Best JRPGs Set In Dystopian Fantasy Worlds, Ranked

Summary

• Western franchises like Fallout and Horizon offer colorful, grim dystopian gaming experiences with extensive exploration opportunities.
• Japanese RPGs like Shin Megami Tensei 5 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 present complex, never-ending conflicts within dystopian settings.
• Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter and NieR: Automata provide dark, challenging gameplay, pushing players to their limits in bleak post-apocalyptic worlds.

As dark as it is to think about, it can be fun to play games set in dystopian futures. One of the biggest franchisees today is Fallout which is all about reimagining the future as seen through the 1950s. Players can go through post-apocalyptic wastelands and explore ruins, befriend factions, and fight hundreds of mutants.

A prettier version of Fallout is the Horizon series which is also grim, but at least there is vegetation. Those two franchises are Western creations though so what about Japan? Have they made dystopian or post-apocalyptic RPGs? Let’s find out and rank these entries based on how grim their futures truly are.

8 Wild Arms 3

The Old West In Space

Wild Arms 3 takes place on a planet that resembles the Wild West frontier of North America. It’s a big desert without much going on thanks to an old war, so it’s kind of dystopian in scope as the people living on the planet, Filgaia, are on hard times. Bandits roam around mercilessly and that’s where the core four groups of heroes come in.

They’re all trying to do a job and come together to unite and fight back against a rival hunter group of explorers. It’s a low-stakes plot and is more focused on character growth and adventuring. As desolate as this turn-based RPG can be, it’s quite colorful thanks to the cel-shaded art style.

7 Scarlet Nexus

Two Campaigns, One Future

Scarlet Nexus takes place in a world where humanity holes themselves up in large cities. Outside of these cities are desolate heaps of buildings and highways, plus they are stalked by mutants. To keep these cities alive, psychic hunters are trained to go out and forge for materials, fight monsters, and discover answers.

Players can begin the game as either Yuito or Kasane and work their way through a weaving narrative where the two heroes and their party crossover. To get the full scope of this action RPG partly from the Tales of team at Bandai Namco, players have to go through it at least twice.

6 Shin Megami Tensei 5

Reset The Apocalypse

Shin Megami Tensei 5 is the latest main entry in the franchise. Tokyo is destroyed one day and when players wake up, as their voiceless hero, they are bound to a powerful suit after fusing with a demon. All is not lost yet though as players are told they can save humanity by preventing this tragedy from occurring.

To do that, they have to befriend monsters to join their party to fight back against varying warring factions from demons to angels. Finding answers in the wasteland will help heal the fate of humankind one battle at a time, or at least that’s the general premise.

5 Xenoblade Chronicles 3

A Never-ending War Breaks

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is deceptive because it looks like a beautiful world to roam around in except for the giant monsters. What makes it dystopian though is that two sides of a war are fighting in a never-ending conflict. Those who fight and die in the battle are played off beautifully into the afterlife sort of like the Sending process in Final Fantasy 10.

The grim secret is that these “dead” people are brought back to life via a cloning process and are doomed to fight the same war for eternity. There’s more to it than that involving heavier spoilers but the heroes of this tale are finally able to rebel back after learning hard truths.

4 Sand Land

Demons, Dinosaurs, And Mechs Oh My!

Sand Land, like Wild Arms 3, takes place in a desert wasteland but there is lighthearted comedy amongst the anguish cries of thirsty citizens. Demons and humans fight over water supplies but an uneasy alliance is made between a human explorer and the prince of demons at the start of the game.

Together, they form a party and look for a fabled water supply to save everyone. Do they find it or do demons and militaristic humans stop them in their tracks? This final project from Akira Toriyama is calling out to fans of Dragon Ball.

3 Resonance Of Fate

Cowboy Bebop But In One City

Resonance of Fate is another story that involves the death of a planet and humanity having to hide themselves in big cities. The catch with this story is that these cities are raised high above the polluted earth as if they were flying structures.

All forms of life are squeezed into tiny living situations and those at the top are gorging themselves while everyone else has to work hard just to get a scrap. The game stars three heroes who are trying to do odd jobs around town to raise their status. The story is episodic akin to an anime like Cowboy Bebop, so it’s an easy one to hop back in and out of.

2 Breath Of Fire: Dragon Quarter

It’s Hard To Breathe Underground

Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is a bleak game that many will struggle to get through. Humanity has retreated underground, so the lack of sunlight is already a painful existence on top of the short supplies. The main plot involves the hero, Ryu, smuggling a young girl out of the reach of the military who are going to experiment on her.

That’s dark but the truly grim part of this game though is the challenge level as a meter will rise with every action taken from walking to fighting. There is a way to get a Game Over screen from dawdling around forcing players to reset from ground zero to start anew. Thankfully, things do carry over but this time loop is enough to drive anyone batty.

1 NieR: Automata

Become As Gods

NieR: Automata is one of the most celebrated dystopian games of all time. It’s another post-apocalyptic scenario with this one forcing humanity into space after enduring a robotic rebellion. To reclaim the planet, society sends androids down to investigate and that’s where 9s and 2b come in.

Like Scarlet Nexus, multiple playthroughs are needed to get the whole picture only in this case there are three main characters. To get the true ending, players even have to literally delete their save file too. That’s the ultimate test for any player out there.