about Fie Claussell’s past as a hunter or helping Alisa Reinford navigate her family’s corporate drama. There are about 48 side quests, so be ready to while away anything up to around 108 hours. It takes about134 hours to hit every milestone inTrails of Cold Steel IV.
8Tales of Graces F
Main Story: 47 Hours, Completionist: 138 Hours
Tales of Graces F is about the life of a young knight named Asbel Lhant and his friends: Sophie, Cheria Barnes, and Richard. As they journey through life, their leadership and survival skills are put to the test, as is their friendship. As you move from Asbel’s hometown of Lhant to the high-tech capital of Strahta, you will be kept on your toes battling monstrous foes and following the intrigue of the lengthy campaign.
The combat in Tales of Graces F allows you to switch between two fighting styles for each character mid-battle, adding a layer of strategy to the fast-paced fights. The side quests take about 66 hours to finish, as you will be helping townspeople gather materials like beast fangs, spider webs and shiny scales from aquatic monsters. If you decide to go beyond the side quests, then prepare for agame time of up to 138 hours.
7The Last Remnant
Main Story: 64 Hours, Completionist: 146 Hours
The main plot follows Rush Skyes’ search for his kidnapped sister, but quickly develops into political conflict and battles for survival. As you progress in The Last Remnant, you will uncover the mystery behind ancient artifacts called Remnants and their connection to Rush’s family.
Some townsfolk will ask you for favors, like hunting down monsters like Welkin Dragon and Karma, which you will complete as side quests. There are about 68 in total, and the monsters number in their hundreds, so you might spend roughly 75 hours on the side quests alone.Completionists will have to play for about 146 hours. Unlike most JRPGs in which you control a unique character in battle, you command unions of fighters in The Last Remnant, a battle system that can take dozens of hours to acclimatize yourself to.
6Persona 5
Main Story: 97.5 Hours, Completionist: 173 Hours
Persona 5will resonate with anyone interested in what lies beneath the surface of the people they meet. By day, you are Ren Amamiya, who’s just another high school student attempting balance his social life, education, and place in his world. By night, he finds himself with a special ability, Wild Card, which allows him to summon multiple Personas and defeat bosses like Suguru Kamoshida, Junya Kaneshiro, and Kunikazu Okumura, utilizing magical abilities as well as conventional weapons like knives and handguns.
There are six major bosses and 10 playable characters in Persona 5, so there’s no dull moment. The main plot alone takes roughly 97.5 hours to complete. If you are willing to go all in, be prepared for about173 hours of gaming, making Persona 5 longer thanPersona 5 Royalby about 31 hours. You will even findPersona to be a longer alternative to gameslike Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance.
5SD Gundam G Generation Genesis
Main Story: 105 Hours, Completionist: 185 Hours
If you are a Gundam fan and you want a game that crams over 44 years of its history into one title, try out SD Gundam G Generation Genesis. The strategic combat allows you to command your forces your way, fighting your way through series conflicts from all the way through Gundam Unicorn. You might find yourself, for instance, defending White Base or fighting in the Battle of Loum.
There are tons of battles across 650 Mobile Suits in the game, so acompletionist might spend up to 185 hours playing this tactical RPG. To tackle any mission, you can recruit your team from a pool of 400 pilots, allowing for almost dizzying team customization and replay value for fans.
4Xenoblade Chronicles X
Main Story: 67.5 Hours, Completionist: 254 Hours
If you love games likeCyberpunk 2077andHorizon Zero Dawn, you will enjoy Xenoblade Chronicles X. This sci-fi JRPG takes place in a world called Mira, after humanity crash-landed on its surface on fleeing Earth. You play as a custom character who must fight off the countless threats encountered there as they make their way across its vast regions, including Primordia, Oblivia and Sylvalum.
Review: Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 features an astonishingly robust class system and highly-customizable characters both on an aesthetic and functional level.
There’s a huge array of missions to tackle in Xenoblade Chronicles X, including Basic, Normal, Story and Affinity Missions. Of them, Story Missions are some of the largest, further divided into around 12 sub-missions. If you are willing to invest approximately 108 hours into the missions alone, you will be rewarded with battle points and weapons for the journey ahead. This just opens up the combat system further and encourages you to spend even more time tweaking your abilities.Completionists typically spend 254 hours on average on Xenoblade Chronicles X.
3Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days
Main Story: 33 Hours, Completionist: 448 Hours
If you love turn-based tactical RPGs like Tears of Avia and have a lot of time on your hands, you can give Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days a go.Playing as Adell, you will be commanding a team of quirky characters in outlandish grid-based combat.
In Dark Hero Days, you are blessed with a special ability to lift and throw demons, but the real test comes when it’s time to face Overlord Zenon. Although the main story is just about 33 hours, there’s much more depth to the side quests, which range from character recruitment missions to special item hunts and unique battles. There are about 15 different kinds of content spread across five categories of side quests in Dark Hero Days, so be ready to commit days on end to it if you’re looking to achieve 100%.Completing every part of the game will take about 448 hours.
2Genshin Impact
Main Story: 65.5 Hours, Completionist: 779 Hours
If you love JRPGs that let you explore different territories, you will have a swell time playingGenshin Impact, as it takes you deep into places like the rainforests of Sumeru, the mountainous region of Mondstadt and the islandic region of Inazuma.
Review: Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact’s meticulous approach to environment design above all pulls through in many wonderful ways.
In search of your sibling, you will have to fight off bosses like the Stormterror dragon, Wolf of the North and Scaramouche. There are about 14 bosses scattered across Teyvat. To understand just how long Genshin Impact is, you will encounter about 1,013 NPCs across eight categories of side quests, including Archon and World Quests. If you decide tocommit about 779 hours to the title as a completionist, you will encounter around 6,000 NPCs in thisenormous Hoyoverse RPG. All of this without having a conventional ‘ending.’
1Fate/Grand Order
Main Story: 153 Hours, Completionist: 888 Hours
Fate/Grand Order is set in a world called Nasuverse. Here, history is threatened by anomalies, and you have to assume the role of a Master to summon powerful heroes known as Servants to correct these disruptions.
The combat in Fate/Grand Order might seem easy at first, as you just have to form a team of up to six Servants: three in the frontline and three as reserves. Even with each Servant having special healing and attacking power, though, only good strategy and team-building skills can help you survive. You will spend up to376 hours on the side quests and 888 hours as a completionist on Fate/Grand Order, but that time goes by in a flash as you face hundreds of fascinating bosses, including Ivan the Terrible.
Keylocker is a Treat for JRPG Fans
Moonana has been working hard to make a JRPG that will be an homage to the games that inspired them to make Keylocker.
