The 19 Best JRPGs You Can Play on Modern Consoles
Working on my book Fight, Magic, Items: The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and the rise of JRPGs in the West took me back into the annals of JRPG history. Along the way, I’ve been reacquainted with many of the classic games that defined the genre, from its early days on the NES to the heights of the golden age of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII . It was a joy to grow with this genre as it found its footing and soared to dizzying heights in the 90s. It’s a genre about epic travel, and it’s a genre that has taken its own epic journey.
But when is the best time to play classic JRPGs? Not the 90s, when Super Nintendo reigned supreme, and not a decade later, at the height of the PS2 era, when Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts were all the rage. The best time for JRPG fans is right now . With the growing popularity of official remasters, the release of FPGA devices such as Analogue’s Pocket and MiSTer , and a plethora of emulation options , it’s even easier to play some of the most revered classic games.
Below are 19 classic JRPGs that you can play on modern hardware. No fuss, just fun.