MMOs have been a popular genre for decades. The premise of having a role-playing game with deep character progression, a living, breathing, and evolving world, and thousands of other players is very appealing. However, making a good MMO game can be difficult. There are a ton of MMOs out there today, but only a few stand out as exceptional. Even some of the best ones struggle a lot to find their footing in this demanding genre.
Japanese MMOs are a particularly fun category, as they are often set in established videogame worlds such as Final Fantasy and Dragon's Dogma and thus come with pre-existing lore, characters, and a playerbase willing to try out new things. This makes for some of the best MMO experiences out there.
6 Monster Hunter Frontier
Monster Hunter Frontier is the MMO arising from the famed Monster Hunter series and it features plenty of what makes the mainline titles in the series iconic. The premise is pretty simple, players are thrust into a massive sprawling world and have to hunt monsters, and complete quests from the mainline story whilst being surrounded by hundreds of players who can be called in for cooperative missions. This is especially useful during difficult fights against large beasts. Monster Hunter Frontier is pretty ancient when it comes to MMO games, but it enjoyed a fairly long and successful lifespan while also getting a sequel years down the line.
Monster Hunter Frontier was a great game largely due to the attention given to the monsters in the game. Players can't simply slash their way through anything. Lots of foes require tons of prep, equipping different sets of armor and weaponry, and attempting to exploit the monster's weaknesses. Additionally, the co-op gameplay adds an element of strategy as different players can focus on different aspects of combat. Overall, this was a very solid game and with the recent popularity of Monster Hunter titles, a new MMO in a similar vein could be amazing.
5 Final Fantasy 11
Final Fantasy 11 was the first major foray of the Final Fantasy series in the MMO genre. While it was later overshadowed by a successor, this game was still great and deserves a spot among the best. FFXI is an ancient game, it largely featured PVE combat and had minimal PVP interactions, but it was still a very solid game that laid the groundwork for tons of later MMOs followed. FFXI featured an incredible amount of content for players to go through and actually focused quite heavily on world building and plot elements. The expansions in particular kept getting better and better making the final product.
This game featured solid character customization, a well-designed progression system, along with the typical Final Fantasy job and party systems which are always great. An underrated aspect of this game is the graphics and environments which were really good for its time, especially considering how vast and sprawling the world was with a multitude of different topographies for players to explore.
4 Dragon Quest 10
A common trend for most of the best Japanese MMO's out there is that they're successful entries into the genre from established and beloved franchises. Dragon Quest 10 is no different. A fantastical tale of time travel, demonic invasions, and political power struggles, Dragon Quest 10 knows that the key to a successful MMO is keeping its player base engaged. This game does so with an entertaining story as well as repeated acclaimed expansions.
This game features the warm and familiar world of Dragon Quest and lets players slowly explore the environment whilst building up their party and improving their equipment. Most of the game's combat is featured around typical combat encounters and a typical turn-based attacking method. This works surprisingly well within the MMO genre and is complimented by the job and progression systems. The only thing holding this game back is the somewhat dated Dragon Quest features and the lack of truly immersive MMO systems
3 Dragons Dogma Online
This game was highly anticipated as it was the first foray of the legendary RPG series Dragons Dogma into the MMORPG world. The game was a massive success and deservedly so. Whilst the character creation and class variety were incredible, where this game really shined was the combat system. Building upon the Dragons Dogma formula, it worked seamlessly in this new setting.
While the PVP and Co-operative features were all solid, the unique feature that set this game apart was the pawn mechanic which allowed players to create an AI companion that followed players into battle and could be customized. Dragons Dogma Online's lore around the struggles of the arisen and the conflict between the different dragons was also a key feature that made the game stand out as one of the best MMORPGS to play.
2 Onigiri
Onigiri stands out against the norm. It's not the offshoot of an established franchise, rather it's a fantasy land, set in a fictional and mythical version of Japan. Onigiri has unique, anime-esque graphics and a captivating and colorful world full of a multitude of tales stemming from Japanese mythology.
The combat is crisp and fast-paced. Players have access to a wide variety of abilities and weapons and can make large parties full of characters from within the game's lore as well.
1 Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn
Final Fantasy 14 is the gold standard for MMO games. Not only is it an incredible MMO, but it proudly stands as one of the best games in the storied Final Fantasy franchise as well. The game has tons of PVP and PVE game modes and features a rich and diverse combat system. Character progression is incredible and players can tailor their characters to their preferred playstyle, or to what their party needs.
What sets this game apart, however, is the incredible story which features a memorable and fleshed-out gallery of side characters, villains, and just everyday NPCs with many more introduced in every big update. Alongside these characters is, of course, the story set around the great calamity, different eras, and of course tons of kingdom-wide conflict. FFXIV also has a knack for improving with every expansion and DLC that releases, making it one of the best MMOs out there today.