JRPGs That Would Immediately Improve If They Were 20 Hours Shorter
JRPGs are typically massive games with some of the longest, most detailed stories in any video game, so it's no wonder that they also end up being some of the longest games out there, at least in terms of hours it takes to beat them.
While most JRPGs are packed with content like side quests, character progression, and lots of optional grind, some go on for just a bit too long. Below, we'll take a look at some JRPGs that definitely could have been a few hours shorter, but are still great games overall.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Metaphor: ReFantazio
5.0/5 12 8.9/10 Released October 11, 2024WHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONAtlus isn't exactly known for making short JRPGs, and their newest IP, Metaphor: ReFantazio, is no different. The game follows a similar structure to the Persona series, with a calendar system making up the core structure of the game's story. Different from Persona, however, is the game's fantasy setting and adventure plot.
While the calendar system in Persona makes sense for the school day vibes, it feels unwarranted in Metaphor and stretches out the experience a bit longer than necessary. The final month or so, including the final dungeon, would definitely improve with a bit of trimming.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
4.5/5 Released July 26, 2019WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALIn Fire Emblem: Three Houses, you take on the role of a professor of a military academy, choosing one of three classes to teach and train. While you can recruit students from other houses to your class, you're stuck with your decision for the rest of that playthrough, which determines how the story plays out.
This is a game where you have to play it four times to get the whole story, but the first half of each playthrough is essentially the same thing, just with different characters. This means subsequent playthroughs are a definite slog, but we don't have a good solution for fixing this. Cutting down on the first half of the game on subsequent playthroughs could work, but the game could definitely be a bit shorter overall.
Tales Of Arise
Tales of Arise
4.0/5 Released September 10, 2021WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALLike most games in the Tales series, Tales of Arise overstays its welcome by about 15 to 20 percent. In the early hours of this action RPG, the combat is fun, flashy, and engaging, as you unlock and experiment with new attacks and combos.
However, as the game continues, the combat doesn't really evolve in any meaningful way, so you're essentially just grinding away with the same combos you've been using for the last 20 hours. It doesn't help that a lot of the game's enemies are recolors of ones you see previously, and almost all of them are damage sponges, making normal encounters take a lot longer than they realistically should.
Dragon Quest 7
Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past
Systems Released August 26, 2000WHERE TO PLAY
PHYSICALThe original release of Dragon Quest 7 on the PlayStation remains one of the longest JRPGs of all time, taking around 130 hours to play through. The 3DS remake trimmed a lot of the game's bloat, but this version still takes about 85 hours to beat, so it's no slouch, either.
Even with the 3DS trimming the game down, we think they could have gone a step further. The first dozen or so hours of the game are notoriously slow, and you don't even unlock the game's excellent Vocation system until well after the 20-hour mark. Despite being even shorter than the original game, a further revised and shortened version of Dragon Quest 7 would immediately improve the game.
Bravely Default
Bravely Default
JRPG Systems Released February 7, 2014WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALBravely Default is a JRPG that proudly wears its inspirations on its sleeve. With a Job system taken straight from Final Fantasy 5 and a party of four characters that would be at home in nearly any other JRPG, Bravely Default is a game made by and for fans of the genre.
However, it also features one of the most divisive second halves of any game, and a lot of that is due to its repetitive nature. Without getting into spoilers, a lot of the game's second half is reused assets and ideas from the first half, and it's carried entirely by its fun combat system and job building. Bravely Default would work a lot better if its second half were greatly shortened.
The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
JRPG Systems Released December 22, 2015WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALThe Trails series is one of the only JRPG series that features a continuous, connected story between each of its games, with recurring elements like characters and locations making appearances throughout the franchise. This also means to get the full story, you're looking at multiple hundreds of hours, especially since each game is just really long.
However, none quite overstay their welcome like the Trails of Cold Steel subseries, with 3 and 4 standing out as needlessly long. The world-building and dialogue are some of the biggest reasons why people play and love these games, so removing chunks outright might not be the best solution, but the games could use a careful trimming.
Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 Royal
JRPG Adventure Systems Released October 31, 2019WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALPersona 5 Royal is the poster child when it comes to JRPGs that are just too long. Most players take an average of around 120 hours to beat it, which is just an absurd length of time for any one video game, primarily focusing on just the game's main story.
While the game's combat holds up throughout the journey, and the story is full of twists and turns to keep things interesting, there's a lot of time throughout Persona 5 that could be removed to trim down the experience a bit.
