When you want to just sink into a game for hours, days, and weeks, there is no better genre than JRPGs. After all, many of the genre’s most successful games are ridiculously long.
Sometimes, though, you’re hungry for something with a bit more decision-making than the classic “four dudes in a line” gameplay. Adding unit movement, positioning, AoE attacks and more, the tactical sub-genre’s expanded choices keep you playing just one more turn.
If, like me, you’re eagerly salivating for Square Enix’s forthcoming remaster of the original Final Fantasy Tactics this September, you’re probably looking to scratch that tactical itch while you wait. Fear not! This list’s lengthy titles can keep you playing until then, and even longer.
This list considers playtime primarily based on hours needed for full completion, including runtimes with New Game+. The main story is often less than 100 hours.
10
Pokémon Conquest
I Choose You, Tactics!
Pokémon Conquest brought the monster-catching franchise into the tactical arena. Controlling up to six Pokémon at a time, Conquest reimagines the well-known battle formula by altering how your team improves. Well, in addition to staples like movement and positioning.
Each Pokémon knows only one move—instead of four—which improves as the “link” strengthens between the Pokémon and a Warrior. These human characters have their own skills, too. Since most Pokémon can match with any warrior, this creates a variety of options. That’s a plenty good excuse to settle in for a “catch ’em all” run!
Conquest’s setting also deviates from the Pokémon norm. Sure, most Pokémon games are rooted in a real-world culture. But Conquest takes that a step further.
Drawing upon Japan’s Warring States period, its plot closely parallels history, and its characters are even directly named after historical figures. This adds an unusual texture compared to the average Pokémon game’s setting.
9
Sengoku Rance
Strategy And Spice
|
Year |
2006 |
|---|---|
|
Platforms |
PC |
|
Rating |
4.6/5 (GOG) |
Likely the longest game on this list, Sengoku Rance also has the dubious honor of being the game you’d least like your mother to catch you playing. To put it politely, the game does not have an ESRB rating, and is not suitable for minors.
Despite the sleaze, the majority of Sengoku Rance focuses on surprisingly deep tactical and strategic gameplay. Turns on the large-scale strategic map show your progress in conquering Japan. Meanwhile, battles over provinces and in dungeons progress the game on a more tactical level.
The story also contains unexpected nuances, especially for an 18+ game. With a plot exploring heroism and tragedy in war, Sengoku Rance doesn’t just rely on smut. It’s a strategic gem with nearly 200 hours of gameplay, even if that gem is a bit “mysteriously” sticky.
8
Triangle Strategy
Modern Take On A Classic
In a love letter to Final Fantasy Tactics, Triangle Strategy adds modern presentation to a classic formula. With stylized “HD-2D” graphics—plenty familiar to fans of Octopath Traveler—a full cast of voice actors, and a branching war narrative, this game carries its legacy well.
As you might suspect, these branches certainly add to Triangle Strategy’s replayability. Like other games in this style, though, Triangle Strategy also expands playtime by offering a variety of ways to improve each character. Since some characters require specific story choices, seeking out 100% completion doesn’t become tedious.
Unlike most games on this list, in Triangle Strategy your number of battles is limited. The game thrives on a lengthy story campaign plus engaging variants in New Game+ to crack that 100-hour milestone.
Similar to the Fire Emblem games prior to Awakening, in Triangle Strategy every battle—and every kill—matters. Choosing how to spread available XP across your characters becomes critical, further increasing opportunities for variance in each playthrough.
7
Phantom Brave
I See Dead Units
Phantom Brave breaks the mold of most tactical JRPGs by doing away with a battle grid. Instead, each unit can move freely a certain distance per turn.
On top of that, the boundaries of a map aren’t restricted by an invisible wall. With mechanics like the Throw command giving you additional movement options, Phantom Brave offers a solid variant if you’re looking for a new tactical challenge.
The game’s concept and story play into the mechanics, too. You play as Marona, a girl who is able to see “phantoms” of the dead. By communicating with them, she can summon phantoms to battle on her behalf.
Each phantom you command in battle can only temporarily possess an item on the map. This adds another tactical layer because it forces you to rotate characters during a mission.
6
Super Robot Wars 30
Pilots, Start Your Mechs
If you’re a fan of mecha anime, then the Super Robot Wars series is a must-play. While most games in the series only have a Japanese release—though English fan translations exist for many of them—2021’s Super Robot Wars 30 is both internationally available and among the series’ best games.
This tactical JRPG blends mecha units and storylines from animes ranging from the ever-popular Gundam to the dramatic intrigues of Code Geass. Spoiled for options, Super Robot Wars 30 goes in on using everything available to it. The resulting pile of story campaigns, side missions, and so on will keep you playing until your robot rusts.
For me, the only downside is that the Super Robot Wars series doesn’t (yet) include Gurren Lagann. Then again, Gurren Lagann is probably a tough inclusion considering it ends with the most ridiculous power scaling I’ve ever watched.
5
Tactics Ogre: Reborn
Visionary Progenitor
If you love tactical JRPGs, thank Tactics Ogre. OK, claiming Tactics Ogre invented or popularized the genre would be hyperbole. Nonetheless, the original 1995 game initiated the isometric style more widely known from Final Fantasy Tactics. From Square Enix’s own titles like Triangle Strategy to inspiring independent studios, Tactics Ogre looms large across the strategic landscape.
Reborn is an acclaimed remake of the classic. In addition to the remastered presentation, this 2010 version of Tactics Ogre expands upon the original’s story and levels. With new narrative branches and strategic mechanics, Reborn strives for the difficult goal of being a “definitive” edition of a 90s classic.
Yet, Reborn succeeds. In no small part, this is because Reborn was expanded by the original game’s writers and designers. Reborn doesn’t reach the 100+ hour mark merely on fluff. It does so with careful storytelling by the same people who made the original game great.
4
Record of Agarest War
Generations Of Conflict
If you liked using the eugenics program of Fire Emblem: Awakening to create the ultimate units, then you ought to check out Record of Agarest War. Instead of a measly two generations, this game sprawls across five generations of conflict.
Playing through decades of battle, Agarest spins a spectacularly melodramatic yarn about a war between good and evil. Is it over-the-top? Sure. Cheesy and filled with tropes? Yeah, fair enough. But sometimes you just want something ridiculous.
Not that you’ll just be staring at 100+ hours of cutscenes. Agarest features solid tactical gameplay as well, emphasizing character positioning to power up attacks and enable combos. Which is quite fitting as a mechanical medley combining Agarest’s themes of war and relationships.
3
Disgaea 1 Complete
It’s Over 9,000!
The max level in most games is around 100. A few games let you get up to level 999. Disgaea, on the other hand, lets you level up all the way to 9,999.
And you’ll want it, too, especially once you start delving into Disgaea’s extensive end-game content. In particular, the Item World can be … an experience.
This series of randomly-generated dungeons lets you battle monsters to strengthen an item. Plus, you can also beat up certain denizens of an Item World, allowing you to transfer these “experts” between items.
Disgaea’s final boss might not break the triple-digits, but that just means he’s a bit of a chump. Between beating the Underworld’s senate into submission and conquering the Cave of Ordeals, Disgaea’s end-game is full of content worthy of its four-digit level cap.
2
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire Of The Rift
Time To Save Ivalice
With plenty of sidequests, thorough character customization, and substantial story campaigns, each game in the Final Fantasy Tactics series is a gem to keep you playing for hours. The longest of these, though, is the series’ DS installment Grimoire of the Rift.
With plenty of content needed for 100% completion—including mastering jobs, catching chocobos, and so on—Grimoire of the Rift leaps past the 80–90 hours needed to 100% of the other games in the series. (Well, speaking for myself.)
This additional content is also why Grimoire of the Rift is my personal favorite. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 excels at giving thorough customization options for your characters. Unlike many tactical JRPGs, your protagonist doesn’t have a unique Mary Sue class, either. You’re pretty much a normal hume, and can take advantage of all the options available to more generic hume party members.
Final Fantasy Tactics A2 also features some of the best maps in tactical JRPGs. Using an isometric perspective to create 3D terrain, height, water, and other terrain features substantially impact how you navigate the battlefield.
Grimoire of the Rift and other games in the series rarely get tiresome even during a long playthrough, because these maps intersect well with the diversity of abilities, gear, and opponents.
1
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Multiple Routes For Replayability
When combining enticing narrative, strategic gameplay, and lengthy play times, not much comes close to the Fire Emblem series. This is doubly true if you’re willing to repeatedly reset to prevent deaths, or if you’re trying to unlock all of a game’s sidequests and paralogues.
Several Fire Emblem games could earn a place on this list, but Fire Emblem: Three Houses earns the crown because its assortment of Part II routes and New Game+ options dramatically expand the playtime. Rehashing Part I can grow tiresome, but supporting Edelgard, Dimitri, or Claude in multiple playthroughs offers a new perspective on the game’s narrative.
Fortunately, Part II also has new levels. Sometimes Three Houses reworks a map for a different route, such as attacking or defending the Great Bridge of Myrddin. Other levels are completely unique to the route. This serves to enhance the narrative, and keep Three Houses fresh even 100+ hours into the game.
