Game news These J-RPGs of less than 30 hours that you will finish for sure
J-RPGs are known for their often long lifespan that prevents many gamers from seeing the end. However, some offer a more condensed adventure that is nonetheless effective. For all of these reasons, we’ve put together a selection of the best short J-RPGs you can still get your hands on.
Before starting this selection, some details on the selection criteria. First of all, it has to be a J-RPG with twenty hours of gameplay, thirty at most. We use the site for this HowLongToBeat which gives an idea of the lifespan of a game from the experience of the players. Second, the game should be easy to get hold of at the moment, meaning titles that are no longer available on current machines will not appear in the list. Some obvious titles like Parasite Eve, Vagrant Story, Suikoden, EarthBound or Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII are unfortunately not included, but we allow ourselves to mention them here.
summary
- The classics
- Chrono trigger
- The Ys series
- The original concepts
- Child of light
- Crystals
- Voice of the Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
- Exclusive switch
- The world ends with you -Final Remix-
- Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country
- The compilations
- .hack // GU Last Recode
- Langrisser I & II
- The Mana series
The classics
Chrono trigger
Regarded by many as one of the best J-RPGs of all time, Chrono Trigger released on PC in 2018, to say the least … complicated. In fact, this version was based on the game’s mobile port itself based on the DS port, which explains the disappointing rendering given the title’s aura. Happily, For three years this version has been greatly improved as the game now has a large majority of very positive reviews from Steam users. So it is finally possible to take advantage of this title that allows you to travel from one era to the other by playing Chrono, a fairly young man with an iconic look. Thanks to the team behind the project (Hironobu Sakaguchi, the “papa” from Final Fantasy, Yuji Horii, the “papa” from Dragon Quest and Akira Toriyama, the author of Dragon Ball) the game is a real gem and symbolizes all of the square Know-how from that time.
The Ys series
Despite its impressive longevity, the Ys series is far less known in the west than it is in Japan. If you are unfamiliar with the franchise, be aware that they are ultra dynamic action RPGs, especially when it comes to the newer episodes that have been switched to 3D. Unfortunately, to take advantage of this nervous gameplay, it is necessary to override an often very outdated technique that characterizes the saga. In this case, you can take advantage of many generous games that are also available on many media. We recommend Ys Origin, prequel to the very first episode available on many media, although the graphical aspect may put more than one off. To take advantage of the series’ 3D debut, Ys: Memories of Celceta and Ys Seven are good entry points. Finally, we would have liked to suggest the last two previously published episodes Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana and Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, which, however, do not fit into our criteria due to their long lifespan. Finally, note that the series continues to be fairly accessible as most of its episodes are available on PC and gradually land on PS4 and Switch, lasting an average of twenty to thirty hours.
- Lifespan: 10-25h
- Available on Pc PS4 counter iOS Android
The original concepts
Child of light
Although it was developed and published by Ubisoft, Child of Light remains to be considered a J-RPG due to its structure and combat system, which is particularly reminiscent of Grandia. Behind this title, which can be found cheaply on many media, we find a fairytale-like game that offers dialogues written in verse and handmade sets of great beauty, accompanied by a well-done soundtrack. However, the game does not forget to deliver an interesting combat system with accessible turn-based confrontations, but which also enables a specific strategy. And with its lifespan of around ten hours, it’s only logical that Child of Light should have a place in our selection.
Crystals
First announced in 2019, Cris Tales caught the public eye with its colorful, handcrafted graphics. The experiment, developed by the Colombian studio Dreams Uncorporated, is based on an original principle of time manipulation in order to gain an advantage over the enemy. In fact, the heroine Crisbell can wander between the past and the future to respond to her present. For example, it can send a poisoned enemy into the future to succumb to their wounds faster, or plant a seed in the past to grow a tree in the present. In addition to this efficient mechanics, the title benefits from decent graphics with a shimmering art direction and an excellent soundtrack. Beyond its lifespan of roughly twenty hours, Cris Tales is included in Xbox Game Pass, which might convince some to give it a try.
Voice of the Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
Discreetly announced in September, Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is the new project by Yoko Taro, the author to whom we owe NieR Automata, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 … or the Drakengard series. As he usually does The Japanese creator offers us an original experience in a world where everything is represented by cards, from sets to characters, including objects and enemies. However, there is a small subtlety: Voice of Cards is a game WITH cards, not a card game. In other words, the build or deck of cards doesn’t matter here, the battles take the form of classic turn-based J-RPG battles where each character has their own set of skills. Thus, Voice of Cards with its funny writing, its beautiful illustrations and its excellent soundtrack has all the cards in hand to be an effective 15-hour adventure that we can highly recommend.
Exclusive switch
The world ends with you -Final Remix-
While its sequel, NEO: The World Ends With You, was released earlier this year, the first The World Ends With You was released on Switch in 2018. In an adventure developed by the Kingdom Hearts teams, we play Neku, a talented teenager at the art of graffiti who one day receives a message obliging him to take part in tests on threat of disappearance. A young girl named Shiki joins him to help him defeat the dark organization behind this deadly game: the Reapers. To face the monsters that await him, our hero can use pins that give him various powers in real-time battles. Players can also enjoy Shibuya, that district in the heart of Tokyo, as well as a super punchy soundtrack. With a lifespan of around twenty hours, it was logical that The World Ends With You -Final Remix- should be included in our selection.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country
If the Xenoblades are known as particularly long titles, there is still one with a reasonable lifespan. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is available as a standalone version in the physical version and an expansion that is included in the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Season Pass which is available as a Prequel as it focuses on the story of the antagonists of the original game. We then follow the adventures of Jin and his pilot Lora who will see the fall of Torna for an intimate and touching adventure. With its approach reminiscent of MMORPGs, the title offers a more accessible and readable gameplay, which in particular makes it possible to control the blades, these beings who accompany the pilots. After all, this is the shortest content of the saga as it will take you over twenty experiences to see the ending.
The compilations
.hack // GU Last Recode
If we know CyberConnect 2 more for its anime adaptations in video games (the Naruto series: Ultimate Ninja, Dragon Ball Z Kakarot, Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles …), the studio has also created its own franchises, such as .hack. It’s more than video games, it’s a cross-media universe that began with the Anime.hack // Sign in 2002 and followed the game .hack // Infection Part 1 in the same year, taking place in a fictional MMORPG called The World, similar to Sword Art Online ahead of its time, while the gameplay is more like an action RPG. But after years of discretion with us, the series came back with .hack // GU Last Recode, a compilation that brings the .hack // GU saga up to date and includes three PS2 games, namely .hack // GU Vol .1 // Rebirth, .hack // GU Vol.2 // Reminisce and .hack // GU Vol.3 // Redemption. Each of them have a lifespan of around 25-30 hours of playtime, they also enjoy HD smoothing with gameplay and cinematics at 1080p and 60fps in this collection.
Langrisser I & II
Little known to us Langrisser is a tactical RPG series launched on MegaDrive in 1991, which is set in a fantastic Germanic environment. The first episode had some success when it launched in Japan thanks to its large-scale battles that allowed players to control more than 30 units at a time. At the combat level there is a rock-paper-scissors system in which certain weapon categories are more effective against others and weak against others. A mechanic reminiscent of Fire Emblem, who was Langrisser’s great rival at the time. Following the recent success of Langrisser Mobile, the saga had the right to be featured thanks to Langrisser I & II.
- Lifespan: 10h-15h per episode
- Available on Pc PS4 counter
The Mana series
Famous Square Enix action RPG series, the various games in the Mana franchise (known as Seiken Densetsu in Japan) are also known for their relatively short lifespan for action RPGs. So you can try your hand at the three games of the saga, Mystic Quest, Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana, in their original version, thanks to the Collection of Mana only available on Switch. If you’d like to do Secret of Mana, we’ll be forwarding you to this edition rather than the 2018 remake. Finally, the saga’s fourth episode more recently was eligible for a remastered version with Legend of Mana (2021), which was released earlier this year.
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