The early 2010s was a harsh few years for JRPG fans. While the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube had a fair few classics and hits for the genre, their successors had very little going for them. The average gamer likely hasn’t played through an RPG on the Nintendo Wii as those released for the console are all incredibly niche.
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Despite their niche status though, these games do in fact exist and are just waiting for you to play them. If you are a fan of RPGs and are also looking to fill out your Wii game collection, then consider checking out any of the following incredible titles.
10Xenoblade Chronicles
The Start of a Classic
Nintendo’s current favorite JRPG franchise,Xenoblade Chronicles, got its start on the Nintendo Wii of all consoles. This JRPG featured real-time combat where the player controls a single one of their party members at a time as they selected various artes to use in combat, building up a chain meter where they’ll then be able to control all three characters' actions to perform massive damage.
Although Xenoblade Chronicles undeniably deserves a spot on this list for starting what is now a hit franchise, it is also being granted the very bottom slot due to having recently received a full 1:1 remake for the Nintendo Switch. As most modern Xenoblade fans will likely play that version over the original, it would be wrong to rank this one high.
9One Piece: Unlimited Adventure
A Grand Line Adventure
One Piece: Unlimited Adventure
Ever since the dawn of gaming, it has become common for there to begames based on animeand various manga. The Wii was no exception to this as in 2007 it received an action RPG based on the hit manga One Piece. One Piece: Unlimited Adventure allows gamers to play as each current member of the Straw Hats as they get into combat, explore to find items, and participate in various minigames.
One Piece video games are always interesting to examine from a historical basis as the manga has changed a great deal in its over 1,000 chapters. To have a video game which exists in the short period of time between Franky joining the crew and Brook joining is an interesting enough anecdote to recommend this title to fans of the hit manga.
8Super Paper Mario
Switching Between Dimensions
Super Paper Mario
Despite being a fantastic game, Super Paper Mario is very controversial amongst classicPaper Mariofans due to it changing the gameplay formula from a traditional turn-based RPG to a game that’s more of a blend of traditional Mario with RPG elements included. While the numbers and items from previous Paper Mario games have stuck around for this title, the game still has Mario and his gang jumping on enemies to actually deal that damage.
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While most would say this game is a failure as an RPG for that decision, the game is saved by having a fantastic emotional narrative that is nothing like anything else in the very large Mario franchise. For that reason, this game at least deserves a placement on this list. Plus, it’s at least better than what the Paper Mario games would become afterwards.
Personally, I’m a big fan of this game. It’s only ranking low due to its RPG elements being stripped away.
7Pandora’s Tower
Forever Ascending
Pandora’s Tower
When the Nintendo Wii was in desperate need of several Japanese games which had not yet come out in America, fans rallied behind the cry of a fan campaign known as Operation Rainfall to get Pandora’s Tower, Xenoblade Chronicles, and The Last Story released here. Miraculously, it was a success and each of these games is currently available for American consoles.
Pandora’s Tower is an action RPG where the player must, of course, scale the titular tower by defeating enemies and solving puzzles in a gameplay loop very comparable to Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda franchise. While it’s great that this game was able to release in America, it is also the least notable of the Operation Rainfall games and thus falls in the lower half of this list.
Strange and Wonderful
Koei Tecmohas always been a publisher of the niche and macabre; ArtePiazza’s Opoona is no exception to this. This funky-looking JRPG with a short bald protagonist might not have mainstream appeal, but it sure is a fun thing to sit down and sink some time into. The gameplay of this title may seem traditional at first, with the player being stopped by random encounters they must fight at a fixed camera angle. However, as the player will quickly see, the battle system of Opoona can be more closely compared to titles like the Mario & Luigi games where the player must time their attacks to do proper damage.
While Opoona has been relatively forgotten by gamers in the modern day, Koei has still occasionally acknowledged the game via some crossover appearances, such as when Opoona appeared in Warriors: All Stars. While there are better-designed games on the Nintendo Wii, any fan of JRPGs should check out Opoona.
5Rune Factory Frontier
A Harvest Moon RPG
Rune Factory Frontier
With theHarvest Moonfranchise falling in popularity in recent years, it was only natural that another farming franchise would rise up to take its place. What sets the Rune Factory franchise apart from other games in the farming sim genre is that the series has plenty of RPG elements like dungeons and combat.
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The Rune Factory franchise may have been ahead of its time as a gameplay loop of doing daily life activities such as farming and wooing bachelorettes in the middle of an RPG-style adventure has become all the rage in gaming in recent years. If you want an extremely fun and early example of that type of game, then consider trying this title out.
4Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn
A Dawn of a New Era
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
During the 2000s, Nintendo’sFire Emblemfranchise was going through some dire times. Despite sales being down though, the quality only seemed to rise with each entry. In particular, the Tellius duology of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn are beloved for their plots and gameplay. These games starred the mercenary Ike, who has gone on to be one of the most popular protagonists in the series via his appearances in Super Smash Bros.
This title featured a three-tier unit promotion system that involved classes that don’t exist in most Fire Emblem titles as well as unique Laguz units which have yet to appear in any game since. While this title might not be as good as its sister title on the GameCube, it’s still a mighty fine Fire Emblem game and more than worth your time if you are a fan of the franchise.
3The Last Story
A Fantasy’s Finale
The Last Story
Following Pandora’s Tower and Xenoblade Chronicles on this list is the third game from the original Operation Rainfall fan campaign: The Last Story. If that title sounds similar to a certain other JRPG series, that’s because this title was helmed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator ofFinal Fantasy. Despite the similar title, this game plays very differently from any classic Final Fantasy game as it is an Action-RPG where the player controls a single character while the rest of their party is controlled by the AI.
The gameplay of this title is most comparable to the Xenoblade Chronicles games as the characters will automatically attack enemies once in range, though the player here will have to manually perform actions like blocking attacks. While this title has been all but forgotten by time, it’s still a fantastic title and one of the most worth checking out on the Nintendo Wii.
2Arc Rise Fantasia
Traditional in the Best Ways
Arc Rise Fantasia
The Nintendo Wii, unfortunately, had very little in the way of RPGs with an anime-style art direction. The early 2010s were held back in this regard both by technology and game industry trends. Thankfully, there is at least one Wii JRPG with this type of visual style: Arc Rise Fantasia by Imageepoch and Marvelous. This title, one of the best-looking on the console, is very similar to Namco’sTales Of franchise,not just visually but also via some overworld mechanics like the Skit system.
Gameplay-wise, though, the title is very different from the Tales Of games, featuring a fully turn-based style. Even among this list, there are very few games which actually feature menus for gamers to interact with and choose their commands. So the fact that a game this traditional is on the Wii is enough for it to be placed high in this ranking.
1Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love
Romance Above the Skyscrapers
Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love
Sega’s Sakura Wars franchise was always a huge success in Japan, but it never came over to the west until the series’ fifth entry: So Long, My Love. While this title was a PlayStation 2 exclusive in Japan, when it came out overseas, a new Wii version of the game was developed to introduce the series to a Nintendo-playing audience. The title even stars a new cast of characters in order to allow this new audience to jump right in.
Everything which makes the Sakura Wars franchise amazing is on full display in this title. From the wonderfully written character interactions to the series’ trademark ARMS battle system where movement and attacking are given equal weight during combat. While this title may be considered the weakest entry in the Sakura Wars franchise, even the lowest Sakura Wars game is one of the best games on its respective console. If you love gaming history or RPGs in general, do yourself a favor and pick up this game.
