If you’ve been a Sony fan since the days of the PS1, you’re likely a fan of JRPGs or at least familiar with them. The PlayStation was the original home of the wildly popular Final Fantasy 7 but the console has much more than just Final Fantasy games.
In fact, the PlayStation line is home to many good JRPG games such as the Tales series, many of the Dragon Quest games, Star Ocean and much more. The PS4 saw a sluggish start in the games department but it has since ramped up production and now there’s a good library of JRPGs on the console. Japan recently saw the release of Dragon Quest XI which bolsters the JRPG lineup even more on the PS4.
Let’s take a look at the top five JRPGs on the console. The following list is in no particular order.
1. Persona 5
This one is especially hard to avoid if you’re a JRPG fan. We imagine there’s a good chunk of PS4 owners out there who bought the console just for this game.
The good thing with the Persona series is that they are all standalone games for the most part. There may be some minor references to previous games but you should have no problem starting with Persona 5 if you haven’t played any of the previous games.
Persona 5 isn’t the longest game in the world by any means but you may find yourself going through many New Game+ files because you love the game so much. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
2. Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
Although this entry in the long-running Final Fantasy franchise is more westernized than many of the other entries, it doesn’t stop it from being a great game.
Final Fantasy XII marked a departure from the linear path of previous single player Final Fantasy games and gave players a semi-open world to explore but still featured a strong storyline. The remaster on the PS4 is not the same game as the North American PS2 version so it may be a little confusing at first if you’re a fan of the PS2 version. The change comes with the job system and the fact that your characters now have specific jobs to choose.
The remaster also gives players the options to play in 2x or 4x speed which makes grinding even easier in this game, something that you’ll likely find yourself doing a lot of.
3. Nier: Automata
2B or not 2B. We choose 2B.
NieR: Automata is a sequel to NieR from the last-gen of consoles and despite the strong reviews, this game is still sort of a sleeper hit. The game is developed by Platinum Games so it definitely isn’t your traditional turn-based JRPG. The combat is fast-paced but there are a slew of RPG elements and several different endings.
There’s even a DLC that lets you fight the bosses of Square Enix and Platinum Games. No, really, we aren’t making this up.
4. Tales of Berseria
After the misfire of Tales of Zestiria, many fans were cautious about Tales of Berseria. Luckily, the game rewarded fans with a better entry in the Tales series.
While we would have liked to see more in the graphical department, the combat in the game is still very enjoyable. The cast of characters and the story were much improved over its predecessor but gameplay remained pretty similar. Zestiria wasn’t the worst entry in the series so it’s still worth a playthrough but we believe Berseria is a better game.
5. Disgaea 5
This game is not a traditional JRPG but instead is better off being compared to the gameplay of Final Fantasy Tactics. Also keep in mind that this is a very long game.
If you’ve ever wanted to level up a character so much that you can hit enemies for 9999 damage then this is the game for you.
You don’t have to worry about starting out with this game either as the storyline is self-contained. One issue you may run into is liking the game and wanting to go back and play the older games. Doing this will result in many quality of life changes that will make older games in the series feel like a slog.