6 Criminally Overlooked JRPGs You Might Have Missed

Valkyrie Profile is a PS1 title from 1999, developed by Tri-Ace and published by Enix (now Square Enix). The game stars the Valkyrie Lenneth, who recruits slain heroes for Ragnarok. The game was well-received at launch, and its gameplay elements were used in games such as Indivisible and the defunct mobile game Brave Frontier.

Valkyrie Profile’s muted colors and melancholic music made the game stand out at launch. The game is also one of the few early-2000s games with a good English dub. The game has several sequels, with the latest title being Valkyrie Elysium released in 2022.

2. Odin Sphere

One of Vanillaware’s most famous titles, Odin Sphere is a side-scrolling action game with a beat ’em up combat system. The game’s success brought Vanillaware director George Kamitani out of debt he incurred to keep the studio afloat.

Odin Sphere has a remake called Odin Sphere: Liefthrasir, which was scrutinized for its localization. The game originally released in 2007 for the PlayStation 2, and Leiftrhasir released in 2016 for PS3, PS4 and PS Vita. The games stand out for their cinematic cutscenes and hand-drawn 2D graphics.

3. .hack

Originally released in 2002 as .hack//Infection, the multimedia franchise is known for its anime adaptation .hack//sign. CyberConnect2 is the game’s developer, while Bandai is the game’s publisher. The first four games – Infection, Mutation, Oubreak and Quarantine – focus on existing in an MMORPG. Do not confuse this with the anime Sword Art Online.

The game is overlooked due to the amount of content that exists. There are the games, the anime and the various manga adaptations. The original game received mixed reviews but the anime .hack//sign received positive reviews when it came out.

4. Ar tonelico

Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia is the first title in this obscure franchise. Developed by Gust and released in 2006 for the PS2, the game is part of a multimedia franchise. With its own language system called Hymnos, the game is set in three separate worlds. The worlds are so isolated, each one believes it’s the only one that exists.

Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel is the game’s final release, a PS3 game released in 2010. The franchise has a spiritual successor in the form of the Ciel Nosurge/Surge Concerto series. This series is set in the same universe as Ar Tonelico.

5. Disgaea

Personally known as publisher NIS America’s posterchild, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness was released in 2003 by Nippon Ichi Software. The games is one of the games that has wacky humor and has in-game parodies. The game is known for the Prinnies – the penguins that end every other sentence with “dood.”

Why do I say that the franchise is NIS America’s posterchild? Most games localized or published by NIS America are often put under heavy scrutiny by English-speaking JRPG veterans. Due to apparent radical changes in dialogue, when translating from Japanese to English, the franchise is overlooked due to NIS America.

6. 7th Dragon

7th Dragon was released for the PSP and the Nintendo DS in 2009. The game lets you pick between seven classes: Mage, Princess, Rogue, Knight, Samurai, Fighter or Healer. The game is better known for its spin-off sequel, 7th Dragon 2020. This game features a song and an appearance by the Vocaloid Hatsune Miku, who appears as a non-playable character.

7th Dragon is also known for music composed by Yuzo Koshiro of Streets of Rage and Shinobi fame. The game started off as a turn-based JRPG but later titles were dungeon crawlers. The games are also known for their brutal difficulty and relaxing music.

Conclusion

These games are among the most standout games of the genre. The games, likely due to their exclusivity with older consoles, make them hard to enjoy today. The games shouldn’t be overlooked due to their age. These games deserve as much love as they received when they first came out.