For better or worse, plot twists are here to stay. In general, I prefer aJRPGwith solid world-building, a concise narrative, and escalation twists that raise the stakes rather than completely change its course.
That said, I do recognize thatsome plot twists enrich the story, leaving me speechless and thinking, “How did I not see that coming? It was so obvious.” It’s a refreshing feeling.
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Brandon Sanderson says the best plot twists are the ones that give people more than what they were promised. Some JRPGs got the memo, while others just make the whole ordeal a bit far-fetched.
In no particular order, I’ll discuss the most shocking JRPG plot twists I’ve ever seen in the games I’ve played. The twist could involve the narrative, character development, or even the game’s overarching themes.
Spoilers ahead.
8Final Fantasy Tactics
The True Hero Erased From History
Final Fantasy Tactics
The entire plot ofFinal Fantasy Tacticsis one twist after another, not just as a narrative device but because the buildup, world-building, and character actions naturally lead to it.
It’s a classic tale of history being written by the victors.
At first, it seems to be a political war between noble houses. Then, we discover that the church has been pulling the strings behind the scenes, involving magic, demons, and the infamous Zodiac Stones.
In the meantime, Delita Heiral, the former friend of our protagonist Ramza, is using any means necessary to rise through the ranks, ultimately becoming the King of Ivalice and the hero immortalized in history.
However, by the end of the game, we discover that the true hero was always Ramza. He faced the Lucavi, thwarted the church’s schemes, and pretty much saved Ivalice from a demonic invasion, so to speak.
It’s a rough summary that doesn’t doFinal Fantasy Tacticsjustice, but it shows how a plot can be twisted without resorting to shocking or abrupt story beats.
7Tales of Vesperia
Good Old Party Member Betrayal
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The plot twist inTales of Vesperiaisn’t as impactful as the others on this list, but it caught me off guard the most. I’m talking about Raven, the imperial spy.
InTales of Vesperia,we play as the rebel Yuri. Eventually, Yuri forms a guild and meets some members of the Guild Union, like Raven—a laid-back character who serves as comic relief.
And I loved Raven. He has that trope of the older character ina cast of young JRPG memberswho constantly complains as if he’s 60 years old when barely in his 40s. That’s why when he revealed himself to be an imperial spy and betrayed the group, I was floored.
It took me a whole minute to process it. I had already heard about Schwann, an honorable imperial knight who, unfortunately, died. There were countless subtle hints in Raven’s stories that foreshadowed this, though they were pretty discreet, albeit elegant.
Raven and Schwann’s entire subplot was resolved almost when it happened, reducing the reveal’s impact. Still, despite being a minor twist, it was executed so well that I was almost happy to have been betrayed by him.
6Chrono Trigger
Protagonists Can’t Die, Right?
Chrono Trigger
In many JRPGs—or games in general—the protagonist dying usually means game over. After all, we embody that character, and technically, without them, there’s no story.
But nothing is that simple inChrono Trigger, a masterpiece that plays by its own rules. The game decided the protagonist wasn’t a requirement to face the final boss. And if we don’t complete an optional quest, we do end up defeating Lavos without Crono.
You know those moments in video games when something happens, and you just sit there, waiting for the game to reverse it somehow—whether through a Deus Ex Machina or some far-fetched mechanism? Well, that didn’t happen inChrono Trigger.
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I was in disbelief watching Crono get vaporized by Lavos. Up until that point, we couldn’t even remove him from the party, and suddenly, he was dead. Come on, Square. That was crazy.
However, even the protagonist’s death is tied toChrono Trigger’ssystem, which favors multiple playthroughs to see more than ten endings.
If we finish the game without Crono, the ending shows the group going to resurrect him, meaning that canonically, our swordsman will always end up well and alive.
5Xenogears
So. Many. Plot. Twists.
Xenogearshas so many plot twists that I didn’t even know which one to mention, but I’ll go with the most shocking. But first, I need to get something off my chest: I trusted you with my whole heart, Citan.
What I actually want to talk about is Fei’s identity—or rather, identities. From the beginning, we knew something was off with him. After all, it’s not every day someone blacks out and destroys their whole village.
Xenogearshas an incredibly dense and complex story. To avoid diving into Jungian psychology, I’ll just summarize by saying that Fei has not one or two but three personalities within him.
First, he is the reincarnation of Abel, the first human to exist (you know, religion). Second, he has the personality of Id, created as a result of psychological trauma. Third—his true personality—is Fei, the cowardly character we love.
The thing is,Xenogears’plot is so intricate that I wouldn’t even dare to explain it fully because I’d probably stumble over my own words. Just know that Fei’s personality revelation is extremely shocking, which is one of several reasons why the JRPG is considered one of the best of its time.
4Persona 5
All Because of Pancakes
Persona 5is one of my all-time favorite JRPGs, but I have a massive gap in my knowledge of the game. I say this because I haven’t played theRoyalversion, where many players say the best plot twist in the game happens.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t others, though. In fact, one of them had been building up since the very beginning, ever since Joker was being interrogated.
For the twist to work, several elements had to tie together, such as bringing Sae Niijima to our side. Then, when it finally happened, I was dumbfounded.
Goro Akechi reveals himself as a traitor at a crucial moment and shoots a defenseless Joker in the interrogation room. Akechi believed he had killed the protagonist, and I thought it was game over.
However, it’s soon revealed that the party knew Akechi was a traitor all along because of… pancakes.
So they prepared for it, entering the Metaverse right before he shot Joker, tricking Akechi into thinking he had killed the protagonist when, in reality, he had shot Ren Amamiya’s cognitive version.
Long story short: Joker survived, exposed the shady detective, and did it all in the most stylish manner ever.
3Final Fantasy X
Square Hates Protagonists
Final Fantasy 10
Just writing this entry made a tear roll down my face.
Final Fantasy Xis a story about love, sacrifice, and death. Tidus, our jock from another world, gets thrown into Spira out of nowhere. He serves as the player’s POV, getting to know this new world, its customs, and traditions.
One of these traditions is the summoner pilgrimage, in which an individual embarks on a journey to sacrifice themselves to stop an impending doom caused by Sin. This massive creature appears every ten or so years and brings mass destruction.
This time, the summoner is Yuna, a character Tidus falls in love with. Even though he understands her mission, he’s completely against her sacrifice and ends up influencing the entire party to find another way to end Sin’s cycle while keeping Yuna alive.
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In the end, we succeed, and it’s a triumph. But all good things come to an end. Oh, the irony. While Tidus did everything he could to prevent Yuna from dying, in truth, the guy was “dead” all along.
This plot twist hit me like Superman had thrown a truck at me. Gosh, I cried.
I know many players don’t like Tidus—maybe unfairlybecause of the laughing scene—but I loved his upbeat, energetic, and optimistic personality. Watching him just disappear after having influenced everyone around him was absolutely heartbreaking.
2NieR: Automata
The Mission Is a Lie
NieR: Automata
NieR: Automatais another game packed with twists that change the plot at every turn. No wonder it hasover 20 endings, though only five are considered canon.
Our mission in the game as androids is to free a post-apocalyptic Earth from the machine lifeforms occupying it so that humanity, supposedly secured on the Moon, can return to the planet.
However, as protagonists 2B and 9S start questioning their mission, uncovering new information about it, and even the true intention behind YoRHa, they discover something that changes their entire perspective: humanity has been extinct for ages.
With this revelation, they start wondering why they’ve been fighting for so long if there’s no one left to reclaim the spoils. What’s their purpose now that their creators no longer exist?
There are other plot twists inNieR: Automata, too, like the fact that every android is doomed to fail so they can be rebooted before they start questioning their mission—that’s how 9S discovered the truth; he kept his memories intact.
Or the fact that 2B was actually created to kill 9S repeatedly, preventing him from getting closer to the truth. As you can imagine, that didn’t work out too well, and he ended up figuring everything out.
1Final Fantasy VII
Cloud Equal Zack
Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy VIIprobably has one of the most iconic plot twists in JRPG history, not just because the game itself is legendary but also because its development was filled with foreshadowing.
In short, Cloud has Zack’s memories. So, from the very beginning of the game—when he says he was part of SOLDIER, that he fought alongside Sephiroth, and even part of his own identity—everything was inherited from Zack due to Jenova cells, mako poisoning, and a whole load of trauma.
The best thing about this twist is how naturally it unfolds. Cloud deceives the player because the character is deceiving himself. If he didn’t know what was real or fiction, how could we, the players, figure it out? My 14-year-old self never saw it coming.
Granted, there are some plot holes in the classic game, because, as fans often question, Tifa was oddly passive and never really contested Cloud’s story, especially the flashback in Nibelheim.
This was altered inFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth, and we actually see Tifa talking to Cloud, mentioning that his memories are fuzzy and debating the events.
Even so, despite some execution slip-ups, there’s no denying thatFinal Fantasy VII’splot twist surrounding Cloud and Zack is one of the most memorable in JRPG history.
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