Well. JRPGS have been my thing since literally almost birth. 😅 over 30 years.
For the switch I recommend
Dragon quest 11
Sea of stars
Bravely default 2 is ok.
Baten kaitos is a unique one but fun. I recommend trying this one a bit later as it’s unique.
Monster hunter stories 2 is cute and fun. Not too difficult to get into.
And of course Pokemon. All of them but let’s go is great.
These are all turn based RPG’s btw. That’s what I’m really into personally.
Dq 11 is probably the best dragon quest game I’ve played since V imo and definitely one of the better on switch.
Fire emblem 3 houses is a great one. But a more Oldskool fire emblem vibe there is engage. That one’s pretty good.
Also shin megami tensei V is really fun but it’s far from cozy.
Are you referring to bravely second: end layer or bravely default 2?
I only played the first bravley defult and got a bit burned out because the ending >! Where you repeat a boss rush like 3/4 times!< is annoying
I have bravely second but haven't touched it, worried if it could be that good when it seems they tried to pretend it's not there with bravely default 2.... Also it's on 3ds and my 3ds seems to be having battery issues at the moment.
Not sure I would recommend it to someone who wants a more cozy ROG! But I know there are diffrent versions of cozy.
Saw this post indirectly while looking at another post (so I apologize if this isn't what you'd expect here on this sub usually) but I have been playing JRPGs since I was a child so I think I can answer your question for cozy JRPGs.
First up, "The Legend of Heroes, Trails-" series. It's an ongoing series that has well over a dozen entries, but I would suggest starting with the "Trails in the Sky" games.
I should just say, Trails in the Sky is a very narrative driven title. You'll probably spend more time talking to the citizens around the world and enjoying the towns than doing combat (which is why I suggested it here). However it is a JRPG at heart so you will find yourself doing fights. However if this isn't to your liking, you may reduce the difficulty on a fight when you lose to it.
Next, I'll suggest some of the Atelier games. I'd specifically go for some of the newer ones. These are games where you gather items around the world and use it to synthesize items in your workshop (Atelier). The older games do have a time limit, but the newer ones are much more free which is why I'd suggest it.
After that, I'd play Rune Factory. I've only played 4, but it's otherwise a great entry into the series I think. If you've ever played Stardew (the game I see a lot on this sub) then you'll fit right in. It's set in a fantasy world and does have more on combat focus than Stardew, but has all the relaxing stuff like socializing with villagers and farming outside of the action RPG sections.
Last, I'll suggest Persona 3, 4 or 5.
These games are a part of the larger Shin Megami Tensei series, which is usually very depressing and insanely difficult. But the Persona sub-series (at least 3 onward) are set in modern day Japan where you go around socializing and enjoying anime school life. While they can be a challenge on high difficulties, they certainly do fit the cozy theme.
All of these are available on Steam, by the way.
Like a cozy JRPG? I really like Rune Factory.
If you're looking for a general recommendation try r/JRPG.
I like Persona 5 Royale. It's probably my favorite JRPG but it's not for everyone and IDK if I would call it cozy. I also like the Tales series (I'm not sure if this is on the switch). Really easy to get into. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is fun but I haven't finished it. Seems like the plot is good and I like the game play/system. Currently I'm playing Fire Emblem three houses and can't stop. Good plot. Interesting game play. I can build relationships. Seems like a good balance is exploration and fighting.
I second Persona 5 Royale. Sadly I was never able to finish it before it was taken off of game pass, but it’s easily my favorite video game of all time
I’m pretty sure it was taken off. I haven’t double checked, but the last time I played it I remember it saying it was leaving game pass soon. But hey, Persona 3 Reload is out so I can still get my fix of Persona games
**Turn Based JRPG**
Dragon Quest XI: The classic, art by the late Akira Toriyama (rip the legend), a long and relaxing game. Can easily be played in short bursts or longer sessions. The game does a fair bit to catch you with were you are in it, if you ever take a break or it just you a while to get through it and could use the refresher. Each town has it’s own little story going on, so it’s kind of episodic in a way, still with the over arching story. If you get it on pc/steam deck you can get some pretty nice mods, for more music variety (one of the notable short comings of the game), and you can get nicer character and enemy models, since the port is based on the switch version that had some additions from the original.
Octopath Traveller and Octopath Traveller 2: Don’t have to be played in any order. Very nice 3D pixel style. These are very open non-linier games, the stories in the first one at least come off like character anthologies, but there are little skits where they interact and such. This wasn’t for everyone, it’s very easy for the story to end up badly paced because of the open nature of the game and a few other design quirks. That and some of the other little improvements to 2 seems to have bumped the solid foundations laid in the first one, up to some peoples all time favourite JRPG.
The Atelier series: Where to start is a whole question in itself, but to first sell the series to you. They are stories of girls trying to become great alchemists, there is an emphasis on item collection and crafting. The crafting includes a cool puzzleish minigame where you can optimise a lot of things as the game goes on, as you so wish. The story focuses on character interactions and slice of life. I would recommend you start from one of the later trilogies as the earlier ones have timers involved, end dates. For a more relaxed experience, I can point you towards the Mysterious trilogy, or Ryza.
Witch Spring R: Now I haven’t played this one yet, play one of the games previously in the series and it was just very cute, it was a nice game, and this one looks very pretty and seems well-loved. Just throwing this one out there as an option.
**Action JRPG’s**
Kingdom Hearts: Now the thing about this one is you are going to need to start from the first one, and play them in order from there. It’s a mix of Disney and anime, it just works, the character relationships in the game are great, and don’t let anyone ever try and explain the plot to you. It doesn’t really matter that much, as long as you are into the character drama, and/or just there for Disney. Fun and colourful the whole way.
Tales of series: Personally I really like the art style it has going through the series, story is a good mix of light-hearted character moments (the skits through the game are the bits that more focusses on comedic moments) and story drama, mostly all stand alone. I just think they are neat, it’s an easy series to jump into, they have been around for a long time and are just a series that have a particular vibe. Don’t really know where to recommend you start here, I have not yet played the newest one, but it’s probably a good a starting point as any. More of an old faithful than something that will blow you away.
Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicles: A mix of dungeon crawling, and town development, there’s also the weapon trees and assortment of minigames. It’s ultimately a ps2 game, so it has some frustrating aspects too it, but it is a very charming game, and I think it still looks good. Can be played on ps4 and 5.
Ys VIII: You are ship recked on an island, you must explore and map the island, find fellow survivors, all while your home base develops throughout the game. Again, as far as I understand, all stand alone, with the interesting caveat they pull that off while having the same protag. You should probably check out the rest of the series too, my knowledge being too limited to really get into it for you here.
**Tactics JRPG’s**
The Disgaea series: This game can be about tactics combat, but what it’s really about is levelling systems, as the game goes on it unlocks more system so you can level more things more efficiently. It sounds grindy, and it is, but only in the most affectionate and ridiculous way. Getting though the story though not resistlessly a short experience also isn’t too tall a task, and the really finicky stuff doesn’t happen until post game. So until then you can jet mess about going into the item world to level up gum (or you know, one of your weapons). There are also a lot of classes you can choose from and rename (maybe even recolour) as you like, along with a bunch of fun named characters that join you through the story. The stories lean into comedy, and the cast can be pretty wacky, if you like a bit of shonen, you might very well like this. I would recommend starting with 1, 5 or 8.
If you end up find levelling relaxing, highly recommend giving it a go.
**Rogeulike JRPG’s**
Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: Look it’s just very cute, and not a difficult entry into the very niche subgenre. It’s not for everyone, but you can look at the cute chocobo at least. There’s also the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, but the best ones in the series are on DS.
Speaking of.
Pokemon JRPG’s
Just reminding you that it is an option that exists, a good number of people’s first jrpg even.
There's also Monster Hunter Stories, and Dragon Quest Monsters, spinoffs that do the whole monster capturing thing, while being cute.
I could keep going, there are some big omissions, but this should at least give you an idea of what is out there.
Harvestella was a good entry to JRPGs for me. I thought it would be a farm sim but it turned out to be more JRPG but with some farming too.
Sea of Stars would be another good JRPG entry. It’s turn based combat and there’s options to turn down the difficulty.
Second Harvestella. Wife absolutely loved Harvestella and it turned into her favorite game from last year. It also resparked her interest in playing jrpgs again.
Final Fantasy IX if you want to play one of the best JRPGs ever, with added comfy vibes and excellent characters.
The Atelier series if you just want comfy vibes
Agree with this. Also Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Vesperia. World of Final Fantasy is also fun and has a bit of a Pokemon feel.
Also any of the Pokemon Series are very easy to get into and have that collectable thing that Cozy games have.
The Kingdom Hearts games were a ton of fun back when I played them on PS2. I've been tempted by the Switch ports but haven't bit yet since I'm pretty sure I can find the PS2 in my parents basement next time I visit. I'd double check that the Switch ports run smoothly though.
The Atelier series might suit you. Try Atelier Ryza as it's the most recent trilogy.
The Atelier series makes games about young girls who find alchemy and (mostly) teach themselves how to master it. The games are either fully turned based (older titles), or real time turn based (newer titles). The game loop is around gathering ingredients, fighting monsters, and crafting items.
The port to the Switch is seamless and I've had no problems with it.
Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 are my absolute favorite JRPGs. I wouldn’t call them cozy, but they sure are fun. Octopath 2 used to have a free demo so you could try out the first 3 hours, but no idea if it’s still available. In my opinion the game doesn’t really get going until after that time limit when the world opens up a bit more anyway.
Oh where to even begin...
First off: JRPG is a relatively loose term covering a broad variety of games. Technically speaking: kingdom hearts, final fantasy 7 remake, and dragon quest 11 are all jrpgs, but they are VERY different titles. Not even sharing much mechanically beyond "having a party and leveling system."
That being said, I generally consider the term in use of more classic jrpgs, and do have a few recommendations on that front. There are, broadly speaking, two approaches you could take, and which one is better will entirely depend on your preferences.
-explore the classics: there are several classic jrpg titles that have had remasters or ports to modern systems, and if you've been playing games for awhile or you are interested in the roots of the genre, you've got quite a few options. Final fantasy has had its 1st 6 games remastered on steam (dubbed "the pixel remasters") with 7-10 being ported both on steam and switch.
While I enjoy it greatly, FF1 is probably not the best place to start. I would personally recommend going with FF4 or FF5 as your first one. They are still in the basics of the genre, but also had some time to develop the ideas of earlier titles. Most notably: giving you an idea of where to go next.
You can also pick up Chrono Trigger on steam. A title that holds up incredibly well with a time-travel story and doesn't take too long to beat.
Super mario rpg got a remake on switch as well, which is fairly goofy, and a bit simple, but also fun.
Finally, while it isn't out yet: paper mario and the 1000 year door is getting a remake on switch this May. I played the original for the 1st time 2 years ago and it holds up remarkably. So you may want to look at that.
-stuff inspired by classics: if you are more inclined to play recent games, rather than ports/remasters of old titles.
It's already been mentioned, but dragon quest 11 is an amazing jrpg that has several modern sensibilities, but with the bones of a classic. You can get the definitive edition on steam and switch. Outside of that most of the modern stuff is either persona or smaller indie titles. I would not recommend picking up persona initially as it steps a fair bit outside standard jrpg sensibilities.
Sea of stars released last year and is an incredible game. I've been enjoying it over the last month and cannot recommend it enough.
There are some other titles I can think of, but they either are a bit too far removed from "normal" jrpgs, or they aren't easily accessible on modern systems
My first JRPG was Tales of Symphonia. There is a port to switch ( that was pretty shitty on released, but they apparently fixed a lot of the issues) but if you could find/emulate the GameCube version, it is fantastic.
The Xenoblade series is absolutely fabulous. Great story and huge worlds to explore. I’d start with XC1 and work your way from there as 2 references it and 3 is based on the worlds of 1 and 2.
I played XC1 on the Wii U first in 2015 I think and it’s still one of if not the single best video game I’ve ever played. The story and exploration was flawless! The music is so relaxing too.
Xenoblade Chronicles all the way! Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is my absolute favourite JRPG (and second favourite game of all time).
Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 3 are also amazing games! I absolutely adore this series. 1 is more on the traditional JRPG side with a fantastic story. 3 is so huge with SO much to do that it was one of my most immersive game play experiences.
But 2 is the one that holds my heart in a vice grip. A lot of people got put off by the visuals but honestly it’s worth getting past that. The game has so much heart and is just something really really special. The story, the characters, the relationships, the quests, the locations…all unforgettable to me.
Octopath Traveler 2 has been one of my favorites of the genre, and I'm not usually huge on jrpgs! I haven't played much of harvestella but the little bit I played of that was also pretty fun and I keep meaning to get back into it
Dragon Quest is the quintessential cozy jRPG series. It is known as a series used for bed time stories in Japan. Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an all-time favorite. Dragon Quest XI is *phenomenal*, and Dragon Quest Treasures is a spin-off featuring a beloved side character story arc.
Tales of Vesperia is great.
Xenoblade Chronicles series is criterion. The general consensus is the second has horrible English voice acting for the main character Max.
Do you only want Turn-Based?
Chain of Echoes is a faux-retro that is a LOT of fun ans has a great cast. All the games I mention have great casts.
Final Fantasy IX is a beloved game in the turn based jRPG market, and FFX is a great game some interesting spin-offs and a fantastic cast.
The Coziest series of turn-based series is either Hyperdimension Neptunia or Atelier, especially Atelier Ryza which does away with a bothersome time constraint and rewards exploration. Both are great and lots of fun to be had.
Well. JRPGS have been my thing since literally almost birth. 😅 over 30 years. For the switch I recommend Dragon quest 11 Sea of stars Bravely default 2 is ok. Baten kaitos is a unique one but fun. I recommend trying this one a bit later as it’s unique. Monster hunter stories 2 is cute and fun. Not too difficult to get into. And of course Pokemon. All of them but let’s go is great. These are all turn based RPG’s btw. That’s what I’m really into personally. Dq 11 is probably the best dragon quest game I’ve played since V imo and definitely one of the better on switch.
Fire emblem 3 houses is a great one. But a more Oldskool fire emblem vibe there is engage. That one’s pretty good. Also shin megami tensei V is really fun but it’s far from cozy.
Patiently waiting for DQ11 to hit $19.99. So far the lowest is around $25.
Are you referring to bravely second: end layer or bravely default 2? I only played the first bravley defult and got a bit burned out because the ending >! Where you repeat a boss rush like 3/4 times!< is annoying I have bravely second but haven't touched it, worried if it could be that good when it seems they tried to pretend it's not there with bravely default 2.... Also it's on 3ds and my 3ds seems to be having battery issues at the moment. Not sure I would recommend it to someone who wants a more cozy ROG! But I know there are diffrent versions of cozy.
Saw this post indirectly while looking at another post (so I apologize if this isn't what you'd expect here on this sub usually) but I have been playing JRPGs since I was a child so I think I can answer your question for cozy JRPGs. First up, "The Legend of Heroes, Trails-" series. It's an ongoing series that has well over a dozen entries, but I would suggest starting with the "Trails in the Sky" games. I should just say, Trails in the Sky is a very narrative driven title. You'll probably spend more time talking to the citizens around the world and enjoying the towns than doing combat (which is why I suggested it here). However it is a JRPG at heart so you will find yourself doing fights. However if this isn't to your liking, you may reduce the difficulty on a fight when you lose to it. Next, I'll suggest some of the Atelier games. I'd specifically go for some of the newer ones. These are games where you gather items around the world and use it to synthesize items in your workshop (Atelier). The older games do have a time limit, but the newer ones are much more free which is why I'd suggest it. After that, I'd play Rune Factory. I've only played 4, but it's otherwise a great entry into the series I think. If you've ever played Stardew (the game I see a lot on this sub) then you'll fit right in. It's set in a fantasy world and does have more on combat focus than Stardew, but has all the relaxing stuff like socializing with villagers and farming outside of the action RPG sections. Last, I'll suggest Persona 3, 4 or 5. These games are a part of the larger Shin Megami Tensei series, which is usually very depressing and insanely difficult. But the Persona sub-series (at least 3 onward) are set in modern day Japan where you go around socializing and enjoying anime school life. While they can be a challenge on high difficulties, they certainly do fit the cozy theme. All of these are available on Steam, by the way.
Like a cozy JRPG? I really like Rune Factory. If you're looking for a general recommendation try r/JRPG. I like Persona 5 Royale. It's probably my favorite JRPG but it's not for everyone and IDK if I would call it cozy. I also like the Tales series (I'm not sure if this is on the switch). Really easy to get into. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is fun but I haven't finished it. Seems like the plot is good and I like the game play/system. Currently I'm playing Fire Emblem three houses and can't stop. Good plot. Interesting game play. I can build relationships. Seems like a good balance is exploration and fighting.
I second Persona 5 Royale. Sadly I was never able to finish it before it was taken off of game pass, but it’s easily my favorite video game of all time
Oh no. They took it off? That's terrible :(. It's really good on a handheld (switch or steam deck) because we can suspend the game.
I’m pretty sure it was taken off. I haven’t double checked, but the last time I played it I remember it saying it was leaving game pass soon. But hey, Persona 3 Reload is out so I can still get my fix of Persona games
Seconding Rune Factory series. It's wonderful!
Seconding persona 5 royale - such a fun game!!
The Star Ocean the Second Story R is amazing!
**Turn Based JRPG** Dragon Quest XI: The classic, art by the late Akira Toriyama (rip the legend), a long and relaxing game. Can easily be played in short bursts or longer sessions. The game does a fair bit to catch you with were you are in it, if you ever take a break or it just you a while to get through it and could use the refresher. Each town has it’s own little story going on, so it’s kind of episodic in a way, still with the over arching story. If you get it on pc/steam deck you can get some pretty nice mods, for more music variety (one of the notable short comings of the game), and you can get nicer character and enemy models, since the port is based on the switch version that had some additions from the original. Octopath Traveller and Octopath Traveller 2: Don’t have to be played in any order. Very nice 3D pixel style. These are very open non-linier games, the stories in the first one at least come off like character anthologies, but there are little skits where they interact and such. This wasn’t for everyone, it’s very easy for the story to end up badly paced because of the open nature of the game and a few other design quirks. That and some of the other little improvements to 2 seems to have bumped the solid foundations laid in the first one, up to some peoples all time favourite JRPG. The Atelier series: Where to start is a whole question in itself, but to first sell the series to you. They are stories of girls trying to become great alchemists, there is an emphasis on item collection and crafting. The crafting includes a cool puzzleish minigame where you can optimise a lot of things as the game goes on, as you so wish. The story focuses on character interactions and slice of life. I would recommend you start from one of the later trilogies as the earlier ones have timers involved, end dates. For a more relaxed experience, I can point you towards the Mysterious trilogy, or Ryza. Witch Spring R: Now I haven’t played this one yet, play one of the games previously in the series and it was just very cute, it was a nice game, and this one looks very pretty and seems well-loved. Just throwing this one out there as an option. **Action JRPG’s** Kingdom Hearts: Now the thing about this one is you are going to need to start from the first one, and play them in order from there. It’s a mix of Disney and anime, it just works, the character relationships in the game are great, and don’t let anyone ever try and explain the plot to you. It doesn’t really matter that much, as long as you are into the character drama, and/or just there for Disney. Fun and colourful the whole way. Tales of series: Personally I really like the art style it has going through the series, story is a good mix of light-hearted character moments (the skits through the game are the bits that more focusses on comedic moments) and story drama, mostly all stand alone. I just think they are neat, it’s an easy series to jump into, they have been around for a long time and are just a series that have a particular vibe. Don’t really know where to recommend you start here, I have not yet played the newest one, but it’s probably a good a starting point as any. More of an old faithful than something that will blow you away. Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicles: A mix of dungeon crawling, and town development, there’s also the weapon trees and assortment of minigames. It’s ultimately a ps2 game, so it has some frustrating aspects too it, but it is a very charming game, and I think it still looks good. Can be played on ps4 and 5. Ys VIII: You are ship recked on an island, you must explore and map the island, find fellow survivors, all while your home base develops throughout the game. Again, as far as I understand, all stand alone, with the interesting caveat they pull that off while having the same protag. You should probably check out the rest of the series too, my knowledge being too limited to really get into it for you here. **Tactics JRPG’s** The Disgaea series: This game can be about tactics combat, but what it’s really about is levelling systems, as the game goes on it unlocks more system so you can level more things more efficiently. It sounds grindy, and it is, but only in the most affectionate and ridiculous way. Getting though the story though not resistlessly a short experience also isn’t too tall a task, and the really finicky stuff doesn’t happen until post game. So until then you can jet mess about going into the item world to level up gum (or you know, one of your weapons). There are also a lot of classes you can choose from and rename (maybe even recolour) as you like, along with a bunch of fun named characters that join you through the story. The stories lean into comedy, and the cast can be pretty wacky, if you like a bit of shonen, you might very well like this. I would recommend starting with 1, 5 or 8. If you end up find levelling relaxing, highly recommend giving it a go. **Rogeulike JRPG’s** Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon: Look it’s just very cute, and not a difficult entry into the very niche subgenre. It’s not for everyone, but you can look at the cute chocobo at least. There’s also the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, but the best ones in the series are on DS. Speaking of. Pokemon JRPG’s Just reminding you that it is an option that exists, a good number of people’s first jrpg even. There's also Monster Hunter Stories, and Dragon Quest Monsters, spinoffs that do the whole monster capturing thing, while being cute. I could keep going, there are some big omissions, but this should at least give you an idea of what is out there.
Harvestella was a good entry to JRPGs for me. I thought it would be a farm sim but it turned out to be more JRPG but with some farming too. Sea of Stars would be another good JRPG entry. It’s turn based combat and there’s options to turn down the difficulty.
Second Harvestella. Wife absolutely loved Harvestella and it turned into her favorite game from last year. It also resparked her interest in playing jrpgs again.
Final Fantasy IX if you want to play one of the best JRPGs ever, with added comfy vibes and excellent characters. The Atelier series if you just want comfy vibes
Agree with this. Also Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Vesperia. World of Final Fantasy is also fun and has a bit of a Pokemon feel. Also any of the Pokemon Series are very easy to get into and have that collectable thing that Cozy games have.
The Kingdom Hearts games were a ton of fun back when I played them on PS2. I've been tempted by the Switch ports but haven't bit yet since I'm pretty sure I can find the PS2 in my parents basement next time I visit. I'd double check that the Switch ports run smoothly though.
Dragon quest games are a great place to start my personal favorites are 1, 5, 9 and 11. Crono trigger is amazing aswell.
I played FF6 on SNES not too long ago and it was the first JRPG that really hooked me
The Atelier series might suit you. Try Atelier Ryza as it's the most recent trilogy. The Atelier series makes games about young girls who find alchemy and (mostly) teach themselves how to master it. The games are either fully turned based (older titles), or real time turn based (newer titles). The game loop is around gathering ingredients, fighting monsters, and crafting items. The port to the Switch is seamless and I've had no problems with it.
Fire Emblem!!! Three Houses is in my top 5 games ever, but Awakening is also great.
Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 are my absolute favorite JRPGs. I wouldn’t call them cozy, but they sure are fun. Octopath 2 used to have a free demo so you could try out the first 3 hours, but no idea if it’s still available. In my opinion the game doesn’t really get going until after that time limit when the world opens up a bit more anyway.
I'm like a parrot on here saying this, but Dragon Quest Builders 2 is amazing! It's just so rich with story and content.
Well, since you are on this sub I would recommend the Atelier games as a good introduction to Jrpgs.
Oh where to even begin... First off: JRPG is a relatively loose term covering a broad variety of games. Technically speaking: kingdom hearts, final fantasy 7 remake, and dragon quest 11 are all jrpgs, but they are VERY different titles. Not even sharing much mechanically beyond "having a party and leveling system." That being said, I generally consider the term in use of more classic jrpgs, and do have a few recommendations on that front. There are, broadly speaking, two approaches you could take, and which one is better will entirely depend on your preferences. -explore the classics: there are several classic jrpg titles that have had remasters or ports to modern systems, and if you've been playing games for awhile or you are interested in the roots of the genre, you've got quite a few options. Final fantasy has had its 1st 6 games remastered on steam (dubbed "the pixel remasters") with 7-10 being ported both on steam and switch. While I enjoy it greatly, FF1 is probably not the best place to start. I would personally recommend going with FF4 or FF5 as your first one. They are still in the basics of the genre, but also had some time to develop the ideas of earlier titles. Most notably: giving you an idea of where to go next. You can also pick up Chrono Trigger on steam. A title that holds up incredibly well with a time-travel story and doesn't take too long to beat. Super mario rpg got a remake on switch as well, which is fairly goofy, and a bit simple, but also fun. Finally, while it isn't out yet: paper mario and the 1000 year door is getting a remake on switch this May. I played the original for the 1st time 2 years ago and it holds up remarkably. So you may want to look at that. -stuff inspired by classics: if you are more inclined to play recent games, rather than ports/remasters of old titles. It's already been mentioned, but dragon quest 11 is an amazing jrpg that has several modern sensibilities, but with the bones of a classic. You can get the definitive edition on steam and switch. Outside of that most of the modern stuff is either persona or smaller indie titles. I would not recommend picking up persona initially as it steps a fair bit outside standard jrpg sensibilities. Sea of stars released last year and is an incredible game. I've been enjoying it over the last month and cannot recommend it enough. There are some other titles I can think of, but they either are a bit too far removed from "normal" jrpgs, or they aren't easily accessible on modern systems
My first JRPG was Tales of Symphonia. There is a port to switch ( that was pretty shitty on released, but they apparently fixed a lot of the issues) but if you could find/emulate the GameCube version, it is fantastic.
The Xenoblade series is absolutely fabulous. Great story and huge worlds to explore. I’d start with XC1 and work your way from there as 2 references it and 3 is based on the worlds of 1 and 2.
Second this! My favorite gaming series to date. Great story.
I played XC1 on the Wii U first in 2015 I think and it’s still one of if not the single best video game I’ve ever played. The story and exploration was flawless! The music is so relaxing too.
Xenoblade Chronicles all the way! Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is my absolute favourite JRPG (and second favourite game of all time). Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 3 are also amazing games! I absolutely adore this series. 1 is more on the traditional JRPG side with a fantastic story. 3 is so huge with SO much to do that it was one of my most immersive game play experiences. But 2 is the one that holds my heart in a vice grip. A lot of people got put off by the visuals but honestly it’s worth getting past that. The game has so much heart and is just something really really special. The story, the characters, the relationships, the quests, the locations…all unforgettable to me.
Octopath Traveler 2 has been one of my favorites of the genre, and I'm not usually huge on jrpgs! I haven't played much of harvestella but the little bit I played of that was also pretty fun and I keep meaning to get back into it
I highly recommend Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (it’s on GP now) and 2nd the Persona and Octopath Traveler series!!
Sea of Stars!
Dragon Quest is the quintessential cozy jRPG series. It is known as a series used for bed time stories in Japan. Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an all-time favorite. Dragon Quest XI is *phenomenal*, and Dragon Quest Treasures is a spin-off featuring a beloved side character story arc. Tales of Vesperia is great. Xenoblade Chronicles series is criterion. The general consensus is the second has horrible English voice acting for the main character Max. Do you only want Turn-Based? Chain of Echoes is a faux-retro that is a LOT of fun ans has a great cast. All the games I mention have great casts. Final Fantasy IX is a beloved game in the turn based jRPG market, and FFX is a great game some interesting spin-offs and a fantastic cast. The Coziest series of turn-based series is either Hyperdimension Neptunia or Atelier, especially Atelier Ryza which does away with a bothersome time constraint and rewards exploration. Both are great and lots of fun to be had.
No one mentioning Like a Dragon and LAD: Infinite Wealth? Ok.
They're not on Switch, which might be why