Handheld consoles are always great for RPGs, and the hybrid design of the Nintendo Switch makes it an even more ideal option for the genre. You can grind while on a commute or in a waiting room, and then pop it into docked mode for the big cinematic moments and to enjoy the story comfortably.
There are still a handful of classic RPGs that have yet to take advantage of this setup. The Nintendo Switch has already been out for more than five years, so there has been plenty of time for developers to put these RPGs onto Nintendo's most recent platform.
9 Persona 5
The Persona franchise is so ideal for the Nintendo Switch, you almost have to remind yourself that it is not actually there. The way the story and combat is divided into days of a school year works exceptionally well for sessions of between 40 minutes and an hour.
Imagine how enjoyable it would be for a student to play this on the way to and from school for the whole year, simultaneously finishing the game and their real-life school year. Persona 5 is on every other current system, including Xbox, so we should not rule out the possibility of a Switch port.
8 XCOM: Enemy Unknown
It is always curious when a sequel is ported to a console, but the first game is not. XCOM: Enemy Unknown serves as a reboot of the classic turn-based strategy franchise, and it reignited interest in both the series and the genre when it came out in 2012.
The sequel has more variety in combat possibilities and maps, but Enemy Unknown is still worth playing. It is especially unfortunate that we don't have Enemy Unknown on the Switch, because the only other portable option is the now-defunct PlayStation Vita version — which runs poorly and crashes often.
7 Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the most celebrated spin-offs of the storied JRPG franchise. It is also highly requested for a remake. If a complete reimagining is not in the cards, why not give us at least a port for the Nintendo Switch?
As of now, anyone who wants to take Final Fantasy Tactics on the go has to use the War of the Lions port for the PSP, or the mobile iOS and Android versions. Turn-based strategy games like Triangle Strategy and Disgaea have comfortable homes on the Switch, so it only makes sense for Final Fantasy Tactics to come here too.
6 Chrono Trigger
As Chrono Cross has made its way to the Nintendo Switch and other modern platforms, it's strange that the first game in the franchise is not playable on the platform — especially when it is one of the most celebrated SNES games ever made.
There must be people who have played Chrono Cross who have never played Chrono Trigger, and there is a lot you'll be able to appreciate in the prequel. It also holds up extremely well as an RPG.
5 Wasteland 3
Wasteland 2 is on the Nintendo Switch, and it's a title that makes perfect sense for the handheld. We are just counting the days until Wasteland 3 also makes its way there. Time spent in menus adjusting stats and equipment is a perfect way to spend a commute, before diving into the intense battles at home.
It originally launched on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 4 back in 2020. There are some downsides, with technical issues like freezing and crashing, but that's nothing a slew of patches cannot fix.
4 Dragon Quest 7
Dragon Quest 7 is an absurdly long game. It realistically takes about one hundred hours to complete just the main story. You cannot be blamed for not wanting to spend all of this time on a couch.
However, why not put Dragon Quest 7 on the Nintendo Switch, and let players choose where they want to play? It's a game that might require too much patience for the modern gamer, but it would certainly be more tolerable on a Switch.
3 Mother 3
After the first two games in this franchise were added to Switch Online, hopes were heightened that a Mother 3 announcement would soon follow. Unfortunately, no such announcement has happened as yet.
There is no official way to experience the third game in this series in the West. Would it be so hard to put this game on the Switch? Enough fans have translated it that it doesn't seem like it would be too hard to create an official English language version.
2 Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is the spiritual predecessor to Final Fantasy Tactics. It has a lot of familiar mechanics, and even a similar aesthetic. It also make sense, then, that it would be right at home on Nintendo Switch
Battles take anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes, which makes it perfect for a bus or train ride. Just be careful to hold onto your emotions while playing, because there are some real gut-wrenching moments during the story.
1 Xenogears
Monolith Soft has made some of the best modern RPGs for Nintendo. The Xenoblade Chronicles games constantly please both fans and critics alike, and the developer even helped with Breath of the Wild. Fans should also be able to experience the early days of the 'Xeno' moniker.
While Monolith Soft wasn't around in 1998, Xenogears was directed by Tetsuya Takahashi, who went on to found Monolith Soft and is the creative mind behind the Xenoblade Chronicles series. Xenogears is more linear, but it is familiar to the modern games with its unique science fiction aesthetic mixing futuristic designs with fantasy sensibilities.