Best JRPGs That Focus On Wars
JRPGs cover an incredibly wide spectrum of story types. We have classic “good vs. evil” narratives popularized by the likes of Dragon Quest, along with smaller-scale stories that deal with self-reflections or personal traumas. However, some JRPGs tell epic or tragic war stories; in fact, some of the genre’s greatest masterpieces go down this route.
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In the fantastical realms that JRPGs hold, where narrative is of the utmost importance, great battles are often the driving force of their plots, where players must choose sides or fight valiantly to stop an oppressive force. These JRPGs use grand-scale battles to add high stakes and drama to their stories. Let’s highlight some of the best war JRPGs of all time, across a spectrum of subgenres.
Tactical JRPGs will be included, as they are responsible for most of the best war stories. That said, we will include a few traditional JRPGs too.
8
Tactics Ogre
A Tale Of Law And Chaos, Light And Dark
Tactics Ogre wastes no time throwing the player into an epic, continent-sized war. Before the tutorial battle has even started, players are told the stakes: villagers from a distant coastal town are upstart freedom fighters, hoping to take down an imposing dark knight who serves the belligerent nation of Golgastan, which will not stop until the entire continent has come to heel. The story takes many twists and turns from here, of course, but throughout it all, the trials of this war and how it changes the protagonist remain the focus of the story.
This tactical SRPG might just be Square Enix’s opus in this genre, with a dense, complicated, but compelling story for players to sink their teeth into, and a simple gameplay loop that broadens as more units become available and more techniques become open to the player. Getting a collection of units together that have strategic control over the foes and battlefield feels like playing an incredibly satisfying game of fantasy chess, one with dragons and elemental affinities.
7
DioField Chronicle
A Unique Battle Style Meets A Grand War Narrative
DioField Chronicle boasts an incredible level of depth in how its battles function. The story takes place in an ever-expanding resource war with no true black or white sides, and the main cast are each given time to go through an arc of their own and grow as characters. Fighting the empire that wishes to hoard all the world’s supply of Jade, which is used to cast sorceries, the Blue Fox mercenary band continues to fight on behalf of more and more nobles, slowly growing in acclaim as they try to make a name for themselves.
With an engaging spin on real-time strategy combat and a compelling story that never falls into the territory of giving the player one big, comically evil foe to fight against, DioField Chronicle is a must for anyone looking to engage in an epic battle across a continent.
6
Vagrant Story
A Great Post-War JRPG
Plenty of JRPGs are set in a world devastated by a past war, so we have generally avoided including too many of these games. However, one representative is required, and Vagrant Story is one of the best examples of this type of narrative. Leá Monde, the main city, has been entirely devastated by past conflicts, creating political instability and power vacuums that drive the current story. The protagonist, Ashley Riot, is not your conventional hero, but rather an operative who is trying to avoid the instigation of another war, which is likely due to tensions between various noble houses and religious factions.
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Instead of framing wars as a historical background, Vagrant Story allows them to cast a wide shadow over everything, and the looming threat of renewed battles rests on everyone’s minds. It explores how institutions foster and fuel the cycle, while also shining a light on covert ops and intelligence warfare.
Final Fantasy Tactics is set in the same universe as Vagrant Story and also tells a great war story.
5
Unicorn Overlord
A Campaign Of War Against An Evil Tyrant
Unicorn Overlord presents large-scale battles with a great deal of attention paid to the details of player and enemy unit classes. Players will have to form bands of up to six units that synergize well mechanically and narratively (as some characters can reach a level of camaraderie with one another) to bring the fight against a major tyrant who has conquered the entire continent, the dark lord Galerius of the Zenoiran Empire.
Unleashing bands of skilled fighters onto the battlefield, utilizing their unique strengths, and mastering the iconic combat system are all milestones on this incredible journey that Unicorn Overlord sets the player on. Plus, for the romantically inclined, the protagonist can select from a host of marriage candidates based on who he has the strongest relationship with.
4
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
An JRPG that pushed the Switch to its limits, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is not only a technical epic, but also features an unforgettable war story that is grand in both scale and ambition. Although far from straightforward, the story largely revolves around the eternal conflict between Keves and Agnus, two nations that are forever fighting and seem destined to remain enemies. War is such an ingrained part of life, children are raised specifically to become soldiers, feeding a life cycle that sees them live just to die on the battlefield. Even most cities are designed to cater to the war.
Most war JRPGs revolve around ending a recent major conflict and have clear good/bad sides; however, XC3 asks why people continue to engage in a never-ending war that, despite defining their very existence, they have no idea why it started. The game explores both sides as well, showing their differences and, more importantly, similarities. While action games generally lack the narrative scale found in turn-based and tactical JRPGs, XC3 matches them without much issue.
3
Valkyria Chronicles 4
A Unique Setting With An Incredible Story
Rather than being an expansive fantasy tale or sci-fi epic that colors many JRPGs (but not all of them!), Valkyria Chronicles 4 sets a mid-20th-century world in action, framing the story around a fictionalized continent where a reframing of WWII is taking place. Players will have to manage individual units in an incredibly intuitive skirmish-styled combat system that will see protagonist Claude set himself and his comrades in a raging battle against an imperialist force.
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Definitely a game for those who enjoy high stakes, high-emotional narratives, and unit customization. Commanding tanks, lobbing grenades, and hunkering down in machine gunner nests are novel experiences for the average JRPG player, but this game showcases 20th-century warfare with incredible polish.
2
Triangle Strategy
This Game Focuses On The Renewal Of War
Triangle Strategy has one of the best stories players can encounter in a JRPG, in no small part due to the way that the conflict that forms the brunt of the story is framed. Three nations on one continent, each with a resource to command, fighting or defending in a conflict built upon growing ambitions and selfishness. Throughout it all, Serenoa, the protagonist, must have his convictions tested and altered. Who will he be by the end of the war?
The Second Saltiron War is an incredible battle, with no true heroes or villains, just ambitious rulers and the ones who have been wronged by them, and seek retribution. An impactful game framed in amazing HD-2D style, and a must for anyone looking to take part and alter the outcome of a continent-wide conflict.
1
Suikoden 2
A PS1 JRPG War Epic
Suikoden II
- Released
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September 29, 1999
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes
Suikoden games almost entirely revolve around war, and the first entry delivered a sense of scale that was jaw-dropping back in the mid-’90s. You spend most of these campaigns acquiring dozens of characters, building your own personal army that you can take into small-scale conflicts and epic warzones. Although all the games in the series have something to offer, including Suikoden 4, I would recommend newcomers to begin with Suikoden 2, or get the HD compilation that contains the first two games.
Suikoden 2 represents everything great about this franchise. The main combat system blends traditional turn-based with strategy elements, and it is accompanied by large-scale battles that put you in charge of your forces. War is central to the narrative and not merely something that is happening in the backdrop. The story directly deals with war-related themes like civilian casualties, nationalism, and survival, all the while having that old-school JRPG charm.
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