Summary
TheJRPGgenre has a very distinct feel to it, but that doesn’t stop it from being popular all across the world. You’ve got well-known series like Final Fantasy and Persona, but you can tell at a glance that they’re very different from each other. An important way that JRPGs distinguish themselves is via their gameplay mechanics, specifically in combat.
Some established systems in play are shared among multiple titles, sometimes putting their twist on them, while others are more niche. Looking through so many combat systems, they can be entertaining, engaging, interesting, or unexpected, and these work the best.
Updated on Jun 13, 2025:We’ve added our video summary of this list for your viewing leisure, so you may see some of the best JRPG combat systems in action.
8Classic Turn-Based
Everybody Gets A Turn
This system has been around for a while and still gets a lot of criticism for not being realistic enough. However, if you want realism, then playing a game about a group of stylish teenagers fighting a reality-breaking entity of pure evil is not a choice.
That being said, it’s a great choice if you want to experience this old-school combat, then the olderFinal Fantasyentries and Breath of Fire series are perfect examples. It has a slow pace so that you have more time to consider your decisions, what your characters are capable of, and what you may do to find out more about the enemy so that you can plan a strong counterattack.
7Strategic Turn-Based
Move All The Units Into Place
If a classic turn-based system is like a Chess game, strategic variants seen in games likeFire Emblemare more like Risk. You have a whole field to work with and individual units that need to be moved so that they can do everything from engaging the enemy to healing their allies.
This style allows for more solutions to different situations and the games that they use tend to give you a huge roster of characters for you to try out on the field. Of course, it raises the stakes by making it so that whenever one of them falls in battle, they’re out and sometimes permanently, which means that one wrong decision can cost you one of your most powerful fighters.
6Reactive Turn-Based
Don’t Just Stand There And Take It
When people started saying that the classic turn-based wasn’t realistic enough, it was seemingly the Mario Bros. that came to its rescue. Going back to the N64,Paper Marioshowed that we could respond to enemy attacks with good timing and different inputs to reduce, negate, and even counterattack enemy moves.
This was refined into the Game Boy Advance Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga, where the Bros. were able to jump, block, and reflect attacks on the defensive and then use different inputs to empower their moves on the offensive. All of this created a more dynamic and engaging battle system while still letting you control the pace.
5ATB, Active Time Battle
When Final Fantasy started to get into its groove, it was Final Fantasy 4 that decided to add a bit more realism to the combat system. Your characters could still take as much time as they wanted to take their turns, but the enemies are no longer expected to just let you.
This isn’tDragon Ball Z; enemies and bosses will pelt your party with attacks and techniques while you’re setting up your best spells and more. To add more tension, each character gets a little bar that needs time to fill up before they can act, and it gets intense when you find yourself willing the bar to fill up faster.
4Card-Based
Playing Cards To Play Moves
The trend of creating video games based on card games or that use card-game mechanics doesn’t seem to be slowing down and credit should be given to Baten Kaitos. This lesser-known JRPG may have not rocked the world stage, but it incorporated a battle system that no one expected from the genre.
Instead of characters leveling up, learning new skills, and equipping new gear, each one had all of those represented as cards in a personal deck. It became aboutdeck-building, where you needed to look through what shared cards you have and what each character’s specific deck is tailored to do and essentially build them how you want them.
3Free Form - Set Leader
WhenKingdom Heartsfirst appeared, I don’t think any of us thought it would end up being more difficult to follow than Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy combined. Looking past the story, there’s a lot of exploration and combat going on at the same time.
As the magical teenager Sora, you’re leading a team with free-form movement, but still having action to a prompt menu for magic, items, and other skills; you’re also aided by two other party members who look to you for instructions and whose main goal is to keep you alive. Yet, instead of direct commands, you have to assign them specific behaviors and set what skills they have access to, as well as what’s in their inventories.
2Free Form - Fluid Leader
Swap The Leader Role Around
Alongside Kingdom Hearts, there was another series that was growing alongside and playing with their free-form style called theTales Ofseries, with Tales Of Symphonia being one of the more well-known entries. With a story less complex than Kingdom Hearts and an arguably more anime style, you have to gather a larger team of characters and be able to have a party of four.
When it came to battle, the characters and the enemies would end up in a contained piece of the battlefield where they would clash against each other. You could switch between the characters to take the lead as needed and assign different behaviors to set up various strategies; it’s chaotic, flashy, and more challenging than it looks.
1Turn-Based Dueling
One On One Fighting
The purest form of turn-based combat goes to the RPG series that has maintained a consistent formula throughout its continuous run:Pokemon. Since it’s set up as an official competition between monster trainers, the combat system can use the reasoning of rules to explain its functionality. Though certain elements of the combat have changed, at its core it’s about a creature you choose against the creature your opponent chooses, and you take turns using techniques.
Despite how simple it may look, there are so many numbers and calculations happening behind the scenes that have created a truly competitive game with an equally competitive community. Just the act of swapping Pokemon in and out repeatedly can completely change the tide of battle.
