There have been lots of different peak eras in JRPG gaming. The Super Nintendo was one of the biggest players in the game, so it’s only natural that its handheld little sibling would follow in those footsteps. The Nintendo 3DS was the🅠 hoꦰme to some of the most incredible and unique experiences for lovers of the genre.

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While Nintenওdo released some of the most iconic titles from some of their series, like Fire Emblem Awakening, Atlus focused a ton of their resources on getting some of their lesser-known games into players’ hands.

10 ജ Shin Megami Tensei 4

Cover art for Shin Megami Tensei 4, showing Flynn beside his party members.
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Shin Megami Tensei IV
Systems
Released
July 16, 2013

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

ESRB
m
Developer(s)
Atlus
Engine
ജ Unreal Engine 🤡
Platform(s)
3DS
How Long To Beat
43 Hours

Let’s start with the best of the ♔best. This JRPG right here is one of the tightest stories ever writtℱen for the console. It is quite a difficult first few hours, but once you get the hang of it, every twist and turn in the story will keep you grinding.

People will always disagree on which of the mainline Shin Megami Tensei games is the best one, but after such a long gap between the third one and this, the leaps and bound🤪s that this exemplary game covered will not be matched any time soon.

9 Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record ♑Breaker

Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2 Protagonist with mouth open.
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Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker
Systems
Released
May 5, 2015

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

ESRB
t // Alcohol Reference, Blo🐭od, Language, ♐Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Use of Tobacco, Violence
Developer(s)
Atlus
Platform(s)
3DS
How Long To Beat
42 Hours

Even though it’s marketed as a sequel, Devil Survivor 2 is a standalone story. While you sꦆhould play the first installment, starting with the second one is not a dealbreaker, especially since this version fixed a ton of issues found in the first.

While the game carries the Shin Megami🌺 Tensei name, it is quite different. The game plays in a tactical style of JRPG, similar to stuff like Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics, while still retaining an SMT style of combat.

8 Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux 🏅

A member of UN team in Shin Megami Tensei A Strange Journey.
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Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux
Systems
Released
May 15, 2018

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

ESRB
m
Developer(s)
Atlus, Lancarse
OpenCritic Rating
Strong
How Long To Beat
48 Hours

Alright, alright… last Shin Megami Tensei game, I ✅promise. It’s just that the 3DS was a great host to some of the best entries in the series. Strange Journey Redux is a mixed bag for most fans of the original game, but with a ton of quality of life improvements and the same excellent story, Redux is still a close to perfect game.

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You can still play the original on the Nintendo DS, but that version doesn’t hold up as well as Redux, plus this version has some excellent voice acting that will be hilariously compressed by the poor speakers on theಌ 3DS.

7 🌱 𒊎 Stella Glow

Stella Glow girl with scythe and game logo.
Stella Glow
Top Critic Avg: 77/100 Critics Rec: 52%
Released
June 4, 2015

Platform(s)
3DS
OpenCritic Rating
Strong

The grip that Atlus had on the Nintendo 3DS JRPG market was unreal. They were chur📖ning out some of the best and most un🌳ique experiences on the system. Stella Glow was and still is an underrated gem that you should look into if you’re aching to play a fun JRPG with a cool tactical battle system.

Even though a lot of the JRPGs f✱rom this era were seen as bargain bin slop, Stella Glow has a fun aesthetic that really shows that a ton of love went into making this game. It’s a bit tropey at times, but it's wonderful world and high-caliber voice acting will keep you hooked.

6 ꦯ 7th Dragon III Code: VFD

7th Dragon III Code VFD cover art for Nintento EShop.
7th Dragon III: Code: VFD
Systems
Released
October 15, 2015

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

ESRB
🐈 ඣ everyone e10+
Developer(s)
Sega
Publisher(s)
Sega
Platform(s)
3DS

Ridiculous naming aside, 7th ♊Dragon is one of the most stylish JRPGs on this list. As soon as you begin this adventure, you can choose how your character looks based on what class you plan on playing. Although it is not as vast as some of the newer character creation systems, the stylish splash art of t🅺he characters available are extremely well designed.

While most games let you create a character that will meet tons of pre-d🅷esigned characters, 7th Dragon lets you cus📖tomize your entire party, making this journey all of your own.

5 ♌ Fire Emblem Awakening 𝔉

The cast of Fire Emblem Awakening fall with weapons in their hands.
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Fire Emblem: Awakening
Released
February 4, 2013

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

ESRB
T For Teen due to Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes ♍ 💎
Publisher(s)
Nintendo
Engine
Unity
Platform(s)
3DS

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Fire Emblem is an incredible series, and you can pick just about any on the 3DS to recommend first, but Awakening’s impact🌳 and baseline of what modern Fire Emblem was to become make it an easy pick.

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Before this game came out, Fire Emblem was a bit of a niche franchise tܫhat was mostly stuck in smaller fandoms, but with Awakening’s accessibility options and romancing paths, this game hit a note with the masses. Some purists might say that this was the downfall of the series, but those people would be w🐠rong. Awakening is truly one of the best games in the series.

4 Poke🧸mon Alpha Sapphire & Omega Ruby

May facing Kyogre in Pokemon Alpha Sapphire.
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168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Pokemon Alpha Sapphire
Systems
Released
November 21, 2014

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

ESRB
E For Everyone d🌟ue to Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence
Publisher(s)
Nintendo
Multiplayer
🅺 Local Multiplayer 🎀
Franchise
Pokemon
Platform(s)
3DS
OpenCritic Rating
Strong

It would be wrong to talk about Nint♊end💟o exclusives without mentioning Pokemon. There are plenty of excellent Pokemon titles on the Nintendo 3DS, but Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby are some of the best.

Sure, they are technically remakes of the iconic Gameboy Advance classics, but the amount of extra content, plus seeing all of your favorite Pokemon in 3D, was truly an incredible experience. Sadly, the market has made some of these explode in price. Let’s hope you held oꩲn to your copy.

3 𝔍 Etrian Odyssey 4

Etrian Odyssey 4 Legends Of The Titan official art with logo on the left and main characters on the right
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Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan
RPG
Dungeon Crawler
Systems
Released
February 26, 2013

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

ESRB
T For Teen Due To Mild Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes 🅰
Developer(s)
Atlus
Publisher(s)
Atlus
Franchise
🌼 Etrian Odyssey ﷺ
How Long To Beat
60 Hours
Metascore
84

The first few iterations of Etrian Odyssey have now been remastered in HD for modern consoles, but ꧅the fourth installment is still stuck on the Nintendo handheld. If you’re not familiar with the series, then Etrian Odyssey 4 is an excellent place to start.

The fourth entry is generally known to be the easiest out of the dungeon-crawling bunch, so if you’re looking to start the series and you have a lovely 3DS sitting in a drawer, this version is a great way to play the game as it was intended: with a touch screen to﷽ map out your dungeons.

2 Persona Q: Shadow Of The La🍬byrinth

Shadow Of The Labyrinth Promo Image of the group with multiple characters.
Persona Q Shadow of the Labyrinth
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Systems
Released
November 25, 2014

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

ESRB
m
Developer(s)
Atlus
Publisher(s)
Atlus
Franchise
Persona
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty
How Long To Beat
60 Hours

Okay, I lied. This is technically another Shin Megami Tensei game, but the series has gone so far the opposite way from its origins that it has become its own thing. This Persona game is not like the ones on other consoles; rather, it’s more akin to an Etrian Ody⛄ssey game.

You’ll crawl tons of random ꦓdungeons in which you’ll have to draw out your maps to not get lost in the sprawling paths you’ll take, accompanied by some of your favorite Persona 3 and 4 characters.

1 ෴ R𒅌adiant Historia: Perfect Chronology

The cover art for Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology.
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Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology
Systems
Released
February 13, 2018

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL

ESRB
T For Teen Due To Fantasy Violence, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol 𒁏
Developer(s)
Atlus
Publisher(s)
Atlus
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty
How Long To Beat
30 Hours
Metascore
85

A lot of JRPGs from this era focused on very anime-like plotlines and worlds, straying away from the medieval and high fantasy style of their predecessors. Radiant History returns to the JRPG roots, while adding its own flair with a bit of time trav🌜el.

Just like Strange Journey, this game was origi🏅nally released on the Nintendo♐ DS, but this 3DS version is the definitive way to play this incredible turn-based JRPG with an interesting grid combat system. Even its logo and art style scream old-school JRPG.

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