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Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X is the tenth main installment in the FF series and the first title released on sixth-generation consoles. It was also the first game to feature…
If there’s one sound that instantly packs me with nostalgia, it’s the quiet swell of “To Zanarkand” from Final Fantasy X. Apparently, Japanese gamers agree: FFX just topped a massive survey (almost 4,700 respondents!) as the most tear-jerking RPG of all time. When Denfaminicogamer published their poll results, it was like a flashback hit the whole RPG community-everyone suddenly remembering those gut-wrenching scenes that made them reach for the tissues. But why does FFX, of all the iconic tearjerkers, still hit so damn hard two decades on?
Let’s get straight to the rankings. If you’ve been around the JRPG scene, you’ll recognize every name in this top 10. There aren’t many surprises-unless you count just how consistently Nojima’s games make the cut:
The fact that most of these are household names tells you how much mainstream JRPGs have shaped the emotional vocabulary of Japanese gamers. When a story leaves you ugly-crying in front of your save screen, you know it’s struck a chord.
This isn’t just about sad moments-it’s about how FFX’s atmosphere is steeped in melancholia from the outset. Everything from the watercolors of Spira to the gentle heartbreaks tucked into every character’s story arc primes us for loss. Veteran fans still get misty-eyed thinking about that ending, and it’s not just nostalgia talking—the emotional crescendo hits as hard now as it did on PS2.
The wild thing is, both FFX and Crisis Core share a common thread: Kazushige Nojima’s pen. His reaction to the poll was pretty wholesome, sharing, “I’m delighted. I worked on #1, #2, #24, #33, and also #10. There’s nothing more gratifying than knowing that my past work remains etched in the hearts of those who played, even after so many years.” Not everyone’s ready to forgive him for certain character deaths, but you’ve got to respect a writer who can haunt us this thoroughly, decade after decade.
It’s interesting that newer games like Dragon Quest XI sit right alongside classics like Mother 3 and Suikoden II. The poll isn’t just a nostalgia trip—it’s proof that even modern RPGs can devastate players with the right emotional beats. Persona 3’s spot in the top three is very telling, too. It was the first of Atlus’ series to really lean into existential themes and mortality, something that clearly resonated beyond just a single generation of fans.
From a Western perspective, I always find the love for games like Okami and Mother 3 a little underappreciated—Mother 3 especially, since it never officially released overseas. But ask any fan who tracked down a translation, and they’ll tell you: some heartbreaks just cut universally deep, language barrier or not.
Gamers talk about replayability, graphics, and gameplay mechanics all day, but nothing lingers like a good emotional gut punch. This list is more than just trivia—it’s a reminder of how much narrative still matters in RPGs, even as open world checklists and live-service mechanics try to crowd out story-first design. If Square Enix or Atlus ever forget that, rankings like this are the wake-up call: give us stories that matter, or be forgotten.
As for me, I’ll never stop holding a grudge against some of Nojima’s most agonizing plot twists—but I’ll never forget them, either. That’s the real mark of an RPG legend, and seeing thousands of other Japanese fans agree just proves it’s not just me clinging to memory.
Japanese RPG fans put Final Fantasy X at the top of their “most tear-jerking” list for good reason—its blend of melancholy, character loss, and iconic music still devastates players decades later. The lesson? In RPGs, emotional storytelling never goes out of style.
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