Best Nintendo Switch Action RPGs

Never thought I would see the day where an RPG list for a Nintendo console have Zelda, Diablo, The Witcher and The Elder Scrolls! What a time to be alive!

@Bosstoneman Even though I do not play many RPG’s it is really nice to have a Switch as a console/handheld/whatever that really can also be your only console (if you only want one but, also want good third party games as opposed to the earlier days where you were almost “forced” to buy a pc/xbox or ps for most third party games and a nintendo console for the first party games.

I’m pretty sure botw isn’t an RPG

I just got Dark Souls on a whim. Wasn't sure it would be my cup of tea but I'm loving it!

No Torchlight II? Odd.

@DockEllisD I'd say Zelda Games are Action-Adventure-Puzzle but lack the progression of skills and stats or choice in doing so to be called an RPG.

Still don't see Zelda botw as an RPG.

I dont remember hyper light drifter being all that arpg-ish but I loved it either way.

@Hissscratch139 BOTW may not be as much of an RPG as Skyrim or the Witcher 3 but it is more of an RPG than MUA, Dark Souls, or Monster Hunter.

I'm in love with anything RPG😊

Yay....!
Portal Knights has been mentioned as Best Action RPG Switch game. 😁

So many great games in my favourite genre... so little time to play (also, they all last a ton of hours, so it’s also their fault )

I finally got a hold of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 recently and, while the story isn't -horrible-, the gameplay has been pretty fun meddling around with the powers of some of my favorite heroes so I'm enjoying it. If anything, the AI of my comrades is the annoying part. xD 🙄 I guess that's a gripe with most games like it to a degree though.

Ys Viii though...that game is 😘😘😘. One of my favorites on Switch, and RPGs in general.

Well, you can tell which genre I like. I only don't own 7 of those and 2 I already have on the Wii U.

Plus I still want at least 3 more of those on the list. Yikes!

That's a awesome lineup of games. The hybrid nature of the Switch is the icing on the cake.

Switch is loaded with last gen RPG's. Awesome!

@sketchturner I want to buy it too, but got too many games to play. Sadly I beat links awakening and I'm already playing link to the past while trying to beat fire emblem three houses , YS8 VIII, and xenoblade.

Why is Zelda considered an RPG? It has stuff like stat boosting, and a cooking system but literally nothing centered around weapon arts, or levelling Link himself up as opposed to the stamina wheel and heart containers, which are a series staple to begin with. It has RPG elements but not enough to make it a full fledged RPG as opposed to an adventure game like Nintendo set out to make to begin with.

Hell Link is by himself for pretty much the entire adventure and there's really no supporting characters who don't appear in flashbacks who play a large role and accompany him throughout the journey, unless Zelda's disembodied voice somehow counts as Zelda "being" alongside him.o

You can draw Skyrim comparisons on that front, but at least the non-imperial NPCs in Skyrim felt like supporting characters who would consistently feed the player character knowledge
Nintendo themselves never even stated that it was an RPG
It's an adventure game. There's really nothing RPG-esque about it outside of the stat boosting and elixir stuff

I pray we get kingdom hearts the story so far in the future. I love all those games to death and they'd be by far the best action-rpgs available for the Switch imo

Protesters: Why isn't BotW (or any of the others) an RPG? Does it have to have numeric characteristics? A leveling system? An experience point system and skill tree?

There is so much variation on this list I really don't understand how you consider these all in the same genre. You guys much have a very broad definition of what you consider an action RPG.

Like you consider Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Xenoblade 2 and Diablo 3 all to be the same genre of game? Really?

I suppose very very loosely.

Xenoblade 2 is aRPG? Then why Dragon Quest XI isn't here too? You can jump in both games and run on / from monsters too..

WHY ISN'T THAT GAME I LIKE ON HERE WHO MADE THIS LIST?!?!! >

I'm just please they use the term RPG, and not some Zelda-like, Zelda-lite or Zeldavania bollocks

Yes, as ppl mentioned there's a great variety of genres here. Just don't complain and consider the list as "action games with rpg elements".
There, everything should fit better now:)

@Hissscratch139 I'm certain that Marvel Ultimate Alliance isn't.

@BarefootBowser yeah I guess the equipment levelling thing sort of is.

Breath of the Wild is not an RPG!....wait..Bastion??....wt...f....Transistor?!!
Where are the Baldur's Gate games?! Planescape Torment? Icewind Dale?!! These are true RPG games and absolutely the best RPGs on the platform....
This list is a joke....

@oji XB2 is an RPG, of course

@Syndrome however this list is not what you are saying but action RPGs

@BlueBlur101 I kind of agree with you - I’ve never really got this either. I guess playing in the role of Link for an epic adventure that takes like 100 - 200 hours or whatever to get through somehow warrants the genre tag? Despite the name, RPGs traditionally focus on gameplay where you constantly level up, which there isn’t too much of in BOTW. I’d class it more of an adventure game. After all, playing for 200 hours as Arthur Morgan in RDR2 doesn’t class that as an RPG does it. Weird!

@gwyntendo yop, the only RPG in the Zelda franchise is Zelda II ...BOTW is an action adventure there are no roles to choose from in BOTW, thus it just cannot be called an RPG

I’ll definitely check out some of these games!

I don't know how Ys VIII has made it onto this list to be honest. I put in about 8 hours, really tried my best to enjoy but it's just not for me at all. I'm not a big graphics person but this is really horrible to look at on Switch and the gameplay not to my taste. I was looking forward to this so much and was massively let down when I shelled out the £50 for it recently.

@oji ARPGs are the ones with real time combat, think something like Xenoblade or FFXV

DQXI is strictly a turn based JRPG, so it doesn't count

@BlueBlur101, so other FF games with ATB combat system (almost all of them) are aRPGs too? In Xenoblade, you don't smash buttons, but instead, wait for your turn to refill and choose some action. Same system as ATB.

@oji

The FF games you could potentially be referring to are turn based
ARPGs are specfically the RPGs where you have free control over your character and you actually have to input button commands for attacks as opposed to strictly menu based commands

ATB stands for Active Time Battle, referring to the fact that you have to wait an elapsed amount of time before you can attack again, and that there are elements of timing to your commands as well
Again, ATB is turn based. FFXII vastly overhauled the system thereafter

Can't wait for luigi mansion.

@oji Xenoblade's distinction is that it still has a larger amount of player inputted commands while the FF games I'm assuming you refer too are menu based excluding XII onwards and World of FF

@BlueBlur101, ATB have two modes: active (simultaneous actions) and wait (pauses enemies when you're browsing attacks, magic, summons, items, but not when you're on the list of commands). My life will never be the same again in the world, where Xenoblade and Final Fantasy are aRPGs.

xeno 2? not a chance, not with its terrible combat system. everything else about the game is perfection but that combat system and the fact im like 15 hours in still getting tutorials. no chance in hell. i'll wait til 1 is remastered

@oji FF was kinda beginning to take the ARPG route for years as evident by every post-XII game

FFXV just went all out on that dissidia/kingdom hearts combat

...You put Fire Emblem Warriors on here but not Hyrule Warriors? >:c

Wheres castle crashers

@Joeynator3000 agreed

@roboshort Marvel Ultimate Alliance is definitely more of an RPG than Breath of the Wild. It has all the hallmarks of an action RPG. Real time action combat with health and mana bars, skills/spells to learn and equip, passive and active skill trees with a robust leveling system, exploration, plot focused gameplay, lots of cutscenes and dialogue.

Honestly, it's a lot like Diablo and no one would claim Diablo isn't an action RPG. The only thing Zelda might have that could be misconstrued as being more RPG-like is the larger, more open world. But that's not something that makes a game an RPG.

@Deltath An RPG is about role playing which means decision-making from the perspective of a character. A lot of games these days have some degree of role playing in them.
But BOTW has more than Ultimate Alliance and some other titles considered RPGs. BOTW has narrative choices, choices in path, leveling up, experience (through the shrines), sidequests, inventory management. That said BOTW does not have the degree of narrative choices of Skyrim or Xenoblade X so I’d say it’s not as much an RPG as those titles

@roboshort That description you gave really isn't what makes a game a role-playing game. Tons of irrefutable RPGs don't have any real decision making. And countless other games of every genre has decision-making from the perspective of a character, from RTS to FPS. Narrative freedom and decision making is cool and common in a lot of RPGs, but it isn't what makes them RPGs.

@Deltath Maybe my definition of narrative is a bit broader than yours. At least to me, a role playing game is a game where role playing is a major mechanic. Role playing means you assume the role of a character and take actions/make decisions as if you were that character (or characters possibly). Like in a game where you role play as a doctor, there could be some risk/reward in terms of how other agents in the environment view you based on your actions/decisions as a doctor (like do you try to serve your patients or yourself). Another example. In Xenoblade X, the city New LA changes depending on the sidequests that you complete and you get more races etc living in the city.
And RTS and FPSs can also be RPGs. Fire Emblem Three Houses is a mix of a turn based strategy game and an RPG... and Fallout is an FPS/RPG mix.
I think, though, a lot of so-called JRPGs have not really included much role playing at all.

@roboshort @roboshort But those games you mention are also RPGs because they have what's commonly accepted as RPG mechanics. They have stat-based leveling. They have side quests galore. They have crafting/equipment with incremental stat-driven upgrades. Stereotypical loot-driven inventory systems. And more.

The definition of what you claim makes a game a role-playing game is not what virtually anyone ever considers RPG. For better or for worse, it has come to refer to a series of mechanics, methods of combat, types of plot delivery, etc. Your definition of role-playing game would make half of the games in the world RPGs by merit of the role that you play in them. Telltale adventure games all involve you playing a deep, fleshed out character. Literally the entire game is about making consequential decisions as that character. The entire point and click adventure genre would become RPGs overnight. And I understand you may actually consider them RPGs, but as an industry, these aren't just arbitrarily decided by any one random person alone, they're accepted by the community at large or otherwise they don't have any meaning at all.

For example, the term for the genre MOBA.. it means multiplayer online battle arena. League of Legends is a MOBA because of the accepted set of mechanics that make up a MOBA. However, Fortnite and Call of Duty are not MOBAs, even though they're both multiplayer games that you play online in arena where you battle someone. So are virtually all fighting games, for that matter. And yet.. not MOBAs. Just because you can make the words sound like they fit doesn't make them what you claim. Fighting game is another one. You fight in Dragon Quest. You fight in Overwatch. Neither are fighting games. The examples are endless and could be said of any genre.

And this isn't me saying some games aren't part of multiple genres. The older Tales games were originally intended to be RPG-2D fighting game hybrids. Warcraft III was meant to be an RTS fused with RPG. Fallout is definitely a FPS RPG, as you said. But Zelda was never supposed to be an RPG. To be honest, I'm surprised Nintendo has never marketed it as one and added RPG mechanics. It felt like an easy progression, but they've still shied away from it.

Zelda is not an RPG. Bastion is not an RPG. Transistor is not an RPG. Warriors games are not RPGs. Hyperlight Drifter is not an RPG. Devil May Cry is not an RPG. Jesus Christ...

Damn, Bastion making the list is just sad. It is neither an RPG nor a good game (same goes with transistor)
Botw is a good game but not an RPG.
I wish we would get the other souls games, Fallout NV and Mass effect trilogy to complete that sad sad list.

Link’s Awakening? Kamiko? Okami?

1. Breath of the Wild
2. Dragon's Dogma
3. The Witcher III
4. Ashen
5. Skyrim

Those are the best action RPGs on the Switch. Diablo III is also a great game, but it isn't an RPG. It's its own genre. It's a Diablo-like.

@Cross_eyed_onii
All the main Zelda games are definitely RPGs, including the first one. You watch too much Youtube. Why let those low-IQ guys tell you what an RPG is? Use your own brain. The Zelda games are designed to make you feel like you ARE the main character, and not just controlling him. The Zelda games certainly succeed in that. The Ys series and the Trails of Cold Steel series, on the other hand, are NOT even close to being RPGs. In those games, you just read about the (extremely linear) adventures of the main hero, but the experience is so passive that you never feel like you ARE the hero. They're visual novels, if they're even classifiable as video games at all.

All the great action RPGs that we know are cut from Zelda's cloth: The Elder Scrolls, The Witcher, Dragon's Dogma. In these games, you are the hero, and you have to make tons of decisions upon which the success or failure of your quest depends. You have agency in these games, unlike in fake RPGs.

People have reaaaally strong opinions on what’s considered a RPG 😂

you forgot Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning

Mate, so good to see Ys Origin here. Much as I like Ys 8, it had some boring elements. Ys Origin is non stop action. Everyone that has played it on my Switch gets hooked. Other than Garou, it is the only game that was so much fun it justified being bought on my PS4 and Switch. Sadly a very overlooked game but in a world where we live off reviews to make our decisions for us, it is yo be expected. Just to add, Ys never do bad music and the game looks amazing too. It has a dated style, yes it is old. But the dated style, the story, the music, the graphics, the action and adventure and puzzles harmonise perfectly.

BotW though, ARPG is a push. Adventure walking sim more like. Switch is a bad time for Zelda. Two of the worst games that have found extreme fame due to questionable reviews and media influence.

We should have a new genre called inbred housewife simulator, for games that think fishing, sewing, cooking, really bad puzzles and having the stamina of a 2 year old are considered gameplay elements.

@roboshort That's laughable.

Dark Souls is more of an RPG than Zelda and Skyrim put together.

Skyrim is just a sandbox game with RPG elements that ultimately is very bland and very empty. It's not even a very good "action RPG" considering its gameplay is atrocious and repetitive with simply one button to attack and zero enemy reactivity.

In Dark Souls, you have traditional leveling, statistics and your choices throughout the world actually have consequences. You can role play whatever character you want too and all NPC questlines have multiple endings depending on your choices including if you decide to just downright kill characters leading to unique rewards, often their weapons or armor sets you wouldn't get otherwise.

Further more, Dark Souls allows for freedom of builds. Want to role play as any left handed character? Go ahead, equip your sword in the left hand and shield in the right. Two shields or two greatswords? You got it.

Meanwhile as an action RPG, it has gone onto to inspire its own genre leading to games like Nioh 1&2, Salt and Sanctuary, The Surge 1&2, Remnant etc and CD Projekt admitted to taking ideas from the Souls series when changing The Witcher series to have action gameplay in 2 with heavy, light attacks, rolling, parrying, timing attacks etc.

Something tells me you either literally rushed through Dark Souls or didn't play it if you don't think it's an RPG. The multiplayer and covenants alone in Dark Souls allow for more "LARPing" than you would ever get in Skyrim. I remember literally making an ogre character who would throw dung at people, used invisibility to sneak up on people and would gift people poop.

@TheWingedAvenger Diablo is an action RPG though.

Action RPGs don't need choices or a dialogue tree. They can be about solely leveling up, selecting a class and upgrading skills and equipment.

There's actually little difference to Skyrim and Diablo 3. Skyrim just gives the illusion of choice by giving you a dialogue tree which effectively functions as dialogue options in JRPGs where every option leads to the same result. The other difference is that Diablo 3 is actually fun to play whilst Skyrim isn't.

@Phuzion1 So BOTW is for dumb dumbs because of mechanics that made you frustrated but a literal dungeon crawler where you're mindlessly fighting hordes of enemies without the progression or skill trees of other action RPGs is somehow for intellectuals? Lol

@SouFir
The main difference between Diablo III and Skyrim is that the latter has a big overworld to explore, whereas the former has dungeons to explore. You're right about the fun factor: Diablo III has very enjoyable combat, whereas Skyrim has terrible combat that makes the game a chore.

@SouFir It wasn't to do with frustration of mechanics. It was to do with poor quality and lack of fun.

6 hours of wandering around a boring world, some of the most abysmal voice acting I've ever heard, a complete lack of emotion and even less music to help give it emotion, loads of fetch quests, terrible puzzles, I could probably go on a heavy drinking session and chain smoke 3 full packets of cigarettes and have more stamina than Link in BotW, the Skyward Sword stamina gauge was far less annoying. The graphics looked like Princess Mononoke's and Valkyria Chronicles disabled child. 6 hours and as a huge Zelda fan I was bored to tears. It was the 2nd time of spending so many hours bored because I thought maybe the WiiU just wasn't the right console to play it on, so I got it a 2nd time for Switch, just to realise it wasn't down to the WiiU, it is just a complete bag of ***** that I wasted time and money on twice because I was so desperate to like it. I can tell you now, there is no doubt in my mind if that game had a non Nintendo name and non Nintendo characters it would be in the bargain bins at supermarkets up and down the country with a whoopsie sticker on it. If it had been on PS4 with unheard of characters, it would be showing up in the under £7 sale every other month. A completely substandard game and an excellent example of how a good marketing department could sell a turd to a toilet and convince the toilet it was getting a good deal.

And I only just touched on the bad points, there were tons more, poor dialogue, dislikeable characters. The majority of the enemies were the same goblins, or funnily enough, talking of Ys Origin, a copy of the sand level boss that looked like an upsidedown bucket. Rubbish enemies. A whole lot of walking around nothingness. I can't remember a Zelda game where I thought travelling around the game world was so dire and boring. BotW is just over rated *****. I'm not just having a go at BotW, Link's Awakening was just as bad. They did a great job of turning that in to a kiddies game and such an unstable frame rate that it is the only non VR game to give me motion sickness. And that blur effect, what were they thinking?

I am open to change. They butchered the Fire Emblem frame work for 3 Houses and I loved it (well after I turned off the appalling American VA I loved it). I'm not adverse to something different but different and enjoyable, not different and bad. I never expected the new Zelda to be something like what I have spent 30 years playing. I expected something new. It was totally new, a new all time low at being fun and captivating.

“I've got a fever. And the only prescription is more God Eater 3.”

Witcher 3 has been bettered in multiple occasions. BotW and Dragon Quest XI are on a whole different level.