Strategy RPGs and Tactical RPGs are an admittedly niche market. The game play tends to be slower because it focuses more on strategy than it does on sheer action. They operate with a turn-based style of combat and feature a chessboard-style map where you move units into tactically advantageous positions to gain the upper hand. There aren’t many available on Android, but some of them are truly excellent. Here are the best strategy RPGs and tactical RPGs on Android.
We’d also like to give a shoutout here to emulators. You can play a bunch of classic strategy RPGs on an emulator. We have a list of the best emulators for various consoles if you’re looking for ideas.
The best strategy RPGs and tactical RPGs for Android
Arknights
Price: Free to play
Arknights is a mobile strategy RPG with tower defense and gacha mechanics. Players progress through the story, summon characters, and do battle against bad guys. Combat is similar to tower defense. You set your characters along a path and prevent the enemy from reaching the end. It’s a neat take on the strategy RPG playstyle, and it lends itself to a lot of strategy up front followed by watching to see how you did. The story is pretty good, the graphics are pretty smooth, and there are plenty of players to summon and use. It’s a bit new age compared to most strategy RPGs, but in a good way.
Brave Nine
Price: Free to play
Brave Nine (formerly Brown Dust) is a newer strategy RPG. It also Japanese RPG elements, animations, gacha elements, and story style. The game boasts over 300 mercenaries to collect, upgrade, and fight with. In addition, the grid-based fighting system is traditional strategy RPG. We liked this game for its massive story, the 1,200 stages to complete along with all of the weekly and monthly stuff to do. You will have something to do in this game for a very long time. However, it is a free to play game and it has a lot of those free to play elements, especially with the gacha stuff. Beware of that, but otherwise it’s a good RPG.
Disgaea 1 Complete
Price: $32.99
Disgaea 1 Complete is a port of the first Disgaea game in its entirety. It’s a classic strategy RPG with a narrative story to drive the game and excellent mechanics. The game includes the original Disgaea 1 from PlayStation 2 back in 2003. This variant also includes some modern features such as an auto-battle system for easy grinding, a speed boost function for up to eight times faster speeds, cloud saving, and the good old cheat shop in case you want to buy your way to the end with in-game money. The price tag is among the most expensive of any Android game we’ve ever put on a list. However, it at least doesn’t have any additional in-app purchases or ads.
Final Fantasy Tactics
Price: $11.99
Final Fantasy Tactics is definitely among the best strategy RPGs. It first came out in 1997. It features a long, story-driven campaign complete with video cut scenes. Square Enix added characters along with additional cut scenes for more options and enjoyment. There are also additional jobs and missions to play. The only caveat is that players on budget devices seem to be having some crashing issues on certain missions, so make sure to read through the customer reviews before dropping $11.99 on the game. Another great, albeit expensive Square Enix SRPG port is SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambition.
Fire Emblem
Price: Free to play
Fire Emblem Heroes is one of the newer strategy RPGs. It’s a freemium version of Nintendo’s popular series. It features a bunch of characters and music from the series. There’s a new story line for you to play through. There are also a few play modes to keep things fresh. The main game maintains the classic tactical RPG mechanics of the original franchise. The game is also very clean compared to other mobile RPGs. There is also a lot more content now than on release day. It does have a character collecting mechanic. That’s popular in current freemium RPGs. Otherwise, everything in the game is surprisingly good. This is Nintendo’s most profitable game for a reason.
Heroes of Steel
Price: $3.99 / Up to $1.99
Heroes of Steel is a four episode tactical RPG. All four stories add up to about 120 hours of game play. That’s fairly impressive. The game also includes character customization, retro style graphics, tons of loot to find, and a lot more. The combat mechanics are classic tactical RPG, but still pretty simple. It definitely focuses a little more on the narrative. The base game is $3.99. The in-app purchases are for the other four episodes. It is definitely one of the better strategy RPGs.
Neural Cloud
Price: Free to play
Neural Cloud is another mobile strategy RPG with gacha elements. It has most of the same elements as other games in the genre, including seasonal events, a story to play through, and characters to summon. Combat is tile-based. You place your units down on the field in specific places, and they act on their own from there. You can use your abilities to turn the tide of battle as well. It’s a nice take, and a bit more hands-off than some others. We also like that the game is solid with few crashes or server connection issues.
Path to Nowhere
Price: Free to play
Path to Noshwere is very similar to Arknights. Players make their way through each level to progress the story, summon characters, and do seasonal events along with other such things. Combat is a mix between strategy RPG and tower defense. You lay your units along the enemy’s path, and they attack when the enemies get near. There are differences, so it’s not a clone of Arknights. We appreciate that it didn’t try to rip off the game. In any case, it’s smooth, it doesn’t crash, and the bite-sized story missions make it nice for casual players as well.
Shining Force Classics
Price: Free / Up to $4.99
Shining Force Classics is a remake of the popular strategy RPGs from the SEGA Genesis days. This title includes all three Shining Force games. I played the first two quite a bit when I was younger, but I never gave the third one a real shot. In any case, these are really traditional strategy RPG style games. You recruit characters, save the world, and engage in grid-based combat. Characters can upgrade their class after so many level gains and SEGA left the games relatively untouched from their previous releases. The controls are a bit clunky, but the games play well enough. Each title runs for $1.99 as an in-app purchase or you can buy all three in a single $4.99 bundle.
XCOM 2 Collection
Price: $19.99
XCOM 2 Collection is a strategy RPG as well as a port from the original. It is a bit more relaxed on the RPG elements as some other games on the list, but it makes up for it with its excellent strategy combat. You put units on the battlefield and move them around to try and attack the opponents without leaving yourself exposed. You level up your units as you progress, and there are enough customization options to make growth feel good. This version of the game is quite expensive at $19.99. However, it includes all XCOM 2 DLCs from the original game.
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