10 PS2 JRPGs Most Haven’t Played, But Definitely Should

I don’t think it’d be hyperbolic to say that the PlayStation 2 was the game console that really got the JRPG genre firing on all cylinders. There were JRPGs before then, of course, many of which were even released in the west. It was the PS2, though, that really started hitting us with a deluge of titles from across the spectrum of developers and styles, thanks in large part to the console’s excellent third-party support.

The PS2 was home to numerous certified bangers like Kingdom Hearts 2, Dragon Quest VIII, Persona 3, and so on, but there were also quite a few JRPGs that didn’t quite set the world on fire like those games did. Their names mostly circulate through word of mouth among early-2000s gaming enthusiasts, doing whatever they can to keep interest in their cult classic favorites alive. If you have the opportunity to boot up some classic software, I’d suggest taking these particular JRPGs out for a spin, even if they’ve never crossed your mind before. You might just find your new hyperfixation, and then you can know how frustrating it is to love a game nobody else seems to care about.

10 Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

Coming Straight from the Underground

Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter JRPG Strategy Released November 2, 2002 ESRB m Developer(s) Capcom, Capcom Production Studio 4 Publisher(s) Capcom Platform(s) PlayStation 2 Genre(s) JRPG, Strategy How Long To Beat 24 hours

While there were obviously 3D games before the PS2, JRPGs included, the PS2 had much higher specs and a generally lower bar of entry than its predecessor, so it served as the proper starting line in the realm of 3D for many established series. For example, Capcom’s home-grown JRPG series, Breath of Fire, was a strictly 2D affair for its first four games, but that changed with the release of its fifth title, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter.

Dragon Quarter drops the high-fantasy aesthetic of the previous games in favor of a dystopian sci-fi vibe, with humanity living in a series of bunkers deep beneath the Earth and our heroes needing to fight their way up through the substrata to reach the surface. Combat uses a hybrid turn-based and real-time system, in which you can move and act as much as your bar permits, stringing together abilities and combo attacks. Interestingly, the game is designed to be looped back to the start multiple times, with certain event triggers and areas only accessible by raising a stat that increases between playthroughs.

9 Radiata Stories

The World Keeps Turning

Radiata Stories Released January 27, 2005 Platform(s) PlayStation 2

Not only was the PS2 capable of better graphical presentation than the PS1, it also had more advanced hardware allowing for more elaborate game design. While there were older games that had real-time systems, for example, it was with this generation that such systems could be intermingled with existing frameworks, creating ambitious games like Radiata Stories that combined the passage of time with traditional JRPG adventures.

Radiata Stories has a world that’s constantly on the move, with characters going about their days and business based on a real-time day/night cycle. This is important, because every NPC also has their own schedules and personalities, which you need to work around if you want to recruit them to your cause. There are over 100 NPCs you can recruit to your party, heavily dependent on the path you’re following through the story, though the only character you have direct control over in a fight is your protagonist, Jack, while everyone else is AI-controlled.

8 Wild Arms 3

Point and Shoot

Wild Arms 3 JRPG Released October 15, 2002 ESRB T For Teen Due To Mild Violence Developer(s) Media Vision Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment Platform(s) PS2, PS4 Genre(s) JRPG How Long To Beat 32 Hours Metascore 78 PS Plus Availability Premium

Something I wish I could see more of in JRPGs is Wild West settings. I kinda get why we don’t, since, y’know, Japan, but I feel like there’s so much potential in a setting that’s full of both gun-toting cowboys and magic. If there were a standard-bearer for this hyper-specific venn diagram of concepts, it’d be the Wild Arms series, including Wild Arms 3 on the PS2.

In Wild Arms 3, you control a gaggle of wandering adventurers, exploring the deserts outside of civilization with magic-spewin’ heaters on their hips. Every character can equip their own ARMs and battle it out in 3D encounters, looping around enemies to find the ideal sniping spot. What’s nifty about this game is that, fittingly for the adventurer spirit, you don’t just find new destinations on a world map. You need to either hit the pavement and ask for leads around town, or just explore the wilderness and see what you turn up on your own.

7 Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits

Intersecting Stories

Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits Released March 20, 2003 Platform(s) PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4

As I mentioned, third-party support was a big component of the PS2’s secret sauce, though Sony also went a long way toward ensuring the console’s library was properly beefy by serving as publisher for many titles. For example, starting with the PS1, Sony Computer Entertainment served as the publisher for the Arc the Lad series, which is not about a lad named Arc, and that duty continued into the PS2 era with the series’ first 3D entry, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits.

Twilight of the Spirits features a pair of intersecting stories focusing on two different protagonists, Kharg and Darc, each on their own respective adventures and building up their own respective parties. Combat has a tactical flavor, not unlike Fire Emblem, in which your current hero and up to five party members take it in turns to battle their way across large battlefields. Unlike Fire Emblem, though, movement and attacking are conducted on circular patterns rather than squares, which means you can fine-tune your maneuvers and assaults much more minutely, as well as line up attacks to hit multiple targets at once.

6 Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana

Mix it Up

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana Released May 27, 2004 Platform(s) PlayStation 2

Gust’s Atelier series of crafting-focused JRPGs started in 1997’s Atelier Marie, followed by 2002’s Atelier Judie for the PS2. Unfortunately, late-stage remakes notwithstanding, neither of those games were released in the west. It wouldn’t be until the series’ third entry, Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, that the games would start making their way to this side of the world, though they didn’t start really getting eyes until later on.

Atelier Iris, much like the newer Atelier games, is a turn-based JRPG with a big emphasis on alchemy and item synthesis. Our hero, Klein, travels around the world, developing his alchemic skill and recruiting magical entities called Manas, which lend their power to the synthesis process. Using assorted materials found in dungeons, as well as elements extracted directly from enemies, you can synthesize items, weapons, and special Mana items that require a modicum of health from your Manas in order to perfect.

5 Steambot Chronicles

Everything’s Better with Steampunk Robots

Steambot Chronicles RPG Action Released June 30, 2005 ESRB T For Teen // Alcohol Reference, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes Developer(s) Irem Corp. Publisher(s) Irem Corp., Atlus, 505 Games Platform(s) PlayStation 2 Genre(s) RPG, Action

Something I think a game in just about any genre could benefit from is more steampunk robots. It’s just a cool concept in general, massive machines powered by steam and gears. It works in everything if you’re creative enough. For example, an action JRPG about traveling the world with a band? Sounds nuts to mix it with steampunk robots, but do it and you get Steambot Chronicles.

Steambot Chronicles has been occasionally likened to a Grand Theft Auto game, except with all the sociopathy and crime replaced with chill vibes and steampunk robots. You play as an amnesiac guy who happens to wash up next to the star singer of a traveling band, taking up a junker steam-powered mech to become the group’s jack-of-all-trades. There’s a big, open map you can freely travel around, using your mech, called a Trotmobile, to perform deliveries, get into fights, and other assorted jobs, while you gradually amass more parts to customize your ride with. Music is also a big component of the game, as you can take direct control over different instruments in the band and play along with the song to boost your earnings.

4 Okage: Shadow King

What We Do in the Shadows

Okage: Shadow King JRPG Action Adventure Released March 15, 2001 ESRB T for Teen Developer(s) Sony Interactive Entertainment Publisher(s) Sony Interactive Entertainment Number of Players Single Player Platform(s) PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4 Genre(s) JRPG, Action, Adventure How Long To Beat 24.5 Hours PS Plus Availability Included

A lot of games and anime have tinkered with the idea of giving your protagonist some manner of spiritual protector, such as the Persona series’ Personas or Stands in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Here’s a thought, though: what if you had a spiritual protector that was completely uninterested in helping you unless you were extra special nice to them? Well, then you’d have a situation like Okage: Shadow King.

Okage follows a young lad named Ari who, after a mishap with a bit of old magic, finds his shadow cursed by the presence of the Evil King Stan, who demands he journey around the world, unseating other evil kings to restore his power. Stan is ever-present, looming in your shadow and popping out during combat, but while he possesses incredibly powerful magic, he’ll only use it when he feels like it, and only if you give him a lengthy compliment beforehand. It’s a very odd little game, but it has a charming, slightly off-kilter vibe to it that makes it hard to look away from.

3 Shadow Hearts: From the New World

Prohibition-Era Cosmic Horror

Shadow Hearts: From the New World RPG Released July 28, 2005 ESRB T for Teen Developer(s) Nautilus Publisher(s) Aruze, XSEED Games Number of Players Single Player Platform(s) PlayStation 2 Genre(s) RPG How Long To Beat 39 Hours

The PS2 wasn’t just home to many unsung JRPGs, but entire unsung JRPG series, multiple games that, despite earning their fans where they could, didn’t manage to persist past this single generation. A prominent example of this is the Shadow Hearts trilogy, one of the most distinctive JRPGs I’ve ever seen. All three of its games deserve recognition, but if I had to pick a favorite, it’d be the third game, Shadow Hearts: From the New World.

This game tells a tale of eldritch cosmic horror set against a backdrop of the United States in 1929, primarily in cities like New York City and Las Vegas. Its turn-based combat has several wrinkles, including timing-based action commands and even a sanity system for dealing with the extradimensional beasties you go up against. My favorite part, though, is the party members, highlights of which include Natan, a Native American guy with dual pistols, Frank, a wannabe ninja from Brazil, and Ricardo, a mariachi with a flamethrower and rocket launcher hidden in his guitar.

2 Drakengard

Nier’s Progenitor

Drakengard Action RPG JRPG Fantasy Science Fiction Released September 11, 2003 ESRB m Developer(s) Cavia, Square Enix Publisher(s) Square Enix Platform(s) PlayStation 2 Genre(s) Action RPG, JRPG, Fantasy, Science Fiction How Long To Beat 11 hours

The Nier series has become a household name in the last decade, thanks in large part to the landmark success of Nier: Automata, as well as the modern rerelease of Nier Replicant. However, in all the popularity of Nier, something that’s been routinely forgotten is that Nier is actually a spin-off of the Drakengard series, following one of the branching endings of the first game that came out on the PS2.

The original Drakengard was an action JRPG, in a somewhat similar vein to Nier, but with a little bit of musou flavor in the mix, opting for a mission-based structure instead of a large, open world. As you progress in missions, your weapons gradually gain experience, dealing more damage to keep up with more powerful enemies. In addition to the regular on-foot missions, there are also aerial combat missions where you get to fly around on a dragon, shooting down airships. It’s a lot more overtly fantasy-flavored than Nier, which is part of what makes how Drakengard transitions into Nier more interesting.

1 Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

Eat Your Problems

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga RPG Released July 15, 2004 ESRB M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Sexual Themes Developer(s) Atlus Publisher(s) Atlus Franchise Shin Megami Tensei Number of Players 1 Platform(s) PlayStation 2 Genre(s) RPG How Long To Beat 30.5 Hours

In the modern day, the Shin Megami Tensei franchise has largely coalesced into two primary series: the same-titled mainline series, and of course, Persona. Back in the day, though, the SMT franchise had numerous spin-off games and series, even more numerous than now. Sadly, not all of those branches have managed to thrive into the current age, which is a shame, because it means games like Digital Devil Saga are going by the wayside without fresh remakes or remasters.

Digital Devil Saga differentiates itself from most SMT games in that, rather than commanding demons in turn-based battles, you are the demons. You party members can freely flip between human and demon form as the situation demands, using guns and explosives in the former and magic abilities in the latter. The big gimmick is that, by defeating enemies with certain attacks, you’ll devour them whole on the spot, allowing your party’s demon forms to mature and learn new abilities. It takes a bit of effort to wrap your head around, not unlike the game’s very existential story, but it’s a game with an extremely distinctive style that I’d love to see make a comeback.