The best JRPGs that break traditional genre conventions

Key recommendations

• Star Ocean The Second Story R defies fantasy conventions with a sci-fi twist, offering 99 endings.
• Radiant Historia breaks the linearity of JRPGs with divergent timelines in Perfect Chronology.
• Triangle Strategy presents a political narrative with deep moral choices and human characters.

JRPGs have set the standard for video game narratives and mechanics for years. These titles' deep lore, strong character work, and unique gameplay loops have made JRPGs one of the top genres for gamers around the world, but with such a strong library of titles, it's only natural that certain conventions and tropes kick in. to appear. .

So how does a JRPG break convention? Which rules should be followed and which should be broken? Should a story change the classic high fantasy setting, or should the turn-based combat that helped define the genre in the 80s and 90s be revamped? These games, in particular, departed from traditional JRPG conventions to great effect.

5 Star Ocean The second story R

Defy the conventions of fantasy with Sci-Fi Flare

One of the many Square Enix games that break away from pure fantasy to throw in a healthy dose of sci-fi, Star Ocean The second story R is a great turn-based game that players won't want to miss, especially if they like to impact the narrative through their choices. From the outset, selecting one of the two protagonists to guide them through the narrative sets players on a path to one of 99 endings, further influenced by how they interact with the multitude of companions they have at disposition.

This game manages to enjoy all the things fans love about the classic high fantasy setting while also defying many aesthetic tropes. The presence of high-tech, futuristic technology sets the scene The second story R as one planet in an epic of galactic proportions. It's a great way to show how the framing of a setting is vital to where it sits in the genre.

4 Radiant history

It breaks the linearity of JRPGs in a fascinating way

Many JRPGs are known for their strong yet linear narratives. This is already a convention that has been broken by a few titles, but as a general rule, especially in older games, the agency a player has in the world of many JRPGs is limited to things like party composition and perhaps what side quests to do. , as opposed to influencing how the story turns out.

Radiant historyespecially the one Perfect timeline remastered on 3DS, is a perfect example of a game that defies linear narrative in an interesting way. Stocke must use the White Chronicle to explore two divergent timelines that are separated by his own choices, jumping between the two to find answers to problems found in one timeline and saving both in the process.

3 The triangle strategy

An epic story about politics without a big bad guy

Not the most famous of Square Enix's titles, but definitely an underrated success with an incredible morale mechanic, The triangle strategy has an incredibly branching story that takes players in directions all over the continent of Norzelia. In a genre that is frankly full of evil wizards and tyrannical dark knights with comically oversized horns on their helmets, The triangle strategy breaks away from that with a surprising level of political realism and genuine human characters, while still giving players a twisted, brutal narrative to enjoy.

Balancing the three major beliefs and having a story driven by the companions as much as the player is already an innovative enough departure from the JRPG form, but adding to it is an incredibly engaging narrative that shows the characters changing, they grow and even realize when something is too challenging or not worth the risk to commit to.

2 Resonance of Destiny

An incredible battle system and a unique setting

The resonance of destiny is one of the most beloved JRPGs to date, hailed for its amazing combat system that breaks JRPG norms in more ways than one. This “three-attack battle system” allows players to move freely during their turn in battle, limited by their action points. They can then attack an opponent at advantageous angles, also being able to charge an attack not just once, but multiple times.

The setting of this game takes a serious, future dystopia and fuses it with an iconic steampunk style, making it an incredibly fresh aesthetic and one of the best post-apocalyptic JRPGs players can get their hands on today.

1 Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance

Battle is only an option in SMT

Shin Megami Tenseione of Atlus' flagship series, has consistently broken down the barriers of what JRPG combat should be, but Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance gets a mention here for being an incredibly polished title worthy of carrying the legacy of this series to the Switch. Complicated stories aren't necessarily groundbreaking in this genre, but SMTHis discussion of Law and Chaos as opposed to good and evil is always a wonderful subversion of the more binary narratives that JRPGs can have.

Demons in almost all non-boss fight encounters can be talked to instead of fought SMT. In Revengeplayers will want to talk to demons to try to recruit them to their party through sweet talk, bribery, or intimidation. However, they can also extort them for items, scare them out of combat, or trade for their essence, depending on what additional abilities have been taken.