Summary
Square Enix is known fordeveloping quite a few amazing gameswith riveting turn-based combat. It was the bread-and-butter for this company for the longest time before they decided to branch out into other genres as the gaming industry evolved.
However, even after all the time that has passed, Square Enix hasn’t forgotten its roots. The company still makes an effort to push turn-based combat in their modern titles, with some games earning a ton of critical and commercial success when everything clicks.
Aside from a poor name,Triangle Strategyis an excellent tactical turn-based game that players will have a great time with. The story can be a bit too in-your-face at times, but players who don’t mind epic and long-winded plots won’t mind this aspect ofTriangle Strategy.
This game is perfect for players who love organizing their forces, making the most of the terrain in every stage, and utilizing special attacks to dominate enemies. As long as players aren’t too flippant with their strategies, they shouldn’t have a problem going through the bulk of this game’s content.
Live A Livefelt like an odd choice for a remake, but fans understood why Square Enix wanted new players to put some respect on this title’s name. It features a unique narrative structure and is arguably the catalyst that led to the creation ofOctopath Traveler.
Players control adventurers across different timelineswho must fight off an antagonist who embodies evil itself. This culminates in a final fight at Odio’s palace, where players either band together to stop the Dark Knight or flip the script and help the antagonist achieve his diabolical goals.
Bravely Default 2is the perfect jumping-in point forthis fledgling JRPG series. It’s a standalone game that improves upon most elements from previous titles to make for a brilliant combat system.
Players will love stocking their Brave Points and using them to unleash an immensely powerful attack that will decimate a boss' health bar. This simple gameplay mechanic adds a ton of strategy to the game’s turn-based encounters, ensuring that players will have a great time assigning jobs to their party members and using their skills to take out the many bosses that stand in their way.
To this day, many peoplehailFinal Fantasy Tacticsas the greatest spinoff gameof all time. The world of Ivalice is a joy to explore, as players control Ramza and his allies in numerous strategic encounters where a single misstep can lead to a crushing defeat.
Players must make sure to optimize their jobs and wrack their brains in each encounter, helping the characters become stronger to deal with the many threats that stand in their way. Failing to understand how this game works will lead to some embarrassing defeats as players get stuck on certain notorious difficulty spikes.
Sometimes, it’s the simplest combat systems that end up being the most memorable. This is whyChrono Triggercontinues to serve as an inspirationfor several modern JRPGs that want their combat system to feel seamless and fluid at all times.
The lack of a battle screen transition and being able to see enemies on screen before combat seem like simple changes, but they were groundbreaking back in the day. It added a ton of character to each encounter as players unleashed Double and Triple Techs with Crono and his allies.
After what felt like the longest time,Dragon Questwas finally able to make a notable mark in the Westwith the release of the eleventh mainline entry.Echoes of an Elusive Ageboasts an epic story that keeps on going and lets players enjoy some classic turn-based combat that is complex enough to keep things engaging in the long haul without getting too obtuse for most people’s tastes.
Dragon Quest 11is a must-play for fans of turn-based JRPGs that seems deceptively simple only to wow players with the sheer depth of this gameplay. The Luminary and his allies unlock different skills throughout an amazing adventure that leaves fans wanting more.
Octopath Traveler 2is an amazing modern JRPG that boasts a riveting combat system. Players will love stocking up BP before unleashing a character’s ultimate attack that’s boosted to the max.
The gameplay is improved in small yet meaningful ways, letting players use Latent Powers to add some oomph to the gameplay. This near-perfect sequel has a combat system that looks and feels great to play, making it clear why so many people can’t get enough ofOctopath Traveler 2’s trappings.
Final Fantasy 10needed to make a huge impact, since it was the first title in this series to feature on a new generation of consoles. The amazing visuals and a new Conditional Turn-Based battle system ensured that this game was a perfect evolution of the series that fans couldn’t get enough of.
It’s possible that later games would’ve continued to focus on turn-based combat if SquareSoft didn’t buckle under the weight of severe financial losses. As things stand, this is the last mainlineFinal Fantasygame to implement a turn-based combat system before the franchise became more experimental.
