The Nintendo Switch has had a long life, and one genre of game that thrived on the system would be JRPGs. If you want to give it one last hurrah before Nintendo’s next system launches, here’s a list of ten of the best JRPGS you can get on it.
While there have been hundreds upon hundreds of JRPGs released for the Switch, this list is going to focus on original games that were released for the system, so no ports of older games from past generations like Final Fantasy VII or Baten Kaitos. Multi-platform games are going to be considered as well, but we’ll mostly factor in whether the game was originally released on the Switch and if the best version of the game was released on the Switch. So amazing games that have terrible ports, like Kingdom Hearts III, won’t be eligible because the definitive version mostly certainly isn’t on the Switch.
With that said, here are the ten best JRPGs on the Nintendo Switch, in alphabetical order!
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
When 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim launched on PS4 in 2020, it received a solid critical reception and sold around 300,000 units according to Atlus. In 2022, after the Switch port, sales managed to increase to the point where it sold over 1 million units. I’d like to think that it’s because of the Switch version of the game that 13 Sentinels garnered the commercial success that it did, thanks to the beautiful visuals that look great on the Switch both in docked and handheld mode.
The story of 13 Sentinels is absolutely superb and while the gameplay leaves a little bit to be desired, the differing perspectives of the cast and the ways the narrative twists and turns is something that needs to be seen to be believed. Sure, 13 Sentinels was a good game before it came to the Switch, but the Switch’s unique hardware made it a system-defining masterpiece.
Bravely Default II
In an era where JRPGs have a lot of modern conveniences to make them more approachable and easier, Bravely Default II is the perfect blend of both old-school difficulty and modern sensibilities. Bravely Default II expands on the job-based mechanics of the earlier games, but also upgrades the visuals of the series from the 3DS to the Switch, with certain environments looking highly impressive. There’s always a certain charm to a game with so many available jobs that it allows you to make party compositions and character builds that can break the game’s difficulty, but the risk-reward nature of the Brave and Default system adds even more complexity to even basic combat encounters. The series may have lost some notoriety over time, but don’t sleep on Bravely Default II.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of An Elusive Age
I’d like to think that it’s popular opinion by now that Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of An Elusive Age is the best Dragon Quest game, but nobody expected the definitive version of the game to be a timed exclusive on the Switch. Everything about the base game was still present, including the great gameplay and likable characters, but the presentation was made even better thanks to the orchestrated soundtrack and new 2D mode that makes the game look like a classic SNES game. Add in the portability that the Switch offers, and you have the best version of an already great game that found its home on the Switch.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem experienced a bit of a renaissance in the 2010s, and the culmination of that period was Fire Emblem: Three Houses. In addition to the strategy mechanics that the series is best known for, we got several sim elements where you taught the students that would eventually mature into your soldiers, naturally allowing you to explore Support Conversations in a much more natural way.
With four different campaigns to play through, each lasting dozens upon dozens of hours, there is so much content and replayability that you could spend months playing this and still have plenty to discover in Garreg Mach Monastery.
Live A Live
No one was expecting a full remake of Live A Live, but when it was announced at a 2022 Nintendo Direct, people went nuts. The original SNES game was a classic that was never localized in the West, so seeing a full remake that has you take control of eight different playable characters across generations and genres was a great bolster to the Switch’s JRPG library. It’s not a complicated game, with each of the initial seven chapters lasting an hour or two, but it all comes together masterfully in the final chapter which brings everyone together. It’s a cult classic for a reason, and now Westerners can finally see what the hype was all about.
Octopath Traveler
As the vanguard of Square Enix’s “HD-2D” push that gave us games like Live A Live and Dragon Quest III: HD-2D Remake, Octopath Traveler sold itself to audiences on its visuals alone. The sprite work present in the game is simply gorgeous and makes environments and character models really pop. Like Live A Live, players take on the role of eight different characters, each with their own story and motivations, but unlike its spiritual predecessor, these characters come together much earlier to form a larger and more interesting party of adventurers.
The Break and Boost system adds some interesting layers to combat, offering a balanced approach to combat and approaching enemy weaknesses. Both Octopath games are excellent, but if I had to choose only one, then the original game is slightly better for how fresh its mechanics feel.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Regardless of whether this game is considered more of a remake than a remaster, updating one the best GameCube RPGs for modern audiences is almost guaranteed to make Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door one of the best JRPGs on the Switch. The action-based commands that made the original game so engaging are back and it’s still fun after 20 years. But Nintendo didn’t just rest on their laurels when they brought The Thousand-Year Door to the Switch. They tweaked a few gripes from the original game to make it more convenient to play, as well as add a slew of new optional challenges that will make veteran Paper Mario fans sweat. Add in the game’s quirky sense of humor that still holds up after all this time, and you have a Switch JRPG that shouldn’t be slept on.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Pokemon was in desperate need of an evolution. With only a few exceptions, the franchise had remained stagnant in its mechanics and presentation for well over a decade. Pokemon Legends: Arceus was that evolution. With several massive areas to explore and a return to the “gotta catch ‘em all” mentality, Arceus made searching for new Pokemon fun in a way that the main games had difficulty capturing for several generations.
Pokemon battles were still present, including arguably the hardest fight in the entire series, but the risks this spin-off took were so well-received they overshadowed Scarlet and Violet’s attempt to replicate it. Plenty of Pokemon games came out on the Switch, but Legends: Arceus was the best.
Sea of Stars
The Switch was a beacon for Indie developers and games, and few received as much praise as Sabotage Studio’s Sea of Stars. Inspired by games like Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana, Sea of Stars excels with its moment-to-moment gameplay, where every decision the player makes can make or break a battle. The sprite work is excellent, the story is engaging and filled with some great emotional moments and set pieces that will stick with you for quite some time, and the music is just sensational. The best part about it? Sabotage Studio kept updating it even after it was released, adding in a three-player co-op campaign and creating a sizeable free piece of DLC. It is, by far, one of the most polished Indie games on the Nintendo Switch.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Over the course of the Switch’s life, the Xenoblade Chronicles series has slowly become Nintendo’s defacto RPG series for the system. With three mainline games on the system, including a remake of the original game, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is by far the most accessible game in the series. With plenty of job classes to choose from and a massive world to explore, players can and will become immersed in the world of Aionis to a degree that just wasn’t possible in either of the earlier games. Granted, the game arguably pushes the Switch beyond its breaking point with some inconsistent performance and framerate issues, but if you’re willing to overlook those technical issues, you’ll find a gargantuan game that is begging to be explored.
Published: Nov 24, 2024 10:52 pm