Hey everyone! I’ve been diving into RPGs lately and wanted to share my thoughts and seek recommendations from fellow gamers. I’ve found myself resonating with Scott the Woz’s viewpoint on random encounters and grinding, but I do make an exception when the combat system is truly exceptional, like in the case of Undertale.Personally, I’m not particularly fond of random encounters and the need to grind excessively. I find it difficult to immerse myself in games that heavily rely on these mechanics. However, I’m open to exploring RPGs that strike a balance between engaging combat and a captivating narrative. While the combat system doesn’t necessarily have to be mind-blowing, it does need to offer some strategic depth.I’ve tried Pokémon games in the past, but they didn’t quite grab my attention. I’d prefer for the game to be available on steam or the switch. In terms of graphics I prefer pixel-art.That being said, I’m eager to hear your recommendations for pixelated RPGs that you think might suit my preferences. Whether it’s a lesser-known gem or a popular title, I’m open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance for your input, and I can’t wait to delve into some new RPG adventures!
You must log in or register to comment.
It might not tick all your boxes but Chained Echos might be worth a try.
As someone who has never fully clicked with turn based JRPGs, Chained Echoes would be my answer as well, I’ve been enjoying it a lot. The combat system is one of my favorite executions of turn based combat I’ve ever played.
Thirded. No grind. Very strategic.
If you’re looking for a good JRPG, I can’t recommend the Persona series enough. I hate traditional JRPG’s but I love Persona and have dumped literally hundreds of hours into P5/ P5 Royal. I know it’s not pixel art, but the art style is very unique and fun to look at.
Totally agree. The last JRPG (if you don’t count the Zelda saga) I played was Final Fantasy VII on Ps1. Persona 5 Royal was awesome.
Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger, I think strike a good balance regarding random encounters.
On the other end of the spectrum would be something like the Front Mission or Final Fantasy Tactics series - where the narrative is all handled through set battles.
Captivating narrative and in-depth combat system? Final Fantasy 7.
Why not try out Western CRPGs?
I gather from what you’re writing, that you’re trying to get into JRPGs.
If you want action-laden fights without random encounters, I suggest the “old” BioWare RPGs:
- Mass Effect Trilogy
- Knights of the old Republic 1 + 2
- Dragon Age Origins (never played the sequels)
They’re old but gold and still one of the best.
And there are still:
- The Witcher 3 and
- Cyberpunk 2077
I will say that I hate to call something like Cyberpunk an RPG at all. It feels almost entirely like a shooter, with the RPG parts somewhat tacked-on. This is more evident even with the missing 6th spec tree and how, even after massive rebalancing, the whole level-up and spec-system are entirely irrelevant without a lot of mods.
Don’t get me wrong, modded the system works well.
But as installed, it’s just all rubbish and feels almost forgotten by the devs.
OP asked for “RPGs for people who don’t like RPGs”.
And yes Cyberpunk has all of that:
- Story, Conversations and Decisions
- Quests
- Skill and Leveling system
It’s a proper RPG but with a huge focus on the shooter/action part and yes, in my opinion it lacked on the Quest and interaction part.
But I wouldn’t say that the battle system alone defines a RPG, see Mass effect 2 + 3 and the Witcher.
Isn’t Cyberpunk 2077 also based on the RPG system with the same name?
Yeah true, you’re right. Nevermind my comment. 😅 Especially on the background of wanting an RPG for non-RPG players.
pixel-art
- Chrono Trigger
- Octopath Traveller
- Final Fantasy VI
Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark
It doesn’t fit all your requirements but I think you may like it.
Its only a week old, but I would strongly recommend Baldur’s Gate 3. I would warn you, it might spoil a lot of future games for you, by setting the bar so high.
And if you want an equally emersive but MUCH older game,look up ADOM.
I love BG3 but the D&D battle system is not for beginners and though BG3 is absolutely fantastic it doesn’t do a great job tutorial wise.
I’ve never played dnd and it was pretty easy to pick up
I second baldurs hate very fun and large game
Golden Sun is probably one of my favorite RPGs, very deep combat system where in the lategame you will be modifying your character class in the middle of battles to change your movesets and other cool mechanics. Fairly interesting story as well. It has great GBA pixel art and it does have random encounters.
Persona 5 is a turn-based RPG that lots of people who aren’t usually into turn-based RPGs tend to like. Simple but satisfying battles, and a story that would have seemed mediocre if it wasn’t for great music and some cool moments which make it really stand out. No pixel art and also no random encounters.
OMORI is pretty good and has a really good art style. The story is also very good with some very memorable characters and moments, and pretty good music. The combat is simple and probably best described as “not bad”. The biggest downside of the game imo is that despite not being very long (<20 hours) it felt like it dragged on close to the end. It might have random encounters? I don’t really remember.
Overall I recommend Golden Sun if you are able to emulate it or something (not on steam or switch)
For clarification, Golden Sun was mostly 3d rendered models. They purposely made them to have a resemblance to pixel art since they needed it to both fit in a GBA cartridge and screen, and not look ugly while doing all that. Also I believe it is on Switch now if you pay for online and have the GBA emulator (which I personally don’t pay for and never will).
I still replay the series once every couple years, though. Fantastic series.
It’s not on the GBA app yet. At least the first game was announced for the service when they announced GB/GBA for Switch Online, but neither game is available at the moment on that. Hopefully soon.
RPGs are such a board term nowadays that anything can be an rpg if you market it as such. But that’s not the time for it.
If you like Undertale, you might enjoy its deranged post apocalyptic cousin released near the same time, Lisa the Painful. A turn base rpg with plenty of tangible choices.
If you like more narrative stuff, play Disco Elysium or Planescape Torment.
The World Ends With You (or the sequel, Neo: The World Ends With You) is an action RPG that does away with random encounters. Battles are initiated by you scanning for enemies and picking fights in your own, you can even lower your level or string multiple fights together for more rewards. The original is 2D (and best played in a DS/2DS/3DS but if you don’t have one there’s also a single-screen version on Switch) and the sequel is 3D on Switch and Steam.
Random encounters are a staple of Japanese rpgs, not rpgs in general (and also not all jrpgs have them). There are a plethora of rpgs without them! You will more likely see enemies on screen, and good rpgs allow you options to resolve things without combat (with some exceptions, like certain monsters).
Not sure if this fits in what you’re looking for but I like Book ofTravels. It’s a very original morpg (they call it tmorpg I think which stands for tiny multiplayer online RPG ).
Also has some very interesting story telling coupled with a no hand holding way of handling quests.
Mass Effect trilogy. It has amazing characters, get stories, and the gameplay gets better with each game. Though the first in the series is still my favorite, and one of my favorite games of all time, 2 is considered to be one of the best character driven RPGs in recent memory. Bonus, you can get all three remastered via the Legendary Edition.
Prey’s currently on sale and one of the most memorable gaming experiences I’ve had in recent years.
You’ll be hooked within the first 10 minutes of playing, I guarantee it:
Prey is not a RPG
I found Prey to be a little rough at the start, but once you pick up some upgrades the combat improves.
Took me a few hours at least to decide I liked it.
