Best JRPGs With Expansive Skill Customization

Japanese role-playing games captured the hearts of many fans when the genre blew up on the PS1. The sheer number of amazing one-off games, long-running franchises, beloved spin-offs, and everything else along the same lines that fans can enjoy when it comes to this genre is immense. Fans of this genre are spoiled for choice with a series of amazing titles that push the genre in a new direction and leave fans wanting more after going on an epic and lengthy adventure for the ages.

While most JRPGs had rigid character progression where players didn’t have too many opportunities to change the trajectory of a character’s growth, this isn’t the case anymore. Now, the sheer number of games that allow players to customize a party member’s skills is immense, and players can make the most of these systems to let their party members pull off impressive techniques and enjoy substantial passive benefits in battle.

1 The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel

Combining Different Quarts Makes For Simple Yet Fun Skill Customization For Each Party Member

The Legend of Heroes features some of the best story-driven JRPGs fans can get their hands on, and Trails of Cold Steel is no exception to this golden rule. Controlling a bunch of students in Thors Military Academy and going on missions as a mystery slowly unfolds throughout the title’s run is quite engaging and a huge reason why players found it easy to be invested in the first chapter of a long-running arc.

Long-time fans of the series are well aware of the Quartz system and how players can buy these magical items and equip them on their party members to enjoy everything from passive benefits to powerful attacks that utilize certain elements to punish their opponents. As the game progresses, players will get their hands on some amazing Quartz that lets them use high-power techniques to beat down their foes in style.

2 Octopath Traveler 2

Changing Jobs Lets Party Members Synergize A Whole Host Of Passive And Active Skills

Octopath Traveler was an excellent game but had some issues that needed to be ironed out for the experience to be perfect. This was achieved with Octopath Traveler 2, a nigh-perfect sequel with amazing gameplay that lets players mess around with an expanded and refined job system. Players can get multiple licenses for the same job, allowing them to go all out and make a team consisting solely of warriors if they wish.

The active skills players can use in combat can be unlocked with Job Points, letting them unlock powerful techniques for their main job and numerous side jobs in no time. Unlocking enough abilities for a job unlocks passive benefits that can be mixed and matched in whatever manner the player wishes, with the eight party members feeling unique in combat as they use abilities from multiple jobs to synergize with their permanent abilities and wreak havoc against their enemies in no time.

3 Persona 5 Royal

Switching Personas Changes Both Passive And Active Skills In A Jiffy

Each Persona game past the third mainline entry has perfected the formula in its own way, with the life sim elements and traditional JRPG gameplay making for a winning combination. Persona 5 was already a massive improvement over its predecessors in regards to visual design and gameplay, with Persona 5 Royal bringing more positive changes to the mix. Players can mix and match various combinations of Personas to cover all bases with Joker, who gains the ability to store more Personas as he gains levels.

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Most Personas come with certain passive bonuses that can be downright game-breaking if players are smart about the monsters they bring into battle. Along with this, hanging out with Social Links unlocks passive bonuses that can be useful in battle, allowing for the player’s version of Joker to feel as unique as possible with the skills that players can acquire via numerous avenues of gameplay.

4 Golden Sun

Combining Djinn Abilities Leads To Some Great And Unexpected Customization

It’s a shame that the Golden Sun series has remained dormant for so long despite its immense potential. While the game may feel like a clichéd JRPG in some ways, how it set itself apart from the rest of the competition was by integrating puzzles that required certain types of magic to be cast on the field. This was achieved by finding and assigning Djinn of different elements to the party members, which could make for some fun combinations.

Combining Djinn of different elements can allow players to acquire unique spells that let them grow plants, lift objects, and interact with the environment in meaningful ways. After acquiring a large number of Djinn, players can genuinely lose themselves in these combinations as they try to unlock the strongest abilities that serve them in combat while acquiring certain utility spells that make puzzles easier to solve.

5 Final Fantasy 7

Using Materia To Mix And Match Skills Has Aged Like A Fine Wine

The legacy of Final Fantasy 7 remains unmatched to this day. Square Enix’s golden goose continues to lay many valuable eggs to this day, with players loving the combination of sci-fi and fantasy elements in a storyline that revolves around horrid corporations sucking the life out of the Planet’s Lifestream to fulfill their greed, while the sinister presence of Sephiroth looms in the background.

One of the game’s biggest selling points is the materia system, a way of allocating skills and passive bonuses that’s so effective that it feels modern and innovative in Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth as well. Mastering these crystallized mako and finding rare materia scattered across the world is a treat every single time, letting players equip everything from powerful summons to materia that can learn enemy skills to turn a character into a Blue Magic user.