The best JRPGs on PS4: Persona 3 Reload, NieR: Automata, Final Fantasy X/X-2 and 13 more

The PS4 is getting on a bit, but if Japanese RPGs are your thing it's still one of the best consoles to own. Most of the genre's big releases of the past decade came out on it, and they all run on a PS5 too. We've picked sixteen: classic Final Fantasy, Persona 3 Reload, Ichiban Kasuga's turn-based Like a Dragon games, and a couple of indies that could pass for Super Nintendo cartridges.

How we chose them: we took the JRPGs in our catalogue that had PS4 offers in stock this morning and kept the ones that best represent each style. Review scores are from Steam, for the PC version: the share of positive reviews and how many there are. Where we don't have that data, the game gets no score. For each offer you'll see the price with the coupon and, in brackets, what you actually pay once the store adds its payment fee.

PSN code, PlayStation Store or account: what are you actually buying?

PS4 offers come in three types. A PSN code (listed by stores as a "PSN Key") is redeemed on your PlayStation Network account, and the game stays in your library just as if you'd bought it from Sony. The catch is region. PSN codes are tied to a region and only work on accounts from that same region, so check which region the offer is for and make sure it matches your account before you pay.

You can also buy straight from the PlayStation Store. There are no coupons and no payment fees, and for several games on this list it's currently the cheapest way to get the game onto your own account.

Then there are accounts, and on PS4 there are plenty of them. You get the login details for somebody else's PlayStation account that already owns the game. You can play by signing in with it, but the game never moves to your account, and if the seller takes the account back, you lose it. That's why they're so cheap: Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX is €39.99 (no fees) on the PlayStation Store, while Difmark sells an account for €10.91 with the Gocdkeys coupon (€11.40 with fees). It's not the same purchase, so we recommend the code or the official store, and only mention accounts for reference or when there's nothing else.

Persona and Metaphor: ATLUS at its best

Persona 3 Reload tops our list. ATLUS rebuilt the PS2 original from the ground up. By day you go to school, make friends and build up your social links; by night you climb Tartarus, a tower that only appears during the Dark Hour. Among the big names here it has the best Steam score, with 95% of 45,548 reviews positive. For PS4, this morning our comparison only had accounts: Difmark sells one for €16.79 with the Gocdkeys coupon (€17.55 with fees). If you want the game on your own account, that leaves the PlayStation Store, and we don't have its price. When PSN codes for the PS4 version come in, you'll find them on the page to buy Persona 3 Reload key.

Persona 4 Golden is the one a lot of fans call the best in the series. A sleepy country town called Inaba, a string of murders, and a world inside the TV that only you and your friends can enter. We don't have a Steam score for it, so we won't give one. It's €19.99 (no fees) on the PlayStation Store; the Difmark account is €8.39 with Gocdkeys (€8.77 with fees).

Metaphor: ReFantazio is the Persona team's new fantasy series. The king is dead, the throne goes to whoever wins an election, and you travel the kingdom winning people over while trying to lift the prince's curse. The calendar and turn-based battles will feel familiar, with Archetypes taking the place of Personas. 89% of its 25,678 reviews are positive. For PS4 we only have accounts, with Difmark's at €18.99 with Gocdkeys (€19.84 with fees). The PlayStation Store sells it too, but we don't have a verified price for the PS4 version, so a price alert is the easiest way to hear when a code turns up.

Square Enix classics: Final Fantasy X/X-2, Final Fantasy XII and Dragon Quest XI

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster gives you two games. In X you play Tidus, a blitzball star who suddenly finds himself in Spira and ends up guarding the summoner Yuna on her pilgrimage to defeat Sin. Battles are turn-based and you can swap party members mid-fight. X-2 is the direct sequel, far more lighthearted, with Yuna, Rikku and Paine switching jobs through dresspheres. 87% of its 20,065 Steam reviews are positive. The PlayStation Store sells it for €29.99 (no fees); accounts start at €8.06 with the Gocdkeys coupon (€8.42 with fees) at Difmark.

Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age remasters the Ivalice entry with Vaan and Princess Ashe. The hook is the gambit system: you give each character rules, like "heal any ally who's low on HP", and fights play out with barely a menu in sight. This version adds the twelve Zodiac jobs. 88% of 8,795 reviews are positive. Right now it's one of the pricier picks at €49.99 (no fees) on the PlayStation Store, against €12.59 with Gocdkeys (€13.16 with fees) for the Difmark account. If you're in no hurry, set a price alert.

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is about as classic as JRPGs get: turn-based battles, a hero who learns he's the Luminary, Akira Toriyama's character designs and Koichi Sugiyama's music. If you want something that feels like the old games without looking dated, it's hard to go wrong. 84% of its 6,521 reviews are positive. One thing to know: this morning our comparison only had accounts, the cheapest at Difmark for €9.45 with Gocdkeys (€9.88 with fees). It's sold on the PlayStation Store as well, but we don't have that price.

Like a Dragon goes turn-based

Yakuza: Like a Dragon turned RGG Studio's series on its head. Kiryu hands the lead to Ichiban Kasuga, a big-hearted yakuza who sees life as if it were a Dragon Quest game, and the real-time brawling gives way to turn-based fights with jobs. It's set in Yokohama and keeps the series' daft side stories. We don't have a Steam score for this one. Watch the format: this morning there were only accounts, from €8.39 with the Gocdkeys coupon (€8.77 with fees) at Difmark.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth picks up the story. Ichiban heads to Hawaii, Kiryu returns as the second lead, and everything is bigger. 90% of its 16,496 reviews are positive. Again, only accounts: GamesPSN sells one for €8.65 (no fees). If you want it on your own account, you'll need the PlayStation Store, and we don't have its price there.

Action RPGs: NieR: Automata, Kingdom Hearts and Ys VIII

NieR: Automata is what happens when Yoko Taro teams up with PlatinumGames: fast, flashy combat, androids 2B and 9S fighting machines on an abandoned Earth, and a story that doesn't stop at the first ending. With 115,993 Steam reviews it's the most played game on the list, and 88% are positive. Pay attention to the format here, because this morning there were only accounts for PS4. The cheapest is Difmark's at €2.40 with the Gocdkeys coupon (€2.51 with fees), and remember you'd be playing on someone else's account, not yours. If you'd rather wait for a PSN code, the page to buy NieR Automata key will show you when they're back.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX fits half the series into one package: the Final Mix versions of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, Chain of Memories, Birth by Sleep, plus 358/2 Days and Re:coded as cinematic retellings. Sora, Donald and Goofy hop between Disney worlds with a Keyblade in hand. 86% of 11,252 reviews are positive. It's €39.99 (no fees) on the PlayStation Store, and the Difmark account is €10.91 with Gocdkeys (€11.40 with fees).

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA is Falcom doing what it does best. Adol is shipwrecked on the Isle of Seiren and, with the other survivors, sets up a camp to explore from. Combat is fast and real-time, and along the way you uncover the story of Dana, a girl from a lost civilisation. 90% of 6,216 reviews are positive. For PS4 we only found accounts, the cheapest at Difmark for €12.59 with Gocdkeys (€13.16 with fees); we don't have a verified PlayStation Store price for this version.

Old-school feel: Octopath Traveler II, Sea of Stars, Chained Echoes and the Crossbell games

The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure are two Falcom games that stayed in Japan for years before finally getting an official English release. You lead Lloyd Bannings and the Crossbell police's Special Support Section in a city-state squeezed between two great powers. They're the best-reviewed games on the whole list: 97% of 1,352 reviews for the first, 98% of 1,002 for the second. On the Spanish PlayStation Store they cost €39.99 (no fees) each. You'll see cheaper keys, but they're for the North American region and won't work on a European account. Play Zero first, since Azure carries on right where it ends.

Octopath Traveler II combines pixel-art sprites with modern lighting, the look Square Enix calls HD-2D, and tells eight stories, one per traveller, across the continent of Solistia. Battles are turn-based and revolve around breaking enemy shields and boosting your attacks. 93% of 13,650 reviews are positive. For PS4 we only have accounts: Difmark sells one for €16.79 with Gocdkeys (€17.55 with fees). We don't have a verified PlayStation Store price for the PS4 version.

Sea of Stars comes from Sabotage Studio, the team behind The Messenger, and its love for Chrono Trigger shows. Valere and Zale are two Solstice Warriors, timed button presses add damage in turn-based fights, and the pixel art is full of detail. 87% of 12,258 reviews are positive. On PS4 we only found accounts, the cheapest at Difmark for €19.24 with Gocdkeys (€20.11 with fees). The PlayStation Store sells it too, but we don't have the price.

Chained Echoes was made almost single-handedly by Matthias Linda, working as Umami Tiger, and published by Deck13. 16-bit visuals, giant mechs, and an Overdrive gauge that makes you mix up your actions to stay in the sweet spot. 88% of 7,840 reviews are positive. It's €24.99 (no fees) on the PlayStation Store, and the key has been down to €9.99 (historical low, before fees), so if you can wait, set an alert.

Promoted store

Difmark 4.1 (14.2k)

Coupon

Gocdkeys -16% Copied!

€

12.49

€

10.96

Store Difmark

Region Global

Product type Account

Edition Standard

Fees +€

0.47

Playstation Store 1.2 (2.2k)

No code available

€

24.99

Store Playstation Store

Region Global

Product type PSN Key

Edition Standard

Fees +€

0.00

All sixteen at a glance, and where to start

Prices from this morning. We always list the format, because for several games an account was the only option.

Buying just one? Make it Persona 3 Reload, the best-rated of the big names; since our comparison only has PS4 accounts today, buy it from the PlayStation Store or set an alert. On a budget and with the game on your own account, Final Fantasy X/X-2 gets you two games for €29.99 (no fees) on the PlayStation Store, and Persona 4 Golden is €19.99 (no fees). For long stories with plenty of politics, play the two Crossbell games in order. And if you want a traditional JRPG through and through, Dragon Quest XI, bearing in mind that today it's only available as an account here or from Sony's own store.

Prices checked on the morning of 29 October.

GOCDKEYS Team

Buying guides and price comparisons written alongside live prices from the stores verified by GOCDKEYS.