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What are some beginner friendly turn-based sRPGs

M

Mozendo

Member
So I'm excited about the Utawarerumono games coming out this year so I decided to try to get more into the genre. I really enjoyed Yggdra Union from what I've played when I was younger and also Shining Force 1.

I've tried getting in to the genre again throughout the years but I didn't find anything that really stuck with me. Devil Survivor IMO had balancing issues and near end game was too much for me. I also tried getting into Disgaea 1 but I never get passed the 3rd or 4th mission.

I want to get into the genre more but I don't really know where to to start

I have a PC, DS, PS4, Vita, and Xbox 360
I'm okay with emulating
Edit: Forgot to add I also have a 3DS and soon to have access to a PS3
 
Disgaea. Specifically I'd suggest 4. I mean, I know you had problems with 1, but...

Like, you're probably thinking I'm trying to trick you, but the story mode is actually pretty straightforward and well explained. It's the postgame that'll murder you.

Jeanne D'arc for psp is also a common suggestion.
 
Disgaea is the least beginner friendly srpg anyone can possibly recommend

like suggesting CERN schematics for a kid who likes lego
 
Ryuukan said:
Disgaea is the least beginner friendly srpg anyone can possibly recommend

like suggesting CERN schematics for a kid who likes lego
Click to expand...

C'mon it's not bad if you actually pay attention to the tutorial. Other than the postgame stuff. Devil Survivor will straight up murder you in comparison. Nowhere near as bad as suggesting fire emblem.
 
Advance Wars is not an RPG, but it is pretty much Fire Emblem without the stats. I would suggest those 2. There are a few games of both of those available on GBA and DS. Also, maybe Final Fantasy Tactics on PSP/Vita. That was the first SRPG many people played.
 
Is Jeanne d'Arc for psp available on psn for the vita? Great presentation and awesome engagement but super simple mechanics that are beginner friendly.
 
Also I noticed that Stella Deus and Growlanser Heritage of War are are on sale on PSN for $5. Should I buy them? Also should I check out the other Growlanser games?

And thanks for the suggestions everyone, I'll look into gameplay vids. Any with an amazing OST?
 
Fire Emblem Awakening is a great game for SRPG beginners. So is Stella Glow if you want something that isn't just 2d, both are on 3DS If you have a PS3/PS4 you could give Valkyria Chronicles a try, SRPG with third person shooter controls. Jeanne D'arc on PS4 is a good recommendation, you could also try the PS4 remake of Final Fantasy Tactics, though it's not super beginner friendly.
 
Steel said:
C'mon it's not bad if you actually pay attention to the tutorial. Other than the postgame stuff. Devil Survivor will straight up murder you in comparison. Nowhere near as bad as suggesting fire emblem.
Click to expand...

its not so much the general difficulty of the encounters but the needless complexity of the various systems the game has for someone new to the genre

the 3DS fire emblem games would be great but op did not list 3DS
 
Fire Emblem is perfect for beginners. A moderate amount of depth, lots of polish, fun characters.
EDIT: Talking about the 3DS ones, didn't notice that the OP didn't have a 3DS listed in his owned systems.
 
Find some emulated version of the the two shining force game for the genesis. Super easy to get into and some of the best ever.
 
You could try final fantasy tactics advanced 2. It's a bit lighter than Tactics proper. If you like mechs you may like front mission 3 as well tho it might be a little difficult.
 
I've always struggled with Japanese SRPGs. I've tried a good dozen over the years, but something about them doesn't click.

My current fave is the indie-made Battle Brothers. There's virtually no plot, you just control a small band of mercenaries as they roam a countryside, going to villages, towns and cities looking for contracts.
 
Maybe Final Fantasy Tactics Advance? My dad put in over 115 hours on that last time I checked. He is turning 70 this year. He beat it.
 
Ryuukan said:
its not so much the general difficulty of the encounters but the needless complexity of the various systems the game has for someone new to the genre

the 3DS fire emblem games would be great but op did not list 3DS
Click to expand...

I mean, yeah the systems can be as complex as you want them to be, but you really don't need to know them in and out to do the story missions and can learn them at your own pace.
 
Mozendo said:
Also I noticed that Stella Deus and Growlanser Heritage of War are are on sale on PSN for $5. Should I buy them? Also should I check out the other Growlanser games?

And thanks for the suggestions everyone, I'll look into gameplay vids. Any with an amazing OST?
Click to expand...

Stella Deus is solid the only bad part is that there's a few optional but plot important characters who's recruiting methods are the sort of thing you'd expect from a Compile Heart game (ie completely insane things that make no sense to do). Even the bits of the bonus dungeon accessible in the main game are pretty easy though the stuff intended as "post game" (ie pre final battle) stuff really steps it up. Its a spiritual successor to Hoshigami which learnt it's lesson from that game being ridiculously hard.

I'd probably suggest Disgaea 5 as well, I'd definitely avoid 1 and 2 as a newcomer, 3 and 4 are okay but they never really explain Diagonal Throw properly which is a really important mechanic for some of the puzzle maps (it started out as a bug where you could confirm a throw while the cursor was moving between the "legal (straight line) locations" but there's puzzles in 3 and 4 (IIRC) that pretty much required it).

Fire Emblem is probably not a good recommendation apart from maybe Awakening or Fates: Birthright with casual mode. As a series they may be simpler than Disgaea or FFT in terms of mechanics but they are far less forgiving.

b3b0p said:
Maybe Final Fantasy Tactics Advance? My dad put in over 115 hours on that last time I checked. He is turning 70 this year. He beat it.
Click to expand...

I'd probably recommend A2 over the original. Especially if you're anything like a completionist , the stuff that's permanently missable in FFTA is wack .

ETA:-
Definitely going to agree that Jeanne D'Arc is good.
 
Not sure why everyone is down on FFT. I don't remember it being complicated though it does become difficult later on. Difficult =/= complicated though.

Banner Saga is more complicated imo, with the way positioning and skills work in addition to the survival stuff between fights.

Disgaea is definitely complicated though.
 
Nothing wrong with going back to the classics. Shining Force 1 and 2 on the Genesis are what started me on the SRPG path.

Otherwise I'd definitely pile on and recommend Jeanne D'arc
 
Pokemon Conquest on the DS is a forgotten gem that's also not very difficult and fun to play. It was got my little brother into SRPGs.
 
For some nifty PC games, there's Heroes of Might and Magic 3 and 5, Shadowrun: Dragonfall, and the classic Fallout 1 and 2. Of these, only the Heroes games are hard at all and they all feature mechanics that are easy to learn.
 
The Fire Emblems that allow grinding. Sacred Stones is one. Birthright is another. It's not all of them so you have to look up which ones allow playing optional battles to gain experience.

Careful, there are Fire Emblems with limited battles and thus limited access to EXP. If you don't level "correctly" you could find yourself too weak to beat a level later in the game.
 
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is very fun and a good gateway into the genre. The game has its fair share of detractors, but they're usually hardcore srpg veterans and their criticisms don't matter too much to the n00bs like us that haven't delved into the genre
 
Flunkie said:
lol
Click to expand...
Valkyria Chronicles on PC is not a particularly difficult game, especially on lower settings. It also has good set of characters, interesting story, good graphics (for its age), cool combat system (if a bit BS but there is a mod for that), and overall makes a pretty good starting SRPG.
 
I know you don't have a SNES or Wii but If you could somehow play it Super Mario RPG, that my gateway into the genre.
 
Final Fantasy Tactics is still the GOAT. Play it on PSP or iOS/Android. Its challenging but I wouldn't call it unfriendly to beginners.
 
Elaugaufein said:
Fire Emblem is probably not a good recommendation apart from maybe Awakening or Fates: Birthright with casual mode. As a series they may be simpler than Disgaea or FFT in terms of mechanics but they are far less forgiving.
Click to expand...

Heroes of Light and Shadow might be a reasonable entry point, considering they have a DS. It introduced the casual mode which went on to become a staple of the series.
 
Not only is Fire Emblem Heroes free, but it offers a solid, bite-sized taste of Fire Emblem gameplay. It's because of its systems that I'm still playing a F2P Gacha title.
 
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