Though Nintendo’s handhelds have no shortage of quality RPGs, the same can’t be said about their home consoles. While there have been some real gems over the decades, the Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Wii were all lacking in this department. That all changed, of course, when Nintendo’s handheld and home console output combined into one with the Switch, giving players the most variety and choice in RPGs in Nintendo history. Here’s our list of ten RPG must-plays every Switch owner should check out first.
10. Triangle Strategy
Triangle Strategy has a slow burn introduction, but stick with it, and you’ll find yourself a challenging strategy RPG gem with a grounded yet incredibly enthralling story about resource wars, religious persecution and racism, and the many difficult decisions a leader must face during wartime.
Though Triangle Strategy’s gameplay will be familiar to fans of Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, it features twists of its own to stand out from the crowd. Rather than MP or breakable weapons, characters’ skills rely on Tactical Points, which slowly recharge each turn. Things like the environment and the position a unit is facing is also key to victory, as characters can do things like strike from behind for more damage and use elemental magic to alter the battlefield.
But what happens outside of combat is equally important — during exploration and cutscenes, the actions and dialogue choices taken by protagonist Serenoa affect three stats called Utility, Liberty, and Morality. These come into play when his army faces a difficult decision; these moments all come down to a vote, and Serenoa can influence party members’ decisions in his favor by making the correct arguments and having a strong enough conviction in each category. These decisions take the story in wildly different directions, adding a lot of replayability to one of the Switch’s most overlooked gems — let’s be honest, it’s probably the name.
9. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
After the Paper Mario series entered an incredibly divisive era with the release of Sticker Star on the 3DS, a return to form seemed like a pipe dream, much less a remake of the series’s most beloved entry. But it happened, and the Switch was graced with a gorgeous visual uplift for Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
This release, while faithful to the original, remakes the visuals from the ground up, with an art style reminiscent of modern entries. And while it implements a variety of quality of life features, like a streamlined fast travel system and faster partner switching, The Thousand Year Door at its core has aged incredibly well, with a battle system that feels snappy and streamlined to this day.
The story sees Mario and some new allies travel the world for the Crystal Stars to unlock the titular door, while fending off the threat of an organization called the X-Nauts. It strikes a good balance between humor and a darker, more serious tone, avoiding later games’ overreliance on paper-related gags and gimmicks to move its story and combat forward.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was a classic in 2004, and it’s still a classic now in 2024 — one that’s a must play for those looking to appreciate Mario’s history in the RPG genre. But best of all: it’s killed off this ridiculous pricing in one fell swoop.
8. Pokémon Legends: Arceus
In spite of the rough and lackluster visuals (which are still miles better than Scarlet & Violet), Pokémon Legends: Arceus manages to be the best game the series has seen in over a decade, with some of Game Freak’s boldest innovations for the franchise.
In place of the usual structure, Legends is an open-world adventure that has players braving the wilds of Hisui — Sinnoh in the distant past — to research and catch its Pokémon. But these wild creatures won’t just hop out and then politely wait for you to send out your own Pokémon — they’re liable to attack you on sight, and there’s a real risk of getting injured and knocked out. The use of things like crafted tools and Pokéballs — and even stealth — are necessary to survive in this dangerous new world.
The overhauled combat features an order of upcoming turns in a list, and the moves you use — and the styles with which you use them — can influence that turn order. Combined with the removal of held items and abilities and seamless transitions into and out of battle, it makes for a fast paced and satisfying combat system that’s honestly the kind of change this series has been craving.
Pokémon Legends, despite the wonky performance and graphics, is an absolute treat to play, and a welcome breath of fresh air for the series. We can only hope that the upcoming Pokémon Legends Z-A can match what Arceus achieved while improving on the technical aspects.
7. The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure
Falcom’s Trails series has been slowly gaining recognition over the past decade, and rightfully so. These games are absolute gems, featuring a massive, sprawling story spread over more than a dozen games. And beyond the many amazing characters you’ll meet and the twists and turns they’ll endure, Trails is a masterclass in worldbuilding, with a level of attention to detail that puts even AAA games to shame.
Among the four story arcs released, the Crossbell arc is often regarded as the best in the series. Set in the titular autonomous state, Trails from Zero and its sequel Trails to Azure star a special police squad who have the unenviable task of helping repair the force’s reputation by aiding citizens with requests, on top of their usual work dealing with Crossbell City’s notorious criminal underworld.
Azure ups the stakes by putting a larger focus on international politics and ancient conspiracies. It’s an emotional peak that delves into themes like how far people are willing to go to save their country, and whether it’s a price worth paying for humanity at large.
Like the rest of the series, the game also features fantastic turn-based combat and an incredible soundtrack. But also like the rest of the series, it’s the storytelling that keeps fans coming back; this arc in particular inspired a level of passion that brings to mind the games’ themes of overcoming barriers, as a fan translation became the basis of the official English localization.
6. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem’s popularity has absolutely surged in the decade since Awakening revitalized the series, with Fire Emblem Fates and Fire Emblem Echoes going on to sell over a million each. It should be no surprise, then, that the series’s debut on Switch made an even bigger splash, drawing in tons of new fans.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses has players take the role of a mercenary-turned-professor tasked with teaching one of three potential classes in the art of war. Each of the three houses — the Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer — feature different students, and ultimately branch out into different storylines. Refreshingly, compared to the likes of Awakening and Fates, there’s a much bigger emphasis on worldbuilding and political intrigue — it’s a far more grounded war story than past Fire Emblem games, and the fantastic character development on some routes only serves to make it all even better.
Three Houses augments traditional Fire Emblem strategy gameplay with elements that fans of Persona might find familiar, with time management mechanics that have players planning out lectures and activities to improve students’ abilities. Even the series staple support conversations are recontextualized under this system, making them a tad reminiscent of Social Links.
Though this entry in the series is a bit lacking in the graphical department, especially in interior locations. everything else came together to produce something widely beloved, especially compared to the more divisive follow-up, Fire Emblem Engage. It’s still a good game, but does feel like a spin-off compared to this already classic Switch RPG.
5. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Dragon Quest XI S, like its predecessors, is a traditional JRPG that tells the story of a chosen hero rising to fight against evil. It’s a tale as old as Mario beating Bowser to death with a lead pipe, but this series has proven time and time again it’s not about the road you walk, but how you walk down it. In an era where everyone is pressured to add some big twist to their games, Dragon Quest XI remains confident in evoking the style of the classics, yet also pulling ahead of the competition due to sheer polish.
The late Akira Toriyama’s art style has always lent itself well to vibrant and colorful games, and Dragon Quest XI’s rendition brings to life the old school medieval fantasy that’s sure to evoke nostalgia in its players. Its cast of characters are also some of the series’s best — they may all be following the Luminary because it’s their destiny to fight alongside him, but it doesn’t stop them from all feeling like true companions, each of which have their own wants, needs, and worries.
With fantastic presentation, amazing voice acting, a smoother difficulty curve for beginners (and a hard mode for veterans), and numerous quality-of-life improvements, Dragon Quest XI S is truly the best place for newcomers to start the series — and it certainly helps that this definitive re-release adds a heap of new content, including the ability to play the entire game in a 2D mode reminiscent of SNES RPGs.
4. Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
Atlus has become rather infamous for continuing to use an updated re-release model even in the era of DLC expansions — first, they’ll release a new game, and then a few years down the line, follow it up with a new version that adds new quality-of-life features and a ton of new content. Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, however, is one of the few such re-releases that justifies this model with just how much it changes.
The original Shin Megami Tensei V was hailed as a fantastic post-apocalyptic turn-based RPG, filled with the challenge you would expect from the series. By that we mean it will try to beat you to death with a lead pipe. Its story, however, left a lot to be desired, with it feeling very rushed and underdeveloped.
Vengeance remedies this issue in an unusual way: by adding a completely new and separate campaign called the Canon of Vengeance. This path adds new major characters and greatly fleshes out existing ones, making for a much more satisfying experience. The Canon of Vengeance also almost completely diverges from the original plot (now rebranded as the Canon of Creation), as the new characters make unforeseen impacts on the story’s events.
This re-release also makes a massive amount of tweaks and changes to streamline the experience, such as being able to save anywhere. It elevates Shin Megami Tensei V from being a “good” RPG to one of the Switch’s best — and a must-play for Atlus fans and newcomers alike.
3. Octopath Traveler II
The original Octopath Traveler was an admirable attempt to meld classic RPG designs and styles with modern sensibilities. It featured gorgeous visuals, a satisfying turn-based combat system, customization with job classes, and a surprising amount of non-linear freedom. Where it failed, however, was in tying everything together narratively.
Octopath featured eight playable characters, of whom you picked one to start with, after which you’d go around recruiting the others and experiencing everyone’s stories. These eight travelers, however, never actually interact with each other during their respective storylines, as their interactions are saved for unvoiced Travel Banter scenes that can easily be missed. What’s more, the true final boss was hidden behind obscure side quests, and the lore revelations lacked any sense of emotional impact.
Octopath Traveler II, then, was everything that a sequel to that game needed to be. It addressed virtually all of the major flaws in those systems and storytelling structure. Travel Banter can no longer be permanently missed and occurs more frequently, and Crossed Paths chapters give the cast chances to actually interact on screen. Combined with better stories all-around and a much improved finale, this second outing is a polished experience that finally manages to reach true greatness.
And because Octopath Traveler II is set in a new continent with a new cast and set of stories, it’s the perfect place for newcomers to jump in and see the hype behind Square Enix’s line of HD-2D RPGs.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Following the success of Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii, Monolith Soft spent the next decade refining and expanding their craft — Xenoblade Chronicles X’s open-world pushed the Wii U to its limits, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 built itself on the original game’s story-focused structure, while adding a hefty amount of customization and strategy.
All of these prior entries were gems in their own right, but Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the culmination of Monolith Soft’s achievements and lessons learned so far. A more cohesive, polished art style and technical improvements make it one of the best looking games on Switch, while numerous quality-of-life enhancements address many of the series’ long standing issues.
The headlining acts, of course, are the massive and gorgeous open world, one of the best combat systems of the genre, and an incredible, emotional story that dives much deeper into philosophical territory than past entries. Even the side quests are some of the best in the series, and it’s all brought to life with absolutely stellar voice direction.
As far as Switch-exclusive RPGs go, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a crowning jewel — one that will also give you incredible bang for your buck, with over 200 hours’ worth of content, and that’s not even getting into the equally incredible DLC expansion Future Redeemed.
1. Persona 5 Royal
Fans had been begging for years for a Switch port of one of the greatest modern JRPGs of all time, which only intensified when Joker officially joined the playable roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Those dreams finally came true in 2022, when Atlus unleashed their stylish masterpiece for every modern platform to enjoy.
Like all of Atlus’s other updated re-releases, Persona 5 Royal adds lots of new quality-of-life features to streamline the experience, as well as new content in the form of new (and reworked) Confidants and an extra Palace in the third semester. Existing Palaces have also been reworked, with altered puzzles and additions to help navigation and make party SP management easier.
While these changes do make the overall game noticeably easier than the original, Persona 5 Royal is still effortlessly stylish, with a thrilling storyline that will hook many players struggling with modern societal issues. The new story arc in the third semester also forms a new emotional climax, and makes for a far better finale than the original ending.
To top it all off, not only does the game look and run great on Switch, but all DLC released for the PS4 version of Royal is included here for free. This is one of the best JRPGs of the generation, and should be your next stop if you have even the slightest interest in the genre. It’s the best Switch RPG there is, and we’re more than ready for Persona 6 on the Switch 2. Or 3. Or whenever it’s ready.
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