As a series grows in success and recognition, developers always look for ways to explore new angles of that franchise, whether through a new gameplay style, a new character perspective, or even an entirely new universe.
That’s where spinoffs are born. Spinoffs, as the name suggests, are new works derived from a larger one. Sometimes it’s just a single character dropped into a new scenario, other times it’s a mechanic that spans a whole new gameplay style, or more commonly, something in between.
8 Most Revolutionary JRPGs Every Fan Needs to Experience
These are games for those who want to dig deeper into the genre.
JRPGs have never been shy about producing spinoffs, and the same goes for some series that were not RPGs at all but decided to explore the genre using their characters. In this list, I’ll highlight some of the best JRPG spinoffs ever made, including a few that ended up becoming even bigger and more famous than the works that originated them.
To avoid stuffing the list with Final Fantasy, I’ll stick to only two spinoffs from the franchise.
8 Dragon Quest Builders
Rebuilding Alefgard
At the end of the first Dragon Quest, the hero is given a choice: face the Dragonlord or join him. If you choose to fight and defeat him, the ending plays out as expected, and the story continues in Dragon Quest II. If you decide to side with the Dragonlord, you get the bad ending, and the game simply rolls credits as a game over. That is, until Dragon Quest Builders.
The mad lads at Square Enix thought, “What would happen to Alefgard if the hero joined the Dragonlord?” and thus the storyline of Dragon Quest Builders was born, a direct sequel to the bad ending choice. As expected, the world is completely wrecked, and it’s up to us, a builder protagonist, to restore the kingdom.
Dragon Quest Builders plays like most Minecraft-style games. We can destroy everything, gather materials, build structures, unlock new crafting options, and fight enemies, limited only by our creativity within this sandbox. All of this is wrapped in the Dragon Quest mythology, of course. It’s an incredibly cozy game for anyone who wants to flex their innovative muscles in the same world as slimes.
7 Mega Man Battle Network
A Very Different RPG
Mega Man was born as a platforming series, but it didn’t take long before it spread its wings into other genres. While some people consider Mega Man Legends an RPG, which I don’t, and others might argue that Mega Man X: Command Mission would fit this list better, the fact that it only had a single entry tells me it wasn’t nearly as successful as Mega Man Battle Network.
Mega Man Battle Network is often described as a tactical action RPG, and that genre blend sums up its gameplay quite well. In battle, MegaMan.EXE can move across nine tiles (or more) on his side of the field while enemies do the same on theirs. Alongside basic buster shots, players can also draw Battle Chips that enable unique and varied attacks.
Mega Man Battle Network takes place in an alternate timeline of the Mega Man franchise. In this future, the Net is essential to everyday life, and users can even explore it using avatars known as NetNavis. In Lan’s case, that avatar is MegaMan.EXE. Lan’s role is to prevent an evil syndicate from taking over the entire Net. It’s a solid and accessible RPG series, especially now that the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection is available.
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6 Super Mario RPG
Timed Input Pioneer
It definitely wasn’t on my bingocard, especially since I was a kid and couldn’t play luck games, that Square and Nintendo would one day team up to make a Mario RPG, but here we are. Not only did they make an RPG starring our mustachioed hero, but they also made an incredible one that spawned an entire franchise of Mario-led RPGs. I chose Super Mario RPG because it started it all.
The best part is that Super Mario RPG retains many core Mario gameplay traits, such as platforming, puzzles, iconic plumber abilities, and even weapon choices. At the same time, it expands the lore by reintroducing classic characters in new iterations and adding entirely new ones.
Super Mario RPG is also known for pioneering turn-based JRPGs with timed inputs. With every action, pressing the button at the right moment increases damage or boosts the effectiveness of skills. The same applies to defense, where hitting the timing just before an enemy attack connects reduces incoming damage. This mechanic influenced countless future JRPGs, including the GOTY winner at the TGAs 2025.
5 Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
A Prequel Spinoff
Final Fantasy VII remains the most famous entry in the entire series, so it’s no surprise that Square wanted to expand its mythology to the fullest with sequels, prequels, remakes, films, anime, novels, and just about everything else. Out of all the spinoffs produced, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is my personal favorite.
There’s an argument that since it’s a prequel, Crisis Core doesn’t constitute a spinoff. But a spinoff is anything that changes the entire set of characters or even the genre, and in that regard, Crisis Core does both.
While the game is good, I get that the gameplay can feel a bit exhausting over time, especially if you decide to tackle every available side mission. Still, the action combat paired with the slot machine-style DMW mechanic was quite the novelty back then and always added an element of surprise to every fight.
The biggest highlight of Crisis Core, however, is how it expands the lore of Final Fantasy VII, placing us in the role of best boy Zack Fair and chronicling his rise to SOLDIER 1st Class, while also shedding more light on other essential characters like Angeal, Genesis, and, of course, Sephiroth.
4 NieR
Existential Crisis
Yoko Taro is known for being a bit eccentric in his writing, as well as wildly creative and unafraid to tackle deep themes. In Drakengard, everything seems like a medieval conflict until you do everything the game has to offer and unlock Ending E, which sends you time-traveling to modern-day Tokyo to face the giant Queen Beast. Don’t ask for an explanation, just roll with it.
The thing is, the events that follow Ending E in Drakengard are also part of NieR’s distant past, which is why the series is considered a spinoff of Drakengard, as insane as that connection may sound. Somehow, sheer narrative madness makes it work, and fans accept it, which is all that really matters.
NieR, especially NieR: Automata, eclipsed its parent series. Drakengard is a good game, albeit somewhat repetitive. NieR is different and more focused, both in its action and in its existential crises. To this day, not even Square or Yoko Taro himself probably knows how NieR: Automata sold over 9 million copies, but the answer is simple. It’s because it’s an incredibly wonderful game.
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3 Final Fantasy Tactics
King of the Lions
Final Fantasy Tactics was one of the franchise’s earliest spinoffs, released after Final Fantasy Adventure (known in Japan as Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden) and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. Gaiden eventually became the Mana series, with many more entries. While Final Fantasy Tactics also received two sequels, one on the GBA and another on the Nintendo DS, the original is still widely considered the best.
With a mature political plot, a confident and compelling script, and deeply human characters, Final Fantasy Tactics won over fans almost instantly. Its tactical combat featured classic Jobs and many monsters from the franchise’s bestiary, but even without them, the game would stand firm on its own. Everything comes together here, with a story that is intrinsically tied to its gameplay.
Final Fantasy is no stranger to spinoffs, but to this day, none have received as many accolades or made such a lasting impression as Final Fantasy Tactics. No wonder Square decided to release an enhanced version in The Ivalice Chronicles so more people could experience The War of the Lions.
2 The Legend of Heroes: Trails
Nihon Falcom’s Grand Adventure
In 1984, Nihon Falcom released Dragon Slayer, an action RPG that predates Dragon Quest as a JRPG, though it wasn’t a worldwide phenomenon. Fast-forward to 1989, and Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes was released, a turn-based RPG spinoff of Dragon Slayer. You can probably see where this is going. Six releases later, in 2004, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky launched and would later become a subseries within the larger Legend of Heroes spinoff.
So yes, to sum it up, the Trails franchise is a spinoff of Dragon Slayer, one of the first Japanese role-playing games ever made. Weird, right? In 2004, the director of Trails in the Sky and current president of Nihon Falcom, Toshihiro Kondo, said they knew they couldn’t compete with other developers in graphics and presentation, so they focused heavily on story and narrative.
That approach gave birth to one of the few JRPG franchises that spans a single continuous narrative across all of its mainline entries, and it’s still growing. On top of that, Trails places a massive emphasis on worldbuilding, explaining everything through its intricate lore and creating a living continent in Zemuria where every NPC reacts to the events of the main story. Nihon Falcom has already begun releasing remakes, with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter now available, so if you’ve ever wanted to jump into the franchise, now is the perfect time.
1 Persona
Unprecedented Success
The Persona series is another spinoff that eventually became bigger than its parent series, at least in the long run. The first two games retained many elements from Shin Megami Tensei but focused less on an impending apocalypse and more on school life. While demons were still present, especially in the early entries, characters now wielded Personas. In other words, it introduced meaningful changes while keeping a sense of familiarity, as good spinoffs should.
Starting with Persona 3, however, the series truly found its own identity and took the world by storm. The game doubled down on the high school setting and interpersonal relationships, introducing the Social Links system. Players could interact with various characters, increasing affinity and strengthening their Arcana, which in turn empowered their Personas.
Combat shifted from the Press Turn system to the One More system, still emphasizing elemental weaknesses but offering more room for error, since you don’t lose turns for making mistakes. Progression also leaned heavily on acquiring new Personas. Nowadays, Persona is significantly bigger than Shin Megami Tensei in both sales and popularity, making it more than fair to call it the greatest JRPG spinoff ever made.
10 Best Final Fantasy Spinoffs, Ranked
Since you already know the first one, take a look at nine other great Final Fantasy spinoffs.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
