It’s always tricky to put a newer game on a list like this because you don’t want to recognize another flavor of the week that will soon be forgotten. As of this writing, Metaphor: ReFantazio has only been out for a few months, but already it looks to be a game that will be replayed and analyzed for years to come.
At first, it might be easy to write it off as Persona in a fantasy skin, but the game is so much more than that. Metaphor: ReFantazio has one of the best stories in any RPG in recent years. Essentially, it’s about your role in choosing the successor to an assassinated king, but it weaves through so many more topics, such as racism, inequality, and extremism, yet never comes across as heavy handed or preachy.
10. Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy had to be somewhere on this list. It’s right there in the name of the series. But deciding which Final Fantasy is actually the best fantasy RPG was a bit difficult. The settings of several games like Final Fantasy VI and VII aren’t really traditional fantasy worlds, so that automatically disqualified them. Final Fantasy XVI is a technically impressive return to the series’ traditional fantasy roots, but the story and combat are far from the series’ best.
In the end, the best true fantasy game in the Final Fantasy series is Final Fantasy IX. It captured the spirit of the earlier games with a beautiful medieval setting and some of the best characters in any RPG ever. It also features some of the better traditional turn-based combat in the franchise before later games started straying from the series’ roots.
9. Dragon Quest XI
While Final Fantasy has explored all sorts of different ideas and settings over the years, the Dragon Quest series has been a reliable fantasy RPG franchise since its inception. They’re all really great JRPGs to be honest, but it’s pretty well agreed upon by fans of the series that the most recent title, Dragon Quest XI is the best to date.
In terms of gameplay, this is about as traditional of a JRPG as you’re going to find. The turn-based combat and item management has barely changed since the first game. But this is also one beautifully crafted anime world, with a great cast of characters, and a lengthy story that manages to stay interesting to the end.
