A focused buyer’s guide to the new Square Enix Switch and Switch 2 eShop sale, breaking down the smartest pickups, best entry points for newcomers, and which games have sequels or follow-ups you’ll want to be ready for.
The latest Square Enix sale on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 eShop is one of the strongest the publisher has run in years, with multiple titles hitting their lowest prices yet. It is also cleverly timed: several of the games discounted right now either have direct sequels on the way, spiritual follow-ups in development, or are the best on-ramp into long-running series that can look intimidating from the outside.
If you are browsing the sale and feeling overwhelmed, this guide narrows it down to the best value purchases and clean entry points, with a special eye on games you will want under your belt before the next wave of releases hits Switch and its successor.
Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
If you only grab one thing from this sale, make it Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo.
This horror-flavored mystery visual novel is discounted to a fraction of its usual price, and the timing could not be better. Square Enix has already announced a follow-up, Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse, which is set to expand on the same cursed-urban-legend framework. The original is short enough to finish in a few evenings, and going in fresh will almost certainly enhance whatever the sequel does next.
Paranormasight plays like a fusion of point and click adventure and visual novel, with heavy emphasis on investigation and multiple bad endings if you fail to think your way out of danger. The writing leans into urban legends, occult rituals, and a slow tightening of dread rather than jump scares. It is also one of the more replayable visual novels on Switch thanks to its branching structure and clever meta tricks.
As a starting point for story-heavy games in this sale, it is perfect: self-contained, affordable, and about to matter even more if you want to keep up with the series.
Life is Strange on Switch: Where to Start
The Life is Strange series is heavily discounted right now, and the Switch versions have quietly become some of the best ways to marathon the full saga portably. The discounts also make it far less confusing for newcomers who just want a clear order to follow.
If you are starting from scratch, begin with the Arcadia Bay Collection. This bundle pairs the original Life is Strange and its prequel Life is Strange: Before the Storm, giving you the full Arcadia Bay story in one place. Together they still form one of the most distinct narrative experiences in modern games, built on time-rewind choices, grounded teenage drama, and genuinely tense moral decisions.
From there, Life is Strange 2 is a strong follow-up that tells an entirely new story about brothers on the run across the United States. You do not need prior knowledge beyond a broad feel for how this universe works, so it is a natural second step once you finish Arcadia Bay.
Life is Strange: True Colors refines the formula further, shifting the focus to empathy powers in a tightly wound small-town mystery. It is arguably the best playing and best paced entry, and at its current price in the sale, it is an easy recommendation even if you have only dabbled in the earlier games.
Finally, Life is Strange: Double Exposure is the newest title and is already discounted. It brings back Max Caulfield from the first game, which makes it a payoff-heavy experience if you have just cleared the Arcadia Bay Collection. If you are planning to play Double Exposure in the near future, using this sale to grab the earlier entries gives you a perfect order to work through without breaking the bank.
SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered and the SaGa Web
SaGa games have a reputation for being opaque, but this sale is a rare opportunity to dip into the series with minimal financial risk.
SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered is one of the headline discounts. The remaster preserves the painterly, storybook art that made the original so distinctive while smoothing some of the rougher edges in its structure. The game weaves two protagonists’ timelines together across generations, focusing more on vignettes and world history than a single straightforward plot. If you are used to more linear JRPGs, it can feel unconventional, but that is part of the appeal.
For an even easier on-ramp, you can grab SaGa Frontier Remastered and Romancing SaGa 2 and 3, all reduced heavily. SaGa Frontier Remastered is more experimental, letting you pick from multiple protagonists with overlapping story beats in a shared world. Romancing SaGa 2 and 3 are closer to classic 16-bit JRPGs, but with big emphasis on non-linear exploration and player-driven party building.
If you intend to check out SaGa Emerald Beyond, which is also frequently discounted, playing at least one of the remasters now gives you a foundation for its multi-protagonist, choice-heavy design. The games are interconnected more through shared ideas and systems than strict narrative continuity, so you can start wherever looks most appealing. This sale just makes it easier to sample widely until one of them clicks.
Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters and the Classic Era
Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster collection is marked down, and this is the most straightforward recommendation in the entire sale if you like RPGs even a little.
The bundle contains Final Fantasy I through VI in their modern pixel-art remaster form, along with quality-of-life tweaks and optional boost settings if you want to cut back on grinding. On Switch the collection runs well and benefits hugely from handheld play, which fits the pick-up-and-put-down design of the older entries.
From a catch-up perspective, IV, VI, and to an extent V are the most valuable. Final Fantasy IV’s cast and melodrama continue to echo across later spin-offs, while Final Fantasy VI remains a high point for villain writing and ensemble storytelling. V introduces the job system that later entries refine, so if you are a fan of games like Bravely Default, this is their direct ancestor.
Even if you have played some of these elsewhere, having them all in one portable package at a discount makes them a strong evergreen purchase that will keep paying off between larger releases on Switch and whatever the Switch 2 line-up becomes.
Modern Final Fantasy on Switch
Beyond the Pixel Remasters, several of the PlayStation-era Final Fantasy titles and spin-offs are on sale too, including VII, VIII Remastered, IX, X/X-2 HD Remaster, and XII The Zodiac Age.
For newcomers, Final Fantasy X is still the cleanest modern entry point. Its linear structure, focused cast, and turn-based combat make it easy to follow without any series knowledge. XII is the next logical step if you want something denser, with MMO-like combat and more open zones to explore.
VII, VIII, and IX on Switch are primarily for those curious about the series’ history or who want to revisit them in portable form. If you are eyeing any future projects that revisit these older games on other platforms, having direct experience with the originals will only deepen your appreciation.
Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition and Theatrhythm Final Bar Line are worth mentioning as well. Crystal Chronicles is better with friends but still an unusual, atmospheric action RPG to explore solo, while Theatrhythm is a celebration of Final Fantasy music that doubles as a relaxing rhythm game for commutes or short sessions.
Octopath Traveler, Triangle Strategy, and HD-2D
Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler 2 are both substantially discounted, and they remain the most recognizable showcases for Square Enix’s HD-2D aesthetic.
If you prefer classic turn-based JRPGs, start with the original Octopath Traveler. Its eight separate character stories are loosely linked, and you can pick a protagonist whose hook appeals to you most. The Boost system in combat adds a welcome layer of strategy, and the game is happy to let you wander in directions you are not technically “supposed” to yet.
Octopath Traveler 2 improves on almost every system, with stronger story integration and more varied character interactions. You can jump straight into the sequel without playing the first, but if you want to see how the style evolved and take advantage of the current prices, playing them in release order gives a clear sense of progression.
Triangle Strategy uses the same HD-2D look for a grid-based tactics game built around political choice. It is slower and more talkative than many strategy RPGs, but the payoff is a genuinely reactive story where your decisions alter major events and available routes. If you plan to dive deeper into tactics games on Switch 2, this is a smart warm-up while it is cheap.
Tactics Ogre: Reborn and NEO: The World Ends with You
Tactics Ogre: Reborn is one of the crown jewels of this sale for tactics fans. This remaster of a genre-defining classic modernizes the interface, tunes the difficulty, and layers in a few smart quality-of-life changes without losing the depth of the original. Branching storylines, permanent consequences for your choices, and richly buildable characters make it an ideal partner to Triangle Strategy.
If you have any interest in tactical RPGs at all, grabbing Tactics Ogre: Reborn while it is discounted is a long-term investment that will keep rewarding you between newer releases.
NEO: The World Ends with You is another standout discount, and one that more people should take a chance on. It is both a sequel and a soft reboot to the DS cult classic The World Ends with You, bringing the Shibuya Reapers’ Game into full 3D with a terrific soundtrack and snappy real-time combat.
You can play NEO without touching the original, but there are plenty of cameos and references that land better if you have some familiarity with the DS game or its anime adaptation. With the Switch version often going under the radar at full price, this sale is a clean opportunity to see what the fuss is about without paying a premium.
Dragon Quest on Switch
Dragon Quest XI S is heavily discounted again, and it remains one of the definitive JRPGs on Switch. It is a towering, old-school adventure that manages to feel modern thanks to quality-of-life features and a brisker pace than its length suggests. If you have never played a Dragon Quest before, XI S is explicitly designed as a welcoming entry point.
Dragon Quest Treasures is a lighter spin-off focused on exploration, monster collecting, and loot hunting. It is a good fit if you like the Dragon Quest world but want something breezier that you can play in shorter bursts.
On the Switch 2 side, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D is on sale, giving you a modernized way to experience the very roots of the series. These games are brief by modern standards, which makes them ideal palette cleansers between longer RPGs, and their HD-2D makeover connects them visually to Octopath and Triangle Strategy.
If you intend to follow Dragon Quest’s future on Switch 2, picking up XI S and the HD-2D remakes now gives you both ends of the series in convenient, portable form.
NieR: Automata and other Standout Oddities
NieR: Automata is once again discounted on Switch, and it remains one of the most impressive ports on the system. While technically an action RPG, it is probably better described as a shifting narrative experiment wrapped in sharp combat and an all-timer of a soundtrack.
If you are curious about why this game has the reputation it does, the current sale price is a very low barrier to entry. The Switch version includes all major content and runs well enough to preserve the core experience.
PowerWash Simulator is another Square Enix-published surprise in this sale, serving as a slow, methodical relaxation tool where you methodically clean increasingly ridiculous environments. It is an ideal game to keep installed on your system for when you only have 20 minutes and want to unwind.
The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story is worth highlighting too. It is a full-motion-video mystery that uses live actors and interlocking timelines to tell a layered whodunit. If you liked Paranormasight or other investigative games, this is a good follow-on pick at its current price.
How to Approach the Sale Without Overbuying
With so many steep discounts, it is easy to overcommit. A simple way to approach this sale is to pick one “anchor” series and then one or two wildcards.
If you want story-driven adventures, your anchor is Life is Strange, with Paranormasight and The Centennial Case as excellent wildcards. For traditional JRPGs, anchor yourself with Dragon Quest XI S or the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, then branch out to Octopath, SaGa, or Trials of Mana. If tactics are your thing, let Triangle Strategy or Tactics Ogre: Reborn be the backbone and add NEO: The World Ends with You or NieR: Automata to see a very different side of Square Enix’s catalog.
Everything in this sale is discounted enough that you can build a small, focused library for your Switch and future Switch 2 in a single sweep. Prioritize games with sequels or follow-ups already announced, then fill in the gaps with evergreen classics that will still be worth playing years from now. That way, when the next round of Square Enix releases lands, you will be more than ready.