The 3DS may be Nintendo’s last dedicated portable system. It was a fine note to go out on as the lineup of RPGs was out of this world.Fire Emblem Awakening, for example, was a tactical RPG that brought the series seemingly back from the dead. Now the franchise could not be any bigger.
Another great strategy RPG wasShin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclockedwhich was a port from the DS but still good. Both of those examples technically have turn-based combat but on tactical grids. Let’s shrink down the scale and look at some more traditional turn-based RPGs on the 3DS.
8Yo-Kai Watch
Pokemon But With Ghosts
Yo-Kai Watchwas likethe developer’s, Level-5, second answer toPokemonas they also released twoNi no Kunigames before this. This game is more directly aimed at thePokemoncrowd as it is easier for kids. Instead of going around a fake world and catching monsters, players caught ghosts with a special watch around districts in Japan.
Combat was more automatic too and players could form a party like in a more traditional RPG. It’s a solid monster-catching RPG and the anime is not half bad either.
Dragon Quest 7: Fragments of the Forgotten Paston the 3DS is the proper way to play this game. When it was released on the PS1 in 2001 in North America, it felt incredibly dated thanks to the graphics and hard-to-understand mechanics surrounding ancient tablets.
Once enough were collected, these tablets could warp the party around to new eras. The 3DS game fixed a lot of tablet issues thus making this time-traveling element more accessible. The core combat and Vocation system was as solid as ever foraDragon Questgame.
Mario and Luigi: Dream Teamwas the first entry in thisRPG series on the 3DS. It focused on Luigi who could fall asleep on a magic pillow which allowed Mario to enter his dreams. Together with Dream Luigi, Mario helped solve puzzles and fought enemies in active turn-based battles.
Solving problems in the dream world fixed the island they were stuck on. There were missions surrounding exploring said island too, but the creativity was mostly focused on the dream world. Seeing Luigi turn into inanimate objects like clouds or form a ball filled with hundreds of clones was a treat every time.
Shin Megami Tensei 4is a hard game in the seriesfor the uninitiated. The core games are not as forgiving as thePersonaspinoff series. Difficulty aside, this one has an interesting gimmick wherein heaven is depicted like feudal Japan.
Players are a samurai who slay demons and eventually, they fall to Earth and enter the post-apocalypse. It’s a good twist for a story and the gameplay picks up here too. From summoning demons to exploring the ruins of Japan as a dungeon crawler, this has a moody atmosphere that will engage all.
Etrian Odyssey 4: Legends of the Titanis another challenging RPG from Atlus and this one is on the Soulslike spectrum of brutality. There is a story to follow but this game, and most others in the series, put gameplay before narrative.
Players can form a party based on random characters with classes. With a well-balanced team of fighters, healers, and mages, the dungeons should not be as scary. Players have to go at a steady pace though and not get too confident. One wrong move and it is curtains which makes it excitingas a dungeon-crawler.
Atlus is heating thingsup one more time withRadiant Historia: Perfect Chronology. This was originally a DS game but it got a few upgrades on the 3DS for this port. The story follows Stocke, a random soldier who discovers a book that can rewind time.
Rewinding time can affect the story as much as it can affect combat. Characters in battle can form lines and create combos to halt enemies quickly. It’s a dense game at first but the creativity it uses with time is inspiring.
Bravely Defaultwas a spiritual successor toFinal Fantasy. It had all of the classic trappings including a Job system and a story revolving around elemental crystals. The party was condensed down to four characters, giving players ample time to get to know them all.
Besides the Jobs, the bigger gimmick was the titular Brave and Default systems that allowed players to gain extra turns. Also, players could adjust the frequency of random encounters, giving players a ton of customization all around from world traversal to combat.
Pokemon XandPokemon Ywere the first two mainlinePokemongames to hit the 3DS. They made two of the biggest leaps forward in the series sincePokemon GoldandPokemon Silver. It wasn’t quite full 3D, but the camera was shifted enough to make it feel like a larger world.
The new Mega Evolutions were also a big deal, allowing some Pokemon to transform temporarily. Like manyPokemongames, it was fun to collect tons of new and old creatures to trade and battle with friends in simple turn-based combat.
