RPGs are the perfect companion to long winter evenings, which are dark and full of terrors. Like rain. Lots of rain. The genre is defined by lengthy adventures in beautiful environments, with deep systems and mechanics to dig into. Here we’re going to round up our picks for the best Android RPGs so you can have something to pick from. If yours isn’t represented on this list, head on down to the comments and make your pitch for it.

This is one genre where we’re spoiled for choice, so we’ve tried to narrow this down. That is, any gacha RPGs are out of the running, and go into our best Android gacha games list instead. We’ve kept the list mainly for premium games with everything accessible out of the box.

Best Android RPGs

Roll on the role-playing games.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2

A controversial choice at the top of the list? Yeah, probably. But KOTOR 2 is a brilliant, touchscreen-enabled version of an absolute classic. It’s massive, packed full of interesting characters and just feels like Star Wars should.

Neverwinter Nights

If sci-fi doesn’t do it for you, Neverwinter Nights’ dark fantasy take on the Forgotten Realms just might. This is another classic Bioware adventure that Beamdog has released an enhanced version of, and it’s brilliant.

Dragon Quest VIII

Often regarded as the best DQ, Dragon Quest VIII is also our favorite JRPG for mobile. Square Enix has taken a lot of care to ensure it works on our platform, and it runs in portrait mode so you can play it while standing up on a busy train.

Chrono Trigger

Chrono Trigger is one of the best JRPGs of all time, so of course the mobile port is going to make this list. It’s probably not the best way to play it, but if you’ve got no alternatives, you might as well check this one out.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions has held up really well over the years, and is as fun today as it was at launch. It might well be the ultimate strategy RPG of all time – and it certainly is on mobile.

The Banner Saga

The Banner Saga is a close contender – though you’ll need to play the third entry on another platform. It’s dark, challenging, and deeply strategic stuff. Think Game of Thrones meets Fire Emblem. There’s a whole series to get stuck into, so fill your boots.

Pascal’s Wager

A dark and gloomy hack-and-slash ARPG, Pascal’s Wager isn’t just one of the best action RPGs on mobile, it’s one of the best action RPGs period. Stuffed full of content and bright ideas, if you haven’t played it yet you definitely should.

Grimvalor

Grimvalor is an excellent side-scrolling Metroidvania RPG that launched earlier this year. It’s got really fancy visuals and a Souls-like progression system.

Oceanhorn

Oceanhorn is the best non-Zelda we’ve ever played, and it’s also one of the finest-looking mobile games of all time. Much like with Cat Quest, the sequel isn’t available on Android as it’s an Apple Arcade exclusive. Bah!

The Quest

The Quest is a criminally overlooked first-person dungeon crawler. It draws a lot of influence from classics like early Might & Magic, Eye of the Beholder, and Wizardry. The entire visuals are hand-drawn and it receives regular expansions even today. Don’t miss this one.

Final Fantasy (Series)

You can’t really talk about RPGs without talking about Final Fantasy. Fortunately, some of the best the series has to offer are available for Android devices. Enjoy some gems like VII, IX, and VI on the small screen. There’s so many good titles we couldn’t settle on just one.

9th Dawn III RPG

It’s the 3rd, not the 9th, but that doesn’t mean 9th Dawn III: Shadow of Erthil isn’t a refined work of RPG greatness. This top-dpwn title is absolutely huge and packed with content. You can explore, find loot, recruit monsters to your side, and even take part in the game’s card-game-within-a-game Fyued.

Titan Quest

Titan Quest was a Diablo competitor back in the day that’s now available on mobile. It’s not a particularly great port but if you have nothing else to play it on and fancy a hack-and-slash, you can do much worse.

Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth

While it might not be quite as well know as Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger, the Norse-mythology-themed Valkyrie Profile series are fantastic RPGs. Lenneth is also well-suited to playing on your phone. You can save wherever you like, which is invaluable when you’ve reached your bus stop and need to make a quick exit.