Best JRPGs without (much) grinding

[Markies]

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.

[Josh]

Skies of Arcadia on Dreamcast is not very grind heavy at all, but the random encounter rate is absolutely awful. That's the sole reason why it's not grind heavy, because random encounters will make life pretty difficult until late in the game when you can avoid them in the overworld.

The Gamecube version is said to improve this, I however haven't seen it.

[Exhuminator]

Yeah any of the Mario inspired JRPGs shouldn't have any grinding. At least not the ones I've played.

[Gamerforlife]

The reason grinding is such a chore is because battle systems in most RPGs are painfully boring. I think you'd be better served trying to find RPGs with fun battle systems, because then it won't feel like a grind.

Personally I liked Persona 3 - I know a lot of people hated the party members being AI controlled, but it made battles go a lot faster and allowed you to focus more on making good decisions without being overwhelmed. It's one of the few RPGs I've actually replayed multiple times, the other being Chrono Trigger.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure any RPG with "Mario" in the title is going to be very lax on grinding. Also, were the Fire Emblem games devoid on random encounters? It's been a long time since I've played Path of Radiance but I don't remember any.

Agree. The beauty of a good combat system is that it emphasizes skill and strategy over stats and numbers. Hence me picking Grandia (strategic combat system) and others picking the Mario games (skill based combat emphasizing timing and recognizing enemy attacks). It's why I loved Final Fantasy XIII, it had a combat system wanting to be mastered in order to get the highest combat score. And FF X has a very chess like combat system where you plan moves accordingly and utilize the strengths or your party and the weaknesses of the enemy effectively

Valkyria Chronicles is also a good choice, for people into strategy rpgs.

[Sano]

Phantasy Star IV. It can be a tough game (for people like me who don't normally play RPGs) but there's pretty much no grind to it.

Been many years since I played through Phantasy Star IV (One of my all time favorites). I do remember that the generally battles one normally runs into was enough to get you through. No having to intentionally seek out battles to get stronger. I highly recommend this game.

[darsparx]

Yeah any of the Mario inspired JRPGs shouldn't have any grinding. At least not the ones I've played.

Pretty much, I don't remember ever grinding in it(except maybe when I knew i was getting close to the end only because the final boss in every mario game is a pain if you don't prepare yourself somehow and SSS was no exception oddly at least for me of course I can't recall how many times and if I ever did really run from battles...). Also pokemon, there may be some grinding it's not much as long as you don't run from battles it shouldn't be too bad

[PinkPanzer]

I have two rules I follow when I play an RPG

- in random encounter games, fight every fight, never run away.

- in RPGs where the enemies are visible on screen (lunar, grandia, etc.) Fight every enemy on a given area

I usually never have to grind and still am strong enough to beat the game, believe it or not I only really had to grind in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

But to answer the question, Final Fantasy 8 requires very little grinding

[Ack]

I have two rules I follow when I play an RPG

- in random encounter games, fight every fight, never run away.

Except in Final Fantasy V.

[Exhuminator]

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.

I agree with the poster above saying to fight every fight. That's what I do, even just the trash mobs. In 90% of JRPGs it keeps your party balanced and good to go.

[PinkPanzer]

I also have to agree, grinding too much makes an RPG so easy, there really are no challenges if you grind early.

What I do is, when I start an RPG, I always grind up to level 10 right before I go into the first dungeon/level and from there on I never have to worry about grinding, just not running away from fights and increasing levels as they come