Summary
Most JRPGs compel players through their stories and characters, but can there be too much story and too many character moments? Being included in the entries below does not necessarily mean that the game is bad because it has too much dialogue.
After all, maybe some players appreciate the walls of text that give a comprehensive understanding of every hero, villain, and nuance about the game world. It does, however, signify to any reader to know what to look forward to if they decide to try out any of these particular JRPGs. Even if the writing is spot on, everybody knows the old saying about too much of a good thing.
Fans ofXenoblade Chroniclesmight be intriguedby a prior series bearing the “Xeno"moniker. It is true that both series come from the same director and include themes common to the science fiction genre. However, they are radically different types of JRPGs.
WhereXenoblade Chroniclesfeatures large environments in which to roam around,Xenosagais a more linear experience filled with long cutscenes that giveMetal Gear Solida run for its money. The story is also a set path that offers little to do outside of the main beats, so this game is only for those who enjoy linear adventures.
TheLike a Dragongamesare gigantic adventures with too many characters and side quests to count. Some of the optional content are minigames that could be their own standalone releases. The writing in 2024’sInfinite Wealthis top-notch, balancing family drama, classic Japanese gangster film tropes, and absurd humor to create one of the more unique JRPG narrative experiences.
Players need to know what they are getting into before jumping in to appreciate the whole experience. Even without side quests,Infinite Wealthis a solid 50 hours to beat, and players will go through a few hours of cutscenes and dialogue before being let loose into one of the game’s several open-world environments.
Persona 5is structured around a school year. Players go through a cycle each day ofgoing to school, interacting with the other characters, and then going through dungeons and engaging in the more traditional RPG side of the game. Atlus’s JRPG is gigantic, taking close to a hundred hours to beat.
A significant amount of that time is spent in the narrative. There is a ton of reading and some of it grows repetitive. This might be intentional to make sure gamers do not forget about important plot points, but it is a noticeable part of the game and makes some wish that the writing was trimmed down a bit.
Triangle Strategyhas a lot of DNA fromolder turn-based strategy gameslikeTactics Ogre: Let Us Cling TogetherandFinal Fantasy Tactics. Like its predecessors, the plot is filled with backstabbers, characters with hidden agendas, and various political factions.
It is not easy to explain all this context to gamers, andTriangle Strategydumps all this on them in text rather than drip-feeding it through the course of the game. The introduction in particular is filled with a lot of dialogue. Fantasy games ride a fine line between too much exposition versus leaving the player in the dark, andTriangle Strategyleans a little too hard into telling and not showing.
Metaphor: ReFantaziocomes from director Katsura Hashino, who worked onPersona 3throughPersona 5. He has been working on games from developer and publisher Atlus since 1994. With this in mind, it is no surprise thatMetaphor: ReFantazioshares a similar load of dialogue. At least the game takes place in a fully realized fantasy setting, so there is more time spent learning about the wholly unique world.
All the same, this is a game for those who like to go neck-deep into a JRPG, because it takes about 65 hours to beat before considering the side content. For other types of gamers, they are going to feel bogged down by so much text and how often it pops up. Long games do not automatically mean slow pacing, butMetaphorand other games from the developer suffer from it.
The “Xeno” line of JRPGs goes back to 1998’sXenogears. Like its spiritual successors, the narrative dives into religious themes and dabbles with existential questions about life and existence.The gameplay is a lot more in line with JRPGs of the time, but there are still some unique twists like Gears, giant mechs players can use in combat and on the world map.
The game has a strange structure that puts it on the list. The second disc feels more like a visual novel, packed with more cutscenes than gameplay. It still takes about ten to fifteen hours to get through, too, so it is a sizable chunk of the game.
The story is the developers ran out of time to fully integrate all the gameplay they could, so they chose to make the second disc more focused on story than gameplay. It is an unbalanced product as a result, but it tells the whole story.
