Topic: Switch 2 double A jrpgs 2026

I wonder if there's many of these lower budget RPGs that have compelling stories. I know a good few that I've tried ended up losing me because it felt like the devs didn't know how to make engaging gameplay systems or stories that were actually interesting to experience. Stuff like Sea of Stars- where the only good part of that game is the pixel art for example.

Do crosscode counts as AA because if so that one is one of the better ones i think.

(On being unable to make engaging battle systems... Unfortunately so yeah, you remind me of how bad Crystar's battle system is, that I feel it should be a visual novel instead lol)

@metaphysician momo is one of the main cast members in every single xenosaga game I found some good background information on the xenosaga fandom:

https://xenosaga.fandom.com/wiki/MOMO_Mizrahi#Personality

On the subject of what consists of a double a jrpg game, I would suggest that all fire emblem games are double a, with Three houses probably being the only triple a game in the series due to the large voice cast,

Also the persona games since 5 have been AAA due to a high budget due to the excellent voice acting and osts,

Of what consists of a double a jrpg in my opinion would be a small team, mid budget soundtrack and lack of/or low budget voice acting, therefore square enix's games and atlus's games are most likely triple a and the xeno series were double a until xenoblade 2 or 3 were released.

@darkfenrir I mentioned both CrossCode and Sea of Stars back on the first page, but mostly as examples of indie games that - while having the look of AA pixel art games - were made on a comparative shoestring.

I think you've got to allow for them to be a little bit rough around the edges on account of that, but CrossCode certainly has a great story. It's doing a lot of similar things to Undertale, in how it subverts genre tropes, but doesn't get half as much credit for it.

Sea of Stars, on the other hand, is definitely a bit thin in that department. Most charitably, I'd see it as like an old-school 90s RPG where most of the character details were left to the player's imagination. It does look fantastic though, and its world is fun to explore.

Based on rising costs, a $100m budget qualifies as AA. For example, Baldur's Gate 3's budget was estimated to be between $100m to $150m (marketing). Other recent AA games include Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, etc. I'm currently playing Digimon Story: Time Stranger, the budget for which was $40m.

Thoroughly AA.

If Baldur's Gate 3, one of the largest scope highest production value RPGs produced in easily a decade, is "AA"? Then the term has lost all meaning and needs to be reworked. Especially since it was produced by a studio with 200+ employees.

@metaphysician Some people were claiming Baldur's Gate 3 was an indie which is even sillier.

Baldur's Gate 3 is the exact opposite of what I just said about Square Enix. It is AAA in all but "made by huge publisher". And even that's arguable considering the IP.

I think Nintendo's existence also makes it weird, since half of their biggest games, probably even now, are not remotely as insane in terms of budget of your average AAA game, but you wouldn't call DK Bananza or Kirby Air Riders...not AAA. And where do you even start with the major HD Pokemon RPGs?

AAA has to be about some degree of budget and scope and...reasonable comparisons to other games, because otherwise nothing means anything and the discussion is pointless.

@kkslider5552000 personally always think Pokemon main games as AA. There's really not much it has that can push it to AAA imo

@darkfenrir I think the problem is that Pokemon, at least on Switch, couldn't decide if its AAA or not. Like they want to be the big modern video game update into big open world games and some more real time elements, but don't actually want to put in the man power and time for them.

I honestly wish they were more AA, but instead the only AA trend they've leaned into is when mid tier Japanese devs turn their great looking 2D games into mid looking 3D games. (no offense, Mystery Dungeon remake)

@kkslider5552000 True, but also like... their attempts are so painfully AA I can't really think of it any other way XD

In some ways it's more of management and funding issues for Pokemon though... although I think with the recent ZA and Wind and Waves being pushed back for more polish, I have some hopes (especially since I did really enjoy all the most recent games from legend arceus, violet, and ZA)

Yeah the advantages of Switch 2 and/or sane development time seems to be working. It is very annoying that the issues of HD game development had been known for a decade before the Switch and Gamefreak was seemingly caught off guard anyway.

It is also funny that HD-2D became a thing at the same time as these games. Wow a mid tier JRPG developer made games that look better than new Pokemon games with presumably a smaller budget, could the difference maker in that be in the name of the tech being used somehow?!

It's not that long ago that Larian were an indie studio with less than thirty staff, who were crowdfunding their games. I think the first Divinity: Original Sin game raised less than Sea of Stars, even. They've obviously expanded massively since then, to make BG3, and maybe a few people haven't realized the extent of this.

Much like with Sandfall, the creators of Expedition 33, they've managed to retain their creative independence throughout all of it, and to a lot of people that's the most important thing about indie games.

Personally, I'd think that budgets, team size and the amount or prior industry experience are factors too. It's not like Hideo Kojima suddenly became an indie dev after buying his way out of Konami, after all.

What?? What has IP to do with budgeting? BG3 is considered Indie (by some) because Larian was an AA Studio.

The whole thread is a bit wonky, because AA in terms of RPGs is already top of the line. JRPGs are even more niche. So whats actually the point of this post to begin with?

Yeah but no one who plays it thinks of it as a smaller budget game. The same way that an indie rock band can be under the biggest label and given tons of money for marketing but if they sound indie enough, they're still considered indie and no amount of factual information of not literally being indie will matter to people who hear it.

They essentially made a AAA game with AA resources.

@kkslider5552000 I'd think of BG3 as a AAA game made with AAA resources.

Larian spent six years with a core team that peaked just shy of 500, and over 2000 contractors. Those kind of numbers put even Nintendo's biggest projects to shame in comparison.

We're rapidly approaching the point where "indie" has lost all literal meaning and is just a vibe. I'm all for reclaiming the term for those working in small teams and without the resources you'd expect from a major publisher, but that does require yanking it back from corporations trying to appropriate it and also those who still cling to the label long after having outgrown it.