We don’t all have hundreds of hours to spare in our free time, but the majority of JRPGs these days demand that you do, just to finish the story. What about those of us who have other hobbies and responsibilities? We want to experience amazing JRPGs too!
The Most Faithful JRPG Remakes, Ranked By Similarity To The Original Game
These JRPG remakes get as close as possible to the original game.
Luckily, there are some medium-length JRPGs that don’t require you to give up half of your life just to see them through. They’re still fantastic and just as incredible as the longer JRPGs, just a lot more manageable in terms of the time commitment.
Average playtimes are from howlongtobeat.com.
The World Ends With You
Average Time To Beat: 25 Hours
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Engine
- Unity
- Multiplayer
- Local Co-Op
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo DS, Switch, Android, iOS
- How Long To Beat
- 25 Hours
The World Ends With You is one of Square Enix’s most overlooked JRPGs, and that’s a crying shame. At under 30 hours, its time commitment is very reasonable, and its shorter length makes its story concise and digestible.
Playing as Neku, who has unassumingly become a part of the Reapers’ Game, you’ll explore the ‘UG’ version of Shibuya, trying to win back your life. The game has a unique battle system where you use pins to fight the Noise, and a heartfelt story and characters you’re bound to fall in love with.
Pins are used with touchscreen controls on the original DS version, but the Final Remix version on Switch changes the system to use button controls. I personally recommend playing the original DS version, but the Switch version is good too, and even has an additional scenario that leads into the sequel.
Chrono Trigger
Average Time To Beat: 23 Hours
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Engine
- Cocos Creator Engine
- Multiplayer
- Local Co-Op
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- Platform(s)
- SNES, PlayStation (Original), PC, Nintendo DS, Android, iOS
- How Long To Beat
- 23 Hours
Chrono Trigger is one of the kings of medium-length JRPGs. It tells an epic, time-travelling story with unique characters, all under 25 hours. The team behind it is just as iconic too, with big names like Yoshinori Kitase as director, Nobuo Uematsu as composer, and Akira Toriyama as an artist.
Chrono Trigger’s 2D pixel graphical style is utterly timeless, and still looks incredible to this day. It also has a fun battle system that’s unlike almost any other JRPG out there: it uses Active Time Battle, like a lot of Final Fantasy games, with the added twist of battles taking place in the overworld, and the position of enemies affecting how many you can hit at once. It’s a JRPG you have to play at least once in your life.
Final Fantasy 10
Average Time To Beat: 45 Hours
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Engine
- PhyreEngine
- Franchise
- Final Fantasy
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- Platform(s)
- PS2
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- How Long To Beat
- 45 Hours
- Metascore
- 92
Final Fantasy 10 is a little on the longer end for medium-length JRPGs, but its average playtime comes comfortably under 50 hours, so it’s still very manageable. Final Fantasy 10 has one of the most tragic stories in the series, but the fully realised characters are completely worth going through that pain for.
Yuna is my favourite character in the Final Fantasy series!
The game’s Sphere Grid system is extremely satisfying to work your way through too, as you unlock new skills and work towards unlocking other skills further down the branch. This one is perfect if you’re looking for a slightly longer journey, but not too long.
Kingdom Hearts
Average Time To Beat: 28 Hours
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Cross-Platform Play
- android, ios
- Cross Save
- yes
- Franchise
- Kingdom Hearts
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- Platform(s)
- PS2
- How Long To Beat
- 29 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- no
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
While Kingdom Hearts does have an ongoing story that will eventually tot up to over 100 hours, each individual game will only set you back around 30-40 hours, and the very first game in the series only takes an average of 28 hours to beat. You can try out the first one, finish it fairly quickly, and decide if you want to take the plunge for the rest of the series.
The first Kingdom Hearts also has a fairly self-contained narrative, so you can enjoy it entirely on its own. You’ll explore classic Disney worlds, and help save your friends from darkness, all alongside your new pals Donald and Goofy.
Mother 3
Average Time To Beat: 25 Hours
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- M4A sound/music engine
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy Advance
- How Long To Beat
- 25 Hours
- Developer
- Brownie Brown, HAL Laboratory
Ready to sob your heart out? That’s what you’ll do if you play Mother 3, but I promise it’s completely worth it. After a devastating opening, Mother 3 opens up to a magical experience, where you explore the world as a young boy named Lucas and his dog named Boney.
You’ll meet a vibrant cast of characters on your journey to stop the invasion of the Pigmask army, from the tomboy Princess Kumatora to the adorable monkey Salsa. For its short length, Mother 3 will have a lasting impact on you that you won’t soon forget.
Earthbound is slightly longer with an average of around 28 hours, but that’s a worthy contender as well, especially if you’re looking for a more lighthearted experience.
Suikoden 1 & 2 HD Remaster
Average Time To Beat: 48 Hours
Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars
- Released
- March 6, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Mild Blood, Suggestive Themes, Violence, Simulated Gambling, Language
- Developer(s)
- Konami
- Publisher(s)
- Konami
- Engine
- Unity
- Franchise
- Suikoden
- Number of Players
- 1
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- PC Release Date
- March 6, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- March 6, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- March 6, 2025
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- March 6, 2025
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- How Long To Beat
- 55 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
What’s better than one JRPG? Two JRPGs, of course. The Suikoden 1 & 2 HD Remaster collection contains two fantastic classic JRPGs, and the total playtime for both comes at just under 50 hours.
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The remasters retain all the charm of the originals, while also implementing some much-need quality-of-life features, such as autosave and the option to fast forward battles, so whether you’re new to Suikoden or not, you’re in for a great experience.
Super Mario RPG
Average Time To Beat: 12 Hours (Remake) / 18 Hours (Original)
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- unity
- Franchise
- Super Mario
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 11 Hours
Have you ever wanted to play a JRPG, but with Mario characters? Thanks to a collaboration between Nintendo and Square Enix, that strange fever dream is real. Playing as Mario, you’ll team up with a mixture of familiar and original characters to defeat the notorious Smithy Gang.
Super Mario RPG employs a lot of recognisable elements from the Final Fantasy series (as you’d expect from Square Enix’s involvement) to create a fantastical experience that’s unlike most other JRPGs out there. And it has a very manageable playtime to boot!
Golden Sun
Average Time To Beat: 22 Hours
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Camelot Software Planning
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- GSHTML5
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Golden Sun
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy Advance
- Release
- 2001-11-12
For its short runtime, Golden Sun sure packs a punch. You play as Isaac, who travels across the world (known as Weyard) with his companions on a quest to prevent the power of Alchemy spreading across the world.
For a long time, Golden Sun was stuck on the Game Boy Advance, but it’s now available on Nintendo Switch through a NSO subscription. The sequels, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn and Golden Sun: The Lost Age also have similar playtimes if you’re interested in continuing the series.
Incredible JRPG Series That Have Completely Disappeared
These JRPG franchises might not be around anymore, but their games remain some of the best in the genre.