Playing a long video game can sometimes feel like a really long race. While some people enjoy switching between different games, it’s tough to do that with a game that takes a long time to finish. That’s why many fans of Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) prefer to stick with one game and see it all the way through.
Finishing a game, especially one you’ve been putting off, feels great. But some games are so enjoyable – even if they’re challenging – that you immediately want to play them again. These JRPGs are perfect examples, and each one offers a unique reason to jump right back in.
Persona 5 Royal
The Ultimate Lengthy JRPG
Both Persona 5 Royal and the original Persona 5 are very lengthy JRPGs that are difficult to rush. The game forces you to play day by day, following a fixed schedule. However, this structure actually works well, creating a good rhythm as you switch between story scenes, engaging activities like exploring dungeons, and turn-based combat.
As players finish the game, they’ll feel a real sense of accomplishment. But the experience doesn’t have to end there! New Game+ lets you start over while keeping most of your progress, including stats like Knowledge and Guts. If you didn’t fully develop those stats on your first playthrough, you can try again. And if you did max them out, you’ll unlock new content sooner and even change how certain events unfold.
NieR: Automata
Getting To THE End
NieR: Automata features a unique gameplay loop where players repeatedly begin their adventure anew. The game starts with you controlling 2b, alongside her partner 9s, in an action-packed RPG that offers a complete and engaging experience.
That’s just the beginning, though. Players can replay the story as 9S right away to see things from a new angle. Eventually, you’ll play as A2, which unlocks the game’s real ending. While you can stop after finishing 2B’s story, it won’t give you the full picture or answer many of the game’s mysteries.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Make Your Choice Byleth
In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, you start by making a significant decision as the character Byleth. You’ll choose to align with one of three nations while attending a military academy: the Leicester Alliance, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, or the Adrestian Empire.
Choosing a nation to support unlocks a unique set of characters for battles and alters the storyline, turning the other two nations into your rivals. To experience the complete narrative, players can replay the game from the perspective of those other factions, creating a long but rewarding tactical RPG adventure.
Final Fantasy 10-2
What Can I Do For You?
As a huge Final Fantasy fan, I was so excited when Final Fantasy X-2 came out! It was the first time they’d ever made a direct sequel in the main series, which was a big deal. The game starts with Yuna getting this weird video of what looks like Tidus locked up and needing help. Now, anyone who played the original knows something isn’t right, and Yuna feels it too, but she’s determined to find out what’s going on. She teams up with her cousin Rikku and a new face, Paine, to get to the bottom of it all.
As you play, a progress bar fills up as you complete quests and explore the game world. You can’t unlock everything in a single playthrough because you’ll need to choose one of three factions to support – the Youth League, the New Yevon Party, or the Machine Faction. To uncover the complete story of what happened to Tidus, you’ll need to finish the game multiple times and experience all the different faction storylines.
Scarlet Nexus
Future Love
In Scarlet Nexus, players immediately choose to begin the game as either Yuito or Kasane. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic future where specially trained hunters protect the last human city from dangerous, mutated creatures known as Others. While Yuito and Kasane start as teammates, their storylines quickly separate, ultimately leading them to pursue each other as targets.
Each character has a unique team of allies who join them on missions, and players can combine attacks with these allies during combat. The story is split into two campaigns – one for each character – and the intriguing mystery will motivate players to complete both to get the full picture.
Triangle Strategy
The Scales Of Justice
Triangle Strategy is a tactical role-playing game where your choices matter, leading to different story paths. The game starts with House Wolffort, a neutral region, becoming entangled in a conflict over salt resources. Unlike other games in the genre, you won’t commit to a single nation – Glenbrook, Aesfrost, or Hyzante – throughout the entire story.
Throughout the game, players will occasionally need to vote on important decisions. To succeed, they’ll have to persuade their companions to support their choices. Playing the game multiple times reveals different perspectives on the conflict, and also unlocks unique characters for each side. Collecting all possible party members requires multiple playthroughs.
Chrono Cross
Dimensional Rifts
Chrono Cross is a beloved turn-based RPG from the original PlayStation, but it’s often overshadowed by its earlier game, Chrono Trigger. What makes Chrono Cross unique is its approach to storytelling: instead of traveling through time, you explore two different versions of the world and see how they contrast.
Players can unlock new characters by completing specific tasks. Getting all of them, plus the necessary items for the best ending, takes more than one playthrough. Luckily, the game features New Game+, letting you start over and try again. Interestingly, Chrono Trigger is often considered the game that really established the New Game+ feature as we know it today.
Front Mission 1st: Remake
See The Other Side
Originally released for the Super Nintendo in 1995 in Japan, Front Mission featured a single story following Royd Clive and the OCU. When the game was updated for the PlayStation in 2003, also initially only in Japan, a second campaign was added. This allowed players to experience the story from the perspective of the USN, starring Kevin Greenfield, as well as continue with the OCU.
Players first experienced the game on the Nintendo DS in 2007, and Front Mission 1st: Remake is currently the easiest way to play, as of 2022. The game features two distinct campaigns, letting you experience the war from both perspectives. With its focus on mechs and the motivations of both sides, it’s similar to the original Gundam series, which also presented the complexities of war from multiple viewpoints.
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2025-12-23 08:35