Best Turn-Based JRPGs That Are Not Part Of A Franchise

Summary

• Turn-based RPGs are becoming less popular compared to action RPGs.
• Even successful turn-based RPGs like Pokemon Conquest may not get sequels.
• Lesser-known turn-based RPGs like Opoona and The Last Remnant deserve recognition.

Turn-based RPGs aren’t as popular as they used to be. Now it’s all about action RPGs with turn-based ones, including the tactical variety, being the minority. Even at the height of their popularity, turn-based RPGs weren’t guaranteed sequels even if they were successful sales-wise or if reviews were good.

For example, Pokemon Conquest was a turn-based tactical RPG wherein the colorful critters were used to wage war in the feudal era of Japan. World of Final Fantasy is another example that puts a twist on Pokemon. Even being a part of big franchises like Final Fantasy and Pokemon, spinoffs are not guaranteed sequels. So then, these other examples with no ties to other franchises had less of a chance to spawn a series. However, they still deserve to be remembered.

7 Crimson Shroud

Roll The Dice

• Developer: Level-5, Nex Entertainment
• Publisher: Level-5
• Release Date: December 13, 2012 (NA)
• Platform: 3DS

Crimson Shroud was co-developed involving a big name studio in Level-5, and a smaller one via Nex Entertainment. This was a downloadable game for the 3DS featuring three characters: Giauque, Frea, and Lippi.

It was stylized like a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, complete with miniature figures, diorama-like dungeons, and a heavy emphasis on dice rolls. Battles were turn-based, and the three characters inhabited the traditional Warrior, Mage, and Archer classes. Instead of leveling up, the party could increase their stats via equipment, so players had to be on the lookout for chests at all times.

6 Infinite Space

A Star Trek-Inspired RPG

• Developers: Nude Maker, PlatinumGames
• Publisher: Sega
• Release Date: March 16, 2010 (NA)
• Platform: DS

Infinite Space is one of the weirdest titles that PlatinumGames had a hand in, but that doesn’t mean this DS RPG is bad. Normally, the studio develops high-octane action games like Bayonetta, but this is more like a Japanese take on Star Trek.

Players can man their spaceship with officers and, depending on who is placed where, will determine the functions of that department, whether that be blasting baddies or healing the hull. Players can upgrade the ship via Tetris-like blocks, and every action is engaged through menus without exploration. Mass Effect fans may dig this one, even though it isn’t that stylish.

5 The Last Remnant

SaGa Meets Fantasy

The Last Remnant borrows from both the SaGa franchise and Final Fantasy Tactics. Instead of controlling individual characters in combat, players set up squads. They engage with enemies in small conflicts, giving players the feeling of controlling an army on the battlefield —sometimes quite literally for some of the more bombastic scenes. These units will level up stats through random progression, so it’s hard to grind in the game.

It was a challenging and flawed game on the Xbox 360, but a lot of the kinks have been smoothed over thanks to the remaster in 2018. Even with that update, it’s still one of Square Enix’s most forgotten titles, and it deserves more praise.

4 Opoona

The Cutest RPG On Wii

Opoona was one of the few traditional turn-based RPGs on the Wii. It featured the titular hero, Opoona, who crash lands on a foreign planet with their family. The game is about getting the family back together, like a space version of the Fast movies, and they serve as new party members once rescued. Players will also get licenses to use new jobs presented in this large city that opens up sort of like a Metroidvania.

It’s one of the weirder Koei games of this era, to be sure, and the random encounters were many. Still, it was a charming RPG, thanks to Opoona, their family, and the cel-shaded art style.

3 Resonance Of Fate

A Cool Gun Battle In The Sky

Resonance of Fate was a collaboration between tri-Ace, best known for the Star Ocean series, with Square Enix, and Sega. The game takes place in the post-apocalypse wherein humanity lives out their days in a tower high above the pollution below. Anime fans can liken it to Cowboy Bebop, as three scrappy young adults are trying to make it big by doing random jobs.

The story is structured episodically without an overarching narrative. The gameplay is one of the coolest to witness, but hardest to understand, involving pathways, jumps, cover dodges, and tons of gunfire in turn-based arenas. It did get a remaster, but never a sequel.

2 Skies Of Arcadia

A Classic Sky Pirate Adventure

Sega has a lot of franchises under their belt, but among the ones they have abandoned, Skies of Arcadia is at the top. It was a turn-based RPG celebrated on the Dreamcast, and it even got a GameCube port. But after that, it disappeared and hasn’t resurfaced since on any platform, be it physical or digital.

The game was about a group of sky pirates trying to save the world one scrappy fight at a time. Random battles were absurdly frequent, but fans didn’t care because all the vibes were there. Since then, characters have made appearances in other games; for example, the main character, Vyse, wound up in Valkyria Chronicles as a party member. That’s at least something.

1 Sweet Home

The Origins Of Evil

• Developer: Capcom
• Publisher: Capcom
• Release Date: December 15, 1989 (Japan)
• Platform: NES

Sweet Home is one of the most important NES games of all time, and it’s also one of the most forgotten. It was developed by Capcom and is very loosely based on a Japanese film.

At the start, players can pick their party members and work their way through a haunted mansion. Each character is equipped with an item that can get past obstacles, like a lockpick to get through doors. Players will encounter random enemies for simple turn-based combat. While it was never released outside of Japan, fans have translated it into English. Western fans can thank Sweet Home for giving the team at Capcom the idea for Resident Evil.