10 Modern JRPGs For Newcomers

10 Modern JRPGs For Newcomers
Every now and then I see questions come up asking about what JRPGs are a good starting point, or what JRPGs would I recommend to a newcomer. First impressions matter, so i always think what games are most likely to hook someone in to the genre.
In my mind, these 10 games fit the bill, and in no particular order, I'll share them all with you!
My general criteria is that I wanted these JRPGs to be fairly recent and most importantly easily accessible. That would mean they are either multi-platform or on current gen hardware, or both in some cases. The rest of the criteria was simply looking for quality JRPGs which generally speak for themselves, thus finding the JRPGs that are worth playing straight away.
0:00 - Intro
0:31 - Persona 5 Royal
2:06 - Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
4:24 - Tales of Arise
6:00 - Final Fantasy 7 Remake
7:06 - Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
8:23 - NEO: The World Ends With You
11:13 - Trails of Cold Steel
13:12 - Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
15:11 - 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
16:56 - Nier Automata
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Songs
Tokyo Xanadu OST - Happy Holiday
Sen no Kiseki OST - Leisure Day
Ys VI The Ark of Napishtim Quatera Woods
Sen no Kiseki OST - Refreshing Sunlight
Ys VIII Lacrimosa of DANA OST - Sunshine Coastline
Sen no Kiseki IV OST - Synchronicity #23
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[@TheKisekiNut]

In no particular order, here’s my modern JRPG recommendations for anyone looking to start in the genre! My general criteria was that I wanted them to be easily accessible (on current gen hardware - PS4 is still current gen as far as I’m concerned due to scalping, and/or multi-platform). Also, that they encompass many of the strong aspects we’ve come to find specific to JRPGs. I think these 10 fit that bill.

[@tachyonknight3913]

Thanks for putting Neo: The World ends with You on this list. While it wasn’t my first game and I have played the original to prep for it, it’s was one of my favourite recent Square Enix game. I 100%/Platinumed it because I loved it that much. In fact, I am currently in the process of writing an essay on the game. Neo and the rest of the series definitely deserve the love and more.

[@charlestrudel8308]

I will probably go with the more general structure games for a true test if you would like jrpg or not. Like, Neo, Persona 3 and up, 13 sentinels and even a bit nier automata are so unique that if someone like these, theres no garantee they will like other games of this genre. I would probably say the cookie cutter example of the genre while also being excellently executed is probably Dragon quest 11 for the turn based sub genre while ys 8 is probably the best example on the action sub genre.

[@danielhayes3607]

"Square Enix has a lot of dosh..." 😶

[@guyjean-guy989]

I played the original FF7 in 2004, that's all for my JRPG experience, and I loved that video lol

[@NathanWubs]

I agree with 9 of your choices. As an avid video game players with a jrpgs being my favorite. I have to discount trials of cold steel. Even the first game has quite a few meandering parts that are just drawn out and boring. And if they start with the series then they will get into the second game, which is mostly filler. If those are the first rpgs you play. Then that means people think that the pacing of jrpgs are suppose to be horrible. Despite the rest of your list being solid.

[@HoroJoga]

For those having issues with the OST of DQ11, just play the DQ11S version. It's not too much different, but they moved from midi to an orchestred version of each song, and you can change the overworld theme for the one from DQ8, which in my opinion is more easy to the ears.

[@jessehenderson2967]

That does not help.

[@CalmTempest]

On PC you can change it with mods. Drop them into a folder and done

[@blayden1419]

I'm a newcomer. My first JRPG was Trails of Cold Steel, then Tales of Arise, and then FF XV.

[@yojimbo26]

I'd say Cold Steel is a good place to start - even if there are older games that predate it. The Librl arc is...I wouldn't say stand alone, but the series heavily focusses on Crossbell and Erebonia way more. You play the first two games basically for the Estelle and Joshua arc. And the third game if you really want a dungeon crawl which ads some interesting back story to mainly Kevin...and infamously Renne. However by the time Crossbell comes along the game has moved way on beyond Librl and it becomes a reference and a source of cameo's. CSI also resets the combat a bit, and it's relatively easy to get into it for newcomers if they invest time in it. And it is in 3D which may be easier on the eye for some. Once Crossbell drops on Steam I guess CSI is the first and then the Crossbell games, switching back to CSII-IV and Reverie. With the Sky arc as bonus material (I and II that is). The third...unless you really enjoy dungeon crawling I guess watching a let's play would suffice for the moon doors and Kevin's story.

[@falkk2938]

My first one was P5R, then Xenoblade DE, then Xenoblade 2, and now, Tales of Arise, I’m 2 hours into the game and I love it

[@statesminds]

There are other Trails games you should play first if you have a pc that will make the lore so much better. Cold Steel 1 and 2 fine without others but 3 and 4 are much better if you played Trails in the sky, azure, and zero Trails games

[@yojimbo26]

@@statesminds If you're on Steam at the time of writing the translated Crossbell arc couldn't be played on Steam. Yes there was a way to do even that but that option is pulled now, awaiting the official release in 2022 for the first Crossbell game. And even then arguably CSI and CSII (although the latter is shaky as it features the Azure tree and a mission to the Geofront) can be played without the Crossbell games. If you're reading this end 2023 and onwards then yes play CSI first and then go back to the Crossbell games, and back to CSII and beyond again.

[@blayden1419]

@@statesminds I have on Steam Sky trilogy and Cold Steel 1,2,3,4. Now I'm playing Grandia, after that gonna dive into first Trails in the Sky. Thanks for the advice.

[@DiabolicCrusher]

Perfect choice with Ys lacrimosa of dana, seven is a great introduction since it's basically the first "modern" ys game, but i guess it is a bit outdated now, man, hope we get another ys game soon. Ys and Tales will probably forever be my favorite videogame franchises.

[@Dyonivan]

I tried playing it when I briefly had Amazon Luna, and quit before even getting off of the boat. The English VAs were off-putting and the graphics looked very dated even for a 2018 game. Guess I didn't give it enough of a chance. I'll add it to my Steam list for when I get a real computer.

[@yass3425]

@@Dyonivan I want to try it as well snice thst I saw alot of gaming channels recommended it but yeah I am afraid that I will end feeling the same as you did cause the overall design of the game feels outdated

[@HelLDeWs]

@@Dyonivan yeah one warning with falcom games is their front loaded as hell with exposition and Ys8 def has a tiny bit of a slog at the start if your not digging it. it is technically a vita port so the graphics are a bit lacking but its still a bloody fantastic game once it gets going (and it doesnt take terribly long to get going or anything).

[@TheKisekiNut]

Ys will always get love from me.

[@ztune3945]

@@Dyonivan Ys VIII was originally a Vita game so visuals aesthetics can vary form person to person, I don't know how games look on Amazon Luna but on PS4 looks good running at 60fps. Dated or not this games is insanely good.

[@thundageon5962]

Persona 5 was my introduction to JRPG's and already I'm obsessed with this game. Truly a masterpiece

[@kaidzz]

got finished yesterday with it, 155hrs satisfying ending.(Royal)

[@inchristnido]

Ikr just beat and need something to fill my addiction😭

[@kaidzz]

@@inchristnido I'm currently playing persona 4 golden right now after Royal.

[@icgaming4508]

Persona 5 is what got me into jrpgs. I loved everything about it from the story to doing social links to even the combat. If you have a ps4 play persona 5, if you have a pc play persona 4 since it isn't a demanding game. EDIT: Well it seems that Persona 3, 4, 5 are all coming to modern consoles. So I would recommend that everyone should try at least Persona 5R. Although playing in release order would not be bad, just because of the gameplay. The only thing is that Persona 3 does not have The Answer campaign, since it is the portable version that is being ported. Although it is very controversial mostly because of the gameplay being mostly dungeon crawling and no social sim. I never played it myself, since I wasn't a big fan of P3 gameplay. One thing you can do is watch all the cutscenes on youtube if you don't like P3 gameplay. From what I heard you should only play The Answer if you love the combat, you weren't satisfied with the ending of the original P3, or you like a certain character. Other than that The Answers cutscenes should be enough. Mostly because they give more character development to your party.

[@CuteAndFunnyFan]

I recommend p5 royal over og p5 if you have neither, but yeah p5 is a masterpiece. (And p4 golden)

[@beageler]

Shouldn't the redommendation be the other way around, play the less demanding game on the feebler console and the more demanding one on the faster PC?

[@icgaming4508]

@@beageler Normally I would agree, but atlus is dumb with how they put their games on platforms. Persona 5 and Persona 5 royal are only on PS4. Then if you want to play Persona 4 , you would somehow need to get a vita, ps2, (for of persona 4 not golden), or a PlayStation tv. Alternatively you can get Persona 4 golden on steam, which it is the most accessible way to play the game. So in reality persona 4 golden can pretty much be only played on pc since for some reason it is not on modern consoles. While persona 5 is the more demanding game, unfortunately it is only on console, and persona 4 golden is only on steam. Unless you are talking about persona 5 strikers, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you have not played Persona 5/Royal because strikers is pretty much a sequel to those games. Which again atlus was dumb once again because they decided to make this game multiplatform but not the the first Persona 5 game. So as a result we have people starting the sequel since it literally is on every platform except Xbox. And for many the characters are going to seem very underdeveloped, since they were already developed in the base game. This is important because the events in the base game are tied to the character arcs. So yeah persona 4 is probably the most accessible since it can run on a potato or any modern pc/laptop. Considering that game was originally a ps2 game.

[@beageler]

@@icgaming4508 Ahhh, kk.

[@basilplushie2534]

If you are here few months later And have pc, Xbox and Nintendo switch Play p5r

[@Anpeo]

New to the genre because of the recent Final Fantasy 16. I'm having a blast with Atelier Ryza and Trials of Mana. Also bought Ni no kuni 2 and Neptunia 4 Goddesses Online on a massive discount, they are next. So many amazing experiences, I fell in love with the genre already. Turns out gaming is not only about AAA titles. ❤

[@Flareboxx]

You definitely need to make Fire Emblem Three Houses a priority this year! I don't want to overhype it, but I couldn't put it down. Played 12 hours the first day... Wife wasn't happy 😂

[@chessplayer6632]

Such a fantastic game. It doesn’t sink it’s hooks into everyone, but when it does, they dig in DEEP 😅

[@taraqueen6954]

13 Sentinels is one of my absolute favorites. Im so glad I picked it up on a whim. This is such a great list.

[@chisaten]

I really want this game, but can't afford full price. I didn't learn about it until this year and missed all of its discounts, so hopefully it will get discounted again sometime.

[@klaroxy7552]

Felt really good to hear this from YS VIII! This is my favourite game without questions, but I sadly see it appear in lists so rarely, was good finally seeing it in your video, loved this list!

[@TheKisekiNut]

Ys games will always get attention from me. The series deserves way more exposure.

[@elaowczarczyk7143]

Fire emblem Awakening, Trails of Cold steel and Persona 5 were the games that got me to love JRPGs

[@vitorhenriquebatista]

Nier Automata is the game of my life. Amazing list. I just didn't play yet Cold Steel and 13 Sentinels, but they're already on my list. I started the Trails series by the Sky games.

[@krishnaprasad8712]

You should play cold Steel one of the best turn base gameplay mechanisms ever so engaging especially once u figure out how to utilise master quartz and quatz

[@kentstopme]

@@krishnaprasad8712 Let him finish the sky games first bruh

[@MasterAngelification]

I gotta say, you have a truely refreshing take on most of the RPG picks that even me as a huge RPG fan haven't heard of and presented them in a way that ended up making ME wanting to play them. Great job and a well deserved THUMBS UP!

[@GamingBroductions]

Solid list man! Definitely agree with your picks out of the ones I’ve played, there’s a couple here I still need to check out. Another good one I think could fit here would be Octopath Traveler. While it has that old school retro look (polished to an excellent degree though), it’s still modernized with a lot of fun mechanics and quality of life improvements compared to the games it’s inspired by. It could serve as a great gateway for newer fans of the genre to get into the 16/32 bit classics like Chrono Trigger and all those gems

[@TheKisekiNut]

Yeah unfortunately I haven't played Octopath bud, didn't have a Switch till late last year! Definitely want to try it though when my backlog's culled down a bit though. The pixel style is timeless, I think it's one reason why Triangle Strategy is also generating a lot of hype.

[@Dahras1]

Great list! I absolutely loved DQXI but even as a DQ fan, I can admit that the OST left a lot to be desired. It's sad because DQIII and IV have some of my favorite OSTs ever, especially considering their time. But at this point, Koichi Sugiyama (RIP) needed to step aside and let someone else work on the series. DQ has a certain baroque, traditional OST style and that's okay, but ever since DQVIII I don't think they've done that style justice.

[@StewNWT]

the ost was just awful

[@mi2-c035]

The tracks themselves are good, in fact i'd say the S version fixed this cause they're all orchestrated. The MIDI rendition is just super weird and not very fitting in such a giant marvelous JRPG.

[@shadowsquid1351]

Great list! I'd also recomment a few different games: - Octopath Traveler since it has 1 of the best turn based battle systems, beautiful individual stories for the 8 travelers, the music is perfect & the presentation is gorgeous. - Fire Emblem 3 Houses, amazing strategy JRPG, great value, gameplay & story. Pick the blue team since it has by far the best writing. - Radiant Historia Perfect Chronolgy, highly recommend this gem, very easy to get into & still very unique. - SMT V is easily the best gameplay Atlus made in an RPG, can be difficult but still easy to understand, the atmosphere, demon side missions, the world design, the music.. great all around.

[@fachriardiansyah2613]

dude, are you me? lol fuckin love those games

[@hideharu-xiii8852]

Not an SMT guy but your first 3 are absolutely solid. Octopath and Three Houses were my fav games of their respective years, and Radiant Historia is a criminally underrated gem. The only thing is that I prefer the original game’s artstyle waaaaay more than the remake

[@shadowsquid1351]

@@hideharu-xiii8852 yes the old Radiant Historia art is so much better.

[@Fanofou82]

What a toilet trove of shit games.

[@shadowsquid1351]

@@Fanofou82 oof too edgy 🤡

[@guruthosamarthruin4459]

From the Trails series, I had only played Cold Steel 1-4. I initially watched the main story of the Sky and Crossbell games on KZbin, because I wanted to get straight to playing Cold Steel. Now, though, I've gone back and actually played 4 of the 5 pre-Trails games (Dragon Slayer and Gagharv), and I'm playing the 5th and final one now. I even played Dragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes 2 using Retroarch's real-time machine translation service. That's how dedicated I am to this series, now. When I'm done with Gagharv, I do plan to finally actually play the Sky and Crossbell games. I aim to beat all 3 Sky games sometime this year, and then start Trails From Zero when we're at least somewhat close to the release of Azure.

[@hideharu-xiii8852]

Heck yeah, TWEWY and NEO are amazing games. That series started my love for Japan and its culture. I’m teaching in Japan currently and honestly TWEWY was one of the things that catapulted to where I am today

[@Razor5702]

I just finished Ys 8 after having purchased the game almost 2 years ago. Started it then and kind of lost interest with just having to constantly map the area and find people. But I told myself I'd finish it before starting a new game, and man what a game. First Ys title for me and I enjoyed it a lot more than I initially thought. Definitely makes me want to try the other games in the series.

[@darknesswave100]

Yeah same here now I've played Memories of Celceta and 9. Definitely recommend them both

[@Razor5702]

@@darknesswave100 It was actually seeing 9 that gave an additional boost in motivation to finish. But I'm not going to buy that till I wittle my backlog down and hopefully 9 goes cheaper.

[@statesminds]

I love Ys 8! The soundtrack sooo damn good. Do Ys 9 then if you have ps4 memories of celceta. If you have a pc then it opens up a whole nother world of ys games and doesn't need much power to run

[@sj4iy]

Really great list. I've recommended more than a few of these games to friends looking for a new game to get into.

[@Erawk]

Great video. Wish I'd come across it a few months ago when I had finished my second playthrough of P5R, was looking for more JRPG stuff, and PlayStation had a Japanese favorites sale. Ended up going with Tokyo Xanadu Ex+ and Tales of Berseria, but watching your video has caused me to add some more stuff to the wish list.

[@madkaiser4887]

Loving these JRPG videos, mate! Keep up the good work!

[@keonimarcelo5813]

I Already Played The Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel 1,2,3, and 4, and I'm Looking Forward to Trails into Reverie Whenever that Comes out in 2023

[@Greenlord075]

For DQXI, I feel it’s probably important to note that the Switch Version (DQXI S) has additional story content, and the soundtrack is a bit better. It has a fairly similar level of variety, but a lot of the Midi tracks have been revamped with orchestral versions. There are also a couple of quality of life changes, like being able to use the forge anywhere instead of just at camp. It’s definitely a smoother experience overall.

[@gallowsgradient]

The Definitive Edition adds all that on all platforms.

[@darknesswave100]

There's a definitive edition also for other ones just in case people don't have a switch

[@TheKisekiNut]

That's the version I'm playing with currently. Don't get me wrong, it's a good game. But it's always pushed back by other games that I'm playing concurrently.

[@alonsosanchez70]

Amazing recommendations I have played all those games and You really nailed it with this list.

[@valterniijima]

What can I say, all of my favorite games are on the list! Great job on making this one!

[@punkdrum77]

Absolutely solid list, and another reminder for me to return to Lacrimosa of Dana and Tales of Arise. Loved what I've played so far of those games, just need to pick them up again and really commit to finishing them. Also, another big hint that I need to give Nier: Automata a shot.

[@kobayashibrynhild9622]

You should. Automata is great. I'm also loving Arise as well.

[@jeremyfusenliu3859]

Trails of Cold Steel is also what got me into the Trails series, loved absolute every moment of it. I tried Ys 7 but couldn't get into it, played 8 and loved it along with 9. Another I feel that should be up is Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth, but that's just me cause am a digimon fan and digimon been my childhood when the anime 1st showed

[@kobayashibrynhild9622]

Cyber sleuth is really good. I played and still have the Vita version.

[@TheRoleplayer40k]

Interesting cause Cold Steel killed the trails franchise forme after loving Sky/Crossbell. Got halfway throughb CS2 and the story.bland characters nonsensical choices during a war just killed the game for me.

[@jeremyfusenliu3859]

@@TheRoleplayer40k while CS may not have the omph as sky but its still pretty good for me. If you liked crossbell then the epilogue of CS 2 will interest you and what happens and who appears in 3 and 4 will get your attention too. Also Emma best girl for me in CS

[@kolorless-cat]

I'm so glad you mentioned NTWEWY, such an amazing game and a life changing experience that it's a shame that people never tried it.

[@sk-sm9sh]

Never played anime styled game before until recently finishing Scarlet Nexus and wow it was a blast. Story, styling, music, characters, combat, everything was captivating - maybe just the world could be little more open as it only had 2 cities with only few (populated with people) streets to explore and side quests in cities boring. I came here to look for similar games - I think I'll give Nier Automata a shot looks pretty cool too.

[@mkarun8688]

Nier replicant and automata is probably my fav jrpg of all time

[@beef-o-juice]

That’s a f2p rts, tho

[@imwayne4159]

Nier automata is the goat

[@beef-o-juice]

@@Drakevid you can’t be more far from the facts. The classic Star Craft take, mixed up with Cut the Rope F2P mechanics: Nier is a f2p rts.

[@panagiotisdoulaveris5592]

Great list.. I absolutely agree.. And for me trails is the one piece of jrpgs... Shonen anime and jrpgs share a lot of elements with each other... So in terms of world building trails is the one piece of jrpgs.. For anime and one piece fans that have played the trails series know what I mean.. I hope that the trails series will become more mainstream similar to how smt and Persona became mainstream from niche series.. A lot of big gaming sites overlook one of the best modern jrpg series and that is trails.. I cannot wait for hajjmari and kuro no kiseki.. Especially kuro..also the ys series.. Especially the modern ones viii and ix... Great work.. Great list my friend

[@rossedwardmiller]

If someone had never played a jrpg in their life, and they played DQ11s, they would then understand the genre in totality, and be able to tell if they wanted to pursue more traditional titles or more modern ones.

[@logansaxby7224]

Well said.

[@DCompani13]

Idk if they are considered JRPG, but I am fan of the god eater series, scarlet nexus, code vein, and digimon cyber sleuth. I have only recently gotten into JRPG's but can't lie I am in love with them.

[@neogamer6461]

Awesome list. I have played most of these games and they're excellent as modern JRPGs. If I had a switch, I would definitely get Xenoblade Chronicles DE and SMTV. I also might try out Neo: The World Ends with You. That looks like a lot of fun. Ni No Kuni games are also great starting points for JRPGs.

[@lucassworldofletsplays9270]

If you haven’t already tried out Neo TWEWY yet, DO IT. It’s a great game that more people should experience. I do recommend playing the first game beforehand, though.

[@benjaminsheppard5149]

Excellent choices - Ys 8 in particular is such a wonderful game with a deep mystery that will blow your mind out your ears

[@MickeBohlin]

Thank you for a good video on JRPGs with some very interesting titles that I haven't thought of.

[@dknight25]

My only flaw with ToCS is that by the end of the 3rd game I got a sense of already knowing what events were going to unfold, in the general sense. It became very predictable. There was this pattern that they followed that was hard to miss for those paying close attention. Other than that it is an excellent JRPG series.

[@Wiseman108]

Seeing the social network screen at 19:08 really reminded me of Digital Devil Saga for some reason.

[@shyguy2046]

Just subbed to your channel. Totally awesome list. Altho not gonna lie you kinda broke my little heart with the criticism of Dragon Quest XI S sound track

[@stevenanderson7620]

Just starting the video, but as a veteran to rpgs, I love videos like these.

[@CuteAndFunnyFan]

If I had 1 hot take on entry points to jrpgs. I think Cold Steel is a better entry point than Sky FC. If I did Sky FC first, I would have likely dropped it.

[@cancerousmouse9530]

With the way AAA games have been in 2021 I decided to give JRPGs a try, I ended up falling in love with the Trails series because of its worldbuilding and characters and had a lot of fun in Scarlet Nexus and Tales of Arise. I pray that JRPGs stay the way they are because I cannot imagine any JRPG pulling a cyberpunk 2077 or bf2042 release on us 🙏

[@jorgiebutt]

I totally dig the Synchronicity #23 playing in the background for your 13 Sentinel Aegis Rim segment. I'm missing that world in such a serious way.

[@TheKisekiNut]

I felt the song matched well with the 'mecha' vibes of 13 Sentinels. Glad someone enjoyed it!

[@grawlix311]

I’d recommend No No Kuni! I started with Ni No Kuni 2 and beat it in about 2 weeks (70+ hours). I was HOOKED On a subject of “starting RPGs” it has a difficulty system and on normal, it’s a simple romp.

[@AkumaItachi]

Great list, a lot of gems here I would add Scarlet Nexus as it is an amazing game with fun combat, engaging story and a great cast of characters And yes, YS8 is a masterpiece, i bought it, played for a while and dropped it for some reason, can't remember I picked up YS9 on release and absolutely loved that game, would also add it to the list, so i told to myself that is should finish YS8 as well And boy am i glad i did...while i do like the YS9 cast more in general (apart from Dana and Ricotta, those 2 are treasures) YS8 presentation and sense of discovery is amazing and that story...when it hits after that big climb and then towards the end, it hits hard...really hard It absolutely blew my mind and the true ending is a bliss, every JRPG fan needs to play that game, simple as that :)

[@yass3425]

Hello didn't u felt ys 8 to be outdated game? This is the only that hold me from trying it

[@AkumaItachi]

@@yass3425 Not at all, it is not a AAA budget game but it plays great, it's fluid and it looks fine imo I even went back to Celceta after YS8 and still think even that game looks good as well Falcom never had the biggest budget but their games are really fun to play and have some great storytelling

[@LegendarySkypenis]

Your taste is too weeb

[@electricant55]

Really wish more JRPG channels acknowledged the passage of time and the value of good visuals and voice acting instead of filling their recommendation lists with „I enjoyed it when I played it as a kid 30 years ago” titles

[@Bruen0r]

Wow, great video. I've played all of these except the one you recommended. lol The Ys series never grabbed my attention when I saw it, mainly because I never knew how to pronounce the name of the game haha

[@stormfires]

Love these vids man. You got me sold on Neo, gonna look it up. I also plan to eventually play Nier Automata, but I'd like to see if it gets more patches on pc, and if not, I'm going to wait until I have a PS5 to fully experience it. Also noticed the Megumi interceptors spam! Good lad!

[@TheKisekiNut]

Interceptor spam is the way! As for Automata, they've mostly fixed the PC port I believe. Took them long enough, but from what I remember it was still more than playable for myself back in 2017.

[@stormfires]

Awesome, probably going to give it a try this year or the next one.

[@GameNight87]

Nice list. I’d go with ff7r definitely. Tales of Berseria just cuz it’s the one that got me hooked on the genre

[@darkrulier]

Man, the battle system of Berseria can be a no no for newcomers.

[@ryanraymer4411]

Ys 8 is hands down my favorite modern day (last 5 years) game to play. Brilliant OST, amazing gameplay and amazing stories. Hadn’t felt this strongly about a game since I first played Chrono Trigger over 24 years ago. Play This Game.

[@amberoveranalyzes8322]

Ooh I really recommend Fire Emblem Three Houses! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you play it! It's my favorite game of all time and we seem to have similar taste in games so, I have high hopes you will probably like it!

[@kobayashibrynhild9622]

Cold Steel was my first Trails game. I absolutely loved the series, and would recommend it to anyone. I'm loving Arise so far, especially the joint attacks. I've platinumed P5R. Futaba is best girl. Ys VIII...I haven't played much of it yet, but I probably will once I finish Arise. Automata is also a masterpiece, as is Replicant v1.22. This is a VERY solid list. Especially since I've played a good number of them.

[@juampabenja7618]

Great selection! I think i'll grab my DS and start TWEWY , it's been on backlog for too long i think. Just finished the Utawarerumono series (such a great experience i had to unlock all achievs just to stick with it a bit longer, and think you're gonna LOVE IT btw) and need something else to move on with.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Utawarerumono is on my list for this year, can't wait to try that out.

[@Vayne_Solidor]

Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age definitely is the best JRPG I've seen, but there are some gems on this list, Tales of Arise and Ys VIII are so great. Ys IX is good too but VIII is truly superior.

[@Vayne_Solidor]

And Dana is definitely my favorite Ys character, agreed. OST is awesome. Sunshine Coastline and Vanishimg Trail, gorgeous.

[@JackieLegs12]

played yakuza like a dragon this year and it was my first jrpg. found it really enjoyable, and they found a way to make turn based combat fun imo

[@deadkodo]

I am currently in Ch6 of my replay to Tales of Cold Steel. It is just so good, possibly my fav story in any JRPG. I have played or own all of those except neo. It is a good list.

[@spiralphoenix9839]

For all of these jrpg, please look up a guide. I know a lot of people think “oh, I just want to go into this completely raw and learn it for myself.” And you can do that. But you’ll miss out on content. You can find guides for builds before you mess up your entire game. You can look up missable content and items that if you don’t grab when you can you’ll never be able to get it. And then also just general guides for extended story. For instance, persona five royal. I dropped about 90 hours and got to the end excited for semester three and I got to the end of the final ending cutscene before I realized that I’m not gonna get that part of the game cause the councilor was two levels too low and I would have to replay the game and sink a large amount of hours into it again just to play the new content. I never replayed the game yet. Maybe in the future. There are tons of guides that are spoiler free and for jrpg the main thing you’re there for is the story so you aren’t missing out on anything by being prepared.

[@peterparker1683]

My introduction is Dragon Quest XI S. I highly recommend it

[@NeZeCaede]

Ys 8 Best Pick. I started My with this as my first ever JRPG and i fall totaly in love. Just Manage my 100% on Steam a few Days Ago after 5 Full Run because i forgot just one dialog the whole time. Now i do my NG+ Run in Ys 9 for 100% and go on with the complets Ys Universe

[@Walamonga1313]

Cold Steel 1 and 2 were my life for a good 2 weeks or so. Can't recommend them enough EDIT: Oh I hear that Cold Steel and Ys OST faintly in the background, can't fool me! This is why this the best JRPG channel

[@yamivirus3275]

Great list! I would also add Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch and Valkyria Chronicles.

[@jeffjackson9679]

Valkyria is a great game, but it's not exactly easy, hence I wouldn't really recommend it to noobs. You have levels that can take 30 minutes or more, and if you die, you have to restart the whole stage all over again.

[@yamivirus3275]

@@jeffjackson9679 Well it's more of a strategy game than an rpg so I think it's understandable to not be piss easy. It is a perfectly fine game for noobs wanting to try a jrpg with strategy involved.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Valkyria Chronicles was on my mind, but it's the length of some of the missions that turned me away, they can really drag in some cases. Great game for sure, but that was the deal breaker.

[@sebastianjimenez7521]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@TheBloobster]

YAKUZA!!! The new one is probably the smoothest transition from beat em up to turn based jrpg there has ever been in a series.

[@gabrielgutierrez6086]

I hated DQ XI but after playing with draconian stronger monsters setting it's a gsmechanger and now loving it. The feeling of danger while exploring, resource management, and actually having to think makes it good for me.

[@Barrnickle]

Just finished Ys VIII on PS Plus after never hearing of the series before. Amazing. Starting Ys IX soon.

[@fierytigergaming8112]

An interesting series for people to try would be "The Caligula Effect" - the games were made by the producers of the original two Personas, and have both a catchy soundtrack and perfect story (In fact, the first one gives you an option to play as the villain - basically Persona 5's bad ending except on a larger scale)

[@NathanWubs]

The story is not perfect, it portraits mental illness very badly. Then the frame rate losses is also not really great. I would never recommend this game, and I suggest you play a lot better jrpgs.

[@fierytigergaming8112]

@@NathanWubs Are you talking about the base game, or Overdose? 1. The frame rate was a lot better in Overdose 2. The new characters portrayed mental illness better, with a character who had aphonia after watching her family die in a blaze and a guy with Claustrophobia - which is probably linked to his criminal record (But, I don't exactly remember) 3. The story's better, since you can see the game from both perspectives as opposed to the original TCE, which just had the perspective of the heroes

[@idudahkepake]

@@fierytigergaming8112 So you have to do 2 playthrough to understand the story?

[@fierytigergaming8112]

@@idudahkepake Or, you can save at the final boss and choose the other option

[@Makuro_XIII]

Such a great list coming from a true man of culture (as well) ;-D! Great recommendations there, I'm sure that any newcomer or even JRPG aficionados will find something that suits their taste in your list :D.

[@TheKisekiNut]

We're all cultured individuals here! :D

[@timhummel6967]

You are right Cold Steel was my gateway drug to the Trails series. lol

[@videogamersadvocate9925]

Dude. I actually own every game on your list including all four Trails of Cold Steel games. That typically never happens for Top 10 videos. Usually I'm missing at least a couple of games from people's lists. All of your recommendations are great games for newcomers and ones I'd recommend as well. I would also add Fire Emblem Three Houses and Yakuza: Like a Dragon to your list. Like a Dragon was a huge pleasant surprise to me with how the developers incredibly implemented JRPG elements into a Yakuza game. It is definitely worth a look for that alone although the full package is one outstanding game.

[@idudahkepake]

I want to play yakuza:lad but i don't want ruin my experience with yakuza game prior to yakuza:lad.

[@videogamersadvocate9925]

@@idudahkepake That's fair. I would recommend Like a Dragon after you've played a more conventional Yakuza game because Like a Dragon takes a much different path than the other games in the series.

[@IWBeTheGuy]

Thank you. Ys VIII added to my wishlist

[@Leadzaro_LLC]

I’m really surprised that Vandal Hearts is not on the list or even mentioned. I would say I found the game very challenging when you got to higher levels. The design of the game and characters are well done with great music and interesting story. Makes you use all your characters like a team to win . Most likely not on the list because it’s a PS1 title. But it shows how much programers and game designers put into games back then using all of the system power to run and create games.

[@statesminds]

I just started the Trails series and finished Trails in the Sky on psp. Working on SC now. My friend told me to play them in order so I have been. Gotta wait till I can get my steamdeck to be able to played the 3rd sky game.

[@skynet0912]

What made P5R (and the original for that matter...) so special to me, is that it breaks nearly every rule in the book about how a game should be designed visually, but it knows EXACTLY which ones it breaks, and it uses it to it's advantage, instead of it being a hinderence! It's flashy, but doesn't look confusing. The fonts are weird, but easily readable. The colors are insanely bright, but doesn't clash. Put on top of that a game with an excellent story, great characters and tight and simple mechanics, and you have a game i'm close to having 2000 hours in across the original and Royal...

[@TrvisXXIII]

I know once you get a chance to play Yakuza like a dragon you’re going to gush about it, mark my words lol the combat scratches that JRPG itch, and the story is so incredible, the one downside is that it becomes almost impossibly hard during the post game - which is what I had to put it down 😅 You need to move that further up on the backlog, man haha

[@death5talker45]

I have some of these, FF VIIR, Ys VIII, DQ XI, P5R, Arise. I have Nier Replicant, getting Automata soon. I have 3 Ys games and last 3 Tales of games and 9 FF games..good times.

[@the_jester3096]

Very nice list indeed. All of those are some of the best the genre has to offer

[@alangrant2728]

I feel you on the DQ XI soundtrack. I started playing the original edition a couple years ago and ended up putting it on hold. Never ended up going back because I have way too many games in my backlog for the amount of time I have. I recently picked up the PS4 version of the definitive edition on sale and I'm currently playing through it. The symphonic versions of the music helps, and it's not so bad that I see myself putting the game down before I'm finished this time, but it's still a pretty disappointing OST. The good thing is that I can at least switch over to DQ VIII over world music with this edition if I feel the need.

[@TheKisekiNut]

It's a shame, because everything else is excellent. But I place so much importance on an OST to push me through, DQXI doesn't do it.

[@EriesAston]

I played, finished and loved all of them. I´m definitely not the target audience for this video. I would need a hidden gem JRPGs video.

[@kalgeriax1016]

Trails of Cold Steel is a must if you really want to play JRPG. Yes All trails games are actually connected to each other, and you will see other characters in the recent game that had some impact. But you don't to stress yourself to start from Trails of Sky, it is very solid and good JRPG btw. You can start anywhere BUT you need play from start for each game. Like Trails of Sky has 3 games. Trails of Sky FC, Trails of Sky SC and Trails of Sky The Third. VERY SOLID, if you fan old JRPG pixel style 100% go for it. Trails from Zero And Trails of Azure are in one package or same MC. Zero is first then Azure. Finally recently, Trails Of Cold Steel. 1 2 3 4 yes it is 4. You can play any of those without worrying too much of spoilers. Well kind a . Even though each games have relation to each other it is not that Important. WELL Trails from Zero MC and his gangs met Cold Steel's MC and his gang. Because the timeline between two is not huge. Unlike Trails of Sky

[@ritsuko89]

I've already played Persona 5 Royal with Nintendo Switch. And I could say, I'm quite satisfied...the combat system is quite a step-up from previous Persona series, and it's quite fun too.

[@mattlawson8516]

Great list! Just started my second play through of Nier. Great game!

[@dougkeyes4406]

I do agree with you on Cold Steel though my first jrpg was Dragon Quest/Warrior 3 for nes

[@nethalee4914]

I have played ALL of this. Good selection. :)

[@powwowken2760]

I absolutely adore the Cold Steel series, all the way up till the very end of 3 that is 3 games and 300+ hours of gameplay building up to that very moment, and my reaction to the epic climax that's leading into the culmination of 3 different game franchises with Cold Steel 4 was, "well that was stupid".

[@El-Melloi]

Sen 4 doesn't really tie out the Crossbell or Sora characters' arcs. The Sora characters had their arc mostly finished by Ao (other than Zin who's back in Calvard), and the Crossbell characters get their resolution in Hajimari, not Sen 4. Also Sen 3's ending worked far better if you played the game when it was new. When I'd finished it and was met with that cliffhanger ending, they hadn't even announced Sen 4 yet, and we had to sit with that cliffhanger taunting us for like a full year.

[@oyoyoyo7624]

13 sentinels was my first. Like A Dragon is my favorite jrpg I’ve played so far. And yeah, I bought DQ11, and the music was a dealbreaker for me. Glad you mentioned that here!

[@Its_KaReeM]

What a great list! I am proud i played almost all of these games (7/10) except for TWEWY, 13 Sentinel, and Xenoblade. Tbh this list is amazing and i also recommend it. If i would change 1 game from this list, it would be FF7R. FF7R is a masterpiece but i won't recommend it for first timers, instead i would recommend FFXV for first timers because FF7R is quite challenging for first timers unlike FFXV which is a bit easy and enjoyable for first timers. My favorite genre of games is JRPG, and a lot of people never tried this genre. So i try my best to spread it with my family and friends. When i recommended FFXV to them. They enjoyed it so much that they asked me for another great Final Fantasy entry. So i suggested FF7R, when they played it. They enjoyed the characters and the story but not the gameplay because it was too hard and challenging for them. So for them, they enjoyed FFXV more than FF7R.

[@eliotwildermann]

I've played cold steel twice on each platform i purchased it for the ps3 vita and ps4 yup its a good game i love ng+ ❤️ 😊

[@AtelierHiso]

Solid choices :) Like it

[@ChimpRiot]

And solid list. For a first timer you don’t want to recommend something exhausting, grindy, confusing or so immature for fear they will never want to play any jrpg again.

[@mathewhosier9739]

Exactly, that's why I wouldn't recommend trails to start off, because you need to play 2 older and not as engaging games to get to the better ones

[@CinderellaCage]

My Personal 10 jrpgs (Note that not every game here is modern): 1. Persona 5 Royal - you guys understand why. 2. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir - it's like a fairytale. I LOVED IT. Though it's 30 hours for game completion, there are lots of mechanics and TONS OF Skills. Level up by eating food, do alchemy and beat HARDEST BOSSES. Definitely recommend for Sony users who own one of 4 GAME CONSOLES (PS2, PS VITA (as for portable, that's the best choice), PS3 and PS4) 3. Final Fantasy XV - though game failed, it still looks amazing. Yeah, they cut all impressive story events from Versus XIII, but the game itself still had awesome combat, beautiful open world and HUGE TURTLE WHICH YOU CAN BEAT IF YOU HAVE TONS OF PATIENCE. Spoiler alert: there's gotta be one chapter that turns the game into resident evil which I found hilarious. 4. Persona 4 Golden - for those who loves graphics, I do not recommend it. But the game has tons of interesting mechanincs that are unavailable even in Persona 5. It's good in its own way, cannot compare 5th and 4th. 5. Tales of Arise - graphics, interesting world and astonishing combat. 6. Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana - adding this series to PS VITA is great. Though I experienced some frame drops, it is great to have a portable console that can play this (Btw, there's a plugin that increases your FPS by increasing Hz and unlocking 4th CPU core) 7. Octopath Traveler - I adored pixel art of this game, and the game itself contained nice mechanics. I would recommend this, shame it's not on such consoles as Vita or 3Ds but whatever, I have PC. 8. Final Fantasy VII Remake - well, the graphics are astonishing and I love new FFVII combat 9. Kingdom Hearts III: Re:Mind - don't criticise me. The Game is weird - I know. But can we all agree that graphics and RPG mechanics are actually great? And the secret boss from Re:Mind DLC is *Spoiler alert* somebody related to FFXV (by therory)! And the completion time is pretty nice - on average including DLC, you will spend 32 hours to complete the game. 10. One Piece: World Seeker - the graphics looked great, and environment is what actually got me into this game.

[@Rowri88]

Awesome list, i would replace 13 sentinels to Odin Sphere as a beginner JRPG though, but thats just me

[@HUYI1]

Agree I have Odin sphere R download from plus extra I will play it soon 👍👍

[@masterchiefpettyofficerspa3646]

Surprising it wasn't Persona that got me into JRPGs even though that helped a ton. It was actually Valkyrie Chronicles then Tokyo Xanadu and then Persona.

[@DaddyGamerDiaries]

Great list mate. I’d include Yakuza: like a dragon along with these bangers

[@thequincy_]

I absolutely agree with all the picks. Shin Megami Tensei V is also a incredible game for newcomers- or generally anyone to play/start with. My only concern about recommending games such as: 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Persona 5 Royal, Nier Automata, and Trails of Cold Steel (Trails) is that they're VERY demanding in terms of understanding the themes and overall absorbing the atmosphere. For a newcomer, that may be a bit much, as silly as that may sound. For many it will be life altering (like myself), by understanding and pondering the indepth, philosophical themes and questions presented. But that unfortunately isn't always the case.

[@CuteAndFunnyFan]

Nah, my 1st kiseki was CS, and I had no issues with it. My 1st persona was 3 fes which was probably the hardest entry point not counting persona 1.

[@darknesswave100]

None of those games are hard to understand at all. The only ones I'd say are even close to that are 13 sentinels cause you're doing everybody's perspective and it's all over the place and nier cause that's just how that game is. The others are easy to understand. Especially p5 royal. They tell you everything that's going on 99.9% of the time

[@thequincy_]

@@CuteAndFunnyFan That isn't my point. It is irrelevant what entry you start on. My point is for *newcomers* and people in general who aren't familiar with actually analyzing and understanding the themes presented in the media they consume. You would be surprised the amount of people I have came across who don't *actually* understand what they're consuming. Both online and in-person. Part of playing and experiencing these masterful pieces of work is actually digesting the fruitful messages behind each piece of media, which inevitably leads to some form of take away. That is simply the foundation and basics of storytelling.

[@thequincy_]

@@darknesswave100 Refer to my reply to Suite Life.

[@Clauds_Corner]

I’m curious, would you by chance know any games similar to Luminous Arc 2 for the Nintendo Switch?

[@HikaruHitachiin018]

I love tales of arise! Like I can’t move on! 💕💕

[@vangazon]

I'm not a huge fan of jrpg but definitely had a great time playing some titles back in the days but never had a chance to complete it. I think my first jrpg that I actually beat was Wild Arms 4 followed by Final Fantasy 13 then Persona 5 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Currently playing Final Fantasy X HD remaster and prolly gonna continue to play Nier Automata next or FF 12 zodiac age /FF15 when the mood is right. Still waiting for the price of Dragon Quest XI and Tales of Arise to drop though.

[@moncefbkb9353]

I'm not a huge jrpg fan, I usually hate the grind and the anime tropes, but I will recommend Atelier Ryza, it sounds like a girlish cutesy anime game but no, it's a true jrpg with a lot of that sense of adventure and wonder to it, the music is exceptional, the characters are really cool, the gameplay is great and focuses on crafting (since it's an alchemy themed game) and it blends so well with the story and makes the side quests so much more interesting (since it's more varied than with other jrpgs where you need to kill or fetch stuff). The game starts slow and bland but gradually opens up to you, it's careful to never drop too much stuff on you so you'll always feel like you discover something new like a new mechanic or a new side to a character's personality. I'm no game reviewer, just try this gem.

[@TybudX]

I never made it very far into any DQ game in the past. I tried to play III when it came out, tried to play VIII, just never made much headway. DQXI on Switch was the first JRPG I've finished in like forever. I'm an official member of the He-Man Woman Haters Club but I cried more than once playing the latest DQ. lt'sd ham-fisted and fun and the combat is great, but at the end of the day it was the story that kept me going. You look at these characters in screenshots and they look so dopey, but twenty hours in I was lost in their story. They are poeple like you and me.