21 Best RPGs on Nintendo Switch 

Happened with XC3 last year, really does feel like TGA is just anti JRPG sometimes

Am I surprised? Not really…Am I disappointed? Yes

I wouldn’t get too upset about it. The game awards are mostly to stroke the egos of leaders in the industry. I find it pointless and a waste of energy trying to identify the best of the best. Just celebrate the awesomeness of games for the year. That’s all I want. Competition breeds toxicity far too often.

@@DonkThikkness Oh, yeah, don't get emotionally attached to it or anything, it's just pretty much proven in my mind that the only thing TGA is good for is sporadic new trailers or reveals. The actual awards are biased as hell.

@@TaliesinMyrddinyeah I’m really only there for the trailers and cringe moments.

Thanks very useful

Another small thing is that you don't even have to go nearby and pick up any materials or other items when you take an tree, stem or other things down. It gives it to you right this instant.

Not to mention having an actual symphonic soundtrack instead of the awful midi one ‘cause of Sugiyama. The difference between Hotto in the original 11 and 11S is pretty much night and day.

​@amirgarcia547 Yeah. Surprised nobody mentioned that.

I also heard that Dragon Quest 11 S has no random encounters too, but they apparently kinda fucked up the story and especially the characters' growth in Act 3.

@@Loner098 11S has no random encounters, unless you turn on the retro RPG setting (I forget what it was called), where it basically changes the game to be more like say, Dragon Quest III, another fan favorite Dragon Quest game. btw, the "mermaid" arc of 11S, just broke me, I cried so much during it's conclusion, for reasons I cannot say, as it'd be spoiling it

I really want Ring Fit Adventure now 🤣

The three Xenoblade games actually have some ties with each other, something very few JRPG attempt. While still being different games. I know little about the franchise though. I played only a decent portion of Xenoblade 1, my friends heavily discouraged me from buying and playing Xenoblade 2, and Xenoblade 3 I haven't gotten around to buying because there's so many games getting released that have my attention and therefore I cannot afford buying Xenoblade 3. I do know though, that characters in Xenoblade 3 have ties to Rex and the "Blades" he loves.

Xenoblade had the worst battle system ever! If it had a better battle system then I see it higher on the charts

@@redcrimson1028 the battle system isn't bad, it's just not for you, and that's okay

@@MoonStaysServing not gonna argue with you about a game that has a terrible battle system

Vouch!

I was expecting a decent time. What I got was a freaking fantastic time.

@@klop4228 hell yeah!

Genuinely fantastic RPG that is best played portably. The Switch gives it even more of a Paper Mario descendant vibe! Stamp of approval!

I grew up with the original Paper Mario on 64, but I feel like I'm kind of an outlier in that I think it's just kind of okay. I think that PM64 and to some degree TTYD get a bit too much nostalgia goggling towards them. So I gave Bug Fables a try expecting to get a game aimed at that nostalgia that wouldn't quite resonate with me the way it did for others. What I got was something so much more than that. This game, in my opinion, out-Paper Marios Paper Mario. Leif is my favorite character in just about any game. And the music just straight up slaps. I can't recommend it enough, especially if you like the classic Papes more than I do.

Same 👍👍

Hey... that's what I was going to say...

Sucked.

Couldn’t have done it better myself! You were correct to not put a single Final Fantasy game on this list.

Nine Final Fantasys, from the beginning, or just haphazardly?

@@klop4228 1 through 9 so far. I play 16 in between them.

@@tfsoul6384 Ah, I see! Well, enjoy the last few! You're past my personaly favourite now (IX), but there are some gems in the next few too. My personal no.s 2 and 3, for example :P

@@klop4228 I played IX when I was very young and it was always my favorite, and still is. I didn’t really like VIII too much but I stuck it out. Out of the original six, I really enjoyed III, IV & VI. And VII is VII, its neck and neck with IX for favorite.

​​@@tfsoul6384DQ11 is an fantastic starting point to those that never played the series or RPG games in general. It's simple, easy to understand, stays traditional and not being overcomplicated or telling in an shakespear way of an story. But it still delivers an good challenge, interesting worlds to explore and the story telling does an perfect blend of lighthearted and serious tones. Alot of RPG games don't follow that these days. So I'm happy DQ11 sticks with that and gives people an shit who never played this type of game.

Dragon quest 11 is one of the most generic chosen hero save the world, basic brain dumb game I have ever played . I felt like a baby when playing there's so much hand holding

@@prince_warhero person enjoys game. You: nah it sucks. Don’t do that shit.

@@Bornagainvillain i never said anyone not to enjoy anything. for all that person wants they can even enjoy eating shit and i dont care, but it will still be shit though

@@prince_warhero Hey, don't be a jerk about something you don't like, that other people do like. Nobody asked for you to smack-talk about a game. You don't see me smack talk, say, Dark Souls, for being unfair and having grim-looking graphics. I swear most people on this planet are like children when it comes to things they don't like. Even adults act immature in that way when a topic is brought up they don't like. There really are evils within the hearts of every human, just some of us know better and suppress those inner evils. I swear, the world would be a better place if someone could "change the hearts" of corrupted humans, like Persona 5's Phantom Thieves of Hearts can.

@@zigazav1 you sound like a weeb haha. If other people like it why care about my opinion, internet is a place to voice our opinion be it positive/negative. you sound like a snowflake who only wants to be within a positive echo chamber. if you hear only what you want and dont think people should have different opinions i suggest you stay off the internet. and yes i totally agree dark souls is unfair and grim looking there is nothing wrong for you to say that opinion of yours

Agreed!

I tried the demo and already the music was so cringe i deleted right away >

Chained Echos is fun. It was definitely inspired by Xenogears. Not nearly as deep, but I still like the take. Honestly though, not even the Xenoblade games are as deep as Xenogears.

Next year we've got Fantasy Life i, Deca Police, Tokyo Xanadu, Oath in Felghana, Paper Mario, Ys X, and possibly Dragon Quest 3 remake coming. And who knows what else will be announced. The future is bright.

A sequel to TMS is one of my dream games... really loved the vibes of the first one, so expanding on that with a new story would bring me so much joy

I wish they would give this IP another chance. Sure, the whole vibe and aesthetic is VASTLY different than anything anyone would expect from FE x SMT but it´s still just so FUN! And the soundtrack is great due to the idol theme.

Can’t wait for unicorn overlord. Easily my most anticipated release for 2024. Man, I dream of the day when every single VW game is on switch.

The plot, graphics, music and battle system makes that game so amazing.

The story of 13 Sentinels is just mind-blowing. I still can't grasp how it can juggle so many different concepts in a single game and still somehow mange to make it work perfectly. Never played a game like it. It probably has one of my favorite video game stories of all time. Of course the beautiful art style, the great music and the relatively fun and stimulating combat just add to the overall package.

Yes but it doesn’t belong to this list. It is not an rpg.

Yeah it's a great game👍

I actually have played a few Ys games, Origins, Memories of Celceta and 8 Was so close to making it on

That’s cool, an unenviable task but great to see your favourites - might have to give Harvestella a try as I feel shamed that I kind of ignored it 😬

Would also give Tales of Symphonia another shot. Most of the issues have been fixed.

​@@RawPower867, what issues did it have? And what had been fixed?

@@stripedrajang3571 Framerate issues, black backgrounds during menus and skits, loss of battle transitions, color palettes, missing dialogue. Most of that has been fixed, except for the missing dialogue stuff.

*High Fives* Glad to see another NEO TWEWY enjoyer in these comments ^_^ This was also my 2021 GOTY, with The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles being a close second.

​@GentlemanGamer94 man neo world ends with you is a master piece. I put in over 200 hours and 100 percent it. The story line was spectacular

@@michaelmacorso4479 it was! The story of Rindo and friends gripped me and kept me hooked till the end 🙂 who was your favorite character?

@@GentlemanGamer94 I love all the characters. I would say Beat but man when Neku came during the last week hard to top him. Such a brilliant game that deserves to get the recognition it deserves.

@@michaelmacorso4479 great choices! 😁 And agreed. I hope it gets more recognition in the years to come 🙂

I just downloaded Persona 5 , i love the anime theme and what not and honestly it has been a series i wished i could play since i was a teenager but never had the means to buy the console or the game. Now that i own a switch i tried it and honestly so much dialogue i dropped one hour in, i’ll get back to it eventually but not with being swarmed with work and what not. Is SMT5 less dialogue heavy? I remember it having an online game years ago where you had to capture demons and fuse them which i really liked it but i remember it being action not turn based. Id like to try SMT5 but im worried about long winded dialogues and long battle sequences.

@@Dee-yj1im While it does have dialogue, I think it’s less so than Persona 5. I love SMTV, you should try it out if you can.

@@CamDaGR8X i just started playing it yesterday and i am loving it! I love the atmosphere and fact it doesn’t swarm you with text and cut scenes, but it really is so grindy and im wondering if i should keep playing.

@@Dee-yj1im If you really need it, there’s DLC to help with EXP and other grinding by increasing the rare Mitama enemies.

@@CamDaGR8X thanks! I have the dlc , honestly its just that with work barely have spare time so don’t want to spend unnecessary time wasted on grinding exp.

This and Trails from Zero/Trails to Azure definitely deserve a place on lists like this.

A friend of mine really wants me to play the Trails games

@@LucasThePhantomThief Your friend is a smart person. You should listen to them. They know what they are talking about. ;)

its a big franchise, but if you want to have a taste testing, I would definitely recommend getting Trails in the Sky First Chapter and Second Chapter on Steam during sales. They get pretty cheap during that time and its definitely worth the price. If you from there think, you like the games, then go for it. I wish the first 3 game would come to switch to but the Sky Trilogy is for some reason on Steam locked. Anyway if your willing to try yourself on this Franchise then, I wish you fun on your journey.@@LucasThePhantomThief

@@LucasThePhantomThief Your friend has great taste! Although it´s for sure a commitment, and a bit daunting to get into a series with 10+ games that all contribute to an overarching narrative but it´s so worth it.

@@Beny763 It isn't daunting at all if you think about it like this: A new player can play one of the games, and if they like it, they can play another one. And if they didn't like it, then they can just say it isn't for them and stop. Or if they did like it, but don't really see the point in playing any more... then that is fine too. There is no need to commit to the entire series just because there is an entire series to play. =P

Trails series is to RPGs what Jesus is to religion and not everyone realizes they even exist.. They basically have soap opera elements in that they are interlinked and you always wanna see what happens with the next installment

@@Mintcar923 when we finally get to the final game and the big boss at the end is about to kill us and we hear " not so fast!" as 80 characters slowly run in to our aid.

@@MexicanSunnyD 👍

​@@Mintcar923I'm a big Trails fan, but I can understand how it's so intimidating to start this game series. Especially now because there is a LOT of them. Also the fandom is sadly quite toxic.

@@Terranigma23 Well it seems more like a cult following.. Not everyone knows about the series but the ones that do are usually very passionate.. Almost like Disgaea in a way.. It was recommended to me being a Suikoden fan actually.. I started with Cold Steel 1.. Although some disagree I think it’s entirely possible to start where I did and follow what’s going on for the most part

It’s hard to explain why i like Engage more when all i got is: i just had more fun playing it Xenoblade 3 is easily better in my eyes. I still really like Xenoblade 2 but it’s problems are really hard to ignore sometimes. XC3 in the gameplay department just had less of that bullshit that annoyed me.

Xenoblade 3 is my favorite of the series thus far, for story characters and gameplay, although Xenoblade 1 feels the tightest in execution.

As someone who played three houses after engage, I think one game makes up for the other, engage's gameplay is simply fantastic, stupidly fun, with good visuals but a very simple story, while three houses has the best story and maybe the best ost, but the gameplay is one of the worst I've ever played in a tactical rpg, it has so many weak points that halfway through my first route, I wished it had a visual novel mode, where I could only experience the story

In 3 houses i was able to establish a relantionship with the characters, but in engane that didn't happen.... there are too many to choose from and there is no story to engage. 3 houses is one of the best games ever.

I hope you continue to have great RPG experiences speaking as someone who Persona also got them more into the role playing genre

Is the game good on the switch? I got it for ps4 and I've been thinking of getting it for the switch

I’ve put like 200 hours into XC2 and XC3 each last year

​@LucasThePhantomThief if I didn't hit the level cap in xenoblade 3 I would of put in over 300 hours The side quest and hero missions were brilliant I wanted to do all of them.

Only played CE:Overdose. But I’ve listened to the OST for 2. The vibe is just as good as it was in overdose.

Nintendo Handhelds have always been RPG powerhouses though. N64 and Gamecube might have lacked back then but GBC, GBA, DS and 3DS got tons of RPGs.

The Switch is also an indie game platform, so many Indie games gets released on Switch, in addition to big developers/publishers' games

@dukemon6163 I should've specified home console, as big RPGs skipped Nintendo's contemporary current gen platforms. N64, GC, Wii, Wii U, all were extremely limited in RPGs. The SNES era was the best we got. Handheld gaming played 2nd fiddle. The GBA getting Final Fanasty ports wasn't quite as impactful as the PS2 getting Final Fantasy 10-12

do you know what the first song is?

@melonious Sadly I was skipping through the video so didn't notice it.

The fan favorite Azure is on Switch though, yeah? That should be enough, though the series has been attracting plenty of new eyes over the last few years so I can't complain.

Xenoblade 2 is very good but a lot of little things that annoyed me added up and that’s why i slightly prefer 3 cuz it has less of that

@@LucasThePhantomThief that’s totally fair, XC2 has it share of problems that I acknowledge. XC3 was close to surpassing it to become my favorite too but I found the story and characters to not be as impactful as 2 was, imo.

@@NoonDragoonThe biggest weakness XC3 has for me is the soundtrack i like a few tracks but the rest is very forgettable i think it’s over reliant on atmospheric tracks especially for exploration for my liking. 1 and 2 definitely got better tunes overall imo.

Finally finished replaying Torna yesterday, streaming for a friend who hasn't seen it before. Still teared me up, and got my friend, too

@@TaliesinMyrddinSomeone: Ever cried over the fate of a character you get to know in a DLC story a quarter the length of the main game Lora exists Me: Yes 😢

The game is good, but there's is alkt of indie game that good too

How is the loading time of the first Ryza game on the Switch ?

Last I played of Ryza 1, the loading times didn’t damper or hinder my experience all the way through, They were fine imo.

I can’t believe someone mentioned this gem! I can’t agree more. Gusts Atelier games are good too.

Something that I like about Gust and their games is the OST for some of their releases. Blue Reflection series & The Nights of Azure series of games have some of my favorite OST’s of all time, of course can’t ignore the Atelier series and it’s wonderful OST as well. Still wish KT would port over the 1st entry to both BR & NoA series on switch to experience them on the go but oh well

@@09alltimelowI like Atelier too but the crafting stresses me out sometimes because I don’t always know what I’m doing, lol. I appreciate that BR:SL had a simpler version of it.

@@maroXUprisingYeah, Hayato Asano is the composer for BR and he’s a genius, some of the best music I’ve ever heard, still listen to it all the time years later. And yeah, I would love ports for BR1 and KoA, especially the latter as I missed out on it and secondhand copies are expensive now.

@intrepid1160 Same here. Every so often I tend to retread some of the OST for BR, along with other JRPG’s like Caligula Effect:overdose, Monark, Crystar & very recently Crymachina. I’d definitely pick up BR 1 & NoA 1 in a heartbeat if they were brought to switch. Oh yeah, it’s hard to find a new copy of NoA bride of the new moon without it being super expensive…I hate how secondhand sellers for switch versions of these types of games are insane sometimes. The downside with the switch version of NoA2 is the framerate, it’s the least optimized version which is all the more reason why it would be awesome if KT would do like a NoA collection like how they’ve been doing for most of the Atelier re-releases lately. I definitely still enjoyed my experience with the game even with the technical problems, plus…the character designs for NoA2 is just perfection…shame we’ll never get to see a new entry…especially considering modern day, censorship would definitely happen…ah well, I am glad that Gust gave us BR second light, such a Fantastic sequel well deserving of more people to experience it.

Yes

We need more people to come out to support neo. Man that game was beautiful, the story, music, combat and fan service .

DQ11 is an fantastic starting point to those who never played the series or RPG games in general. It's simple, easy to understand and not as overbearing, overcomplicated and not too much dramatize; yet still delivers fair challenge, interesting worlds and the story telling is balanced between lighthearted & serious tones. So it's great you started there and see the kinds that makes the series or any RPG games that takes inspiration from so unique.