Updated September 2026
This is the ranking of the best Turn-Based JRPGs, 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 OMORI lead the chart — the highest-rated titles in the genre according to our data. The top-25 average NextGameLike Score is 86/100, out of 29 games catalogued. The ranking updates continuously as new reviews and votes come in.
Top 3
Top of “The 20 Best Turn-Based JRPGs (2026)”: Persona 5 Royal (94.8/100). Close behind: Persona 4 Golden and OMORI.
Ranked by NextGameLike Score · 29 games catalogued
No argument here: Persona 5 Royal wins over players and critics alike. It holds the best critic score on the whole list, 94/100. That is why it tops the ranking.
No argument here: Persona 4 Golden wins over players and critics alike. That puts it at number 2.
Players and critics agree on OMORI, which is rarer than it sounds in Turn-Based JRPGs. Enough for the podium: number 3.
No argument here: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wins over players and critics alike. It is the most reviewed of the 20: 266,190 Steam reviews. Number 4, inside the top 10.
Hylics 2 is carried by its players more than by its reviews. Number 5, inside the top 10.
Players and critics agree on The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, which is rarer than it sounds in Turn-Based JRPGs. That gets it into the top 10, at number 6.
Hylics is carried by its players more than by its reviews. That gets it into the top 10, at number 7.
No argument here: FINAL FANTASY IX wins over players and critics alike. Number 8, inside the top 10.
Players and critics agree on The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC, which is rarer than it sounds in Turn-Based JRPGs. Number 9, inside the top 10.
Critics were lukewarm on Lisa: The Painful; players were not. Number 10, inside the top 10.
Felvidek is one of the few Turn-Based JRPGs where players and critics say the same thing. It is the newest on the list (2024), and has already earned its place. It sits at 11 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 lands at 12 of 20.
Players and critics agree on Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which is rarer than it sounds in Turn-Based JRPGs. It lands at 13 of 20.
Epic Battle Fantasy 5 is carried by its players more than by its reviews. No other entry of the 20 has a higher share of positive reviews: 99%. It lands at 14 of 20.
Valkyria Chronicles is one of the few Turn-Based JRPGs where players and critics say the same thing. It sits at 15 of 20.
Players and critics agree on Sea of Stars, which is rarer than it sounds in Turn-Based JRPGs. It lands at 16 of 20.
Loren The Amazon Princess is one of the few Turn-Based JRPGs where players and critics say the same thing. It lands at 17 of 20.
Players and critics agree on Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, which is rarer than it sounds in Turn-Based JRPGs. It sits at 18 of 20.
Players and critics agree on Octopath Traveler, which is rarer than it sounds in Turn-Based JRPGs. It sits at 19 of 20.
No argument here: Scarlet Nexus wins over players and critics alike. It sits at 20 of 20.