Japanese Roleplaying Games- JRPGs- are as famous as they are infamous. Just those four letters can summon thoughts of tedious grinding, long-winded dialogue, and confusing plot on top of confusing plot. Whether you love them or hate them, it’s hard to deny their influence on the modern landscape of gaming.
Final Fantasy and its spin-offs are likely the most well-known JRPGs out there, but there are hundreds of other JRPG series worthy of your attention, and I’ll be discussing seven of my favorite obscure ones for the PS1 that I personally find more interesting than what you’ll see in mainstream discussion.
Have you heard of these JRPGs?
7. G.O.D. PURE – Growth or devolution
If you’re a fan of Mother or Earthbound, this JRPG just might tickle your fancy. In G.O.D. You play as a young boy like any other with the default name of Gen. Gen is like any other boy; He rides his bike, plays baseball, and is even bullied from time to time. But in a bout of youthful misadventure, he sees something he shouldn’t have on top of the mountain, and aliens invade the earth.
Gen falls into a ten-year coma and eventually reawakens as a man with the ability to tap into the gates of his chakra for use in combat against the aliens and mutants that have infested Earth, along with allies you can make along the way. Though fantastical, unfortunately, G.O.D. PURE never received an official English translation
6. PURUMUI PURUMUI
Ever wanted to play a JRPG about being a food-themed magical girl? Probably not, but Purumui Purumui intends to change your mind. You play as Madoka (Thankfully not that other magical girl known as Madoka), a girl who wakes up in the mysterious world called Fillip Side; specifically, she awakens in the house of the Fillip Side residents named Muu, Mui, and Popuri.
Strange things are going on in Fillip Side, and to save the world, Madoka will need to become a great chef, using her recipes to change the form of Mui at morphing stations, and power medals to change her own form. Unfortunately, this is another game that never received an official English translation, so if you’re inclined to play it, you will need to download a fan translation.
5. OASIS ROAD
In Oasis Road, long ago, the Tree of Life was destroyed, and paradise was lost. Three thousand years of industrialization began to slowly transform the earth into a frozen wasteland with no hope of habitation. Those able migrated to warmer climates, but that could only do so much to mitigate the damage to the earth that had already been done.
You play as your choice of one of 18 different characters (an impressive variety for the time) to explore the desert, raiding old ruins and trying to figure out the history of this world. Personally, I find the most interesting part of this game to be the fact that the rare items you discover throughout your journey actually influence the events of the game. Once again, this JRPG received no official English translation.
4. BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI
This JRPG is a lighthearted romp that just about any gamer should be able to digest. You play as Musashi, a reincarnation of the legendary swordsman by the same name, summoned to the Allucaneet Kingdom by their Princess, Fillet, to help them push back the aggressions of the Thirstquencher Empire.
If you haven’t gotten it by now, BRAVE FENCER MUSASHI is an absurd food-themed JRPG full of a gaggle of puns and jokes throughout the whole game. Its entire attitude is crisp and refreshing compared to other Squaresoft game series, like Final Fantasy, and never overstays its welcome.
3. MOON: Remix RPG Adventure
Here’s one for all you Undertale and Deltarune fans out there; it’s pretty well known that games like Earthbound inspired Toby “Radiation” Fox to create his hit game Undertale, but an often uncredited source of inspiration is MOON: Remix RPG Adventure. In this JRPG, you actually play as a side character within a literal RPG after the “Hero” has already gone through and run amok.
Instead of fighting monsters and killing bosses, your character levels up his “Love” by finding out and granting the wishes of the NPCs that inhabit the world after it’s been ravaged. I’m sure you can draw parallels from this to the mechanics within Undertale. This game serves as a satire of the typical JRPGs of the time, intending to turn common tropes on their head.
2. BREATH OF FIRE IV
This is one of the JRPGs I’ve been most excited to write about, and not just because of childhood nostalgia. BREATH OF FIRE IV is a continuation of the broader story of the BOF series, where you play as Ryu, a young man with no memory of his past or history, but the ability to transform into a dragon when things get dicey.
You control Ryu and a three-member party with a total of six characters to choose from, and work together to save the world. This isometric JRPG just has so much texture and elegance to it, with a wonderfully crafted storyline and gorgeous art to go along with it. I’d highly recommend any JRPG fan to give it a try.
1. Azure Dreams
Yes, I must admit, I am shamelessly biased towards this game, and I want everyone to know about it. You play as Koh, an aspiring Monster Hunter from the town of Monsbaiya. Directly connected to Monsbaiya is the Monster Tower, an ever-shifting tower filled to the brim with treasure and mystery. Your father was the first man to reach the top, but disappeared mysteriously afterwards.
This game is just filled to the brim with things to do. You go through the tower to accumulate gold and monster eggs, which you can hatch and raise, either to fight alongside you, or to sell for more money you can use to bring the town to new prosperity. You can even meet a variety of ladies to “date” in a sort of pseudo-harem mechanic, though that’s just the icing on the cake of this game. Crack it open and give it a try yourself; you won’t be disappointed.
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