Most video games, besides the cutesiest and coziest relaxation titles, use conflict to fuel the narrative. There is an obstacle, and here is how it must be overcome: Press A to jump, B to dash, and hit both to unleash an entire nation’s military arsenal on your enemies.
But in the fantastical realms that JRPGs hold, where narrative is of the most importance, great battles are often the driving force of the story, where players must choose sides or fight valiantly to stop an oppressive force. These JRPGs use grand-scale battles to add high stakes and drama to their stories.
5 Tactics Ogre
A Tale Of Law And Chaos, Light And Dark
Tactics Ogre wastes no time throwing the player into an epic, continent-sized war. Before the tutorial battle has even started, players are told the stakes – this small collective of villagers from a distant coastal town are upstart freedom fighters, hoping to take down an imposing dark knight who serves the belligerent nation of Golgastan, which will not stop until the entire continent has come to heel. The story takes many twists and turns from here, of course, but throughout it all the trials of this war and how it changes the protagonist remain the focus of the story.
This tactical SRPG might just be Square Enix’s opus in this genre, with a dense, complicated but compelling story for players to sink their teeth into, and a simple gameplay loop that broadens as more units become available and more techniques become open to the player. Getting a collection of units together that have strategic control over the foes and battlefield feels like playing an incredibly satisfying game of fantasy chess, one with dragons and elemental affinities.
4 DioField Chronicle
A Unique Battle Style Meets A Grand War Narrative
DioField Chronicle boasts an incredible level of depth in how its battles function. The story takes place in an ever expanding resource war with no true black or white sides, and the main cast are each given time to go through an arc of their own and grow as characters. Fighting the empire that wishes to horde all the world’s supply of Jade, which is used to cast sorceries, the Blue Fox mercenary band continues to fight on behalf of more and more nobles, slowly growing in acclaim as they try to make a name for themselves.
With an engaging spin on real-time strategy combat and a compelling story that never falls into the territory of giving the player one big, comically evil foe to fight against, DioField Chronicle is a must for anyone looking to engage in an epic battle across a continent.
3 Unicorn Overlord
A Campaign Of War Against An Evil Tyrant
Unicorn Overlord presents large scale battles with a great deal of attention paid to the detail of player and enemy unit classes. Players will have to form bands of up to six units that synergize well mechanically and narratively (as some characters can reach a level of camaraderie with one another) in order to bring the fight against a major tyrant who has conquered the entire continent, the dark lord Galerius of the Zenoiran Empire.
Unleashing bands of skilled fighters onto the battlefield, utilizing their unique strengths and mastering the iconic combat system are all milestones on this incredible journey that Unicorn Overlord sets the player on – plus, for the romantically inclined, the protagonist is able to select from a host of marriage candidates based on who he has the strongest relationship with.
2 Valkyria Chronicles 4
A Unique Setting With An Incredible Story
Rather than being an expansive fantasy tale or sci-fi epic that colors many JRPGs (but not all of them!), Valkyria Chronicles 4 sets a mid-twentieth century world in action, framing the story around a fictionalized continent where a reframing of WWII is taking place. Players will have to manage individual units in an incredibly intuitive skirmish-styled combat system that will see protagonist Claude set himself and his comrades in a raging battle against an imperialist force.
Definitely a game for those who enjoy high stakes, high emotion narratives and unit customization. Commanding tanks, lobbing grenades, and hunkering down in machine gunner nests are novel experiences for the average JRPG player, but this game showcases twentieth century warfare with incredible polish.
1 Triangle Strategy
This Game Focuses On The Renewal Of War
Triangle Strategy has one of the best stories players can encounter in a JRPG, in no small part due to the way that the conflict that forms the brunt of the story is framed. Three nations on one continent, each with a resource to command, fighting or defending in a conflict built upon growing ambitions and selfishness. Throughout it all, Serenoa, the protagonist, must have his convictions tested and altered. Who will he be by the end of the war?
The Second Saltiron War is an incredible battle, with no true heroes or villains, just ambitious rulers and the ones who have been wronged by them – and seek retribution. An amazing game framed in amazing HD-2D style, and a must for anyone looking to take part – and alter the outcome of – a continent-wide conflict.
