One of my favorite themes in any work is time travel, whether it’s jumping from the past to the future or even dealing with alternate timelines.
Consequently, I also love games that embrace this theme, especiallyJRPGs. However, I recognize that it’s rare for a game to nail the theme appropriately, both narratively and in gameplay.
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Usually, we have to be pretty lenient with the application of time travel in games because it’s easy to spot loopholes in its execution. But if a game masters time-hopping, the result is splendid.
In this list, I’ll highlight the best JRPGs that feature time travel and successfully incorporate the theme, whether through the story, a gameplay mechanic, or even both, creating a true time-traveling masterpiece.
8Tales of Phantasia
Villain Everywhere All at Once
Tales of Phantasia
Tales of Phantasiawas the firstTales ofgame released. It was already ambitious, introducing a new action combat system, high-end graphics for the SNES, and time-traveling mechanics.
The time-travel system inTales of Phantasiais entirely structured around the narrative, as it has no gameplay implications, and even so, it’s still highly convoluted.
Cress, the protagonist, is sent to the past to find a way to defeat the villain Dhaos in the present. However, past Dhaos is still alive, and it’s up to Cress and the other party members to take him down.
With more levels than before, the protagonist returns to the present and manages to defeat the first Dhaos, not affected by past events.
Just when they think everything is fine, a visitor from the future shows up, saying the villain is still alive. Cress and the gang go again to smack him, now fifty years ahead.
Despite this mess and the constant tug at the player’s patience, it’s fun to travel through time and witness the crazy adventures along the way.
JRPGs that let us recruit party membersthrough different eras are always amazing, andTales of Phantasiawas one of the first to do it.
7Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Saving The World Alongside Yourself
Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time
I’ve got good news and bad news for you.Mario & Luigi: Partners in Timefocuses on time travel entirely for gameplay, bringing fun twists like mostNintendogames. If you’re looking for pure enjoyment, this JRPG has plenty.
However, it does this while disregarding any narrative implications of time travel. If you’re expecting a well-structured story or an airtight plot in thisMariogame, you might as well give up and look elsewhere.
With that said, let’s focus on the positives.Mario & Luigi: Partners in Timeallows the Mario Bros. to travel to the past through Time Holes found in Princess Peach’s Castle. In the past, they meet Baby Mario and Baby Luigi.
That’s where the gimmick begins. The player can control all the characters together, with the babies adorably piggybacking on their older versions, or separatelyfor puzzle-solving, like slipping into small crevices.
In battles, the adult versions usually take action, but if they get knocked out, the babies take the lead. The entire time-traveling theme exists just to justify Mario and Luigi meeting their younger selves and to introduce this unique and amusing gameplay mechanic.
6Dark Cloud 2 (Dark Chronicle)
Building Bases Through Time
Dark Cloud 2
InDark Cloud 2, known asDark Chronicleeverywhere outside the US, the player can travel between times using stones called Atlamilia, held by Max and Monica.
The villain, Griffon, wants to steal the stones so he can control time and dominate the future. To prevent this,Max and Monica travel through eras—past, present, and future—restoring villages to thwart Griffon’s powers.
This is where the core gameplay loop ofDark Cloud 2comes into play.
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We need to rebuild villages using theJRPG’s town-building mechanic. To do this, we explore dungeons, collect materials, and use georamas. After restoring the corresponding village and gathering new allies, we move on to the next.
Time traveling is the central theme ofDark Cloud 2, but it has no technical applications in gameplay. Like many other games that feature it, it’s best to leave science and theories aside.
Otherwise, you’ll find so many loopholes and possible paradoxes that your enjoyment ofDark Cloud 2will shrink the more your suspension of disbelief struggles. If you can’t do that, just enjoy the game for its base-building design and be happy.
5Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
The Post-Game Content
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of An Elusive Age - Definitive Edition
To me,Dragon Quest XIis a JRPG masterpiece and would be my favorite in the franchise, stealing the crown fromDragon Quest VIIIif only the game hadn’t chickened out in its third act.
The first and second acts ofDragon Quest XI, considered the canon story, are fantastic. The JRPG franchise has always been colorful and way too friendly. But not here, in the eleventh entry. At one point, everything goes wrong, and evena party member dies.
That is, until the protagonist, the Luminary, decides to travel back in time,return to the past, and break everything that had happened up to that point.
All the stakes, conflicts, losses, and moments of overcoming hardships were erased. God, I was so frustrated with that.
A robust post-game is a tradition in the franchise, adding tons of new content, a whole new storyline, and an endgame boss. Even though Square Enix labelsDragon Quest XI’s third act as post-game, it really feels canon, especially considering its connection toDragon Quest III.
4Cris Tales
Indie JRPG Based on Time Travel
Cris Tales
The Colombian studio Dreams Uncorporated releasedCris Talesin 2021. It’s a JRPG-inspired indie game that revolves around time traveling, both in the narrative and as a tool for its turn-based battles.
Story-wise, it’s pretty straightforward. The Empress of Time,Cris Tales’main antagonist, destroys the protagonist Crisbell’s village.
At that moment, the girl discovers she also has temporal powers and sets off on an adventure to defeat the villain.
WhereCris Talesreally shines is in battle. During combat, the screen is divided into three sections. Enemies on the left side can be sent to the past, turning into their younger, weaker, and less experienced selves.
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Meanwhile,enemies on the right can be sent to the future, causing their metal armor to rustor causing a poisonous seed planted to suddenly bloom into a deadly plant.
It’s an incredibly clever mechanic that pushes the player to think strategically rather than just spamming available attacks.
Sometimes, sending an enemy to the past makes them healthier and stronger, while sending them to the future makes them more skilled and dangerous.Cris Talesis a goldmine for fans of JRPGs and time-traveling mechanics.
3Final Fantasy XIII-2
Fixing Paradoxes While Creating New Ones
Final Fantasy XIII-2
While the community mockedFinal Fantasy XIIIfor its linearity—often dubbed a hallway simulator—its direct sequel,Final Fantasy XIII-2, took the complete opposite approach.
Playing as Serah, Lightning’s sister, alongside the newcomer Noel,we hop from timeline to timeline, fixing paradoxes and unlocking new alternate universes, considerably growing the game’s mythology.
I know many people hateFinal Fantasy XIII-2, but I love this JRPG. The feature that lets us pick episodes in a matrix-like structure, watch how our actions influence different outcomes, and explore various possibilities is incredibly satisfying.
The story also gracefully tackles the time-traveling theme. Caius, one of themost underrated villainsin the entireFinal Fantasyfranchise, truly deserves more love because his character arc is extremely relatable.
Also,Final Fantasy XIII-2has one of the best boss battles tied to time-traveling mechanics. It’s not exactly a gameplay mechanic, but the JRPG presents a unique take where the boss avoids destruction by simply resetting itself to a past version before it dies. It’s confusing without playing it, but believe me, it’s amusing.
2Chrono Trigger
Reference on Time-Traveling Mechanics
Chrono Trigger
Discussing time travel in gaming is humanly impossible without immediately thinking ofChrono Trigger. The JRPG’s take on the theme was incredible, and even today, it serves as a reference for future games.
Right from the start,Chrono Triggershows us exactly how its time-traveling mechanics will work. It’s elegant, embraces simplicity, and, most importantly, it works.
Every era we visit in the game feels believable and reflects the world’s evolution.Even better, some side quests allow us to directly influence how the world develops without feeling far-fetched.
Chrono Triggerproves that just because a game tackles a complex theme doesn’t mean its execution has to be overly complicated.
With careful design and technical finesse, this JRPG masterpiece simplified a mechanic that’s often poorly implemented and employed it to enhance the game as a whole.
1Radiant Historia
The Butterfly Effect of JRPGs
Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology
I know it sounds weird to putChrono Triggerin second place, but if you playRadiant Historia, preferably thePerfect Chronologyversion, you’ll understand why.
WhileChrono Triggerlets us travel through time and visit different eras,Radiant Historiatakes a different approach to the theme. Here, we have two parallel realities, where the protagonist, Stocke, constantly hops between them.
Think of this JRPG as more of aButterfly Effectthan anything.Stocke encounters a problem in the original timeline, called the Standard Story, so he either jumps to the past, looking for a way to fix it, or to the Alternate Story, where his actions influence the other timeline and vice versa.
And despite the protagonist constantly shifting between the past, present, and an alternate reality, it’s surprisingly difficult to find any plot holes inRadiant Historia. The writing is impeccable, the motivations are believable, and the execution is flawless.
Overall, I still considerChrono Triggera better game thanRadiant Historia. But if we’re strictly talking about time traveling in JRPGs, then I’d pick the latter without batting an eyelash.
Very few games have managed to grasp the theme’s nuances as well asRadiant Historiadid.
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