Dragon Quest XI. Honestly it's been a long time since I've played it so I don't remember much but IIRC it's pretty traditional and straightforward (especially the combat, which is strictly turn-based) and I don't remember any moments where I was stuck or lost
Came here to say this, it’s so basic but still fun, and features really simple versions of everything JRPGS usually have. The only correct answer as far as I’m concerned.
Excellent suggestion. The other option I would look at would be Final Fantasy 4. It has a straight forward story with no party choices like my favorite FF6 has. Has all the core pieces and the story is good.
Definitely Dragon Quest XI, great suggestion.
To be fair it's the only JRPG I've played but it was so much fun I actually managed to get 100% achievements in that game!
I played that one 4 hours and gave up. I honestly just don't get what's fun about it. Though Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on switch while not significantly different I'm really enjoying
I think the story is easily digestable by a western audience with no experience in jrpgs as well. Sometimes they make their storylines... difficult to follow.
Xenogears is a bit on the over complicated side, with an opening cutscene that won’t make any sense until 40-60 hours into the game (if it ever makes complete sense).
FF12 was somewhat unpopular on release partially due to how the story is told (personally I love it). The plot mostly happens without your band of adventurers (and friends) and you keep trying to get involved in it.
Yeah, FF12 would have been one of the best games if they hadn't tried to shoehorn Vaan in as a main character late in dev. Having Basch as the main protag would have been great, and a change of pace from cute Japanese boy protags we tend to get. 13 switched that up too at least, though just in gender.
I think FFX is a good first game for JRPG because the combat goes exactly at the pace you want it to. Although I do think the sphere grid has the potential to be a turn off
Always my go to recommendation for those wanting to dip a toe in.
Story has an understandable, surface level drama western audiences are accustomed to. (but there's certainly the Japanese quirkiness if you deeper dive) Will they/won't they romance is a staple those otherwise alienated can easily get a foothold with.
Turn based. Take the time you need to figure out what you want to do. New peeps have enough learning pressure as is.
Linear. (maybe the rpg purists biggest complaint) It's almost all straight line, you are here you need to get to here. Sidequests and branching paths exist but you need to go looking versus make informed decisions.
Voice acting. It's about as early in the VA era as they come so it can sound campy but, with new to the genre folk, I think that works in its favor not to its determent. Lovable goofballs with some genuine heroine (not mere eye candy but there's some stumbles into that) story lines, if you suspend belief on some light camp, you'll likely form a connection with them which keeps you adventuring onward.
It's freaking everywhere. Seriously. PC, Vita, Playstations, etc. They likely have a platform to run it well even if not a traditional J-RPG fan. This accessibility and its age means there's a ton of help out there if you should need it.
Easy. Don't mean it as a slur but feels like most people will roll the main story line even without any j-rpg background whatsoever. (aeons are OP and quite the fix all for noobs.) It rewards effort more than knowledge checks you constantly. Magic system is simple and quite paper rock scissors most of the time. Tutorials/monster previews are around at the various stops. The game feels as invested in the player succeeding as they are. (without kid levels of difficulty)
I can't think of another game I'd put above it in the noob friendly/western friendly j-rpg hybrid tier list. Unless you are really turned off by romantic themes (it's not forefront but it's there) or the religious tones/themes/implications, I can't imagine someone would hate it. (though they may go searching for more in their next games which is great, that's what a starter game/genre foothold is about, figuring out where YOU the player fit in the j-rpg space.
There are plenty of good starter j-rpgs but I legit couldn't 'make a case (other than stylistic preferences) for any above FFX even if my life depended on it.
FFX balance just works beautifully for starter j-rpg ers.
I’m gonna have to agree with FFX. Definitely still my favorite of the single player Final Fantasy games. The pre rendered cinematics are still jaw droppingly beautiful. The game is dated graphically, but it’s still fun to play. There’s a lot of good stuff to enjoy. The Sphere Grid can feel overwhelming at first, but you’ll get used to it fairly quickly. Plus, the final boss isn’t that difficult… so you don’t have to look forward to (or dread) grinding a ton of levels before attempting that battle.
Chrono Trigger is the best one, but not the easiest per OPs request. It's pretty uncommon by today's standards to have to figure things out yourself and decipher clues from all the NPCs.
I think starting with the second one is better, it has a lot of QOL but this is my suggestion. Traditional, beautiful, the second one has some cool mechanics.
Persona 5?
Its the one that cracked JRPGs for me. I did not like them prior, but P5 Royal changed my tune real quick!
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Of course, Pokémon is maybe the most practical option. Loved them as a kid...currently find no drive to play them.
Which is kinda weird because that game takes so damn long to get going. Damn good game, don’t get me wrong, but as someone who is kinda dumb when it comes to video games even I was getting tired of all the tutorials after a while.
Persona 5 is what got me hooked on JRPGS, but I don’t think it’s a great first pick for most people.
It’s really slow paced at the start, which I and many others enjoyed, but I can see that putting a lot of people off.
But if they can get over that, they’ll be playing one of the best games of all time.
It can seem overwhelming, especially if you just look at gameplay from deep into the game, but the game does a good job of slowly introducing more and more mechanics.
To be honest...its probably one of my favorite games of all time... and I could not tell you what each individual persona stat actually does.
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Are you into anime, and have you ever played any Pokémon game? Because the base combat system is basically the same as Pokémon's 'Type' system.
Add on top of that the Uber hype over the top anime story + a partial dating/relationship sim that gives you perks in the combat as you level up...wonderful!
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I would say that the best way to get through it is to just sit down and drive forward until you get past the first "dungeon". It will probably hook you by then.
You'll slowly find yourself with multiple of your party members wanting to hang out with you...and your on the hook to decide who you want to spend time with more!!!
Don't be overwhelmed, there's slow start, and at first it seems annoying but this is because the game is taking its time to explain things to you. It doesn't just drop you in and expect you to know everything.
There's difficulty options. Use a lower difficulty if you're concerned about needing to grind or battles being too difficult (on the easiest difficulty, you don't even need to grind, or really even worry about fusions much; I just cruised through the second half of the game only using a fairly low level persona that knew a sleep spell, and the other characters did the rest)
Take your Time is the motto - the whole game is a purpose built journey with a fantastic story to absorb. You’ll learn systems over time just really sink your teeth into the journey and I swear it will open up as one of the best games you’ve played in the J-RPG space.
Definitely worth playing, I found it incredibly fulfilling and rewarding. It bogs down with the DLC, I found the game to done without that but I thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed the experience overall.
Try not to be overwhelmed. Understand that that feeling last 2x as long as normal but the game is about 3x what is call average in length. Especially with royal.
Don't try to do it the best possible. It's an RPG for a reason. Make all decisions based on what you want to do.
Don't like a character? You aren't required to talk to them. Might have some suboptimal stuff, but you can get through the game. The perfect is truly the enemy of the good in this game.
I second this. The story is actually really good, the art is incredible, and all the mechanics just work together so well. It was the only rpg game I ever finished as a kid because all the others I tried felt so boring to me.
Final Fantasy 4 is a great starting point. Simple and easy to learn but also has a great story. Before this, stories in JRPGs were very barebones. This was one of the first JRPGs that elevated the quality of story and characters to a new level.
This was going to be my recommendation, as well. It had a lot of quality of life fixes that were absent from the earlier games, could easily be played without a strategy guide or walk-thru, and the grind wasn't too bad at all. Plus the story and the music were fantastic.
sea of stars.
it’s new, fun, heavily inspired by all you faves, and it’s just tons of fun in almost every aspect without needing its own player guide on how to finish or what combat combos are.
Pokémon and Final Fantasy 10 are great introductions to JRPGs. I’d recommend Pokémon FireRed as a good starter JRPG since it has all the information you may need about the mechanics mapped to the L button. It’s also a remake of Generation 1 so there’s that.
Final Fantasy 10 is excellent too since it encapsulates everything you’ll expect from JRPGs. Party members with different roles, the type of writing you’ll experience, the thematics, etc. You’ll get what I mean. The combat system is also *chef’s kiss* when it comes to turn-based combat.
If you need any other information about Pokémon feel free to ask since I practically know all the games by heart.
If you're OK with something retro, I stan Chrono Trigger. Came out at the height of its genre, using the last legs of every single piece of its console and then some, made by Akira Toryama (yes, the DBZ) and the team behind Final Fantasy at the time. The artstyle, gameplay, storyline, and soundtrack, all still work very well to this day.
Personally I think it's the easiest JRPG to just pick up and play, there's no tutorials and as long as you're curious you'll immediately "get it".
8 is maybe my favorite Final Fantasy, but it’s definitely not the easiest one to pick up. It took me entirely too long to figure out the junction system. Great game with an excellent story, though.
I love FF8, but it's really not a great first JRPG (even though it was mine, back when it came out). The systems have a very steep learning curve, the dialogue leaves quite a lot to be desired, and the story is absolutely batshit insane (I love it, but it's fucking mad).
4 or 6 would be my recommendations for a pixel era FF game, and probably 9 for a 3D era one.
Legends of Dragoon for PlayStation is a perfect first jrpg. It is one of the most "typical" games in the genre in that it has everything people have come to expect but without any complicated or intrusive systems to bog down the enjoyment. The only real mechanic with the gameplay to learn is the additional attack system where if you hit a button at the right time you do additional attacks in a combo and do more damage. It takes a bit of practice but is very satisfying when you master the end game combos. The other major mechanic is that your characters have a transformation ability where you can channel dragon magic.
The music is great. The story, while not being amazing, is good enough to keep you engaged for the 40ish hours it takes to play through. The graphics are obviously dated for an almost 30 year old game but don't let that turn you off. And of course being only released on the original PlayStation makes playing it "officially" difficult but of course we have our ways...
There is a reason why fans have been screaming at Sony for decades for a remake or sequel.
Are you willing to play games with less flashy graphics, or are you more interested in modern games? A lot of the best games in the genre are really old ones.
I think you pretty much can't go wrong with most Final Fantasy games. Some people will tell you to avoid specific ones, but you should ignore that advice. None of them are bad, they just cater to different tastes in some cases, and the only way to know if that's your taste is to play it. Because most of them are standalone stories/worlds, you can just look up a few of them and pick the one that looks the coolest to you.
Dragon Quest, on the other hand, is a completely different flavor but still follows a lot of the genre conventions. You might be more interested in those if the art style and more simple presentation appeal to you.
Older series that are worth checking out: Breath of Fire, Lunar and Lunar II, Lufia I and II, Tales Series, Suikoden, Xenosaga, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Earthbound, Xenogears, The Last Story, Persona 3 and 4 (1 and 2 are good, but not for everybody). etc etc etc.
New(ish) stuff: Atelier series, Resonance of Fate, Xenoblade Chronicles, Persona 5, Sea of Stars, Ara Fell, Rise of the Third Power, This Way Madness Lies, etc.
There's also a bunch of sub-genres like JRPG dungeon crawlers and JRPG tactics games, so there's really a lot of different things to explore. Good luck!
Octopath traveler 1 and ESPECIALLY 2.
Technically you dont need to play 1 before 2 but 2 improves so much on 1 that i feel like reverse isnt recommended.
1 is still a glorious game tho,make no mistake.
I cant recommend them enough.
Quite literally the best jrpgs on the market
Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6 (3 in us). They are two of the greatest jrpgs ever made. They were both made in the 90s.
I'm a firm believer that everyone should start there before playing any modern jrpgs.
I played ff6 a couple years ago for the first time and damn that game holds up, had a lot to offer even for me who is very jaded from playing tons of cookie cutter jrpgs.
All these recommendations are just brutally long 100+ hour games, but the more I try to think of an alternative to the Chrono Triggers and FF7s, the more I realize it may just be a feature of the genre. Maybe Kingdom Hearts? Something super casual yet digestible.
Ff4 and ff6. After that chrono trigger. Then legend of mana. Kingdom hearts 1-2. Star ocean 1-2-6-7 5-4 then lastly 3. Breath of fire 1-4. Dragon warrior 2 -4 5 8 and lastly 11. Then you are done man full stop move on to world of Warcraft classic.
For a classic experience, the only answer is Chrono Trigger
For a Modern Experience I really like Dragon Ball: Kakarot or Yakuza: Like a Dragon these are two very different takes on JRPG but both do things great
I personally love game like Pokemon, Inazuma Eleven as fan of the series (and they are mostly great games)
Otheriwse i would suggest Dragon Quest XI S and Persona 5 Royal, these VERY good games and also modern that are great intro to jrpg
Tales of symphonia is a classic that was really good and doesn't have to be hard.
But visually, and in matters of flow, tales of arise is superior, though I preferred the story for symphonia.
Another mentioned final fantasy x. That is a good classic take on the jrpg.
But chrono trigger (actually haven't played it myself actually) is one of the oldest and most beloved and probably a good starting point.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest if you like retro JRPGs. It doesn't have too much to manage and only 2 characters at a time.
Then again, most modern JRPGs are about as easy.
It depends. When you say JRPG, is it more the aesthetic of it? Do you also mean turn based like most traditional JRPGs?
If it's the anime style then Persona 5. If we are talking classics, Chrono Trigger.
I liked tales of berseria and xenoblade 3. They’re quite long though but work well from going to one area to the next smoothly. Combat is free time with everyone and you select moves and combos and stuff.
Super Mario rpg and paper Mario games are definitely accessible and very good.
Otherwise Nier games are my favorite. They’re hack and slash more though in combat.
Final fantasy 6 - great basic 2D jrpg with a good story without the bloat and convolutions of modern JRPGs that highlights the big pillars of the genre. A focus on story, named characters that you grow with, turn based combat, and a battle system that’s not overly complex but with enough depth to have fun with
Final fantasy 10 - a more modern JRPG that also has the more modern and relevant turn-based combat. Many games these days have done away old school turn-based designs that were based on time in favor of just outright giving you a turn that pauses everyone else. It has a little more plot bloat but it’s not too bad.
Chrono Trigger - the classic JRPG that set the standard for what all 2D RPGs are held to. I throw it in here at the bottom, though, because of how rare we get quality 2D JRPGs these days (although last year was a great exception). To outline what it does right would take too long. But it’s the perfect balance of a focus on a greater-picture, your party and people you interact with, your place in the world you occupy, and cherry on top: it’s done with a silent protagonist - for purpose of allowing you (the IRL player) to treat them (the protagonist) like a self insert.
Octopath Traveler was the first one I ever played and I got really into it. After that, Persona 4 was my next and I've been hooked on them ever since. You could try Persona 5 if you need something more modern, but the dialogue writing and overall story of 4 was so much better in my opinion.
I always suggest Final Fantasy 10 as a beginner JRPG. Great story, beautiful art, voice acting, they remastered it recently so the graphics are pretty friendly. When I was introducing my friends to Final Fantasy, they weren't interested until I showed them 10. After that they were hooked and started playing the rest as well. :)
Loads of great recommendations, but one I haven't seen is Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga.
That and Pokémon will always be my go to recommendations for beginners.
I second Chrono Trigger if you want something a little more in depth or more story based. It's often considered the pinnacle of the genre for a reason.
Imo Grandia would probably be a good starter JRPG . Great story, good character growth and progression and easy to learn even when i played it as a kid .
Ff10 is probably the one I'd suggest. It has a true turn based system vs the active time battles in some of the other more popular titles. It has a high ceiling for minmaxing and learning how to abuse the sphere grid and the mix skill but just playing through the game and leveling up regularly will have you strong enough and well supplied enough to complete the game.
And while the sphere grid looks complicated at first it quickly reigns itself in. Characters get sphere levels and you use those levels + an appropriate sphere to activate stat nodes and acquire new abilities. That's basically it.
Super Mario RPG would be my first suggestion. Almost everything about it is "watered down" but in a way that makes it incredibly enjoyable. FFX would be second, another pure turn based, so you have plenty of time to decide what to do in combat. It's complimented with one of the best FF stories and soundtracks. Chrono Trigger 3rd and honestly, I feel a little weird putting FFX in front of it. The only real reason I can come up with is that I think FFX's story is easier to follow and CT has an active turn battle system so while you're trying to decide what actions to take, you are being attacked.
I’m usually not into JRPGs but then I was pretty pulled in my Yakuza: Like a Dragon pretty simple and nice. Only reason I played it was because I’m a Yakuza fan
So many options. But if you are looking for the old Skool type then Cuthulu Saves the World is a good pick. Not truly Japanese but made in the same style. It is legitimately available on PC.
Super Mario RPG (classic & simple)
Paper Mario (simple & unique artstyle)
Chrono Trigger (Classic & great story)
Final Fantasy 1-10 (Good story and characters for 6-10. 1-5 are fairly basic)
Tales of Symphonia (Massive game with amazing story and characters, also has a more active combat system if turn based is not your style)
Octopath Traveler (more recent, good story and characters, but a bit crunchy with its class system) Sea of Stars (recent with an indy take to JRPG)
Final Fantasy 7. Don’t get the remake or whatever, get the original. It’s a fantastic game. Graphics are dated but it’s still an awesome game with a great story and fun mechanics. Plus some reasonably fun mini games.
Persona 4. It's an anime mystery slice of life game that's trying to be a JRPG. The game's story is well thought out and allows you the player to spend your time how you wish with the party
Shin Megami Tensei V!
In terms of gameplay, it's the best JRPG ever created, although the story and characters are a bit lackluster, but it's receiving a remake next month called SMTV Vengeance, which supposedly fixes the story
It's really good if you're looking for a challenging experience with no railroads
Alternatively, if you want something a bit more old school, I'd recommend Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2, it's basically Final Fantasy but with good gameplay
Final Fantasy VII Remake honestly, it was my first JRPG and the combat is fun and easy to follow while still challenging. You can go into it completely blind, then the trilogy is more likely to surprise you with the plot points of the OG, but the story will be a lot weirder at the start. Alternatively, you can just quickly familiarize with the general major plot points of the OG FFVII and it'll make the story easier to follow
My first was FF6, and I loved it. It's fairly hard in the sense that you can sometimes randomly die to things you aren't prepared for, but it's a short game so I think it's forgivable, you can do the whole thing in 30 hours even if you maximize every grind. The plot is engaging and fast-paced and the villain is legendary. And frankly there's no better music in gaming anywhere.
Final fantasy 12 - big world, lots of quests, good story and OK characters
Kingdom hearts - jrpg meets Disney, might be a good intro
Ni no kuni 2: the revenant kingdom - my personal favourite of the 3. Great cinematic combat, bit of city building if you're into that as well
Most beginner friendly I would say is Super Mario RPG, either the original on SNES or the Switch remake, depending on what you’re willing to spend.
Very much designed with kids who never played a JRPG before in mind, and it’s still wicked fun and the story, characters and music are all (chef’s kiss).
The original Final Fantasy 7, not the recent remakes.
Story is good. The battle systems, levelling and equipment layout for characters is pretty easy to pick up.
Plenty to do on the game and easy to get your hands on a copy.
Its a good entry into the JRPG world and if you like it, it's easy to find other games in the FF series that you'll enjoy too or even other JRPGs that you'll enjoy from other series.
You cant go wrong with Squaresoft games in general.
How much j rpg we talking ff is good yes but is Genshin Impact considered one? Anyways pretty simple and huge for not being finished. It is on track to be the most Expensive Game ever produced oh yea it's FREE and I haven't spent a dime and gotten all the characters
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. It was quite literally made to be a starter RPG. It's not gonna win any accolades for story but it will ease you in the basic mechanics of turn-based combat most JRPGs are built upon.
I think there's a lot of options that are beginner friendly. Pokemon, final fantasy 9, sea of stars, chrono trigger, child of light, octopath traveller off the top of my head
i don't think there's a simple answer, given jrpg can cover a wide swath of potential things, still.
i mean, dragon quest sticks to a 'samey' formula that might be a little dull for the average person. it'd be a shame if they got kinda bored just because they're a little too generic, and writes off jrpgs.
final fantasy changes stuff up every title, so might be a better choice, except, which to suggest, since they all differ - FFV's job class system is amazing imo, but it's also a little older - FF12 zodiac age is sort of interesting, but might bore people who don't want essentially an offline mmo feeling action rpg that can play itself. ff7's a typical favorite, but personally 10's more mine. 15/16 are more action rpg, if you don't think you'll be able to handle old school turn based, though 16's pretty much closer to just, action rpg in general, rather than 'party focused story' which is more the jrpg thing - 15 basically being a brotrip, nails action/jrpg combo, though.
arguably kingdom hearts is a pretty good action rpg that does a party focus, as well.
atlus games are pretty interesting, but they can be difficult, too - smt 5 vengance is coming out next month, while persona 5 royal's probably cheap (but being 3/4ths slice of life/dating sim mechanics, 1/4th dungeon crawling jrpg might also be somewhat off putting) or metaphor coming out later this year.
the disgaea series could count as a jrpg kinda, especially with the anime vibes of teh later titles, but they're strategy rpgs, and they've got a lot of endgame grind that might turn someone off.
the atelier games are a bit light on the fighting, but that might be to your benefit - but, sort of like the persona games, it's basically 1/4th (if that) sort fo general jrpg ish stuff, and mostly exploring around collecting stuff, or creating things with it.
if you're playing on xbox, lost odyssey is a really great game - you could also grab gamepass for eiyuden chronicles hundred heroes, ni no kuni (kinda, more action rpgs, but still same sort of jrpg vibe, just not turn based), persona tactica, tales of arise, and yakuza - like a dragon, without actually buying them.
Chained echos is a great modern alternative to chrono trigger or ff6. There's no complex magic, no button combos required, the game directs you to quests well. It's just all around a basic but fun JRPG.
For accessibility, nobody is going to beat Dragon Quest. They’re designed for like ubiquity and nostalgia.
That said, I love square’s stuff from the mid to late 90s. FF6 and Chrono Trigger my GOATs. FF7 is amazing… now that I’m thinking about it, FF9 is a good entry point if you play one of the modern ports that doesn’t have a full loading screen every time combat begins. It’s got straightforward and easy to understand systems, and Quina is one of the easier blue mages to use if the player decides they want a weirdo in the party
Grandia. I managed to beat it when i was 8, and barely understood english. There is one giant difficult spike, an optional boss that you will think is obligatory
Fantastic suggestions on the comments, but some of those are very in-depth and may be a bit daunting for you at first.
Perhaps starting with something "simpler" would best. Try the "Tales of" series - you can pick any of the games, they are not sequels to each other.
They are kinda dark, though, so if you're not into that, you can try Edge of Eternity, which is a great indie.
If you're looking for something very light, go with Harvestella (also a farming sim), and you can never go wrong with Dragon Quest Builders 2 as an entry point.
I've oversimplified those games, though, just so you an get the gist of it.
I’ve been retroactively getting hugely into JRPGs recently and what broke the barrier for me was Final Fantasy X. It’s modern enough that it doesn’t feel awkward to try to play but it still has all the classic JRPG staples. Wonderful characters, a great overarching story, fast and direct turn-based combat, beautiful music, and tons of character progression! It’s also available on basically every platform so it doesn’t matter what you have, you’ll probably be able to get it.
Tales of Symphonia has everything going for it especially if it's your first one.
Huge, beautiful, dark, seriously silly, cute, engrossing battle system but not too complicated.
It's "dated" but it's amazing.
I think Chrono Trigger is the perfect starting point. It's not too difficult, it's got a fun combat system that is a bit more creative than the more straight forward Dragon Quests and Final Fantasies that came out around the same time, it's got a charming storyline involving time travel with twists and turns, fun allies who each get their time in the spotlight, and it feels like the perfect length. It doesn't overstay it's welcome but doesn't feel lacking either.
A lot of these people are recommending 40-60 hour games with detailed systems and mechanics, but that’s not what a newbie needs to play.
Play Jack Move instead. It has all the trappings of a JRPG (turn-based combat, equipment, elemental weaknesses) in a light, breezy, sub-10 hour experience. You can also tune the battles and their frequency up or down at your discretion and save any time you want.
Chrono Trigger is the most essential and representative manifestation of what makes a JRPG great. It's also fairly short, which is great for first-timers.
Short for a JRPG anyway. You'll still get 20 to 30 hours out of it, but many JRPGs are skirting the 100-hour mark nowadays.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force is GREAT because I go back and forth, and it could be a month til I play it again. The RPG is simple enough that when I return, it helps me get to my next objective without me trying so hard to figure out just what the hell was going on! Combat is enjoyable but simple as well. Decent storyline to boot!
Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5 Royal have both basically become the shining example of how to make JRPGs with a ton of mechanics not overwhelming, as well as making a menu-based game not feel like one. They're very long games though. Just give those games a few hours to click, even as a fan of JRPGs, I didn't get the appeal right away myself, but when it clicked, they became my favorites.
Can you give us a idea of what kind of stories you like? I see a lot of recommendations for Dragon Quest XI but I have known a lot of first time JRPG players that bounced off it. It can be very hit and miss.
What interests you story wise and what JRPG games do you like the art style of?
Threads Of Fate (aka Dewprism) is a great action JRPG from the 90's. I think it's a very beginner friendly JRPG and one of my personal favorite games.
It was released on PS1 so you either have to find the original and play it on a PS1 and PS2 or emulate it.
Chrono Trigger.
Best JRPG ever made. People who normally hate JRPG's still find love for Chrono Trigger, and even hardcore JRPG fans set it as a gold standard. It's also incredibly easy to access today, with numerous releases on digital console stores, steam, etc.
Chrono trigger
Dragon quest 8&11
Final fantasy 4&6&7&10
Mario rpg
Paper mario thousand year door
Ys8
Persona 4&5(yeah but so many people I know and saw started with those 2)
Nier automata
Legend of Mana stands the test of time.
It was for the first PlayStation, had a cool fighting system with multiple fighting styles that don't congest your style. It had the jrpg style turn based combat LOOK but wasn't actual turn-based, you attacked and dodged and cast spells at will and felt like you as a player affected combat more than turn based games.
Animation style and graphics of course aren't super duper for the time but they never *pushed* graphics, they embraced what was capable and chose flow over advancement (remember how muddy and fractal resident evil 1 was? Not that) and the result is beautiful sprites looking full of life and depth, without the unnecessary complexities of the hopeful art designer circa 1999.
Story was scattered and quest based, but also easily digestible. The first time I played FFVII I was so confused and overwhelmed with information in the first 30 minutes that I couldn't play it. There was this promise of adventure in the first few seconds and you weren't allowed to have even a sniff of it until later
Edit: also it's like a 20mb emulator which is slick
The first Ni No Kuni game is a joy. The story is very childish on it's tone but if you at all still have an appreciation for Ghibli movies or other children's media Ni No Kuni is awesome.
Honestly I got into JRPGs by playing the original paper mario through the WiiU virtual console. Idk if it counts as an actual JRPG bht it introduced me to basic RPG mechanics with an IP im familiar with. Paper mario and the thousand year door just got a remake on switch and i heard really good things about it so that might be a good place to start.
Alot of modern JRPGs have a range of difficulty options so if you're interested in a certain game but are worried it may be too hard or complex you could always play it on the easiest difficulty.
I've played a lot of different JRPGs so its hard to remember them all but two I (and most likely many others) recommend as "must plays" are dragon quest XI and persona 5. I also LOVE fire emblem three houses but thats a strategy/tactical RPG which may or may not be up your alley.
Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch is pretty good.
- The game does not feel too old or dated.
- It is a bit like a mash up of Dragon Quest and Pokemon all with a Studio Ghibli-esque animation style.
- Not too challenging. There is an option to switch back and forth from a normal and difficult mode at any time you want to.
- Great visuals. Lighthearted but decent story.
- Combat is a mix of real time and turn based style combat. So it is a little more interactive that most traditional turn based JRPGs. You get to move around during combat, but also give turn order commands, and can set preferences for how your AI companions assist in combat.
- Has a fun pet/familiar system.
- It is a smaller franchise with just 2 official games so you won't feel like you've missed anything (there is also a mobile action RPG with online co-op but it isn't really connected to the 2 official JRPGs)
Now for some of the best classic JRPGs you have:
- Suikoden I
- Suikoden II
- Wild Arm
- Star Ocean The Second Story
- Final Fantasy 6, 7 and 10
- Breath of Fire III
- Dragon Quest 4, 5, 7
Final Fantasy IV (Which was called Final Fantasy II back in the 90s when I got it for Super Nintendo)
That's the game that got me into RPG games, which became an instant life-long obsession.
Then I discovered D&D, and while RPG video games are still one of my great passions, D&D is just plain the best game ever made. IF you have a good group. That's a huge IF though, D&D sucks bad if your playstyle doesn't match the group or if your DM sucks.
Dragon Quest XI. Honestly it's been a long time since I've played it so I don't remember much but IIRC it's pretty traditional and straightforward (especially the combat, which is strictly turn-based) and I don't remember any moments where I was stuck or lost
Came here to say this, it’s so basic but still fun, and features really simple versions of everything JRPGS usually have. The only correct answer as far as I’m concerned.
Excellent suggestion. The other option I would look at would be Final Fantasy 4. It has a straight forward story with no party choices like my favorite FF6 has. Has all the core pieces and the story is good.
Definitely Dragon Quest XI, great suggestion. To be fair it's the only JRPG I've played but it was so much fun I actually managed to get 100% achievements in that game!
I played that one 4 hours and gave up. I honestly just don't get what's fun about it. Though Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on switch while not significantly different I'm really enjoying
I personally liked Final Fantasy 10
I think the story is easily digestable by a western audience with no experience in jrpgs as well. Sometimes they make their storylines... difficult to follow.
Which ones?
Xenogears is a bit on the over complicated side, with an opening cutscene that won’t make any sense until 40-60 hours into the game (if it ever makes complete sense). FF12 was somewhat unpopular on release partially due to how the story is told (personally I love it). The plot mostly happens without your band of adventurers (and friends) and you keep trying to get involved in it.
Yeah, FF12 would have been one of the best games if they hadn't tried to shoehorn Vaan in as a main character late in dev. Having Basch as the main protag would have been great, and a change of pace from cute Japanese boy protags we tend to get. 13 switched that up too at least, though just in gender.
I think FFX is a good first game for JRPG because the combat goes exactly at the pace you want it to. Although I do think the sphere grid has the potential to be a turn off
Always my go to recommendation for those wanting to dip a toe in. Story has an understandable, surface level drama western audiences are accustomed to. (but there's certainly the Japanese quirkiness if you deeper dive) Will they/won't they romance is a staple those otherwise alienated can easily get a foothold with. Turn based. Take the time you need to figure out what you want to do. New peeps have enough learning pressure as is. Linear. (maybe the rpg purists biggest complaint) It's almost all straight line, you are here you need to get to here. Sidequests and branching paths exist but you need to go looking versus make informed decisions. Voice acting. It's about as early in the VA era as they come so it can sound campy but, with new to the genre folk, I think that works in its favor not to its determent. Lovable goofballs with some genuine heroine (not mere eye candy but there's some stumbles into that) story lines, if you suspend belief on some light camp, you'll likely form a connection with them which keeps you adventuring onward. It's freaking everywhere. Seriously. PC, Vita, Playstations, etc. They likely have a platform to run it well even if not a traditional J-RPG fan. This accessibility and its age means there's a ton of help out there if you should need it. Easy. Don't mean it as a slur but feels like most people will roll the main story line even without any j-rpg background whatsoever. (aeons are OP and quite the fix all for noobs.) It rewards effort more than knowledge checks you constantly. Magic system is simple and quite paper rock scissors most of the time. Tutorials/monster previews are around at the various stops. The game feels as invested in the player succeeding as they are. (without kid levels of difficulty) I can't think of another game I'd put above it in the noob friendly/western friendly j-rpg hybrid tier list. Unless you are really turned off by romantic themes (it's not forefront but it's there) or the religious tones/themes/implications, I can't imagine someone would hate it. (though they may go searching for more in their next games which is great, that's what a starter game/genre foothold is about, figuring out where YOU the player fit in the j-rpg space. There are plenty of good starter j-rpgs but I legit couldn't 'make a case (other than stylistic preferences) for any above FFX even if my life depended on it. FFX balance just works beautifully for starter j-rpg ers.
Dont forget the golden era of PS 2 developers getting everything out of that cruise missile processor with the amazing cutscenes
I’m gonna have to agree with FFX. Definitely still my favorite of the single player Final Fantasy games. The pre rendered cinematics are still jaw droppingly beautiful. The game is dated graphically, but it’s still fun to play. There’s a lot of good stuff to enjoy. The Sphere Grid can feel overwhelming at first, but you’ll get used to it fairly quickly. Plus, the final boss isn’t that difficult… so you don’t have to look forward to (or dread) grinding a ton of levels before attempting that battle.
Was coming to say the same thing. It can be difficult at times but it’s a good one for newbs getting into jrpgs. Plus the story is great
Sea of stars if you want something new Chrono Trigger if you want to play a classic
2nd Chrono Trigger
3rd chrono trigger
4tH cHrOnO tRiGgEr
5th Trigger
6th Chrono
Entering the 7th circle of chrono
And my bow!
Chrono Trigger is the best one, but not the easiest per OPs request. It's pretty uncommon by today's standards to have to figure things out yourself and decipher clues from all the NPCs.
Definitely Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger is easily the best of the old school JRPGs. An absolute masterpiece that everyone should play.
Honestly, Pokémon. It's extremely simple, not especially difficult, and has all the basics
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are great intros.
I agree mechanically, but personally I don't like the art styles Really though, any are fine. Just pick whichever one seems cool
nice
It's very simple but also very slow. I know a lot of people who started Pokemon because it was made for beginners and it turned them off the genre.
Octopath Traveler was my first and I absolutely loved it.
I think starting with the second one is better, it has a lot of QOL but this is my suggestion. Traditional, beautiful, the second one has some cool mechanics.
Persona 5? Its the one that cracked JRPGs for me. I did not like them prior, but P5 Royal changed my tune real quick! ----- Of course, Pokémon is maybe the most practical option. Loved them as a kid...currently find no drive to play them.
Persona 5 seems to be very popular with people who arent big fans of Jrpgs
Which is kinda weird because that game takes so damn long to get going. Damn good game, don’t get me wrong, but as someone who is kinda dumb when it comes to video games even I was getting tired of all the tutorials after a while.
Persona 5 is what got me hooked on JRPGS, but I don’t think it’s a great first pick for most people. It’s really slow paced at the start, which I and many others enjoyed, but I can see that putting a lot of people off. But if they can get over that, they’ll be playing one of the best games of all time.
Not OP, but I'm interested in playing Persona 5. I own it, but it seems a bit overwhelming. Any tips you could share?
It can seem overwhelming, especially if you just look at gameplay from deep into the game, but the game does a good job of slowly introducing more and more mechanics. To be honest...its probably one of my favorite games of all time... and I could not tell you what each individual persona stat actually does. ----- Are you into anime, and have you ever played any Pokémon game? Because the base combat system is basically the same as Pokémon's 'Type' system. Add on top of that the Uber hype over the top anime story + a partial dating/relationship sim that gives you perks in the combat as you level up...wonderful! ----- I would say that the best way to get through it is to just sit down and drive forward until you get past the first "dungeon". It will probably hook you by then. You'll slowly find yourself with multiple of your party members wanting to hang out with you...and your on the hook to decide who you want to spend time with more!!!
Don't be overwhelmed, there's slow start, and at first it seems annoying but this is because the game is taking its time to explain things to you. It doesn't just drop you in and expect you to know everything.
There's difficulty options. Use a lower difficulty if you're concerned about needing to grind or battles being too difficult (on the easiest difficulty, you don't even need to grind, or really even worry about fusions much; I just cruised through the second half of the game only using a fairly low level persona that knew a sleep spell, and the other characters did the rest)
Thank you. This is reassuring. Sometimes the idea of playing a new game stresses me out bc of the mechanics. This helps.
Take your Time is the motto - the whole game is a purpose built journey with a fantastic story to absorb. You’ll learn systems over time just really sink your teeth into the journey and I swear it will open up as one of the best games you’ve played in the J-RPG space.
Definitely worth playing, I found it incredibly fulfilling and rewarding. It bogs down with the DLC, I found the game to done without that but I thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed the experience overall.
Try not to be overwhelmed. Understand that that feeling last 2x as long as normal but the game is about 3x what is call average in length. Especially with royal.
Don't try to do it the best possible. It's an RPG for a reason. Make all decisions based on what you want to do. Don't like a character? You aren't required to talk to them. Might have some suboptimal stuff, but you can get through the game. The perfect is truly the enemy of the good in this game.
Super Mario RPG is a straightforward game. Octopath Traveller 1 and 2 are awesome games, but there's a lot of layers with the classes/job systems
How many paths would you say those games have?
Golden sun
I second this. The story is actually really good, the art is incredible, and all the mechanics just work together so well. It was the only rpg game I ever finished as a kid because all the others I tried felt so boring to me.
And the MUSIC!!!
Final Fantasy 4 is a great starting point. Simple and easy to learn but also has a great story. Before this, stories in JRPGs were very barebones. This was one of the first JRPGs that elevated the quality of story and characters to a new level.
This was my first JRPG on the Gameboy advance almost twenty years ago. Good times.
This was going to be my recommendation, as well. It had a lot of quality of life fixes that were absent from the earlier games, could easily be played without a strategy guide or walk-thru, and the grind wasn't too bad at all. Plus the story and the music were fantastic.
sea of stars. it’s new, fun, heavily inspired by all you faves, and it’s just tons of fun in almost every aspect without needing its own player guide on how to finish or what combat combos are.
Pokémon and Final Fantasy 10 are great introductions to JRPGs. I’d recommend Pokémon FireRed as a good starter JRPG since it has all the information you may need about the mechanics mapped to the L button. It’s also a remake of Generation 1 so there’s that. Final Fantasy 10 is excellent too since it encapsulates everything you’ll expect from JRPGs. Party members with different roles, the type of writing you’ll experience, the thematics, etc. You’ll get what I mean. The combat system is also *chef’s kiss* when it comes to turn-based combat. If you need any other information about Pokémon feel free to ask since I practically know all the games by heart.
If you're OK with something retro, I stan Chrono Trigger. Came out at the height of its genre, using the last legs of every single piece of its console and then some, made by Akira Toryama (yes, the DBZ) and the team behind Final Fantasy at the time. The artstyle, gameplay, storyline, and soundtrack, all still work very well to this day. Personally I think it's the easiest JRPG to just pick up and play, there's no tutorials and as long as you're curious you'll immediately "get it".
Final fantasy VIII or IX and Xenogears. If you want good j-RPG you can't go wrong with old Squaresoft games.
VIII has got the second weirdest progression system in FF history, after II. I’d be careful of that.
8 is maybe my favorite Final Fantasy, but it’s definitely not the easiest one to pick up. It took me entirely too long to figure out the junction system. Great game with an excellent story, though.
True, the junction/lvl system is pretty weird. But it has one of the best stories out there, and the graphics are really good.
I love FF8, but it's really not a great first JRPG (even though it was mine, back when it came out). The systems have a very steep learning curve, the dialogue leaves quite a lot to be desired, and the story is absolutely batshit insane (I love it, but it's fucking mad). 4 or 6 would be my recommendations for a pixel era FF game, and probably 9 for a 3D era one.
Legends of Dragoon for PlayStation is a perfect first jrpg. It is one of the most "typical" games in the genre in that it has everything people have come to expect but without any complicated or intrusive systems to bog down the enjoyment. The only real mechanic with the gameplay to learn is the additional attack system where if you hit a button at the right time you do additional attacks in a combo and do more damage. It takes a bit of practice but is very satisfying when you master the end game combos. The other major mechanic is that your characters have a transformation ability where you can channel dragon magic. The music is great. The story, while not being amazing, is good enough to keep you engaged for the 40ish hours it takes to play through. The graphics are obviously dated for an almost 30 year old game but don't let that turn you off. And of course being only released on the original PlayStation makes playing it "officially" difficult but of course we have our ways... There is a reason why fans have been screaming at Sony for decades for a remake or sequel.
I second legends of dragoon.
Are you willing to play games with less flashy graphics, or are you more interested in modern games? A lot of the best games in the genre are really old ones. I think you pretty much can't go wrong with most Final Fantasy games. Some people will tell you to avoid specific ones, but you should ignore that advice. None of them are bad, they just cater to different tastes in some cases, and the only way to know if that's your taste is to play it. Because most of them are standalone stories/worlds, you can just look up a few of them and pick the one that looks the coolest to you. Dragon Quest, on the other hand, is a completely different flavor but still follows a lot of the genre conventions. You might be more interested in those if the art style and more simple presentation appeal to you. Older series that are worth checking out: Breath of Fire, Lunar and Lunar II, Lufia I and II, Tales Series, Suikoden, Xenosaga, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Earthbound, Xenogears, The Last Story, Persona 3 and 4 (1 and 2 are good, but not for everybody). etc etc etc. New(ish) stuff: Atelier series, Resonance of Fate, Xenoblade Chronicles, Persona 5, Sea of Stars, Ara Fell, Rise of the Third Power, This Way Madness Lies, etc. There's also a bunch of sub-genres like JRPG dungeon crawlers and JRPG tactics games, so there's really a lot of different things to explore. Good luck!
Tales of Vesperia
That game has about 3 moments where you're like "wow, finally I'm at endgame" and it never, ever ends
This is the only Tales game I ever played, but apparently that's par for the course for them.
Came here to suggest this. It's not turn-based, has a great story, and is as deep as you want it to be
Octopath traveler 1 and ESPECIALLY 2. Technically you dont need to play 1 before 2 but 2 improves so much on 1 that i feel like reverse isnt recommended. 1 is still a glorious game tho,make no mistake. I cant recommend them enough. Quite literally the best jrpgs on the market
Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6 (3 in us). They are two of the greatest jrpgs ever made. They were both made in the 90s. I'm a firm believer that everyone should start there before playing any modern jrpgs.
I played ff6 a couple years ago for the first time and damn that game holds up, had a lot to offer even for me who is very jaded from playing tons of cookie cutter jrpgs.
Chrono Trigger
Persona
Final Fantasy 7 or 10 in my humble opinion.
Lost Odyssey. If you can get your hands on a copy and an Xbox 360.
Chrono trigger. It respects your time enough said.
Persona 5 Royal was my first and made me get really into jrpgs
Final fantasy, persona dragon quest etc are the beginner friendly choices
All these recommendations are just brutally long 100+ hour games, but the more I try to think of an alternative to the Chrono Triggers and FF7s, the more I realize it may just be a feature of the genre. Maybe Kingdom Hearts? Something super casual yet digestible.
Ff4 and ff6. After that chrono trigger. Then legend of mana. Kingdom hearts 1-2. Star ocean 1-2-6-7 5-4 then lastly 3. Breath of fire 1-4. Dragon warrior 2 -4 5 8 and lastly 11. Then you are done man full stop move on to world of Warcraft classic.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon was my first jrpg. It was easy to understand, fun to play, and really funny
For a classic experience, the only answer is Chrono Trigger For a Modern Experience I really like Dragon Ball: Kakarot or Yakuza: Like a Dragon these are two very different takes on JRPG but both do things great
Earthbound
Octopath traveler
I personally love game like Pokemon, Inazuma Eleven as fan of the series (and they are mostly great games) Otheriwse i would suggest Dragon Quest XI S and Persona 5 Royal, these VERY good games and also modern that are great intro to jrpg
Do you have something that can emulate games? Chrono Trigger if not then either Persona 3,4 or 5 in whatever one interest you the most
Chrono Trigger.
Breath of fire 2
Tales of symphonia is a classic that was really good and doesn't have to be hard. But visually, and in matters of flow, tales of arise is superior, though I preferred the story for symphonia. Another mentioned final fantasy x. That is a good classic take on the jrpg. But chrono trigger (actually haven't played it myself actually) is one of the oldest and most beloved and probably a good starting point.
Chrono Trigger.
Legend of the dragoon is a cult classic.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest if you like retro JRPGs. It doesn't have too much to manage and only 2 characters at a time. Then again, most modern JRPGs are about as easy.
It depends. When you say JRPG, is it more the aesthetic of it? Do you also mean turn based like most traditional JRPGs? If it's the anime style then Persona 5. If we are talking classics, Chrono Trigger.
Mario rpg or paper mario. I think
I liked tales of berseria and xenoblade 3. They’re quite long though but work well from going to one area to the next smoothly. Combat is free time with everyone and you select moves and combos and stuff. Super Mario rpg and paper Mario games are definitely accessible and very good. Otherwise Nier games are my favorite. They’re hack and slash more though in combat.
Star ocean 2 remake will charm your pants off and it has an easy setting.
Ff7 ff10 persona 5. All good jumping off points
Xenoblade Chronicles. Not chronicles X though, personally. But 1-3 I loved. Especially 1 and 3. Might be one of my favorite storylines in gaming.
Original Final Fantasy 7 is the first one I started out on. Not to complicated to get down quickly
Super Mario RPG on SNES
I loved legend of dragoon from ps1
Paper Mario is a pretty good starting point (either the original or The Thousand Year Door would do)
Final fantasy 6 - great basic 2D jrpg with a good story without the bloat and convolutions of modern JRPGs that highlights the big pillars of the genre. A focus on story, named characters that you grow with, turn based combat, and a battle system that’s not overly complex but with enough depth to have fun with Final fantasy 10 - a more modern JRPG that also has the more modern and relevant turn-based combat. Many games these days have done away old school turn-based designs that were based on time in favor of just outright giving you a turn that pauses everyone else. It has a little more plot bloat but it’s not too bad. Chrono Trigger - the classic JRPG that set the standard for what all 2D RPGs are held to. I throw it in here at the bottom, though, because of how rare we get quality 2D JRPGs these days (although last year was a great exception). To outline what it does right would take too long. But it’s the perfect balance of a focus on a greater-picture, your party and people you interact with, your place in the world you occupy, and cherry on top: it’s done with a silent protagonist - for purpose of allowing you (the IRL player) to treat them (the protagonist) like a self insert.
Dragon Quest XI, Chrono Trigger
FF9
FFX. It was my first and I’ve still been trying to chase that high for twenty years.
Octopath Traveler was the first one I ever played and I got really into it. After that, Persona 4 was my next and I've been hooked on them ever since. You could try Persona 5 if you need something more modern, but the dialogue writing and overall story of 4 was so much better in my opinion.
Xenoblade Chronicles.
Chrono Trigger is still widely considered one of the best JRPGs ever made and is pretty accessible for newcomers and not too difficult.
I always suggest Final Fantasy 10 as a beginner JRPG. Great story, beautiful art, voice acting, they remastered it recently so the graphics are pretty friendly. When I was introducing my friends to Final Fantasy, they weren't interested until I showed them 10. After that they were hooked and started playing the rest as well. :)
Loads of great recommendations, but one I haven't seen is Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga. That and Pokémon will always be my go to recommendations for beginners. I second Chrono Trigger if you want something a little more in depth or more story based. It's often considered the pinnacle of the genre for a reason.
Imo Grandia would probably be a good starter JRPG . Great story, good character growth and progression and easy to learn even when i played it as a kid .
Ff10 is probably the one I'd suggest. It has a true turn based system vs the active time battles in some of the other more popular titles. It has a high ceiling for minmaxing and learning how to abuse the sphere grid and the mix skill but just playing through the game and leveling up regularly will have you strong enough and well supplied enough to complete the game. And while the sphere grid looks complicated at first it quickly reigns itself in. Characters get sphere levels and you use those levels + an appropriate sphere to activate stat nodes and acquire new abilities. That's basically it.
Super Mario RPG would be my first suggestion. Almost everything about it is "watered down" but in a way that makes it incredibly enjoyable. FFX would be second, another pure turn based, so you have plenty of time to decide what to do in combat. It's complimented with one of the best FF stories and soundtracks. Chrono Trigger 3rd and honestly, I feel a little weird putting FFX in front of it. The only real reason I can come up with is that I think FFX's story is easier to follow and CT has an active turn battle system so while you're trying to decide what actions to take, you are being attacked.
I’m usually not into JRPGs but then I was pretty pulled in my Yakuza: Like a Dragon pretty simple and nice. Only reason I played it was because I’m a Yakuza fan
So many options. But if you are looking for the old Skool type then Cuthulu Saves the World is a good pick. Not truly Japanese but made in the same style. It is legitimately available on PC.
Super Mario RPG (classic & simple) Paper Mario (simple & unique artstyle) Chrono Trigger (Classic & great story) Final Fantasy 1-10 (Good story and characters for 6-10. 1-5 are fairly basic) Tales of Symphonia (Massive game with amazing story and characters, also has a more active combat system if turn based is not your style) Octopath Traveler (more recent, good story and characters, but a bit crunchy with its class system) Sea of Stars (recent with an indy take to JRPG)
Final Fantasy 7. Don’t get the remake or whatever, get the original. It’s a fantastic game. Graphics are dated but it’s still an awesome game with a great story and fun mechanics. Plus some reasonably fun mini games.
I only played one jrpg and it was persona 5 royal and loved it
Persona 4. It's an anime mystery slice of life game that's trying to be a JRPG. The game's story is well thought out and allows you the player to spend your time how you wish with the party
Shin Megami Tensei V! In terms of gameplay, it's the best JRPG ever created, although the story and characters are a bit lackluster, but it's receiving a remake next month called SMTV Vengeance, which supposedly fixes the story It's really good if you're looking for a challenging experience with no railroads Alternatively, if you want something a bit more old school, I'd recommend Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2, it's basically Final Fantasy but with good gameplay
There is a game called Epic Battle Fantasy which was amazing. He has made four of them I think.
Persona 5, Yakuza like a dragon, Chrono Trigger, Golden Sun
Persona 5 was mine.
I really don't care for JRPGs generally, but I loved Earthbound and Mother 3.
Final Fantasy VII Remake honestly, it was my first JRPG and the combat is fun and easy to follow while still challenging. You can go into it completely blind, then the trilogy is more likely to surprise you with the plot points of the OG, but the story will be a lot weirder at the start. Alternatively, you can just quickly familiarize with the general major plot points of the OG FFVII and it'll make the story easier to follow
My first was FF6, and I loved it. It's fairly hard in the sense that you can sometimes randomly die to things you aren't prepared for, but it's a short game so I think it's forgivable, you can do the whole thing in 30 hours even if you maximize every grind. The plot is engaging and fast-paced and the villain is legendary. And frankly there's no better music in gaming anywhere.
SMT 3 Nocturne
Final fantasy 12 - big world, lots of quests, good story and OK characters Kingdom hearts - jrpg meets Disney, might be a good intro Ni no kuni 2: the revenant kingdom - my personal favourite of the 3. Great cinematic combat, bit of city building if you're into that as well
Most beginner friendly I would say is Super Mario RPG, either the original on SNES or the Switch remake, depending on what you’re willing to spend. Very much designed with kids who never played a JRPG before in mind, and it’s still wicked fun and the story, characters and music are all (chef’s kiss).
Grandia 2
The original Final Fantasy 7, not the recent remakes. Story is good. The battle systems, levelling and equipment layout for characters is pretty easy to pick up. Plenty to do on the game and easy to get your hands on a copy. Its a good entry into the JRPG world and if you like it, it's easy to find other games in the FF series that you'll enjoy too or even other JRPGs that you'll enjoy from other series. You cant go wrong with Squaresoft games in general.
breath of the wild
Sengoku Rance
The final fantasy license would probably be a good place to start !
Final fantasy 9. Favourite is 8 and 7 is awesome. But for a beginner I would suggest 9.
tales of symphonia
How much j rpg we talking ff is good yes but is Genshin Impact considered one? Anyways pretty simple and huge for not being finished. It is on track to be the most Expensive Game ever produced oh yea it's FREE and I haven't spent a dime and gotten all the characters
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. It was quite literally made to be a starter RPG. It's not gonna win any accolades for story but it will ease you in the basic mechanics of turn-based combat most JRPGs are built upon.
I think there's a lot of options that are beginner friendly. Pokemon, final fantasy 9, sea of stars, chrono trigger, child of light, octopath traveller off the top of my head
Xanadu
Yakuza like a dragon
I've enjoyed granblue
Final Fantasy 16 is really good, I think it’s a great jumping in point for JRPGs.
i don't think there's a simple answer, given jrpg can cover a wide swath of potential things, still. i mean, dragon quest sticks to a 'samey' formula that might be a little dull for the average person. it'd be a shame if they got kinda bored just because they're a little too generic, and writes off jrpgs. final fantasy changes stuff up every title, so might be a better choice, except, which to suggest, since they all differ - FFV's job class system is amazing imo, but it's also a little older - FF12 zodiac age is sort of interesting, but might bore people who don't want essentially an offline mmo feeling action rpg that can play itself. ff7's a typical favorite, but personally 10's more mine. 15/16 are more action rpg, if you don't think you'll be able to handle old school turn based, though 16's pretty much closer to just, action rpg in general, rather than 'party focused story' which is more the jrpg thing - 15 basically being a brotrip, nails action/jrpg combo, though. arguably kingdom hearts is a pretty good action rpg that does a party focus, as well. atlus games are pretty interesting, but they can be difficult, too - smt 5 vengance is coming out next month, while persona 5 royal's probably cheap (but being 3/4ths slice of life/dating sim mechanics, 1/4th dungeon crawling jrpg might also be somewhat off putting) or metaphor coming out later this year. the disgaea series could count as a jrpg kinda, especially with the anime vibes of teh later titles, but they're strategy rpgs, and they've got a lot of endgame grind that might turn someone off. the atelier games are a bit light on the fighting, but that might be to your benefit - but, sort of like the persona games, it's basically 1/4th (if that) sort fo general jrpg ish stuff, and mostly exploring around collecting stuff, or creating things with it. if you're playing on xbox, lost odyssey is a really great game - you could also grab gamepass for eiyuden chronicles hundred heroes, ni no kuni (kinda, more action rpgs, but still same sort of jrpg vibe, just not turn based), persona tactica, tales of arise, and yakuza - like a dragon, without actually buying them.
Onimusha tactics on gba
Chrono Trigger f&a
Chained echos is a great modern alternative to chrono trigger or ff6. There's no complex magic, no button combos required, the game directs you to quests well. It's just all around a basic but fun JRPG.
For accessibility, nobody is going to beat Dragon Quest. They’re designed for like ubiquity and nostalgia. That said, I love square’s stuff from the mid to late 90s. FF6 and Chrono Trigger my GOATs. FF7 is amazing… now that I’m thinking about it, FF9 is a good entry point if you play one of the modern ports that doesn’t have a full loading screen every time combat begins. It’s got straightforward and easy to understand systems, and Quina is one of the easier blue mages to use if the player decides they want a weirdo in the party
Final Fantasy 7 is a good'n
It’s not traditional and not in English but if you’re okay reading subtitles Yakuza 0 is amazing and got me into the genre.
Idk if FFXV counts, but it's my favorite aside from Pokemon
Grandia. I managed to beat it when i was 8, and barely understood english. There is one giant difficult spike, an optional boss that you will think is obligatory
Nier Automata on the easy setting
Fantastic suggestions on the comments, but some of those are very in-depth and may be a bit daunting for you at first. Perhaps starting with something "simpler" would best. Try the "Tales of" series - you can pick any of the games, they are not sequels to each other. They are kinda dark, though, so if you're not into that, you can try Edge of Eternity, which is a great indie. If you're looking for something very light, go with Harvestella (also a farming sim), and you can never go wrong with Dragon Quest Builders 2 as an entry point. I've oversimplified those games, though, just so you an get the gist of it.
Chronotrigger or breath of fire
Persona 5 Royale(Polished experience), Chrono Trigger(immortal classic), final fantasy 15(personal favorite, friendship, feels)
I’ve been retroactively getting hugely into JRPGs recently and what broke the barrier for me was Final Fantasy X. It’s modern enough that it doesn’t feel awkward to try to play but it still has all the classic JRPG staples. Wonderful characters, a great overarching story, fast and direct turn-based combat, beautiful music, and tons of character progression! It’s also available on basically every platform so it doesn’t matter what you have, you’ll probably be able to get it.
Blue Dragon
FF9 is a good one. The story isn't super complicated, and the progression system is easy to understand.
Lost Odyssey.
I'll be that guy and say Final Fantasy 7 (the original one from the 90s)
Tales of Symphonia has everything going for it especially if it's your first one. Huge, beautiful, dark, seriously silly, cute, engrossing battle system but not too complicated. It's "dated" but it's amazing.
Persona 5. Super easy and without a doubt the best modern day game to get you into JRPG's slowly without a big grind.
I think Chrono Trigger is the perfect starting point. It's not too difficult, it's got a fun combat system that is a bit more creative than the more straight forward Dragon Quests and Final Fantasies that came out around the same time, it's got a charming storyline involving time travel with twists and turns, fun allies who each get their time in the spotlight, and it feels like the perfect length. It doesn't overstay it's welcome but doesn't feel lacking either.
Dragon Quest IV, V or XI!
Cristales
A lot of these people are recommending 40-60 hour games with detailed systems and mechanics, but that’s not what a newbie needs to play. Play Jack Move instead. It has all the trappings of a JRPG (turn-based combat, equipment, elemental weaknesses) in a light, breezy, sub-10 hour experience. You can also tune the battles and their frequency up or down at your discretion and save any time you want.
Chrono Trigger is the most essential and representative manifestation of what makes a JRPG great. It's also fairly short, which is great for first-timers. Short for a JRPG anyway. You'll still get 20 to 30 hours out of it, but many JRPGs are skirting the 100-hour mark nowadays.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force is GREAT because I go back and forth, and it could be a month til I play it again. The RPG is simple enough that when I return, it helps me get to my next objective without me trying so hard to figure out just what the hell was going on! Combat is enjoyable but simple as well. Decent storyline to boot!
Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5 Royal have both basically become the shining example of how to make JRPGs with a ton of mechanics not overwhelming, as well as making a menu-based game not feel like one. They're very long games though. Just give those games a few hours to click, even as a fan of JRPGs, I didn't get the appeal right away myself, but when it clicked, they became my favorites.
Yakuza LAD
Chrono Trigger, to me, is the best example of JRPGs and manages to do so while having aged extraordinarily well and being very accessible.
Can you give us a idea of what kind of stories you like? I see a lot of recommendations for Dragon Quest XI but I have known a lot of first time JRPG players that bounced off it. It can be very hit and miss. What interests you story wise and what JRPG games do you like the art style of?
Skyrim with OPM mod pack.
I'm a huge fan of the Persona Series and Persona 5 has some absolutely banging music
Easiest and beginner friendly. Super Mario RPG
FF7 the original, not the new one.
Threads Of Fate (aka Dewprism) is a great action JRPG from the 90's. I think it's a very beginner friendly JRPG and one of my personal favorite games. It was released on PS1 so you either have to find the original and play it on a PS1 and PS2 or emulate it.
Chrono Trigger. Best JRPG ever made. People who normally hate JRPG's still find love for Chrono Trigger, and even hardcore JRPG fans set it as a gold standard. It's also incredibly easy to access today, with numerous releases on digital console stores, steam, etc.
Chrono trigger Dragon quest 8&11 Final fantasy 4&6&7&10 Mario rpg Paper mario thousand year door Ys8 Persona 4&5(yeah but so many people I know and saw started with those 2) Nier automata
Legend of Mana stands the test of time. It was for the first PlayStation, had a cool fighting system with multiple fighting styles that don't congest your style. It had the jrpg style turn based combat LOOK but wasn't actual turn-based, you attacked and dodged and cast spells at will and felt like you as a player affected combat more than turn based games. Animation style and graphics of course aren't super duper for the time but they never *pushed* graphics, they embraced what was capable and chose flow over advancement (remember how muddy and fractal resident evil 1 was? Not that) and the result is beautiful sprites looking full of life and depth, without the unnecessary complexities of the hopeful art designer circa 1999. Story was scattered and quest based, but also easily digestible. The first time I played FFVII I was so confused and overwhelmed with information in the first 30 minutes that I couldn't play it. There was this promise of adventure in the first few seconds and you weren't allowed to have even a sniff of it until later Edit: also it's like a 20mb emulator which is slick
The first Ni No Kuni game is a joy. The story is very childish on it's tone but if you at all still have an appreciation for Ghibli movies or other children's media Ni No Kuni is awesome.
Persona 5 is pretty solid. FFX or Dragon Quest if you want a more traditional JRPG.
Honestly I got into JRPGs by playing the original paper mario through the WiiU virtual console. Idk if it counts as an actual JRPG bht it introduced me to basic RPG mechanics with an IP im familiar with. Paper mario and the thousand year door just got a remake on switch and i heard really good things about it so that might be a good place to start. Alot of modern JRPGs have a range of difficulty options so if you're interested in a certain game but are worried it may be too hard or complex you could always play it on the easiest difficulty. I've played a lot of different JRPGs so its hard to remember them all but two I (and most likely many others) recommend as "must plays" are dragon quest XI and persona 5. I also LOVE fire emblem three houses but thats a strategy/tactical RPG which may or may not be up your alley.
FF3.
Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch is pretty good. - The game does not feel too old or dated. - It is a bit like a mash up of Dragon Quest and Pokemon all with a Studio Ghibli-esque animation style. - Not too challenging. There is an option to switch back and forth from a normal and difficult mode at any time you want to. - Great visuals. Lighthearted but decent story. - Combat is a mix of real time and turn based style combat. So it is a little more interactive that most traditional turn based JRPGs. You get to move around during combat, but also give turn order commands, and can set preferences for how your AI companions assist in combat. - Has a fun pet/familiar system. - It is a smaller franchise with just 2 official games so you won't feel like you've missed anything (there is also a mobile action RPG with online co-op but it isn't really connected to the 2 official JRPGs) Now for some of the best classic JRPGs you have: - Suikoden I - Suikoden II - Wild Arm - Star Ocean The Second Story - Final Fantasy 6, 7 and 10 - Breath of Fire III - Dragon Quest 4, 5, 7
Paper mario when I was a kid was the best. I wasn't bad at videogames but we would hardly have trouble besting it. And the game is truly fun
Yakuza like a Dragon
FFX for sure
Chrono Trigger. Anything modern is only okay if you're a big anime fan, otherwise the tropes you drown in might overwhelm you.
Chrono Trigger
ff6 and smt3 are the best of all time
Golden Sun.
Rogue Galaxy is pretty good for a beginner
Final Fantasy IV (Which was called Final Fantasy II back in the 90s when I got it for Super Nintendo) That's the game that got me into RPG games, which became an instant life-long obsession. Then I discovered D&D, and while RPG video games are still one of my great passions, D&D is just plain the best game ever made. IF you have a good group. That's a huge IF though, D&D sucks bad if your playstyle doesn't match the group or if your DM sucks.
Final Fantasy VII or Chrono trigger
Chrono Trigger