As soon as I got my hands on the demo for Final Fantasy Resonance, I was hooked! Unfortunately, the game’s not out yet and I can’t keep playing it. But it did give me a craving for some other turn-based games I can sink my teeth into.
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At first, I thought of Baldur’s Gate 3, since I’ve been wanting to try out some new character builds. Except that didn’t feel quite right, and I realized what I really wanted to play was a fantastic turn-based JRPG. If you’re like me and playing the Resonance demo made you want to play a turn-based JRPG, these 10 games could be just what you’re looking for.
10
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
Turn-Based Combat With Customizable Demons
Shin Megami Tensei V is a great game because it offers a deep combat system that showcases the more strategic side of turn-based combat. If what you loved about Resonance is its party-based combat and party building, Shin Megami Tensei V offers that in abundance.
The game also has a demon fusion system where you can recruit demons and fuse them to create entirely new demons with new abilities for even more customization. If you’re going for Shin Megami Tensei V, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is probably the version to pick, since it offers a new storyline, additional areas and demons, and new gameplay features.
9
Star Ocean The Second Story R
A Classic JRPG Rebuilt for Modern Audiences
Star Ocean 2 is a classic JRPG well worth playing, but its remake is a particularly good choice if you’re coming from Final Fantasy Resonance because it’s another example of an older JRPG style being brought into the modern era. It has unique 2.5D visuals, and traditional JRPG adventuring and storytelling combined with crafting, character relationships, dual-scenario protagonists, and a bunch of different systems like fishing and cooking.
It’s a classic JRPG experience that doesn’t feel like a museum piece, despite being a remake. It captures a lot of the same nostalgic-yet-fresh feelings as Final Fantasy Resonance does. If you’re not quite sure whether it’s for you, like Resonance, Star Ocean The Second Story R has a demo you can play.
8
Chained Echoes
A Love Letter to the Golden Age of JRPGs
Chained Echoes is love letter to classic 16- and 32-bit JRPGs, explicitly designed to fit into the lineage of great JRPGs like Chrono Trigger, the early Final Fantasy games, Breath of Fire, and Suikoden. In that sense, it’s extremely relevant if you liked Resonance, because it draws from much of the same tradition.
Chained Echoes received universal acclaim, with fantastic reviews across the board. It’s more than just a nostalgia art piece. What I think makes Chained Echoes particularly approachable and a good choice is that its campaign is around 30 to 40 hours long. You could probably knock this one out between now and Resonance’s October release date, if you wanted.
7
Bravely Default II
A Fantastic Job System
If playing Resonance made you want a classic turn-based JRPG experience with jobs, Bravely Default II is a good option. It takes the classic job concept and makes it the foundation of its character system. You can switch jobs, combine abilities from different jobs, and build parties around specific strategies, and it adds in the franchise’s “Brave/Default” mechanic to save actions for later or spend them all at once.
It offers intriguing combat and gameplay, and a large job selection so you can get really deep into it. I think this one’s a good pick because despite being the third Bravely Default game (not the second, as its name suggests), it has a completely different story and cast to the others.
6
Sea of Stars
A Beautiful Indie Adventure
Steam
Sea of Stars is a completely modern take on the classic, retro JRPG experience that moves it forward. It’s got beautiful pixel art but implements more modern combat approaches with timed button presses. It’s a fantastic example of a well-made, well-reviewed indie JRPG built out of love for the genre by developers who understand the wider tradition.
It has additional systems like fishing, cooking, and environmental puzzles, and even allows local co-op so you can play with your friends. This is a solid choice if you’re looking for the same kind of classic ideas offered by Resonance, but with a thoroughly modern approach.
5
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition
Traditional JRPG at Its Best
Dragon Quest XI S is essentially the classic, traditional JRPG distilled into its purest modern form. It offers the most basic JRPG gameplay loop: assemble a party, travel through a fantasy world, visit towns, explore dungeons, fight monsters, and upgrade your equipment.
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I don’t mean to say it’s boring or uninteresting, because it absolutely isn’t. This title is a superb, classic turn-based RPG. Dragon Quest is one of the foundational JRPGs that’s incredibly important to the overall tradition — at almost 100 million sales, it’s an all-time bestselling JRPG franchise. The series still holds up in the modern era. And the XI S definitive edition adds a bunch of content and quality-of-life improvements, and very interestingly, includes a full 2D adventure mode that you can play instead of its usual 3D presentation. If you love classic JRPGs, you’ll love this.
4
Octopath Traveler II
The Closest Thing to Classic Final Fantasy That Isn’t Classic Final Fantasy
Octopath Traveler was designed as a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy VI, and you can see that influence throughout the series. It’s a good influence that helped make Octopath Traveler II one of the best modern JRPGs. And if Resonance made you crave classic turn-based JRPG gameplay, don’t sleep on Octopath Traveler II.
If what you liked about Resonance was the HD2D approach, Octopath Traveler II is probably the strongest example of the format. This game has everything you’d want from a JRPG, and it’s a rock-solid choice for Final Fantasy fans in particular. Octopath Traveler II has a different cast of characters in a new setting, so it’s a perfect point to jump into, too.
Rich Story, Compelling Characters, Engaging Combat
Metaphor: ReFantazio was released to universal acclaim, with truly fantastic reviews across the board from multiple major publications. And there’s a very good reason for that: it’s a traditional turn-based JRPG with a fantastic story, a compelling cast of characters (including its villains), and engaging combat.
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If you loved Resonance, Metaphor: ReFantazio offers a conceptually similar job system in the form of its Archetypes, alongside a rich cast of characters. Unlike Resonance, it makes use of social systems and time management mechanics. If you’re a returning JRPG fan lured back by Resonance, Metaphor: ReFantazio would be a fantastic way to see where the genre has gone — and where it is continuing to evolve.
2
Final Fantasy X
My Personal Favorite Turn-Based Final Fantasy
If you’re a Final Fantasy fan, and Resonance made you want classic turn-based combat, I can’t think of many better games to play than Final Fantasy X. After a series of ATB systems, FFX returned us to a more traditional turn-based system, albeit with some quirks.
It was the first Final Fantasy game to feature fully 3D environments, which I think is a nice contrast to Resonance being the first to feature HD2D visuals. In my opinion, X has one of the best stories in the Final Fantasy franchise. I was immediately tempted to drop back into Spira after playing Resonance. It’s got that Final Fantasy lineage, a turn-based system, a fantastic story, and a unique character progression system. And I do love Blitzball! If you haven’t played it — and honestly, even if you have — Final Fantasy X is a brilliant turn-based JRPG that holds up even today.
1
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
A Look at the Future of JRPGs
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was the game that got me back into turn-based combat. For a while, I’d gone for action-based combat almost exclusively. I put up with Baldur’s Gate 3’s combat and eventually learned to love it, but I compartmentalized it into something I’d only enjoy in that kind of isometric CPRG.
Clair Obscur showed me I could still enjoy it in a fully cinematic, modern JRPG-style game, too. And honestly, it’s just such a great game. The combat system is both engaging and tactical, and its cast of characters and story are simply phenomenal. If Final Fantasy Resonance is a lovingly crafted appeal to JRPG past, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a look at its future. It’s a fundamentally different sort of game to Resonance, but it scratches a turn-based itch in a unique way.
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