The best JRPGs that break traditional genre conventions

Key conclusions

• Star Ocean The Second Story R challenges fantasy conventions with a sci-fi twist, offering 99 endings.
• Radiant Historia breaks the linearity of JRPGs with different 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 storytelling and mechanics for years. These titles' deep lore, strong character work, and unique gameplay loops have made JRPGs one of the best genres for gamers around the world, but with such a strong library of titles, it's only natural that certain conventions and tropes will start to emerge.

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

5 Star Ocean The second story of R

Against fantasy conventions with science fiction

One of many Square Enix games that breaks away from pure fantasy and adds a healthy dose of science fiction, Star Ocean The second story of R is a great turn-based game that gamers won't want to miss, especially if they like to influence the narrative with their choices. From the start, choosing one of the two protagonists to guide them through the story directs players on a path to one of 99 endings, influenced by how they interact with the many companions available to them.

This game manages to embrace everything fans love about the classic fantasy setting, while also challenging many aesthetic tropes. The presence of high-tech, futuristic technology sets the scene The second story of R as a single planet in an epic of galactic proportions. It's a great way to show how vital the framing of the setting is to its standing in the genre.

4 Radiant history

Gets away from JRPG linearity in an exciting way

Many JRPGs are known for their strong but linear narratives. It's already a convention that has been broken by a few titles, but generally, especially in older games, the power a player has in the world of many JRPGs is limited to things like party composition and perhaps what sidequests to take, as opposed to influence on the development of history.

Radiant historyin particular Perfect chronology remaster on the 3DS, is a great example of a game that challenges linear storytelling in interesting ways. Stock must use the White Chronicle to explore two different timelines separate from his own choosing, jumping between them to find answers to problems found in only one timeline, and saving both in the process.

3 Triangle strategy

An epic story about politics without the big bad guys

Not the most famous of Square Enix's titles, but definitely an underrated success with an incredible morality mechanic, Triangle strategy has an incredible branching storyline that takes players across the continent of Narcelia. In a genre that is frankly filled with evil wizards and tyrannical dark knights with comically large horns on their helmets, Triangle strategy breaks away from this with an amazing level of political realism and real human characters, giving players a twisty, hard-hitting story to enjoy.

The balance between three core beliefs and a story determined by the companions as much as the player themselves is an innovative enough departure from the JRPG mold, but on top of that is an incredibly engaging narrative that shows the characters changing, growing, and even understanding. if something is too difficult or not worth the risk.

2 Resonance of fate

Incredible combat system and new environments

Resonance of fate is one of the most beloved JRPGs to date, famous for its dazzling combat system that breaks the JRPG norm in several ways. This “three-attack combat system” allows players to move freely during their turn in combat, limited by their action points. They can then attack the enemy from advantageous angles while being able to charge a single attack not once, but multiple times.

The setting for this game takes a gritty future dystopia and combines it with the 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 just one option in SMT

Shin Megami Tenseione of Atlus' flagship series, constantly breaking down the barriers of what JRPG combat should be, but Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance mentioned here as an incredibly polished title worthy of bringing the series' legacy to the Switch. Complicated stories are not necessarily groundbreaking in the genre, but SMTDiscussing law and chaos as opposed to good and evil is always a great subversion of the more binary narratives JRPGs can have.

In almost all non-boss battles, demons can be talked to rather than fought SMT. U 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 items from them, frighten them into battle, or exchange their essence, depending on what additional skills have been acquired.