All the big fall JRPGs, ranked by how likely you are to finish them

To be clear, I’m not saying you can’t finish them. But I believe that, when playing some of these games, there are factors that would affect the chances of you continuing to play and cross the finish line. So, to save you time — and because it’s just plain fun — we’ve ranked all the major JRPGs of the fall by how likely you’re to roll their credits, starting with the one you’ll almost certainly finish during the fall and ending with the game that’s bound to live on your backlog for ages. We’ve also included a (definitely scientific) scale based on how much HP you’ll lose finishing each one.

1

Pokémon Legends Z-A

Release date: Oct. 16

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2

Likelihood of finishing (scale of 1 to 9,999): 4

Among the fall’s behemoth video games, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the most likely to be the one you will roll the credits for, because I know you, Pokémon fans. You’ve been waiting for this game since the second it was announced, marking its release date on the calendar with a little Pikachu drawn on it. You rejoiced when you saw Mega Dragonite’s giant wings sprouting out of its head and recoiled in a mix or horror and fascination at Mega Victreebel’s mind-boggling design. At least the battles seem fun.

Based on data from the website How Long to Beat, the average time to complete only the main story of its predecessor, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, was 25 hours, while doing a completionist run could take 80 hours. If Z-A comes in at around the same length, wrapping up the main quest can be done pretty fast, giving you time to prepare for other RPGs that are coming at the end of October.

2

Persona 3 Reload

Release date: Oct. 23

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Windows PC

Likelihood of finishing (scale of 1 to 9,999): 264

Persona 3 Reload is not a new game. It was actually released at the beginning of 2024. However, Sega and Atlus are finally bringing Reload to Nintendo consoles, which means that Switch 2 owners who have been waiting for another Persona game to play on their favorite portable console needn’t starve any longer. The remake of Persona 3 — just like the original — is far from a breezy RPG experience, especially for new players. You need to manage your days to become stronger and yet advance your relationship with other characters in a game that easily takes at least 70 hours to complete.

Besides, one central element in Persona 3 Reload is the Tartarus tower, the dungeon-crawler segment where you need to climb 264 floors that look basically the same. Tartarus will test you. It might break your soul. Even so, I don’t think that even this hellish place can prevent players from going through all the missions and completing this one. The charm of the series is all over Reload, with great music, visually exciting skill animations, and a quite special story.

3

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

Release date: Sept. 19

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows PC

Likelihood of finishing (scale of 1 to 9,999): 660

Compared to other RPGs in this list, the chances of you finishing Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter are considerably high. We’ve explained why you should definitely try Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter and also what to expect if you wish to play all the Trails games. The original version of the game could take around 40 hours to finish, which is not much by JRPG standards. Since the remake comes with shiny cutscenes, expect to see the overall gameplay time inflate a bit. That’s not all. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter has a charming story, and the update this new version brings to the battle system will definitely make you want to play more.

The only reasons why people may drop this game before rolling its credits are that the beginning might feel a bit slow if you’re new to the game. The turn-based combat and Trails’ magic system also require some time to adapt to. These small issues can be easily addressed by starting to play the game ahead of release with the demo and getting used to it. You can find it on all platforms the game is coming to. Start now by playing the prologue segment — around six hours of gameplay — and save your progress for when the game officially comes out.

4

Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles

Release date: Sept. 30

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Windows PC

Likelihood of finishing (scale of 1 to 9,999): 1,000

Final Fantasy Tactics is a classic, and as such, it comes with a certain appeal. Maybe you heard about it from a friend who told you how good this game is, or maybe you saw it in a list of the best RPGs of all time. While older fans who played the original version tirelessly on their PlayStation as kids, wearing pajamas during the weekends, will definitely finish The Ivalice Chronicles, new players might learn that the experience of playing it is not as exciting as the idea of doing so.

First of all, Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles is not a remake, but a remaster. The game will get new colors, voice acting, and some gameplay improvements. But fundamentally, it’s an almost 30-year-old game. The tactical battles can be frustrating while you’re still learning the best way to approach a fight, and side content like the Deep Dungeon can take ages to complete — we’re talking about a game with an average time for a completionist run of 95 hours. So, yeah, there’s a good chance you’ll see the colors of the next season before you can finish Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles.

5

Tales of Xillia Remaster

Release date: Oct. 31

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC.

Likelihood of finishing (scale of 1 to 9,999): 2,649

The second Tales game to receive the remaster treatment is Tales of Xillia, and, although it’s a fun game, it might not be enough to compete with the others. The original Tales of Xillia was not a long game, taking only 36 hours to complete the main story, placing it as a nice candidate for a quick playthrough during fall. It is, however, impossible not to start a second playthrough: Xillia‘s story is split between two protagonists, and as JRPG fans, well, of course we want to know everything that happens in the game from all the possible angles.

At the same time, not even older fans might feel compelled to rush through Tales of Xillia Remaster and watch its final cutscene again. Unlike Final Fantasy Tactics, Xillia is not the cult classic title in the Tales of series that every fan is dying to see coming to modern platforms. (That would be Tales of the Abyss, if you’re curious.) Nevertheless, the most dedicated players who play Tales of Xillia Remaster will be sure to enjoy a great piece of RPG history that was locked on the PlayStation 3 until now.

6

Digimon Story: Time Stranger

Release date: Oct. 3

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Windows PC

Likelihood of finishing (scale of 1 to 9,999): 4,800 (but if you’re a Digimon fan, it reduces to 2)

If you already love Digimon, you’ll have a blast battling with your flower-fairy companions or turning the little blob that follows you around into a giant mecha-dinosaur in Digimon Story: Time Stranger. On the other hand, if you’re not a fan, you’ll probably start playing it thinking this is like a Pokémon game. Wrong. Digimon is not similar to Pokémon, and once you realize that, there’s a high chance you’re dropping it.

In case you decide to keep playing it, well, you’ll have to deal with how grindy these games tend to be. Digimon Story games suffer from success. They have an intricate progression system that involves Digivolving and De-Digivolving your companions to unlock stronger forms. In other words, you need to get a Digimon to its max level, then get it back to its previous form, then level it up again so you can unlock a stronger form of the creature. While Digivolving creatures can be extremely fun, the process can feel painfully tedious if you’re not already a fan of these games.

7

Octopath Traveler 0

Release date: Dec. 4

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC

Likelihood of finishing (scale of 1 to 9,999): 7,359

Seven years after the first game in the series, Octopath Traveler 0 is being released on all major consoles, and you probably won’t finish this game any time soon. Maybe you’re not aware of the sheer scale here, but the first and second games could take hundreds of hours for you to complete, if you really strived to do it all. Octopath Traveler 0 will probably present a similar structure, having characters to find, secret classes to unlock, levels to grind, and final uber bosses to defeat.

To add more to what already seems like a large workload, Octopath Traveler 0 is coming with an entire city management system. There are houses to build and allies to invite to your town. Depending on how entangled the city system is with fighting difficult enemies or farming large quantities of materials, Octopath Traveler 0 may lose your attention pretty fast.

8

Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake

Release date: Oct. 30

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Windows PC

Likelihood of finishing (scale of 1 to 9,999): 7,359

With Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake, we finally have all the Erdrick trilogy accessible and beautifully represented in the HD-2D style, making this the perfect moment to give the series a try. However, these are old Dragon Quest games, meaning they are as simple and grindy as JRPGs get. This is the perfect formula for new players to give up on them as soon as they realize this is just a story about traditional heroes who need to kill hundreds of slimes to reach level five after three hours of grinding. The good old kind of fun.

Even if this kind of pacing may be to your liking, you’ll still need to work your way through a difficult game if Square Enix is not rebalancing the combat in the remakes. While this has changed in more modern releases like Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age, the old games were tough from the beginning. Since the only available method to surpass the barrier that simple enemies pose to you is by leveling up, the long grinding session could easily break your fighting spirit. Besides, have you seen how many JRPGs are releasing around the same time in October?

9

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian

Release date: Sept. 26

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC

Likelihood of finishing (scale of 1 to 9,999): 9,999

We finally reached the bottom of our list, and mark our words: Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian is going to be forever shelved in your collection, maybe even forgotten after the fall has passed. That’s because Atelier Resleriana brings myriad elements that make it a long game, from the turn-based combat or the shop and town management systems to the series’ signature heavy focus on crafting and gathering. In an Atelier game, material quality matters, and each game comes with a different crafting system that you must master if you plan on making the strongest items you can. Resleriana won’t be different, so expect to stay long hours reading item descriptions and experimenting with ingredients.

While a strong narrative can be enough for you to overlook all these elements, this will hardly be the case with Atelier Resleriana. The series has great characters, but stories have never been its most appealing aspect. Usually, there isn’t tension compelling you to progress in the main quest or a complex world-building instigating your curiosity. Atelier games are about cute girls becoming the best alchemists they can be with the help of their friends. No more, no less.