Role-playing games are known for their depth, asking players to meticulously build characters, fine-tune stats, skills, and equipment. Japanese role-playing games, or JRPGs, often extend this complexity further by requiring players to manage entire parties of allies. This process can add countless hours to games already known for their slow burn. Some titles, however, push this formula to extreme lengths, offering content that can occupy players for months on end.
These expansive JRPGs often feature developers challenging themselves to cram as much content as possible into their games. Much of this content is optional, but it can be just as engaging as the main narrative. Players may start these titles for a brief escape, only to find themselves playing every single day and getting their money's worth.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
The Yakuza series is renowned for its abundant distractions, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (2024) elevates this philosophy. This turn-based title offers players three cities to explore: Tokyo, Yokohama, and Honolulu. These hubs are filled with familiar pastimes, including dining at restaurants, playing darts and pool, engaging in golf or baseball, and revisiting classic Sega titles in arcades. Engaging in these activities with party members can strengthen their bonds, unlocking loyalty quests and enhancing their effectiveness in battle. These traditional elements, however, are just the beginning.
Infinite Wealth introduces several new features. Each character can learn new jobs, unlocking unique attacks for use against enemies. Players can recruit defeated low-level foes in a Pokémon-style minigame, forming a team of "Sujimon" to battle rival squads across Hawaii and even participate in gym battles. For those seeking a different diversion, Dondoko Island offers an Animal Crossing-esque side hustle. Protagonist Ichiban Kasuga is tasked with transforming a dilapidated island into a five-star resort by catching bugs, clearing garbage, and constructing buildings. This entry in the Like a Dragon series presents a seemingly endless tropical vacation.
Persona 5 Royal
Fittingly, a game where literal months pass within its narrative is featured. Persona 5 (2016) follows the franchise's established structure, unfolding over a full school year. Players control new student Joker as he navigates a stylized Tokyo, seeking activities to fill his days. Options include attending classes, working part-time jobs, reading, and riding trains. These events not only affect Joker's stats but also allow him to forge stronger social links with his classmates. These bonds, in turn, unlock more options for the turn-based combat, creating a slow, addictive progression.
Persona 5 Royal, an enhanced re-release, significantly expands the gameplay loop. It adds a new section of the city, more activities, a longer campaign, unseen dungeons, a deeper social system, and an additional party member. To accommodate these additions, Royal extends the game by including an extra semester, making Persona feel like the ultimate otaku life simulator.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Transforming Final Fantasy 7 into a trilogy is an ambitious undertaking, and Square Enix has risen to the challenge. The second installment, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (2024), retains many elements from its predecessor. Players follow Cloud Strife and his companions as they explore a world filled with monsters to slay and soldiers to fight. In addition to cinematic story missions, they can undertake quirky side quests for citizens, earning rare weapons, accessories, and materia. While Final Fantasy 7 Remake (2020) was largely confined to Midgar, Rebirth ventures into the wider world.
Players journey through diverse regions such as the Kalm grasslands, the coastal Junon region, the mountains and deserts of Corel, the Gongaga jungle, the cliffs of Cosmo Canyon, and the Nibel village. Each area offers hours of story content and side quests, significantly expanding the scope of the first entry. Numerous minigames are also present, including Fort Condor, chocobo racing, and the card game Queen's Blood. Some of these diversions lead to further adventures, such as finding Gilgamesh's hidden island. Compared to the breadth of the Remake trilogy, the original FF7 seems comparatively brief.
Star Ocean: The Second Story
Like other entries in its spacefaring series, Star Ocean: The Second Story (1999) initially presents as a standard action RPG. The sequel sees players crash-land on an alien planet, where they must search for a way home while uncovering an ancient mystery. As players explore the overworld map, they recruit various exotic heroes for their party. These characters' skills can be customized, and their actions in real-time battles can be determined by the player. While this gameplay loop is functional, its true novelty lies in its broader scope.
Star Ocean is celebrated for its replayability, and The Second Story exemplifies this. The game features 13 party members, but players can only recruit eight, including two mandatory characters. This setup makes it impossible to experience all character combinations in a single playthrough. Furthermore, visiting towns unlocks Private Actions: special dialogue sequences where recruited heroes interact and build relationships. These scenes subtly alter the narrative, influencing each character's ultimate fate. This variety of options leads to nearly 100 different endings, making the journey as vast as its titular ocean.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Another sci-fi adventure, Xenoblade Chronicles X (2015) shares a premise with Star Ocean. Players are stranded on an alien planet and must fight alongside companions to survive the environment and uncover the planet's secrets. Instead of a contained map, the game offers a massive open world spanning five continents. This world is populated with numerous side quests and colossal creatures that rival those in Shadow of the Colossus.
Simply traversing these continents is a significant undertaking, but the true depth comes from how exploration impacts character development. As players explore the alien setting, they unlock new ways to customize their experience. Each party member has several classes, and strengthening these classes through quest completion grants new attacks, spells, and techniques. Gathering resources allows for further customization, as heroes can use these materials to craft Skells. These are Gundam-style mechs that can be equipped with various weapons and have their stats improved through crafting, serving as another powerful tool in the player's arsenal. Few JRPGs capture the patient reward of trailblazing as effectively as this title.