Summary
JRPGs are often some of the longest games in the video game sphere, with most games taking around thirty to forty hours to beat.Video games have only gotten longer and biggeras time goes by, meaning that every new JRPG has even more content for players to dig into.
Along with the games being longer, the concept of post-game content has allowed even more options for JRPG developers to fill their games with more stuff to do. Whether it be bonus dungeons, super bosses, or additional story content, post-game content extends the length of a game, allowing players to enjoy even more of the world they’ve spent hours exploring.
In the originalPersona 5, Yaldabaoth was the final boss of the game. InPersona 5 Royal, beating Yaldabaoth can also be the ending there as well, provided the player does not complete certain prerequisites in time.
However, by fully ranking the Councillor confidant, playerswill be able to unlock the Third Semester, which adds a whole month of content after Yaldabaoth, as well as a new palace, a new section of Mementos, and an extra story that dives into the backstories of new characters Kasumi Yoshizawa and Takuto Maruki. Many regard this to be the true ending ofPersona 5 Royal, and many insist that reaching the Third Semester is necessary to have truly completed the game.
Kingdom Hearts 2is easilyone of the most beloved entriesin this classic Square Enix franchise. With speedy action-RPG combat that demands skill and awareness,Kingdom Hearts 2has some of the best fights in the franchise, and maybe among Square Enix’s catalog as a whole.
TheFinal Mixversion ofKingdom Hearts 2allows players to flex their mastery of the game’s combat by adding several incredible boss fights only accessible after beating the game’s final boss. Aside from fighting stronger versions of several Organization XIII members, players can also fight against the Lingering Will, offering hints to a later game in the series.
TheYakuza/Like a Dragongames have always been known for their fantastic wealth of content, whether it be mini-games, substories, or whatever else they stuff in there. Beating the game unlocks premium adventure mode, which allows players to access all this while freely being available to change the time of day and more. InInfinite Wealth, premium adventure allows players to freely travel between Hawaii and Japan, as well as use whatever party they like in any area of the game.
Beating the game also unlocks the Millenium Tower as an optional dungeon, so that players still have something to look forward toonce they’re done with all the substories and other side content. Dungeons can often prove a challenge to those who are unprepared, so players should be ready to experiment with their jobs to complete them efficiently.
Dragon Quest 8was one of the best JRPGs to come out during the PS2 era. This was due to its sprawling size, with a massive overworld that rivaled some of the biggest games of its time, and its full transition to 3D models and environments, a first for the series.
Dragon Questgames are always bigger than they seem to be, andDragon Quest 8is no exception. Beating the game unlocks an additional story scenario that not only unlocks new areas and a series of superboss fights but also reveals something about the protagonist’s backstory that has a big impact on the game’s ending.
Star Oceanis a franchisefrequently given to creating long, sprawling JRPG experiences. After all, it’s one of the few games to have a maximum level higher than 100 (255), and most entries often have lots of post-game content to explore.
The third mainline game in the series,Till the End of Time, is the most emblematic of this, with loads of fantastic game content to explore after beating the game. This includes several dungeons, including the legendary Sphere 211, which has 111 extra floors for the players to explore full of superbosses like Gabriel Celeste and Ethereal Queen. With all these dungeons and bosses to fight, players will need every one of those 255 levels to match up.
For theMega Man Battle Networkgames, beating the final boss is only half the real game. There’s still plenty of content left to get into once the final boss has been beaten, including collecting all battle chips and exploring new areas unlocked after beating the game.
Mega Man Battle Network 3is one of the best games in the series, and its post-game is similarly excellent. Aside from unlocking a variety of challenges to complete, such as a new dungeon, the player gains access to iconic bosses like Bass GS and Serenade, as well as Omega versions of the various Navis that Megaman.exe and Lan face throughout the game.
Pokemonis one of the most popular JRPG franchises in the world, and each game always has a collection of post-game content so that players can continue to catch and train Pokemon even after conquering the Pokemon League. There are few games, however, that can rival how largeGold and Silver’s post-game is.
After beating the Johto League, players are given the chance to return to Kanto, where they can explore this classic region once again. The Kanto gym leaders have either grown older or changed hands, and players will probably spend as much time here as they do in the main game. It all culminates in an exciting fight against Red at the top of Mt. Silver, making for one of the most iconic battles inPokemonhistory.
Dragon Quest 11is the most recent entry in the storiedDragon Questfranchise, and it is easily the biggest so far. It cantake even veteran players between sixty and eighty hours to beat the main story, an epic tale that will take the hero all over the world in his quest to defeat the vile Mordegon.
WhileDragon Quest 11’s main story is gigantic, its post-game is almost just as tremendous. After traveling back in time to stop events from turning out the way they did in the main game, a whole new story begins involving a secret evil only hinted at in the main story. New dungeons, trials, and challenges are unlocked, as well as a whole host of side stories and cutscenes that show a new side to characters not originally seen. This massive post-game ensures it’ll be a long time before players will be able to put the game down.
