Just this week NIS America invited us to London to demo their lineup of titles for 2026 – and let me tell you, they have the year locked up with new JRPGs. From new entries in long-running series to re-releases with additional content, from bitesize action RPGs to turn-based throwbacks, from politically charged space races to…operas in hell? Well, let’s say you really have to see that one to appreciate it.
We’ve played them all, and we’ve got some thoughts to share so that you can gauge if these are gonna scratch that JRPG itch for you in 2026. If something sounds awesome, bung it on that Wishlist so that you don’t forget it, and let’s get started.
Etrange Overlord
Announced just this last week and the answer to the question of Operas in Hell is Etrange Overlord. This is the new release from Disgaea creator Sohei Niikawa and it’s also set in hell – hey the guy has a very specific inspiration. You play as Étrange von Rosenburg, that sassy chibi in the red dress, who is falsely accused of assassinating the king and executed. She wakes in hell and being such a sassy force of nature decides to fight back, enslave the demons of the underworld and take over!
Etrange Overlord is a bonkers game filled with bonkers ideas, but its got a pretty high charm factor as well. Etrange and the few dozen characters you’ll collect as you take over hell – well, they all like to sing. Like in an opera or musical, they will just spontaneously burst into song, often to do a bit of infodumping exposition or to cap off a successful boss battle. There’s also a musical sushi conveyer belt mechanic in battle, where you can grab powers ups.
We played it, and can tell you its also pretty bitesize – as in there’s an openworld to explore of drive around, but encounters are played out like a mobile game in stages with cutscenes, battle and then back to the world again. The battles are an odd mix of Vampire Survivors and twin stick shooter grafted on to an action JRPG. We liked the charming characters and fun Disgaea-like humour, and hopefully the whole package will be a fun time all round come release.
Starbites
The surprise of the showing has to be Starbites. A turn-based JRPG with all the style and heart of Star Ocean, crossed with fun mecha combat of something like Xenoblade. Starbites is a science fiction JRPG set on the desert planet of Bitter (don’t think Arrakis or Tatooine – think more like Mad Max) where war in space has left a world covered in junk. But junk is good for building motorbots out of. A young salvager called Rey, sorry Lukida, wants to escape the planet and when she finds a large motorbot she and her allies might finally have the chance.
Character designs are somewhere between anime and western styles, with a fair bit of the cutesier side of Star Ocean characters, with the more salvager chic of Star Wars. We played a small section of dungeon (which was full of fun retro PS1 and PS2 style looping back and colour coded keys) where we could try out the turn-based battles and then go for a boss. The battles were lots of fun, full of fun animations, tons of abilities and a system called Driver’s High where you got a double damage boost after a few rounds of attacks.
I especially liked little details; every character must attack in a lavish over the top animation, attacks types have icon and colour coded weaknesses that were really clear on enemies, there were break states on the boss where we could then really go to town. With a fun adventure narrative, a great group of allies to have it with, old school sensibilities and a turn-based mech battle system, Starbites is one JRPG not to miss in the year ahead.
Trails Beyond the Horizon
If you know the Trails series, then I don’t need to advertise this, you are already on board. If you don’t then starting with game number 13 in the series might not be the best spot. Trails Beyond the Horizon is part 3 of the Calvard arc, which started with Trails Through Daybreak, and this one continues after Daybreak II – this is basically Daybreak III but has a fair bit of crossover of characters and parties, a bit like a Reverie II. Jean Schwarzer is back, as is Kevin Graham, alongside the ace Arkride Solutions team from Daybreak.
It’s being billed as the last part before the final arc of games – which we haven’t seen yet. As such a lot is coming together in this title. Almost every system of battle that Trails has ever had is in this game, every option you had in Daybreak and Daybreak II plus a fair few more. It can mean unprecedented options, but it can also mean there’s just dozens of controls and things to learn and it can become a lot. We played a little Arkride Solutions 4SPG investigation around town and then went off to a field dungeon and a boss in a forest outside town. The boss was formidable, but with all these culminating systems, there really was no end to the moves you could just keep pulling out.
Trails Beyond the Horizon seems to have the future of the whole continent at stake. The government is launching its first space program (which of course no one will interfere with in this world with at least 6 different evil villain organisations), Van and team are involved in manoeuvres with the Marduk corporation, Rean Schwarzer and Kevin Graham both feel the need to come to Calvard and have their own arcs within this game, making it three intertwining stories in one, and we guarantee, that probably only covers the first chapter. We can’t wait.
Trails Beyond the Horizon has a release date, and it’s 15th January 2026 on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Ys X: Proud Nordics
Finally, Ys is back. Ys X will already be familiar to anyone who follows the series, as it came out last year, a fantastic entry that found Adol awash Vikings, with ship combat to give Black Flag a run for its money. This is a re-release with a new name and a bunch of new features. There’s improved graphics and quality of life systems, a new puzzle magic system, but most importantly a brand new 8-10 hour narrative section on a new island in the game – like a story DLC. The extra section features a seamlessly built-in chapter of the story with new characters, that then becomes part of the rest of the story, making Ys X: Proud Nordics the definitive version of the game.
We’ve played it, and can confirm that otherwise, most of the base game remains intact, as does the feel and moves etc. We’ll have to hope Proud Nordics keeps our appetites whetted until the next instalment in the long-running series is announced. Slated for Early 2026 rather than a full release window as yet, Ys X: Proud Nordics is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 as well as PlayStation 5.
As you can see, NIS America really has got us JRPG-lovers covered, at least for a good portion of the year. Check back with Finger Guns in the months ahead for reviews of the games mentioned. And for everything direct from NIS America, try here – https://www.nisamerica.com/games
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