Japanese Game Creators Reveal Their "Top 20" Video Games Of 2024

Dang, I really should try Dragon quest 3. I honestly don't think I have time though. Still bonkers to me how crazy popular it is in Japan though.

Doesn't surprise me to see DQ3 at the top of the list.

I'm pretty sure DQ3 is the video game that is in the cultural collective unconscious that best personifies the RPG, and is easily the most important release for the series. Like FF7 is for Final Fantasy.

And I cannot wait for 1+2 next year.

Let's goooo!! Shiren the Wanderer!!

Dragon Quest is a force of nature in Japan. A very well rounded list. I'm surprised to see Balatro so low, but I guess it appeals more to Western sensibilities.

@Bigmanfan It's crazy how little love Dragon Quest gets outside of Japan. Without Dragon Quest, Nintendo wouldn't be what they are today and same with Anime and nearly any Japanese game with fantasy elements. Truely one of the most influential series of all time.

There was another Doraemon game on Switch?

@Yuna-Suzuki Yeah, my DQ knowledge is definitely lacking, but if I remember correctly, wasn't it one of the first turn based RPGs? It feels like when it comes to that, people always only bring up final fantasy, but DQ was probably at least equally important.

@Anti-Matter it’s available on mobile platforms, steam and switch.

These are the 8 of the 20 on Switch:

• Dragon Quest 3: HD 2D Remake
• Unicorn Overlord
• Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
• Balatro
• Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island
• Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story
• No Case Should Remain Unsolved

Zelda is ranked quite low. I’d expected that especially developers would appreciate the ingenuity of the game.

this is probably incredibly narrow-minded of me but i seriously cannot take any of the echoes of wisdom hype seriously with that artstyle. i've seen mobile games that are more ambitious and forward-thinking in their visual presentation!

@Bigmanfan Final Fantasy would definitely not exist without Dragon Quest since Dragon Quest is the very first JRPG. The reason why you see FF more in the west than Japan though is because Dragon Quest was sadly handled poorly in the west by Enix with many games not releasing in the west till years later or never at all. EU never even got a Dragon Quest game till DQ8 and due to copyright issues it originally released with the name Dragon Warrior which cause some confusion later on.

Overall I would say Dragon Quest was significantly more important than Final Fantasy though or at the very least significantly more influential for Japanese media.

No surprise by that top 4, what incredible games they are.

@KrustyKoopa have you played it? I've gotta say, while visually nothing special, it was incredibly fun to play 😄

STREET FIGHTER 6 and TEKKEN 8, but no UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II [Sys:Celes]? No MVC Collection? Really? Geez... Their taste is disappointing.

DQ III is the perfect cosy game to survive Winter with. I love when Japanese games have a UK centric voice cast for the English release so the localisers can pump as much cockney slang into the script as possible.

@JCWrites no but even if i did the immensely lacklustre visual style would prevent me from enjoying it at all tbh

this list must be total games sales in japan in 2024 not the best game. while good i cannot see the remake of dragon quest 3 being best game of 2024...

rebirth astrobot and metaphor were so much better then the remake of dragon quest 3 hd..

@KrustyKoopa that's a shame but I get it. I've been on a retro binge the past year so it was looking crisp in comparison 😂

No Case Should Remain Unsolved being in the top 20 is a surprise. I'm glad it is, it seems neat, but that just seemed destined to be a game only a dozen people would play. Glad Japan is more open to those style of games than most in the West are.

I am SHOCKED…SHOCKED I tell you, that there is so little Western-made slop on this list.

All this does is confirm Japan’s closed-mindedness to “THE MESSAGE”.

Is Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story really that good?

@johnedwin I think if you are a gamer in Japan, DQ3 was a must-play. And, by all accounts, it was very well made. So it's unsurprising that, if you ask a group of people in the Japanese games industry what their favorite game of 2024 was, they are largely enthusiastic about it.

No surprise seeing Dragon Quest up top. Pretty hyped to see what they do with the I&II remake next year, DQI is a personal darling of mine I made a bit of a comic series about it last year.
No doubt it'll be the top of Japan's charts in 2025 too.

@Yuna-Suzuki Very interesting to know. Always fun to learn some new gaming history

@Yuna-Suzuki in japan yes but not world wide final fantasy has a significant advantage over dragon quest outside of japan it is not even close..,it has has sold almost 100 million more games then the dragon quest series..

@TrendanBrendan i know it's about freakin time somebody recognizes it! Everybody begs for Pokemon Mystery Dungeon but is missing out on this.

@johnedwin In the context of this conversation sales numbers has nothing to do with importance. I already explained why it has done better in the west. which has the bigger market on top of Final Fantasy having more entries to sell in the first place. Human fall flat has sold better than any FF but it certainly holds no importance to the industry.

Neither series held much influence in the western gaming industry but the Japanese gaming industry which is one of the most significant if not the most significant part of the industry has had such significantly more influence from Dragon Quest and it's not even close. Dragon Quest influenced the fantasy and the JRPG genre in Japan like nothing else.

Also DQ3HD-2D > Metaphor and Astro Bot.

I mean, DQ3 is influential but in 2024 it does not impress..