I'd also recommend Koudelka (Shadow Hearts' predecessor). Shadow Hearts 2: Covenant is not nearly as dark as the first game, but it still well worth your time.
I played the whole series a few months ago and I'm not ashamed to say I actually enjoyed Koudelka more than any of the Shadow entries (especially From the New World which was garbage in my opinion). I was pleasently surprised with Koudelka, good voice acting, great character chemistry and dialogue, great atmosphere.
Xenogears goes some pretty dark places throughout, and handles its themes with a surprising amount of maturity, especially for its time. The only other Xeno game I've played is Xenosaga episode 1, which felt similar, but I can't speak for the rest of the Xeno psuedofranchise directly.
@@charitymoor4948 I love Xenogears because of how rapid-fire it switches from existential horror and genocide to "and our flying sand-submarine will form the head of this giant robot!"
It's definitely more overtly horror-themed than many of the games on this list, but I've been sinking some time into Parasite Eve to get into the Halloween spirit and man, it had been an absolute treat! It really combines creepy atmosphere, horror visuals, style and some amazingly snappy and still fresh to this day takes on turn-based combat
Parasite Eve is amazing. If you like JRPG type of 3rd person tank control games like the old Resident Evils and Parasite Eve, you might like Galarians and Galarians Ash.
The ring system was bad compared to the general jrpg. If i recall correctly. You can miss the attack timing on the ring, and then there's also the regular enemy being able to dodge that attack 😅 Atleast you don't have to press a combination of buttons for every attack and skills you want to activate (there's another rpg on ps2 which did that, sucked so bad)
@@Eldergloom no, it's call player criticism - something that shouldn't be ignored or disregarded as that dictates whether a game ip will survive or die
gonna be honest, it took me a long time to play grandia 1, i bought it alongside tales of destiny 2, and i was so impressed with tales that i completely neglected grandia, later on, i decided to give it a try and ended up loving it. but then i played grandia 2 and yeah, it did not click to me. i just could not stand the characters, and the story felt, i dunno, generic? i know ALOT of people love it. and many consider it a vast improvement over the first. but to me, it just felt disapointing.
@@marcosdheleno I think the problems of Grandia 2 lies in its storytelling. While characters and their inner motivations are written good and the gameplay is good, the world around on the other hand gets less and less sense by the end of the game. It's like the plot looses momentum, while characters evolve. I have no experience with Grandia 1 (except for the first town). I have first played Grandia 2 several years ago and felt really disappointed too.
@@Sly2Cooper its funny because grandia 1 is the opposite when it comes to its lore and world building. you do feel like you are both an explorer and uncovering the secrets of the world. the one aspect i dont like about grandia 1 is how the game just discards party members, you are only with 4 characters at a time, and the game never really gives you a hint that some of those are just temporary. which really hurts on a first playthrough, and you end up feeling like you wasted so much time grinding their skill levels.
The Neir Series is incredible but I grew up with the Drakengard games and the stories really stretch the narrative of the Neir universe too much. Not to mention how Drakengard 2 doesn’t fit in anywhere.
I've been playing grandia 2 for about a week now and I couldn't agree more. Another one I would mention is Illusion of gaia. It doesn't look it in the surface but it hits deep darkness in several moments.
There are a lot of great games on this list and it even contains some of my all-time favorites like SMT III: Nocturne, Shadow Hearts, and Tales of Berseria! Regarding Vandal Hearts, while the PS1 version is still a classic, it has had some censorship so I would suggest people check out the Saturn release if possible because it not only is uncensored, but it also contains additional content that is worth experiencing. I'll also list a few more dark JRPG recommendations here: Retro: Laplace no Ma (Super Famicom) - A turn-based RPG with light survival horror elements and a theme that is like retro horror anime meets Lovecraftian horror. While this was only released in Japan, there is an English fan translation available. Dark Wizard (Sega CD) - A dark fantasy SRPG with horror-influenced themes and a lot of aesthetic influence from 80s and early 90s horror anime. There are four protagonists you can choose from with two of them being on the heroic side and two of them being villains to a certain degree. One of the protagonists you can play as is also one of the most cruel and flat-out evil characters in a JRPG, to the point where he is on the same level of sadism as Luca Blight from Suikoden II. The four mainline Phantasy Star games (Master System, Genesis) - While these games usually get credited with blending sci-fi with fantasy, they also have a lot of horror elements and every one of them leans heavily into cosmic horror in the latter part of the games due to the nature of the ongoing conflict in the story of the games. It is worth noting that Phantasy Star II and Phantasy Star IV also have a lot of biohorror elements in them. Indie: Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and PC) - A first-person dungeon crawler with a dark fantasy/horror theme and a very creative combat system developed by Experience, who have made a name for themselves in both creating quality dungeon crawlers and horror visual novel/adventure games. The content in this game can be a bit on the extreme side in that it has some depictions of things like severe cruelty and intense violence, so this one won't be for the faint of heart. Fear & Hunger I & II (PC) - A series of games combining JRPG and survival horror elements and are very heavy on the survival horror part. This is a series probably best known for having both extreme difficulty and extreme subject matter, so these games might be one of the perfect examples of being niche. Despite that, they have both gained a strong cult following in the indie scene and for people who can handle the difficulty and content, they are some of the most engaging and compelling games out there. If you have an aversion to dying frequently in a game and would prefer to have a trigger warning before being exposed to something disturbing, then these probably won't be for you. If you know these things and are still interested in playing them, then you might find plenty to enjoy. Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass (PC) - Here is one that is a bit more accessible than the previous two recommendations. It can be described as a hybrid of a quirky Earthbound-inspired JRPG, a playful dark fantasy story with a tone along the lines of something like Beetlejuice, a JRPG with some monster-collecting elements, and old indie horror games made in RPG Maker like Yume Nikki.
Seeing SMT Nocturne in this list, i would say the other Spinoff´s of the Devil Survivor series would fit as well, in these one wrong decison and a comrade might die permanently, in that regard there is also Valkyrie profile covenant of the plume, where you decide who of your comrades shall die after the battle ends (while stats are tenfold in that battle). As there is a new update i remember _Chrono Ark_ could also fit because of the generall dark tone and athmosphere of the game.
One J-RPG that could have been mentioned here is Breath of Fire IV. Despite a pretty looking world, this one had some of the cruelest scenes I ever got in a J-RPG and the more you learn about its world the darker it gets. To the point you might agree with the villain in the end.
11:29 Tales of Berseria is my first (and my most favourite) Tales of game. I've played other titles but none of them come near as dark and as emotional as Tales of Berseria in my opinion. Thanks for including this title.
Great list. I just want to add,nor rather implore anyone reading this, interested in dark thematics explored in video games to try Labyrinth Of Refrain Coven Of Dusk. I played several of the games in the video list and most of them are tame in comparison. I literally had to put down the games at times to process part of the story.
Shadow Hearts was so amazing. The second is one of my favorite games of all time. There is (was?) a kickstarter by one of the original guys to make a spiritual successor. Forgot what it's called, Penny Blood or something? Really hoping he finds a publisher.
I'm glad to see Linda³ on the list, played it in Japanese but it took way too long trying to translate everything bit by bit so definitely getting the fanlation
I was expecting Mother 3 on the list. This game is an emotional rollercoaster with a lot of dark moments and deep messages, and even if in overhaul the game has a very bright and optimistic note to it, still one of the most devasting experiences I had in my teenage years.
I'd recommend Death End Re Quest to anyone who's cool with long visual novel sections. Super weird and dark storyline/world(s) and innovative turn based combat. One of my favorite Switch games.
I got quite a kick of the Monkey Island music :) Loved Nocturne, it's one of my favorites. Really need to finish my genoside run of Undertale. And I really want to check out Omori.
Props for putting a list like this together without mentioning Xeno or Final Fantasy. Two I might add are Dark Kingdom and Dark Half: it's even in the names!
A game that i found really dark was The Witch and the Hundred Knight, and its protagonist, the witch Metallia, does commit heinous acts. The story is slow, but it really delivers at the end and has some interesting twists. I'd recommend it.
Both parts of Vandal Hearts are great, it's a shame we never got a real 3. I would also add Breath of Fire 4 to this list, great game and story, very serious, when I played it as a teenager it made a huge impression on me.
If there is something I can add, it will be Resonance of Fate due to its goth and steam punk setting and Folklore for dark fantasy. Interesting enough, Eternal Sonata I think is a curve ball for dark theme if we are talking about someone passing away.
I still haven't played this legend of a game. I just beat SMT V Hard Mode, and beat IV years ago during covid. I have Nocturne on Switch and will finally play it soon
Omori was waaaay too dark for me. 😅 I liked Berseria. I've only played 3 games in the series so far (Zesteria, Berseria, and Arise), but I liked the story in Berseria the best.
Another Tales game, and probably the best in the franchise Vesperia is NOT lighthearted though it has lighthearted moments. One of hte main themes is if the means justifies the means culminating in a pivotal event exploring if murder is justified if it helps the common good.
@ Yeah I know, I personally think though Shadow Hearts didn’t meet the atmosphere and uniqueness Koudelka had (love the series nonetheless, the second entry especially).
Little Misfortune was pretty dark, but like, sad dark. Arise was kind of dark, in the sense that you play a character thats dead and relives his memories as he passes on to the afterlife.
@@mummola2363 undertale or Lisa aren’t Japanese. Jrpg became a genre more than just meaning it comes from Japan. So yes, F&H is a Jrpg since it follows the early 80/90’s style of Japanese RPGs. :)
nice list Alex! i would add eternal poison in there as well because of its gothic like characters and themes. And of course lets not forget ff16 as much as i would like to😅😅
*Instantly sees Milenia, instantly clicks* OMG my 2nd fav game is going to be talked about hehehe!!! This game was my intro into the JRPG genre hehe. I purposely avoided FF as my first JRPG and I saw a poster for this game in Nintendo Power and was interested. My brother got a Dreamcast, got this game, I only watched him play it a little bit, but stopped because I wanted to play it myself. Played it, and the rest is history. I broke our first Dreamcast because I played this game and Skies of Arcadia too much. Thankfully I was able to get another DC some years later and it's my baby and I rarely play Grandia 2 on it because I am scared of breaking the console again haha. Okay enough rambling, let me see what you say about it. 1. SMT:Nocturne- I never even heard of this franchise until someone told me Persona was a spin-off of it. I have no plans to get into it now either because I heard it's harder than Persona, and I was never interested in that franchise either due to not wanting to play long games (and the settings never interested me). I do want to try Atlas's latest game though since I want to try at least ONE game by that company and Metaphor is right up my alley, setting wise. 2. Omori- lol, there's a disclaimer at the beginning for a reason. I never even heard of this game until my fav Let's Player tackled it. Yeah it's dark alright and I didn't watch the more 'triggering' parts, but it's an excellent story for sure and handles the mature topics very well (and this coming from someone who used be like the MC). 3. I know I've heard about this game at some point, but that's about it. 4. Undertale is the perfect example of taking a genre and turning it on its head. I never played the game (I probably will at some point), but I do love the story and I NEVER play the 'bad route' when morality is in a game. 5. I never got Shadow Hearts because well . . . I didn't like the "Western vibe" from it. Plus after I learned there was an insanity meter, I was like, "yeah no thanks" lol. 6. Yeah, I doubt I'll ever get this game because I know it'll make me feel too uncomfortable. 7. @9:17- Oh no, this part of the story. Suffice to say, I tend to get through this part as fast as possible, it's too sad, not to mention I hate the main boss of this area . . . stupid mini-foes and status effects. Still, it gives me the most busted move in the game. No wonder why Millenia is only playable at times, she becomes broken with the new move she learns after this lol. Ryudo is still one of my fav video game protags for a reason. Also to people interested in this game, I recommend having a tissue box on stand by, game is not only dark, but sad. One of the few games to make me cry. 8. I thought that art style looked familiar. 9. I've only completed one Tales game, and that's Symphonia. I have been playing Arise and it's great, but I need to finish it. For some reason, it's not 'gelling' with me like Symphonia did. It's probably the chars since I've seen these types of chars before. I still like the game though. But anyway, Berseria, yeah, no interest in the game because I am not a fan of revenge stories. 10. Yeah I only heard about this game because it's connected to the Nier franchise in some ways right? This game is not a pure JRPG, but it has enough JRPG elements for me to see it as one- 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. In fact one could say Vanillaware games all have a dark element to them. I am mentioning this game though since it's the only one I've played and completed myself. It comes off as a regular sci-fi "Let's beat the Kaiju" story like EVA, but its A LOT more and gets pretty dark at times.
Here's my list of dark jrpg's Fear &Hunger duology - one of the most brutal and hardocore jrpg War of the Dead pc88 version - dark and bloody horror rpg with real time battles Laplace no ma - remake of the old pc game for the snes Baroque psx - very cryptic and dark tone dungeon crawler. Raging bytes - zombie jrpg
Good video, but I'm surprised you mentioned Berseria over Xillia 2. X2 screwed me up emotionally cause of the whole... Multidimensional genocide thing you have to do.
Vandal hearts was the best tactical srpg of its time... blood splash aside, the political intrigue and subsequent supernatural twist was a solid mature story...
Here's some i can think of, Death End Re-quest, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re-birth 2 Sister Generation but its just the bad end so not sure if that counts, Final Fantasy Type-0 and maybe Trails from Daybreak 2 Crimson Sin (coming Feb 2025 so haven't played it yet but i know what to expect) but not sure its dark enough to count as dark.
Death end re;Quest. Part turn base RPG and Visual Novel. Not really anything bloody or gory visually but Pretty horrific in the novel descriptions of events particularly if you screwed up and picked a bad choice. There is also a sequel which I haven't played yet but I am told is even more horrific.
I can add two here that most players will never see on youtube. The Last Sovereign a hentai ish jrpg that is amazing for its plot and game scope, entirely free on steam. Seraphic Blue, an old 50 hour love letter to nihilism jrpg game up there with Lisa the Painful, entirely free on the net. Another honorable shoutout to Demons Roots a very much more hentai game with an awesomely fucked plot.
@BacklogBattle well nocturne seems to be more popular probably due to being a numbered smt game and not side game like the devil survivor or digital devil saga games. Nocturne was basically based on World has already ended how will the people left live in what's left of the world digital devil saga was the humans themselves turning into demons and if they want to or not they have to do what there body makes them do and it's basically conform or die.
Thank you for your detailed reply! I was looking up my videos and along the same lines you mentioned, Digital Devil Saga *has* shown up in one of my videos! Fittingly, it's in this list of Underappreciated JRPGs! Go have a look! ruclips.net/video/xwm6sIxMNbM/видео.html
![The Strange Case of the Launch IDs [Limbus Company]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/K8Eny7z1phw/mqdefault.jpg)
I'd also recommend Koudelka (Shadow Hearts' predecessor). Shadow Hearts 2: Covenant is not nearly as dark as the first game, but it still well worth your time.
Koudelka rules
I played the whole series a few months ago and I'm not ashamed to say I actually enjoyed Koudelka more than any of the Shadow entries (especially From the New World which was garbage in my opinion). I was pleasently surprised with Koudelka, good voice acting, great character chemistry and dialogue, great atmosphere.
@@leikeylosh for a ps1 game. Koudelka have superb voice acting. I felt the emotion, accent, and flow.
VANDAL HEARTS MENTIONED! no one ever talks about vandal hearts!
Old people do (me).
It's an oldie, but a goodie.
my cousin and I saw that blood spray on kill as young teens and immediately threw our $$$ at the Gamestop employee
Perfect introduction to strategy/tactical jrpgs.
I've seen some folks talk a bit about it.
SMT 3 is one of my most played games getting all monsters and endings back on PS2. I was utterly enthralled with it
Xenogears goes some pretty dark places throughout, and handles its themes with a surprising amount of maturity, especially for its time. The only other Xeno game I've played is Xenosaga episode 1, which felt similar, but I can't speak for the rest of the Xeno psuedofranchise directly.
@@charitymoor4948 I love Xenogears because of how rapid-fire it switches from existential horror and genocide to "and our flying sand-submarine will form the head of this giant robot!"
It's definitely more overtly horror-themed than many of the games on this list, but I've been sinking some time into Parasite Eve to get into the Halloween spirit and man, it had been an absolute treat!
It really combines creepy atmosphere, horror visuals, style and some amazingly snappy and still fresh to this day takes on turn-based combat
Totally enjoy that game and part 2 as well.
Parasite Eve is amazing.
If you like JRPG type of 3rd person tank control games like the old Resident Evils and Parasite Eve, you might like Galarians and Galarians Ash.
Shadow Hearts?! Nah, no one ever talks about Shadow Hearts. I freaking loved Shadow Hearts. I like saying Shadow Hearts…
*Shadow Hearts*
Nice
The ring system was bad compared to the general jrpg.
If i recall correctly. You can miss the attack timing on the ring, and then there's also the regular enemy being able to dodge that attack 😅
Atleast you don't have to press a combination of buttons for every attack and skills you want to activate (there's another rpg on ps2 which did that, sucked so bad)
@@sentientnpc0 Skill issue.
@@Eldergloom no, it's call player criticism - something that shouldn't be ignored or disregarded as that dictates whether a game ip will survive or die
@@sentientnpc0 Nah, sounds like you couldn't hit X at the right time. Skill issue. Shadow Hearts is easy.
Ahh yes, Tales of Berseria. Couldn't agree more, fantastic game
Resonance of Fate is one of the darkest if not the darkest game I've played. You wouldn't know it at first though.
Grandia 2 remains criminally underrated, good shoutout
@@Jumungous grandia 2 was my first ps2 game and it was great man, awesome story and everything, got halfway through the game with no memory card lol
gonna be honest, it took me a long time to play grandia 1, i bought it alongside tales of destiny 2, and i was so impressed with tales that i completely neglected grandia, later on, i decided to give it a try and ended up loving it. but then i played grandia 2 and yeah, it did not click to me. i just could not stand the characters, and the story felt, i dunno, generic?
i know ALOT of people love it. and many consider it a vast improvement over the first. but to me, it just felt disapointing.
@@marcosdheleno I think the problems of Grandia 2 lies in its storytelling. While characters and their inner motivations are written good and the gameplay is good, the world around on the other hand gets less and less sense by the end of the game. It's like the plot looses momentum, while characters evolve.
I have no experience with Grandia 1 (except for the first town). I have first played Grandia 2 several years ago and felt really disappointed too.
@@Sly2Cooper its funny because grandia 1 is the opposite when it comes to its lore and world building. you do feel like you are both an explorer and uncovering the secrets of the world.
the one aspect i dont like about grandia 1 is how the game just discards party members, you are only with 4 characters at a time, and the game never really gives you a hint that some of those are just temporary. which really hurts on a first playthrough, and you end up feeling like you wasted so much time grinding their skill levels.
DRAKENGRAD MENTIONED
This game has a dark story but is very worth playing, especially since this game is the connecting story of the Nier series.
The Neir Series is incredible but I grew up with the Drakengard games and the stories really stretch the narrative of the Neir universe too much. Not to mention how Drakengard 2 doesn’t fit in anywhere.
Thanks for these recomendations, keep up the good work!
seeing Drakengard on here is perfect! honestly the whole series is pretty dark and twisted, really cool series though
Great list, Alex! Lisa: The Painful is the one I really want to play!
Linda cube is an amazing find, will play, thanks!
Man SMT3 was definitely a rough and brutal game. It's not for the faint of heart.
I've been playing grandia 2 for about a week now and I couldn't agree more. Another one I would mention is Illusion of gaia. It doesn't look it in the surface but it hits deep darkness in several moments.
There are a lot of great games on this list and it even contains some of my all-time favorites like SMT III: Nocturne, Shadow Hearts, and Tales of Berseria! Regarding Vandal Hearts, while the PS1 version is still a classic, it has had some censorship so I would suggest people check out the Saturn release if possible because it not only is uncensored, but it also contains additional content that is worth experiencing.
I'll also list a few more dark JRPG recommendations here:
Retro:
Laplace no Ma (Super Famicom) - A turn-based RPG with light survival horror elements and a theme that is like retro horror anime meets Lovecraftian horror. While this was only released in Japan, there is an English fan translation available.
Dark Wizard (Sega CD) - A dark fantasy SRPG with horror-influenced themes and a lot of aesthetic influence from 80s and early 90s horror anime. There are four protagonists you can choose from with two of them being on the heroic side and two of them being villains to a certain degree. One of the protagonists you can play as is also one of the most cruel and flat-out evil characters in a JRPG, to the point where he is on the same level of sadism as Luca Blight from Suikoden II.
The four mainline Phantasy Star games (Master System, Genesis) - While these games usually get credited with blending sci-fi with fantasy, they also have a lot of horror elements and every one of them leans heavily into cosmic horror in the latter part of the games due to the nature of the ongoing conflict in the story of the games. It is worth noting that Phantasy Star II and Phantasy Star IV also have a lot of biohorror elements in them.
Indie:
Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and PC) - A first-person dungeon crawler with a dark fantasy/horror theme and a very creative combat system developed by Experience, who have made a name for themselves in both creating quality dungeon crawlers and horror visual novel/adventure games. The content in this game can be a bit on the extreme side in that it has some depictions of things like severe cruelty and intense violence, so this one won't be for the faint of heart.
Fear & Hunger I & II (PC) - A series of games combining JRPG and survival horror elements and are very heavy on the survival horror part. This is a series probably best known for having both extreme difficulty and extreme subject matter, so these games might be one of the perfect examples of being niche. Despite that, they have both gained a strong cult following in the indie scene and for people who can handle the difficulty and content, they are some of the most engaging and compelling games out there. If you have an aversion to dying frequently in a game and would prefer to have a trigger warning before being exposed to something disturbing, then these probably won't be for you. If you know these things and are still interested in playing them, then you might find plenty to enjoy.
Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass (PC) - Here is one that is a bit more accessible than the previous two recommendations. It can be described as a hybrid of a quirky Earthbound-inspired JRPG, a playful dark fantasy story with a tone along the lines of something like Beetlejuice, a JRPG with some monster-collecting elements, and old indie horror games made in RPG Maker like Yume Nikki.
Thanks for the recs!
I love Omori, but I have to play that one in short sessions for my own mental health
Seeing SMT Nocturne in this list, i would say the other Spinoff´s of the Devil Survivor series would fit as well, in these one wrong decison and a comrade might die permanently, in that regard there is also Valkyrie profile covenant of the plume, where you decide who of your comrades shall die after the battle ends (while stats are tenfold in that battle).
As there is a new update i remember _Chrono Ark_ could also fit because of the generall dark tone and athmosphere of the game.
dang your the only youtube I seen to have talked about Vandal Hearts! Was my first ps1 game loved it. Amazing story and characters
my personal favourite, vagrant story
Loved the Vandal Hearts story, great to see it get more love.
Couldn't agree more!
One J-RPG that could have been mentioned here is Breath of Fire IV. Despite a pretty looking world, this one had some of the cruelest scenes I ever got in a J-RPG and the more you learn about its world the darker it gets. To the point you might agree with the villain in the end.
11:29 Tales of Berseria is my first (and my most favourite) Tales of game. I've played other titles but none of them come near as dark and as emotional as Tales of Berseria in my opinion. Thanks for including this title.
Arise was darker imo.
Great list. I just want to add,nor rather implore anyone reading this, interested in dark thematics explored in video games to try Labyrinth Of Refrain Coven Of Dusk. I played several of the games in the video list and most of them are tame in comparison. I literally had to put down the games at times to process part of the story.
OG drakengard is so goated
Grandia 2 is what got into jrpgs. Been chasing that high for a long time. My recommendations are Tales of the Abyss and Nier Automata
i was literally watching a video on linda last night, the timing of ur video scary
Drakengard mentioned
Shadow Hearts was so amazing. The second is one of my favorite games of all time. There is (was?) a kickstarter by one of the original guys to make a spiritual successor. Forgot what it's called, Penny Blood or something? Really hoping he finds a publisher.
I'm glad to see Linda³ on the list, played it in Japanese but it took way too long trying to translate everything bit by bit so definitely getting the fanlation
Good list , i love SMT nocturne and the first vandal hearts.
Suikoden and Suikoden 2... I mean, you kill your father and eat his soul and that's honestly probably one of the lighter moments in retrospect.
@@xxJing a girl has to eat 💅🏻
All SMT and Shadow Hearts series is my go to
I was expecting Mother 3 on the list. This game is an emotional rollercoaster with a lot of dark moments and deep messages, and even if in overhaul the game has a very bright and optimistic note to it, still one of the most devasting experiences I had in my teenage years.
Yea i dont get how mother 3 was not on there. All around a very depressing game. I would add xenoblade 3 to
I mean if this makes it a "dark" story then every single jrpg with sad moments should be on there, including final fantasy titles.
@@KOTEBANAROT sound like somebody didn't play mother 3 n xenoblade 3
@@michaelmacorso4479 we avoided the obvious choices for this list. The Mother series and Xenoblade get mentioned enough in other lists
@BacklogBattle lol that is true but they always good choices. I would love a hd 2d remake of the mother trilogy.
Labyrinth of Refrain is also worth mentioning but it's a first person dungeon crawler jrpg. The further you progress the darker it becomes.
Labyrinth of Galleria is pretty dark too!
Could someone tell me where to find the Linda cube? Please?
I'd recommend Death End Re Quest to anyone who's cool with long visual novel sections. Super weird and dark storyline/world(s) and innovative turn based combat. One of my favorite Switch games.
Velvet telling magilou to "get back here" to force feed her meds make me laugh so hard everytime
I got quite a kick of the Monkey Island music :) Loved Nocturne, it's one of my favorites. Really need to finish my genoside run of Undertale. And I really want to check out Omori.
Grandia II has really grotesque moments
Props for putting a list like this together without mentioning Xeno or Final Fantasy. Two I might add are Dark Kingdom and Dark Half: it's even in the names!
Wow i'm surprised someone mentioned dark half considering how messed up the plot was.
@@RTDArtist Then it should be fully expected! (My vote for "messed up" would go to Kingdom personally, but that's a freaking essay.)
Omori is very depressing but like very good. Finale duet always brings a tear to my eye.
A game that i found really dark was The Witch and the Hundred Knight, and its protagonist, the witch Metallia, does commit heinous acts. The story is slow, but it really delivers at the end and has some interesting twists. I'd recommend it.
Both parts of Vandal Hearts are great, it's a shame we never got a real 3. I would also add Breath of Fire 4 to this list, great game and story, very serious, when I played it as a teenager it made a huge impression on me.
I for sure recommend Library of Ruina and Limbus Company. IMO some of the best games ever made, and they definitely are very dark.
Suikoden 2 is also pretty dark especially with Luca Blight..
the tone can be all over the place but FE3H is definitely dark for quite a bit of its playtime
Yea that is one very dark game. Such a classic game
I don’t know if they are considered dark jrpgs but the Fatal Frame games are some of my favorite games.
Xenogears was also a dark one... Koudelka is aalso another... i loved both
Bro, you should try the first summoner crpg game and do a review its totally up your alley very underrated
Drakengard mentioned let’s gooooooo! Freaky dragon people!
Does Seraphic Blue count as dark? I'd say that.
Adding the platforms the games are accessible on right now would help.
Maybe it's time to replay Grandia II.
If there is something I can add, it will be Resonance of Fate due to its goth and steam punk setting and Folklore for dark fantasy.
Interesting enough, Eternal Sonata I think is a curve ball for dark theme if we are talking about someone passing away.
I didn't think anyone else appreciated Eternal Sonata. It's just an amazing story and such an under appreciated gem.
SMT Nocturne is my favourite video game EVER, dead serious.
I still haven't played this legend of a game. I just beat SMT V Hard Mode, and beat IV years ago during covid. I have Nocturne on Switch and will finally play it soon
@@naokibeats420 It's a damn good one
Shadow Hearts is my favorite JRPG.
Omori was waaaay too dark for me. 😅
I liked Berseria. I've only played 3 games in the series so far (Zesteria, Berseria, and Arise), but I liked the story in Berseria the best.
Another Tales game, and probably the best in the franchise Vesperia is NOT lighthearted though it has lighthearted moments. One of hte main themes is if the means justifies the means culminating in a pivotal event exploring if murder is justified if it helps the common good.
You should look into SMT: Digital Devil Saga. Game is fantastic!
Valdal hearts and Suikoden are the reason why the 90's were the golden age of the gaming industry.
No Koudelka? :( That’s the most „horror“ jrpg we ever got imo. Even more than Parasite Eve (also very recommendable).
No, but it’s spiritual successor Shadow Hearts did
@ Yeah I know, I personally think though Shadow Hearts didn’t meet the atmosphere and uniqueness Koudelka had (love the series nonetheless, the second entry especially).
Vandal Hearts! especially number 2. I was always intimidated by the Trio of Doom.
what’s the JRPG from the cover art of the vid?
Oh Millenia, you will always have my heart!
Undertale genocide run is truly scary, specially the ending.
Little Misfortune was pretty dark, but like, sad dark. Arise was kind of dark, in the sense that you play a character thats dead and relives his memories as he passes on to the afterlife.
No Fear and Hunger?
@@upyours192
J part of the Jrpg, Fear and Hunger is finnish
@@mummola2363 I honestly thought Fear and Hunger was Japanese. Oops!
@@mummola2363 undertale or Lisa aren’t Japanese. Jrpg became a genre more than just meaning it comes from Japan. So yes, F&H is a Jrpg since it follows the early 80/90’s style of Japanese RPGs. :)
Yeah this is a great list 😊
There a Sega CD JRPG where you party a monsters and you need to eat humans to get skills
Let me know if you remember the name of it!
Caim: 'Loving this Shit.'
nice list Alex! i would add eternal poison in there as well because of its gothic like characters and themes. And of course lets not forget ff16 as much as i would like to😅😅
Omori is SO GODDAMN GOOD. Unfortunately you can't play it on Xbox anymore, unless it was released physical there? But yeah, so good.
No Parasite Eve? Surprising.
It was mentioned on the "mature" list recently, would be boring if Alex brought up the same games all the time.
@@DanielSantosAnalysis Oh yeah. Fair enough
Valkyria chronicles.
Any smt game. (Nocturne got the nod)
The Lisa trilogy is pretty effed up.
*Instantly sees Milenia, instantly clicks* OMG my 2nd fav game is going to be talked about hehehe!!! This game was my intro into the JRPG genre hehe. I purposely avoided FF as my first JRPG and I saw a poster for this game in Nintendo Power and was interested. My brother got a Dreamcast, got this game, I only watched him play it a little bit, but stopped because I wanted to play it myself. Played it, and the rest is history. I broke our first Dreamcast because I played this game and Skies of Arcadia too much. Thankfully I was able to get another DC some years later and it's my baby and I rarely play Grandia 2 on it because I am scared of breaking the console again haha. Okay enough rambling, let me see what you say about it.
1. SMT:Nocturne- I never even heard of this franchise until someone told me Persona was a spin-off of it. I have no plans to get into it now either because I heard it's harder than Persona, and I was never interested in that franchise either due to not wanting to play long games (and the settings never interested me). I do want to try Atlas's latest game though since I want to try at least ONE game by that company and Metaphor is right up my alley, setting wise.
2. Omori- lol, there's a disclaimer at the beginning for a reason. I never even heard of this game until my fav Let's Player tackled it. Yeah it's dark alright and I didn't watch the more 'triggering' parts, but it's an excellent story for sure and handles the mature topics very well (and this coming from someone who used be like the MC).
3. I know I've heard about this game at some point, but that's about it.
4. Undertale is the perfect example of taking a genre and turning it on its head. I never played the game (I probably will at some point), but I do love the story and I NEVER play the 'bad route' when morality is in a game.
5. I never got Shadow Hearts because well . . . I didn't like the "Western vibe" from it. Plus after I learned there was an insanity meter, I was like, "yeah no thanks" lol.
6. Yeah, I doubt I'll ever get this game because I know it'll make me feel too uncomfortable.
7. @9:17- Oh no, this part of the story. Suffice to say, I tend to get through this part as fast as possible, it's too sad, not to mention I hate the main boss of this area . . . stupid mini-foes and status effects. Still, it gives me the most busted move in the game. No wonder why Millenia is only playable at times, she becomes broken with the new move she learns after this lol. Ryudo is still one of my fav video game protags for a reason. Also to people interested in this game, I recommend having a tissue box on stand by, game is not only dark, but sad. One of the few games to make me cry.
8. I thought that art style looked familiar.
9. I've only completed one Tales game, and that's Symphonia. I have been playing Arise and it's great, but I need to finish it. For some reason, it's not 'gelling' with me like Symphonia did. It's probably the chars since I've seen these types of chars before. I still like the game though. But anyway, Berseria, yeah, no interest in the game because I am not a fan of revenge stories.
10. Yeah I only heard about this game because it's connected to the Nier franchise in some ways right?
This game is not a pure JRPG, but it has enough JRPG elements for me to see it as one- 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. In fact one could say Vanillaware games all have a dark element to them. I am mentioning this game though since it's the only one I've played and completed myself. It comes off as a regular sci-fi "Let's beat the Kaiju" story like EVA, but its A LOT more and gets pretty dark at times.
Here's my list of dark jrpg's
Fear &Hunger duology - one of the most brutal and hardocore jrpg
War of the Dead pc88 version - dark and bloody horror rpg with real time battles
Laplace no ma - remake of the old pc game for the snes
Baroque psx - very cryptic and dark tone dungeon crawler.
Raging bytes - zombie jrpg
Fear and Hunger isn’t Japanese
@Almighty_Mage you right, but gameplay it plays exactly like another jrpg. This genre more vider than just "rpg from japan".
Good video, but I'm surprised you mentioned Berseria over Xillia 2. X2 screwed me up emotionally cause of the whole... Multidimensional genocide thing you have to do.
Vandal hearts was the best tactical srpg of its time... blood splash aside, the political intrigue and subsequent supernatural twist was a solid mature story...
For another dark indie, i would submit The Revenant Prince.
Here's some i can think of, Death End Re-quest, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re-birth 2 Sister Generation but its just the bad end so not sure if that counts, Final Fantasy Type-0 and maybe Trails from Daybreak 2 Crimson Sin (coming Feb 2025 so haven't played it yet but i know what to expect) but not sure its dark enough to count as dark.
Shadow Hearts might be my favorite videogame ever.
you've got good taste imo my man
Thanks for the Linda3 rec. I had never heard of it.
Death end re;Quest. Part turn base RPG and Visual Novel. Not really anything bloody or gory visually but Pretty horrific in the novel descriptions of events particularly if you screwed up and picked a bad choice. There is also a sequel which I haven't played yet but I am told is even more horrific.
Grandia 2 is def a good recommendation.
Great video & list but that one track looping for all 14min made me a little insane
Tales of Berseria is my favorite Tales of , Arise has some heavy themes too , but not as well made like in Berseria
Id add Devil survivor to the list, it gets dark quick and then just stays there.
I was expecting Tactics Ogre to show up
I can add two here that most players will never see on youtube. The Last Sovereign a hentai ish jrpg that is amazing for its plot and game scope, entirely free on steam. Seraphic Blue, an old 50 hour love letter to nihilism jrpg game up there with Lisa the Painful, entirely free on the net. Another honorable shoutout to Demons Roots a very much more hentai game with an awesomely fucked plot.
Great list but How is Fear and Hunger I & II not on here?
I haven't played them. I'm not going to talk about games I haven't played.
@ fair!
Nocturne seems to get mentioned regularly but not digital devil saga
Like I said in the end, you *could* just mention it and say why it should be included. Obviously, there are more than 10 Dark JRPGs out there!
@BacklogBattle well nocturne seems to be more popular probably due to being a numbered smt game and not side game like the devil survivor or digital devil saga games. Nocturne was basically based on World has already ended how will the people left live in what's left of the world digital devil saga was the humans themselves turning into demons and if they want to or not they have to do what there body makes them do and it's basically conform or die.
Thank you for your detailed reply! I was looking up my videos and along the same lines you mentioned, Digital Devil Saga *has* shown up in one of my videos! Fittingly, it's in this list of Underappreciated JRPGs! Go have a look! ruclips.net/video/xwm6sIxMNbM/видео.html
Would Vagrant Story count?
In my opinion Strange Journey is even darker than SmT III
You forgot one of the best one. Soul Sacrifice
I never played it
Which game is the thumbnail from please? :)
Mostly checked to see if Shadow Hearts was included.
SMT Nocturne ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI 3 NOCTURNE AND LISA THE PAINFUL MENTIONED