High difficulty JRPGs

[AppliCotton]

Yo!

One of the only valid complaints frequently heard about JRPGs is that they're too easy. And judging from what I've read, 99% of gamers actually prefer an unlimited stock of HP- and MP-replenishing items, save points every couple of screens, friendly pointy fingers that show you where to go next...

But not me. I recently discovered the sheer bliss of Dragon Warrior II. That game will kick your ass until vomit comes shooting out your dick. Literally. You have to rest up, buy items and save just to go grinding where you're supposed to be grinding... And you have to max your HP after every battle... Even around level 20 in Alefgard, a group of 4 Gremlins can cut your party down in 2 turns!!! And they always go right for the guy with the Return spell! And there's the enemies that rob your MP 20 at a time. And the enemies that get to attack twice. And the attacks that you can't parry.

And never knowing what to do next... Should I go in this tower? Well, seeing as I got my ass kicked before I made it to the first staircase, probably not... oh no wait, it's DW II... RUN RUN RUN PARRY PARRY PARRY...

Fucking awesome. I'm gonna pay me a visit to those babies on Game FAQs who put me off with their "it's too hard!!!!" and "Waaaa" *gurgle *slobber "I don't like grinding!!!" and smack them like Marlon Brando in the Godfather.

Yeah, that game rulez. Based on what I've wrote, can anybody suggest any other JRPGs I might like? Minimal story, lots of grinding, lots of getting your ass kicked... The older the better, no polygons please.

Is Final Fantasy Legend on Gameboy worth it? I've read that that game's damn near impossible (probably pussies being pussies again)...

Thanks,
Mike

[Zing]

There is a difference between a game being challenging and a game being difficult. Dragon Warrior II was just ridiculous. There is so much instant, unavoidable death.

[BoneSnapDeez]

The 7th Saga can be rough, it's the type of game that wears down your patience pretty fast. It's just one of those games where you always feel underpowered/underleveled and like every random battle could be your last. Great graphics and music though, I enjoy it immensely.

And I can't confirm it, but supposedly if you make some bad choices early on, the game becomes literally impossible once you hit a certain point.

[Erik_Twice]

You should play Wizardry IV. Unlike the RPGs you mention grinding is useless, you have to go from respawn point to respawn point with what you have, which is little. The fact that many don't even make it out of the first room says a lot of the game.


And no, not liking grinding doesn't mean you are a "pussy". Grinding is boring, skill-less and repetitive. I have better things to do with my time that kill puddles for hours.

[AppliCotton]

The 7th Saga can be rough, it's the type of game that wears down your patience pretty fast. It's just one of those games where you always feel underpowered/underleveled and like every random battle could be your last.

Now we're talking Thanks!!!!

And no, not liking grinding doesn't mean you are a "pussy". Grinding is boring, skill-less and repetitive. I have better things to do with my time that kill puddles for hours.

It depends. It is a horrendous waste of time, I agree, but I generally enjoy it. I think that if implemented well, grinding can add a lot to a game. And Yuji Horii knows how to use stuff like that to give games new dimensions... just think how you had to work the counter in the weapon shop in DW IV!!! And no, you're merely human for not liking grinding; you're a pussy if you bitch about it online in a game from 1987.

[ZeroAX]

Yo!

One of the only valid complaints frequently heard about JRPGs is that they're too easy. And judging from what I've read, 99% of gamers actually prefer an unlimited stock of HP- and MP-replenishing items, save points every couple of screens, friendly pointy fingers that show you where to go next...

But not me. I recently discovered the sheer bliss of Dragon Warrior II. That game will kick your ass until vomit comes shooting out your dick. Literally. You have to rest up, buy items and save just to go grinding where you're supposed to be grinding... And you have to max your HP after every battle... Even around level 20 in Alefgard, a group of 4 Gremlins can cut your party down in 2 turns!!! And they always go right for the guy with the Return spell! And there's the enemies that rob your MP 20 at a time. And the enemies that get to attack twice. And the attacks that you can't parry.

And never knowing what to do next... Should I go in this tower? Well, seeing as I got my ass kicked before I made it to the first staircase, probably not... oh no wait, it's DW II... RUN RUN RUN PARRY PARRY PARRY...

Fucking awesome. I'm gonna pay me a visit to those babies on Game FAQs who put me off with their "it's too hard!!!!" and "Waaaa" *gurgle *slobber "I don't like grinding!!!" and smack them like Marlon Brando in the Godfather.

Yeah, that game rulez. Based on what I've wrote, can anybody suggest any other JRPGs I might like? Minimal story, lots of grinding, lots of getting your ass kicked... The older the better, no polygons please.

Is Final Fantasy Legend on Gameboy worth it? I've read that that game's damn near impossible (probably pussies being pussies again)...

Thanks,
Mike

Is it just me or does this sound like the retrogaming/RPG fan version of the CoD frat boys going "I just got a multi kill FUCK YEAH (%@&%#(&^!&#^%&(#(!^#(&^#!(&!!#&^^"


dude there is nothing challenging about grinding and cheap difficulty. The only true challenging RPG combat would be one where every battle needs a different tactic to be won, but that's impossible outside P&P RPGs cause it would take the battle designers endless hours to create such a system, when people don't mind only using the most powerful attack to kill all enemies...

[Incognito D]

the thing I find interesting about difficulty in RPGs is, it seems to boil down to one thing: How much do I need to grind?
And even then, I'd argue that more grinding =/= more difficult.
After all, gridning is just killing weak enemies over and over. That's not necessarily difficult - just time consuming and boring. So maybe instead of "how hard is this RPG?" we should ask "how time consuming is this RPG?" or "how boring is this RPG"

[dsheinem]

Mike, you sound like an asshole.

Thanks,
Dave

[retrosportsgamer]

Ah, man. Just pussies being pussies.

[AppliCotton]

Yo!

One of the only valid complaints frequently heard about JRPGs is that they're too easy. And judging from what I've read, 99% of gamers actually prefer an unlimited stock of HP- and MP-replenishing items, save points every couple of screens, friendly pointy fingers that show you where to go next...

But not me. I recently discovered the sheer bliss of Dragon Warrior II. That game will kick your ass until vomit comes shooting out your dick. Literally. You have to rest up, buy items and save just to go grinding where you're supposed to be grinding... And you have to max your HP after every battle... Even around level 20 in Alefgard, a group of 4 Gremlins can cut your party down in 2 turns!!! And they always go right for the guy with the Return spell! And there's the enemies that rob your MP 20 at a time. And the enemies that get to attack twice. And the attacks that you can't parry.

And never knowing what to do next... Should I go in this tower? Well, seeing as I got my ass kicked before I made it to the first staircase, probably not... oh no wait, it's DW II... RUN RUN RUN PARRY PARRY PARRY...

Fucking awesome. I'm gonna pay me a visit to those babies on Game FAQs who put me off with their "it's too hard!!!!" and "Waaaa" *gurgle *slobber "I don't like grinding!!!" and smack them like Marlon Brando in the Godfather.

Yeah, that game rulez. Based on what I've wrote, can anybody suggest any other JRPGs I might like? Minimal story, lots of grinding, lots of getting your ass kicked... The older the better, no polygons please.

Is Final Fantasy Legend on Gameboy worth it? I've read that that game's damn near impossible (probably pussies being pussies again)...

Thanks,
Mike

Is it just me or does this sound like the retrogaming/RPG fan version of the CoD frat boys going "I just got a multi kill FUCK YEAH (%@&%#(&^!&#^%&(#(!^#(&^#!(&!!#&^^"


dude there is nothing challenging about grinding and cheap difficulty. The only true challenging RPG combat would be one where every battle needs a different tactic to be won, but that's impossible outside P&P RPGs cause it would take the battle designers endless hours to create such a system, when people don't mind only using the most powerful attack to kill all enemies...

That's oversimplifying quite a bit. Generally yes, that kind of difficulty would be annoying. But it is Dragon Warrior. Yuji Horii had a handful of pixels and a chronically underpowered machine with which to immerse players in his world, and he used everything he possibly could to do that, including the game's carefully programmed but very high difficulty. And it's not just some line of text handing you your ass... It's a monster ingeniously crafted by the guy who created Dragon Ball and placed by one of the most visionary game designers of all time. You get the ship, you go exploring, you step off onto a deserted island, you run into a monster that's the exact same as a monster you've been seeing since the beginning of the game... only this time it's bright pink and light orange and holding a ginormous axe. And it fucks you up bad. And instead of smashing the controller, all you can think is "wow, that was awesome." That's Dragon Warrior, that's what retrogaming is all about.