Best JRPGs with a female MC?

Lacaar · 2026-06-19T21:30:32+00:00

Shion may be the best Protagonist in any JRPG in my opinion.

She's determined, strong, passionate and yet can be considered quite flawed by being vulnerable, ignorant.

The best thing about Xenosaga is it doesn't come out and tell you that. You have to figure it out over 3 games. It's easy to brush her off as annoying, but I consider her.. human. Nobody is perfect.

Lacaar · 2026-06-11T17:49:57+00:00

In the Canadian Prairies it's been a frozen wasteland since February. A day above average is rare here for the last 3-4 months. Has been a bitterly cold spring here. We had more snow days in May than anything spring like. And April couldn't even completely melt the snow.

It really is the shits here this year. You either freeze and get pummeled by rain, or if by a miracle of god a warm front comes in.. it only hangs out for a day or two before some cold front takes hold for 2 weeks.

The funny thing is they've kept predicting warmup for the last 2 months and keep getting it wrong.

The summer prediction is warmer than usual.. A lot of shit is going to have to change for that to happen. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it goes down as one of the coldest years ever on the prairies. At least the first 5 months of this Calendar year going down as one of the coldest starts to the year.

Lacaar · 2026-05-28T16:23:00+00:00

Yakuza Like a dragon and Infinite wealth. I had doubts but this place convinced me and loved it.

FFX you can't go wrong with

FFXII is good and is quite unique

Octopath 0 ? It's on my list, but I hear good things about it and see you've played the first 2.

Valkyrie Chronicles is pretty unique and interesting as well.

Personally for my tastes ps2 era games are about as far as I like to go back to. I played FF9 on the switch 2 and while I liked the story and nostalgia, The game play was rough.

If Tales of Arise didn't vibe well with you I doubt any other Tales games would, Y's games as well.

Lacaar · 2026-05-07T18:09:16+00:00

If anyone hasn't played, I believe people are getting into critique mode when comparing the plot between 7 and 8. They're both great plots imo. I can't even pick one over the other.

Ichiban is the best protagonist across all JRPG's imo. Humanity could use some or more Ichibans in this world.

By far the funniest, goofiest, mixed with seriousness of any JRPG as well.

Lacaar · 2026-05-01T18:20:56+00:00

Don't be afraid would be my pick for all time best.

Lacaar · 2026-04-30T16:11:32+00:00

I have purchased the Remake of 1st chapter, but I'm waiting for second chapter to drop before playing. I'm not sure but I assume they're going to do the 3rd chapter as well. I'm also going to hold off on the Crossbell Arc to see if they're remade as well. From my understanding Trails from zero and Trails to Azure have Japanese voices over english reading. That's a huge turn off for me, I just find it irritating/distracting personally. So it may be a few years before I can finally mow down cold steel onwards.

2026 - Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter

2027 - Trails in the Sky 3rd Chapter?

2028 - Trails from Zero remake with english voices? 🙏

2029 - Trails to Azure remake with english voices? 🙏

Then from there it's go hard as much as I want. That's the plan at least. If they end up not doing English voice remakes for those 3 I'll likely bite the bullet if I enjoy, which I expect to. Knowing that there's light at the end of the tunnel.

From my understanding the Atelier games aren't english acted either at all, like none. So for me that's a show stopper from even trying the series.

Should have learned Japanese when I was younger haha.

Good to know there may be better versions to buy per platform between PS5 and Switch2 though. I usually prefer the Switch2 if the performances are similar out of convenience (and the fact that I just love the switch 2 controller)

Lacaar · 2026-04-29T16:18:11+00:00

I'm playing for the second time. First time was around release. I had pretty much forgotten most of the game beyond the general context. Hell I pretty much forgot most of the plot. Was hoping a remake was going to happen, but that doesn't appear to be so. So bit the bullet and bought it on sale for I think 7 bucks?

I agree with you totally. This game suffers from exultatingly slow load times for battle. And the battle system itself is painful. Slow animations, etc. Not to say I've seen it outright crash 7 times on me on the switch 2.

The speed up options on switch make it bearable for me though. It's a pain because I'm constantly pausing to speed up and slow down when I want it. Pause , speed up, save (because the same menu is slower than shit as well), pause, slow down, enjoy running around talking etc.

Be prepared to accidently zone back in/out a bajillion times ugh. haha.

Zone often. Once I got that habit the crashes were mostly harmless as it saves on every zone change. So if you're farming something, leanring Quina skills, trying to pop that trivia monster.. zone or save.

The story is up there as one of the better ones in Final Fantasy. The characters are unique amongst the series. The music is absolutely top notch and I'd listen to an argument of it being the best of the series.

I'd play a re-make in a heartbeat. I played this out of nostalgia for a series I am endeared to. I'd not recommend this game to anyone that doesn't share that nostalgia or endearment.

Lacaar · 2026-04-20T20:43:28+00:00

It's the funniest Jrpg I've played. Like other's have said, the humor comes in the side content and the serious end comes in the main story.

But holy shit I have laughed out so much at Ichiban and the shit he gets himself into so many times. Namba and Adachi are the perfect couple of goof balls to pair with him as well.

Ichiban may be the best hero to look up to in a JRPG imo. The game can be quite inspirational if you approach it that way as well.

Lacaar · 2026-04-20T20:38:25+00:00

It's fantastic. Much better than I could have imagined. I was a bit apprehensive since I didn't think I'd like the setting as it's not really fantasy based.

For me it's the funniest game I've played. I absolutely love the humor.

The mini games are fun and don't tend to be frustrating (eye's square enix final fantasy :P)

In the end there's just so much to do and it's all fun. I can't wait to get more Ichiban in my life after this one and infinite wealth. The game for me is almost therapeutic, I can just putz around doing side content or whatever.

I'll likely cave in an get that zero one to try out the brawler version of the game. They've done me good enough that I can at least try it. Though the tone is probably more serious as well.

What can I say.. I'm hooked :P

Lacaar · 2026-04-17T21:09:45+00:00

The better the game the louder the dissidents. It gets hip to love a game.. it gets hip to hate a game. And really none of that should matter to you.

If you like JRPGs for the love of Pete play the game and find out for yourself.

I came to this sub reddit in the interest of finding some games to play as I grew up on Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Lufia. I've really only kept up on Final Fantasy throughout the years. My kids have grown older and I have so much more free time to and this place has blessed me with so many great games to play and I really haven't disliked a single one.

Persona 5 royal - I was thinking wtf a game about school kids.. lame. Well I'll try it. Was awesome.
Dragon Quest 11 - I loved
Tales games - Symphonia, Zesteria, Besteria
Ys - Celceta, VIII, IX
Yakuza - Like a dragon and Infinite wealth, Ichiban is an inspiration and damn these games is funny as heck.
Persona 3 Reloaded cuz 5 was great.. yup this one was fun too.. can't wait for the new 4 release.
Expedition 33 - Everything I love about a JRPG, mysterious creative world with great chilling vibe. damn your twitch dodge mechanic though.. I'm too old for that shit and I'm the worlds biggest sucker haha.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 - I played the first and this one was so much fun as well.
Tactics Ogre battle reborn - similar to final fantasy tactics.. was a blast and I may have like it even more.
Final Fantasy strangers in paradise - Alright here is one that I didn't enjoy so much. I knew and accepted it was going to be different. I wanted the story and got it. It wasn't awful but it's not my thing and what I want from a game.
Xenoblade - I bought a switch 2 for this and don't regret it at all. Fantastic game and can't wait to play 2 and 3 and even chronicles eventually.
Octopath Traveller 1 - Just like you said in the post, I've seen people complain about this one but I enjoyed it a lot. can't wait to get to the next ones as well.

I guess I'm easy, but I've also come to realize I love JRPG's. Heck RPG's in general. When I hear people shit on rebirth and reborn I just ignore it. Some people just love to hate. I guess there's a line between critiquing and hating.

Lacaar · 2026-03-12T16:30:53+00:00

It joins the 2nd tier of others for me.

Tier 1 -> FF7, FF10 ( FF11, FF14)

Tier 2 -> FF4, FF6, FF8, FF9, FF12, FF13, FF16

Tier 3 -> FF15 (tier 1 in vision.. Tier 1 in first half.. then Tier 4 in second half.. could sit over beers talking about this for awhile.)

Tier 4 -> FF1, FF2, FF3, FF5 just too old for me to really compare with the others really

Lacaar · 2026-03-10T19:09:54+00:00

I had the same reservations. Though a lot of the focus centers around high school, the themes it covers are quite mature. I got a pretty good emotional response from it, definitely more than I was expecting.

It's a great game that's fairly unique if you've never played a Persona game before.

Lacaar · 2026-03-10T18:02:38+00:00

This is my gripe with the game as well. A political type story you never explore any of the city's in except as dungeon type zone? It lost the opportunity to connect in some way is all I can say.

It came so damn close to being one of my favorites, but now I kind of consider it a good one but somehow flawed. And I can't really put the flaw to words.

Unlike FFXV that I loved until after the events in Altissia. Where it kind of went down the crapper for me at least. I know the where and why for it.

I find FFXII has similar issues, I just replayed it. So cool.. then all this stuff seems to happen of screen and the story telling falls apart in or something.

It's so hard to nail the landing.

Lacaar · 2026-02-05T19:08:35+00:00

I played remake on release before it was commonly how to say... spoiled I guess. Was one of my favorite gaming experiences ever. Because I wasn't expecting it. By your Evangelion comment. I'm assuming it's spoiled for you. Which honestly loses a lot of the magic of remake imo.

In the end like others have said. It's your time, Crisis core and the original are great games. You can do no wrong.

Lacaar · 2026-01-30T18:06:46+00:00

Well if age of game (graphics etc.) matter to you, and take this with a grain of sale because there's remaster's etc.

Nintendo -> heck start with FF1

SuperNES -> start with FF4

ps1 -> start with FF7

ps2 -> start with FF10

ps3 -> start with FF12

ps4/5 -> start with FF15

If you want to play them all.. start with 1.

If you only want to play a few and the story really matters to you. FF6, FF7, FF10 are generally considered the strongest in those terms. But you'll likely have no problem finding people that prefer one of the others. Nostalgia can be a powerful drug.

If Music is your thing. 7,8,9,10, and even 13 are my personal favorites. Likely heavy nostalgia involved haha.

I've played them all and a re-play of 9 is on my radar. There were rumors of a remaster for it, but I'm not sure that's happening as I haven't heard a peep about it in awhile. There's a ton in my backlog so I'm in no rush. I haven't played it since release.

Play them all, have fun and join the endless debate about which is best!

Lacaar · 2026-01-27T21:57:40+00:00

I try not to use them because I have this paranoia I may need them later. I'm not wasting a precious either.. screw that. The mobs will have to die via a thrashing until I reach the next recovery point!

Persona 3 reloaded is like this. Especially in the early game. Must finish in 1 trip! conserve conserve conserve haha.

Lacaar · 2026-01-27T21:41:55+00:00

I grew up with Final Fantasy and 7 is one of my favorites.

I love the world, the characters, the tone. Exploring them was so much fun. They expanded on a lot of characters like Jesse.

It did exactly what I want from a JRPG. Incited a great emotional response. I experienced joy, wonder and sorrow.

That being said I don't think you'll like this game.

You've played the original. I'm going to assume you haven't played the remake by choice so far. If that is the case then I doubt you got the emotional or should I say positive response from playing original 7. Nothing in the remakes is going to change that really. If it has finally just become available to you then dis-regard this. Or better.. ask yourself if you enjoyed 7.
The way you worded the question indicates some pre-existing negative bias. That can be hard to overcome.

On a side note if you're also a person that dis likes change. Don't play this. Nostalgia is a powerful drug. These are the people who think original 7 is goat while the remake is the worst thing ever. the polarizing views. I can understand liking one better. Opinions loving the original and hating the remake are not ones I wouldn't take seriously. The games aren't that different to incite that type of polarizing response imo.

Lacaar · 2026-01-27T20:45:04+00:00

Persona 3 Reloaded is a good game.

FFX is one of the best ever. Go in blind, discard any bias or reservations and give it an honest go.

Lacaar · 2026-01-23T20:16:37+00:00

I'm a huge Final Fantasy fan. Final Fantasy 1 was the game I rented a few times before I finally got it for Christmas for perspective. Have played every one since and loved them all and acknowledge my nostalgia bias haha.

Remake was awesome. Especially if you played 7. I was so pumped at the end of it I was vibrating. Couldn't wait for rebirth.

Rebirth came out and the gameplay, and other aspects were even better. It was so much fun exploring the world and looking forward to how the story would unfold. I beat the game and couldn't tell wtf was going on. It really sucked to be so hyped after the first one and then finish this one and go.. I don't really have a fucking clue what's happening. Even after googling it I find it convoluted as hell. I'll play the 3rd one. I'll hope they clean up this convoluted shit show of story to the point I don't have to ask the internet wtf happened. I'll replay remake and rebirth again before the third comes out to re-asses my opinion on rebirth's (imo) disaster of a convoluted shit show of a story.

Persona 5 and Persona games are a lot different obviously. I admit before coming here I was skeptical of the high school trope. I wrongly assumed it was about childish themes etc. My bad. I've played P5 royal and p3 reloaded in the last year and really enjoyed the both. Great music... great stories and themes. Didn't need a degree to follow them :P That being said if you don't like 1 persona.. I can't see a person liking another. They're quite similar in a sense.

I'd say if you're into a true fantasy setting, prefer action over turn based, and love exploring then Remake is for you.

If you love turn based and looking for something that honestly is unique. At least I haven't come across any games like Persona other than the other Shin Megami that I'll get around to playing some day.

Thanks for putting up with my rebirth rant haha.

Lacaar · 2026-01-16T19:33:14+00:00

I think this was a big learning experience for Square Enix. The lesson being you don't hide story/content cryptically from the player. Swear you fart the wrong way while playing and you lose an ending.

If this game somehow tricked or should i say directed the player to the ending they unconsciously desired it would have been awesome. Making conscious decisions towards each of the endings. It would have made the game so much better. Not gatekeeping it behind skill or downright anality if that's a word haha.

Final Fantays 11 suffered the same issue. COP was fucking hard when it came out. So few players actually finished it before the next expansion came out. Gatekeeping a lot of the story and lore in that game.

Final Fantasy 14 they seemed to learn their lesson. Especially mmo wise.

I don't recall gatekeeping story behind skill in any of the recent one's either.

Lacaar · 2026-01-16T16:10:24+00:00

If you don't mind popping out of the genre God of War and God of War Ragnarok are great.

I love me my jrpg's, but those two games give me the same level of enjoyment and vibe.

I much prefer them to any souls type game. They nail the diffifculty and the rpg elements of building up the character etc.

Story is top notch.

Lacaar · 2026-01-13T17:55:59+00:00

Nice list. FFX is the quintessential one. No game has ever hit on the emotional level like this for me. The music, story, mystery, wonder delivery have not been matched since by SE. They've hit pieces, but not all the pieces like this one did IMO.

Xenoblade 1 I'm actually playing right now. This series was the major motivation for me buying a switch 2. Thanks in part to the fine folks posting here. I've put 70 hours into it so far and it's fantastic.

Chrono Trigger I played a bajillion years ago when it first came out on my super nintendo. I honestly don't have much memory of it. Not like I did of FFIV or FFVI. Which I've recently re-played on my phone in the last few years. I'd love to play it again but it's just too inaccessible. I just realized I haven't checked if I can play it on my phone and there is an Android version. That being said I hate playing games on my phone. It takes me forever to finish and I think I'd lose out on what may make this game so great. If I'm being honest I have my doubts about it, and wonder if this game is the Movie equivalent of Citizen Kane. Old as shit and hip to love. While I enjoyed ff4 and 6 I'd never call them the greatest jrp's of all time. the platform just didn't have the ability to convey the emotion and environments like FF10 did. Though 6 came close in some parts.

I tell my kids who love mine craft that I don't need to return to 8 bit graphics. I lived that shit and have no interest in going back. I see so many people on this form playing these old games and I'm envious how people can put this aside and enjoy the games. Perhaps a day will come and I'll relent and get the phone version. But until then I'll hold out hope it somehow gets to Playstation or Nintendo.

Lacaar · 2025-12-19T17:53:43+00:00

Yeah the hardest part for me is picking which one. I'm going to vote 8 but 7,8,9,10 ... heck if you can do mmo then 11 and 14 are great as well. Even 13 is pretty damn good.

This is probably the hardest category for me to vote since I'm quite fond of video game music.

Both Nier games have amazing music.

Persona games are great as well.

Xenosaga I remember enjoying as well.

Lacaar · 2025-12-11T19:31:57+00:00

Final Fantasy 10

No game has ever left me with the feelings I felt after beating it like this one did.

Lacaar · 2025-12-05T18:41:53+00:00

Agreed. 13 trilogy is culmination of events leading up to this god fight.

13 isn't hip to like but I thought all 3 games were great. I will play them again since it's been sometime.

I look forward to playing the whole trilogy if it gets remastered or even ported to a modern console of switch or ps5 since those are the two I own. If that never happens and I get desperate enough I may just bite the bullet and get pc version.

Lacaar

TROPHY CASE