Top 10 Turn-Based Battle Systems In RPGs

No matter how advanced and complex RPG battle systems get in the future, I'm always going to have a soft spot for good ol' classic turn-based as it's what I grew up on. With that said. this video counts down my top 10 personal favorite turn-based battle systems that the genre has given us over the years.
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Edited by: Evan Pierson
Written/Narrated by: Corbin Pierson
Intermission Song
Marcus D - Lightning's Theme (Remix) • Marcus D - Retro'd 2 -...
Outro Song
Chinsaku - Next To You / next-to-you
Music by Chinsaku - Next to you - thmatc.co/?l=35F146C3
#JRPGs #TurnBasedCombat #RPGBattleSystems

[@eddiealva9751]

Man. How nostalgic. Legend of Legaia was such an amazing game! Definitely one of the best classics.

[@celestialknight4407]

Legend of legaia is definitely one of my first and favorite rpgs growing up

[@BlakeTheDrake]

Yeah, as soon as I saw the thumbnail, I was all "Wait, I remember this... the whole left-right-up-down attack bar... and you could make awesome chains of special attacks by linking the end of one special with the start of another and... what was it CALLED?!" Legend of Legaia indeed. I never even knew it had a sequel, but from the sound of it, I didn't miss much. An HD remake would definitely be awesome - I'd love to replay it, but I don't even have a PS1 anymore...

[@Raffalius]

My very first console was a playstation 2, so i never got to try Legend of Legaia. The console did cost a bit more than i expected so i couldn't buy any of the new and popular games, so i had to go through crate where they had a bunch of cheaper games and i picked Legend of Legaia 2, because i thought it had the coolest cover. Still my favourite turn-based game of all time. I'd give it a 9/10, but only because i thought the voice acting and dialogue was cringe and the combat would take a long time when you had unlocked a lot of art blocks. But the crafting and combining accessories part was really fucking good.

[@jamesennd5054]

Definitely was anyone enjoy legend of dragoon took a backseat to ff7 but I definitely enjoyed it for not being nearly as well known.

[@RoninYeti]

Emulation, brudda. @@BlakeTheDrake

[@Exit5gaming]

I absolutely love Shin Megmi Tensei IV and Apocalypse's combat, I think it's the best iteration of the press turn system.

[@GamingBroductions]

Damn, still need to play this one. Making me even more curious now!

[@5pydieman]

@@GamingBroductions it's great

[@skeleton608]

I’d love to play a version of SMT IV that incorporates the battle system changes in Apocalypse

[@KnightGamer724]

@@skeleton608 and adds the Destruction storyline. I desperately want that.

[@exiledgoldfish6329]

@@GamingBroductions it’s fantastic. I literally came here to comment that is blasphemy SMT isn’t represented on this list. Definitely play it.

[@benitoplaza2449]

Legend of Legaia was my first RPG too! So many good memories of playing a demo from a PlayStation magazine over and over again… warms my heart to see someone else feels the same.. Manifesting a remake.

[@sarkaztik3228]

I did the same thing, haha. Abused the demo for months til I eventually bought the game.

[@2ant1man5]

I loved that game part 2 was not as good I actually have this on disc still.

[@DerfLlennod]

legend of legaia was far from mine, earliest I remember is phantasy star 4. but legaia, star ocean 2, legend of dragoon, and xenogears was my favorite alt combat.

[@2ant1man5]

@@DerfLlennod my first rpg was ff2/3 afte that phantasy star 2z

[@dragonus85]

it wasnt my first rpg but i did do the same, played a demo to no end till i finally got the game. glad someone agreed with my thought of the first being the better of the two.

[@justinroe6168]

FF10’s turn based system was phenomenal! I had no idea people hated on it!

[@gkar42069]

It's so good. Ppl just hate

[@decusq]

BEST mechanic in an RPG where you have multiple team members is "Party Switching"! AMAZING idea that all the characters are still in the battle but some are in the back row either supporting or regaining health. FF10 did it well (aside from stoned or dead team mates), Atelier Iris 2 did it VERY well allowing you to revive characters after switching KO'ed members to the backrow and giving them time to heal AND allowing back row members to use attack or defensive skills FORM THE BACK ROW. Breath of Fire 4 did this mechamic very well too! It NEVER made sense to me to have multiple party members in a group but only 3 of them can fight at once time for some reason. At least with some games the party stays behind at an INN or someplace but if everyone is with you constantly then it makes no sense to not have the in battle in some way

[@GamingBroductions]

Completely agree. Exactly why I included most games that feature a mid battle party switching mechanic, I really love it. But damn, you just reminded me about Atelier Iris! I loved those first two games and I do remember their battle systems being very fun. Definitely could have been fitting for an honorable mention spot

[@decusq]

@@GamingBroductions Yeah Atelier Iris 1 was good, 2 was really good with the 2 main characters seperated and supporting one another, then 3 kinda dropped the ball with that weird timer dungeon mechanic and the weird cast of characters.

[@NickLysander]

I had a big issue with FF7 because of this. I really never got to know Vincent, Cait Sith, Barret, or Red XIII because it really forces you to pick one team and stick with it.

[@TheTankNShank]

@@GamingBroductions What's the name of the first song that plays in this video?

[@sofaris576]

I love the Switching mechanic in Fuga melodies of Steal. First of all the Taranis only has 3 Gun turrents so it makes sense that only 3 characters can attack at the same time. But each turrent has also a slot fore a support character that will give a buff to the attacker like reducing SP cost fore using skills, increasing critical hit rate ore increasing damage when using a skill. This leads to characters well synergicing with others. Boron has lots of attacks power and a powerfoul AoE attack but as a canon user he las low accuracy so giving him Kyle(who buffs accuracy) as a suport turns him in a wrecking maschine fore large groupes of smaller enemies. Now when you switch partymembers you dont use up a turn but after you did you need to wait 3 turns (one partymember action counts as 1 turn) before being able to do it again. The really cool thing is if you swap 2 activ characters they swap positions in the turn order timeline. So character A can take a turn, then character B swaps with character A so character A can take a turn again. Its kinda like Button passing but without power boost and knocking down emmies. This gives the player a ton of controll over the turn order and with how the combat is built it encourages to swap constantly to addapt to the situation. Every time I get in a new fight I need to swap to get the right partymembers fore the job. All Partymembers have there time to shine. I know the stradegy comes from me the player but in universe its there teamwork and stradegy and its really satisfaying watching the children work so well together taking down there foes in a methodical manner.

[@thesvc2006]

absolutely LOVE Final Fantasy X. i loved it as a kid and was SHOCKED to find so many people online hated it haha me and all my friends were obsessed with it when it was brand new, and the battle system is a huge part of why. i love the story, characters, soundtrack, locations, etc, too, but man that combat is just absolutely perfect in my opinion. addicting.

[@nymusicman]

You are not alone. FFX is an awesome game.

[@WinspearUltima]

I absolutely love ffx aswell, ignore those people who hate on the game as their ignorant to say that it’s the downfall of the series as it’s not, that would be ffXII

[@JD.78]

@@WinspearUltima We all have our own opinions on what the downfall of Final Fantasy was and i respect your opinion, though i heartily disagree. I love FFXII, though i didn't at first, it just took me time to explore the depth of the board system and come up with a system that worked flawlessly for each character so combat became fluid and functionally brilliant. I'm glad you enjoyed FFX, it's just not for me though. My personal favourite was FFVII's materia system, the functionality and limitless customisation options to set up any charcter whichever way you like has never been bettered in my opinion. Every single person had different combinations that worked for them rather than working for the game. This type of freedom to do as you please has sadly been lost from the franchise nowadays, and probably won't see a return to form any time soon. Personally i don't like FFX, as playing Blitzball put me right off the game, i found it tedious and time consuming to the point of despair. To this very day i still haven't played it since way back then. Just the thought of having to play Blitzball is soul destroying...

[@WinspearUltima]

@@JD.78 I’m meaning to play XII since I’m playing through Xenoblade Chronicles. But I see what you mean

[@WinspearUltima]

@@JD.78 I also see you dislike blitzball because I had right issues with ffxs mini games

[@jb0258]

Just seeing the thumbnail brings back so many memories playing Legend of Legaia. from playing it for years on an old Sony demo disc, to finally getting my own copy in 2015 and creating an entire magic guide/skill guide to refer to when going through the game.

[@kitsune87]

it was clickbait for me lol

[@SimonSater]

Shotout to Legend of Legaia, my first rpg

[@abdulpomade6160]

yup, it was my childhood, even my father and uncle played legend of legaia back in 90s! aside of final fantasy 7,8,9, none capture the same feeling as legaia does. p.s i am 26 now

[@burgervonstadt6503]

I just started BoF4. Yes, the battle system is fun, but I'm still enamored with the sprite animation. Absolutely beautiful. Respect for the Grandia love as well!

[@WoodmanFLG]

Bof4 is a visual feast. So beautiful.

[@milkweedreflections]

One of, if not the best looking ps1 games imo.

[@GamingBroductions]

Oh absolutely. The sprite work is easily some of the prettiest on the entire PS1, if not the prettiest. I would love it if we could get more modern RPGs done in that graphical style

[@hyperkaiju9721]

That game is a treat for both eyes and ears.

[@metastase895]

BoF 3 still the best in the series.

[@jainee4507]

Glad you included FFX, I consider that games battle system perfect.

[@Ponaru]

The only blemish is how useless Kimhari is.

[@mikerotchitch6399]

@@Ponaru makes a pretty decent thief once you get a level 1 key sphere. You can get a headstart on ingredients for Rikku's Mix overdrive, well before you acquire her

[@Razakage]

@@Ponaru That's because you aren't using him right.

[@Ponaru]

@@Razakage Sure bro...

[@epiclight858]

It's meh

[@TheSteelers4190]

Man, I really miss the Wild Arms series. Especially the first 3. Such an underrated series.

[@GamingBroductions]

Same, outside of FF/DQ I always thought Wild Arms was considered up there with other popular RPG series of the time like Breath of Fire, Suikoden, Grandia, etc. but over time it seems like it falls more and more under the radar compared to those series and not talked about nearly as much. The first 3 and especially 1-2 are some of my favorite RPGs ever that I have tons of nostalgia for

[@TheSteelers4190]

@@GamingBroductions just love how they blended so many different elements within stories that featured characters I really like.

[@michaelp4122]

If you like having 8 playable characters which can be rotated on the fly, try Golden Sun: The Lost Age. You should play the 1st, but essentially this is a game where you summon and combine summons for magic/healing, and having different characters with different Dijin (summons) in your party unleashes different super attacks. Also the Golden Sun difficulty is spot on. I beat both games on literally my final move or two (ran out of summons, revives, heals, etc and used a normal attack that does ~100 damage on a boss with 30,000hp). BOTH games I beat like this, and I know you appreciate your Shining Force.

[@rhysegozun]

I have to agree with you that the Grandia series have some of the best combat mechanics in a JRPG. The cancelling system is always so addictive and even in normal encounters when you usually defeat the same mobs can't help but feel being engaged all the time like its a boss fight. IMO the Grandia series has found that sweet spot of mixing both Action and Turn based elements in a JRPG

[@armorvil]

Yeah too bad Square Enix leaves this series in a coffin and no other dev decided to kickstart a new game with a battle system like it. It's regarded as the best battle system ever by A LOT of people, me included, but it disappeared from the face of the earth since 2006 (release date of G3)... ...I really don't get it.

[@raveoreynolds6049]

Grandia's battle system CARRIES that franchise single-handedly. It's mediocre in every other regard, but my god are the battles fun.

[@armorvil]

@@raveoreynolds6049 Agreed about G2, 3 and Xtreme, but G1's cast is very endearing (

[@nrran6835]

Yeah. When he was finishing #2 I thought “what’s 1 then… Oh duh Grandia”. As soon as I remembered it existed it was clearly #1 for me

[@nrran6835]

@@raveoreynolds6049 That’s how I feel about Octopath. It’s mediocre enough that I only play in little spurts, but I keep going back because those bosses WORK you.

[@BkStunna217]

FFX was dope. All the active switching was super effective...and def made me feel like all the characters serve a purpose. And the summoning change was #dope too.

[@nickmay5402]

I’m so glad to see Grandia in the number one spot. I have always bragged on its combat. So amazing to see it getting respect. Grandia II it’s my favorite of the series.

[@Rokabur]

Grandia 2 is the best game and Grandia Extreme has the best battle system.

[@aerithxx]

Final Fantasy X has my favorite battle system ever and the reason I love turn-based! 💙

[@tuckerbuchanan]

Genuinely surprised to see no mention of Xenogears. Really great list though, would also pitch for Radiant Historia

[@rudidellama3718]

I really like Xenogears (is like one of my fav games ever), but one thing I can say is that aged the worst was the Battle System, is a fun system but theres almost no strategy to it, pretty much you keep spaning your stronger Deathblow to win, sometimes against some bosses you just charge and release a combo, Gears battle a better, but I feel that you only need to use some strategy in later bosses in Disc 2

[@CBELTRA4]

Legend of Dragoon was still my favorite. Simple button timing when attacking but it was so fun.

[@JohneAwesome]

Your camera work in this one was simply inspiring. For sure checking out the Breathe of Fire Retrospective

[@ZeldaGamer2005]

Yo it’s johne?!

[@Tjad]

Breath of Fire 4 is the best ! You should try it !

[@FreirProfile]

That dragon king slice at the end gave me the chills, so much good memories playing this game. Love your content by the way ;)

[@menelquar]

Great video. Lots of awesome picks. I'd love to see a sequel to this video with 10 more games!

[@Coyote_85]

Good list. I mostly agree with the picks here. But I would have also ranked Valkyrie Profile somewhere in the top 5. For me that one qualifies as turn based. And that game was loads of fun

[@tedheinrich]

THIS & Valkyrie Profile 2 > VP1

[@metastase895]

Problem with VK Pro 1 is the equipment durability + time limit system. It takes points away from the combat system even with the post-game added on the re-release. Plus, the novelty of comboing party member attacks together (the best part of VK Pro 1) was executed better by other games such as FF X-2 and of course the highly praised Grandia system.

[@Lunariant]

I love how you played the victory theme at the end of each section. Nice touch. And yes I knew Grandia was coming first from the moment I saw the title 😄

[@mementomori502]

Legend of Legaia 1 was one of the first jrpgs I ever played. I was introduced to it by my brother and the combat system was praiseworthy.

[@IceCold-3000]

Love how you talked about trails. Those games are heavily overlooked and really well done overall.

[@shenrais4469]

I actually just started playing Caligula Effect 2 and the timing turn based system is something I have never seen before and have had a lot of fun with. Mana Khemia is also one I thought was fantastic.

[@BigDaddyBland87]

Shoutout to one of my first RPGs with a truly underrated battle system: Legend of Dragoon. Each party member (sans the bow and arrow character) gain combos that use specific timing to complete. It adds a great challenge as you are getting into fights to master these combos that get longer and more challenging as you level up and learn new ones. I never get tired of replaying this game due to that fun combat system. Nothing I have played since has had anything like it. FFX is probably my second favorite. Turn-based and the turn order make it a much slower, more methodical style of fighting that I like a lot more than the hectic nature of ATB.

[@have_a_good_day420]

Who are you, ME?!?! I’m currently playing Legend of Dragoon on PSOne. One of my all time favorite video games I grew up playing. My 2nd favorite is also FFX. Such great memories with that game and the dialogue introduction was huge. Plus way more. I got all of their ultimate weapons and fully leveled up. One strike with Tidus would hit up to 57,000 to 62,000 points in damage.

[@windyaneckin1358]

Really surprised to not see Bravely Default on the list, and another favourite of mine is Panzer Dragoon Saga, I love the idea that you move into a more dangerous position, where you can deal more damage, but have to gauge how long you dare to stay there before they hit back at you, so you are constantly moving in and out of the danger zone. It's a great system.

[@gustavomenezes12]

Really looking forward to this video, finally came out! Thanks guys

[@GamingBroductions]

No problem, hope you enjoyed it!

[@alexiere]

Another amazing video! I'm so happy your channel is growing.

[@Swordhunter0817]

Natural Doctrine has a unique tactical battle system. Party members (and enemies) could connect with nearby allies when taking actions granting them extra turns. This can easily result in one of you party members being attacked by the entire enemy team turn 1.

[@BkStunna217]

Legend of Legia...now ur taking me back. Such a gem.

[@ismokemadherb4677]

Always looking forward to your videos since I learned of your channel. Keep up the great content and keep up the awesomeness.

[@GamingBroductions]

Really appreciate that and the kind words. Glad to hear you’re enjoying the content and thanks for watching 👍

[@BAIGAMING]

22:50 Yep, Arc Rise Fantasia is one of the hardest JRPGs I've played. What I really liked is after a certain point in the game you need to race against another team to gather items (I'm not spoiling the specifics), and I did so poorly that the other team got everything first and even got better because of it. It was pretty neat, but at the same time it was crushing because it punished me more for doing poorly when it should be the other way around. Give the squeaky tire the oil!

[@armorvil]

Yeah most games reward the good player and make the game harder for people who struggle, haha.

[@yujirorasy]

Agree. The 2nd time i played i couldn't beat one of the final boss and i had to watch KZbin to beat it. Idk how i beat this game back then.

[@LukesGamerRoom]

I recently came across this channel, not sure how. But it has quickly become a favorite of mine. As a struggling youtuber who loves him some old school 90's rpgs some of which stayed in japan, I love seeing such high quality and passionate content coming out about the subject. Also been playing vagrant story for the first time this past month and loving and hating it hahah. Mostly loving it. Keep up the great work guys.

[@GamingBroductions]

Thanks for the such kind words, we appreciate that. It’s great to see there’s still so many passionate fans of 90s RPGs out there that want to see this type of content, it’s a facet of KZbin gaming that deserves more love IMO in comparison to some other genres. We’ll check out some of your content as well 👍

[@LukesGamerRoom]

@@GamingBroductions thank you for checking it out. Working on a Suikoden II video as we speak

[@reefatbakht]

YOOOO. This is the video i was waiting for. I’m doing a project for my Masters degree on ways to modernise turn based battle systems in JRPGs, and one of the biggest parts of the research is on previous examples in time of innovative or simply ‘good’ turn based battle systems. This video is great for research and discussion. Thank you bro. Also ps, love your taste and how much you appreciate FF9 and JRPGs. You’re a goat for this channel.

[@GamingBroductions]

Oh damn! Never expected our videos to be used for research in academic papers lol but that’s really awesome to hear dude. Hope your project goes well and let us know how it goes. And hell yeah, FF9 fans unite! Gotta show it some love whenever we can

[@Highstar7331]

Please take a look at the system found in the original Bravely Default

[@reefatbakht]

@@Highstar7331 Definitely! I haven't played them yet but I do think it was smart utilising Turns so differently. I'll likely mention it.

[@reefatbakht]

@@GamingBroductions Thank you bro, I appreciate the support. I'll definitely let you guys know in the comments how it goes. The title of my project is 'Exploring the differences between Turn-Based and Real-time Action Battle Systems in JRPGs', and as part of it I will be making my own little JRPG battle sequence that you can play either in Turn-based mode or Action mode. I'm still thinking on how exactly to create the battle system, but so far I'm thinking to take a few things from stuff like Grandia II, and essentially make it as enjoyable / engaging as possible. Then, when I test it with members of the public, I want the questionnaire to reflect whether people prefer an innovative turn based battle or a standard KH esque action battle. The aim is to basically prove that turn based JRPGs still have a future for the average gamer, not just the old school JRPG fan, and that they can compete with their (more successful) action JRPG counterparts if they innovate/modernise.

[@metastase895]

@@reefatbakht Don't forget to research the Bravely and SaGa series. Specifically, the Bravely Second and Legend of Legacy iterations. Both games reveal how to create engaging, modern turn-based combat systems. There is a lot going on for both but at their cores, Bravely does this by re-purposing the (generally) useless Defend command in most RPGS into a mechanic where the player can bank current turns into the future, then cash and execute them all together. Enemy and boss design fully accounts for this of course. SaGa series does it through the Spark system, the elemental field/weather tug war and, most specifically in Legend of Legacy, through potential Party Formation changes on every turn. By changing party formation, the player can manipulate turn order, chance of each party member being attacked, stat buffs, etc. Highly, highly strategic and tactical simultaneously.

[@demikava6663]

the intermissions were nice af

[@FelipeDermann]

The Trails games are my favorites and also a good example of how simple twists can make a traditional turn based game interesting and unique. Randomly, some of the turns get a special effect called AT (active turn) Bonus, like making your attack a guaranteed crit, healing a percentage of hp/mana/etc or, in some games, there are also negative effects too. This is valid for both allies and enemies. This means that you can plan ahead and try to manipulate the turn orders to get stuff you want or prevent the enemy from getting good ATs by waiting on purpose, using magic (that takes time to cast, also reconfiguring the turn order) or using attacks with smaller or greater delay (all moves have different delay values so your next turn might come up sooner or later depending on what you use). The ultimate special attacks in this game, called S-Crafts, can be used even if it's not the character's turn. This means you can steal the opponents turn directly with a button input, getting the AT bonus for yourself or delaying the enemy's turn so that they get a bad effect later on. It's so simple but so effective, I got so many crit healing turns (yes, healing can crit) to recover from a losing battle, instant death turns where I used an AoE attack on a sudden death turn that kills everything and makes some random encounters instant wins if you're quick, money up turns where my attacks make enemies drop bonus resources to get a ton of stuff to buy items and equips, which helps in reducing grinding with smart play, and so on and so forth. Every battle makes you think ahead and you're always at the edge of your seat observing how the flow of ATs turn out. Enemies might also use magic or delay your turn with special attacks, ruining your plans and forcing you to pay attention at all times so even when it's not your turn you are still actively playing the game as a well timed S-Craft can be the difference between victory and defeat. This battle system and franchise are my favorites to this day and I hope more people get to experience this great combat and also amazing story and world building that keeps increasing with every new title.

[@The56567878]

Mcburn: Nobody can defeat me Laura about to 200 cp S-craft into a full cp recovery bonus: Are you sure about that?

[@IAmMightyMike]

Just came across your channel and this list is great! I love those small touches with the instruction manuals and case pans as well. I really want to check out those Honorable Mentions too!

[@eat-lc5rx]

FINALLY LEGEND OF LEGAIA GETS APRECIATION TRULY one of the absolute bangers that goes criminally unnoticed.

[@astevens1919]

First thing I wanna say are people are crazy for giving you such flack for Final Fantasy X. That aged incredibly well. I think my only gripe is the combat is a little slow compared to nowadays standards but not deal breaking! Also great video! This included some of my favorite rpgs. Since Grandia was number one, what did you think of the HD remaster they came out with?

[@Jack_80]

i like the original ffx but hated the remaster. in the remaster they changed the shape of the faces for the worse for no reason, and i got audio lines cutting out pretty frequently on the remaster that i don't remember ever happening in the original. and with ffxii, i liked it because it was the most challenging ff game i've played, but again they ruined the remaster for me by nerfing the difficulty to the extreme, it went from most challenging to most easy with no way of playing with the original challenge i enjoyed. i've given up on ff remasters, they always find a way to ruin them for me by making pointless, unnecessary changes. thankfully they didn't do the same with kingdom hearts, those are good remasters.

[@MugenHeadNinja]

There's definitely a lot to dislike about FFX's combat system, it's still great, but it does have some notable flaws. Especially so if you're playing on the international/HD releases and want to do anything related to end game/post game content.

[@steevieg]

For me, I just really disliked the "gameplay". Walking through a zone having to fight a million random battles was definitely the worst and left a bad impression on me. On top of that, I don't think the sphere grid was all that impressive/interesting as everyone thought it was (might be the only person with this opinion though, I know a lot of people loved it).

[@fangiscool1]

@@steevieg The sphere grid in the original game with really just linear, but design to make you feel like it wasn't. You only got access to other grids very late in the game. The remaster fixed this

[@fangiscool1]

@@Jack_80 The remaster did ruin the faces and I wish I could play the old version on the PS4. The expert sphere grid in the remaster also made it a lot easier. Wakka one shots almost every boss in the game with Attack Reels in the remaster. You really just have to attack a couple of times, then use attack reels on every boss until Jecht

[@BlueTurn]

Someone recommended this channel in r/jrpg and man I already love what I'm seeing great video.

[@Talkoon]

I just wanted to say thank you for not just phoning this list in with a video that's only long enough to make KZbin's algorithms happy; like so many other gaming channels do. I appreciate the extra effort it takes to make videos this long. Good on you and great video.

[@GamingBroductions]

No problem at all and thanks for watching. KZbin seems to prefer longer content these days plus when I get to rambling about certain topics it’s hard for me to shut up lol so it’s a win win all around.

[@JoJoBeast]

Chrono trigger and cross have always been my favorite

[@ShockStormRPG]

Some of my favorites would be SMRPG, Grandia series, Shadow Hearts series, Legend of Dragoon and press turn battle system from SMT Nocturne. SMRPG I put over Paper Mario cause you get 3 party members and access to a lot more abilities.

[@WhatAboutZoidberg]

We have quite a few overlaps for favorite systems, the ones we dont share I haven't played yet lol. My favorite not on this list is Disgaea series, it has the turn order system, it has a really fun combo system with melee attacks, combine monsters with humans, and my favorite part THROWING! Its one feature I wish was in every strategy RPG ever since I played the first on PS2. Also Saga Frontier. sparking new abilites in combat is always a ton of fun and combining team attacks is great. Yes I also need to play Radiant Historia...

[@metastase895]

It's common sense to discuss SRPGs separately from turn-based RPGs, lest we bloat the conversation across genres. Totally agree on Saga Frontier and the SaGa series in general, the most underrated JRPG franchise ever. Spark is addicting as fuck.

[@chummer2060]

I had a lot of fun with a recent kickstarter game, Cosmic Star Heroine. Battle system is clearly inspired by old JRPGs, but has a very unique feel. You start fresh in each battle and each fight is kind of like a puzzle.

[@Ryuken_27]

Great stuff man. Love the content. You're one of the few people to ever bring up legend of Legaia. That game was so good.

[@GamingBroductions]

Thanks man! Yeah Legaia is one title that tends to get overlooked often even when talking about ps1 rpgs. It deserves to be in the discussion more for sure

[@bes03c]

Great video. This makes me want to play all these games.

[@Terron29]

Fantastic upload. You nailed most of my favorite turn based combat systems here. I would add smt 5 and shadows of adam to the list too in place of maybe dragon quest and wild arms 3 but whatever. Great list!

[@UNGGodYT]

on legend of legaia , you also forgot one of the most cool hidden health indicator in games , when most full characters and monster after receiving an attack barelly feels it or if knocked down gets up very fast, when middle hp, they falls more easily and take some time to get back up, when on red they fall to almost anything and struggle to get back on their feet , sublime! i love mana khemia combat system , it is very deep in some regard , fun when you have all members . Arc the lad (1 and 2) despise being turn strategy , when you know what you wil be doing and the cpu dont waste time to move, it can feel more like an action rpg than strategy, but it is so damn hard! (2 in this case). I would add vanal heart in the mix, it is simple but extremely reliable , so much a lot of time i do some crazy stuff because i know the character will survive the massacre , and the most interesting "punishment" for over lvling or under lvling i saw on games .

[@Ildskalli]

The Mana Khemia games had an awesome combat system. It's too bad that pretty much all of the Atelier/Mana Khemia/Ar Tonelico games have such low difficulties, because their battle systems are lovingly crafted and allow for thousands of unique tactics and combinations.

[@DeformedArse]

6:42 Agility determines acting order in a turn and if ur allies have great agility difference between one another the combo link can be broken, or if enemy's agility stat is between your party members the safest bet is to put slowest characters input in first. For example, you put Cray's input first and Scias next and Nina last (for a physical combo e.g.) but there's 40pts of agility difference between one another, it's likely to to break, with or without enemy interruption. I do love that you can combo buffs and heals as well, extremely useful to incorporate Ap restoring effect to whole party.

[@Wheeliam_Ironside]

From all you talked about it seems like you may not have played Xenogears. The battle system is similar to that game that had the left/right punch/kick system in that it has you input combos of triangle/square/X buttons. Pretty cool and rewarding combat

[@sarkaztik3228]

I did love me some Xenogears, but I will admit I also preferred the similar system in Legend of Legaia, probably has to do with the 3-D models and seeing the rack up all the combos seemed cooler to me at that time. I'd easily go back to either of them, though.

[@metastase895]

@@sarkaztik3228 Nah, the Legaia system is simply superior. Let's not forget that the learning process for a new Death Blow in Xenogears was a fucking random nightmare, NOBODY figures it out without a FAQ so most players just got them all randomly by trial and error. This takes away a lot of points form the system since you can't even have the joy of experimenting with it like you can in Legaia.

[@Ildskalli]

@@metastase895 It was very obscure, sure. But the fact that the game has a large cast of characters, many of which feature unique fighting styles and techniques, plus the giant mechs really set it apart from almost anything else. It was also quite interesting in that some characters suck fighting by themselves, but have awesome gears, and vice-versa, meaning most of them have a niche (except for Chu-Chu).

[@omnislushie1230]

Happy to see Suikoden get a mention! If you like status effects/debuff and visible turn order manipulation I would recommend checking out Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia's battle system. It's a mobile gacha, so definitely not everyone's cup of tea in terms of the overall game, but I find challenging fights in this game can be very fun.

[@TurnBasedLovers]

Just discovered your channel. Congrats, I have the same passion for the same games. And the ones shown here are simply amazing. It reminds me, of the days spent with my brother with Suikoden, Dragon quest, Xenogears....ahhh great times :)

[@GamingBroductions]

Thank you for watching and the support 🙌🏼 those were the days indeed 🤙🏼

[@LockeNarshe]

It's tough to make a list of only 10 games with 30-years of RPGs to go through! Of course no one's ever going to fully agree, but I'd offer up that Rogue Galaxy, FFT, Xenogears, Front Mission 1, Valkyria Profile, Valkyria Chronicles, The Last Remnant and Wild Arms 2 (even though you had WA3) would all be great for the list, too! I guess some would be considered SRPGs though. EDIT: I had Grandia I/II on the above list, but realized WA3 was your #2 and I missed Grandia as #1. xD

[@MegaphoneFranke]

Rogue Galaxy YES! A true forgotten classic!

[@Default78334]

Rogue Galaxy isn't turn-based though...

[@Ildskalli]

Now you, sir, have good taste. Those all have killer battle systems.

[@BaoZakeruga]

Great video as always, guys. Grandia is one of the few 'major' rpg series I never touched and I gotta get around to it sometime.

[@GamingBroductions]

Thanks dude! Definitely should get around to Grandia at some point, you have some good times ahead of you. I think the first 2 have aged pretty well and are well worth playing

[@freddyaxebear7547]

Grandia 2 is amongst my favorite games of all time, but the Grandia turn based style is hands down my favorite. I really wish we could get a new entry in the Grandia series.

[@HumbleHurricane]

The thumbnail of my guy Vahn brought me here🙌🏿💯 "TORNADO FLAME!!!"🔥🔥🔥 Let's get this video started

[@Cosmiku]

Pretty classic one, but Golden Sun was really GREAT ! I love the fact that we must stack "used" Djiins to summon powerfuls summons. And it was really dynamic and with LOTS of magics. Nice video, made me want to try some old school turn based JRPG !!

[@daytonablue2041]

I really enjoyed the system in Like A Dragon. Not sure why it’s not on the list cause it has the timed attacks and defense that he seems to favor.

[@metastase895]

The original innovator deserves extra points for coming up with the idea i the first place. Plus, it's not like S.Mario RPG executed the idea poorly or anything like that. Which is why he mentioned he chose it to represent timed button press on this list.

[@daytonablue2041]

@@metastase895 I don’t think Super Mario RPG did anything wrong. I just found it odd that a more modern game that did turn based battles extremely well wasn’t on the list.

[@peacockfilletsteak]

My favorite combat is from SaGa Scarlet Grace Ambitions. It uses a timeline system to help you choose moves that will counter opponents or interrupt them, or set up for another character to pull something off. Moves also “glimmer” in combat and you May randomly get a new skill that they’ll suddenly use during their turn as a feeebie. It’s much more complex than that but man it is addicting! Finishing most fights feels super rewarding as you don’t often intentionally go for easy fights if you want to maximize stat growth.

[@ismokemadherb4677]

I’ve been loving the combat in Star Renegades (rogue lite/turn based rpg) a lot of depth in it.

[@thebarbaryghostsf]

Really love the system in the Valkyria Chronicles games. I guess that's kind of a hybrid Turn-Based/Real-Time though.

[@Mintcar923]

It's my fav SRPG series next to Fire Emblem.. I didn't think we could use it here tho.. Not really rpg but you could also get a sorta Valkyria fix with Xcom & Mario Rabbids

[@Zafersan]

Very interesting, I haven't played over half the games you mentioned. I will be trying them in the future. From the games I have played, Valkyrie Profile Lenneth has my favorite battle system.

[@Orion26DML]

I played DQ11 with some Draconian settings for the first run. It was amazing.

[@GamingBroductions]

The ‘true’ way to play DQXI in my opinion. I remember reading many comments from people about how the combat was too easy and simple only to find out they were playing on normal mode (which is totally understandable if you’re going in blind and don’t know what to expect) but that Draconian mode really makes a world of difference and ultimately makes the game a lot more fun in result

[@aeroga2383]

@@GamingBroductions yeah I wish someone had told me that beforehand. I would've enabled Stronger Monsters at least

[@gamer2101]

Turn based is so much fun. It’s my favorite try of game. I wish Final fantasy would go back to it.

[@GamingBroductions]

Same my dude, same

[@satou93d35]

yass...Grandia is my fav series too...i absolutely adore the battle system n the magic system....love love love

[@franz1688]

Never expected Grandia as #1. I loved that game. I remember tearing up after finishing the game. Story was so good! A kid who just wanted an adventure ended up saving the world and Feena

[@themak105]

Man, I love this channel

[@RglMrn]

Great video! Thanks

[@jojonta2119]

Any shin megami tensei gane with the press turn system could easily be number 1 tbh

[@westonmeyer3110]

Tokyo Mirage Sessions is the pinnacle of the press turn battle system.

[@sora4440]

Unrelated, but I really dig the cutscenes with the relaxing music y'all used to transition...

[@JumpRock]

Great job guys! I enjoy your videos

[@GamingBroductions]

Thanks man! Glad to hear you’re enjoying the content

[@StrikerJaken]

Was waiting for Grandia and here we are. My personal favourite combo in 1 was, gravity well and then dump everything on the enemies

[@Smabverse]

Paper Mario was my first actual turn based RPG and Octopath Traveler my first "old-school" styled turn-based RPG :D Funny to see these two right at the beginning :P

[@mattlucier9740]

Man, I think the job system from FF5 at least deserves a mention. Loved this video though! Octopath is so underrated. Loved seeing it.

[@LockeNarshe]

From my my understanding (and my own circle of friends), a lot of people seemed to really enjoy Octopath's battle system. Many feel like the dialogue and overall story are what hold it back.

[@crazychase443]

It makes me SO happy to see Legend Of Legaia on this list. Definitely my personal favorite JRPG

[@mikemath9508]

oh hey you did include grandia. man it's cool, my first playthrough took me 80hr and I remember reading something that said a playthrough took 40. i was ashamed at first but looking back, i had fun. was stuck on an underground zil padon dragon boss, so I went and I grinded my ass (butt, I was 12) off for hours and learned every tech/magic for my characters except of course Feena who I've never finished the level 99 spell for.

[@firepower03]

Great list. Thanks

[@Kenko_4]

Some awesome battle systems in this list and several that I still need to play myself (especially Grandia!) For a quick top 5 for me, it’d be: Persona 5, Radiant Historia, Bravely Default 2, DQ11, Trails series. I really need to play Grandia soon given how much you guys love it. Thanks again for the great video! T-shirts look good! I’m a big fan of triblend since they tend to be more of an athletic fit which I prefer.

[@rimmymindplease8120]

incredible work

[@Evanz111]

So glad you included Octopath, the combat gets overlooked by the other criticisms the game gets. If you like that, you should check out Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE! It’s like a cross between Octopath and Shin Megami Tensei - but towards the game you pull off some incredible chain attacks involving every member of your team multiple times. Plus the equipment you get come with skills akin to Tales of Vesperia so you’re encouraged to max out every weapon to kit your character with passives and active skills. It’s a really creative way of building your character, as opposed to skill trees or natural level ups!

[@khoald1682]

I'm so happy that my favourite childhood game Super Mario RPG is listed in this video

[@starwolf603]

One of the reasons i fell in love with rpgs is excitement of starting a new game and learning new battle systems.

[@nelvistheking684]

I was hoping to maybe see lost odyssey. I never see it on any list. I think the ring system was a nice addition to your standard rpj. Also the effects on the spells were just amazing imo. All in all it was an amazing list. Well done sir!

[@leegaul2161]

Roughly half a year before Super Mario RPG, a game called Beyond the Beyond released for PS1 and it featured the self named Active Playing System. Before any type of action in battle, or even walking around out of battle, if you tapped a button enough times, it would allow for benefits. Attacking turned into criticals or double hits. Defending either blocked or avoided damage. Spells had buffs. And there was an HP-LP system where if a character lost all HP, they fainted and would get back up by expending LP to regain HP. If you tapped here, it would give a better LP to HP conversion. And doing it while walking around effect encounters.

[@daniel_cofresi]

My top pick is Valkyrie Profile, having each parte member assinged to a button makes battles flow so smoothly, also, you can create amazing combos getting to know each Einherjar and their attacks P.S. for some reason i found Grandia 1 constantly moving camera in battles quite annoying... as if the whole game was filmed with an old iPhone constantly focusing

[@armorvil]

Yeah G1 didn't age well. Better to experience the great battle system with G2 or G3.

[@metastase895]

I think timed combos was executed better in FF X-2, not to mention it being more impactful on ATB system.

[@daniel_cofresi]

@@metastase895 really? I never tried X-2... sounds interesting, i would've assumed it used a turn based system like FFX i guess I'll add it to my backlog then, thanks for the tip buddy

[@TheKamiAndKami]

ahhh i really need to replay grandia 2 sometime, the fight-system was so good

[@anthonyferguson9282]

I am not a frequent (ever) watcher of your channel so Grandia was not known to be a favorite of yours. But while watching and progressing in the video I was hoping Grandia would appear on your list. It's my favorite system ever, also. I've only really played Grandia Extreme, which I hear isn't the best, but the system was amazing.

[@YautjaSpacePirate]

I love this time of system because it allows me time to strategize! 💗

[@Dante-OsD]

Two more games to check out are Final Fantasy Tactics and Xenogears! Lovely battle system 👍🏼

[@doggity5149]

Man, Xenogears definately takes the cake over FFX. Should be high on this list, though in all fairness it really resembles Legaia's system. So its KINDA in there.

[@frozenaorta]

Good lord, it's a crime that Xenogears isn't here.

[@Dante-OsD]

@@frozenaorta I agree with you 100% 🥺

[@feraldrgn]

I loved the Legend of Legaia 1 battle system (& Xenogears to a lesser extent). Legaia 2 didn't flow as well since they weren't as acrobatic & IIRC there weren't as many moves. It should absolutely get used again for a turn-based RPG.

[@Eliedeoo]

I loved the video! I would mention the BoF 4 learning system, which has been improved compared to 3, here you only need to defend and you can end up learning the techniques used by enemies, I always found it so cool and wish more JRPG had something similar. As for Wild Arms, I really liked WA5 and the Hex system, it gave a greater depth to the gameplay and introduced more possibilities for strategies.

[@metastase895]

Like almost everything BoF4 did compared to 3, the in-combat learning system was ALSO a downgrade. In BoF3, the evasion bonus granted by the Examine command made both Examine and Defend interesting choices depending on your Formation, Masters (Evasion bonus) and the enemies. It's no coincidence that Blind costs 0 and is one of the early Skills you can learn plus it being available to many Dragon splices.

[@Eliedeoo]

@@metastase895 Wow I didn't knew Examine granted evasion bonus, I thought you just passed a turn hoping that the enemy uses the skill you want to learn. That's cool! I personally prefer BoF3 over 4, and I too think there were some downgrades in the later, like the dragon transformation mentioned in the video. There were so many possible combinations with the genes and it was fun to search for them in the world. The dragons had many unique sprites and skill sets and there were those huge dragons that fused all the team members! Not to mention the soundtrack and graphics. I always found the 3D bosses from 4 so ugly and unfitting compared to the gorgeous sprites.

[@SpirituSancti916]

I really liked X-2 just cuz of the atb and how many turns you could actually attack or even all three go at once love seeing all those numbers, as well as "switch characters on the fly" with job changing mid fights...have you ever tried Resonance of Fate? That game has a interesting combat system.

[@Sammmmmmmm617]

I would love to see a video about top 10 action based rpg battle systems!

[@Cybarxz]

Thank you for talking about the forgotten gen that Legend of Legaia is!!!

[@EtienneTC]

Great list! I’d put many of these on my top 10 as well. Wild arms 3, baten kaitos 2, and breath of fire 4 would definitely be in my top 5 even. And while Persona 5 does have a really clean battle system, and I love how they modernized/streamlined some of the various elements that we’ve seen in the series…I still love the battle system in persona 2 (eternal punishment) more. It might even be my favorite turn based system ever. I like that persona 2 has a lot more customization, and it really rewards you for digging deep into all of the different options. It has a combo system like breath of fire 4 (including special fusion spells)…the various persona can mutate and gain hidden abilities and stat buffs if you end a battle with a combo…and MOST importantly, it allows you to change the persona that every character uses (not just the main character). I’ve always hated that about the newer games in the persona series. I don’t really feel like you need to strategize or customize very much when you automatically gain a full roster of characters that are tailor made with every available option

[@justinnordstrom4777]

Every game/series on this list is a banger. If this list came out after the end of 2022, I think Chained Echoes definitely deserves a high spot for how it has set the bar for QoL improvements and class versatility.

[@englandk9611]

Grandia!! Also, my favorite. Both Story and Gameplay.