From the likes of Final Fantasy to Dragon Quest, JRPGs have global reach. However, for every Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest game, there are stellar JRPGs that are fun to play from start to finish that don’t get the same level of attention.
Some of the best JRPGs of all time, like Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean and Lost Odyssey, don’t get the credit they deserve. These JRPGs might be underrated, but they’re still amazing games that will wow players right from the start.
Lost Odyssey Is a Forgotten Xbox 360 Game
Lost Odyssey was published by the U.S.-based Microsoft but was developed by its Japanese game studios in association with Feelplus. This gives the game a unique quality relative to most other titles in the genre, with it feeling somewhat Western in tone yet very much a JRPG in its execution.
This fact extends to the game’s plot and gameplay. Lost Odyssey is set in a world that is undergoing a Magic-Industrial Revolution, which entails just about every piece of machinery possessing some supernatural attributes. The main protagonist, Kaim, benefits from this revolution, although he is also fully aware of the threats it imposes.
As for gameplay, and defying one’s expectations for something published by an American company, Lost Odyssey plays like a traditional turn-based JRPG, complete with health and mana management. Among the unique features that help Lost Odyssey stand out is its fun ring system, which combines different magical attributes into properties that can heal and give mana to characters at the same time.
Shadow Hearts: Covenant Is a JRPG With Horror Vibes
Shadow Hearts: Covenant is a JRPG that, like its predecessor, combines elements of Lovecraftian horror and alternate history. The game is set in the middle of World War I, a few years after the events of the previous game, with main protagonists Karin Koenig and Yuri Hyuga having to take on a cult that is threatening to worsen the already dire situation.
The game refines two key mechanics from Shadow Hearts: Fusion and the Judgment Ring. As far as the latter is concerned, the ring can now be customized, allowing players to control how potent its attack properties are. For Fusion, it has been streamlined to allow players to direct certain attributes into the characters, which opens up possibilities for more useful properties in battles and normal gameplay.
The first Shadow Hearts game was not all that well-known to begin with, and may have set its sequel up to fail. If nothing else, Shadow Hearts: Covenant is deserving of a remake, or at least a remaster for modern consoles. It could help attract attention to how intricate this game is compared to other JRPGs of its caliber.
Digital Devil Saga Is a JRPG With Amazing Gameplay
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga is the name of not one, but two JRPGs that serve as spin-offs of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. As such, both games share the same gameplay, characters, and, most noticeably, the same overarching storylines and world design. However, both have vastly different tones from one another.
In this case, the first Digital Devil Saga game has tribes from the Junkyard, including the Embryons, led by the main protagonist Serph, competing to ascend to Nirvana. The second game is set in the aftermath of this debacle, with both the protagonists and antagonists having to cope with the dilapidated state of the real world.
Although they’re not Persona, another Shin Megami Tensei spin-off, but they have unique gameplay mechanics that fluctuate between Digital Devil Saga and Digital Devil Saga 2, making for an unpredictable yet fun play. For example, there is the party rotation mechanic in Digital Devil Saga 2, which can make the player’s party stronger or weaker than normal.
Valkyrie Profile Doesn’t Get the Credit It Deserves
Valkyrie Profile kickstarted one of Enix’s final franchises as a standalone company before merging with Square to become Square Enix. Unfortunately, the game and its ensuing sequels were overshadowed by the Star Ocean games, which were developed by tri-Ace, who also made the Valkyrie Profile games.
In truth, gamers are missing out on Valkyrie Profile, which sees Lenneth, a human who has been reincarnated into a valkyrie, having to assemble a party for Ragnarök. With the game drawing on Norse mythology, it comes as no surprise the gameplay is especially hardcore by JRPG standards. Here, enemies take turns doing attacks alongside the heroes.
That is not the only trick that Valkyrie Profile has up its sleeve, with both sides being able to attack each other at once. It all comes down to how players intend to either deflect attacks from enemies or combine their party members’ powers to maximize their attacks against enemies. It’s everything that makes it one of the best PS1 JRPGs.
Radiant Historia Is an Atlus JRPG That Deserves More Love
Radiant Historia was developed and published by Atlus, better known for the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona franchises. Compared to the dark and existential themes of those franchises, Radiant Historia is lighter in tone, which is reflected in the game’s plot and its mechanics.
The game deals with conflicts occurring throughout the Vainqueur continent, more specifically between the nations of Alistel and Granorg. Amid the fighting, the main protagonist, Stocke, discovers a way to travel through time, which forms one of the game’s crucial mechanics. It is here that the player can travel forward and backward in time when they see fit, although they must be careful lest they trigger paradoxes.
Despite being released on the DS, where JRPGs like Chrono Trigger thrived, Radiant Historia isn’t as remembered as those among the best DS JRPGs. Players are missing out a lot by not playing Radiant Historia, including a cloaking mechanic that lets players avoid enemy detection, which comes in handy in parts of the game.
Baten Kaitos Is an Unbeatable GameCube Game
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean is a Nintendo GameCube-exclusive JRPG that was developed by Monolith Soft, better known for the Xenoblade Chronicles series. That said, this game is no less fantastical in its tone than the other franchise, with the in-game world being powered by mystical magic cards.
These magic cards are pertinent to both the story — which sees the main protagonist, Kalas, being guided by the player’s guardian spirit in order to fight against master magic card players — and the gameplay. During the game’s battles, players make use of these magic cards, which have properties and attributes ranging from powerful weapons to handy items.
There is no other game like Baten Kaitos, which makes it even more a shame that the potential series failed to take off; the sole sequel, Baten Kaitos Origins, did even less well than the first game. Granted, the game has received attention in recent years with remasters of both games, although it makes one clamor for a remake of the game.
Skies of Arcadia Is Sega’s Finest RPG
Skies of Arcadia was released in 2000 for Sega’s final video game console, the Dreamcast. The game was later ported to the GameCube; a common factor between both versions of the game is that they have all but been forgotten. This is a shame, considering how well-constructed Skies of Arcadia is, especially for a console few associate with JRPGs.
The game is set in the fictional world of Arcadia and sees the main protagonist, Vyse, along with four additional members, working to stop an evil empire from extracting valuable resources. The gameplay closely resembles that of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, albeit with a greater focus on exploration, hence the game’s open-ended world compared to its contemporaries.
Not only is Skies of Arcadia one of the best Dreamcast RPGs and one of the console’s greatest games, but it’s one of the best retro JRPGs in general, if not one of the best JRPGs of all time. It makes it all the more sad that few know about this game, which outclasses other JRPGs of its era.