Action RPGs Worth Playing Just For Their Combat

The Dynasty Warriors games are loved by a niche crowd who enjoy the repetitive nature of combat. They are compelled by the sheer variety of characters who excel at different weapons from swords and spears to more audacious things like yo-yos or fans. It’s a popular enough franchise with many spinoffs including some based on The Legend of Zelda.

Those games aren’t well-known for their deep narratives and that’s fine. All some players need is a good combat system to get them heated up to play more. Here are some offerings that elevate the action gameplay beyond the simple hack and slash nature of Dynasty Warriors although again, there’s nothing wrong with them. If these examples have good stories too then that’s merely a bonus.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

Taking From The Dead

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow was the culmination of the Metroidvania entries that came before it. Players inhabited Soma Cruz who once again tried to fight off the monsters of the night under Dracula’s curse. Defeated enemies could drop loot from weapons to armor for Soma to equip. Soma could also learn magic spells from monsters, giving him more abilities. Besides the leveling-up system, it gave players more ways to interact with the world.

Final Fantasy 15

Warping To New Heights

Final Fantasy 15took a decade to come out but when it did, it hit hard. The battle system in particular was a favorite among fans as it evolved systems that came before it namely things Square Enix tried with various Kingdom Hearts entries. Noctis could throw his blades at enemies and warp toward them. Besides melee attacks, Noctis could cast spells and his comrades aided in the fight as well. The coolest element of the combat system came with the Summons that were otherworldly and their attacks absolutely devastated foes.

Forspoken

Using Magical Spells While Parkouring Through Strange Lands

Not everyone in the press loved Forspoken for its story as told in the many reviews. However, the one universal thing the media and fans dug was the magic system. The heroine, Frey, could learn magic spells by defeating bosses and putting points into a skill tree to diversify her casts.

Fire magic could burn the world while wind magic could uplift foes and cut them down. Even the smallest of spells made players look cool thanks to the particle effects system in the game.

Kingdom Hearts 3

Using Everything In The Disney Manual

The Kingdom Hearts franchise began by giving Sora a basic magic system along with a pretty hefty Keyblade for hack and slash gameplay. The series evolved over time and the last mainline entry, Kingdom Hearts 3, took things to a new level. Sora’s Keyblade still did a good amount of damage along with his magic from Fire to Blizzard. There was more to it though as the Keyblade could transform into other weapons based on the player’s combos such as a gun or a hammer. Plus players could summon famous Disney attractions during certain sections like a teacup ride or a train. It made battles wildly intense with new things popping up frequently.

Mega Man Battle Network

Going Digital To Hack The Planet

Mega Man Battle Network was a mix of a few genres and it was the first true RPG in the Mega Man franchise. Players were a normal kid, Lan, who could jack in his NetNavi, MegaMan.Exe, into different terminals. Command would then switch over to MegaMan.Exe in online dungeons wherein battles were randomized. During the battle, players could move MegaMan.Exe on a tactical grid and use cards to give him attacks from a sword swipe to a cannon blast. The hodgepodge of genres proved to work well as the game was followed by many sequels and spinoffs.

Sand Land

Demons And The Military War With Tanks

Sand Landwas the last thing famed manga artist Akira Toriyama worked on before his untimely death. It’s based on the manga of the same name and the story was expanded into a full 3D open-world adventure. Players took on the role of a demon, Beelzebub, who could attack enemies with melee attacks and specials.

His abilities could be expanded with a skill tree and he got party members that could help too via AI. The biggest hook of the game though was collecting various tanks, vehicles, and mechs to fight against the forces of evil. It may get a bit repetitive, but it’s still a game worth checking out for Akira Toriyama’s legacy alone.

Senran Kagura: Estival Versus

These Ninjas Get Stronger The More Skin They Show

• Platforms: PS4, PS Vita
• Released: March 15, 2016 (NA)
• Developer: Tamsoft
• Publisher: Xseed Games (NA)

Senran Kagura: Estival Versus, or any game in the franchise, is not going to be for everyone. This game can be likened to a Dynasty Warriors clone except that all of the female ninja warriors get stronger the fewer clothes they wear. Going into missions, players can choose from a wide selection of Kunoichi from ones that use swords to mallets. They begin in their standard clothes but over time they can transform into more powerful versions, typically with more loose-fitting clothes. It’s a game full of fan service that may embarrass the grandmas out there but it’s also quite good based on the sheer amount of variety in the character selection alone.

The World Ends With You

A Truly Unique Dual-Screen Experience

The World Ends With Youwas one of the few games that took advantage of the DS at the time. On the bottom screen, players control the main character, Neku. Players could equip him with pins that created his attack patterns from slashes to fireballs. All techniques could be performed with specific movements using the DS Stylus. On the top screen, players could use the face buttons and the D-Pad to control Neku’s various partners. It was like trying to rub the head and pat the stomach at the same time but it still made for a memorable combat system unlike anything on the DS. In the Switch remaster, the top screen was removed, making it easier but still memorable as far as JRPG battle systems go.