Playstation 5: Our Top 10 Japanese Games

The Playstation 5 is here already? It feels like only 60 frames ago, the Playstation 4 burst into our living rooms with a motherboard full of new graphical capabilities and immersive experiences. But as the new decade begins, so must a new era for gaming.

With a wealth of new games being developed for the Playstation 5 worldwide, we’ve honed our list down to the top 10 releases coming out of Japan. And for gamers who spend all their free time playing the console and do not have time to finish their papers, paper writing help is just a click away. Online paper writing services provide expert writers to assist with all academic papers, from essays to dissertations.

1. Pragmata (2022, Capcom)

Capcom has two titles already announced for the PS5. Their first, Pragmata, raises many more questions than it answers. In the preview, we follow a clunky spaceman through a desolate Times Square, where he meets a young girl and the hologram of a cat with see-through skin (yes, you can see its brains). Of course, a satellite crashes into the air above them, and the girl uses psychic powers to teleport them to the moon. It all happens very quickly.

Like Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding (Kojima Productions) announcement trailer in 2016, there’s no hope of knowing what this game is about or what the gameplay will be like. But strangely, that’s not a bad thing. Intrigue fills the knowledge gaps: what was the spaceman doing in New York? Why was a satellite attacking him, as well as the girl? What was wrong with that cat?

2. Ghostwire: Tokyo (2021, Tango Gameworks)

Directed by Shinji Mikami (creator of Resident Evil), Ghostwire: Tokyo is a first-person action title charging through the haunted streets of Japan’s capital. The Playstation 5 announcement trailer shows the city’s 37.4 million residents vanishing into thin air, leaving normally bustling streets deathly silent and subway stations littered with office attire. We can only hope that wherever the well-dressed city folk vanished is warm enough for their birthday suits because even their high heels were left to clink against the top of abandoned escalators.

The streets aren’t entirely silent. Replacing the inhabitants (and sometimes wearing their clothes) are hordes of oni, yōkai and yūrei. The protagonist clearly got the memo, as his hood strings are pulled so tightly no underworld-summoning fiend could ever hope to remove his corporeal form from it. Wielding hands bursting with magic, it’s up to you to bring peace back to Tokyo, one trouser-thieving ghoul at a time. The gameplay trailer reveals stormy fight scenes against classic Japanese monsters in urban areas and Shinto shrines.

3. Resident Evil Village (2021, Capcom)

Capcom’s 2nd announcement is the 8th instalment of gaming’s greatest zombie franchise. In a village that seems to have halted its development in the 19th century, a homely couple has their lives ruined by local werewolves, zombies and farmers. It resonates with the energy of one of the series’ favourites, Resident Evil IV, which took place in a secluded Spanish town overrun (or just inhabited) by reanimated agricultural workers and undead aristocracy.

Akin to other releases in this list, the graphics are astonishing. With every new generation, these consoles become more immersive. What better way to utilise complete immersion than to scare the living hell out of our global community from the safety of our own homes, which virtual reality is getting very good at.

4. Gran Turismo 7 (2022, Polyphony Digital)

Pulling the PS5 into 5th gear is a new driving-sim action from the Gran Turismo series. Revisiting features from across the franchise, you can run your finger along the hoods of your favourite cars in the garage, tweak your ride in the tuning shop with Rupert, and visit real circuits from across the globe.

From the rising and falling sound of shifting gears to the creases on the driver’s gloves, the attention to detail is uncanny. Gran Turismo shows the potential of the next generation of consoles by reproducing the real world with pinpoint accuracy instead of whirling into realms of overblown fantasy.

5. Persona 5 Royal (2019, Atlus)

Persona 5 Royal is not just one of the finest games on the PlayStation 5 but also one of our age’s best and genre-defining JRPGs. You won’t be able to put it down, and it’s hard to believe, but it packs dungeon crawling, dating simulation, and unique combat mechanisms into 100+ hours of engaging gameplay.   After a long day at the office, you’ll be eager to return to our cosy little slice of Japan.

Because of this, you’ll start to pay closer attention to how you manage your own time and hectic schedule in the real world. Through a year in Persona 5 Royal, you may focus on anything you like: schoolwork, socialising (which boosts your stats), or even eating to level up. It blends themes that don’t seem to go together at first appearance, setting it apart from the multitude of JRPGs on the market.

Persona 5 Royal’s characters are on another level; it’s the game every weeb has to get into, as it also throws all the slice-of-life tropes, such as waifus and high school life, we’ve come to know and love.  A fast and dynamic combat system is paired with a soundtrack that will have you bopping your head constantly and searching for lo-fi remixes on YouTube. Oh, how I wish I could experience Persona 5 Royal all over again.

6. Astro’s Playroom (2020, ASOBI Team)

Get back to basics with this kid-friendly 3D platformer. Pre-loaded into every console, this will undoubtedly be the first game experienced by many Playstation 5 purchasers. As Astro defeats mechanical palm trees and unscrews spring-loaded flowers to get to the next area, he scoops up classic platformer collectables like floating Playstation-inscribed coins and boxes with question marks printed on them.

After so much violence, horror and cars, sometimes a jaunt through a friendly world inhabited (or overrun) by squealing, television-faced robots is all you need to feel normal again.

7. Elden Ring (2022, FromSoftware Inc.)

If you like a challenge, see the pleasure in overcoming insurmountable obstacles or are, simply put, a masochist, then Elden Ring is just the game for you. If you’re familiar with FromSoft’s other games, you’ll know that this one isn’t for the faint of heart, either. It’s both been at the centre of controversy and a gaming breakthrough for a game to be so hard that it is unwelcoming to a large majority of the gaming population. 

Many critics question the lack of a change in difficulty because the base game is just that difficult: not only is it elementary to get killed in this game, you will get killed a lot. FromSoft’s games, such as the Dark Souls, Sekiro, and Bloodborne series, are ruthlessly punishing; even the most minor and random enemy may throw you back hours. But that’s where the charm of the games they create comes in.

Death is part of the mechanic that will drive you forward. You will get better with each death, whether dodging a millisecond sooner to avoid a deadly attack or knocking 2 centimetres off a boss health bar because you know what’s coming next. Elden Ring might be the best release out of all the games because of the freedom it gives players in its open-world setup. Although the level design has always been a strong suit for the infamous game studio’s productions, Elden Ring is unironically one of the most beginner-friendly games that have come from them because of its familiarity with other triple-A titles and openness to exploration.

8. Nioh 2 Remastered (2021, Koei Tecmo)

The Nioh series is a contender in the “why are these games so hard?” category, sometimes described as “the younger brother of those devious and devilish titles from FromSoft.” Nioh stands out from Dark Souls and Elden Rings by using an arcade-inspired visual design and combat system. The game looks more like your well-groomed relative than your edgy pop-punk millennial sibling, and it immediately gives it a more approachable vibe.

Nioh 2 Remastered is a precursor to the original game and features the return of the classic samurai swordplay from feudal Japan. History buffs will like the unique perspective it takes in telling its tale and explaining its lore via its many collectables and tidbits. It’s a perfect companion if you’re looking for something comparable to Elden Ring after you complete it, thanks to its sophisticated combat, rich skill tree and character customisation, and harsh boss encounters.

9. Lost Judgment (Sega, 2021)

The Yakuza games are widely regarded as among the most entertaining and original entries in the Japanese action role-playing game genre. Its package, filled with plodding pacing, wordy conversation, and boring hack-and-slash action, will captivate and immerse you in its fictitious depiction of the famed Kabukicho in Shinjuku or utterly bore and frustrate you.

Its charm is precisely in the wacky side quests and bizarre activities you can do in this world. You’ll remain heartily engaged by the cheesy dialogue and eccentric characters in the yakuza world motivated by different scenarios, such as a search for a lady’s cat. Bizarre emotional scenes where an old man is on the floor with his privates covered by a leaf and parodies of ninjas in a school led by an ex-Spetsnaz talking about dragon breath are just some of the offbeat scenes you’ll encounter as you go through the game. If that interests you, there’s definitely more in there for you.

10. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Integrade (Square Enix, 2020)

Final Fantasy VII Remake set out to raise the stakes for players, and it does so in a variety of ways. This love letter to fans of one of the genre’s ancestors has some charming animation, solid work from the main cast, and brand-new music from legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu. Driven by a steady diet of nostalgia, Final Fantasy VII Remake retells the classic story in Midgar.

Every living JRPG fan recalls the opening sequences of Final Fantasy VII when Cloud and Barret looked like they were plucked from an app store puzzle game. The remake gives more freedom to move and breathe, as its characters have been transformed into magnificent 3D warriors that’ll put a tear in many 30-something-year-olds’ eyes. Moreover, the conflicts are thrilling to see. The non-essential material consists of a few optional side tasks.

Anyone who has dabbled in Japanese role-playing video games should start with the Final Fantasy series. Many argue that it not only established the genre but also has all the defining qualities of a traditional JRPG experience; playing it has become something of a rite of passage.