Summary
Square Enixhas always had a knack for crafting unforgettable RPGs, but theNintendo Switchbrought a new kind of magic to the table. Suddenly, sprawling adventures that once demanded a couch and a television could now be carried around in a backpack. While not every Square Enix title made the transition gracefully, some of them feel tailor-made for the Switch’s hybrid charm — games that turn handheld sessions into epic sagas and docked play into cinematic marathons.
Whether it’s reimagined classics, bold experiments, or massive open-world stories squeezed onto a tiny cartridge, these arethe Square Enix gems that feel right at home on Nintendo’s belovedhandheld-consolehybrid, the Switch.
Somewhere between a farm life sim and a fantasyaction RPGliesHarvestella, a game that tries to grow crops and save the world at the same time — and somehow, it mostly works. It’s not quiteRune Factoryand not quiteFinal Fantasy, but it’s got a melancholic soul that’s hard to ignore.
Set in a world plagued by a seasonal catastrophe called Quietus — a time when crops wither and people fall ill —Harvestellabuilds its stakes slowly. The game doesn’t just hand players a sword and send them on a quest. It makes them plant carrots first. Then it makes them care about those carrots. The combat, while serviceable, isn’t the main event — it’s the rhythm of daily life, the connections built with townsfolk, and the sense that everything might be slipping away just as it’s starting to feel like home.
It’s a slow burn, sure, but for players who don’t mind watching the sun rise over a pixelated field of bellhops and fairy-like bosses hiding in seasonal dungeons, there’s something strangely comforting in the end-of-the-world energy thatHarvestellaquietly hums with.
This one’s for the rhythm game fans who also remember the exact moment Sora picked up his Keyblade for the first time.Melody of Memoryis a curious entry in theKindgom Heartsseries — a music-based spinoff that doubles as a sprawling recap of theKHsaga, told entirely through its soundtrack.
From “Simple and Clean” to “The Other Promise,” the game leans hard on emotional muscle memory. Every level is essentially a musical stage where players glide, slash, and dodge along note-lanes made of memories. And while the gameplay is rhythm-first, there’s still just enough lore buried between beats to give longtime fans a reason to stick around.
What’s wild is that it’s the firstKingdom Heartstitle to land natively on aNintendo platformin years — even if it’s just a retrospective in disguise. For players who grew up watching Sora chase light across multiple dimensions, this one hits harder than expected. Plus, there’s something deeply surreal about battling Heartless to the tune of a jazzed-up “Traverse Town.”
The 1995 Super Famicom original (Seiken Densetsu 3) never officially left Japan untilTrials of Manadropped its 3D remake on the Switch in 2020 — and what a redemption arc that turned out to be.
The remake preserves the spirit of the original while smoothing out some of its more archaic edges. It keeps the unique character selection system, where players choose a trio from six protagonists, each with intertwining backstories and personal motives. That alone gives the replay value some serious teeth, but the real surprise is how well the revamped combat works. The fluid, real-time action finally lets theManaseries step out of its legacy’s shadow.
It still wears its old-schoolJRPGheart on its sleeve, from class upgrades to magic-flinging bosses, but it’s no nostalgia trap. It’s a functional, well-paced, and surprisingly emotional RPG that feels right at home on the Switch, even decades after its original form was left behind in Japan-only obscurity.
There’s no overstating the legacy ofFinal Fantasy 10. It was the series’ first fully-voiced entry, the first to drop pre-rendered overworlds, and the first to really dig into themes like fate, mortality, and the weight of inherited trauma — all under the sunny skies of Spira.
The Switch version doesn’t change what made the game great. The HD facelift still holds up, the music still slaps, and the turn-based combat, powered by the classic Sphere Grid system, remains one of the most strategic setups in the series. But it’s Tidus and Yuna’s story that carries the emotional core, especially as it begins to unravel into something far more tragic than the opening beach vibes suggest.
Final Fantasy 10-2, on the other hand, is still divisive — part dress-up RPG, part tonal whiplash — but beneath its pop-idol presentation is a shockingly deep job system and some of the series’ best combat mechanics. And honestly, booting up “To Zanarkand” while curled up on the Switch screen hits like a sucker punch every single time.
HD-2D wasn’t just a visual gimmick —Octopath Travelerpractically birthed an entire aesthetic movement. Those shimmering sprite-and-shader visuals became a new standard, but underneath the pretty facade was a surprisingly hardcore RPG.
Its structure is unusual: eight separate protagonists with eight separate storylines. There’s no central villain pulling the strings. No team unity arc. Just eight paths crossing in a world that feels quietly stitched together through shared themes of revenge, redemption, and discovery. Each chapter unfolds like a miniature novella, with its own tone and stakes, makingOctopathfeel like an anthology more than a single story.
Combat-wise, the Break and Boost system brings the kind of tactical crunch that rewards foresight and timing over button mashing. And it helps that the soundtrack goes unreasonably hard for a turn-based RPG — tracks like “Battle at Journey’s End” could probably sell out a concert hall on their own.
The fact thatNieR: Automataeven runs on the Switch is a minor miracle. The fact that it runswellis borderline witchcraft. Yoko Taro’s existential android opera lands in full glory withThe End of YoRHa Edition, and while the textures take a slight hit, the storytelling doesn’t lose an ounce of its impact.Automatais a game where side quests casually spiral into full-blown existential breakdowns and boss fights are often just philosophical debates with explosions.
2B and 9S’s journey through a desolate Earth long abandoned by humans is as bleak as it is beautiful. And it’s not just surface-level brooding — this is a story layered with themes of identity, memory, and the nature of purpose, delivered through shifting gameplay styles that refuse to sit still for more than ten minutes.
For players who missed it on other platforms, this version is an all-access pass to one of the most uniquelyhaunting experiencesSquare Enix has ever published — all packed neatly onto a handheld device.
This is Square Enix doing what it does best — crafting a traditional JRPG that doesn’t feel outdated, but instead feels timeless.Dragon Quest 11 Sis the definitive version of a modern classic, combining the best parts of old-school charm with just enough modern convenience to keep things from feeling stuck in 1992.
The world of Erdrea is massive, colorful, and soaked in thatAkira Toriyamaart style that somehow never ages. The story hits familiar series notes — chosen one, ancient evil, ragtag crew — but the execution is so elegant it doesn’t matter. Characters like Erik, Sylvando, and Veronica aren’t just party members, they’re personalities that stick in the memory long after the credits roll.
What makes the Switch version special, on top of the portability, is the extra orchestral soundtrack, the quality-of-life features, the 2D mode that lets players play the whole game like a classic SNES-era RPG, and even the bonus content baked into side stories and post-game segments that add real depth to each party member. It’s a masterclass in how to modernize tradition without losing its soul — and its also probably the most replayable RPG on the Switch.
