10.
Opening our list of Top 10 Android JRPG is SWORD ART ONLINE:Memory Defrag
A popular anime and manga hit makes its way to mobile in certified style.
Published by Bandai Namco, Sword Art Online fearlessly takes on another digital battlefield,
taking us into their iconic tale of cyber imprisonment.
It's a mobile RPG that rides on the trend of character-collecting games--and while it's
not original, it definitely knows its audience.
Strap on your belts, and trap yourselves in their colorful cyber worlds--with new scenes,
and new ways to play.
Maneuver along with your favorite characters, Kirito, Asuna, Leafa, and Sinon, as they take
on a brand new adventure.
Relive iconic moments, and relish new scenes made directly for the game.
Raise your swords, and ready your spells as you faceoff with the anime's towering archnemeses.
With their well-implemented RPG system, you'll grow along with your favorites, strengthening
them with new upgrades and skills to survive the monsters that lie in wait.
This sidescrolling adventure packs a fair amount of cooperative fun, perfect for long
raids with your friends.
With so much content, packed into a bite-sized diversion, it’s one digital world you won’t
bother escaping.
It has a PlayScore of 8.36.
9.
DRAGON QUEST VI
The last of the Zenithia Trilogy, this sixth installment still has the charm of their previous
hits.
It even manages to improve on some aspects of the the fifth game, with some minor changes
and upgrades, and most especially on their graphics.
Part of Sqaure Enix' series of remakes in 2007, its port to the DS was the very first
time it reached the western shores.
With much of the same offerings as their previous games, it doesn't really come close to being
the definitive Dragon Quest title, but it has enough of the series charm to warrant
another look.
Straying away from the story-heavy games as the previous games, Dragon Quest VI is where
the creator goes in favor of the humble sidemissions and the quest for the hero’s identity.
Set in the conflicting lands of dreams and reality, gather your allies, complete quests,
and confront the evils of the tyrannical Murdaw.
While VI offers a lackluster narrative adventure, it definitely makes up for it with their satisfying
combat and expansive class systems.
Explore over 9 different starting choices, and watch yourself grow as you branch out
deeper into your career, with a grand total of 15 classes.
It renders itself a much larger quest for greatness, and a higher rate of replayability.
As with some of their mobile ports, it features a permanent portrait mode that might feel
too constricting to some users.
But, if you’re just looking to continue your Dragon Quest binge, or for a old-school,
turn-based JRPG to while away the hours, then VI is a very good fit.
It has a PlayScore of 8.37.
8.
FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS
There are over hundreds of JRPGs on the mobile right now, Square Enix leading the pack with
their Final Fantasy games.
And while their classics still exist today, they've crafted a whole new FF experience,
created specifically to cater to the mobile masses--offering them a premium, free-to-play
RPG with some gachapon elements.
Unlock your favorite characters from the series, and fight against the creatures of their world
in trademark Final Fantasy style.
Developed by Alim, it also shares many elements with their successful title, Brave Frontier.
The game is presented much like any FF game, in traditional pixel artstyle, and boasting
a few of Yoshitaka Amano's signature styles.
In this game, follow the story of two noble knights, Rain and Lasswell, and an amnesiac
girl, Fina--two paths met by fate, now united through a journey full of magic and danger.
Highly optimized for mobile use, embark on their strategic combat with intuitive taps
and swipes.
Accept quests, dive into dungeons, talk to the citizens, and fight against other players:
it has all the trappings of a high-calibre RPG, all made into one portable, free-to-play
game.
With their gacha-style system, you can even create yourself a party of five characters
from their beloved series.
And, while it's not as strategically challenging as their classic games, it's still a great,
nostalgia filled adventure--with a bit of Ariana Grande at the side.
It has a PlayScore of 8.37.
7.
Terra Battle
Hironobu Sakaguchi is one of the most beloved icons in the videogame industry.
And if you haven't heard of him yet, you've probably seen his work.
With an impressive resume that includes Chrono Trigger, and a few of the games and films
of the Final Fantasy Series, he's well-known and well-loved icon for very good reasons.
Especially with this latest project that aims to give Puzzle and Dragons a run for their
money.
This venture into the free-to-play RPG model for the mobile isn’t exactly what you’d
expect for a man of his stature.
And while it has its drab moments, it’s still a pretty good game overall.
A barebones RPG game, make war against the opposing forces by moving around in a grid.
Strategize using your singular movement option, and deal damage once you get closer.
As you continue battling with other creatures, you'll level up your chosen characters--giving
them more skills and opportunities.
It might sound boring, but it's actually a pretty fast-paced game that requires quite
a bit of strategic wits.
What's concerning is its tendency towards the pay-to-win cliche that most free games
fall prey to.
With their limited and RNG-based character rewards, finishing the game isn't a very realistic
goal unless you wanna spend a few bucks.
But, with the game’s superstar artist offerings like the legendary Nobuo Omatsu, it’s definitely
worth a shot.
It has a PlayScore of 8.39.
6.
DRAGON QUEST IV
From the modern, barebones RPG of the smartphone era, let's go back to Dragon Quest's traditional
sprites.
Originally from 90s, Chapters of the Chosen was a product of the Famicom era before it
was remade twice--becoming a hit on the PlayStation, and again on the Nintendo DS in 2008.
Ultimately, it was this version that made it to the mobile.
The first of the so-called Zenithia Trilogy, owing to the presence of the iconic castle
in the sky.
It also boasts a few changes from the original that really expands the experience.
Among those are boomerangs, immigrant towns, and an extra chapter.
But, on its own, Dragon Quest IV also sets it apart from the rest of series, splitting
their overarching narrative into five different chapters--four of them tells the tale of Hero's
party members, and the last follows the Hero himself.
It's the kind of inventiveness that made it stands out when it first released, and even
in today's generation.
And, although it's more than 20 years old, the magic is still kept alive, thanks in part
to their fresh yet familiar atmosphere.
It's not the best Dragon Quest game, with its rather old fashioned interface that, rather
annoyingly, takes up the most of the your screen.
However, it's vintage quality is probably what most people will enjoy about it.
It has a PlayScore of 8.46.
5.
FINAL FANTASY V
Dating back to the Super Famicom days of the Final Fantasy series, this fifth entry to
the legendary franchise is only of the many classic FF chapters that made it to the mobile
hemisphere.
And while others have had pretty advanced games to port it from, this chapter in particular
had to be revamped from the ground up by Square Enix themselves, that while similar to the
Game Boy Advanced port, has a distinct difference.
Now, other than their interactive touch-based UI, it also sports some enhanced visuals that
might take away from their usual pixel aesthetics.
But, waiting years before its eventual release to the western audience, I'm sure fans of
FFV can stand a few graphical tweaks.
In terms of gameplay, however, the game is largely the same with its vast world, and
enjoyable RPG senses.
Play as the hero Bartz, who ventures along with his companions to protect the shattering
crystals, and defeat evil once and for all.
Known as one of the darker tones of the series, its a pretty emotional ride.
One of FFV’s recognizable traits is its robust jobs system, standing up pretty well
compared to their later chapters.
With their wide variety of choices, it leaves a lot for their players to explore and experiment
with--adding to that is the fact that you're free to switch between your jobs during the
course of the story.
What else could you ask for?
It has a PlayScore of 8.49.
4.
FINAL FANTASY IX for Android
Moving on from the sprites, we get one of Final Fantasy's contenders for the best in
the series.
It's a game that's widely adored, not just because of one aspect, but because of its
majesty as a whole.
Dated as its clunky polygons might look to our young eyes, it was quite a landmark for
its time.
Final Fantasy IX gave us fans a taste of the elusive 3 dimensional dream, along with their
jaw-droppping visuals and excellent designs.
And while it will always have a place in our hearts and in our PSX emulators, Square Enix
goes one level higher--giving us the joy of the original, with a few much needed tweaks.
Return to the war torn lands of Gaia, and join Zidane Tribal as he takes on the kidnapping
of Alexandria's princess.
Having never been ported to any other device before, it’s impressive to see how much
care was expended to bring it to the mobile.
They’ve managed to work around the PlayStation’s limited pixels to give users the full artistic
package.
Even on larger resolutions, their characters are looking polished and alive.
While the captivating story and sprites can wow any fan who plays the game, their control
system does give way to few glaring mishaps.
Their d-pad system might be miles ahead of what emulators offer, there are still some
unsynched maps and objects that threaten to dampen its overall excellence.
Nevertheless, it’s still the highest rated Final Fantasy game on the Android, and it
has a PlayScore of 8.6.
3.
DRAGON QUEST VIII
Now, this particular Dragon Quest game is held dear, not only by the many hardcore fans
that fell in love with the PlayStation 2 version, but also by the thousands of young, up and
coming gamers who enjoyed their most recent port to the 3DS.
However, this Android version, being released in 2014, didn't seem to impress the critical
mobile masses.
Don't get us wrong, it's still the same fantastic game we all know and continue to love.
But this port is a whole new story altogether, bringing in a slew of technical changes that
really makes for more frustrating gameplay.
Aside from being locked on portrait mode, it's poor mobile optimizations stand in the
way of an excellent game.
Aside from being locked on portrait mode, VIII is also stuck with the lackluster 24fps
that most phones seem to struggle with.
Other than those annoying changes, the glory of 8's excellence manages to shine through.
Relive the silent Hero and his gang's family friendly misadventures in this pocket-friendly
iteration.
While it loses some elements of the beloved North American release, like the orchestrated
soundtrack and lively voice-acting, it's removed the annoying random encounters of the PlayStation
original.
It definitely isn't as good as their more recent ventures, but it's a small price to
pay to have a legend in your pockets.
It has a PlayScore of 8.73.
2.
DRAGON QUEST V
YES.
There are four Dragon Quest games on this list, and we are not sorry at all.
Not one bit.
Besides now is not the time to complain, because we're gonna talk about one of the best things
that ever came out of Yuji Horii's genius of a mind.
Although it was originally released on the Nintendo Super Famicom in 1992, the game never
quite made it to western shores until the DS remakes in 2009.
But, the 17 year wait was all worth it in the end, letting us experience the legendary
game for the first time ever.
And now, it's right at our fingertips with this Android port.
Known for its many milestones in gaming history, Dragon Quest oozes with epicness from the
very first second, and sustains all throughout.
Covering about thirty years of the protagonist's life, your adventure begins from the minute
of his birth until his imminent marriage and family life.
While it follows the same cliche of defeating evil to save mankind, it's one of the most
well-crafted stories in the series, duly showing off Horii's innate love for bittersweet tales.
Aside from their deep story, the gameplay also shines, letting you recruit random encounter
monsters into your party.
This monster-collecting mechanic ultimately inspired the likes of Pokemon, Digimon, and
more.
With a long and immersive story, topped off by a memorable gameplay experience, Dragon
Quest V provides us with the best the series could offer, now in a pocket-friendly edition.
It receives a PlayScore of 8.75.
Here are the runners-up before we reveal the number one:
11.
Inotia 4.
Just like any RPG game, step into a fantasy world filled with Goblins, Orcs and more in
com2uS USA’s action-driven adventure.
It has a PlayScore of 8.33 12.
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.
Not exactly the best of the Final Fantasy series.
It was made as a sequel to 1991's Final Fantasy IV, with the benefits of a full 3D makeover.
It has a PlayScore of 8.32.
13.
Final Fantasy VI.
An unforgettable Final Fantasy adventure full of magic, mechs, and a whole lot of random
encounters.
It has a PlayScore of 8.28. 14.
ONE PIECE TREASURE CRUISE.
Form your hearty crew of landlubbers and sail to the vast waters in Bandai Namco’s Mobile
One Piece game.
It has a PlayScore of 8.27. 15.
ROMANCING SAGA 2.
Another one of Square Enix's recognized titles.
This mobile port offers the game in full remastered form, along with their first official English
translation.
It receives a PlayScore of 8.25.
1.
And the best JRPG on the Android is Chaos Rings III
Proving they're one of the high kings of Japanese RPGS, Square Enix has conquered this list
with absolutely no effort at all--ending with one of their latest IPs.
Although it's not as globally recognized as their two flagship series, Chaos Rings rises
above all of them, proving their the best of the company's mobile flock.
If you're tired of the classic 2D sprites, then Chaos Ring's vibrant 3D worlds will give
you an eye-popping first look--with beautiful models and equally beautiful sights.
It doesn't quite continue the stories of their previous two games.
Instead it brings us to the narrative the adventurers of Neo Paleo, the last step towards
their dreams of becoming explorers to the lovely Marble Blue.
Choose from up to five different playable characters, and discover the secrets of their
world with your party of three.
Take on the game's main quests in the gripping story mode, or fight against monsters to collect
an array of valuable equipment.
With additional quests unlocked every day in their daily challenges, there's always
something to look forward to.
Embark on their standard turn-based combat, and bring down beasts with skills and brute
force.
Whatever road you choose, their lineup of loveable characters will bring joy in every
step.
Learn about them in your various missions, and watch them come alive with the game’s
remarkable visual presentations.
A modern classic, it receives a PlayScore of 8.79