Games

JRPGs With Thought-Provoking Endings

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55 seconds ago

November 20, 2024

If there’s one thing that carries most JRPGs, it’s their stories. Across one game or an entire series, many fans have become enamored with JRPG universes through the strong emphasis on storytelling these games usually have. Fantasy JRPGs are often high-stakes, with the fate of the world or even the entire fabric of existence hanging in the balance. Even when the stakes are lower, well-written characters and a good plot will be just as engaging for players.

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But one of the major pillars holding up a story is its ending. Whether the game is an ARPG marvel or an intense epic of intrigue and plot twists, a bad ending will, best case, forever be a caveat mentioned by fans who recommend the game, and worst case, completely destroy whatever goodwill the game had purchased up until that point. These JRPGs in particular don’t just have good endings that tie up loose plot threads well, but also have incredibly thought-provoking endings that will leave the player questioning everything about the games… and maybe their lives.

8 Suikoden 2

This Game’s True Ending Is A Marvel

Suikoden 2

Systems

Released: September 29, 1999

The upcoming Suikoden remastered collection is sure to bring a great deal of attention back to the legendary pair of initial games that gave the series its start. Suikoden 2, in particular, is an excellent finale to the overarching story established in the first title, especially for those who collect all 108 stars of destiny.

The true ending in this title, available to those who have amassed every possible companion in the game, is an incredibly insightful and satisfying end to the campaign that has been waged and also allows the player a chance to see the entire sequence of events that defined the narrative from a new perspective.

7 Final Fantasy 10

An Emotional, Powerful Ending

Systems

Released: December 17, 2001
OpenCritic Rating: Strong

Considered to be one of the best Final Fantasy titles, both for beginners and in general, Final Fantasy 10 is an emotional masterwork that ends on a rich, poignant note that is sure to stick with players for a long time after the game’s completion.

The sequel to this game is held in similarly high regard, though it does dampen the ending of this game somewhat, as some things that were neatly wrapped together suddenly have come undone for the sake of the plot.

6 Triangle Strategy

The Nature Of Victory And Democracy Is Questioned In Every Ending

Systems

Released: March 4, 2022
OpenCritic Rating: Strong

One of the best JRPGs with branching narratives available today, Triangle Strategy offers the player a variety of thought-provoking endings based on their choices throughout the story. It’s an incredibly novel means of storytelling from Square Enix and, hopefully, one they’ll replicate soon.

While there is a golden route that provides an ideal ending in this game, there are also three conviction-based endings that – through their bittersweetness – give the player much to think about. These darker ‘non-golden’ endings are the ones players will most likely see on their first run, and reflect a game filled with ethical dilemmas and grey morality.

5 Chrono Trigger

A Host Of Compelling Endings

Like Triangle Strategy, Chrono Trigger offers a variety of endings based on player choices, though they all come at a similar point in the story’s climactic finale. Each ending, though distinct, provides an emotional and thought-provoking conclusion to one of the most influential JRPGs of all time.

The endings and their presence after the defeat of a challenging final boss are a broad and sweeping celebration of the incredibly intricate setting this game has created over a variety of time periods.

4 P3 Reload

More Linear Than Subsequent Personas, But With A Great Ending

Released: February 2, 2024
Developer(s): P-Studio
OpenCritic Rating: Mighty

The third Persona game was the first one in the series to really differentiate itself as more than a simple spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei series. Certainly, there is an incredible amount of merit to the first two titles, but this was the one that helped establish Persona as the slick, stylish series it’s known as today.

This game only has one true ending, but it’s the summation of an incredibly long and deep game, and leaves the player feeling more than just incredibly satisfied but – in true megami tensei fashion – lost in thought about the very nature of divinity and reality.

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3 Trails In The Sky SC

A Fantastic Ending And One Of The Best Trails Games

There is some stiff competition for the best game in the legendary Nihon Falcom library of titles, but the second chapter of Trails In The Sky would certainly come close thanks to its tight-knit cast of emotive characters.

The ending in this title is a perfect synthesis of the plot elements from both this title and its predecessor, coming together in what is more than just a satisfying ending, but one that leaves the players truly awestruck.

2 Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse

The Dark Ending Is Awe-Inspiring

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

Systems

Released: September 20, 2016
Engine: Unreal Engine 4
OpenCritic Rating: Mighty

So much about the Shin Megami Tensei series is thought-provoking. What is the true nature of divinity? What role do humanity and belief play in the creation of the gods? Why are some of these games so hard? Players may never find all the answers they seek.

Apocalypse is a unique SMT title in the sense that it shirks Law and Chaos for a dark and light variant on the neutral ending, similar to how the previous game shirked law and chaos for ‘the ending what with you doing all the side quests and such’. While the light neutral ending is incredibly wholesome, the dark neutral ending is so grand in its scope and such a wistful end to an amazing title that it can’t help but leave players deep in thought about how fundamentally they’ve just changed the SMT setting.

1 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers Of Sky

A Classic Pokemon Spin-Off With A Surprisingly Deep Ending

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky

Systems

Released: October 12, 2009

For many people of a certain age, they would have been just kids when this game came out. A new, interesting Pokemon title hits the shelves, and like clockwork, a bunch of kids eagerly snap it up. What they probably weren’t expecting was one of the most emotional and mature stories put to a Pokemon story to date (a low bar to clear, but impressive nonetheless).

Explorers of Sky has an excellent, time-bending ending that involves a deeply emotional climax and – especially when viewed in conjunction with the Sky exclusive special episodes – an incredibly thought-provoking and insightful look into the nature of both time and space in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series.