Yakuza 7 and five other amazing RPGs that take place in modern-day

#3. Parasite Eve

Oh hey, it’s the only game on this list that features a protagonist old enough to have graduated high school! There is just something about kids and saving the world that Japanese RPG developers really love to visit over and over and over again.

But yes instead of kids who go to school, in Parasite Eve you play as detective Aya Brea, one of only two survivors of a horrible mysterious catastrophe. The other survivor turned into a monster and fled. You must track down what is going on, why you didn’t change and put a stop to the whole thing.

The most striking thing about Parasite Eve is that it’s a modern-day RPG from what we know today as Square Enix, but back then was Squaresoft. The company pretty much made its bones on games with high-fantasy concepts and settings. There might be a mix of old fantasy and future aesthetic (especially in say Final Fantasy VII) but Parasite Eve is really the only time Square delved into making an RPG that took place in any sort of modern setting. And it was a great game if a little on the short side.

Unfortunately, two rather underwhelming sequels kinda killed the series but you can still buy it on PSN for your PS3 or Vita. You still have at least one of those, right? Well, maybe it’ll get an HD release sometime as Square Enix seems pretty fond of those.