Blue Dragon is the story of five friends that are determined to save their world. When purple clouds appear in the sky, they signal the coming of disaster and death for everyone, often led by a giant creature called the Land Shark. But when Shu, Kluke, and Jiro learn that the Land Shark is actually a machine controlled by someone named Nene, they know they must defeat him to save the rest of the world. It won't be easy, though, as Nene has a giant army of powerful robots, but aided by their friends the trio is determined to succeed and get rid of the purple clouds once and for all! Using a new magical ability that has transformed their shadows into powerful warriors, they might just stand a chance.

The Final Fantasy series was created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and he also made the base design and created the plot for Blue Dragon. Gameplay in Blue Dragon is based on exploring a world and fighting in turn-based battles, just like Final Fantasy. Also similar is that the world map is mostly made up of two different types of areas - towns and dungeons. Finally, while You control a party in battles, only one character is viable when moving across the map. It's a simple recipe for creating a role-playing game, and both Blue Dragon and Final Fantasy follow it well. The actual fights and how to start a battle differ between the titles, but it's obvious when playing one game that some of the same people were involved in making both. If you're looking for another fantasy game with these basic RPG elements creating the gameplay, Blue Dragon is a great follow-up to Final Fantasy!

Dragon Quest is a role-playing game at its simplest. You take the role of a hero whose name you decide, and travel through an open world fantasy land with very little restriction on where you can go - other than the increasing difficulty of the enemies, of course! The land of Alefgard had been protected by the Ball of Light for a long time, which promoted peace and prosperity until it was stolen by the Dragonlord. Later, the Dragonlord also kidnapped Princess Gwaelin! It's you as the hero's job to defeat the bad guy, rescue the princess, and restore light to the kingdom. All in a day's work for an RPG hero, right?

Dragon Quest is even older than Final Fantasy, so it is very simple by today's gameplay standards. But if you enjoy trying another classic and missed this game in the 1980s it's worth checking - as are its modern equivalents, just like Final Fantasy. The encounters in both games are random, with the fighting done in a turn-based style. Both games also have a fantasy setting and a similar goal of saving the kingdom from darkness and restoring peace. They both feature a world map to move around on, along with dungeons and cities. And to move on, you had better do some experience grinding first! If you're really looking for another game like Final Fantasy to play, Dragon Quest is one of the closest. And you'll be happy to find many newer titles in the series as well!

Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a science fiction role-playing game. It takes place after the outbreak of World War III destroys most of the surface of the earth, and forces what remains of its population underground. While these end times did bring a cease-fire to the war, humanity needs somewhere else to live. You take the role of Edge Maverick, a young man who is a member of the secret Space Reconnaissance Force. It's an organisation sent into space to try to find a suitable planet to relocate the remaining humans too. Their mission has a rough start when they run into a meteor shower, though - but that's only the beginning of Edge's story as they explore the galaxy in search of a new haven for humankind!

Star Ocean: The Last Hope is another Square Enix role-playing game, so you can already expect similarities to Final Fantasy from that knowledge alone. And indeed, it delivers with random encounters and fights that take place in a separate battle screen from the map, a party system to control your allies, and the ability to travel to a variety of different places. You can travel across the galaxy map by controlling your ship, giving exploring a freer feeling than simple linear gameplay. Your relationship with your fellow party members is important - development and personality were given to more than just the main character, making the story more meaningful and the characters more believable. Final Fantasy has a more medieval fantasy theme while Star Ocean is science fiction, but despite the genre difference the games can't help but feel similar.

Ni no Kuni starts off with tragedy as young Oliver, the story's playable hero, loses his mother. But aided by a magical fairy named Drippy he travels into a parallel magical world with the hope of finding his mother there - and that she might still be alive that he can save her and be with her again. But this world, while it may be beautiful, is being threatened by a dark force named Shadar. And Oliver's mother is somehow connected to the sorcerer! To find her, he must first find Shadar - and maybe he can save the world from darkness in the process!

Ni no Kuni is a mix between having a turn based battle system and an action based system. Each battle takes you to a separate battle screen away from the main map, much like Final Fantasy, and actions are performed simply by touching a button rather than "button mashing." However don't expect the enemy to wait for you to make your attack, and you can still control your character on the battlefield! Like Final Fantasy, Ni no Kuni is heavily dependent on a party system, so be sure that your friends are well-equipped and trained, too, because each one has special strengths and abilities to use in battles. And you can freely change who you control when you're fighting! Ni no Kuni also utilises a giant world map that you can travel on, and then enter smaller areas like cities which change the viewpoint and style of gameplay, very similar to how Final Fantasy works. And the more you play, the more freely and easily you can travel across the map! And let's not forget the well-written story and deep characters that make both Final Fantasy and Ni no Kuni unforgettable games you can really lose yourself in the world of.

The setting of Lost Odyssey is a fantasy world where magic is becoming more and more commonplace and changing society. It has been harnessed to develop new technology, which is good for humanity - until it lets the warring nations of Gohtza and Uhra create magical weapons of mass destruction. Meanwhile, the nation of Numara tries to remain neutral, but it's hard with a war all around you to do so. You play as Kaim, an "immortal" who has lost all of his memories. Alongside other immortals and warriors, he finds himself in the middle of the war and trying to negotiate peace between the different nations. But just who are the immortals? And what will they learn when they regain their memories? Whatever it is, it's sure to affect the outcome of the war, and thus the fate of humanity along with it.

Lost Odyssey shares many similar gameplay elements with Final Fantasy. You can expect to have random encounters with enemies, travel across the lands using a world map, and fight with turn-based battles. You also play as another male warrior while controlling the rest of your party through a tactical battle system, just like Final Fantasy. The fantasy setting is also similar - and of course, so is the plot line of saving the world and bringing back peace and light! And finally, if that wasn't enough to convince you that Lost Odyssey is a perfect game for Final Fantasy fans, the music is all composed by Nobuo Uematsu - the famous composer for Final Fantasy, too! If you want to play a modern version of Final Fantasy, without just playing a newer title of the same series, play Lost Odyssey!

Kingdom Hearts is a crossover between Disney and Square Enix, meaning it is full of characters owned by both of these companies. The story centres on Sora, a boy who is separated from his friends Riku and Kairi when their home is invaded by creatures called the Heartless. While trying to fight them, Sora discovers he can wield a mysterious weapon called a Keyblade. Sora thus begins an incredible journey to stop the Heartless and find his friends. He fights alongside Donald Duck and Goofy who are searching for King Mickey, who is also a Keyblade wielder. Kingdom Hearts takes the trio through a variety of Disney worlds on many adventures together to try to save their friends and keep the Heartless from destroying the hearts of these worlds.

Like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts is just the first chapter in a series that spreads across multiple platforms, so if you fall in love with this series you'll have plenty of games to play. Kingdom Hearts differs from Final Fantasy by having an action based, hack and slash fighting system rather than turn based. But Kingdom Hearts is literally full of Final Fantasy characters! You can expect to fight alongside some of your favourite heroes from later titles like Cloud and Squall, and face villains like Sephiroth. The characterisation and designs of Sora, Riku, and Kairi all follow a very Final Fantasy style themselves as well. If you enjoy Final Fantasy for its characters, massive storyline, and the fight between good and evil following a main character who has plenty of room to grow and develop throughout the story - Kingdom Hearts is definitely the next title for you.