JRPGs are one of the most historic and beloved genres out there in gaming, featuring a wealth of stellar titles that have become legendary in their own right. Gathering a bunch of eccentric and intriguing characters so that players can win a battle against insurmountable odds is one of the biggest draws of JRPGs, making these games quite engaging and memorable for all the right reasons.
Of course, it would be impossible to talk about JRPGs without mentioning their extended runtime. A JRPG that is finished in around 30 hours or so is considered by most fans to be on the shorter side, which speaks volumes when it comes to showing just how long these games can be. Keeping this in mind, here are some of the longest JRPGs of all time.
10 SaGa Frontier – 15.5 Hours
15.5 Hours Main Story (One Character Only), 92.5 Hours Completionist
The idea of playing through seven different stories in a JRPG already means that the game is going to be quite lengthy. SaGa Frontier definitely doesn't dispel this notion in the slightest.
The non-linear nature of the game might not be to everyones taste but it still makes for some entertaining times regardless. Fans of long and unique JRPGs will feel right at home with the SaGa Frontier series.
9 Disgaea 4 – 35.5 Hours
35.5 Hours Main Story, 125 Hours Completionist
The Disgaea series is infamous for featuring titles that take a long while to complete. This is especially true if players tackle the endgame challenges present in them.
Disgaea 4 certainly doesn't disappoint in this regard. The game features a lengthy story, coupled with a massive amount of post-game content that will keep players busy for a while.
8 Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age – 40.5 Hours
40.5 Hours Main Story, 103 Hours Completionist
While most Final Fantasy games are pretty long, their runtime falls short of some of the more hardcore JRPGs around. However, Final Fantasy 12 is an exception to this rule, mainly due to the sheer amount of content present in the game.
Fans who want to complete all the main and side content will be occupied for hours on end. The Zodiac Age takes this sentiment up a notch by adding way more content to the game that increases its already extended runtime.
7 Yakuza: Like A Dragon – 44.5 Hours
44.5 Hours Main Story, 99.5 Hours Completionist
When fans of the Yakuza series found out that the seventh game in the series was going to be a JRPG, the reception was fairly mixed. After all, the combat usually present in the Yakuza games is fairly engaging and didn't really need to be changed at all.
However, Like a Dragon did a brilliant job of introducing both a new protagonist and several gameplay systems. It's a great game that can take quite a few hours to complete.
6 Star Ocean: The Last Hope – 46.5 Hours
46.5 Hours Main Story, 116 Hours Completionist
Most people aren't huge fans of Star Ocean: The Last Hope. While the battle system is great, the story can take some getting used to and the characters aren't really all that beloved either.
However, players who get into the fourth Star Ocean game will find themselves enraptured for hours on end. The game pulls no punches in offering a wealth of content, leaving you with a ton of things to do at every junction. Blasting through the main story might not take too much time, but it's the sheer amount of side content in this game that will add a lot of hours to the runtime.
5 Fire Emblem: Three Houses – 49 Hours
49 Hours Main Story, 196 Hours Completionist
Fire Emblem is a legendary strategy JRPG series that has been evolving with each successive entry. Three Houses is the latest title in this series that is absolutely brilliant in no small part due to the massive amount of content in this game.
Players who want to exhaust all the content available in this title will be occupied for quite some time indeed. The game doesn't pull any punches in this regard, and players will have to clock in a ton of hours to fully complete the game.
4 The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel 4 – 69.5 Hours
69.5 Hours Main Story, 147 Hours Completionist
The Trails series is notorious for featuring multiple games with extensive stories that can take quite a while to complete. All games are notorious for being extremely lengthy, as a result.
However, Trails of Cold Steel 4 takes the cake for being the longest of the bunch. The game takes a while to pick up and never stops, wrapping up a story that was building up over the course of four excruciatingly long games!
3 Xenoblade Chronicles X – 69.5 Hours
69.5 Hours Main Story, 270 Hours Completionist
Xenoblade Chronicles is one of the greatest JRPG series ever released for the Nintendo line of consoles. The addictive combat system coupled with the game's brilliant world design makes for a great time from start to end.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is easily the longest game in the series, featuring such a massive amount of content that completing it becomes a major challenge. Suffice to say, fans of long JRPGs will feel right at home with Xenoblade Chronicles X.
2 Persona 5 Royal – 103 Hours
103 Hours Main Story, 144 Completionist
The Persona series is considered by many to house some of the longest JRPGs of all time. This is especially true since the third game, which completely revamped the formula of Persona games into the beloved life-sim/RPG hybrid that we all know and love.
These games can be incredibly long at times, with the base version of Persona 5 being pretty extensive as is. However, Persona 5 Royal takes this up a notch with an extended main story that will engage players for 100 hours at the very least with completionist players looking at closer to 150.
1 Dragon Quest 7 (PS1) – 106 Hours
106 Hours Main Story, 264 Hours Completionist
The Dragon Quest series features some of the most beloved classic JRPGs of all time. These games also tend to be very long, with the main story itself taking a ton of hours to beat.
However, even in this context, Dragon Quest 7 is a cut above the rest. The game's original release on the PS1 took an insanely long time to beat, and the fact that the 3DS classic managed to shave off a fourth of the game time without losing any story beats is a testament to just how long these games were.
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