JRPGs With The Best Side Quests

JRPGs are known for their long, expansive narratives, and the playtime that often goes into completing them. If a JRPG gets its characters and worldbuilding right, then there's no feeling better than sinking some time into a story that is gripping and emotionally involved.

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But beyond some fantastic main questlines, some JRPGs go the extra mile, and have a host of optional side quests that retain the charm and flavor of the primary story. Players looking to ditch the bog-standard fetch quests and sink some time into compelling side content should give these games a try.

5 Shin Megami Tensei 4

Side Quests Are Essential For The Best Ending

Among SMT:4's four endings, one in particular stands out as the best and 'canonical' ending: the neutral path that shirks the paths of law and chaos. This differs from other titles, such as Shin Megami Tensei Vengeance, where the endings available to the player are all equally satisfying.

Beyond siding with Isabeau on various dilemmas, undertaking specific side-quests is essential to getting this best ending. Perhaps because of this, most of the side quests in SMT:4 are incredibly compelling and add a good level of nuance to the world of Shin Megami Tensei. Each comes with an interesting challenge or tweak on the established gameplay formula, or otherwise finishes up with a unique moral dilemma to try and solve.

4 Chrono Trigger

The Fantastic Story Is Supported By Fantastic Side Quests

As one of the most influential JRPGs of all time, Chrono Trigger has received high praise for just about every facet of the game imaginable. The score, the story, and the graphics are all fine-tuned and work together to make this time-bending JRPG one of the greats. One area in particular that allows for the expansion of this game's worldbuilding, lore, and character development, is the plethora of side quests available in each time period.

The handful of side quests available in pre-history and antiquity give a much more fleshed-out view of the world, while important characters and concepts in Chrono Trigger are given more focus in the middle-ages and modernity sections of the game. It all comes together to add another layer of nuance and worldbuilding in this incredibly deep JRPG.

3 Harvestella

No Quest Comes Without A Story Beat

This somewhat overlooked farming sim JRPG comes with a plethora of highly engaging features that make for an incredibly cozy experience. Square Enix's character-writing chops and quest design are on full display from beginning to end here, and Harvestella's world is one filled with unique concepts that make for a great story. Supplementing this story is the wide volume of side quests and character stories available in each town, expanding as the main story progresses.

Each central companion players unlock during the story has an emotional and compelling ten-part questline, entirely optional for completing the game, where the backstory and past of that character is brought on full display. Beyond this, in general, any and every side quest has a proper story attached to it, no simple "collect x berries in the woods please", there is a hook and character for every piece of side content in the game.

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2 Star Ocean: The Second Story R

Side Quests And Events Create Bonds Between Characters

Star Ocean: The Second Story R boasts an incredible range of companion-centered side events and quests that greatly add to the overall story and allow the player to feel closer and more uniquely bonded with the incredible host of companions available to them. Following a new update, there are more side quests and events than ever before to tackle in this game, each one in some way expanding what is known about the protagonist or their companions.

Side quests are given an extra level of depth in that, as many are companion-dependent, the player's choice of protagonist at the game's beginning will alter the variety of available side content in the game to come.

1 Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Paralogues Are Filled With Lore And Character Work

Fire Emblem: Three Houses hosts some incredibly engaging side content through the use of paralogues, and character-centric quests that enhance their relationship with Byleth and also present new opportunities for experience gain and growth. Paralogues are especially important when they concern characters of the particular house or alignment that the player is shooting for, or for the character that Byleth is interested in romancing, as they present plentiful opportunities for relationship growth.

In a game that does so many things right where its romances and relationships are concerned, paralogues are something players should not miss out on, but it is important to note that paralogues are not hanging around forever, and they only last for a certain number of days before the event passes for good.