The 10 BEST Nintendo 3DS RPGs

10 Best Nintendo 3DS RPGs

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 of the greatest RPGs to ever grace the Nintendo 3DS!

“Yo-kai Watch 3” (2018)

Admittedly, some of us weren’t so sure about “Yo-kai Watch” when it first debuted in 2013. It looked neat, but it wasn’t until the third mainline game when we finally warmed up to it. No doubt about it, “Yo-kai Watch 3” is the best game in the franchise as it expanded upon everything from the previous games. The Yokai you could capture and befriend were exceptionally designed in visuals, the combat was revamped with a grid-based system that proved to be much more intuitive than the rotation wheel, and for once, it felt like the 3DS’s technical capabilities were being put to the test with how vibrant and detailed the world was. If only more people gave it a fair chance.

“Persona Q: Shadow of Labyrinth” (2014)

As you’ll soon see, Atlus was firing off on all cylinders throughout the 3DS’s run. “Persona Q” was just one of many fantastic RPGs the developer pushed out during this time. In addition to a fun dungeon-crawler format akin to older RPGs, “Persona Q” offered enough customization with your party to where certain formations could affect story events, not just dialogue. Other than that, it’s your tried-and-true “Persona” combat: exploit weaknesses to gain the advantage and utilize insanely powerful abilities. What more can you ask for?

“Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux” (2018)

The original “Strange Journey” on DS was already an excellent RPG with its alignment-based combat mechanics, detailed textures and character sprites, and vast array of demons to recruit. This remake, however, came with so many extra goodies that it made “Strange Journey” even better to experience on 3DS. On top of redrawn character models and tweaks to certain mechanics, “Strange Journey Redux” includes voiceover for characters along with new story moments and characters. You could say it is the “Persona 5 Royal” of SMT.

“Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan” (2012)

Yes, Atlus appears again for a third time, and it isn’t the last. Like we said earlier, these guys were belting out tons of RPGs, and almost all of them were exceptional. “Etrian Odyssey IV” is the final one in their catalog that we’d like to highlight. For starters, it’s much more well-balanced in difficulty than the other games in the franchise, making it a much better starting point for newbies. Furthermore, the UI is much easier to read and navigate, allowing you to get a better, quicker grasp at the mechanics before the game decides to kick your teeth in. That combined with the already stunning artstyle and environmental design, and you’ve got an incredible RPG that most folks slept on.

“Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology” (2018)

Speaking of RPGs people slept on, “Radiant Historia” is definitely a game any RPG fan ought to play. The original DS game was truly amazing with its music, world, and compelling time travel narrative. As for the 3DS remake, “Perfect Chronology”, well, how do you improve upon a game that was already inches away from perfection? It’s essentially the original game with refined character designs, a UI that’s been cleaned up and is easier to read, and even more scenarios to throw into the story. And yes, this is Atlus’s fourth time appearing on this list, but it’s their last one.

“Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King” (2017)

Not to put yet another remake on this list, but it’s kind of hard to ignore an absolute spectacle like “Dragon Quest VIII”. This game is already highly regarded as one of the best PS2 games ever made. So, for 3DS, we won’t lie - it’s the same story. This is one of the best 3DS games you could play on the console, This is the PS2 classic with improved visuals, a remastered soundtrack, two new party members, and, of course, some new additions to the story. It’s the same massive world as the original, but with a few extra bells and whistles that make it just as amazing as it was back in 2004.

“Monster Hunter Generations” (2015)

Much like how Atlus was churning out “Etrian Odyssey” like crazy, Capcom threw a ton of “Monster Hunter” games onto the 3DS. Of them all, “Generations” is the one that still lives rent-free in our heads. This game was just unbelievably cool in a variety of ways. The various monsters from previous games showing up, said monsters having mutated forms that gave them new abilities, the massive arsenal of weapons from “4 Ultimate”, the fact that you can play as a Felyne for the first time ever… There was so much to love here that it became almost impossible to set our 3DS’s down.

“Xenoblade Chronicles 3D” (2015)

Now, we won’t lie - this version of “Xenoblade Chronicles” isn’t anywhere near as stunning as the original Wii version from 2010. Despite this, we want to recognize it for simply being a technical marvel. “Xenoblade Chronicles” is a HUGE game with a lot of visual detail, so much so that a regular 3DS could not handle it without it being extremely compressed. The New 3DS manages to capture the visual magic and graphical fidelity with minimal sacrifice, and it is astonishing. Plus, it still plays great, if not better than the original game.

“Bravely Default” (2012)

When the remake was revealed as a Switch 2 title, we breathed a massive sigh of relief. The original “Bravely Default” has been stranded on 3DS ever since release, and leaving it there was a major injustice on Nintendo and Square Enix’s part. Between the unique combat mechanics and the brilliant writing, you could easily sink an entire evening into “Bravely Default” and not realize it until hours later. If you never got to experience this game back when it first launched, we highly recommend you go grab the Switch 2 remake when you get the chance.

“Fire Emblem Awakening” (2012)

If you want to know why “Fire Emblem” suddenly became insanely popular in the 2010s, all you need to do is go play “Fire Emblem: Awakening”. Just about everything in this game is done so flawlessly that it truly is the greatest RPG of any kind on the 3DS. The music, the level design, the story, literally everything here is magnificent to the finest detail. We all dunk on “Fire Emblem” for taking up a good portion of the “Smash Bros” roster, but really, play “Awakening”, and you will understand why this franchise has become so huge.

Have you played any of these for yourself? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to MojoPlays.