Dragon Quest XI on steam is worth it. Good gaem. <3

Quite a few years back when it was first out, I remember watching a streamer on twitch play it and going "Ooh this seems fun!" will definitely give it a look. <3

Also, if you don't mind sailing the High Seas, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology for the 3DS is one of the best turn based RPGs ever made IMHO.

Worth risking a bit of scurvy for.

I'm very pro-YARR when it comes to corporate products and giving folks access who can't afford it otherwise, but I suuuuck at technology so emulation is beyond me, haha.

Definitely agree! I had a great time with the Switch version!

Chained Echoes

I'm not familiar with it at all, so I'll be sure to give it a good look, thankee! :3

The Octopath traveler games are really lovely throwbacks, if you don't mind grinding and maintenance between every story moment. Even better if you do.

Tales of Vesperia is also a personal fav, its the Tales series at its most polished and balanced for me.

Oooh I remember hearing about Octopath Traveler but I never got around to actually playing it, so that's a great shout, thankee! And I'll give Tales of Vesperia a look too, certainly not one I'm aware of. :3

Clair Obscur

Oh that's a turn based RPG? Haha I admit I've heard a bunch of folks mention it lately, but never in any way that really gave context to anything but how good they thought it was. I'll check it out!! <3

seconding this one. I'm a renowned hater of turn based games like this, and yet I CANNOT put it down. It's peak.

Hmm, I'm curious. I just checked it out and while there are turn based elements, I'm also seeing stuff like "master attack rhythm to chain combos" and "dodge, parry and counter in real time". Which while cool if that's what you're looking for seems very not turn-based, haha.

It's turn based but you can parry/dodge enemy attacks with timing (dodge is more forgiving with timing, but parry is more rewarding).
So you know when they'll attack but there's an extra skill in learning each enemies movesets so you know when to parry/dodge. I'd definately recommend taking a look at some early gameplay to see if it's something that interests you, the gameplay/story meshes incredibly well and it's one of the standout games of recent years.

Mm, the story/gameplay may be great, but I'm just not looking for games that require timing based focus. :)

Small Saga. I did watch a good chunk of  acidic playthrough of it and its a nice turn based game. Its a turn based game like the Final Fantasy series with a furry aspect to it.

Oooh, that sounds fun! I'll give it a look for sure. :3

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling.

Think Paper Mario style but with more focus on fewer characters to give them time to be developed.

Ooh neat, I'll be sure to give it a look, thankee!

I 100%ed this one, it's a winner for sure!

Shining Force 2, it's available on Switch's Nintendo Classics (Genesis).

Alas I don't actually have a Switch any more, but if I get a Switch 2 at some point (I'm waiting till they either release a mainline pokemon game with turn based combat, or a new Animal Crossing, haha) I'll be sure to check it out as I'll almost certainly have the Nintendo Switch Online package again. :3

On of the worst 'love interest' in gaming history. But a damn good game!

Knights of Pen and Paper 2 is fun and lighthearted, and I found it a pretty relaxing play.

Golden Sun series is all I got Nintendo switch has the first 2 out of the 3 games in the series

Which are the best two, so you're not missing anything by not playing the third.

I like all three honestly

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm Switchless atm but I'd definitely check 'em out if I get the opportunity again. :3

I can’t recall if they ever did PC versions, but the Persona games are pretty fun. I just admittedly haven’t ever finished any of them… but I’m bad at finishing *any* games these days

Oooh I've always wanted to check out Persona, and yeah Steam has 3, 4 and 5! :3

you can set up the original baldur's gate games to treat combat as turn based, in addition you get to play through a complicated and multi-pathed storyline that ultimately leads to the events of baldur's gate 3, and while 3 is titanic in size 1 & 2 are much older and have size requirements more in line with their age of original release

Haha, I'm gonna admit that while I enjoyed BG3 a fair amount, I never actually finished it. I found the actual combat frustrating more than fun, not a big fan of the save/reload style of gameplay. The story was great though, Lae'zel best companion. <3

honestly fair, i prefer the original 2 myself, however the dragonspear castle expansion for bg 1 is a worthy addition ^^

If you can find it via emulation, Parasite Eve. Excellent...it sorely needs a remake.

Alas I'm not very tech savvy when it comes to setting up emulator stuff, but thankee for the recommendation anyway! :3

Dragon Quest IX for the DS, or Dragon Quest VIII for the PS2 (it was released as just "Dragon Quest" in Europe IIRC). The latter also received a remake for the 3DS. Both are excellent JRPGs!

Thank you! I'll probably struggle to play games not PC based right now, but I appreciate the recommendations, and I definitely plan on checking out the DQ games that are on PC. :3

The ShadowRun Returns games, from Harebrained. On Steam, all really good.

Oh yeah that trilogy fucks.

Indeed, chummer.

Ooh I know of Shadowrun but haven't played any of the games! Thankee for the suggestion. :3

Make sure to get the standalone Dragonfall, not just the DLC version.

Tyranny, Rogue Trader, Baldurs Gate 3, Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2, wasteland 2 and 3, Disco Elysium, Kenshi (Not Turned based. Still great.)

Ooh those are some interesting picks, thanks! I actually own Wasteland 2 already but never got round to playing it. As for Kenshi, it is great, but would you call it an RPG? I thought of it more like an open world sandbox game.

You can roleplay in it! But yes. Tyranny, Rogue Trader, and BG3 are *amazing* picks.

That's true, I think I was just aiming for the more "industry standard" definition of RPG, i.e. you're given a role to play, rather than a more freeform story generator, which indeed could certainly be called an rpg. <3

Divinity Original Sin 2
Any of the XCOM games
Baldur's Gate 3
Expedition 33

X-Com certainly fits the turn based thing, buuut it's a bit hardcore for me. I completed the base campaign for enemy unknown, but made little progress with 2. As I mentioned in response to a previous suggestion, I'm not a huge fan of games that require RNG save/reloads to make meaningful progress (and I'm just not good enough to Iron Man it and get through without save/reloads, haha).

Persona 5 Royal, which I need to finish. High school age Japanese students take on corruption directly via stylish psychological dives
Metaphor Refantazio, same company as previous. What if Persona 5 but fantasy and about discrimination and minus the mind palace stuff though kinda.

Persona is definitely a series I need to check out, and that goes for the studio's other work too! Thanks! :3

Like A Dragon and Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth. The Persona games as already mentioned. The Last Remnant is interesting, if somewhat complicated.

Some I've never heard of before here, so I'll be sure to give 'em a look! Thanks! :3

X-com (lots of mods out for this game), Nethack, Anghbad, Pools of Radiance

Thanks for the suggestions! I've played some X-Com and it's a bit hardcore for what I'm looking for, but certainly a fun game. :3

These are going to be somewhat odd recommendations, but I've really enjoyed Spiderweb Software's RPGs. They're very low-budget, but have robust turn-based combat/character creation, and focus more on story and choice. I'd recommend either Geneforge: Mutagen if you're interested in a 'solo' RPG, and Avernum: Escape from the Pit for a party rpg.

I'll be sure to give 'em a look, thankee kindly! :3

Not sure if you could find it for PC/Steam, but I always loved The Legend of Dragoon~

I'm not familiar with it but I'll look it up, thanks! :3

It was very hard and you'll need emulation or a ps2 but breath of fire dragon quarter is awesome and one of a kind. There's also parasite eve but that's more action rpg with an active time battle set up.

Haha I appreciate the suggestion, but emulated games are probably beyond me since I suck at working/figuring out tech. If I was good at that sort of stuff I'd be playing alllll the pokemon games on PC/emulated all the time. :D

Ps1 emulation is a bitch but I can promise you gba emulation is practically plug and play. Seriously the most work you'll need to do is setting up folders for organization and that's it.

I know you said you already know about the Final Fantasy games, but still gonna call out Final Fantasy 9 as well as Final Fantasy Tactics. 9's on steam, and tactics is getting a rerelease in not too long.

Beyond them though, the Persona games, specifically 3, 4, and 5, are in increasing order of quality and awesome.

Dragon Quest 3 just got a major remake and release ("HD-2D Remake"), with remakes of SQ 1 & 2 coming out bundled soon, for great classic experiences.

I have the Tactics remake wishlisted already, I've wanted to play it for a few years but never had the opportunity. <3 And 9 I've played before on console, but I do plan on playing it again on steam. 10 is my personal fave FF game, but 9, 10 and 12 are all ones I've enjoyed a great deal in the past. :3

Also I'm very interested in the Persona and DQ games on steam, so you've definitely got the vibes I'm looking for narrowed down. <3

I recommend Paper Mario or Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Both are great games with great stories!

I currently lack a console to play those on, but I'll be sure to give 'em a look if and when I get a Switch 2! <3

Really it'll depend entirely on what mood you're in to help guide what you're looking for. All of the following are on Steam:

If you're looking for light-hearted childhood joy that will leave you smiling with a classic adventure: Go for Dragon Quest series.

If you're looking for deep personal stories that will affect you for years to come; go for Persona (3 being about accepting Death; 4 being about accepting Yourself; 5 being about rebelling against tyranny).

If you're looking for unique twists on classic tropes and stories, re-evaluating classes and the people within them; go for Octopath.

If you want a unique darker fantasy mixed with humorous elements (and ideally have at least 1 friend to play co-op with) try Divinity: Original Sin.

If you want the pinnacle of classic fantasy, and a love of DnD, go with Baldurs Gate 3.

If you're looking for the most insanely unique combination of mechanics ranging from a Beyblade Tournament to a Questline of Cooking Duels; Mass Army Battles to Personal 1 on 1 duels; go with Eiyuden Chronicles (Though I highly recommend first playing Eiyuden Rising which is a charming short 12 hour side scrolling adventure prologue.

Thankee for the suggestions! D:OS is probably a no-go for me as I prefer to spend my free time with solo activities rather than co-op/group stuff, and I've played as much BG3 as I think I ever will (100 hours, never actually finished it though), but all the others are definite possibilities, especially DQ, Persona and Octopath. <3

The Bravely Default series is such a treat.

I'll give it a look! :3

I think Some of the ones I'd recommend the most are going to be really popular ones Like the Persona series. You can find Persona 3, 4, and 5 all on Steam as well. Of course I'd also recommend Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross on steam as well.

If you are willing to give RPG Maker RPGs a try, I'd also really recommend Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening. It was really really good when I played though it. There are others I'd recommend, but they tend to get darker and harder from there.

Chrono Trigger is a classic, I've watched it be played in its entirety, though haven't myself. :) Probably won't jump to RPG Maker games at this point, not when there's so many others to play with before tapping that particular well. :)

"Ruined King: a League of Legends Story" has a really fun twist on a turn-based combat system, even if in several other ways the game is a bit underbaked.

"Child of Light" was very interesting even though I haven't finished it yet.

I'll check 'em out! Thankee!

Everyone else covered all my other recs, so gonna plug Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.

Oooh nice! I've actually never played a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game, despite being a big pokemon fan (at least of the games that 'do' have turn based battles, haha).

Final Fantasy X, the best isekai story imo

From 2004 to 2019, FFX was my favourite game. I've probably played through it a dozen times, and have had multiple save files in the four to seven hundred hour range with most of that time spent just grinding for dark matter in the monster arena, hahaha. And yeah, you can bet I'll be playing it again in the next few months too. <3 <3 <3

I finally picked up digimon story : cyber sleuth and it’s been a great time. There’s even a new one coming out in October called time stranger and it looks even better

I put Cyber Sleuth on my steam wishlist yesterday, haha! Just waiting for it to go on sale before I snag it. :3 Glad to hear you've been enjoying it!!

I definitely recommend Tactics Ogre or its prequel Knights of Lodis, fantastic little tactics rpgs

Oooh I saw that on steam as I was looking through the turn based RPG tag. Thanks for the recommendation! <3

Late to the party here, but the first two Fallout games were amazing. Granted, Fallout 2 goes a tad overboard with the 90s pop cultural references and might feel a bit dated these days, and a lot of the lore of the later games hadn't been established yet, leading to a somehwat different feel. (Fallout 1 predates the NCR for example.) But they're both pretty solid games with some solid voice acting for those characters who get it, from folks like Michael Dorn and David Warner to name just two.

Ooh I forgot those two were turn based! I'm not as into that sort of post-apocalypse setting personally, but I may give them a go if the mood strikes me! Thank you. :3

Rogue Trader is fantastic. Highly, HIGHLY recommend that one.

I'll be sure to give it a look. :)

Grandia and Grandia 2 both have fun combat systems. The stories probably won't blow any minds if you've played JRPGs before but there's a lot of charm there.

I'll check them out for sure. :3

I'd recommend Grandia II...Story is good, gameplay is fun and very FFVII-ish JRPG...the Music however is Godlike!
Go to youtube and listen to the OST...especially these:
Fight ver1. - Standard fight music plays 90%of the time. Fast and hype! Always good to hear it.
Fight ver2. - Plays 6% of the times, when you get ambushed. (mosnters moving and bump into you on the map, rather then you bump into them.) Good, but ver.1 is better.
Fight ver3. Mini boss music. Energetic and hype.
Fight ver4. End boss music. Epic and hype.
Listen to those and you'll know that you'll have a blast whenever you get into a fight.
Grandia II's story is decent and good, progression good and combat is good. Some spells and summons have cinametic apearance and you can feel the impact of a big bang attack landnig on the enemies.
Game has an early soft lock bug on PC MINOR SPOILER WARNING but not really: When you fight your first boss, SHE NEEDS to use Her ZAPP! lightning attack (first cinematic spell) that defeats your char and then She leaves and story continues. You need to lose your battle to that spell. It's a scripted event. If She doesen't use it, you must restart the battle so you can have your scripted loss...don't feel bad. She will join in with you right after as you were a fun mortal to beat. She also has nice body and dresses lewdly...

Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 are classics!
I could even consider required material for Star Wars Legends nerds.

Wastland is Fallouts grandfather, and if you are from the late 80’s you will get so many of the hints and clues.

Under the hood Mass Effect does have RPG mechanics, and a pause then advance commands to your squad.
Plus the whole build then deconstruct stereotypes across the 3 games. And the memes…

I had no idea that KOTOR was turn-based, that's neat! I actually own it after getting it in a bundle years ago which I really only got for one game (Rogue Squadron), so I may check that and KOTOR II out! <3 I do have Wasteland 2 as well. :3

Kotor 1-2 isn't really trun based, more like Real Time Action with Pause, same as Baldur's Gate1-2-3/Icewind Dale1-2. The mentioned games are all MASTERPIECES but not true turn-based. KotOR's battle system is based on D&D 2nd rules as well...but you can always pause, adjust you and your party's commands and unpause. The combat can feel repetetive towards the end, but since the story is gold worth, you won't feel bored. It's a must-play...but it's not turn based.

Thanks for letting me know! Helpful context, since I still found the combat system of BG3 a bit much to deal with, haha.

KotOR is real time with pause. (The turns and dice roles are under the hood) In options you can turn on auto pause on encounter (very recommended).
And queue up to 4 turns worth of actions per squad mate in pause. And all actions can be reprogrammed again in pause.
And for an advanced tip, you can use an action free med or stim pack in the pause menu. Once per turn, per squad mate.

And like D&D each turn is roughly 6 seconds real-time.

Fallout 1-2 and Fallout Tactics: Isometric "from above" view and real life playing, but the battles are played in a turn based system, where initiative counts on who goes first, and once you spend your action points the enemy goes. The combat system is easy to understand, learn and play. The character have basic stats, many weapon skills and passive skills (some can be combined for powerful combo skills) that can be upgraded, until your PC becomes a Desert God. Story is also 10/10. Fallout 1 (original) has a 100 day time limit (removed from latter editions) that was a constant nag on you to do the main quest, but it was enough and you could even add 50 more days, until the game/story reaches the part where the days aren't a matter anymore. If you want to fell in love with the frnachise I recomend starting out with Fallout 2, then you go back to Fallout 1 and whatever version you play, you won't have any problems at all!

Fallout 1-2 (Tactics: more battle focused) are both masterpieces, as you story/combat is 10/10 but your choices will come back to haunt you (some version lets you kill young ones, and you'll be forever haunted as a Childkiller...If you massacre a town, in the end it will be mentioned. etc.) and your text choices can enrich your playstyle. In F2 at the town New Reno you can become a boxing legend (if your build is somewhat meele focused) OR a Porn Star (Charisma based character). With high int and wisdom you can unlock special dilaugue options. With luck/bad luck you can have fun random encounters (Doctor's time machine, UFO, Monthy Pythion's knights, etc.) and you can chose perks (skills) that turns your massacre into a horror scene (Bloody Mess: Everyone dies the most guesome ways availiable. Uzi's and Machine guns cut people in half, energy weapons melt people, gaus guns blews half the body away, sniper rifles shots out the center of the head...etc. The perks name describes it best.) It's a game where every little detail can have an effect to you becoming more powerful or have belssings/curses. (Being good with the oposite sex will make you bad with your own, cuz jelousy. Low Int makes you unable to speak so you grumble.) HIGHLY recommend it if you haven't played them already! Once you experience Fallout 1-2 you'll see how inferior Fallout 3 was from Bethesda. They dumbed the whole damn game down to a shooter game. Oblivion with guns...

Thanks for giving so much detail! The early Fallouts are definitely on my list, and I know there's a tonne to adore about them (I have watched a playthrough of F1, though several years ago at this point). :)

Also look up...

Knight of Xentar.

You need to defeat some demons terrorizning the kingdom. No fancy music, DOS graphic, very early Final Fantasy esque...BUTT!!! But it has anime porn/hentai erotica. You can even go to a nude resort and pay some ladies for...entertainment. It's a lewd JRPG. PLAY the UNCENSORED version for exposed nipples and full nudity!!!! It's not that hard, just has ONE part that's hard: When you fight undeads for the first time, you will feel weak: You need the best armor and weapons available at the point, and need healing magic for yourself and AOE damage on the undead. Basically it's a HARD gear/magic checkpoint. A bit bothersome, but an hour of grinding after the undead becomes not a problem at all. Story is okay, but I've played it for the lewds, which you can search for in hentai galleries anyways. Still a fun game, beatable under a day or two.

Haha, thanks, but I probably wouldn't go for a game with that sort of content. Not really what I play games for, personally. :)

Despite the hentai content Knights of Xentar is a solid game. And the censored version isn't too lewd and the ladies wear their clothing, covering them up. I had fun, playing it through, since the battle is half auto attacks and strategically activated skills/magic. Takes a while where you reach a level, where you can go into a battle and auto (or turbo speed) it without fear of loss/game over. It's solid and the battle system was a bit fresh feeling, but game is also undoubtedly lewd...which I didn't mind, since it was before my furry days.

But if the content is not for you, then don't worry about it! There are plenty others which are arguably better made, more entertaining and is more fitting to your taste. I've played a lot of games, and the JRPG genre is one of my favorite since FFVII, which was a genre-defining masterpiece on the PSX. I could recommend a few other turn based games, which are very good but those are turn based strategies, and not Jrpg-like.

One game I can’t recommend enough is Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven. It’s a turn based RPG from Square Enix in which you are the Emperor/Empress of Avalon, a country under siege by Seven Heroes, the former saviors of the world turned demonic. The game runs through a generational system in which by doing events, or even having a party wipe, causes you to choose an heir, who inherits the powers of the last Emperor/Empress.

It’s a super unique game and my personal GOTY last year.

Sounds very interesting, thankee for the recommendation. <3

Sure thing! Also… there’s two furry races that you can recruit and even make your emperor during generations: a Moleman and a Salamander.

I saw it recommended once or twice, but I'm going to throw in my recommendation for Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader. It's consumed my free time, lately. Played about 62 hours over the last two weeks.

It's on my list to check out for sure! :3

Wild ARMs is a good one if you have Playstation or other means of attaining! A lot of your classic 90's JRPG fare, with a good helping of spaghetti western theming! Even has a good bit of overworld puzzles too~

Reading through a couple comments, it looks like the Shining Force trilogy and Golden Sun have already been recommended; I love those. And I played one of the Final Fantasies, but there are more Final Fantasy games than you've written stories

I saw a couple of hits about emulators: it's a lot easier than you may think; probably the more advanced stuff comes from actual program editing/scripting, but if your main purpose is just to play, it's about 10 minutes and a handful of clicks away from comparatively downloading/opening a Word document or a video file.

Sea of Stars is a very good turn based rpg too!

If you've ever played/heard of The Messenger it's by the same people, and though it's an entirely different genre I feel like the devs excelled with both ^^