Japanese RPGs/Handhelds

Consoles

Handhelds

Computers

Nintendo

Game Boy

Cover	Title	Style	Description	Screenshot
	Final Fantasy Adventure (US) Mystic Quest (EU) Seiken Densetsu (JP)	Action	This is actually the first Mana game. Its gameplay is similar to that of the original Legend of Zelda game, but with some RPG elements. Great story, neat monster designs, and awesome soundtrack. This game pretty much proved to everyone that you can create an involving and captivating epic on a small handheld. Sword of Mana on the GBA is a remake of this, but several fans of the series prefer the original.
	Final Fantasy Legend II (US) SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu (JP)	Turn-Based	The FFL series is known as the SaGa series in Japan. You have 3 basic types of allies: Humans, (balanced fighting and magic) and Mutants/Espers (good at magic), and Robots (good at fighting). A 4th type, Monsters, can eat meat from enemies and change into different critters with different specialties. Has a twisted, but well-told, plot involving a giant tower and killing gods from myth. Has excellent music and quite unique gameplay: no level ups, stat gains and spell learning happen based on your fighting methods. A DS remake is out in Japan, with a full English translation patch available for the ROM. It's easier, but also changes a few things for the better.
	Final Fantasy Legend III (US) SaGa 3: Jikuu no Hasha (JP)	Turn-Based	Four kids and some "guest" characters fight monsters and save the world. Business as usual, BUT you must time travel between Past, Present, and Future, to stop another dimension that's been flooding time itself with demons. Like FFL2, consume parts from enemies to turn a chosen ally into a critter (although you can revert them, too). Good aesthetics, solid gameplay mixes SaGa and the actual Final Fantasy series, and the plot gets pretty fucked up. This also has a remake for the DS, with an English translation patch being worked on. The remake is more akin to other SaGa games (i.e. no level ups and random stat bootsts), but also has use-based skill-learning (the more you use a weapon, the more skills you can learn and use). The SaGa continues in the Romancing SaGa series for SNES/SFC.
	Gargoyle's Quest	Action	A platform/side scrolling adventure game with some RPG elements from Capcom. You play Firebrand, a gargoyle who has powerful claws that allow him to cling to walls and other surfaces on a vertical plane. Firebrand can also hover and fly for awhile with his wings. Destroy the enemy characters with your fiery breath. The game also contains an adventure type story that is unfolded by interacting with characters from an over-head perspective.
	Pokémon Red & Blue	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	The first games of the Pokémon franchise. Released simultaneously, both games have exclusive Pokémon that you can trade to complete your Pokédex or evolve certain Pokémon. You can also battle other trainers via the Game Boy Link cable. They received updated rereleases as FireRed and LeafGreen for the Game Boy Advance, but if all you have is a Game Boy or Game Boy Color, these are acceptable alternatives.
	Pokémon Yellow	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	The third version of Pokémon featured updated color (a different palette for each town), and takes story cues from the anime's Kanto arc. Pikachu's sprite and cry was updated, and the little fellow follows around behind you, letting you know what his mood is when you talk to him. It fixed up a lot of things like Charizard can fly now. Enhanced on both SGB and GBC, though it's better on the latter.
	Rolan's Curse 2	Action	You play as a cast of characters who you accumulate throughout the game. Each has access to different weapons and skills which are used to navigate through the world in a Zelda-ish manner. Unlike Zelda, you actually can level up. Pretty decent for an old-school romp. Can get hard even if you level up a lot, as strategy and skill play a key part in boss fights. The first game is okay and you can play it if you want, but this one is much better.
	Sword of Hope II	Dungeon Crawler/Turn-Based	Remember Macventure games like Shadowgate and Uninvited? The team that did the NES versions made an RPG using a similar system. Surprisingly, it ended up pretty good. It can be kinda easy to get lost, but its still solid. Unlike SoH1, you can have a party of characters to fight with. Even though its a normal RPG at its core, the different angle on exploration can give you a new viewpoint on it, allowing an enjoyable outlook on a somewhat short-sighted genre.
	The Battle of Olympus	Action	Your gal pal has been kidnapped, and it's up to you to get some help from the Greek gods of Olympus to save her. Plays like Zelda 2 and Faxanadu. Can get pretty hard and confusing early on if you decide to go where you're not recommended to. So while it is non-linear to an extent, you should consider sticking with the advice of others to avoid getting killed. Slightly altered from the NES version, but still pretty damn good.

Game Boy Color

Cover	Title	Style	Description	Screenshot
	Azure Dreams	Roguelike/Monster Collecting	A downsized port of the PS1 game. However, it was remixed a bit. For example, there's quite a few new monsters and a "second quest", where you go down the tower in a B01-B99 fashion. Sadly, as mentioned, dating got cut and town editing is limited to donating cash to Nico. But, if you want to tackle the main game, it's still plenty fun. Give it a try, but also consider the PS1 version, but be warned, that one's A LOT harder.
	Dragon Warrior I & II	Traditional Turn-Based	A port of Dragon Quest 1+2 Remix for the SNES. The gameplay and graphics are improved and streamlined from NES days (no more CLIMB STAIRS/OPEN DOOR here), but the goofy Olde English translation has been dropped. This also adds stat-boosting seeds and a quick save option. The difficulty has been boosted in some spots and reduced in others.
	Dragon Warrior III	Traditional Turn-Based	A port of Dragon Quest 3 Remix for the SNES. This adds better graphics (compared to the NES), streamlined gameplay, quick save, and stat-boosting seeds from 1+2, the Thief class (which can be pretty helpful if raised right), the personality system, and a rather enjoyable bonus dungeon. Many consider it to be the best version for good reason. Like 1+2, the difficulty is amp'd in some places and lowered in others.
	Dragon Warrior Monsters	Monster Collecting/Turn-Based	Sorta like Pokémon, but with randomized dungeons to explore vs. towns and gym leaders. You can have up to 3 monsters (each can have up to 8 skills) with you, same for other humans and wild mons. The 3-on-3 turn-based battles are fun and simple, but skill-learning and breeding is complex and deep as hell, as any 2 mons give their baby their skills, who can be better than either, even be a new breed and learn new skills!. Surprisingly addictive, and has lots of Dragon Warrior references for DW/DQ fans. Remake on the 3DS (Japan only but has an English translation here[1]).
	Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey/Tara's Adventure	Monster Collecting/Turn-Based	More monsters, more skills, and a new world! Same gameplay and mechanics as before, but the roguelike aspect is gone in favor of a more standard RPG approach where you help people and solve puzzles. There's also (MANY) random worlds to find as well, thanks to magic keys you find or earn. A somewhat different experience from 1, but still a damn good one. Most people consider these two games the best of the series, though the others are worth a shot. Like 1, there's a lot of DW/DQ fanservice to be found. Got a Japan only remake on the 3DS.
	Legend of the River King 2	Fishing	An angel had parts of a heavenly jewel eaten by two mighty King fish. She asks a kid and his older brother, two fishers, to help her out. More or less same circumstances as LotRK1 apply here to be better fishers. You choose who to play as with minor differences between the two, mostly that the brother starts out a bit stronger and has a slightly harder start. As a side note, you can also trade certain items to/from Harvest Moon 2 GBC.
	Lufia: The Legend Returns	Dungeon Crawler/Turn-Based	A black sheep in the Lufia series, but still a good one. Foregoes the puzzle elements of the first two games in favor of rogue-like styled dungeons. Pretty good, despite what the purists say, but the new battle system takes some time to get used to. Character and party customization is pretty neat too. The other spin off on GBA has no relation to this and little to the main series, but it's more closer to form, despite the translation being iffy.
	Metal Walker	Monster Collecting/Physics-Based Combat	It's an RPG with rock-paper-scissor styled mechanics, but plays like billiards where you ram your robot into the enemy bot. You start off with a neutral robot with no real strengths or weaknesses. In the traversable overworld, you find parts to upgrade it, which gives it traits, but also abilities, such as sea travel, hovering, and shoving power. These abilities help you find more parts for more power. Surprisingly, a lot more fun than it sounds.
	Pokémon Gold Version / Silver Version	Monster Collecting/Turn-Based	The second generation of Pokémon games, often touted as the best gen because of its improved gameplay and features. Released simultaneously, both of these games are similar fare to the first gen. Once the Johto region is completed, the player can travel to Kanto and take the gym challenge there, then face down the protagonist from the first game. You can even trade with 1st gen to get your old party back! Have remakes on the DS titled "Heart Gold and Soul Silver".
	Pokémon Crystal Version	Monster Collecting/Turn-Based	An updated version of Gold and Silver, featuring slightly improved graphics and the ability to catch Suicuine without mucking about trying to find where the hell he is. Also, the first Pokémon game to allow the option to play as a girl (a feature that was planned for the first games, but scrapped). Not only that but the Pokémon are actually animated, and not that two sprite distortion stuff either! If you want a second-gen Pokémon game, Crystal is probably your best bet.
	Revelations: The Demon Slayer	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	a.k.a. Last Bible. Jack Bros aside, this was the first Megaten game to hit US shores. Plays like the usual SMT fare, with demon negotiations and fusion, but also has a bit of Dragon Quest, in that the game isn't first-person POV, but overhead. It's a bit aged, but remains very solid and quite impressive for an early GB title (this is actually just a colored version in English). However, the soundtrack is the JAMS. Has a Game Gear revision with boosted graphics, running and additional post-game stuff / lore. Not to be confused with the Game Gear game Last Bible Special. It is a different 1st-person, hard as balls, Wizardry esqure dunegon crawler.
	Robopon Sun/Star/Moon Version	Turn-Based/Monster Part Collecting	Overlooked in the past as a Pokémon knockoff. Honestly, they're not all that similar. The battles resemble that, but you can actually improve your bots in various ways with parts, software, RAM, etc. There's even a few unlockables by using a remote control on the GBC in certain events. Worth playing, along with the GBA sequel. Sun was the Only one released in America, Moon has the most content with 18 extra robopon.
	Survival Kids	Action/Survival	You're a young kid who gets lost at sea. You're all alone on a deserted island, and you have to find some way to get off. Surprisingly accurate for a GB game in featuring various states of hunger, thirst, and health- all of which can be affected by animals, food, and weather/climate of the island areas. It even has 8 different endings! You can also rig some basic tools together to increase your chance of surviving the wilds. Has a Japan-only sequel. The Lost in Blue series on DS and Wii is a spiritual successor.

Game Boy Advance

Cover	Title	Style	Description	Screenshot
	Advance Wars	Strategy	The first Wars to make it out of Japan (previous entries were Japan-only). A turn-based war strategy game with a bright, cartoon-ish, and lighthearted traits so jarring, they've become the series staple. On each map, you choose (or are sometimes cleverly forced) to use different Commanding Officers, each with different pros and cons, to lead your army to victory. Like Fire Emblem(7), it has a short intro tutorial, easing you into the game's mechanics, but gets very hard towards the end. Great game with a good deal of content, but is overshadowed by sequels. Still a great start, especially considering each successive entry has notable changes.
	Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising	Strategy	The sequel to AW. Has even more content than 1 and brand new enemies to face! Even harder than the above, especially due to the craftily-built maps and challenging missions, but the added and upgraded characters and new army units keep it oh so fun. The sequels, Dual Strike and Days of Ruin, are on the DS.
	Breath of Fire	Turn-Based	Handheld port of Capcom's SNES JRPG. The ultra-simplistic combat, paper-thin characters and tedious, badly-translated plot don't hold up much, but the dungeons and overworld are fun as there are many secrets to uncover, including the one that will get you the true end. The beginning of Capcom's revered (and now dead) role-playing series. This is the preferred version as it awards more EXP and gold per battle, has a Run button, link-up item trading and a few other small conveniences. The music was kept rather strong from the SNES, but the graphics and interface have been updated to be a little like 3 and 4.
	Breath of Fire II	Turn-Based	A considerable improvement, Breath of Fire II features a much more interesting cast (including the sexiest Nina in the series), better sprite-work, an actually interesting plot, and the peerless Shamanization system, which allows you to power-up and fully transform your characters in battle. You can also help build and maintain a town as a rather robust side-game. One of the better SNES JRPGs, now portable with the same additions as the port of the first game. Too bad they didn't bother to re-translate it. The transfer of aesthetics from the SNES are better than BoF1, also using the new interface, and still good. If you are emulating, you should take a look at the SNES version and the retranslation patch.
	Car Battler Joe	Racing/Part Collecting	A game that uses racing-styled controls, but has you using weapons on opponents in arenas. It's a weird experience at first, but can be pretty fun once you get the hang of it. You can customize your cars with new gear and weapons and even use items to get back in the game after taking damage. As one might guess, from a racing-type setup, it's pretty much all real time.
	Demikids: Light Version / Dark Version	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	Demikids is a spin-off of Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei series, though way more cutesy. Features simplified demon negotiations, but the same fusion system, battles, and critters you've come to know and love from the series proper. Each version sees the story from a different side, so you may actually want to play both to learn the true story. Each version has a Japan-only sequel which also has a two-sided story. It's also much darker and twisted, and the translation project is sadly dying.
	Dragon Ball Z: Buu's Fury	Action	An action-RPG taking place in the DBZ universe. One of many. Unlike the first, Legacy of Goku, it is more refined in gameplay and difficulty. Legacy of Goku II is almost as good as this, and a pretty good alternative.
	Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls	Turn-Based	Modified and easier versions of the 2 games from PS1/WS, using MP in FF1 and making things generally easier in FF2. Both added/fixed new/old equipment to utilize more effects and skills. They're also the fastest versions of the two, due to speedy, but effective, animations and special effects, thus making most random battles over in a few seconds. Each also added new foes and new extra dungeons and an extra story mode (in FF2). FF1 has foes from FF3-6, including bosses and equipment. FF2 has you fight through an unseen side of the end-game, featuring certain familiar characters. Both were revamped on PSP, with further additions, but released separately.
	Final Fantasy IV Advance	Turn-Based	A port of the SNES RPG with some updated graphics and extra dungeons. Has minimal character customization, but concentrates on story. However, this is the only official version of FFIV to let you choose your final dungeon party. The European version fixed most problems of minor bugs and some lag in battles. The DS remake pumped up difficulty and added many extras, even some character customization, but no option of your final party choice. Also available on PSP along with FF4TAY as FF4: The Complete Collection, so you might prefer that version.
	Final Fantasy V Advance	Turn-Based	Featuring the most refined version of the job system seen in a main Final Fantasy title to date, join Bartz and his quest to have the most female-filled party in the series, as well as his battles against a magic tree. The story is lighthearted, but still plenty cool. Enough classes to make your head spin, plus an extra dungeon and new classes for the GBA version. Again, ported from the SNES with some updated graphics and lower-quality sound. (It won't bug you unless you played the original.)
	Final Fantasy VI Advance	Turn-Based	A ragtag team of terrorists take on a war-power that's been using nature's power against itself to further its expansion. You later take on a demigod who DESTROYED THE WORLD. Job system is gone, replaced by Espers, offering less customization and more favoritism when picking characters, of which there are many. Has some GBA extras in the form of new espers and dungeons. Like always, the sound isn't as good as the SNES. C'est la vie. This hack changes the sound font to one that is much closer to the SNES original but overall it's still not as good. It also changes the opera music to the Tokyo Orchestra rendition (with REAL opera singers!). Hack only works on the European ROM, though. This port has some slowdown problems also, you'll notice just walking around towns or on the world map causes the system to struggle, resulting in choppy scrolling. Likewise during battles there are certain attacks and effects that cause slowdown. The colours overall aren't as good as the SNES original. Contrast has been increased significantly (no doubt to help with visibility on the shit-house GBA screen) resulting in very washed out hues. A hack exists to fix this.
	Final Fantasy Tactics Advance	Strategy	A loose spiritual successor to the beloved Final Fantasy Tactics, this game features child protagonists living hard lives who are suddenly transported to a magical world full of adventure (so don't expect grimdark political intrigue). As Marche, you must find a way to get back home (if you even want to). Features the same class-based, grid-based combat, but now with in-battle "Laws" (restrictions) that can put your characters in jail if broken. They're very annoying until you become able to bypass them later on. With 300 missions, it'll give you your money's worth in play time.
	Fire Emblem	Strategy	Designed to introduce the Fire Emblem series to the West, where dozens of characters are recruited and controlled in large-scale battles, fallen allies are permanently dead, and RNG rules your life. This starts with an easy sort of tutorial story and then dives into the main campaign. A colorful entry with energized battle sprites, a dramatic plot and a mostly loveable cast, a great way to get into the series. It is considered the quintessential Fire Emblem by many. The story is best experienced rather than summarized, but you (the player character) accompany the lords (the lively and hot-blooded protagonists of the game) Lyn, Eliwood, and Hector and the people they meet along the way as their tactician and friend, your quest to investigate the mysterious disappearance of young Lord Eliwood's father. The continent of Elibe creaks under the weight of political strife and intrigue as unknown forces conspire to plunge the nations into chaos. The story is a veritable epic (at least for a Fire Emblem game), and you're very likely absolutely love at least half-a-dozen of the characters available. It also has a lengthy additional story starring Lord Hector!
	Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones	Strategy	Shockingly, The Sacred Stones works more like a traditional RPG in that it lets you fight optional battles to level up between the standard, scripted story battles, thus making it potentially the easiest game in the series. If you don't exploit this feature, however, this is still a title that lives up to modern FE standards of difficulty. The plot isn't exactly groundbreaking, involving political intrigue mixed with magic akin to most games of the franchise, and revolves around Ephraim and Eirika, the heirs of a ruined kingdom. The cast, composed of around 40 playable characters, is diverse, if (arguably) not as charismatic as FE7's, specially in regards to the protagonists, which have a much more self-righteous and serious attitude compared to the whimsical ways of Eliwood & Co. Despite re-using a lot of elements from the previous games, TSS also introduced several unique features to the GBA series, such as branching promotions, special abilities and unlockable antagonist characters.
	Golden Sun	Turn-Based	A rather unique turn-based JRPG. Characters utilize: magical weapons, magical items, magical critters (Djinni, which act as free in-battle skills), mighty mythical beings as summons, and last, but not least, Psynergy, which is like "magic" but also lets you use: psychokinesis, claivoyance, altering patches of the environment, and so forth. Djinni also affect your title, which changes your stats to various specializations and unlocks new Psynergy. Now that's a lot of customization! Beware for loads and loads of verbose exposition.
	Golden Sun: The Lost Age	Turn-Based	A continuation of the original, covering a much greater area of the Golden Sun world. However, this time you play as the surviving 'antagonists' of the first game. The plot twist is huge (especially if you beat the first game before this), and the game has much, MUCH more to do. Travel around in a flying boat, meet up with your characters from the first game, utilize more classes, Djinn, spells, and summons, solve more puzzles, get more magic weapons, and fight extra bosses even more challenging than the final boss! There is a password you get in the first game that you can use in the second to transfer over your stats and Djinn progression, but the password can go all the way up to 6 pages long! Third game is on the DS, but has no transfers due to having new characters and taking place 20 years later.
	Lunar Legend	Turn-based	Altered cartoony remix of Silver Star Story Complete. Unique compared to SSSC and Silver Star Harmony (on PSP) in that this has some unique story events and alters some others. Introduced a "limit break" kind of system, along with some new equipment options. Changed the item system to run off a menu versus a limited inventory, too. All attacks can reach anywhere, thus, there's no movement/range factors, making some fights easier or harder. It's the easiest version anyways, though. Has some exploitable glitches to make your party stupidly strong early on and keep them that way. A curiosity for Lunar fans, but still decent if you aren't familiar with the series.
	Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga	Turn-based	If you've played Paper Mario, there's a good chance you'll love this. Although Mario and Luigi are the only two party members, they learn a plethora of teamwork style moves that require specific button presses and timing that really spruce up the combat. The art style is gorgeous, too. The writing, golden. If you want a different kind of RPG, or just want to have a good laugh with an exceptionally made game, this one's for you. The sequel and threequel are on DS. The game was remade for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017, and contains a side-story.
	Mega Man Battle Network	Real Time Grid-Based	MMBN has unique battles in semi-real time. In "battles", you move Megaman.exe around 9 panels in real-time, striking at enemies and dodging their attacks. During each "custom turn", you select special chips to use that heal you, deal damage, steal enemy panels, and more. You can "jack" in and explore the cyberspace of practically every electronic device in the game, leading to a great deal of exploration. Your main goal is to take down cyber-terrorists in a world run by computers. Has a Japan-only remake on DS, but a full translation patch is available here.
	Mega Man Battle Network 2	Real Time Grid-Based	Battle Network 2 is considered by fans to be one of the best Battle Network games. It more or less capitalizes on everything that made the first game so good. The plot is also improved. It features more hectic situations (including a plane jacking for instance). Megaman can now change into a few different elemental forms. The number of chips has increased from the first game. The bosses are also a little bit better and more difficult.
	Mega Man Battle Network 3: Blue Version / White Version	Real Time Grid-Based	Fuck yes you are the best BN ever. Introduces the Navicust feature, where you "program" Megaman to upgrade him. Brings Style Changes back from MMBN2, and revives WWW yet again. There are numerous bosses, and the chips in Blue version are crazy compared to White (Folderback returns all your used chips, INCLUDING FOLDERBACK, back into rotation, and fills the custom gauge), But overall either one's a wholly satisfying experience.
	Mega Man Battle Network 4: Blue Moon / Red Sun	Real Time Grid-Based	Not as bad as people would lead you to believe. Okay, so it's still the weakest of the bunch but that's not saying much as it is still a fine game on its own. Introduces important elements to the series such as the emotion window, dark chips, soul unisons and the Boktai crossovers. A bit underdeveloped, with the story taking a notable backseat to a typical tournament arc, making it quite short compared to the others but you can finally start over without losing anything thanks to the addition of a new game+.
	Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Protoman / Team Colonel	Real Time Grid-Based	Double Team DS render the GBA versions all but obsolete, but if you're somehow unable to get a hold of a DS in this day and age, why not? you'll at least be spared from the terribad voice acting if that's such an issue for you.
	Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Falzar / Cybeast Gregar	Real Time Grid-Based	If you liked 1, 2, and 3, definitely pick up a version of 6. The gameplay is refined to its best. Styles now become the "SoulCross" (Megaman fuses with one of 5 version-specific pals (5 per version, not 5 versions)), "Full Synchro" lets you potentially deal double damage with your nest chip, and "Beast Out"+"Beast Cross", lets you fuse with your version's "netbeast" to power up even more. Either version is great, so don't worry about which to pick. The series ends here, but had a spiritual successor/century-later sequel in Mega Man Star Force, though the 3rd is the best of those, especially if you are coming right from the BN series.
	Monster Rancher Advance 2	Monster Collecting	Monster Rancher Advance 2 is a pretty basic Monster Rancher game. Instead of unlocking monsters through discs, you enter in words to generate them. Then you train them and enter tournaments. Combination monsters (example: a suezo bred with a tiger) are now just simple recolors. It's a little disappointing, but the gameplay is still series standard.
	Pokémon: Ruby Version / Sapphire Version	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	Come on, you knew these games would be on here. The third generation of Pokémon has its fans and detractors. You cannot trade critters from earlier games, but here is where Abilities and Contests were introduced (among other things), along with over 130 new monsters. These days it's hard to justify playing it, what with each generation mostly improving upon the last, and Emerald being literally the same game with improvements, but it may make for a nice walk down memory lane.
	Pokémon: Emerald Version	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	The obligatory third game that improves upon the first two and includes new content, Emerald is the way to go if you want to experience the third generation of Pokémon. It brought back sprite animations, which hadn't been seen since Crystal. Not to mention it was a major chore to get 2nd gen pokemon in R/S (you needed a GCN and Pokemon Colossuem and conectors and all that junk!) but here you can get a free Johto starter (after catching all the Hoenn pokemon) plus the Safari zone lets you catch the useful pokemon from gen 2!
	Pokémon: FireRed Version / LeafGreen Version	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	Remakes of the original Pokémon Red and Blue, including updated graphics and all the new features that later generations introduced. You can catch second and third generation Pokémon as well, and trade with Ruby and Sapphire. After traversing Kanto you will access the all-new Sevii Islands, which link the games to HeartGold/SoulSilver plot-wise and have lots of stuff to do. A great way to reminisce about the originals, and a couple of great Pokémon titles.
	Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team	Dungeon Crawler/Roguelike	A roguelike-styled RPG featuring Pokemon elements and mechanics. Through a personality quiz, you end up becoming a Pokemon and questing through randomly-generated dungeons to find treasure, save others, and solve a mystery deeper than just idle exploration. Blue Rescue Team on DS is just an alternate version to this. Sequels are on DS, and all follow the same general mechanics, but have different character options. One of the most touching stories you'll get from a pokemon game!
	Riviera: The Promised Land	Turn-Based/Dating Sim	Upgraded port of the Wonderswan game. An interesting turn-based RPG where the main character is followed by a crew of girls. Lots of exploring, decision-making, and dating-sim elements. You're pretty much guaranteed not to see or get everything in one playthrough. Features very unique battles, which take a bit of time to get used to, but can be very fun. Also, dem well done dubbed voices. Ported to PSP with more voicework and remixed music.
	Robopon 2: Cross Version / Ring Version	Turn-Based/Monster Part Collecting	Actually picks up where the GBC game left off. Somewhat similar to Pokemon, but features several differences, mainly since you improve your robot with parts, software, and RAM. There are also 4-on-4 battles, a pretty expansive main quest, and an SNES inspired HUD. Not too shabby if you want different kind of collectan game to give a whirl.
	Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon	Strategy	Revamped version of Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention Story elements are added and lots of characterization, too, especially when chatting with those who often battle. Extra content includes new characters, a few new spells, rewards for completing certain goals in battle, along with cards which allow a certain new character to utilize different powers. All in addition to updated graphics, better music (with a few new songs), and an already solid gameplay system.
	Shining Soul II	Action	A dungeon crawler action-RPG that's similar to Diablo in some aspects. You choose 1 class to play as from 8, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Leveling up allows you to customize which stats you want increased along with class specialties, such as weapon mastery, elemental resistances, and so forth. There's also some side-quests to take on, along with an arena, both of which offer various rewards. There is also multiplayer for up to 4 people, which is where some classes play best. Shining Soul II blows I away, so don't think you're missing anything by missing 1 (they're unrelated anyways).
	Summon Night: Swordcraft Story	Action	A cute action-RPG based on item and weapon crafting. Good stat-customization, charming dialogue, lots of weapons and weapon types (including swords, axes, even drills), and a fun 2D-based battle system (similar to Tales, but faster and focused on attack-weapon variety). Boss fights are fairly fun and challenging, and if you're crafty, you can steal boss-weapon recipes! On top of all that, you have one of 4 spell-wielding helpers from the game's start, one being a loli fairy lesbian and another being an demon who lusts after your mom. No joke. A bit inferior to 2, but it has some neat stuff to make it worth playing both, like this game's post-game 50-floor dungeon.
	Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2	Action	Plays similarly to 1, except for a few differences in battle, which make items more essential (such as whetstones keeping weapons durable). Exploration now goes through a variety of locations versus the few from 1. Weapons can now also be used out of battle, to clear out obstacles and gather materials. The cast and world are all new and more fleshed out. There's also more side-quests, more weapons, more weapons skills and magic, and more of the expected funny dialogues. There's also some new spoiler-filled additions which are cool (they tie into gameplay too!). Sadly, boss weapons' recipes are gone, but there's still a hefty post game like the first. EXeLD for life.
	Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation	Strategy	A strategy RPG with giant robots. If that doesn't sound good, something's wrong with you. Shit-tons of characters, some of which are awesome, some of which will piss you the hell off, but being able to train your favorite pilots to epic levels and upgrade their mechs is the main point. A long, winding plot that gets kind of ridiculous at times, you may not enjoy the story as much if you don't get the constant mecha anime tropes being recycled and played up.
	Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2	Strategy	Continuation of the first game, improved with more giant robots, more characters, more music, more mechanics and an even more insane plot. A must-play if you really dig super robot anime. The nice thing is that once you know how to play these OG games, now you can play the other games even in japanese. OG1 and OG2 are also compiled into Original Generations for the PS2, with improved everything.
	Sword of Mana	Action	Also know as "New Testament Holy Sword Legend" on Japan. Remake of the first Seiken Densetsu(Final Fantasy Adventure on NA) on the Game Boy original. You can choose a male or female MC with different perspectives of the same (and great) story.The superb graphics,reminiscent from Legend of Mana on PSX, great fast and fluid combat system, decent and atmospheric feeling make this a great entry on the franchise, but the lack of multiplayer is kinda boring, but doesn't ruin the game.
	Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis	Strategy	Features much of what you'd expect from the Ogre series in mythos, artwork, and gameplay. Not as fleshed out as its PS1 older brother, but still has a surprisingly huge amount of depth and also playtime because SOME ENEMIES LOVE TO THINK FOREVER. Regardless, you'll get at least 60 hours or so on your FIRST playthrough. Extra playthroughs have extra secrets and endings, specifically one that reveals someone to be THE GODDAMN Lans Tartare. If you played FFTA and want something similar and somewhat harder, prepare to get your face punched by this. Protip: consider using a walkthrough on one of your runs, as maps love to place hidden (and helpful!) goodies in certain tiles.
	Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone	Strategy	A very hard SRPG that features a strange mixture with cards, a rock-paper-scissors-type of system and an interesting battle method. It can get very frustrating near the last quarter of the game if your characters are poorly prepared. The character design and music are cool, and there's lots of thinking to do and strategies to make, along with very-easy-to-miss quests, items and secrets. Also available on PSP with an easier difficulty for casuals, a redone soundtrack, English and Japanese voice overs, and a couple of new characters (including a recruitable scythe user). Available on PC as of 2023.
	Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars	Strategy	A side-game in Kojima's lighting action-mecha Z.O.E. series, The Fist of Mars combines the combat of the Super Robot Wars series with some of the action of the Goemon series' IMPACT battles (read: first-person, in-cockpit mecha combat).

Nintendo DS

Cover	Title	Style	Description	Screenshot
	Advance Wars: Dual Strike	Strategy	3rd entry moved from the GBA. Has new and old COs, a small few of whom must be unlocked (due to their status in the campaign story). In addition to new units, you can use dual COs, which allows for insanely broken combinations (both for and against you), but the game is still very fun and offers quite a bit of content, solid multiplayer (until some ass picks Hachi), and even an neat action-based mini-game. The series has the same happy, bright atmosphere of earlier games. Well, until... You can check a trailer here
	Advance Wars: Days of Ruin	Strategy	This is in the future, where a meteor strike has wiped out 90% of humanity, leaving you with new COs to fight with and against. This entry has a new stylistic direction, but it still has the same true gameplay, in addition to some new units. Considered the most balanced title in the series, due to reorganizing the amount of power you and your enemies hold, and features great online and offline multi-player. Subtitled as Dark Conflict in Europe, with a different translation. You can check a trailer here
	Avalon Code	Action	An action RPG where you scan and change the "code" of things like NPCS, monsters, weapons, and items but changes are not as significant as people would have liked. You're a kid who obtains a magical book called the Book of Prophecy that wants you to save the world but the book, which is your menu and "inventory", is designed horribly. Other things are generally standard more or less. You do have a good selection of weapons to play with but you'll probably end up using charged gun and sword attacks against most encounters. Still, this game ...has it's moments. You can check a trailer here
	Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled	Active Time Battle	Technically not a JRPG as it was developed by a Canadian studio but is heavily influenced by Chrono Trigger battles and Final Fantasy VI graphics, and could really fit as any of those classic SNES RPGs. A few bugs, but it's generally a decent experience, especially if you've exhausted other RPG options on the DS. Could get boring at some parts and some bosses are extremely hard. You can check a trailer here
	Bleach: The 3rd Phantom	Strategy	Unlike the two first Bleach DS games, The 3rd Phantom is not a fighting game, but a turn-based tactic game. Two teams fight each other's on a battlefield in a style similar to the Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem games.
	Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow	Action	A fun RPG with real-time combat, created by Mistwalker. Lots of customization, equipment showing up on characters, multiple playable characters, item synthesis, both local and online multiplayer, nice graphics, cool enemies, and pretty music by Uematsu are all great things about this game. However, choppy animation, meh translation, gross voice acting, and framerate drops can all be annoying issues. Still, a fun little RPG to sink some time into, especially with a bro or two. If nothing else, do it for the lootz.Check out a trailer right here.
	Blue Dragon Plus	Strategy	Very fun real-time strategy the employs the DS stylus, Blue Dragon Plus offers plenty of gameplay with a consistent difficulty curve that keeps you entertained. An actual sequel to Blue Dragon story-wise, so if you care about story, don't play this until you finish the first. Has a bad reputation critically, but it's actually good, so fuck the magazines. You can check a trailer here
	Chrono Trigger DS	Active Time Battle	The best version of one of the best RPGs of all time. Includes extra dungeons, a new ending, and all the cutscenes from the PS1 version. Also new modes, a monster battlan' minigame, optional touch-screen interface, plus tons of other extras. Time to show Lavos who's boss again and again. Even the translation has been updated for better or worse. You can check a trailer here
	Contact	RPG	A unique game which some say "makes no fucking sense". Has a cooking system, jobs system, attack system, dating system (?!), and more. Compared to EarthBound due to its style of weird humor. Suggested to those looking for something different but classic with a twist. Has many secrets, with even more post-game. Was done by the man behind the Shining Soul series for GBA, which this plays slightly like and is also good. You can check a trailer here
	The Dark Spire	Dungeon Crawler	A direct throwback to first-person, dungeon-crawlers of yore, The Dark Spire will challenge you (and then some) with its combat, traps, puzzles, and never-ending floors. It has great art and music, and has an optional old-school mode that turns the walls to wireframes, artwork to 8-bit-like sprites, and the sound to bleeps and bloops. Very polished. Comes with a soundtrack CD, and can be found cheap. But beware, as it is as tough as the games it's paying homage to. It does you good to learn the combat system but getting lost will still be a dick. You can check a gameplay here
	Dragon Ball Origins	Action	Had enough of Dragon Ball Z? Then play this awesome game where you go through the first two arcs of Dragon Ball (up to the first Budokai arc). You control both Goku and Bulma at the same time, being able to use either the controls or the stylus.
	Dragon Ball Origins 2	Action	Improved sequel to the above, in this one you control only Goku, but in some stages you can control other characters such as Krillin, Android 8 and even Arale! This one takes you through the whole Red Ribbon arc as well as the Fortuneteller Baba arc.
	Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans	Turn-Based	Developed by Monolith Soft. Take out them damn dirty apes before they take over your planet. A solid RPG that has great music, visuals, and a semi-active battle system (for blocking). Game is done in 2-D where you explore different areas and overcome obstacles by blowing them up. There is little to no stylus use.
	Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen	Turn-Based	A remake of the NES title that improves the improvements and the extra chapter that the PlayStation version received. Also has a new script, but for some reason party chat was removed. You control different characters in different chapters, and they all band together in the last (which is longer than all the others combined.)
	Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride	Turn-Based	Distant sequel to DQ4. Easily beats the SNES version. Widely considered the best DQ. Has the PS2 version upgrades, plus several new ones, and a new translation with party chat being restored. You get to use monsters in your party. They can use gear in addition to skills and magic. The excellent story will make you cry bitch tears, as you take part in the main character's trials from birth, early childhood, teen years, marriage, fatherhood, and beyond as he travels the world for the sake of his family.
	Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation	Turn-Based	Conclusion to the DQIV-V-VI generational trilogy. A well-made JRPG with a story centered on alternating between different worlds. Once you beat the first major boss (roughly 8 or so hours in), you'll unlock one of the most expansive class systems in the series, second only to 7's. You can also recruit different Slime allies who can be found in certain towns. They even change classes, and are great allies due to their elemental resistances. There's also a new (addicting) mini-game of Slime ice-curling.
	Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies	Turn-Based	Take the role of a lost angel trying to regain your wings. Your party is completely customizable, even equipment changes your appearance. Features a DQ3-like job system of and the skill system and alchemy pot of DQ8. The main quest is a bit short compared to past games, but is expanded slightly upon in post-game quests. Most additional hours come from fighting bonus bosses in randomized Grottos. Also co-op multiplayer (unfortunately local-only) and (once-)downloadable sidequests. As for the online-exclusive stuff, you can get it with this handy tool. Useful as Nintendo's DS wifi support is done.
	Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker	Monster Collecting/Turn-Based	Solid gameplay, very good 3D, and has online functions (i.e. AI controlled copies of the monsters of others) the online features have been disabled. Monsters' skill sets are customized similar to Dragon Quest 8's, which grants bonuses, magic, and abilities respective to the types of skill sets you level up. Monsters can also be equipped with gear. A pretty good intro to DQM (though Joker 2 is better), despite not quite matching the depth of the GBC games. Joker 2 kicks the shit out of this, but this is still kinda fun to mess around with. The two titles aren't compatible with each other, but J2 has nearly twice as much content anyways. Has a legendary USA commercial.
	Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2	Monster Collecting/Turn-Based	Take Joker 1 and overhaul the fuck out of it. Non-Professional version, but still great. 300+ monsters to recruit and/or synthesize with skills from the game's huge skill tree list (240+ trees!). You can even scout a few monsters from your DQ9 and DQ6DS carts through tag mode! You can also tag other players and recruit copies of their monsters for yourself! Multiplayer no longer "AI copy"-only outside of a small few modes. The series continues with Dragon Quest Monsters 3D, the remake of the 1st DQM with Terry, which has new monsters and EVERY monster from DQMJ2's Pro edition.
	Etrian Odyssey	Turn-Based Dungeon Crawler	Brutal first person RPG inspired by old classics like Wizardry and the original Bard's Tale. Offers tons of character customization. Unfortunately, certain classes are almost necessary to get past the early levels. Be prepared for FOE FOE FOE! The sequels improve on this, but it is still solid.
	Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard	Turn-Based Dungeon Crawler	The sequel offers a few minor improvements and rebalanced classes. You probably aren't playing for the story though, because you live for the challenge! You do get a a few bonuses here and there in EO2 for having a game-clear password from the first one, though (these are easily found online). Oh, and more of FOE.
	Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City	Turn-Based Dungeon Crawler	Like the first two, but now you explore the seas and an underwater city, and all classes are completely new. The difficulty is more balanced and forgiving this time around and there's a new systems of item forging, customizing weapons, and you can even use dual classes in this game. If you are new to these kind of games, start with this one (though going back to 1 and 2 will be kind of tough). Protip: Get a prince(ss) and put skill points into the passive healing abilities. And your favorite pal, FOE, makes a comeback.
	Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates	Action	The first of the Crystal Chronicles for the DS. It's may not be as favorable as EoT, but it has some favorable things that EoT doesn't. The story is much more interesting than EoT and you play the game with up to 4 characters at your command each with unique abilities, which makes this the puzzle solver of the duo. Has multiplayer, but you might as well play EoT for that.
	Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time	Action	The last DS title in the Crystal Chronicles spin-off series. Blows RoF out of the water in every aspect except story (this one is just a mindbender). The DS and Wii versions are the same (as in literally the same game with the exact same graphics), though the DS one is played online more than the Wii one on /v/. Unfortunately, the online is extreme lag with about half a second input lag. Look at PS0 if you want online play on a portable.
	Final Fantasy III	Turn-Based	A fully 3D remake of Final Fantasy III, which was previously never officially released outside of Japan. Unlike the NES version, the orphans have a bit of individual background this time, and there's bonus content; however, most you have to unlock by sending messages back and forward via friend codes. As usual, there are many classes to choose from and to level up, but choose wisely. If you haven't played it yet, now is the time to do so. Also available on iPhone without MogNet.
	Final Fantasy IV	Turn-Based	A fully 3D remake of the SNES game. Includes decent voice-acted cut scenes and a new ability system designed to offer a modicum of customization in the least-customizable FF game to date. Also of note is the increased difficulty over previous ports of the game. Arguably, the best version of FF4 currently available.
	Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift	Strategy	The sequel to the GBA game, BUT laws can no longer make missions non-winnable, and jail has been removed. The worst part of breaking the law is being unable to revive allies until the end of battle. Enemies are above the law (as now Judges are tied to the clan itself), but your team gains "priveleges" such as boosted attack or speed, as long as you stay within the law. Side-quests are much more varied and really carry the weight of the game through their stories, which are badass. More classes, more races, more abilities. Shitload of content to keep you busy. Make sure not to stick to the main quest, its story is garbage. Game is slow as balls too; only for those with patience or playing in small bursts.
	Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light	Turn-Based	Made by the same people who gave you III and IV remakes on the DS. A classic fantasy-RPG reminiscent of the FF 1 and 3 but with its own twists. A couple of things to note is the "Charge" command in place of magic points and that you can switch jobs using the crown system.
	Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon	Strategy	A remake of the original Fire Emblem. You know, the one with Marth. Features online play and the usual Fire Emblem jazz. If you've played any Fire Emblem game before, you know exactly what to expect. Quite dull in terms of presentation, but is fine strategically. One new addition is that you can change the characters' classes, which might sound like a deviation from tradition, but it works well. A small few units are only recruitable if you lose some of yours, but you'll only tend to see them in the brilliantly strategic and twisted 5 star difficulty mode. Nintendo fixed this in the sequel and let you recruit everyone in one run. ALL 77. Too bad it isn't out overseas despite SD selling well.
	Front Mission	Strategy	An enhanced port of Front Mission 1st (PS1 remake of the original SNES Front Mission). Being based off of that, you can play the USN scenario aside from the original OCU one, which further explains the events of the 2nd Huffman Conflict. As an enhanced port, it has lots of extras, including 10 secret missions, characters from other FM games, and even more wanzer parts. A second Front Mission exists on the DS, but it's JP only (FM 2089: Border of Madness). If you liked this one, there are more FM games to check out: FM2, FM Alternative, and FM3 on the PS1, and FM4 and FM5 for the PS2. FM3 and FM4 were localized, while FM2 and FM5 were translated by hardcore fans who are also doing FM Alternative. There's FM Gun Hazard for the SNES, also translated by fans.
	Glory of Heracles	Turn-Based	The fifth game, but the first of the Greek-themed RPG series to make it overseas, and an excellent entry. Takes elements from previous GoH games and adds new ones. It features OPTIONAL touch-screen power boosts to your skills and magic (akin to Mario RPG). An intriguing adventure done by an ace team of old-schoolers from Data East. Recommended to buy as it's worth every Drachma and goes fairly cheap, too. A bit easy, but features some post-game content to extend play-time.
	Golden Sun: Dark Dawn	Turn-Based	A sequel to the GBA classics, this time with 3D graphics and a lot more animation and fluidity. Thankfully, they've managed to keep the artstyle and gameplay consistent with the GBA games. Still has giant walls of text and the difficulty is very low, but if you liked the GBA games and are looking for a nice little RPG, give this a try. Considered not as great as the GBA games and says fucks you with PONRs.
	Hero's Saga Laevatein Tactics	Strategy	A strategy game with a fun battle system. Also all the characters are Spanish for some reason, amigo.
	Inazuma Eleven	Sports	A soccer action RPG title from Level 5. Yes, a soccer RPG. The RPG part has you recruit thousands of players to your team, develop their stats and have them learn new techniques. The battles are super fun, using the stylus to move the players around, pass, kick and summon a fucking fire dragon to score a goal. Story and chars are so-so. EU and JP only. If you don't like glorious British accents, there's an undub. Sequels are confirmed for a Q1 release in the west! And there's an open translation for the 3rd game going on The translation project for the third game had stopped since IE3 was confirmed for release in the European 3DS eShop, and IE1 was officially released in the American 3DS eShop as well (both are tweaked versions, part of the JP-only trilogy compilation). Jolly good cooperation!
	Infinite Space	Strategy	Build and customize ships, battle space pirates and take over the galaxy. Deeper systems than a lot of DS strategy games. Tons of sidequests and missable shit. Your character is The Generic Young Hero but at least he gets a Garlock-makeover halfway through the story. Battles are slow paced but still manage to be fun. Note: Don't buy fake flowers for sickly lolis unless you want them to grow up as evil dominatrices who will try to kill you.
	Izuna (1 and 2)	Dungeon Crawler/Roguelike	Like other roguelikes, dungeons are randomly generated. Except these have sets separate from each other, with bosses at the end of them, making for a more casual-styled approach. That said, it's still brutal with traps and ambushes. Thankfully though, you can explore with two characters at a time, and when both die, they only lose gear, not their levels or stats. Because of the quick-burst style gameplay, it is a bit easy. If you want a similar but MUCH harder game, consider Shiren the Wanderer.
	Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days	Action	A sidegame of the KH series. Focuses largely on Organization XIII, the villains from KH2 and Chain of Memories. Unsurprisingly, there are massive gay undertones in the main story. Takes a very few concepts from Chain of Memories, but plays like the traditional KH formula, except stages are broken up into missions and there are many different enemies and bosses. There's a bonus mode that lets you play missions as other XIII members which is very cool and characters (even Donald, Goofy, and Mickey) and you can even multiplayer locally. Hope you like sea salt ice cream.
	Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded	Action	Has different sorts of gameplay in the worlds and bosses, but in the main action (which is the majority), you can customize Sora with a Sphere Grid-like system, and fight enemies with Birth By Sleep's battle system. Like The World Ends With You, you can tweak difficulty and loot payoff options. Although it rehashes stages and enemies, it remixes any expectations unpredictably well, has a good deal of extras and post-game content, and returns to the light-hearted feel from KH1. Second best sidegame after Birth by Sleep. Got some low reviews from sites, because idiots don't know how about the options menu, or care to access the cool extras. Different enough from 358/2 Days that you should get both if you like.
	Knights in the Nightmare	Strategy	The fourth in the Dept. heaven saga (along with Riviera and Yggdra Union, while the third has not been made). You control the wisp with the stylus to activate the spirits of your dead soldiers in a very strange mix of bullet hell, chess and SRPG. The story is told through flashbacks as you progress through the game. After beating the game you unlock new game +, where it presents a "what if?" situation with a new protagonist. The last half of the game drags on between intense boss battles, but is still an excellent game if you can get into it. Also features tons of characters and an hour long tutorial (optional).
	Luminous Arc series	Strategy	The first one has a great story but downgraded graphics and gameplay. The second one boasts some nice improvements over the original that make it worth playing. Luminous Arc 3 is in Japanland only, though a translation is in progress. Overall pretty easy, but great for anime fans. These games have lots of fanservice and take about 200 hours to reach 100%. Lots of breasts, oh god what the fuck breasts everywhere ma'am what are you doing.
	Magical Starsign	Turn-Based	A bunch of kid wizards travel in space to find their professor. Cool planet system where if a home planet of a type of magic is in a certain alignment, it will receive a bonus or penalty. Also, you can tap to boost spells or defend a la Paper Mario.
	Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time	Turn-Based	The least loved of the original M&L trilogy. In large part due to having awful Baby Mario and Luigi companions ruining everything a la Yoshi's Island. Still fun to play and has decent writing.
	Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story	Turn-Based	This third entry of the M&L series is arguably the best of the series. If you hated Partners in Time for its obnoxious babies, lack of Fawful, irritating controls, complete linearity, or just not being as good as Superstar Saga, then you will love this game. Goes relatively cheap at some places, and is worth buying.
	Mega Man: Star Force (series)	Real Time Grid-Based	The spiritual successor to Battle Network. While it's definitely not as good as Battle Network, it's still worth a play if you liked them. 1 & 2 are pretty decent games. 3 happens to be fucking amazing for bringing back lots of discarded content, such as Program Advances and a remixed hybrid version of 3's Style Change and NaviSoul (the best version from 6, which kicked ass), and is arguably as good as BN 2 and 3.
	Monster Rancher DS	Monster Collecting	Actually this is the second Monster Rancher DS, but the first was never released outside of Japan. The same monster-raising, stat-building, tournament-fighting that Monster Rancher fans have come to expect. Instead of using CDs and DVDs to generate monsters, you can either draw on the touchscreen, record sound on the microphone, or read a GBA cartridge to make monsters. You can preserve a monster when it gets too old, and fuse monsters to make new ones, but the game punishes save-scumming by making your monster practically worthless for fusing.
	Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer	Dungeon Crawler/Roguelike	This game is packed with content, such as puzzles, tons of weapons and items, and cool spell scrolls. Each area is randomly generated, making for a fresh experience each play-through. It's a roguelike, so it's brutal (i.e. lose stats and items after death, start at beginning) but not as brutal as some (you can pass on items through storage or be rescued via Wi-Fi). If you like this, try the Wii sequel, solely titled Shiren the Wanderer. Shiren 2, 4 and 5 are also on DS, in Japanese. The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games play almost identical, but with a Pokémon paintjob.
	Nostalgia	Turn-Based	Rather good retro-styled RPG in full 3D with excellent visuals, a rather unusual steampunk setting and lots of things to do besides and after the main storyline. The gameplay is rather easy (with surprisingly difficult battles popping out here and there), but does not boil down to mashing the attack button throughout the game. Also, those airship battles are breathtaking (for the first 50 times or so).
	Phantasy Star Zero	Action	Phantasy Star Online's awesome little brother. Character creation has huge customization opportunities. Has online play and multiplayer, which is a blast with a group. The main story is okay, and even changes a bit depending on the type of character you create. Each one has implied tentacle molestation though...
	Pokémon: Black / White	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	The fifth generation of Pokémon, taking place in the Unova region (sort of based on New York City and the surrounding area). A lot more plot-based than past installments. There's 156 new critters to find, and all 649 Pokémon have smoothly animated sprites in battle, which change when their HP is low or they have a status effect. The speed of the battles has been cranked up, so if you turn attack animations off then they'll be over in a flash, making level- and EV-grinding much less tedious. TMs have infinite uses now, so you needn't worry about who to give them to. It should also be noted that until you finish the main story, all of the Pokémon you'll see are new. Yup, no more Geodudes and Zubats. However, many of the new Pokémon feel like new counterparts of critters from the original games (Timburr is basically Machop with a log; there's also a bat and a rock). Apart from this, Black and White feels more fresh than past games - if you've lost interest in Pokémon due to the repetitive nature of the series, these two might rekindle your interest.
	Pokémon: Black 2 / White 2	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	These are basically what "Pokémon Grey" would have been, but instead of being a normal special edition they're full blown sequels, set two years after Black & White 1. New story, new protagonist, new characters and more. Unova feels similar to how Kanto felt in Gold & Silver - it really feels like time has past since the previous titles, plus the route you take through the region is a bit different. Features a "Pokémon World Tournamant", which lets you battle Gym Leaders and other characters from previous games, including Red himself. Unlike Black & White, you can find Pokémon from previous generations during the main story. Yup, that means more Zubats. One new quality of life change is how quickly you're thrown into the game - you get your starting Pokémon, Pokédex, Pokéballs and Running Shoes incredibly quickly compared to previous titles, and you can skip most of the tutorials.
	Pokémon Conquest	Strategy	Pokémon meets Nobunaga strategy RPG. You, with your trusty Eevee, travel throughout the region befriending Pokémon and battling Warriors and Warlords to conquer the region and unite it as one nation. Warlords can join the player's party once defeated, allowing the player access to more Pokémon. Probably one of the best Pokémon spin-offs out there.
	Pokémon: Heart Gold / Soul Silver	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	Pokémon as you know it, but with nostalgia-goggles cranked up to the max. You can have any Pokémon (yes, even Wailord) waddle around behind you. Remake of what people will argue is the best iteration in the series, while remaining very similar to Platinum. Much longer than most Pokémon games, as you can continue on to Red and Blue's Kanto region after you finish the main Johto campaign. An item called GBPlayer can be used to play the original music too, which is pretty cool, I guess FUCKING FANTASTIC.
	Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky	Dungeon Crawler/Roguelike	Unlike the roguelikes above, it's hard to gauge difficulty here. Everyone's a Pokémon, and like Poké-games, have elemental weaknesses, so depending on what you and your partner are can make different dungeons easier or harder. The game is kind of quest-based, so unlike Izuna and Shiren, it's not entirely linear. You only lose your items when you die, since you keep your attacks. A different approach, but one worth trying. This game is surprisingly emotional at times and has a great soundtrack. The relatively low score is due to the reviewers believing that besides more pokemon, more areas, new mechanics and added subplots it wasn't new enough for a updated pokemon game. Overall this is the best of the PMD's and among the best Pokémon spinoffs.
	Pokémon Platinum	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	Gotta catch 'em all, just like the three previous generations. The updated version of Diamond and Pearl, it includes a greater variety of Pokémon native to Sinnoh, graphical updates and a deeper storyline, as well as revamped gyms and battles brought up from 'snail' speed to 'turtle' speed. Includes tons of stuff to do over Wi-Fi once the game is finished. Diamond and Pearl are really only worth playing these days for historical/sentimental value (if such things can really be applied to Pokémon games).
	Radiant Historia	Turn-Based	An excellent and lengthy RPG offering brought stateside by Atlus, Radiant Historia will draw inevitable comparisons to the revered Chrono Trigger because the story is centered around time travel. However, here you enter specific scenarios in which you must fight (quick, grid-based, turn-based) battles and make strategic choices to succeed. Excellent production values and accomplished character/world design. Easily one of the best games on the DS.
	Rondo of Swords	Strategy	Like a mix of Shining Force and Fire Emblem, Rondo of Swords is about prince Serdic and his allies who must reclaim his throne from enemy forces. The story is decent, but can get pretty twisted depending on your key decisions. The combat involves making a path, striking through multiple enemies, and getting boosts from allies. Battles are fuck hard, but that's why you can retreat (when allowed to) to review your tactics and even send out allies to train and get supplies.
	Sands of Destruction	Turn-Based	Funny and charming JRPG reminiscent of PS1 era JRPGS, especially Xenogears (in gameplay). This time you're destroying the world rather than saving it. Music and art is really good. Voice acting is good too for the most part, but the pauses between lines can get irritating. Addendum: Most of the game is spent beating up on furries.
	Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor	Strategy	SRPG with over a hundred demons to recruit into your part. Tons of character customization via skill copying and fusing demons together, but boss battles are ragequit inducing fine if you use your brain. The battle system is kind of generic and the visuals are lazy, but it shines with a lot of replayability through five different endings which depend on the choices you make during the story. If you need to grind, you suck
	Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2	Strategy	Sequel to the first Devil Survivor except now aliens are invading. Plays EXACTLY like the first game except now it's BLUE. Updated demon roster, skills, and the addition of the demon condemenium makes fusing demons a little easier (No more giving up that awesome unique demon just for fusion materials). Multiple endings, hard bosses, and such return. Play this if you still haven't had your fix from the first game. Also boobs.
	Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey	Turn-Based/Dungeon Crawler	Classic Megaten gameplay is back with this marvelous entry in the SMT mainline series. When a mysterious black hole filled with demons appears in the middle of the south pole and threatens to devour the entire earth, it's up to you, your unit of elite soldiers from all over the world, and, most importantly, your own legion of demons to go in and kick ass. What sets this game apart from other RPGs is that random encounters don't have to end in violence. By negotiating with demons, you can obtain money and items and even make them join your own ranks. Your dialog choices also affect your alignment towards law and chaos, which affects battles. 300 races of demons to recruit and many hours of playtime with different endings.
	Solatorobo: Red the Hunter	Action	Spiritual successor to Tail Concerto on the PSX. In an anime art style, ride upon thine mighty robot as you beat up other robots in a broad and diverse world. Difficulty may be a little on the easy side, but good fun, and entertaining story. Also furries.
	Suikoden Tierkreis	Turn-Based	A spin-off of the Suikoden series. You're able to recruit up to 108 members for your party. Artwork is really pretty, but VA is sketchy (the protagonist sounds like he had 20 energy drinks). A Japanese dub/better font patch is highly recommended and makes the game a much better experience. Search gbatemp.net for it.
	Super Robot Taisen OG Saga Endless Frontier / EXCEED	Turn-Based	Monolith Soft game where you play a Space cowboy surrounded by tits. Other than the gratuitous fan service, there is a pretty good battle system. Also has KOS-MOS from Xenosaga and that's always nice. We might never get the sequel overseas since Bamco holds the rights and are huge dicks. The sequel (SRTOGS EXCEED) is out in Japan. Except for the design\name of a few characters, this game is completely unrelated to any Super Robot Taisen game, both in terms of gameplay and plot. Unless you played Original Generations, you won’t even notice the references, actually.
	The World Ends With You	Action	An offbeat action RPG featuring dual-screen real-time combat where you must control two characters at once. The urban-based plot is refreshing and unique. Mixes up conventional RPG mainstays, thanks to stuff like: changing battle aspects at will, fashion trends affecting your attacks and clothing stats, mind-reading in mass crowds, and getting stronger by digesting various foods. The main story is short, but it features lots of content and an fairly long post-game story. It's experimental, and not "perfect", but still a must play.. One of the best games on the system by far. It also has an impressive Spain-based romhack.
	Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume	Strategy	A spin-off of the Valkyrie Profile series in the form of an SRPG with elements of the original battle system integrated in isometrically. Not as great as the originals, but still fun. It also has an original storyline where you aren't necessarily the good guy. Your actions can change the next chapter, the final boss and the ending. Story can be pretty depressing. Also the English in the game is early modern, which may be awesome or campy depending on your taste.

Nintendo 3DS

Cover	Title	Style	Description	Screenshot
	Bravely Default	Turn-Based	Remember Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light on the DS? This is a spiritual successor to it that basically fixes a lot its issues, and instead of being based off FF3, it's based off of FF5 and FFT, taking the best parts of both and mashing them together for a kickass job system. Combat uses a "Brave Point" stocking system. "Defaulting" gives you a BP, which enables you to defend for that turn, while "Bravely" uses up a BP, which lets you use an extra ability that turn for each BP you spent. This system adds some strategy to battles and makes fights more interesting, especially Bosses. One of the best RPGs on the system and worth checking out for sure. The method to unlocking the "true ending" is absolute bullshit though.
	Bravely Second: End Layer	Turn-Based	If you liked Bravely Default and want more without wanting anything new, then you'll like this. Its a direct sequel the picks up two years after the events of the first game and the story is pretty good for what it is. It doesn't do anything new though so if you wanted it to build off of the first game then you should pass. It's more like a really good expansion instead of a sequel.
	Dragon Ball Fusions	Action	A neat little action-RPG based on the anime with a huge roster spanning every iteration of Dragon Ball that allows you to build a team and fuse them together to make new fighters. Not a whole lot of substance outside the customization options but it's worth a go if you're a fan of the series.
	Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past	Turn-Based	It took 3 fucking years, but we FINALLY got the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII. And it was fucking worth it. Classic RPG combat, multiple costumes to wear, and hours worth of content, if you're a fan of JRPGs, get it without a doubt.
	Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland 3D	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting	Remake of the first DQ Monsters game on Game Boy. Now uses gameplay akin to the Joker games (day/night cycle, visible monsters instead of random battles, DQ8 style skill trees, etc.) with some added features, like an extra monster slot which allows for up to 4 on 4 battles (as some take up 2 or 3 slots). BUT! There's still Meat and other GBC elements as well, too. Dungeons are randomly generated, like the original, but with more depth, having structures to climb, explore, etc. Has 500 monsters to collect and breed (even every monster from Joker 2 Pro), lots of side quests, and some great online features. Note: Japan-only, region locked. There's a fan translation here.
	Etrian Mystery Dungeon	Dungeon Crawler	A crossover game between Atlus' Etrian Odyssey series and Spike Chunsoft's Mystery Dungeon series. Uses the same class system from Etrian Odyssey with the all the dungeon crawling goodness taken from the Mystery Dungeon games.
	Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan	Dungeon Crawler	Newest entry to the niche series. 3D graphics. Great soundtrack(first run comes with a free CD). The easiest game of the series with a new casual mode, but don't expect to breeze through it without some effort.
	Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth	Dungeon Crawler	More of the same, as expected. Instead of having the subclassing of III and IV or the grimoire system of the Untold games, after leveling up to a certain point, the starter class you pick can become more specialized into one of two different aspects. For example, the Dragoon has both gun and shield skills, but you can upgrade it to either gain better gun skills or better shield skills. It gives a lot of versatility without being as inherently breakable as the previously mentioned systems. Unlike IV, there is only one dungeon and no overworld, so it can seem like a bit of a downgrade. Nevertheless, the core gameplay is as solid as ever, and it has one of the most interesting 6th stratums of the series.
	Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl	Dungeon Crawler	Remix of EO1 built on the EO4 engine. While it retains the Classic make-your-own-crew story, it also has a new character-centric Story as well. If you beat it, you unlock 2 story-specific classes for use in classic. One benefit to the revamping of classic, is that classes and guild options have been modified and rebalanced to be less sucky and/or broken. In both, there is also a new system to "obtain" the skills of other classes into a unit/character, giving you further versatility. Like 4, it also has some nifty QR stuff. Sadly, the demo only covers story mode. Some last notes: 1) You can also change music to the DS's classic FM tunes. 2) This is potentially the easiest EO so far, thanks to Story Mode and Picnic difficulty, so it's a good starter for those interested in the series. However if you play Story Mode on Expert Difficulty, it's potentially the hardest EO yet, thanks to the additional new bosses in the Gladsheim Ruins (in addition to the original stratum bosses from the core game). Do not believe the bullshit lies about Story Mode being "easy". If anyone plays Story Mode on Expert they will shut the fuck up about that. If you like this game, Untold 2 is also an easy enough recommendation being basically all of this but for II instead.
	Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight	Dungeon Crawler	Remake of Etrian Odyssey 2. Like the first remake, it comes with a story mode with pre-made characters as well as a classic mode reminiscent of the original.
	Ever Oasis	Action/Life Sim	Equal parts Animal Crossing and Zelda, Ever Oasis is a new IP prodiced by Grezzo, the creators of the Mana series and the studio behind all those must-have 3D Zelda remakes on the 3DS. Explore a desert, fight monsters, build a town, fight more monsters, solve puzzles, help your sweet aqua-waifu expand your oasis for more residents and shops. Really fits the New 3DS XL nub-stick for camera movement. Chibi art style is awesome, great jmusic, deceptively cute, this game is a lot of fun and should be a must-have for any 3DS owner..
	Fantasy Life	Life Sim	An RPG in which you can choose one of twelve "Life Classes", various jobs such as Alchemist, Cook, Carpenter, Hunter, Woodcutter, etc. The main story involves investigating mysterious meteorites that spread dark energy to creatures throughout the land, and fighting those monsters. Very simple and cute art style, as expected from Level 5. Sadly, the gameplay is pretty shallow.
	Final Fantasy Explorers	Action	It's Monster Hunter, but with Final Fantasy characters, classes, jobs, all that stuff. That's basically all you need to know.
	Fire Emblem: Awakening	Strategy	The first 3DS Fire Emblem title borrows elements from JRPGs to create a more expansive world with more to explore, but the option to grind in between missions gels awkwardly with the gameplay and makes the story either too easy or populated with abrupt difficulty spikes. Character and script work have gotten a big boost with the return of detailed Support conversations and an emphasis on coupling and relationships as part of the story, and localization is great. Character and stage design are also wonderful and most everyone in the cast grows on the player. On the gameplay side you can expect the usual, but there's too much dependence on the Pair-up System and missions lack variety. There's tons of side content and DLC, including recruitable characters from all past games, and the game is in general a treat to series fans. If you're looking for a deep and challenging strategy experience this may leave you wanting, but it's full of fun and polish.
	Fire Emblem Fates	Strategy	The next Fire Emblem game for the 3DS, you take control of a hero who was abducted from their family as a child and raised by your kidnappers, you can choose which side to fight on; your original family or your family that abducted you, with many twists and turns along the way. The gameplay remains the same classic SRPG strategy Fire Emblem has already had, so you can already guess it's pretty good. More characters that develop and raise, more romancing, pretty much more everything. NOA's localization has become rather notorious for changing a lot of things about the game. They removed the option to pet your units in a minigame similar to Pokemon-Amie and butchered a few lines of the dialog with stupid jokes. If this is too much, there exists a ongoing Content Restoration patch to fix all the damage done, so go check that out if you're interested.
	Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance	Action	Happens after KH2, leads into 3. Play as both Sora and Riku, each now with unique skills, and both are in a dream world, so no Goofy and Donald. Instead you tame dream world enemies, each giving a variety of abilities, but features a pseduo Pokemon petting system to take full advantage of them. Gameplay is similar to Birth by Sleep (minus command fusion), but now with the lovechild of all the Drive form abilities in KH2 being at immediate disposal. Several new Disney worlds and characters. Also, If you care about the story, don't miss this, or KH3 won't make any sense. But, if you're new to KH, you can unlock a sort of recap to fill in any questions you need to ask. An HD collection of the originals is also available on PS3. Sadly, the TWEWY stuff isn't as important as you may have hoped. Also, Baloonga.
	LBX: Little Battlers Experience	Action	The first Danbouru Senki title to be released outside of Japan, LBX is essentially the spiritual successor to Custom Robo. Customize your little robots to battle other customized little robots in order to save the world or something. The story is a little predictable, but the visuals and gameplay buy it back.
	Mario & Luigi: Dream Team	Turn-Based	Dream Team has the brothers harness the power Luigi's dreams to save the day. Similar to Bowser's Inside Story, you interact with Weeg while he naps and stuff happens mid-dream (ex: grab his mustache, then snap it to give Mario a quick ride thru the air). Enemies are pretty trippy, as expected from the M&L series, and are a joy to fight. In the awake world, both bros laying the smack down, mostly with standard controls. In dream world, Mario summons his stand Luigi and his clones to fuse into a giant hammer, bowling ball, etc. and the skills lean more towards screen-tilting, touch, etc. Arguably, a must have for the 3DS.
	Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth	Dungeon Crawler	A crossover RPG featuring the protagonists of Persona 3 and 4, along with a couple new faces. Gameplay is similar to that of the Etrian Odyssey series, with some added Persona elements. The chibi arstyle may be off-putting for some, but don't worry, the game is NOT CANON to the series.
	Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire	Monster Collecting/Turn-Based	The remakes Hoennfags had been screaming about for ages, now upgraded with 3D graphics and all sorts of new features. New Mega Evolutions, fairy type, mini games, etc. It also features the most legendaries obtainable in one Pokémon game to date, and aside from the Hoenn starters, you can also grab a Johto, Unova, and Sinnoh starter as well. Beware though, the game is extremely easy compared to the originals.
	Pokémon Sun and Moon	Monster Collecting/Turn-Based	The seventh generation of Pokémon, set in the Hawaii inspired region of Alola with a larger focus on story (similar to Black & White), new Pokémon to catch and better graphics. Game world feels more open and controls similar to Pokémon Colosseum/XD. Difficulity has been ramped up a bit compared to the previous 3DS entries. Gyms have been replaced by challenges, mini events that play better than they sound. For example, one has you hunting Ghosts with a camera and other has you answering trivia questions in a pitch black room. There are still boss battles around though if you miss fighting Gym Leaders. Also HMs have been removed (no more HM slaves!) and replaced by summonable Pokémon that fufill the same purpose. Two Words: SHARPEDO JETSKI
	Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon	Dungeon Crawler/Roguelike	The largest PMD game yet, with 720 recruitable Pokemon and emphasis on item usage over standard combat as you'll face much stronger Pokemon than yourself throughout the game. Play a human who has awoken with amnesia in the Pokemon world finding his way back while exploring randomly generated dungeons and figuring what's afflicting the Pokemon world. Recruiting to your party is no longer random, instead you recruit whatever Pokemon asked you to take on a mission, eventually running out of new missions to take on unlike previous games with the mail boards. Also the pacing is really slow for the first few hours of the game. Still, these are minor flaws and the game is a fantastic tearjerker with strong, challenging gameplay. And have fun with Salamence!
	Pokémon X and Y	Monster Collecting/Turn-Based	The sixth generation of Pokémon and the first main game with 3D graphics, both in and out of battle; the Pokémon themselves look impressive, using detailed models with some smooth animations, however everything else look only slightly better than a DS game. There is a low amount of new Pokémon to catch (only 68) so you'll mostly be seeing familiar faces on your journey. Still, it's one worth taking. Now with FAIRIES!
	Project X Zone	Strategy/Fighting	Fan service at its finest. Not only a crossover of Capcom, Namco Bandai, and Sega; but a crossover of genres too. Combines tactics gameplay with a "Cross active battle system" combo system for the battle scenes. Does get repetitive towards the end but the production values and the ability to use Ulala from Space Channel 5 makes it all worth it.
	Project X Zone 2	Strategy/Fighting	A pretty direct sequel that features much of the same gameplay as the first with an even more insane cast, including characters from Yakuza, Shenmue, and even Fire Emblem. The improved pacing and systems makes it easier to get into.
	Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology	Turn-Based	A remake of the DS classic. New art that is hit and miss and some new mechanics including a follow-up mechanic similar to Tokyo Mirage Sessions, which the devs also made. Still a great game.
	Shin Megami Tensei IV	Dungeon Crawler/Monster Collecting	The long awaited follow-up to 2009's Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, and the older SMT3: Nocturne. One of the most solidly crafted RPG's on the 3DS, providing the classic and balls-bustingly difficult dungeon crawling and demon negotiating the series has always been known for. It's also the first title in the mainline series not to feature a main cast designed by Kazuma Kaneko, though his classic demons are still here. First run copies include the usual Atlus soundtrack CD as well as a 180 page guidebook covering the first 30-40% of the game. Atlus says it's an artbook, but don't believe their lies, that only covers about eight pages of the book.
	Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - Soul Hackers	Dungeon Crawler/Monster Collecting	Port of the original JP-only Sega Saturn game. The 3DS version includes fully voiced dialogue, new demons, "Hacks" which allow you to do things like adjust difficulty and a bonus dungeon in which Raidou Kuzunoha from the PS2 Devil Summoner games makes an appearance. Story involves you playing the role of a member of the Hacker group, The Spookies, as they unravel the mystery of the Phantom Society which seeks to steal all the souls of the inhabitants of Amami City via a virtual reality world known as Paradigm X. Since this game is fairly easy it would be a good starting place for individuals interested in getting into the SMT games.
	Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked	Strategy	A remix port of the original. A solid combo of visual novel and strategy RPG, with the SMT-standard Press Turn battle system. Full voice acting, more skills, more demons to recruit, slightly smoother graphics, a Compendium to register and resummon demons for cash, and an extra 8th day scenario for four key characters, along with a few new game+ bonuses. Not bad if you never played it before and possibly are a Megaten fan. Out in Euroland now, thanks to based Ghostlight.
	Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker	Strategy	Just like how they re-released the first Devil Survivor, here's number 2! New additions include voice acting that isn't as bad as Overclocked, new story that happens after the events of the original that adds about 30 hours, and new demons and skills yada yada.
	Tales of the Abyss	Action	A port of the classic PS2 game. The original NA extras on the PS2 version are in all 3DS versions. If you already played it before you know what to expect. Only real changes are the massively improved loading times, always a good thing, and the 3D which unfortunately isn't very good at all. The game will last at least a good 60+ hours and is all in all a very good RPG game. Very limited quantities so the game is quite hard to find in Europe; America seems to be getting lots of printings. The MC is annoying at first, but the other characters are pretty ace.

Sony

PlayStation Portable

Cover	Title	Style	Description	Screenshot
	Adventures To Go!	Turn-Based/Roguelike	Mixes stuff from classics for a solid RPG. Battles resemble Dragon Quarter (but tiles vs free-flow), magic is combined Light Crusader style, dungeons are random (but you'll influence what's found), and character interactions are amusing. You play as Finn the FABULOUS Fantastic, a greedy badass seeking quick cash at a local adventure agency, which may be out to kill him for his insurance money.
	Class of Heroes	Dungeon Crawler	A first-person dungeon crawler inspired Wizardry based around STRATEGY. So think ahead before your ass gets ashed. The meek-willed and meek-brained need not apply. Like old school dungeon crawlers, dungeons are full of traps, loot, and hordes of monsters. There's also a number of side-quests, and helpful shit like alchemy and party-based attacks. If you like these sorts of games and are looking for a fair challenge, you'll love this. Gets notably easier after gaining a few levels, provided your party setup doesn't suck. Note: Has sequels, Class of Heroes 2 is out now but the rest currently Japan only.
	Crimson Gem Saga	Turn-Based	An old school (think SNES era) JRPG with the typical Attack-Skill-Item-Run battle system. Simple, fun gameplay with fantastic looking character sprites and decent voice acting. Tends to go for fairly cheap as well. Also on iPhone, if you so desire to play it that way.
	Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII	Action	A prequel to Final Fantasy VII that focuses on Zack and his friends- all members of SOLDIER- as they try to cope with the breakdown of the organization. The gameplay mixes real time combat with a “slot machine” for overdrives, summons and leveling.
	Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness	Strategy	Astoundingly addictive turn-based tactics gameplay. Exclusive extras include Etna mode and ad-hoc multiplayer. Despite what you may hear, you only REALLY need to grind in post-game, as it makes the main story stages seem laughably easy in comparison. One of the best ports/remixes that this has gotten, and it's gotten a shit load of them. Gameplay video here
	Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days	Strategy	Plot isn't completely related to the first so you can easily pick up. Graphics are smooth and nice. Enjoy grindan all those 9,999 levels and reincarnating 90 times all over again, this time with new guys. As an added bonus if you have Disgaea 1 save data on your stick, you get an exclusive loli ronin. Highly Recommended. Has some extra DLC stuff too. Gameplay video here
	Fate/EXTRA	Dungeon Crawler	Text heavy, but well translated. Choose one of three different servants (Saber, Archer, or Caster), and let the adventure unfold as you try to piece together your forgotten past. The game can get a little repetitive in terms of the pacing, which holds it back from reaching its full potential, but is still a decent experience if you have the patience.
	Final Fantasy	Turn-Based	An updated port of the first Final Fantasy released in celebration of the 20th anniversary. The game mostly makes use of the groundwork laid by the PS1 and GBA remasters but brings a few new additions of its own. Character sprites look all RPG maker, but some of the spell effect animations and monster art are ballin'. Be warned however that the game has random battles and that the encounter rate can get pretty over the top. (In some places they can occur with a single step)
	Final Fantasy II	Turn-Based	The second of the two ports that were released for the PSP in celebration of the Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary, this one being Final Fantasy II. Features the dungeons added to the GBA remix plus an additional new dungeon. Not as widely-liked as the first, but has its fans. Be warned however that the game has random battles.
	Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection	Turn-Based	A remaster of Final Fantasy IV, plus The After Years, and an all new Interlude chapter that helps bridge the two. Be warned that the game has random battles and that the encounter rate can get downright savage in some places.
	Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions	Strategy	A port of Final Fantasy Tactics from the PS1. The port suffers from a lot of stuttering during battle animations, which can be jarring at first. On the flip side, this version has new animated cutscenes that add a dramatic flair, a new translation (although some might be put off by the olde style english) and you get to save to up to fifteen slots using just one save file. Whichever version you go with, it's one of the best SRPGs thanks in large part to its excellent job system. A patch has been released that fixes the massive slowdown when casting spells and skills. There is also a patch that fixes the aspect ratio, resulting in sharp and clean 1:1 pixel art. CFW is required! Patch here Installation instructions here
	Gladiator Begins	Action	A pretty bare-bones simulator of life as a slave forced into the Roman arenas. What it lacks in level design and mission variety it makes up for in excellent combat mechanics, a metric shitload of customization, and the freedom to punch the helmet off of your opponent's head, and subsequently beat him to death with it.
	Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure	Action	A charming 3D platformer-RPG ported over from the Japanese-only PC version. It plays close to a modern Ys game (3D Zelda-like with more asskicking and less exploring and gadgets). Lacks some of the extras PC got via patches though. Oh well.
	Hexyz Force	Turn-Based	Sting takes some elements from Riviera and Evolution to make a surprisingly solid RPG. It actually has TWO pretty different stories (using the same battle system), yet they cross over every so often. Definitely worth a shot if you don't mind something different or are a fan of the two mentioned games above.
	Jeanne d'Arc	Strategy	An SRPG version of the story of Joan of Arc, with plenty of anime-style fantasy and voice-acted cutscenes to boot. With good-looking, fully 3D graphics, it's a quality title. Watch out for ZE ACCENTS.
	Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep	Action	A Kingdom Hearts prequel game in which you play as three characters: Terra, Ventus, and Aqua, each with their own story. The game can be enjoyed with little to no prior story knowledge. If your PSP has CFW, there's an english patch for the Final Mix version. New keyblades, D-links and, if you're willing to sacrifice battery, higher-quality textures.
	Lunar: Silver Star Harmony	Turn-Based	A remix of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete that has new voices, hand-drawn graphics, remastered music, Legend's Arts Gauge, and a new prologue about The Four Heroes. (Note: buying from PSN is HIGHLY recommended as UMD load times can get kinda sucky. The translation and voices could be better (given WD's awesome original), but as is, they get the job done decently.
	Phantasy Star Portable 2	Action	Basically run around and attack enemies using a variety of melee and ranged weapons, collecting exp and loot along the way. A significant update over Phantasy Star Universe and Phantasy Star Portable- you can roll and block now, and PP is no longer attached to weapons, but a stat like HP. Also features a pretty good if somewhat cheesy story. An updated version of the game Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity was only released in Japan. There's a translation patch for it.
	Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle	Strategy	Enhanced port of the PS2 NIS game. Loli necromancer and her phantom companions overcome prejudice, do odd jobs for money, save the world. Distinguished from other NI SRPGs in that the movement is not grid-based (which can be exploited, especially on ice levels) and that you can use literally anything you can pick up as a weapon. Even a fish. Even your opponents. As with the Wii port, the PSP version revamps a number of aspects, such as streamlining stat displays, adding a new scenario, some new items and attacks. The PSP version also includes new NPCs, items and hidden quests.
	Rengoku II: The Stairway to H.E.A.V.E.N.	Action	You play as Gram, a combat android who is trying to remember his past life as a human and what happened leading up to his death. As you would probably expect, this involves climbing a tower and taking down robotic floor bosses based on the seven deadly sins. Each part of your body- legs, torso, head, and both arms, can be swapped out with other parts that can be found from defeated enemies. Thus, the game is sort of like an on-foot version of Armored Core, and features incredibly fluid hit detection, controls, and gameplay, as well as an awesome soundtrack. Depending on what kind of weapons you decide to equip, the game is either a beat-em-up or a third person shooter, or both.
	Riviera: The Promised Land	Turn-Based/Dating Sim	An upgraded port of the GBA version. Now fully voiced, with remixed music and translation, and other additions. Note that the sprites are merely upscaled versions of the original GBA. Nice backdrops make up for this, however. Game is basically a waifu simulator thinly veiled behind RPG battles if you like this stuff.
	Shin Megami Tensei: Persona	Turn-Based/Dungeon Crawler	Different from more recent entries, but the translation's been revamped and everything is smoother (in loading and accessibility) and has a number of nice additions such as animated cutscenes and some new music. Dungeons are first-person maze crawling, similar to old SMT and the recent Strange Journey.
	Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2: Innocent Sin	Turn-Based/Dungeon Crawler	It's an enhanced port of the Persona game the west never got due to some questionable content in the plot (such as Hitler). The game takes place in a town with a curse that makes all rumors come to reality. The delinquent Tatsuya and his friends have to use the powers hidden in their mind to battle an evil cult. The characters and story are amazing and the best in the series. The gameplay is manual command and/or tactics-driven (you choose) and your party can combine some spells for powerful combo spells. A remake of the direct sequel, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, is also on PSP with a fan translation in the works.
	Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting/Social Sim	A port of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 for the PSP. Includes the ability to play as a female protagonist with a "new" storyline. It fixes many of the original's annoyances, such as not being able to take control of your allies.
	Spectral Souls: Resurrection of the Ethereal Empires	Strategy	Known as Shinki Gensou: SSII Unlimited Side in Japan, Spectral Souls immerses you in agreat battle between good and evil. During this role-playing game, you can switch between characters from three opposing kingdoms.
	Star Ocean: Second Evolution	Action	Slightly revised (and easier) port of Star Ocean: The Second Story from ye olde Playstation, featuring a few extras, such as backdrops for cutscenes, animated FMVs, and is almost fully voiced with some pretty good VAs, which is bittersweet. Because there is NO TEARAN INTO PIECES, or CRAWD ADVANCE FOWARDAN.
	Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together	Strategy	A remake of the PlayStation game, which was originally released on the Super Famicom and PSX. Created by the team that worked on the original, this version contains upgraded graphics, new characters, more maps along with MANY gameplay tweaks, which makes for a refreshing and quite different experience. Translation is new as well. Remastered for PC and modern consoles as "Tactics Ogre Reborn".
	Tales of Eternia	Action	A port of the PS1 game (known as Tales of Destiny 2 in the States, but it's not the actual ToD2), nothing major really changed unless you count the cropped image (to fit into widescreen ratio) and some changes to control (PSP have no R2 or L2, duh?). It was great then and it's still great now. No, it wasn't released in America, but it was in Europe. In English. Pick it up if you haven't played it yet.
	The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky	Strategy	The game is the sixth entry in the "Legend of Heroes" series by Falcom, which is like the complete opposite to their other famous series "Ys" focusing on story, strategy, customization, sidequests and all you love in RPG games. Plagued by delays, but massive in scope and worth the wait. We have a detailed page on Trails in the Sky for more info.
	Valkyria Chronicles II	Strategy	Same as the first game with all the fun RPG strategy gameplay condensed to the PSP, however it is somewhat less interesting, not by much, due to cliché characters and plot.
	Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth	Turn-Based	Ported from the PSX with new, gorgeous FMV's and very minor QoL tweaks. The 2D platforming and battles have aged very well, and the game uses a unique battle system, if somewhat confusing to newcomers. Sadly, the gorgeous 2D pixel art is stretched, resulting in blurry-looking graphics - you might want to play the PSX version for crisper visuals.
	Wild Arms XF	Strategy	Has an incredible skill and class system that could arguably be put close to FFT's scale once you get every job/class. There's also varied maps/missions that require actual strategy and great music.
	Ys I & II Chronicles	Action	An extensive remake of a 1987-88 game that brings it to modern standards. Features gorgeous pixel art, a killer soundtrack, and challenging, skill-based difficulty built on top of a very simple battle system. The final boss will give you PTSD.
	Ys Seven	Action	The seventh Ys game, and the first to use 3D models instead of sprites. Also, you now travel in a party of three and can switch between characters on the fly. Each character has either a slash, pierce, or smash attack type, each type being effective against certain types of enemies. The game is surprisingly damn long and has an excellent soundtrack.
	Ys: The Oath in Felghana	Action	This is Ys III re-imagined to play similarly to later sequels, but still uses some faux side scrolling elements on occasion and even features platforming unlike Ys Seven. Expect some really difficult, white-knuckle boss fights. Don't worry, as the game actually lets you lower the difficulty if you fail a boss too many times.
	Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman	Strategy	Explore turn based dungeons as you train to become the Unlosing Ranger. Lots of humor, customization, and unique gameplay, with randomly generated maps that add tons of replay value.

PlayStation Vita

Cover	Title	Style	Description	Screenshot
	Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention	Strategy	An updated port of Disgaea 3 on the PS3. Features all the DLC from PS3 and few new bonuses like two new characters, some characters and features from Disgaea 4, and other gameplay tweaks. A great pick for people who never played Disgaea 3, but those who have don't have much reason to buy this. If you're not in the know, Disgaea games are known for their off-beat humor, isometric tactics RPG gameplay, and extremely deep stat-building systems that can potentially involve lots of time min/max-ing your gear, characters, and so forth. The last part only becomes a necessity in post-game challenges, so thankfully you won't need to grind your ass off before then.
	Dragon's Crown	Action	A sword-and-sorcery beat 'em up homage with elements of Golden Axe, D&D Arcade, and more; except, expanded into an RPG. As such, in addition to the standard stages to play, is incentive to revisit them thanks to several quests which reward you with loot and further improve your powers. Each of the 6 classes has numerous skills and passive abilities to learn, letting you customize how you want to play and what role you'll serve in a party. You'll definitely want to party on, since after the initial 9 stages, you unlock 9 more, each with new bosses to conquer. After beating the game once, you get to the REAL meat: The Labyrinth of Chaos! It's a randomized dungeon containing mixed up elements from all stages, like fishmen out of water in the middle of the sky raining fire in an underground cave. Further on, bosses spawn as common foes, except harder with new attacks and patterns, AND other common enemies and stage hazards smash on you simultaneously. Normal stages can't even compare! As for the Vita version, slowdowns happen a bit more than PS3 (though the PS3 does also have them), and ad-hoc multiplayer is unlocked at the same time as online (first 9 stages cleared) vs the get-go of PS3. However, cooking and runes are much easier to manage and you will want to be good at those. For more info/help, consider checking out the archives of past generals and pastebins. Note: As of the most recent patch, you can go online with both Vita and PS3 players!
	Final Fantasy X HD Remaster	Turn-Based	FFX set the series' current standards for breathtakingly cinematic presentation, unique fantasy worlds, and romantic, sweeping stories with philosophical undertones. The game is fully-voiced and still a delight to look at, though the writing and voice-acting are a different story. Turn-based combat and rigid, class-based characters make a comeback, along with many callbacks to earlier titles. The game is very on-rails, with little optional exploration, but lots of side-content. As per usual, the ending is a point of contention. Worth a try. Based on the International release which adds additional exclusive content. Do note that the Vita version has a nasty RNG bug which was never patched for this particular port. Basically, encounters aren't random- if you saved your game, walked a few steps, then fought a battle then reloaded your game, you would encounter the same battle in the same amount of steps with the exact same damage from enemy attacks. This version also lacks the option to switch between the original and new OST.
	Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster	Active Time Battle	Surprisingly, a direct sequel to FFX which revolves around Yuna's life after the events of the previous game. With Rikku the thief and new character Payne in tow, the three set out to become bounty hunters, errand runners, and pop idols, among other things. The combat system is very unique, as it allows the three to change classes ("Dresspheres," complete with unique outfits) in the middle of battle, a feature that some love and some hate. The story is ridiculous even for FF standards, so don't give it too much thought. A bizarre and unncessary, but fun romp. Based on the International release which includes exclusive content, such as dresspheres, an additional playable storyline and battle arena mode.
	Muramasa Rebirth	Action	Enhanced port of the Wii game "Muramasa: The Demon Blade". If you haven't heard of this or played it yet, then get your ass out from under that rock and pick this up now. In this version, you can now remap buttons and it has a newer and more flowery (though more accurate) translation. You can still use the "Up-button scheme" though. All four DLC chapters have been released (separatly or in one package). Sadly no retail in the EU.
	Persona 4: Golden	Turn-Based/Monster Collecting/Social Sim	Highest rated game on the Vita right now, and best version of P4. Has a good deal more content than the original, and also, you can now pick and choose persona skills in fusion (as opposed to cancel-spamming like before). If you haven't gotten this game already, then whatever. Baby's second SMT after P3P. For a list of modifications, check this shit: here.
	Tales of Hearts R	Action	A remake of a Nintendo DS game. One of the better Tales games, now even better since you can use 4 allies at a time, along with other new goodies. It uses a 3D world, even in battles, versus the sprite-based 2D of DS. Uses the anime cutscenes instead of the CGI ones.
	Ys: Memories of Celceta	Action	Although part of a series, this entry is stand-alone in execution, so beginners can start here, too (in fact you can start from whichever game you want in this series). Falcom's own remake of Ys IV, remixing/changing aspects of past versions. Gameplay is like Ys Seven (fast-paced hack n' slashing with careful guards/dodges to counter/avoid enemy assaults). Story is a Pulp Fiction-ish ordeal, as you share in Adol's confusions and rediscoveries as he solves a grand mystery by kicking some demon ass. Rockin' soundtrack, fast action, and extensive exploration await. Negatives include the graphics being a bit bloomy, story is a bit cliche at times, and foes being a bit damage-spongy on highest difficulties. If you can, try to buy the special box set. It has lots of nice extras, including a handy mini-strategy guide.
	Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana	Action	Taking place between Ys V and Ys VI, Adol and a bunch of other people end on a mysterious island and must find a way out. This game brings back the party system from the two previous titles and adds a lot more exploration, making this the longest title in the series so far. Unique in that unlike other entries you don't have towns, instead you must find the other survivors from the ship crash scattered along the island and help build a settlement where they will share items and other stuff in exchange for materials as there is no actual money in the game. Just remember to update the game before playing it because of the awful translation it came out that was thankfully fixed later.