I haven’t played RPG’s in a really long time. I currently use my iPad for all games and would like to have suggestions on RPG’s I could try. Not a huge fan of action but wouldn’t really mind it. I really like to explore the landscape / general exploration if that point helps. Looking for suggestions.
A few questions: What’s your experience with RPGs — JRPGs, WRPGs, MMORPGs, dungeon crawlers? There are good options for all of those on iOS, but it would help to narrow things down. How important is story + characters? You say action is okay — do you prefer turn-based combat? Or no combat at all?
Thank you, 0 experience with all the mentioned categories. Maybe one recommendation across each category? Story and characters can take a back seat. I just want to know what’s out there and where can I start off with. Sorry I realise I’m not making this easy.
In a way, you are making it easier, since you don’t have a lot of preconceptions of what is or isn’t an RPG. If what you want is exploration, I would look at something like Journey or Wilderless. Neither is a true RPG, but they both a large worlds to discover. If you don’t mind real-time combat, I would look at Ravensword:Shadowlands — probably the closest thing to Skyrim. There are also a lot of great JRPG classics on the platform, but most of them are more story and character driven. Take a look at Final Fantasy 6 or 9, Chrono Trigger, or Dragon Quest 5 or 8.
The RPG genre in general is a very large area. There are so many sub-genre within and they can be classified in so many ways. Since you are completely new, you can start with some less complicated, and more friendly titles to get a sense of what to expect. Most of the time, RPG usually comprise a determined plot, exploration, character development and customization, lots of stats, dialogues, NPCs and loots. Some are more action-focused (hence the name action rpg), some with unique aspects (heroic plots, over the top characters, lots of grinding,.. - that should be a description for japanese rpgs), and some include a huge amount of text,.. They can also overlap with each other. On iOS particularly, most action rpgs are more friendly as they do not require players to invest in the mechanics too much but to focus on the looting system, combos or exploration. Some good examples are Cat Quest and Bastion. On the more complex sides, there are Titan Quests, Transistor, The World Ends with You (an excellent japanese action rpg) Strategy rpgs, most japanese rpgs and classic rpgs tend to be more complex and they normally don't hold your hand. Dragon quests are generally friendly with huge worlds, lots of exploration, and simple combat mechanics. Some examples of more complex rpgs are KoToR, Disgaea, Battlechasers nightwar, ATOM rpg, Baldur's Gate series, Final Fantasy titles, Saga Scarlet Grace (The best of them all imo). Although a hybrid between simulation and rpg, Stardew Valley is excellent
Thank you very much for your time and recommendations. I can now clearly see the difference in the categories you’ve mentioned earlier. Do you have more recommendations for other large worlds to discover? I’d sure love to see and experience more such games. I’ve zeroed in on 1. Wilderness 2. Chrono Trigger 3. Dragon Quest
If you haven’t played, there are classic D&D RPGs available for iOS, such as Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, etc. These games are probably the closest thing that meet your expectations, and also best RPGs with rememberable story and characters. If you prefer post apocalyptic settings over fantasy, then ATOM RPG which came out few days ago is my recommendation.
I really liked Bastion’s gameplay. Transistor looked absolutely phenomenal but I don’t know if I’m ready to play it yet. Got Atom & Transistor on my list though. Those are a lot of recommendations, thanks for taking the time out. I’m going to check them all out.
