Best JRPGs without (much) grinding

[BoneSnapDeez]

I think the only JRPGs I can remember having to grind in were some of the Dragon Quest games. Well, unless you count grinding for cash. In that case I certainly remember grinding for meseta to afford the Land Rover in Phantasy Star.

You need to play more 8/16-bit RPGs son. Lotsa dem require forced level grinding. Ys I, II, and III, Mother, The 7th Saga, Vay, Xak, and Crystalis come to mind.

[Exhuminator]

You need to play more 8/16-bit RPGs son.

I haven't played a lot of 8-bit JRPGs, but I've played quite a few 16-bit ones. Perhaps I just got lucky in that they were balanced properly to avoid necessitating grinding. Or maybe I was just a good enough player to strategically avoid the need for it in the first place.

[Ack]

Depending on the game, I find grinding for cash for the best weapons, armor, and equipment in most JRPGs will usually be enough grinding(or more than enough) to get you through the game. That said, I usually try to go up five levels in each new dungeon, though that usually isn't too hard if experience has been properly weighted. In some games, such as the Breath of Fire series, I find this to sadly not be the case.

And then there are games like Final Fantasy VIII and 7th Saga, where there are times where grinding too much can actually hurt you.

[Xeogred]

Depending on the game, I find grinding for cash for the best weapons, armor, and equipment in most JRPGs will usually be enough grinding(or more than enough) to get you through the game. That said, I usually try to go up five levels in each new dungeon, though that usually isn't too hard if experience has been properly weighted. In some games, such as the Breath of Fire series, I find this to sadly not be the case.

And then there are games like Final Fantasy VIII and 7th Saga, where there are times where grinding too much can actually hurt you.

But I can't stop stocking cards until I get 100!

I can never replay FFVIII again, the OCD in me ends it. Also, having to re-junction things dozens of times throughout the game is awful (it always messes up junctions when you switch to Laguna).

[Metal Jesus]

Chrono Cross is a good one (and a personal favorite), you only level up after every boss battle.

I love Chrono Cross so much... This discussion makes me wanna go back and replay it...again.

[TheSSNintendo]

Paper Mario on the N64 had very little grinding, if I recall correctly.

The Atelier Iris series on the PS2 are quite easy and don't have grinding at all.

Also, the Lunar series on the PS1 had very little grinding.

I would also second Chrono Trigger and Grandia.

The only time I could see grinding was useful in Lunar was in Althena's Tower. Had to get to Level 50 if I wanted to beat the final boss.

[ninjainspandex]

Panzer Dragoon Saga had no grinding

[KayJay]

Look no further than Tales of Vesperia. Much like you, i didn't really enjoy RPG's a lot (the only ones i liked were Dragon Quest & Pokemon) I only had to grind once on the mid-game boss, and much of that was due to me avoiding the enemies too much. Also, the game has four different difficulty levels, so if it gets too hard for you on Medium, turn it down to Easy (admittedly, i did that twice.)


also, the game is great.

[Ziggy]

Super Mario RPG

There's no random battles. You can see the enemies on the map, and you can avoid them if you really want to. But if you fight them all, you shouldn't ever have to grind. Also, the battle sequences are really fun to play. You're not likely to get bored with them.

[KayJay]

Super Mario RPG

There's no random battles. You can see the enemies on the map, and you can avoid them if you really want to. But if you fight them all, you shouldn't ever have to grind. Also, the battle sequences are really fun to play. You're not likely to get bored with them.

I second that. This is a really great game. I personally like Paper Mario TTYD more, but this is still the cream of the crop of JRPGS.