23 Best Video Games Set In Japan, Ranked

Highlights

• Video games offer immersive ways to learn about Japan’s history, culture, and mythology through captivating storytelling and diverse gameplay.
• Explore Japan from feudal eras to modern Tokyo through a variety of games that showcase stunning visuals and rich cultural details.
• Discover unique and educational experiences in Japan with video games that provide insights into traditions, architecture, and customs while offering engaging gameplay.

Video games are an excellent way to learn about history, science, and even other cultures. It’s getting easier and easier to find fascinating games with unique visuals, great stories, and moving characters that take their players around the world. The same is true when it comes to Japan. Gaming fans can easily travel to and around Japan thanks to these fun and complex games that let their players explore everything from modern Tokyo to Feudal Japan. Some of the best game anime options even introduce gamers not only to various parts of Japan but also to its gigantic and renowned anime industry.

The allure of exploring Japan and its many facets via the immersive medium of video games can’t be stated enough. Players can get lost in these open worlds as they explore well-known locations, interact with familiar Japanese tropes, and explore both the urban and rural locales of the areas present in Japan through an authentic lens that cuts no corners.

Updated June 8, 2024 by Ritwik Mitra: Japan has been a hotbed for video gaming since time eternal, and it’s downright fascinating that so many titles are based in this country. No matter what the period may be, there’s no denying that players will have a great time exploring Japan and both its urban and countryside environments in amazing video games. These titles have compelling gameplay loops and let players enjoy a detailed and immersive look into the country’s rich culture.

23 One Night, Hot Springs

Metascore: N/A

Gaming fans who love playing with relaxing visual novels on Steam will love the heartwarming world of One Night, Hot Springs. This charming game focuses on the world of Japanese onsens.

Players will control a young transgender woman named Haru who simply wants to enjoy the hot springs of Japan. While it’s a simple and relaxing game it also explores important current issues that transgender people have to face on a daily basis. Thanks to its captivating storytelling and charming art style players can embark on a calming yet thought-provoking adventure.

22 In The Rural Village Of Nagoro

Metascore: N/A

In The Rural Village of Nagoro is one of the most fun side-scrolling games set in Japan that lets players explore Shikoku island’s charming village called Nagoro. It’s a simple and minimalist game that’s also a great choice for beginners and casuals alike.

During their short but relaxing adventure, players will get to engage with the inhabitants of the village and witness the transformation of the once-thriving community. It’s an emotional and meditative experience with educational insights into the beautiful Nagoro village and its evolution over the years.

21 Senren＊Banka

Metascore: N/A

Senren＊Banka is one of the most family-friendly Japanese sim games that’s a great choice for beginner and more advanced gamers as well. This feel-good sim has a cute design, a fun story, and a wide range of characters.

Even though Senren＊Banka‘s story is fantasy-inspired, it’s still a great choice for all gamers who are looking for video games about Japan since, during their adventures, players get a chance to learn more about Japanese history, architecture, as well as about Japan’s customs, traditions, and mythology. They can explore a charming rural Japanese village and build relationships with the divine beings who live there as they uncover the mysteries of the village’s past and present.

20 Trek To Yomi

Metascore: 71

Trek to Yomi is another action-filled video game that transports its players back in time and takes them on an epic adventure filled with bloody battles. This cinematic action-adventure game not only has beautiful graphics but a gripping story and chilling soundtrack.

Trek to Yomi steps into the shoes of a young swordsman named Hiroki and embarks on a dangerous journey as the lone samurai fights against demons to protect those he loves the most. It’s a deep dive into feudal Japan, as well as the traditional weapons that samurai warriors used. Casuals can check out useful beginner tips for Trek to Yomi to get started with the game more easily.

19 Tokyo Jungle

Metascore: 74

Tokyo Jungle is a fun survival horror game that takes its players to a post-apocalyptic Japan where humans have gone extinct. Tokyo looks like a deserted wasteland populated by only wild animals. The graphics are beautiful in their own way, and a wide variety of animals can be controlled.

To unlock more and more animals, gamers have to complete various fun challenges. It’s a great game with a dystopian feel, exotic animals, as well as household pets who all fight each other to stay alive in the wild. The game can be difficult at times, but thanks to its unique world, it keeps everyone entertained until the very end.

18 Ghostwire: Tokyo

Metascore: 75

Ghostwire: Tokyo transports its players into a dystopian version of modern-day Tokyo, where they can walk around the streets of Japan’s iconic capital city while fighting supernatural creatures. It’s one of the most realistic video games set in Tokyo with a mysteries-filled and engaging story.

Players will get to use unique and powerful elemental abilities as they try to uncover the dark mystery behind the sudden disappearance of Tokyo’s residents and restore the city to its original glory. Thanks to Ghostwire: Tokyo, gamers can not only explore a deeply atmospheric version of Tokyo, including some of its most iconic landmarks like Shibuya Crossing and Tokyo Tower but learn more about Japan’s fascinating mythology and its terrifying vengeful spirits called Yokai.

17 Judgment

Metascore: 80

Judgment is the spinoff of the popular Yakuza series, and it quickly became just as beloved by gaming fans. Judgment is one of the newest video games set in Japan with epic fight scenes, just like Yakuza 8. It’s one of the most cinematic crime games where Tokyo’s darkest alleys can be explored while investigating a twisted crime mystery.

Players will get to test their combat skills as well as their critical thinking skills if they want to survive the brutal underworld of Tokyo and uncover the dark mystery. It’s a more difficult but deeply atmospheric game with an immersive story which makes it perfect not only for avid gamers but beginners and casuals who are looking for a highly entertaining challenge.

16 NEO: The World Ends With You

Metascore: 80

NEO: The World Ends with You is one of the newest action JRPGs set in Japan that’s also one of 2022’s most celebrated games. This colorful and fun game takes its players on a battles-filled and emotional adventure during which they will have to compete in the Reapers’ Game.

It’s a beautifully animated game experienced from the point of view of Rindo, who has to learn to use his sudden psychic powers while battling against other players of the Reapers’ game in the streets of modern-day Shibuya, Tokyo. It’s a perfect choice for beginners and more experienced gamers who like action games with great storytelling.

15 Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore

Metascore: 81

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is a strategy JRPG game with beautiful anime aesthetics and is set in modern-day Tokyo. The game centers around Japan’s iconic idol culture, so it has plenty of amazing OSTs. The story follows Itsuki and his friends, who are members of an idol talent agency and have to fight against hostile beings from another world.

It’s a really fun and considerably easy game that lets its players learn about modern-day Tokyo and pop culture at the same time. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore also feels light but fun and has great storytelling, lots of acting, dancing, singing, fast combat, fun characters, and of course, powerful friendships.

14 Like A Dragon: Ishin!

Metascore: 81

Like a Dragon: Ishin! is one of the most realistic Japanese video games with beautiful graphics and a thrilling story. Players get to travel back in time to the 1860s and step into the shoes of a legendary Samurai. It’s a nice look into Japanese history and martial arts. However, Like a Dragon: Ishin! also has brilliant characters and a fascinating open world where players get to join a revolution to fight for justice and try to restore their honor.

While this action-adventure JRPG can be challenging for beginners, there are plenty of amazing guides to the best weapons in Like a Dragon: Ishin! that can help casuals make their experience more enjoyable from the start. It’s an amazing spin-off that lets players have a great time with a new take on familiar Yakuza characters near the end of the Edo period.

13 Ghost Of Tsushima

Metascore: 83

Ghost Of Tsushima is one of the most beloved and visually gorgeous historical games set in Japan. Players will get a chance to step into the shoes of a powerful samurai named Jin Sakai and go into epic battles to protect the beautiful Japanese Island of Tsushima. However, combat isn’t the only focus of this game. It also comes with a deeply immersive open world that can be freely explored while protecting it from the first Mongol invasion.

It’s perfect for those who love action-filled and beautifully animated games like Sekiro Shadows Die Twice and other samurai games set in feudal Japan. The title’s gameplay may not be all that unique, but the amazing visual design and a riveting story exploring the nature of honor and the various forms it can take make for a great time as players explore Japan in the late Kamakura period.

12 Steins;Gate

Metascore: 83

Steins;Gate is a beautiful adventure sci-fi visual novel game that’s perfect for all types of gamers, even beginners. The game, just like the original anime series, is set in Tokyo’s geekiest district, Akihabara, and it mostly follows the anime’s story, but it’s possible to achieve multiple endings. The setting of modern Japan elevates the narrative chops of this series, with the focus on mature themes like PTSD being done tastefully.

The game also has the same stunning and unique visuals, but thanks to the changes, there are some ways the visual novel game is better than the anime. It’s about a group of students who discover and develop new technology that lets them change the past. Steins;Gate is praised by critics and fans alike, who find it one of the most moving, thrilling visual novel games of all time that’s able to make its players cry.

11 Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Metascore: 84

After six entries and a prequel featuring Kazuma Kiryu, most players weren’t sure if they could let go of this legendary figure in the series, especially after the Judgment prequels failed to make fans resonate with a new protagonist. However, unlike the joyless Takayuki Yagami, Ichiban Kasuga is a bundle of sheer, unfiltered joy who’s a blast to interact with.

Exploring Isezaki Ijincho, Kamurocho, and Sotenbori with Ichiban makes for a great time. The cultures of real Japanese districts are replicated beautifully in this game, making for a great time as players devour delectable pieces of Japanese cuisine, engage in pastimes that are pretty common in these areas, and familiarize themselves with locations that are present in real life.

10 PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries Of Honjo

Metascore: 85

PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a chilling and immersive horror game taking place in Tokyo, Japan. The game’s story is set in 20th-century Japan and is filled with unique characters, mysteries, and ghosts. Players will have to investigate a series of deadly curses and try to find out what caused a series of mysterious deaths including a high-school student’s suicide.

PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo not only has a chilling story but also immerses players into a Showa-era Japan setting and even features real-life 360° photographs of Sumida. It’s a wildly underrated adventure game that more players should check out if they love unique offerings in this genre.

9 Yakuza 0

Metascore: 85

Yakuza 0 is a great fighting adventure game set in a stunning open-world environment that lets its players explore Tokyo and Osaka’s two most popular districts. It is one of the best visually stunning crime-based video games with great characters and is set in the 90s. Yakuza 0‘s story follows Kiryu and Majima, who are also the two playable characters of the game.

They get involved in a conflict between various families in the Tojo Clan that shapes both characters to become the legends that players are familiar with. Its interesting setting, fast-paced story, and brutal combat make it an easy game to get into, with the game set in Japan’s bubble era in the late 80s, which is reflected brilliantly in the title’s gameplay.

8 The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

Metascore: 86

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is one of the highest-rated visual novel games set in Japan and England. Players will get to explore both countries while immersing themselves in this fun game’s story-rich world. It’s a beautifully animated game with an anime art style and gorgeous historical settings.

It’s perfect for those who like fun but twisty mystery games and wouldn’t mind testing their detective skills while collecting evidence and interrogating witnesses to solve the case as rookie lawyers. The plot focuses on Ryunosuke, who is just getting started with his career and has to uncover the dark details of a murder mystery.

7 Katamari Damacy REROLL

Metascore: 87

Katamari Damacy REROLL is one of the cutest but hardest games that’s even funny at times. The game is set in modern-day Japan, but it has a fantasy twist. The story follows the ridiculous adventures of the King and Prince of All Cosmos who try to restore the stars after the King accidentally destroyed them. The main character is the Prince, who has to find a way to put the stars back where they belong.

Once players get the hang of it, the game is actually quite relaxing and mood-boosting thanks to its charming visuals, silly story, and upbeat music. Like many things Japanese, Katamari Damacy REROLL is cute, crazy, weird, and a whole lot of fun.

6 Shenmue

Metascore: 88

Shenmue is one of the most beloved video games on the Sega Dreamcast, integrating an immersive open world that was ahead of anything at the time. While the game may have failed to turn over a profit, the sheer amount of love present in this title is leaking through every pore.

With its endearing voice acting and fun story beats, players who don’t mind dealing with excessive quick-time moments will love what Shenmue has to offer. It can be a pretty tough game to get into without a guide, but all of these struggles will be worthwhile if players make the effort to check out this wonderful game for themselves. Exploring the city of Yokosuka to find clues surrounding the murder of Ryo’s father before moving on to China makes for a great time.

5 Persona 3 Reload

Metascore: 88

Persona 3 is considered by many to feature one of the strongest stories in the franchise, and the fact that players can finally play a faithful remake of this title is appreciated by many. Persona 3 Reload lets players explore the tower of Tartarus while fulfilling their role as a high school student in Japan all over again.

Tatsumi Port Island is a great location that is reminiscent of most coastal Japanese cities, reflecting their cultures in more ways than one. It’s a cheerful location that players love to view as a respite from a dark and brooding story that is a stark departure from the lighter tones of Persona 4 and 5.

4 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Metascore: 90

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an action-adventure RPG that takes its players to 1500s Sengoku era Japan. This atmospheric ninja story won Game of the Year in 2019 and is highly praised by critics and gamers alike. The story is about a shinobi warrior who wants to take revenge and restore his honor after a clan attacked him and kidnapped his lord.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a very difficult game that proved to be challenging even for avid gamers, so it requires patience. However, thanks to its creative story, stunning visuals, and mysteries, it also provides immensely enjoyable gameplay. Suffice it to say, the Japanese setting does a great job of elevating the game’s quality.