Updated September 2026
This is the ranking of the best JRPG Games, sorted by NextGameLike Score: a 0-100 metric blending Steam reviews, IGDB ratings (community and critic), Metacritic, OpenCritic and the NextGameLike community votes into a single number. Unlike opinion-based editorial lists, this order is computed from real data and applies a Bayesian shrinkage adjustment so games with few reviews can't inflate the top of the chart. Persona 5 Royal, Persona 4 Golden and Hylics 2 lead the chart — the highest-rated titles in the genre according to our data. The top-25 average NextGameLike Score is 90/100, out of 57 games catalogued. The ranking updates continuously as new reviews and votes come in.
Top 3
Top of “The 20 Best JRPG Games (2026)”: Persona 5 Royal (94.8/100). Close behind: Persona 4 Golden and Hylics 2.
Ranked by NextGameLike Score · 57 games catalogued
Players and critics agree on Persona 5 Royal, which is rarer than it sounds in JRPG Games. It holds the best critic score on the whole list, 94/100. Hence the first place.
No argument here: Persona 4 Golden wins over players and critics alike. Enough for the podium: number 2.
Hylics 2 is here because of its players — they are who it won over. Enough for the podium: number 3.
OMORI is one of the few JRPG Games where players and critics say the same thing. Number 4, inside the top 10.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the few JRPG Games where players and critics say the same thing. It is the newest on the list (2025), and has already earned its place. That gets it into the top 10, at number 5.
Players and critics agree on Finding Paradise, which is rarer than it sounds in JRPG Games. That gets it into the top 10, at number 6.
Hylics is carried by its players more than by its reviews. Number 7, inside the top 10.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is one of the few JRPG Games where players and critics say the same thing. Number 8, inside the top 10.
No argument here: FINAL FANTASY IX wins over players and critics alike. That gets it into the top 10, at number 9.
Players and critics agree on Yakuza 0, which is rarer than it sounds in JRPG Games. Number 10, inside the top 10.
Critics were lukewarm on Lisa: The Painful; players were not. It sits at 11 of 20.
Players and critics agree on NieR:Automata™, which is rarer than it sounds in JRPG Games. It sits at 12 of 20.
No argument here: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC wins over players and critics alike. It sits at 13 of 20.
Felvidek is one of the few JRPG Games where players and critics say the same thing. It lands at 14 of 20.
Critics were lukewarm on Touhou Mystia's Izakaya; players were not. No other entry of the 20 has a higher share of positive reviews: 99%. It sits at 15 of 20.
Players and critics agree on ASTLIBRA Revision, which is rarer than it sounds in JRPG Games. It lands at 16 of 20.
No argument here: Yakuza: Like a Dragon wins over players and critics alike. It sits at 17 of 20.
Epic Battle Fantasy 5 is carried by its players more than by its reviews. It sits at 18 of 20.
No argument here: Monster Hunter: World wins over players and critics alike. It is the most reviewed of the 20: 507,962 Steam reviews. It lands at 19 of 20.
No argument here: FINAL FANTASY VIII wins over players and critics alike. It is the oldest game in the ranking (1999) and still here. It sits at 20 of 20.