The turn-based genre blossomed on the NES thanks to titles like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. While many games tried to shake things up a bit between the NES and SNES, one of the more groundbreaking entries wouldn’t come out until the end of the SNES’ lifecycle. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was Mario’s first RPG adventure which was co-developed between Squaresoft and Nintendo who oversaw the project.
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In that battle system, players could time their attacks to gain bonuses or defend against enemies to negate damage. It was a more active turn-based system and while it didn’t catch on completely, many games would try this active style out. Here are the best, ranked by how engaging the gameplay was.
8
The Legend Of Dragoon
The PS1’s Forgotten One-Off
The Legend of Dragoon was a late release for the PS1 developed and published by Sony internally. It doesn’t have the most active turn-based system, but when players attacked enemies, they had to smash buttons like Square or Cross to get extra hits which were hard to time. Other PS1 RPGs attempted active systems like Final Fantasy 8 with Squall’s Gunblade and Beyond the Beyond but The Legend of Dragoon did it best. While it never received a sequel or full remaster, it did get an upgrade via the PS5 re-release on PS+ with smoothed-over textures and save states.
7
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling
Paper Mario’s Tiny Cousin
After Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the series split into two franchises: Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario. Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling is an homage to the latter, offering similar 2D visuals as the original N64 game. As the title implies, players will take their buggy party on a miniature quest to save their kingdom from invaders. Players can time their attacks and defensive postures with button presses, with more intricate mini-games for specials. While it lacks voice acting, it does contain solid humor for an indie RPG.
6
Mother 3
Fighting To The Rhythm
Mother 3 is something that Western fans have been dreaming about ever since it was released on the GBA in Japan only in 2006. There is a legendary fan patch for it in English though which is how diehards have whet their appetites while they wait for Nintendo to bite the bullet and re-release it somehow.
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The active part of the turn-based combat is not explicitly advertised as players can engage with the game more traditionally. However, if players time their attacks to the music, they can create a chain that will make most battles go by faster.
5
Project X Zone
A Tactical Fighter
Project X Zone was one of the most ambitious games on the 3DS which crossed over Sega, Bandai Namco, and Capcom characters. It was a tactical RPG wherein each unit on the map contained a partnership of two to three characters. Jill and Chris from Resident Evil and Jin and Ling from Tekken are two examples. When players engaged with an enemy, battles were like fighting games as they could combo attacks with button presses to make their attacks last longer. There was a bit of a learning curve and stages could last a while, but again, it was a creative game and one made for the fans above all else.
4
South Park: The Stick Of Truth
A More Explicit EarthBound
South Park: The Stick of Truth is still the best game based on the South Park license by a country mile thanks to the partnership between Obsidian Entertainment who developed the game for Ubisoft and creators Matt and Trey penning the script and voicing the characters. It looked like the show and offered players a free-roaming chance to explore South Park in all its 2D glory. Players could create their character and then join Cartman and the others for turn-based combat not unlike a combo between EarthBound and the Mario RPG games. It didn’t hold anything back in terms of humor and pushed the boundaries more than one time.
3
Sea Of Stars
Mario RPG + Chrono Trigger
Sea of Stars is another combination of RPG classics, which was an indie homage to Chrono Trigger and the various Mario RPG games. It has the visual style of Chrono Trigger especially on the world map and there are combo attacks.
Turn-based battles are active though with intricate combos required for the special attacks. While Square Enix sleeps on a Chrono Trigger sequel, indie games like Sea of Stars are here to make fans happy. There’s even a broad expansion set to release sometime in 2025 called Throes of the Watchmaker.
2
Undertale
An Indie Breakout
Undertale became an Internet sensation overnight when it launched in 2015. It has the humor of EarthBound and the intricate gameplay of a Mario-based RPG all combined into a turn-based game that doesn’t want players to fight monsters. While killing is a possibility, the true ending demands players to talk their way out of fights while dodging attacks in the process. It’s gone so far past active RPG systems that it’s almost more akin to a bullet hell shooter. Whatever genre players want to label it under, it’s an unforgettable experience from top to bottom.
1
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Redefining Mario’s RPG Legacy
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars may have started the active turn-based phenomenon but its spiritual successor on the GBA, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, perfected the formula. The gameplay reduced the party to just two characters, Mario and Luigi, with each brother being controlled by a specific button both in battle and while exploring the world. Each enemy had a different attack pattern, making dodges and counters even more active than in Mario’s first RPG adventure. Of the entire series, this first entry is still fun to go back to with plenty of laughs and surprises strewn throughout.
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