The JRPG genre is one of the oldest and greatest in gaming, with long-running franchises like Dragon Quest teaching players the joys of having all the time in the world to think out and plan your next attack. While turn-based RPGs have been slowing down as a genre in recent years, whenever a great one releases, gamers cannot wait to hop onto another journey.
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The Nintendo Switch is home to some of the best JRPGs ever made, from timeless classics to modern masterpieces that push the genre forward.
While the PlayStation 5 may not currently have as many unique JRPGs playable on it as priorSony consoleslike the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 4, there is a fair share of fantastic games available on the console. If you’re a JRPG fan who is looking for a new game to play, you can’t go wrong with any of the following games.
Only titles which specifically have PlayStation 5 versions will be included on this list. PlayStation 4 titles playable with backwards compatibility will not be included.
9Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
A Classic Remade
June 19, 2025
Square Enix
OpenCritic Score
Topping off this list is the second entry in Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Remake subseries: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. This title takes the ATB-action gameplay of the first Remake game and applies it to an open world, allowing players to fully experience the world of Final Fantasy VII with various side quests, optional bosses, and minigames to participate in. Fans of this series can easily put 100 hours of game time into this entry.
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While Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a fantastic game, many fans of the original Final Fantasy VII feel that the franchise has abandoned its turn-based JRPG roots. For this reason, the game ranks at the bottom of this list, with each other entry being a turn-based game which any JRPG fan will love.
8Persona 3 Reload
Burn Your Dread
June 15, 2025
In 2024, Atlus shocked the world with the remake of what many consider to be their magnum opus title: Persona 3. Persona 3 Reload is a very different game from the PlayStation 2 classic, but it still provides an excellent experience. The gameplay of Persona 3 Reload is very reminiscent of that of Persona 5, for better or for worse. Those who long for the original gameplay loop of spending time in Tartarus until your party gets tired or the chance of failing a miniboss encounter may be disappointed with this title.
While this remake has various issues compared to Persona 3 FES, such as a very different visual style and a downgraded soundtrack, fans of the Persona franchise and casual JRPGs in general will have a great time with Persona 3 Reload as the basic gameplay loop of spending a long time in a dungeon before going to school and bonding with yourvarious Social Linksremains as addicting as ever.
7Honkai: Star Rail
A Nameless Journey
June 19, 2025
Hoyoverse’s various gacha games have covered a wide variety of genres over the years, but perhaps the best of these is their turn-based RPG Honkai: Star Rail. This space-faring adventure features turn-based combat where nearly every playable unit provides a unique skill that can turn the tide of battle. With the newly added Amphoreus planet and characters, the game is reaching ever higher peaks in quality.
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Despite being a great game, and the best of Hoyoverse’s catalog so far, Honkai: Star Rail ranks near the bottom of this list due to its gacha game nature. While gacha games can have many redeeming qualities and can even be great games, their addictive and potentially dangerous nature doesn’t earn them any points when compared to full games which don’t have these flaws.
6The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak
The Start of a New Saga
July 02, 2025
Nixon Falcom
NiS America
The Trails Of franchise is one of thelongest-running JRPG seriesin gaming. While that is fantastic for fans of this world, it also means it can be incredibly hard for new gamers to get into the series. Luckily for them though, one of the newest releases in the series, Trails Through Daybreak, is the beginning of a new story arc and a fantastic entry to jump into.
Unlike previous entries in the franchise which were solely turn-based, the combat featured in Trails of Daybreak is a unique mixture of action and strategy where the player must actively press the attack button during their turn, like an advanced version of the Mario & Luigi games. If you are curious about why the Legend of Heroes franchise has lasted for thirty years, then consider picking up Trails Through Daybreak.
5Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
An Expanded Experience
July 26, 2025
In 2017, Atlus announced the fifth mainline entry in their Shin Megami Tensei franchise. Said title wasn’t released until 2021, creating a nearly ten-year gap between entries. Despite how long gamers waited for it, the original Switch release of Shin Megami Tensei V was marred by many issues, such as the seemingly complete lack of a plot. So, when Atlus announced an enhanced version of the game with 2024, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, fans were excited to see the game improved upon.
With an entirely new campaign (and the original version of the game being playable as well), Vengeance seeks to fix many of the mistakes of the original game. With these corrections, the already fantastic gameplay of the game, and the natural hilarity that demon negotiating causes it’s hard not to recommend Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance to JRPG fans.
4Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
The Perfect Vacation
Aug 21, 2025
RGG Studios
While the first turn-based Like a Dragon game was already one of the best entries in the franchise, Infinite Wealth improves on its gameplay in nearly every capacity. From simple quality-of-life changes like being able to see enemy weaknesses to major changes that completely change how battles work, like being able to reposition your characters, it’s hard to find any aspect of Infinite Wealth’s gameplay that wasn’t a direct improvement over the previous entry’s.
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With the introduction of Hawaii as an explorable hub in addition to the familiar cities of Yokohama and Kamurocho, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth features the most expansive open world in the franchise. This city isn’t empty either; every corner of the game is filled with landmarks to photograph and minigames to engage with! If you want a fantastic JRPG with a modern-day setting that you may put a ton of hours into, then consider vacationing with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
3Octopath Traveler 2
HD-2D at its Best
June 19, 2025
Team Asano
While Square Enix’s main JRPG franchise, Final Fantasy, has long abandoned turn-based combat, the publisher still puts out several traditional JRPGs. One of these is Team Asano’s Octopath Traveler franchise, which features a unique graphical style referred to as HD-2D that combines traditional Sprite work, 3D environments, and modern filters. The gameplay of these titles will satisfy any classic JRPG fan with its job system and the many ways to customize your party.
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While the first Octopath game had various issues relating to its visuals and story structure, Octopath Traveler 2 improves on nearly all of these factors. Allowing the various protagonists to interact with each other alone does a lot to improve the game’s structure. Combine that with one of the best JRPG soundtracks in recent history, and you have a recipe for one of the PlayStation 5’s best titles.
2Final Fantasy XIV
A Grand Online World
June 06, 2025
Although Final Fantasy XIV was originally released on the PlayStation 3, it has passed the test of time and been re-released every console generation since. These ports have gone beyond simply putting the game on new consoles too, as the way the game is designed has been expanding to fit the technology; with areas becoming larger, trial arenas being able to fit more complex attacks, and the occasional graphical update to the game.
With five full-length expansions worth of content, over adozen different jobsthat the player can choose to play as, and hundreds upon hundreds of different outfits to customize your character, it is incredibly easy to find yourself getting sucked into FFXIV for hundreds of hours. While it may not be topping this list due to not initially launching for PlayStation 5, it more than earns this high placement.
1Metaphor ReFantazio
Fantasy Isn’t Dead
August 13, 2025
Placing first on this list is Atlus’ modern masterpiece: Metaphor ReFantazio. On the surface, the gameplay loop of Metaphor ReFantazio is very similar to that of Atlus’ Persona franchise, as the player will be spending time withvarious Social Linkswhen not crawling through dungeons. However, Metaphor ReFantazio focuses much more on the JRPG battles than the Persona franchise. The player will almost constantly be running out to various different locations and dungeons to face new monsters in very engaging combat.
Like most great JRPGs, Metaphor features a Dragon Quest-styled job system which allows the player to customize their party to their liking. The player is even given the ability to switch jobs at any time in the pause menu, allowing them to quickly switch up their strategy on the fly. Metaphor ReFantazio isn’t just a great game, it may be one of the best JRPGs released in recent years. If you have any love for this genre, give the game a chance and immerse yourself in this brutal fantasy.
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