Classic JRPGs With Dark, Mature Themes

Key Takeaways

• JRPGs explore dark themes like war, politics, and the end of the world through complex storytelling.
• Games like Final Fantasy 8, Vagrant Story, Shadow Hearts, Shin Megami Tensei 3, Parasite Eve, and Mother 3 delve into mature topics with class.
• These JRPGs offer gripping narratives examining child soldiers, murder, cosmic horror, and the fragility of humanity.

JRPGs have become well known for their intricate stories, whether it’s a tale of political intrigue or war. This expansive genre has explored some dark, complex themes over the decades and continues to do so in contemporary times. Its long, ongoing history dating all the way back to the 1980s and 1990s is a fascinating one, and it has become the bastion for amazing storytelling in an industry full of incredible narratives.

Games like Final Fantasy and Xenogears have done their part to examine the horrors of war and how it affects people, while more off-beat titles like Shin Megami Tensei and Shadow Hearts have delved into the fragility of life. These games have explored some pretty mature topics, including the likes of child soldiers, the end of the world, and the difficult journey of parenthood. And many of them have done so with class, presenting questions about morality and faith in fascinating ways.

6 Shadow Hearts

A Fascinating Gothic Horror RPG

Using what they learned to create the forgotten PS1 masterpiece Koudelka, developers Sacnoth crafted a sequel for the PS2 known as Shadow Hearts. Carrying on from Koudelka, Shadow Heartsis a gothic horror JRPG set in 1913 and follows a man named Yuri attempting to rescue a young girl named Alice.

Shadow Hearts uses elements of cosmic horror and classic literature, feeling like a vintage Hammer film come to life. Violence is handed out frequently in Shadow Hearts, especially to the innocent, as one of the key themes of the game is the end of innocence. It is a fabulous JRPG that is deserving of a remaster, as it would fit well in today’s landscape of horror RPGs.

5 Final Fantasy 8

Child Soldiers In Conflict With Sorceress From The Future

After using the impressive hardware of the PS1 to power its seventh mainline entry, Squaresoft opted to take Final Fantasy into even darker territory with the eighth iteration. With Final Fantasy 8, Square told the tale of SeeD, an army of child soldiers trained to fight against evil. Through its 40-hour campaign, Final Fantasy 8 explores the themes of war and child endangerment, as SeeD’s destined battle with a sorceress from the future named Ultimecia forms the centerpiece of the story starting on disc two.

Ultimecia has possessed a woman in the present day named Edea Kramer, and the knowledge of her imminent defeat has driven her mad and set her on a collision course with SeeD. Squall and the party travel a dangerous journey through FF8, one that sees them confront childhood trauma and a world where adults are difficult to trust. It is a dark, twisted story of fate and ruin, one that is still absolutely fantastic to play today.

4 Vagrant Story

Murder And Political Intrigue

Square’s Ivalice Alliance subseries is one of their greatest creations, as this Final Fantasy spin-off has produced some incredible games over the years. One of the best examples is Vagrant Story, a dark tale of intrigue and death that is one of the PS1’s most remarkable titles.

Vagrant Story is steeped in political machinations, as Riskbreaker Ashley Riot becomes caught up in a vast conspiracy thriller involving the murder of a duke. Exploring the decrepit catacombs of Lea Monde, Ashley also clashes with a bizarre cult known as Mullenkamp and one of PS1’s most sinister villains, Sydney Losstarot. Its stirring examination of death and complex, sometimes murderous, family dynamics, is a key reason for Vagrant Story’s cult following.

3 Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne

The Demi-Fiend Confronts A World-Ending Event

If any JRPG franchise knows about tackling the darkness, it’s Shin Megami Tensei, the demon-hunting series that debuted in 1987 and has become one of the industry’s most popular titles. With Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, Atlus produced one of the franchise’s darkest and most chilling entries. Nocturne is set mere moments after the world-ending event known as Conception, where a young man known as the Demi-fiend is tasked with steering the course of human history and battling a cult known as the Ring of Gaea.

It envisions a world where the bad guys win before the game even starts. Everyone outside the Shinjuku hospital is killed following Conception, and the remainder of the game is the Demi-fiend attempting to find a new path forward. It is a bleak game, exploring ancient religious themes and Japanese mythology, as the Demi-fiend acts as a sort of conduit for the fate of humanity itself. This outstanding JRPG was recently remastered for modern hardware, making it easy to revisit today.

2 Parasite Eve

A Haunting Exploration Of Motherhood

A thrilling blend of Final Fantasy and Resident Evil, Parasite Eve is set in New York and stars NYPD officer Aya Brea. Described as “The Cineamatic RPG,” Parasite Eve is a stark exploration of motherhood and the fragility of humanity.

Aya’s journey takes her on an emotional ride through New York, where she’s forced to confront her own past and the apocalyptic future of human existence. Standing between the imminent end of the world and Eve, the literal mother of humanity, Aya faces escalating destruction as she attempts to survive. It is filled with disturbing imagery and a story that still resonates today, as it asks questions regarding the true purpose of humanity that are still being answered today.

1 Mother 3

Sinister Secrets Hide Behind A Colorful JRPG

After a long, troubled development process that saw it get canceled, Mother 3 eventually resurfaced on the Game Boy Advance and became one of its most stellar releases. Set in the appropriately named Nowhere Islands, Mother 3 is a textbook example of what makes this outstanding series so good. It seamlessly hides a dark, unnerving tale underneath its colorful, pixelated graphics and funky music.

Mother 3 explores the crumbling foundation of nature, its perversion by technology, and the encroaching hand of corporate overreach, as twin brothers Claus and Lucas embark on a journey fraught with all sorts of danger that feels decidedly impersonal and mechanical. It effortlessly tackles themes like grief and trauma, but does so in a way that doesn’t detract from its heart and sense of humor. Sadly, Mother 3 is still without a Western release, but playing the excellent fan patch is still a worthy way of experiencing this classic.