SwitchRPG Awards 2022 – Community Voting Results

The dust has finally settled on our community polls for the 2022 SwitchRPG Awards, and today, we’d like to share the results! But before we do that, I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time out of your day to participate in the polls – it means a lot to us. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Best Narrative: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

To nobody’s surprise, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 came in and decimated the poll for best narrative, with a whopping 42.6% of the votes. A distant second was Persona 5 Royal with 17% of the votes, followed by Triangle Strategy with 14.9% of the pie.

Best Combat: Persona 5 Royal

While there were many standout combat systems in Switch RPGs this year, the debut of Persona 5 Royal on the Switch came with a crushing 35.6% of the votes. Tied in second place were Triangle Strategy and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope – and rightly so – each with a 15.6% stake.

Best Side Quests: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

After having very little representation in the combat section, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 once again comes out swinging with a massive 56.8% of the votes, though Persona 5 Royal, Nier: Automata, and Trails From Zero did battle valiantly for second place with a total of 35% of votes collectively.

Best Dungeons: Persona 5 Royal

Seemingly in an effort to play tag with one another, Xenoblade takes a step back once again while Persona 5 Royal dominates with 61.9% of the votes. Second place is far too great of a split between many deserving games, though it’s worth mentioning that the likes of Harvestella, Potato Flowers In Full Bloom, Atelier Sophie 2, and Demon Gaze Extra laid claim to a few votes.

Best Visuals: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

It’s no secret that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is one of the most impressive looking games on the Nintendo Switch today, most certainly pushing the aged hardware to its limits and making other open-ish world titles (*cough* Pokemon) look dated in comparison. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 captured 44.4% of the votes, with the two HD-2D titles of this year – Triangle Strategy and Live A Live – comfortably sitting in second and third place respectively.

Best Music: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 asserts its dominance once again by grabbing up the Best Music category with 29.5% of the votes – but it was by no means a landslide. Persona 5 Royal was not far behind with 22.7%, while Nier Automata made a respectable wave with 15.9% of the votes.

Best Characters: Xenoblade Chronicles 3

You can’t – or rather shouldn’t – have subpar characters in an epic-lengthed RPG, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 once again proves why the series in general is so successful. Always providing a large cast full of well-developed and eclectic characters, it’s no surprise that it ended up claiming 39.5% of the votes, with Persona 5 Royal behind it at 23.3%. Interestingly, a tactical duo of Tactics Ogre: Reborn and Triangle Strategy claimed third place, each with 11.6% of the votes.

Best Indie RPG: Rise of the Third Power

By far our most contested category, Rise of the Third Power ultimately took the throne with 25% of the votes, but was certainly pushed by Record of Lodoss War – Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (22.2%) and Coromon (19.4%). While any of these (and more) could have taken the title, there’s something to be said about Rise of the Third Power releasing in February and still remaining the community’s favorite indie RPG for the entire year.

Switch RPG Of The Year

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

This should be no surprise to anyone who has played the latest in the Xenoblade franchise. While perhaps not everyone’s favorite in all facets, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 nonetheless is a highly polished, exceptional RPG in the Nintendo Switch lineup. It received 47.8% of the votes, with Persona 5 Royal and Triangle Strategy claiming second and third with 15.2% and 10.9% respectively.

That’s it for the voting this year! We hope you enjoyed all of our SwitchRPG Awards content – we sure have a great time making it each year, and the inclusion of community voting this year has simply been the icing on the cake.

What surprised you most about this list? What are YOUR picks for each category? Let us know, and see you next year!