Though it would be nice to see JRPGs having left fanservice in the past, the truth is the genre just isn’t there yet. While many of the larger RPGs have tried to ignore fanservice in favor of more sensibly dressed characters and less clichéd scenarios, the same can't be said about all JRPGs.
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While fanservice isn’t always a problem in the best JRPGs made by top-tier companies like Square-Enix, it’s still happening regularly. Even some major franchise names like to sneak it in to appeal to certain audiences. At lower levels, it’s fine and can be ignored by most people playing the game. But other games take it just a step too far.
10 Sakura Wars Isn't Afraid Of Some Old-Fashioned Fanservice
The Sakura Wars games have always had a dating sim element to them. Why else would the cast consist entirely of women aside from one male character, who just so happens to be the lead protagonist? The latest Sakura Wars game tries to keep most of that tasteful, but it's not above some old-fashioned '90s harem protagonist fanservice.
The protagonist can choose to make comments on the size of women's chests, and there are a few bathhouse scenes as well. Considering many JRPGs of the modern era have moved on from content like this, it becomes noteworthy for anyone paying attention.
9 Fire Emblem Fate's Bikini Armor Is More Than A Little Ridiculous
Fire Emblem wasn't a franchise with fanservice until Awakening came along. That title added tons of waifu and husbando designs, and the series' popularity took off from there. Naturally, the sequel, Fire Emblem Fates, has even more ridiculous designs. Most of the women in Fates have embarrassing looks that were uncommon in older games.
Camilla's design alone is enough to make anyone sensitive to fanservice cut the game off. The game could have been worse, though. Originally, there was a mechanic to engage in rubbing characters faces using the touchscreen.
8 Omega Labyrinth Life Has Fanservice Mini-Games
Omega Labyrinth Life could have been okay if it had focused on its top-down dungeon elements. It's not a big-budget video game, but it doesn't need to be. It just needs to allow players to take cute girls into dungeons for some JRPG adventures. Unnecessary fanservice does most of the work to make Omega Labyrinth mediocre. This mindset affects even how the developers drew the logo.
Beneath all the game's fanservice is a solid dungeon crawler, but little more than that. While some elements of the fanservice can get creative, it can also become tedious several hours in. There are button presses to skip repetitive scenes, but most fans will wonder why the scenes are there in the first place.
7 Mary Skelter 2 Has A Very Strange Method Of Purification
Mary Skelter 2 is another game from "the savior of JRPGs", Compile Heart. While Compile Heart has a few good ideas, most of them are more like the Mary Skelter's franchise. It's impossible to even get through a trailer for a game like this without being drowned in fan service.
One of the game's features is "purification mode", where players will be able to purify some of their party members' bodies. This is done by rubbing the pink goo off their body until their already skimpy outfits are see-through. This is easily the strangest method to purify someone that any RPG has ever done before.
6 Conception Plus Makes Its Intentions Plain Within Its Name
Conception Plus is a lesser-known title from Spike Chunsoft. The title is about a protagonist who's trying to save the world with the help of a group of beautiful women. As one might guess from the name, part of the process is the protagonist having "star children", who will help the protagonist during his journeys into dungeons.
The fanservice isn't in the having kids process thankfully, but there is plenty of swimsuit DLC for those who think the game's premise isn't going far enough. To be fair, Conception is trying to make a point about Japan's declining birth rates, but a fanservice JRPG isn't the best place for that. Conception Plus also has one of the worst harem anime adaptations ever, another mark against it.
5 Moero Chronicle Offers A Large Harem To Make Up For Being An Average RPG
Moero Chronicle doesn't try to be anything more than what it is: a basic RPG with a huge harem. The protagonist Zenox goes around to different dungeons recruiting women who fight in his place. This game doesn't hold anything back. The basic story is about the Panties of Light and the Bra of Darkness being stolen, with the hero having to go get them back.
Along the way, there's plenty of sexual innuendo, and in fights the hero's party members actually help beat the clothes off the monster girls until they surrender. If this game spent as much time on making the game good as it did on figuring out how the fanservice makes sense, it might be a classic title.
4 Demon Gaze Extra Could Have Been A Quality First-Person Dungeon Game
Demon Gaze Extra has the potential to be a decent dungeon RPG. It's got decent customization and tries to go for an impactful story. But like most fanservice games, much of the creativity is put into finding unique ways to add fanservice.
Characters in Demon Gaze Extra wear outfits that couldn't even exist in real life. Others are partially naked for no other reason than the developers know what's expected of them. Getting to know the characters could be interesting, but instead they choose to make it another excuse to insert more lewd scenes, like a harem anime in gaming form.
3 Criminal Girls Is An Ecchi RPG Set In Hell
It only takes one look at the art to understand what's up with Criminal Girls. The game's premise is unique; the protagonist is sent to hell and asked to help seven girls by rehabilitating them. If the focus was on the girls' journey and inner lives, this game might have some potential. Instead, titillation is the focus to the detriment of the rest of the game.
The localizers edited out many of the worst elements for the Western version of the game. Unfortunately, modders put all the removed content back into the PC version, rendering all that work pointless.
2 Tales of Berseria Ruins A Decent Story With Bad Designs
Tales of Berseria was meant to be the Tales of series return to greatness. In some aspects, it actually is a return to form. The combat system remains strong, and Berseria's storyline is far better than its predecessor's. But one look at the protagonist costume, and most people are going to look the other way.
There's no reasonable explanation for why Velvet is dressed in "sexy" tatters. Though Velvet was a prisoner for a long time, any normal person would change clothes once free. It's one thing to make her prisoner outfit DLC, but for it to be emblazoned on the cover is a bit much.
1 Xenoblade 2 Split The Fanbase With Its Fanservice
Xenoblade 2 is a fantastic game, and the Xenoblade franchise is the best RPG franchise Nintendo has. However, Xenoblade 2 has a very noticeable problem. The fanservice is out of control. From weird bath scenarios to the obvious harem that Rex is building, it gets away from the original Xenoblade Chronicles' ideas and designs.
This has the unfortunate side effect of splitting the fanbase up. Some can overlook the designs for the story of Xenoblade 2, while other people consider it the worst game of the franchise.
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