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The best RPGs

Though mobile doesn't have the impressive backlog and history of RPGs that PC and consoles do, there are still quite a few notably good ones that you can play right on your phone. Some are classics ported over to the touchscreen while others are unique to this platform. These are time sinks, make no mistake, and are well worth the cost to entry. AnimA

If you liked Diablo II, then there's a clone on Android for you. AnimA is an action RPG hack-n-slash that evokes many memories of Diablo, right down to the font. It features the classic isometric camera angle, loot, and dark fantasy setting. I just started playing this week, but I'm already hooked; this suggestion came from our own Daniel Bader and I jumped on it immediately. This is a free-to-play game with microtransactions, but it seems to be similar to Path of Exile where they're not in your face and you can play through the game on your own terms. Like I said, I'm still pretty early on this game, but I like what I see so far. I love ARPGs, so AnimA is right my up my alley. It helps me get in that fix when I'm away from my PC (and thus Grim Dawn). Give it a try and see if you like it; you have nothing to lose.

AnimA An excellent ARPG experience for Android, AnimA takes obvious cues from the Diablo franchise while free-to-play. It's a really fun time if you like this kind of game. Free w/ IAPs at Google Play Store

Battle Chasers: Night War

BattleChasers: NightWar is an award-winning JRPG that offers one of the most complete mobile RPG experiences you'll play — and that's complete in the sense that there's no in-app purchases or paid DLC to worry about. Hallelujah! Everything about this game is polished and complete, and it starts with a robust overworld that's filled with hidden dungeons to explore, epic bosses to take down, and other surprises along the way. The turn-based combat is inspired by all the favorites you remember from the JRPG genre and is a real treat even for a casual fan like myself. Along with the dense and sprawling world to explore that's teeming with enemies to do battle with, there's also deep crafting elements as well for upgrading your team's weapons, armors, and magical jewelry. An RPG is only as good as its story and characters and given that this game is based on a graphic novel of the same name we're given fully developed characters and a compelling story. The narrative focuses on the story of a young girl, Gully, as she takes up the quest of finding her long lost father, Aramus. He was a hero to the local village who never returned after setting off into the Grey Line, a near-impenetrable wall of mist that borders their homeland of which nothing has returned from once entering. Aramus had left behind a set of magical gauntlets rumored to grant untold powers to the wearer. Gully must learn to wield her father's gauntlets as she embarks on her own epic adventure past the Grey Line to uncover the truth behind her father's final mission. Gully is joined by a supporting cast that includes Knowlan the wise old mage who always travels with Calibretto, an ancient war golem built for battle that developed his own sentience and emotions but who can still kick ass to defend his friends. There's Garrison, a paladin who was friends with Aramus and feels compelled to protect Gully along her journey and lastly Red Monika, a rogue outlaw who manages to toe the line between good and evil. This game is definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of either BattleChasers or simply looking for a new JRPG to dive into.

Battle Chasers: Nightwar Battle Chasers: Nightwar is a game specifically designed to appeal to fans of turn-based role-playing title, with a JRPG influence in all the aspects of the game. Best of all, there are no microtransactions of any kind - buy the game and you're all set. $10 at Google Play Store

Death Road to Canada

Death Road to Canada is a $10 game — I want to open with that just to get the sticker shock out of the way before I talk about how awesome this freaking game is. Facing a zombie apocalypse, you must lead a scrappy squad of somewhat interesting characters on a deadly mission to the relative safety of Canada. Along the way, you'll need to explore and loot places for supplies, while also managing your team's health and morale. Everything in Death Road to Canada is randomly generated, making every play-through a unique experience in this dynamic road trip action-RPG. You can randomly generate your character and buddy or custom design your starting characters with different attributes to help them stay alive, but you probably don't want to get too attached unless you're a really good shot. The controls admittedly take some getting used to, and there's a pretty steep learning curve as you learn which weapons are most effective and which times it's better to fight or run. And you will die, early and often, although that's part of the fun of a zombie apocalypse, right? There's a ridiculous amount of depth in this game, including 10 different game modes to unlock. The price might seem a little steep, but if you're a fan of rogue-like zombie games, it's well worth the investment!

Death Road to Canada Everything in Death Road to Canada is randomly generated, making every play-through a unique experience in this road trip action-RPG. $10 at Google Play Store

Evoland 1 & 2

Yes, I know I'm cheating here, but both Evoland titles are such excellent games that I had to include them in one entry. Other than classic RPGs, the Evolands account for some of the most time I've put into mobile games. They each take you through the history of gaming, expanding and evolving as you go through them. It's a unique way to present an action-adventure, for sure. There's plenty of humor, easter eggs, and general references to the great games of the past that helped define this entertainment medium. You'll go from 2D monochrome to 3D real-time combat as you progress, unlocking new gaming technologies that change how you play. You'll be hard-pressed to find something as unique as these. For $0.99 and $3.99, respectively, Evoland and Evoland 2 should definitely be a part of your library if you: 1. want something to pour a ton of time into, and 2. love video games as an art form and want to play something that appreciates its roots.

Evoland Travel through the history of gaming in Evoland, an action-adventure RPG that is a blast. Unlock new technologies that change how you play. $1 at Google Play Store

Evoland 2 Take what you learned with Evoland and have more of it! Evoland 2 follows the same concept as its predecessor: travel through the history of gaming as you embark on a content-rich story. $4 at Google Play Store

SINoALICE

From the ever strange but brilliant mind of Yoko Taro, of Drakengard and NieR fame, comes SINoALICE, a mobile RPG with a dark fairytale spin. Published by Square Enix, SINoALICE is a mobile gotcha game, similar to Fire Emblem Heroes, with gorgeous art and lots to collect. This being an RPG, there are different classes, weapons, armors, and items that each character can equip, and some they cannot if their class doesn't match up. The music is absolutely top-notch. The haunting tones will remind you of NieR Automata (if you played it) and that's because it's the same composer! Seriously, I just love sitting at the main menu and listening to the soundtrack. I really haven't done that since the original Halo way back in the OG Xbox days. Combat is an intense sprint. I like to think of them as time trials, where you have to think on the fly. You don't get to pause to strategize, but you'll improve as you go along. Having good reflexes is helpful, too. Again, like Fire Emblem, there's a system of elemental and weapon weaknesses that you have to play to experience. Each character is someone well-known from fairytales, like Alice, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and so on. Those characters each have their own stories that you progress through, with the goal being to revive the author of each character's story. Of course, this being a free-to-play game published by Square Enix, there are copious amounts of microtransactions for in-game currency to go around. They're not as in your face as other games on this list, but you've been warned. Oh, and there's a NieR Automata cross-over event coming up and a RepliCant one coming later this year.

SINoALICE SINoALICE is free-to-play RPG with beautiful art, interesting and thought-provoking stories, incredible music, and a fun combat system. The only downside is the microtransactions. Free w/ IAPs at Google Play Store

Sky: Children of the Light

We don't often see staggered releases between Android and iOS these days, but Sky: Children of the Light took almost a year to arrive on the former. Good thing, too, because it's a really fun game. It's worth installing if nothing else but to enjoy the gorgeous art style, beautiful world, and relaxing adventure. It's difficult to describe Sky, but I'll try to be concise. After some time with the game, it's obvious that the focus is on exploration and socializing. Your goal is to find lost stars and guide them home to their constellations; in return, they teach you new things. There is no combat in Sky, so anyone can feel free to hop in and enjoy without any stress. It's a very relaxing game with plenty to do for completionists and plenty to see for casual gamers. Sky's biggest draw is its art style, world design, and gameplay, all of which are simply stunning. Your character possesses a winged cape sort of thing that you use to fly, glide, and get to places your simple jump can't. The set pieces on display here are second to none on Android and evoke such a feeling of awe that I almost forgot to grab screenshots. It has a few different graphical options, too, but I chose to run it at 60fps to make sure what I saw moved as smooth as possible. Overall, I'd say the biggest fault with Sky is that it's very taxing on your phone. My OnePlus 6 heated up like crazy and my Pixel 4 XL wasn't much better off. There are also microtransactions to buy Candles, which are a key in-game item. There's also an in-game currency called Hearts, which is how you buy cosmetics for your character. I've put in a few hours already and I haven't spent a cent, so they're not necessary or in your face whatsoever.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

I had trouble picking just one classic RPG for this list, since we have several to choose from. Ultimately, I went with Knights of the Old Republic, better known as KOTOR, for this list. For one, Star Wars is a hugely popular franchise and I think this is a game worth playing if you enjoy that universe. Originally created by BioWare in its heyday, KOTOR is a fantastic story. Going beyond that, I fear I'll get into spoilers, so I'll leave it at that. KOTOR is considered one of the best RPGs of all time and I would be hard-pressed to disagree. Ported to Android thanks to the folks at Aspyr, KOTOR has new life on mobile and though it might be a costly price to entry, it's worth every penny. From the story to the combat, this and its sequel are definitely the best Star Wars games ever made. There's gamepad support, achievements, and a revamped UI designed specifically for touchscreens. It's an excellent port and I haven't encountered any bugs in the years I've been playing this. If you like Star Wars, do yourself a favor and check out KOTOR.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic A classic RPG that is considered one of the best of all time, KOTOR is a great game reimagined for mobile. It's well worth the asking price to get a fantastic story and excellent gameplay. $10 at Google Play Store

Titan Quest

Titan Quest originally came out back in 2006 and helped fill the long void left by Diablo II before III came out. It's an isometric ARPG with tons of loot, monsters to kill, and beautiful vistas to see. And while there's still a community around it over on PC thanks to THQ Nordic's Titan Quest Anniversary Edition, Android users can experience this gem of gaming courtesy of a port from a few years ago. You are a nameless hero, freshly landed on the shores of Helos in Greece, a village currently besieged by wild beasts and monsters from fairytales and folklore. Once you save the village, you set off in search of the famed Leonidas and I'll leave the rest for you to discover. Spoiler: you're going to see a lot of the ancient world. This game is many hours long, action-packed, and full of loot to find. Within a couple of hours of starting, you'll have a hero powerful enough to slay anything in your way, all while looking completely awesome. Titan Quest features a dual specialty build system, meaning that you can combine any two of the disciplines to create your own demi-god. If loot is half the fun of Titan Quest, the other is definitely finding the build to suit your playstyle. I'd say that this port of Titan Quest has two major downsides. For starters, it's not a port of the Anniversary Edition and so lacks all of the new content (extra specialties and expansions) and quality of life improvements. Secondly, there's no controller support and the touch controls can feel a bit wonky at points. Still, it's a mostly good port of one of my favorite games of all time and it definitely deserves a spot in this list.

Titan Quest This classic ARPG was ported to Android a few years ago and it's worth every penny. If you like ancient mythology, hack-and-slash ARPG gameplay, and tons of loot, this game is definitely one you should pick up. $8 at Google Play Store

V4

Sometimes, your opinion just doesn't line up with everyone else's and that's fine at times. Such is the case here with V4, I game I really enjoy, but has a ton of angry 1-star reviews in the Play Store at time of writing. I've dumped almost 10 hours into this game at this point and I disagree with a lot of the disparagement since most of it seem to be due to technical launch issues, like server and character creation problems. Published by Nexon, I was on guard and somewhat suspicious going into V4. I ended up pleasantly surprised. V4 is a dark fantasy MMO that has beautiful art, nice graphics, a decent character creator, 6 classes to choose from, and your choice between auto-play (a la idle clickers) or manual play, like a traditional MMO. However, the voice acting and dialogue are both pretty cringey and I don't enjoy most of the sound effects. My Gunslinger's dual pistols and rifle should be booming, not sounding like they're slapping the enemies, for example. Otherwise, it's your typical MMO fare. You have a character level that determines your stats, levels for additional stats that you can sacrifice gear to increase, and various daily missions and feats to complete. There are different mounts for you to show off and assorted pets that offer extra bonuses, like XP boosts. I wouldn't say V4 is groundbreaking as an MMO, but for being mobile and free-to-play, I quite like it. With it having just launched, some teething issues are to be expected. Some players have reported (via 1-star reviews) login issues, full servers, and problems getting the character creator to spin up. In my playtime, I never had a single issue.