The RPG genre is one with a deep history that dates back to the earliest years of gaming. While RPGs now take on a myriad of forms, with each franchise bringing something different to the table, traditional RPGs of the '80s and '90s most often utilized turn-based combat.
While many modern developers have strayed away from such combat, there are still a plethora of video games that use classic turn-based systems. As modern games are able to draw on the success and failures of the past, many modern turn-based RPGs tend to be some of the best that the genre has to offer. We're going to see which turn-based RPGs for the PS4 are the best.
Updated on March 29, 2023 by Jacob Whaling: Turn-based RPGs are still one of the most varied genres of games, with so many options to choose from. We've updated this list to include a few more picks for some of the best turn-based RPGs on the PS4.
19 🅰 Dungeon Encounters ♓
An incredibly underrated JRPG released by Square Enix in 2021, Dungeon Encounters is a game that prioritizes gameplay and exploration, utilizing a rather bare-bones ෴visual preseཧntation.
Far from a flashy RPG, Dungeon Encounters is a game based around the exploration of a massive Labyrinth, utilizing a deceptively rich and rewarding combat system that rewards strategic planning. For those interested in a fully realized RPG with a minimalist aesthetic, Dungeon Encounters ma🦩🙈y be for you.
18 Valk𒉰yria Chronicles 4 ও
The fourth main entry in the Valkyria Chronicles franchise, Valkyria Chronicles 4 is a massive turn-based tactical JRPG. Rather than utilizing a fantasy-based theme like many other JRPGs, Valkyria Chronicles⛦ features a much more modern, World War II-esque setting, memorable characters and an engaging plot. The game uniquely blends strategic turn-basꦡed mechanics with third-person shooting.
As one would expect from a Tactical RPG, the game greatly rewards players who develop well-thought-out strategies, planning several turns ꦉahead, while punishing those who fail to account for enemy units.
17 Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark
Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark is an impressive indie tactical RPG reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics. In addition to a high-quality story, the combat of Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark provides players with a significant degree of freedom when it comes to customizing their characters and concocting their own strategies thanks to the game's class system.
While some RPGs are criticized for their overly complex narratives, this game's easy-to-follow narrative complements the game's cast, allowing for an easily digestible experience.
16 B🦄an𝓀ner Saga Trilogy
🐷The Banꦗner Saga is a series of tactical RPGs based around a Viking-inspired aesthetic. The game is among the most visually impressive tactical RPGs on the market, featuring gorgeous 2D animation and hand-painted backgrounds. Between solid TRPG gameplay and solid writing, each of the Banner Saga games are incredibly well-rounded experiences.
As all t🌜hree entries in the series have been released together as a bundle as the Banner Saga Trilogy, the entire experience can be played consecutively, providing an absolutely massive tactical RPG experience.
15 ﷺ Final Fantasy 9
While Final Fantasy 7 has a wide-spread reputation as one of the greatest turn-based RPGs of all time, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 9 is a strong contender for one of the strongest entries i💧n the franchise as well.
After Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy 8 had each utilized aesthetics that were much more sci-fi than fantasy, Final Fantasy 9 was a return to form for the series. In addition to its memorable character-driven story and expressive cast, Final Fantasy 9's gameplay provides players with a notable degree of freedom to build and customize their party members to their liking, providing them with new skills in combat through abilities that can be gained via utilizing specific pieces of equipment.
14 𝓀 South Park: The Stick Of Truth 💟
There's a surprising amount of things to appreciate about 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:South Park: The Stick of Truth. On the surface, the game is a faithful video game spin-off of ღthe South Park series, maintaining the same consistent writing as the show, as many of the same people worked on both the ✃game and the show.
However, the game takes the form of a shockingly solid traditional turn-based RPG, blending the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:humor that one would expect ꧂from South Park with jokes and jabs at classic fantasy tropes.
13 ඣ Child Of Light
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Child of Light is a visually stunning RPG that🐼 blends its drop-dead-gorgeous art direction with an active time turn-based battle system akin to that found within many entries in the Final Fantasy series.
The game uniquely features a firefly that can be used to manipulate the flow of this active time battle system, even allowing said firefly to be controlled by another player, meaning 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the game can be played cooperatively.
12 Cris Tales ⛄ 𓄧
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Cris Tales is another turn-based RPG with notably impressive visuals and style. A game based around time manipulation and the impact on one's actions on the flow of time, the game allows you to simultaneously view the past, present, and future of locations you explore, immediately seeing how your actions impact the future.
Additionally, the game distinctly implements this time manipulation into combat, allowing the player to alter their foes' forms by throwing them into the past or future. This mechanic can be used in a variety of ways, such as fast-forwarding the effects of time-based damage like poisons.
11 𒀰Slay The Spire
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Slay the Spire is an interesting take on the roguelike RPG formula. Using a card-based combat system in which a player's starting attributes are based on their choice of one of four playable characters.
However, as the player progresses through the game, the types of cards that they acquire and the shape their deck 𒈔takes can vary drastically from playthrough to playthrough, giving the game a notable degree of replay value as different cards open up different strategies and synergies.
10 XCOM 2
The sequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown, XCOM 2 is a sci-fi tactical RPG that 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:🎐pits the player against an alien invasion. With the player in control of a tactician, you have control over a customizable squad of characters that can come in the form of five distinct classes with their own ♉specialties.
The game uniquely includes an optional "Iro﷽nman Mode" that routinely automatically saves the game, locking the player into every choice they make and preventing decisions and misplays from being undone.