These Turn-Based RPGs Are More Beginner-Friendly Than You Think

Some RPGs are always worth recommending to players new to the genre. For the most part, any Pokemon game is easy to pick up and understand, along with some modern Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest remaster/remakes that include difficulty levels and cheats that help beginners through any situation.

10 Classic RPGs With Turn-Based Combat That Still Feel Modern

Your modern tastes are in for a pleasant surprise if you give these classic RPGs a chance to blow your mind.

Those examples aren’t that surprising, but the following titles, while they may look intimidating, actually have user-friendly appeal. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny, and Live A Live are just three examples, but there are so many others. So, anyone who wants to get into some turn-based RPGs should give these games a shot.

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The Oregon Trail, But With Monsters

The Banner Saga is a challenging game that will test the very morals of players since the story is so dark, and every decision matters. That said, the battle and party system is also not that complicated compared to other RPGs. It’s a tactical game wherein players will travel with their caravan across the world, looking for a suitable new home, and occasionally, there will be fights.

There’s no grand leveling-up system that players have to remember or pour hours into, as they can just enjoy the grid-based tactics for what they are. The only thing that may mess with the heads of players is having to make the decisions at turning points, like how to deal with low food rations.

Battle Chasers: Nightwar

A Well-Balanced Homage

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is based on a comic from the late 90s and early 2000s, made by a team that formerly worked on the Darksiders series. The art style should look familiar, except this game is a turn-based RPG in the classic sense. There are dungeons, a world map, and while the battle system looks complicated on the surface, it’s fairly basic, so anyone can learn.

Players can have three party members in battle, each with basic attacks and abilities that cost points built up over time. This is certainly not a kid-friendly game, but it’s an RPG that is more concerned about its story and lore rather than its battle system, which is why it is easy to pick up and play.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

A Modern Classic

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a good modern turn-based RPG to start with, which can either be difficult or easy depending on settings and comfort levels. The turn-based battle system has a series of counters and dodges that players can perform, and each event has several attack patterns to learn. Player attacks also have time-based bonuses, but if players don’t want to deal with that, then they can turn them to automatic, and the gameplay overall can be lowered to make missing dodges or counters less painful.

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There is a lot to do in the game, including side quests, but if players don’t want to engage with them or the other leveling-up mechanics, then they can just go through the story almost linearly and still get plenty of enjoyment out of the game. It defeats the purpose of what RPGs are known for, exploration, but admittedly, every player is different, and if they don’t care about side content, that is up to them.

Disgaea 6: Defiance Of Destiny

Set It, But Don’t Forget It

Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny is a much more complex tactical RPG than The Banner Saga, but there is a trick to everything. For example, players can dive into every item and piece of equipment in the game to level them up, they can create their own party members, and they can deal with a court system that will unlock cheats with bribes. The story quests can be challenging if players don’t properly level up their party and give them the best gear, but here’s the trick.

Players can unlock an ability to let their party play a mission automatically, and then they can also set this map on repeat. So technically, players could set their game on automatic, let their party play the same mission on repeat for an hour, and then come back later to find them leveled up immensely. If players don’t want to personally grind for hours in between story missions, this is one way to essentially cheat their way to the top.

Live A Live

Through The Ages

Live A Live is an interesting anthology RPG that lets players tackle the seven scenarios in any order. They could start in the Old West with Sundown Kid or go to prehistoric times with Pogo and fight dinosaurs. Each scenario is fairly linear without players having to worry about exploring or grinding if they don’t want to, with the max runtime being anywhere from two to three hours.

There is a longer hidden eighth act that requires a bit more complexity, but even then, it pales in comparison to other RPGs of the SNES era. The SNES original did not make it over to the West, but the HD-2D remake did, and it is well worth a playthrough.

Lengthy, But Adaptable

Metaphor: ReFantazio is one of the longest modern RPGs, and it will take some time getting used to the linear nature of the story, but players may also not know what to do with their free time. There are plenty of options, from hanging out with party members to learning skills that can boost stats. It can be a lot to take in, but the nice thing about the combat system, at least, is that the difficulty can be lowered so much that defeat is impossible, thanks to a near invincibility mode.

A dragon and Yuu in The Cruel King and the Great Hero

Best 2D Turn-Based RPGs

Don’t let the shift in perspective fool you; these 2D turn-based RPGs are just as epic and enthralling as any 3D game.

There is a class system, which is one of the best modern examples, but it’s very easy to read on a surface level. Also, if players reach a high enough level, they will not have to fight in turn-based combat as they can attack enemies in the field in real-time instead. The amount of choices lets players create their own campaign and playstyle, not as broadly as other RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3, but it’s enough to at least let players feel like they are in control.

SteamWorld Quest: Hand Of Gilgamech

A Turn-Based Card Battler

One of the great things about the SteamWorld series is that most games are different than the last, with some sequels being outliers. SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech is a turn-based RPG featuring robots in a medieval fantasy setting. Instead of direct control over character moves in battle, players will have to fashion a deck of cards they can collect.

Thankfully, this is no Magic: The Gathering level of complexity, as players don’t have to worry about strict limitations on what they can and cannot play. The card system is more like a means to an end, and SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech overall plays simpler than it seems, plus it’s relatively short, which doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Wasteland 3

The Cold Darkness Of Colorado

Wasteland 3 is similar in terms of challenge and choice levels to The Banner Saga, taking place in an arctic cold apocalypse set in Colorado. Players will have to make decisions as they travel around, and one wrong move in combat or during conversations could have drastic consequences on the rest of the journey.

A character could die, for example, and no potion will revive them. It can be painful to think about, as this is a tactical game, but players can lower the difficulty to ease up on the pressure. Also, if players level up stats toward speech, they could theoretically back out of a lot of conflicts if they don’t fancy the combat system. If players go with the flow and don’t worry about getting bad outcomes, then they will probably have a better time with Wasteland 3, too.