Turn-Based RPGs With Simple But Great Combat

Key Takeaways

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• Turn-based RPGs can be intimidating, but simple titles like Fire Emblem: Three Houses offer enjoyable entry points.
• Titles like Sea of Stars and Octopath Traveler provide accessible turn-based combat systems for new RPG fans.
• Games like Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver demonstrate how simple combat systems can still be engaging & timeless.

Turn-based RPGs have been a major part of the video game landscape since the early days, and major modern titles like Persona 5 and Dragon Quest XI prove that the genre isn’t slowing down any time soon. But for fans who aren’t used to the intricacies and tactics of turn-based combat, this genre can be a difficult one to break into.

Turn-based RPGs tend to present players with a lot of information and choices, and it can be difficult to figure out what the right choice is in a given circumstance. Luckily, these games don’t have to be complicated and elaborate to be entertaining. Here are some excellent turn-based RPGs that keep things simple.

10 Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Beginner’s Class

The Fire Emblem franchise has been a staple of tactical RPGs since the beginning, but Three Houses takes strides to make the formula more approachable to newcomers. To that end, it’s an excellent entry point for the series, and its innately high level of replayability means that fans who enjoy it on a first playthrough will be able to truly master its systems on future runs.

Like the rest of the series, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is built on a simple triangle of weapon superiority, not unlike rock, paper, scissors. Awareness of this superiority cycle is enough to steer players through most skirmishes. Additional attack types like bows and magic benefit from similarly intuitive advantage systems, providing a robust and varied system that remains easy to grasp.

9 Sea of Stars

A Loving Homage

Like its predecessor The Messenger, Sea of Stars is a love letter to its own genre. This retro RPG takes heavy inspiration from the classic titles that founded the genre, and its story emphasizes the importance and legacy of the games that came before it. Luckily for fans, it’s also an approachable and simple way to get familiar with the genre before tackling some of those honored classics.

Sea of Stars only features six main stats: HP, magic, and attack and defense for magic and physical skills. Players can use timed inputs in the middle of an attack or block to add or reduce damage as the situation warrants, and they can also use combos to combine the might of two party members at once. These options should help introduce novice RPG fans to more intricate turn-based battle systems.

8 Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Newly Remodeled

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was an iconic title when it launched for the GameCube back in 2004, and thanks to its recent Switch remake, more fans than ever can experience this classic title. The game keeps things simple with small health pools and relatively few actions, but thanks to the quick button prompts players must enter in order to successfully pull off a move, combat stays engaging.

What the game lacks in combat complexity, it makes up for in charm. The Thousand-Year Door charts Mario’s journey to strange and exotic realms in search of the mysterious Crystal Stars, and each chapter presents a strange and unique circumstance for the protagonist to sort out. This classic RPG retains the charm, humor, and high energy that has made the Mario franchise special throughout the ages and is definitely not to be missed.

7 Octopath Traveler

An Anthology Of Adventure

Octopath Traveler is proving to be a historically significant title due to its pioneering of the distinctive “HD-2D” art style. This remarkable style blends classic 16-bit character and landscape design with elaborate 3D landscapes and immersive lighting and coloring systems to achieve a remarkably timeless aesthetic.

This distinctive RPG is fortunately very approachable for fans. Each of the eight protagonists players can recruit over the course of the game and bring their own unique skills to combat and character interactions, but these skills are generally very simple to parse. Hunting out weaknesses in enemies mid-combat allows players to capitalize on them for extra damage and a chance to break their guard, but other than that, it’s pretty simple RPG fare, letting newcomers soak in the unique aesthetic and charming, interwoven tale.

6 EarthBound

A Bizarre Modern Tale

EarthBound is a tragically elusive title in the modern day, but its unique design and quirky enemies have made it a cult classic whose notoriety endures to this day. This legendary RPG sees a group of children attempting to save the world from an eldritch alien foe, using psychic powers and everyday objects to get the upper hand on an increasingly bizarre roster of opponents.

Players have a few unique moves to choose from in combat. The usual attack action is available, as are special psionic powers, but players can also spy on enemies to identify weaknesses and even use the mirror action to emulate an enemy’s attack. This opens up some truly distinct options in a fight, while at the same time preventing the game from getting too complex.

5 Super Mario RPG

A Legendary Mario Journey

In spite of his platforming roots, Mario has built up a respectable library of RPG titles for himself, and they all started with Super Mario RPG. This game was originally released for the SNES back in 1996 but has since been remade from the ground up for the Nintendo Switch, boasting a brand-new art style for new players to enjoy.

Super Mario RPG sets the formula for role-playing Mario games with a simple list of combat moves, each of which is bolstered by a special action command like pressing a button with correct timing to add extra damage. This lets players who aren’t completely familiar with the turn-based formula ease their way into it with a more active system than most other turn-based games allow for.

4 Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Taking To The Streets

Yakuza: Like A Dragon is the seventh game in the venerable Yakuza series, and it represents a major shift for the franchise with a new main character and a brand-new combat system. Like A Dragon is the first turn-based RPG in the series, and despite this drastic shift from the franchise’s beat-em-up roots, it remains approachable and fun.

Thanks to the game’s job system, characters can gain special moves from real-life occupations, putting an over-the-top and hilarious spin on combat as the protagonists pull out increasingly wacky props and moves to take down hardened criminals. This simple, action-heavy set-up is bolstered by optional environmental interactions, as well as a system for players to summon allies to help reverse the odds in particularly difficult fights.

3 Final Fantasy X

Timing Is Everything

Final Fantasy 10 is well-remembered as one of the highlights of the franchise’s 3D era, and its relatively simple combat system also makes it a welcoming entry point for new fans of the venerable, long-running franchise. This game diverges from more recent entries in the franchise with a turn-based approach, unlike the real-time battles of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 16.

The one unusual twist to this traditional approach is the conditional time-based angle, which determines where characters appear in the turn order based on their previous actions and stats. This adds an extra layer of strategy for fans to experiment without sacrificing the simple elegance of the turn-based approach.

2 Chrono Trigger

A Timeless Tale

The legendary Chrono Trigger is a veritable icon of the turn-based RPG, perfecting many of the genre hallmarks that came before and setting the blueprint for those that would follow. This incredible legacy makes the game an excellent starting point for players who are new to the genre, as its approachable combat system will set the stage admirably for whatever title players try next.

Chrono Trigger features Square Enix’s ubiquitous active time battle system, which sees characters charging up their turns in real time. While the list of actions each character can perform remains relatively small and easy to parse. This active element introduces a new level of strategy for fans to work out as they play.

1 Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver

A Worldwide Legacy

The Pokemon franchise truly needs no introduction. The adorable and charming creatures that lend the series its name are ubiquitous throughout modern culture thanks to film, TV, and the iconic video games that first brought them to life. While the series undoubtedly owes much of its success to the creatures themselves, it’s also become such a hit in part due to the relative simplicity of its combat.

Pokemon games feature a list of advantages and disadvantages sorted by each creature’s type. Most of these advantages follow basic rock-paper-scissors logic, making them very easy to learn and remember. With so many different types of creatures running around in the game’s world, it’s not hard to build up a diverse team that can perform adequately well against any given type. Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver are particularly iconic due to the beloved creature designs they introduced, but the franchise’s simple combat system and engaging feedback loop remain timeless, no matter what generation fans are playing.