Japanese roleplaying games with female leads have tremendous appeal to men and women gamers. For men, beautiful and often-busty characters they can order around at their command, and for women, strong female figures they can look up to, which has been the case since the Sega Master System’s Phantasy Star, the first JRPG to find its way to North American shores.
The Japanese video game industry’s dive into roleplaying games would be a key turning point in the genre given their simplification of overcomplicated Western and tabletop RPGs that would otherwise scare away mainstream audiences.
Thus, gamers across the world have a lot to thank the Land of the Rising Sun for, and this article will go about examining 15 prominent JRPGs with female protagonists and why they’re fun.
15. Volcano Princess
Windows | Nintendo Switch | Xbox Series X/S
The Chinese social simulation game Volcano Princess erupted into the worldwide gaming scene in April 2023, occurring in the Volcano Kingdom where medieval elements like chivalry, magic, and alchemy exist, and a recently-widowed father takes care of his daughter. The eponymous character's dad spends a lot of time with her, managing her daily routine, enrolling her in classes on subjects like music, painting, and fighting, and allowing her to partake in other activities like work, adventures, garden dances, dice games, and capturing horses. The father and daughter will grow older as they bond, with the former receiving higher stats depending upon her activities.
Volcano Princess features more than three hundred illustrations and more than fifty endings that account for infinite lasting appeal, with the titular character interacting with notable inhabitants like fellow females Gwyneth, Nina, and Mona, alongside various men. When she comes of age, she gets the opportunity to ally with one of the three lords of the land and can grow her stature among the noble families. She gets the chance to showcase her stuff at the Birdie Festival, with her decisions potentially deciding the fate of an entire empire, given her ability to be an ordinary citizen, become a luminary, and walk the path of good and evil.
Volcano Princess - Official Trailer | TGS 2023
14. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
Windows
Bracer yourself! The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky heroine Estelle Bright is always ready to dish out Liberl amounts of damage with her trusty bo-staff as she journeys with her adoptive amnesiac brother Joshua to find her missing father Cassius after his airship goes AWOL in midflight. Along their journey, they band with several companions such as their mentor Scherazard and the musician Olivier (no relation to actor Laurence) to seek the missing airship, stumbling upon a coup d'etat against the queen that's part of a larger plot by the shadowy organization Ouroboros.
The trilogy features a fun tactical battle system with tons of customization through each character's orbment grid to unlock powerful magic to slaughter the enemy, along with a turbo mode that shaves endless hours of excessive playtime to make the experience go by quickly, even during story scenes that are heavy on action. Bracer Guild missions can also allow Estelle to rank up and get extra goodies, with the different difficulty settings being sure to accommodate players of different skill levels, the ability to retry battles after death in combat further taking the edge off whatever challenge gamers are sure to encounter.
13. Tales of Berseria™
PlayStation 3,4 | Windows
Bandai Namco Entertainment weaved another Tale in its long-running Tales franchise with Tales of Berseria, a prequel to Tales of Zestiria (try saying that three times in a row) taking place a millennium before, occurring in the Holy Midgand Empire, where humans use Malakhim, supernatural spirits, as slaves. Throughout the empire, the Daemonblight disease makes the infected lose humanity and transform into Daemons that threaten the world. The theocratic order Abbey coexists with the empire, influencing its affairs, with its soldiers, known as Exorcists, seeking to purge Daemons from the world and bring peace and order to the world at any cost.
Protagonist Velvet Crowe spends three years in prison after losing her brother to the sacrificial ritual known as the Advent, befriending several characters who aid her in her quest, with countless encounters along the way through a tweaked version of the Tales series' signature Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS). Each character has a Soul Gauge dictating how many arts can be used, slowly replenishing as battles transpire, with each participant able to activate Break Soul to exceed their combo limits. The Switch Blast mechanic allows the player to switch frontline combatants with those in reserve using the Blast Gauge, also allowing for super-powerful Mystic Artes that return from prior series entries and round up the engaging Tales combat system.
12. Tales of Arise
PlayStation 4,5 | Windows | Xbox One, Series X/S
Bandai Namco's Tales of Arise arose across the world in 2021 to continue the long-running franchise, starring Iron Mask, from the medieval world of Dahna, and Shionne Vymer Imeris Daymore, from the opposing advanced world of Rena, who cross paths in the realm of Calaglia. Iron Mask, who remembers his name, Alphen, after his namesake guise partially breaks, cannot sense pain, and Shionne, in return, has a curse that hurts anyone who touches her. Alphen and Shionne join other characters like Law (yes, that's actually his name) and ally with the Dahnan resistance to battle Renan occupation.
As with prior series entries, Arise features the Linear Motion Battle System and has a focus on evading enemy attacks and countering, a previous entry, Tales of Graces, being a major inspiration. While multiplayer is absent unlike prior series entries (with the developer wanting to focus on character interactions in combat), there are some great perks such as the Boost Strike, which lets multiple combatants execute deadly attacks together under certain conditions. With its strong, if cursed, female lead and the revered Tales combat system, Arise is sure to please fans and newcomers.
11. FINAL FANTASY® XIII
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Windows
Final Fantasy XIII heroine Lightning strikes like her name in the futuristic world of Gran Pulse, above which hovers the artificial sphere called Cocoon ruled by the theocratic Sanctum. Akin to the Terminator and Matrix series, machines keep things in control, in the game called fal'Cie and occasionally marking humans as their servants, terming them l'Cie (pronounced leh-see). Centuries before the game's events, l'Cie from Pulse poked a massive hole in Cocoon and got turned into crystal for their efforts, and the gap was patched with some material from Pulse, with the Sanctum afterward exploiting its citizens' fear and tightening their grasp on Cocoon, ruling with an iron fist.
Lightning herself seeks to save her sister Serah, branded as an enemy of Cocoon, from the Sanctum's attempts to purge all civilians who have come into contact with Purge while trying to avoid being transformed into either crystals or monsters themselves at the end. Throughout the game, Lightning and her companions face an endless onslaught of enemies that they can break through with a combination of the Final Fantasy franchise's classic Active Time Battle system and Paradigms, giving her allies specific roles in combat like using physical attacks, magic, or healing. Players can "stagger" adversaries with enough damage to inflict even more pain upon them, with Eidolons from prior series entries also returning to enhance the endless action.
10. LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY® XIII
PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Windows
Lightning strikes back in the conclusion of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy after her absence from XIII-2, five centuries after the first sequel's events, being one of six people turned by a fal'Cie, one of a godly race, into l'Cie, their servants gifted with magic and a "Focus," a task to perform within a time limit. Those who succeed are rewarded with crystal stasis, while those who don't become monsters called Cie'th. The final entry of the trilogy occurs during the last thirteen days of the world's existence, with Chaos, an energy entrapped in the Unseen Realm, having consumed Gran Pulse, leaving only the archipelago of Nova Chrysalia. Thus, it's up to Lightning to serve as the world's savior.
The time limit plays a significant role in the gameplay, ticking at different rates depending upon the difficulty selection, with quests determining Lightning's stat growth, main story quests providing the biggest boosts. The conclusion uses a variation of the Final Fantasy franchise's signature Active Time Battle system called the Style-Change Active Time Battle System, with Lightning able to change outfits that provide different abilities and move around the battlefield to some degree. Elements from prior entries of the trilogy recur like the ability to stagger enemies, and a New Game+ allows players who don't succeed in saving the world in an initial playthrough to try, try again, until they do so.
9. Touhou Mystia's Izakaya
Nintendo Switch | Windows | macOS
The young night sparrow Mystia Lorelei is chasing her dream to become the most popular izakaya (like an American saloon) owner in Gensokyo, busting her hump until a customer visits and crushes her dreams, and she loses everything. Indebted to the Yakumo family, she won't give up, with the residents of Gensokyo whom she served in the past helping her in her ambitions as she conducts business from a mobile izakaya, acquiring ingredients, learning new recipes, and collecting and buying beverages to create ideal dining experiences for her myriad customers.
Unlike the typical mainstream RPG, there is no combat, with Mystia's izakaya receiving different customers every night that have varying preferences, budgets, and preferences for meals. Familiar residents of Gensokyo may rarely visit her and hint as to what they want to eat so that she can get special rewards if she satisfies them in the form of "reward spell cards" that can be strung into powerful combos (not the violent kind) that can more easily earn her yen. However, disappointing them will result in "punish spell cards" that will damage her reputation, so players will definitely want to play their cards right during the day and night so that she can achieve her dreams.
8. Persona 5
PlayStation 3,4,5 | Nintendo Switch | Windows | Xbox One, Series X/S
The latest entry of Atlus' Persona series will definitely steal your heart with its endearing cast headed by delinquent Joker and his colorful companions, including numerous strong female allies such as fashion model Ann Takamaki, student council president Makoto Niijima, socially-withdrawn hacker Futaba Sakura, and corporate heiress Haru Okumura. Throughout the game, they all seek to "steal the hearts" of various degenerates such as an abusive volleyball coach, controlling father and micromanaging corporate executive Kunikazu Okumura, and Japanese Prime Minister candidate Masayoshi Shido, to get them to confess their misdeeds and save Japan from further going down the drain.
Persona 5 builds upon its predecessors' strategic gameplay, bequeathed from parent series Shin Megami Tensei, which largely centers around exploiting enemy weaknesses to triumph in battle. While the conversation system from the inaugural entry and both halves of the first sequel returns, it's mercifully not as inaccessible, and regularly fusing Personas to discover new ones will largely circumvent the need to play deeper into this mechanic. With around a hundred hours of gameplay (which is especially true with the latest rerelease, Royal) the fifth mainline entry of the spinoff series will easily keep players occupied for the indefinite future.
7. Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga
Windows
I hear a symphony…of war, in Dancing Dragon Games' tactical RPG published by indie.io in 2022, where players create a male or female protagonist, an academy graduate in the war-torn land of Tahnra, who must lead an army against a corrupt enemy who can gather allies, form bonds, and lead their military to victory. The neverending cycle of war in the world during the Veridian Succession appeared at first to be ended when Empress Florina reigned, although a rogue general abducts her, with the conflict ensuing determining the world's fate.
Initially developed in RPG Maker, the game engine would become heavily customized, with players fielding squads of up to nine units, potentially up to twenty of these on the overworld headed by a commander, to plow through the enemy, with quest progress netting the player special abilities that can potentially soften the blow of combat. The lengthy story campaign, fifty-plus character classes, and limitless possibilities for composing your army will be sure to provide endless lasting appeal for those in search of a good strategy RPG fix and getting the most out of their gaming buck.
6. Granblue Fantasy: Relink
PlayStation 4,5 | Windows
Developer and publisher Cygames relinked the Granblue Fantasy series in 2024 with Granblue Fantasy: Relink, with the Captain and their crew including the magic-attuned Lyria, the dragon whelp Vyrn, Katalina, Io, Rackam, Eugen, and Rosetta seeking the Astral realm of Estalucia in their airship, the Grandcypher. In the Skydom of Zegagrande, powerful creatures called primal beasts defend the islands, with the secretive Church of Avia running things behind the things, with the cast uncovering a chain of mysteries that reach beyond the skydom in a climactic battle that will decide the fate of the Sky Realm.
A party of four engages in action-based combat, with each skyfarer having their own armaments, skills, and combative styles. Teamwork is key to triumph with mechanics including Link Attacks and Chain Bursts to decimate the enemy. Players can take on quests alone or with others to score loot to better their equipment, with every adversary and party member having its own strong and weak points. Those hoping for a casual experience can toggle on assist modes and Full Assist, accommodating those of different skill levels and making the game accessible to most gaming audiences.
5. Nioh 2 (create your own female character)
PlayStation 4,5 | Windows
You definitely can't say "Nioh" to the second entry of Team Ninja's action roleplaying game series, a prequel to the first game, where players can create their own character, male or female, the hybrid of a yõkai mother and a human father, named Hidechiyo, a "Shiftling," with many abilities bequeathed from the former parent inspired by Japanese folklore. Set in Japan during the late sixteenth century, Hidechiyo befriends the merchant Tōkichirō, Amrita, and Mumy the demon hunter, all who play roles in the rise and fall of the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Players can outfit their character with a variety of weapons like odachi and kusarigama, earning new abilities as they progress. Defeating hostile yõkai may make them drop Soul Cores that can allow one to access new abilities once purified at a shrine. At Benevolent Graves, players can summon AI-controlled allies to assist them in combat, with Hidechiyo also able to perform Yõkai Shifts to defeat the most formidable adversaries. Enemies can also create a Dark Realm that increases the brutality of battle and creates new challenges for Hidechiyo to overcome in their adventure.
4. Genshin Impact
Android | iOS | PlayStation 4,5 | Xbox Series X/S
Developer and publisher miHoYo made an impact worldwide with Genshin Impact, occurring in the fantasy world of Teyvat, harboring seven nations, each aligned to a different element and deity, in the game called an archon. Players control the Traveler, male or female, an intergalactic adventurer separated from their twin sibling after they land in Teyvat, with the search of said sibling, aided by the guide Paimon, being central to the narrative. They befriend a variety of people and involve themselves in the affairs of Teyvat's nations, gradually unraveling their mysteries.
Genshin Impact is an open-world action RPG letting players control one of four characters in a party where switching is quickly accomplished in combat to allow them to use myriad combinations of attacks. They can enhance their abilities in various ways, including leveling them through standard experience and improving the artifacts and weapons they can equip. Alongside exploration, players can take a shot at various challenges for rewards through means like battling bosses for critical resources and increasing their Adventure Rank to unlock further quests and challenges, providing endless lasting appeal.
3. Monster Hunter World (create your own female character)
PlayStation 4 | Xbox One | Windows
Capcom added another world to its Monster Hunter series with Monster Hunter World, with players taking command of a Hunter whom an assistant handler supports, alongside a palico part of the Fifth Fleet summoned by the Research Commission to provide support for the New World. Critical to the Expedition is studying Elder Dragons that can affect whole ecosystems, and why they migrate every decade in the Elder Crossing to the New World. The Hunter and their Handler will encounter the volcanic Elder Dragon, Zorah Magdaros, who is dying, and whose death will destroy the New World.
The Hunter is tasked with hunting and either killing or trapping beasts wandering one of its myriad environments. If they triumph, the Hunter receives loot that consists of monster parts and other elements they can use to construct weapons, armor, and other equipment. The game has a cyclic structure where crafting more powerful gear lets players take on more powerful monsters, leading to parts that can help create better equipment. Players can hunt alone or in groups of up to four players, sure to appeal to gamers who prefer solo play or are gaming social animals.
2. NieR:Automata™
PlayStation 4 | Windows | Xbox One | Nintendo Switch
How do you measure a YoRHa? Android Nier: Automata protagonist 2B can easily answer that, wandering the Drakengard spinoff series' post-apocalyptic setting, millennia after the first game, with her trusty male reconnaissance scanner android 9S, as they fight an invading army of alien-made Machines. Humans are totally absent in the game's setting, with the androids replacing them as the dominant lifeforms, with Automata proving as well that yes, robots are capable of love, too. Furthermore, players will need to play through the game at least three times to get the most out of the plot.
Players control 2B manually while AI controls 9S, with both having diverse arsenals of weapons with which to decimate their enemies. The top-down flight sequences similar to classic games like the Raiden series are fun diversions as well while still raising standard experience levels like typical ground battles do. Those wishing simply to experience the engaging narrative and want a more casual experience can set the game to autobattle, which is an absolute godsend that should be present in any action RPG. Overall, alongside its great robotic but female protagonist and excellent accommodating gameplay, Automata is easily a bucket-list game for any self-respecting Japanese RPG fan.
1. Final Fantasy VII Remake
PlayStation 4,5 | Windows
Uh-oh, better save Mako! The long-awaited first entry of the three-part remake of Final Fantasy VII features Cloud Strife banding with the ecoterrorist resistance organization Avalanche as they try to stop the evil Shinra Corporation from draining the world's lifeforce, Mako, with their power plants, befriending several strong woman characters along the way. His childhood friend Tifa Lockhart had convinced him to join the group in the first place, with Cloud meeting the florist Gainsborough as well, the last descendant of the ancient Cetra race whose "Promised Land" Shinra lusts after due to its Mako reserves.
The remake evolves the Active Time Battle system used in the original, with players able to attack foes and halt when action of battle when the gauge is full to use abilities like magic, items, and special moves, each using a segment of the ATB bar. Summon spells and Limit Breaks from the original game return as well to give players more choices in how they slaughter their adversaries. All this alongside the vast expansion of the first part of the original's storyline is sure to provide an engaging experience, though only time will tell when the trilogy eventually becomes complete…
