Luke’s Top 10 JRPGs for the Nintendo Switch!

As promised JRPG fans! I am going to do the top 10 JRPGs that you absolutely have to play for the Nintendo Switch… Unlike what I promised though… It won’t be 10 underrated games because I simply couldn’t find enough underrated JRPGs for Nintendo’s flagship console to warrant an entire list.

I will do my best to include a few you may not have heard of or played (which is easy!) so you won’t see a Pokemon game here but I definitely do recommend them! I will also take steps to avoid the Final Fantasy Series as well in order to not just put 5 of them on this list… but mostly this list is just:

THE 10 BEST JRPG’S ON THE NINTENDO SWITCH!

10 Astral Chain

Yes, I want to include Astral Chain on this list and I am aware that due to Platinum Games doing the combat the gameplay of this game couldn’t be further from the truth when it comes to being a JRPG, BUT there are so many things included here that ARE from a JRPG that I needed to include it on this list.

The story is phenomenal and the game is just bang to rights great, I could easily put it at the number 1 slot here but due to it not TECHNICALLY being a JRPG, I have popped it at the number 10 slot instead.

9 Dragon Quest Builders 2

Yes it’s Dragon Quest X Minecraft and yes I am putting it on another list… it’s not the only one either…

8 The Atelier Series (Again)

There isn’t a great deal more I can say on the Atelier series that I haven’t already said, the game is still phenomenal and charming except this time you can also play it handheld! The Thiccness is real and the games are just all really damn fun.

I will have a review going up on the site for Atelier Ryza 2 very soon, so if you are wanting to hear my in depth thoughts on one of these titles stay tuned.

7 Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Personally I love this game so much and it’s another game on this list that could easily take the top spot – however, I have bumped this game down a few slots simply because the Fire Emblem series is nails and the tactical based combat does make this the least accessible game on this list for newcomers or casual gamers.

However: if you like a challenge, phenomenal combat that has ripples through the entire story when a character dies and a fantastic story then look no further than Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

I adore the tactical combat featured in this series and I have constantly returned to it when I want a JRPG but I don’t fancy the traditional style of most of this list.

6 Octopath Traveller

Just like the title suggests, Octopath traveller actually follows EIGHT different storylines that intertwine and reveal segments of the world which have to be looked at individually in order to grasp the whole.

Octopath took a lot of bold, brave strides in development especially down to the aforementioned story being in pieces like this and it’s all the better for it. Octopath Traveller works as the perfect game for when you want to play a great JRPG story but you don’t have the patience to sit through a 60 hour story – instead opting to play shorter, snappier sections of a story within this game.

5 Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore

I mentioned above that I love Fire Emblem and there is honestly only one thing that could make this formula even better: Add in a buttload of Shin Megami Tensei!

Tokyo Mirage Sessions is one that is only going to be for the proper weebs out there. You take control of a group of friends who are obsessed with Japanese Idol culture (popstars basically) as they try to find out why a lot of people are becoming depressed (think Persona 5 steal your hearts and you’re almost there). The game then features the classic dungeon crawling of the Shin Megami Tensei series but instead of capturing monsters to use in battle – you unlock Fire Emblem characters where the Persona’s would be.

The game is entirely based around JPOP and you unlock various JPOP elements to use in battle as the game progresses – which I am keeping shtum on as the surprises were the best element here.

4 Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

I’ll keep this short. This is a monster capture JRPG with story and Animation done by Studio Ghibli. That’s it.

3 The World Ends With You

Potentially the weirdest one on this list but has recently become a must play for any fans of the Kingdom Hearts series now that this world is looking to be the main focus of Sora’s upcoming adventures.

I really don’t want to say much about The World Ends With You because every time I have tried to explain it to someone, I can never do it justice how good this game it. The switch version gives you the option of using the touch screen or using the JoyCons to your preference but the mental story and phenomenal looking artwork is still there and makes this a must play.

2 Xenoblade Chronicles Series

I am still only playing the first of these games but it is amazing. If you want my thoughts on it, I did a review of this game not long ago where I said: I honestly cannot put Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition down. I play it docked whenever I can and if the wife ever wants the TV for anything, I find myself continuing my game until the batter on my Switch dies hours later – without even realising any time has passed in the real world.

Xenoblade Chronicles is without a doubt my favourite JRPG on the Nintendo Switch and potentially my favourite that I have played this generation.

That is… until a certain quest came along….

1 Dragon Quest XI-S

I LOVE Dragon Quest and XI was the best JRPG I played for the entirety of the last generation and yes I do include Persona 5 in that mix. Dragon Quest keeps it totally traditional with a delightful story and classic turn based combat.

Everything we love about DQ is here as well, right down to the Akira Toriyama designs the game is so famous for.

I don’t know how much I can go on about how good this game is but I ended up playing as much as I could, even making the game my 2^nd ever platinum I ever achieved so if that doesn’t tell you how good this game is, nothing will.

So that’s it! I know I left off Pokemon but it was far too easy to go for! How many of these have you played? Let me know in the comments below.