Summary
- Action JRPGs are more popular now than turn-based games.
- Players desire deep customization, with options from weapons to skills.
- Games like Raidou Remastered offer revamped combat and progression systems.
Action JRPGs are becoming more popular now, when turn-based games used to be the "It" thing back in the 80s and 90s. Now, fans have more than Star Ocean and Tales of games to play, including many Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy spinoffs with action-based gameplay.
8 Best Top-Down Action JRPGs, Ranked
It's less common to run into a top-down Action JRPG these days, but in their heyday, this genre featured some excellent and often overlooked games.
For action JRPG fans, it's the best time to be alive. However, some players are not simply satisfied with action combat over turn-based encounters. They want their hero, or heroes, to be able to level up in many different ways. The following action JRPGs have deep customization options for leveling up everything from weapons to skills, and they can be found on a variety of platforms thanks to ports and remasters.
Raidou Remastered: The Mystery Of The Soulless Army
A Bigger Game Than The Original
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army
- Released
- June 19, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is a remaster of Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army, a PS2 niche classic. It feels more like a remake from the PS2 era, though, as the combat and progression systems got a massive overhaul.
Players level up their hero, the titular Raidou, and their demons with traditional EXP earned through combat. Additionally, players level up and learn skills for Raidou through a weapon skill tree, as well as fuse demons and pick their skills to create the ultimate partner.
Visions Of Mana
Classing Up The Series
Visions of Mana
- Released
- August 29, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Visions of Mana is the latest entry in the Mana series, going for a bigger open-world adventure than ever before. The game starts slow, but after a few hours, a class system is introduced, and that's when things start to heat up.
Each character’s list of classes is different from the others, featuring warriors and mages as standard archetype examples. Players level up their characters and classes separately, learning skills to pass along as they earn EXP.
The World Ends With You
Pin Collectors
The World Ends With You
- Released
- July 27, 2007
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Neku is the hero of The World Ends With You, and he gets new partners in every run of his otherworldly game of death. Neku will level up by gaining EXP along with his Pin collection, and this is true of the DS original and the Switch remaster.
Pins are what give Neku his abilities, from magic bullets to gusts of fire. Leveling up his Pins can alter how they work as they get stronger. Pins can even be strengthened depending on what brand is trending in Japan, which is a unique feature for a JRPG.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
A Skill Tree Of Weapons
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
- Released
- April 9, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Fighting, Action-Adventure
Muramasa: The Demon Blade has elements of the Metroidvania genre, but it's an action JRPG through and through. Kisuke and Momohime are the two main playable characters, and each has their own campaign and weapon skill trees for players to explore.
When players level up and get enough materials for new weapons, they will learn the skills attached to them, and these weapon trees are seriously massive and varied in design. If a weapon breaks, it needs time to repair itself, or else it won’t be effective in battle, forcing players to stay flexible and get comfortable with multiple different weapons, and level them up as well.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Fusing Potential
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
- Released
- January 9, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Fighting, Action-Adventure
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep switched things up as a PSP prequel to the Kingdom Hearts series. Instead of playing as just Sora, players choose between three campaigns, and each of them ties into the other: Aqua, Terra, and Ventus.
Each character levels up and unlocks new Keyblades as they progress in the story. Most interesting was the ability system, wherein players can fuse multiple skills and then equip them to their heroes, which is as fun to experiment with as actually playing the game.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Dynamic Synergies
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
- Released
- February 29, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Final Fantasy 7 Remake leveled up progression well beyond what was in the PS1 original, and then its sequel went beyond that. Every playable character in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has a distinct set of weapons that they can level up and equip skills to.
Characters can learn and perform Synergies—dual or triple attacks—from a skill tree, like one that boosts Tifa into the air. Finally, there’s the Materia system, which adds spells and passive abilities to characters as players find and equip them. The Materia system alone makes this one of the deepest action titles in the Final Fantasy franchise.
Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow
Catching Souls
Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow
- Released
- October 4, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is a fully-fledged Metroidvania, and one that is also a JRPG with plenty of standard genre elements like EXP. Leveling up Soma, the hero, is not the best part of the game; it’s finding weapons and gear from dropped enemies and then using materials to forge new equipment that makes this Castlevania entry sing.
Beyond that, monsters can also be farmed for their abilities, from throwing spears to launching magic like fire or ice. It’s kind of like a Pokemon game if Trainers absorbed their Pokemon instead of catching them.
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
A Life For Every Player
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
- Released
- May 21, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is one of the easiest JRPGs to jump into for all kinds of players, from beginners to life-long veterans, but it’s also surprisingly deep. Players get to choose their Life, or class, and options range from standard warriors and mages to weirder classes like a fisherman.
Unlike most RPGs in general that force players to choose a class and stick with it for the long haul, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time’s class system constantly builds upon itself. To fully explore the world, players need to master all the available Lives, which is quite the task for this latest Level-5 game.
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Are there games beyond Kratos’ reach on the PS5 that would make even him quiver? These titles that make the player god-like hit pretty close.