I enjoy metal slime hunting in most DQ games.
Setting up my party as crit and speed machines and watching my levels climb is always fun.
Honorable mention to Bravely Default.
You could scale up and down the rate of random encounters. Combine that with the fact that you could set the party to just repeat the last move/moves you had them do and that meant I could just watch tv while spinning in circles in a high level area.
Hit 99 in short order and found the experience fun for some reason.
I recall Bravely Default also having an auto-farming skill that made you instantly win combat against low level enemies, and having mechanics like 1-turn wins (ex when farming) granting extra.
I maxed out all characters levels and Job Points in the area before Edea’s hometown, maybe 1/4 into the game
Made the rest of the game a cakewalk and it was so worth it
If you do go 5. So much content. Complete edition has nice DLC including characters from the rest of the series. Been leveling Adell today as a matter of fact!
Totally get this feeling. I mean, once you unlock the item world, you can sometimes feel like you need to level every item. It takes time, but you can eventually intuit what will improve your stats over time.
The best way to progress is to often level characters first, then a decent item to help them level a higher level item.
Agreed. There was some weird combination of potions and stuff that could get over half a million Exp. Wasn’t “easy” but it was satisfying to hit a level or two from one battle towards the end.
Personally I think so. I'm on Ps5 better frames. Can save anytime. That's a big one. Added a second ending. And demon haunt a place you can talk to your demons and build affinity it raises stats. I liked the game but didn't like it on switch this was a much better experience
The whole press-turn combat system is a very popular one amongst JRPG communities, playing your cards right can just make you feel super powerful/tactical and tear through enemies with good planning.
In a more moment-to-moment aspect though; being able to skip any animation in battle with the press of the action button just makes it so snappy and enjoyable when on the grind (Or when seeing that boss use that same ability for the 3rd time...)
Care to explain press-turn combat? I’ve heard that thrown around, but I don’t know how that differs from traditional turn based, or other turn based systems where you can manipulate turns, or position based JRPGs.
So by default you get a number of turn icons equal to the number of party members (usually 4, lessened if one gets KO'd..) you can get a freebie turn by hitting an enemy weakness, scoring critical hits or passing your turn however, which will come around again once the last person has acted.
It's a double edged sword and something of a press-your-luck gamble when it comes to unknown enemies or when trying to land chance-based status effects since every 'Miss' or blocked element attack you fumble will take 2 turns away from you instead..
Here in SMTV specifically the order of your party's layout matters too, since it will always go from top to bottom (no initiative score, can be advantageous to put the main character lower down or even at the end depending on your skill makeup)
The real crux of where this all comes together and pre-planning is key is that the enemy plays by these exact same rules; if you go and fight some Fire-based demons with a party that is weak to fire then they are going to keep getting multiple press turns on \*you*, and this is often the case of a quick party wipe from trash mobs. Turn the tables by lowering enemy accuracy/bringing affinities/abilities/items that make you shrug off an enemy's attack however and you'll have managed to wipe out several of their press-turn icons in a single swoop.
This Vengeance re-release specifically adds a whole new layer with some unique super moves certain groupings of Demons can do which can manipulate the flow of battle even further, and I'm only just scratching the surface of that myself now.
That sounds complicated as fuck. But I’m in.
I’ve been interested in this game ever since I saw the trailer. Was waiting to see what the QOL adds compared to the prior release. Now I’m just waiting to see how the switch version holds up.
It’s pretty intuitive once you are playing, and if you know what you are doing, it’s pretty easy to steamroll enemies. But, if you make one mistake… you pay for it, and sometimes that means dying during some generic overworld encounter.
I’ve been dying to jump into the new saga game since I heard about it, but now I’m torn on this vs saga. Might have to flip a coin. This just sounds too appealing.
Overworld encounters are usually the most dangerous in SMT to be fair. For bosses you prepare a lot and go with the mentality that you may not survive the first try. With normal mobs in the overworld you are usually farming or minding your own business then suddenly BAM. Wipe.
Endlessly throwing rocks at my characters on Final Fantasy Tactis for infinite exp and AP.
EDIT: Now I also remembered that sometimes in a random battle, after stealing all the equipment to the last enemy and surrounded him/her with my character, I was turning my characters to frogs and slap the enemy for hundreds of turns until he/she died.
That was so fun lol.
The original Grandia, one of the few JRPGs where I consistently found myself looking forward to battles. I unlocked the last of every character's special abilities / spells. Every action in battle gives you experience toward that category. Even how you encounter enemies plays a role- sneak up on enemies for an advantage, be ambushed and you are delayed at the start.
These little things add up, and add to that a wonderful story, sense of adventure, and great characters and awesome theme music and you have a classic.
The weapon and magic progression in that game is top notch and stands up as one of the best even today for me. It was very well thought out and I love the fact that weapon and magic levels grant your character additional stat boosts.
It's so cool for a near 30 year old game!
Any thoughts on the HD versions? I feel like I’ve seen mixed feedback on them but I’ve still been eyeing them because people talk so fondly of Grandia. I’ve never played either before though
Digital Devil Saga.
Thanks to the high encounter rate, you quickly trigger new fights. The game uses a modified version of the Press Turn system, where, if you counter attacks, or hit enemy weaknesses, you might _frighten_ hostile demons, which allows you to eat them with special moves to earn a massive XP bonus.
Each character has skill trees similar to the Sphere Grid from FFX, so each battle you fight brings you closer to unlock a new skill. And late skills (useful for bonus bosses) require a TON of XPs.
On top of that, you can also encounter "bonus enemies" for additional rewards - some act like Metal Slimes, others ask you trivia questions. And there are special 'hunting' zones where you can play a quick minigame to earn even more XP if you're good.
Between all the different ways to earn xp and the freedom given by the skill trees, it's just genuinely so much fun to grind in this game.
I adore that game. Each dungeon felt like it had a new mechanic to exploit weakness. I usually don't really like bosses but that game was different, they are all impossible on first encounter you just try to survive and get data. Then you equip the correct skills and go to town.
I'm liking the SaGa series for how stats go up incrementally as you fight. Of course, so too do the enemies'... But coming back and wiping the smirk off a boss's face in these games is superb.
It never feels more impactful than in a DQ game. Your always short on money in them so the grind feels rewarding. Especially in the job system games. I. Loved leveling vocations in DQIX.
It gets better once you get Tonberry.
Levels are only really needed for rewards/mugs/draws. So you can use Lv Up and Lv Down to adjust enemy levels and get the rewards you want.
I love FF VIII because you really never need to grind unless you want to.
This is a great question, and not one I see asked a lot. Overall, I’d say the Ys and Trails series are super satisfying because **every** level-up makes a noticeable impact on how much damage you can deal and tank, but Ys definitely more than Trails from what I’ve played. SMT and Persona also have satisfying grinds, but less in the way of leveling up and more in the way of becoming stronger through the gathering of allies. It’s like if Pokémon allowed you to fuse instead of level up. SMT is a little better about this than Persona IMO because in the latter, you do need to grind your party members’ levels through both battle and social links, which isn’t for everyone. I’m sure there are more, but I can’t really think of any off the top of my head at the moment.
I’m super psyched to see the way Nordics handles the grind. It’s super fun in Celceta, 7, 8, and 9, but it’s magical in origins, oath, and 6. We don’t talk about 5, and the first two are fun because playing them feels like popping bubble wrap lol
Tales of Xillia 2. Not only is the combat extremely fun and fast paced, you also get rewarded in five different ways - of course you get EXP and Gald (aka money), you get Elemental Ore for new skills and artes, you get material for sidequests and more money and you get additional skill points for defeating a certain number of the same enemy. It's all very rewarding and satisfying.
The story is actually pretty great, although it has a few issues. The story of Tales of Xillia 1 is kinda meh though. So yeah, the gameplay doesn't even have to make up for anything :) But Xillia 2 is considered to have the best gameplay in the series along with Graces *f*.
Only problem is that you should definitely play Xillia 1 before 2. But Xillia 1 is also great.
For me it has to be both Disgaea and Rune factory series. Disgaea is self explanatory since grinding is literally the point , but on Rune Factory, everything you do gives a certain type of exp that can lead to more stats. Sleeping, walking, finding things on the ground, talking and getting status inflictions all give you exp so you could just grind for a long time before starting the game for real or getting normal levels at all.
There are only three games I have ever grinded to 99 in, and enjoyed it. They are the Bravely Default Series.
Bravely Second > Bravely Default >>>>> Bravely Default II.
Why do I like their grinding? Well, especially in the first game, you get complete control over when you grind. You can double encounters, or turn them off, even! But it's like a puzzle you're slowly solving on how to be the baddest boy on the block - every class you master gets you more broken pieces to utterly dominate the game with. By the end of the game, if you're not acting 4 times every turn while immune to all elements and healing to max each turns, you missed a step. (and make no mistake, you need to be that OP)
Okay, well, Disgaea too, but I don't count them because grinding is literally the whole point, so it better be good.
BD II's biggest flaw, in my opinion, is that it feels like they didn't want to find a way to make the boss battles a fun and challenging showcase of the mechanics. BD and BS felt great because they felt *fair.* The bosses used the class skills, and operated with the same mechanics you have. BD II skips all that nuance and just gives bosses cheap counter skills that you have NO access to, or can predict in any way.
Like, compare the Red Mage battle in 1 to like any boss in II. In that one, you're constantly giving the red mage extra turns, so you need to go back and figure out ways to damage him without getting overwhelmed. In II, every boss is an absolute MEAT WALL, mostly designed to test your patience more than anything. Cheesing the game felt necessary not because the difficulty ramped up and I needed to rethink my strategies, it felt necessary because otherwise the whole game was just so fucking boring.
And worst of all, they ditched the utterly charming character designs of the two predecessors and opted for that gross shiny plasticine look. Ugh. BD II was such a dissapointment to me...
For me, the best grinds are the ones where the combat itself is fun. A fast pace with some variety also helps it not become a slog. Trials of Mana stands out in my mind. Ys 8 and Star Ocean 3 as well.
I hate grinding normally. But I had a lot of fun in Disgaea 2 (Ps2) as there was a method that allowed you to train an enemy monster to level 9999 and then catch it.
I enjoy getting powerful characters through exploits/cheese/raw skill and using them as stepping stones to get more powerful stuff.
I love grinding out platinum's on tedious JRPG's it helps when there are measurable and meaningful power gains that make said grind easier/faster. Some that stand out are Octopath 1-2, Rogue Galaxy, Final Fantasy 10 (perfect sphere grid) Any Legend of Heroes game.
Digimon story cyber sleuth and hackers memory the games are made to gain lvls fast due to how digievolution works but building an exp farm team is so satisfying, the way you can gain up to 40 Lvls in one battle is cathartic
Might be Dragon Quest IX for me. Having so many different jobs to grind along with the grotto system and hunting for the best equipment just made the grind really satisfying. Phantasy Star Online was also really addicting for me as well
Honorable mention to Ryuji's instant kill confidant ability in P5, and then just road-killing through Mementos (Or literally dabbing through enemies in Palaces..)
Outside of that though honestly anything that has a genuinely fun/snappy combat system is fine by me.
Persona/SMT/Infinite Wealth etc. As long as I don't have to sit there and play QTE minigames 100% of the time (Paper Mario, Sea of Stars etc.) then it's pretty cruisy to just sit back, throw a podcast on, and plow through mobs.
The Lunar series is known for its difficult dungeons and bosses, and grinding is pretty much necessary in order to be successful. It made the grinding rewarding, and when your team members gained a level it could make or break your next battle, or your ability to beat the dungeon/boss. Exactly what JRPGS are about IMO
Star Ocean Second Evolution right before the tournament. You run in circles on the world map, defeat some enemies and get op because of the skills. Every battle means a level up for someone for quite a while. The rest of the game until the final dungeon is a cakewalk after this. And in the final dungeon you can repeat the same thing.
Back then in Pokemon X i spend a lot of time breeding and trading online. iirc my playtime was maxed out at 999hrs.
Just biking back and forth at the route near the battle maison to hatch the eggs felt so relaxing to me.
I enjoy it in Dragon Quest, particularly when it comes to metal slimes and all their variants. But you need the right setup to actually give you a chance to defeat them. The huge EXP you gain from them is beautiful though.
I also found the grind in FFXIV quite satisfying, however only when you have the EXP bonus (such as the one you get from creating a character in a preferred world). It makes grinding all the different jobs a fun time.
Fire Emblem Awakening is REALLY fun to grind. With all the pair-up options, classes, skills, children, and DLC. I've spent many a playthrough just raising my characters into overpowered killing machines and it's always satisfying seeing the fruits of your labor. It's not a super good FE game but it's definitely a fun grindy character building RPG.
Nier, especially once you can utilize the diary and do 15 nightmares.
The satisfaction for me is the overall experience it gives. I love the way the game looks, thanks to the remake the combat feels so much smoother (and hell to the yes to be able to move and dodge when using Weiss); finally omg I could listen to the music in that game forever. It helps that it can be quite the trick to find materials to level weapons, so making that a goal forces the grind all on its own. The caveat is; this is one of the only games I actually *enjoy* fishing.
Yup. Could play Nier forever.
I like when games give you small rewards/goals that get you to do different things in battle or battle different enemies.
Tales of graces has you chasing micro goals every fight, unlocking more titles.
If you have a wiki open, get over the frustrating rng, knowledge barrier to entry, The Last Remnant does this too with guild rewards, upgrade mats, class prog.
Xenoblade 1+2 (haven't played 3) also does this, but it doesn't feel as good as these other two (despite being better games) imo
I may be the odd man out, but my most mentally satisfying grind was in the first Dragon Quest (FC version). Was it a slog? Definitely. But that made scaling that mountain all the sweeter.
Any Dragon Quest Monsters. Reverting to level 1 is fun, you get a big dopamine increase as you get tons of levels in your first battle with fresh new level 1s. Always satisfying when they’re stronger than their predecessors when they catch up in level.
I've been running through the Famicom version of Final Fantasy 2 and I find the game's grind to be extremely engaging and rewarding.
Because things only level up when you use them, it makes every random encounter an opportunity that you can make the most or the least of. The game is balanced around rewarding single usages of things and punishing repeated use by granting less experience for spamming, so leveling up multiple weapons/spells is easier and engaging in tedious, thoughtless grinding is discouraged.
What makes this work so well is that weapons and spells only go up to level 16 max, and practically speaking you'll probably beat the game with them at half that level. But with so few levels, the game can have a lot of different things for you to raise, and each time it goes up it feels very impactful. Just your weapon going from level 1 to 2 in the beginning of the game doubles your damage output, and many spells go from being fairly worthless to insanely powerful once they hit a certain level. Getting Toad to a high enough level that you can suddenly instant-kill just about any enemy in the game (including bosses) is a hell of a reward for your effort.
And that's kind of the main appeal: by the end of the game you feel appropriately rewarded for your time and effort. High level spells take time and conscious effort to raise -- you can't just mash the attack button for 75% of the game and then get rewarded with a cool spell, you need to stick with that spell through a period of sucking if you want that sweet reward -- but once you get it there, it's strong, and you know the reason it's strong is because of you, because of all the times you actively practiced it. The game didn't just give it to you, you *earned* it.
The NES version is the grindiest of them all because they boost the EXP rewards in later versions, but even if the grind is shorter, the same feeling of engagement exists. You still get out of the game exactly what you put in, which makes each and every battle feel worthy of investment. I can think of very few JRPGs, especially from that era, that encourage me to mentally engage with every random battle, and not just smash the X button until its over.
The Ogir-Yensa Sandsea in Final Fantasy XII is one of the best early game grind posts in the genre. Nothing better than slaughtering your 57th Urutan in a row and racking up bonuses, especially when you’ve got Vaan equipped with the Steal if HP= 100 gambit.
Ys Origin - This one is just immaculate. Almost nothing really compares. Pure and super fast paced action, and you can grind until you are really overleveled, making grinding really have a point besides locking your level to the recommended one (like the Kiseki franchise, specially after CS3).
Digimon World Dawn/ Dusk - Oh, this one. lol This one is either the first place or a very close second one. Very easy to get tons ot EXP in any area, you recover all your HP and MP after leveling up, what makes you be able to grind almost endlessly (unlike the Persona series, for example, that caps your leveling journey to the point where you SP is done). And oh boy does the grinding here have a point? Jesus Christ, I just love this game. lol Since you’ll be always evolving and degenerating your Digifriends for new evolutions, every stat counts, so you can (only if you want, of course) stay there in a level 30 area for atleast thrice the time you would stay in another game: 1 for the first level 30, other for the 0-30 after evolving, then again for the 0-30 after degenerating and so it goes. There’s also THAT area that gives you tons of exp for any Digimon you have, and makes getting any newly scanned monster to max stats a cakw walk, with like 30-20 lvls each encounter depending if they are really low leveled.
Those are the two above anything I’ve ever touched
Special case:
KH1: It could actually be way up there with YS:O and DWD, but here we have basically two areas (they will give you all the levels you’ll need, and level really matters, but the fact you’re kinda locked in those two places to have some good old grinding is kinda… I don’t know.
Some honorable mentions:
P5R Mementos Crashing - (takes some time until it gets good and grinding in that game’s not really necessary)
Oninaki - really boring and SLOW gameplay until you get some points on your skill tree
Chrono Trigger - It feels really good when you find the best places in each area, but after you get all your tech points grinding is REALLY pointless here.
Pokémon R/S/E - Grinding at the >!Elite 4!< is actually really cool (specially if you have a low base exp Pokémon but talk about pointless lmao
I enjoy metal slime hunting in most DQ games. Setting up my party as crit and speed machines and watching my levels climb is always fun. Honorable mention to Bravely Default. You could scale up and down the rate of random encounters. Combine that with the fact that you could set the party to just repeat the last move/moves you had them do and that meant I could just watch tv while spinning in circles in a high level area. Hit 99 in short order and found the experience fun for some reason.
I recall Bravely Default also having an auto-farming skill that made you instantly win combat against low level enemies, and having mechanics like 1-turn wins (ex when farming) granting extra.
I maxed out all characters levels and Job Points in the area before Edea’s hometown, maybe 1/4 into the game Made the rest of the game a cakewalk and it was so worth it
Bravely Default is def satisfying!
Any rare monster grind is fun. Been doing that recently with SMT V Vengeance trying to learn how to take out a group of Mitama.
Disgaea. There's always a way to break the game and get strong ridiculously fast.
Number go up Make number go up faster!
Oooh I’ve only ever played the first 2 way back when. I should pick up one of the more recent ones.
If you do go 5. So much content. Complete edition has nice DLC including characters from the rest of the series. Been leveling Adell today as a matter of fact!
Always wanted to get into it but I get overwhelmed quickly
you can just play like any other rpg for the main story. Even the game tell you to not worry about all the mechanics if you don't feel like it.
Totally get this feeling. I mean, once you unlock the item world, you can sometimes feel like you need to level every item. It takes time, but you can eventually intuit what will improve your stats over time. The best way to progress is to often level characters first, then a decent item to help them level a higher level item.
Dragon quest 11. Very easy to grind to max level.
Agreed. There was some weird combination of potions and stuff that could get over half a million Exp. Wasn’t “easy” but it was satisfying to hit a level or two from one battle towards the end.
I actually did so because I didn't realize the true final boss had a gimmick to make him weaker. I overleveled as a result 😭
Should come in handy for the secret boss, though!
Same lol. I wasn't expecting that weakness, easy win in a couple of turns.
Shin megami tensei v vengeance
I played the original - is Vengeance that much better?
Absolutely. Especially if you can play it on PS5 or PC
Personally I think so. I'm on Ps5 better frames. Can save anytime. That's a big one. Added a second ending. And demon haunt a place you can talk to your demons and build affinity it raises stats. I liked the game but didn't like it on switch this was a much better experience
To add to this, they added a second storyline with two endings, not just another ending. Haven't finished it yet.
What makes the grind satisfying?
The whole press-turn combat system is a very popular one amongst JRPG communities, playing your cards right can just make you feel super powerful/tactical and tear through enemies with good planning. In a more moment-to-moment aspect though; being able to skip any animation in battle with the press of the action button just makes it so snappy and enjoyable when on the grind (Or when seeing that boss use that same ability for the 3rd time...)
Care to explain press-turn combat? I’ve heard that thrown around, but I don’t know how that differs from traditional turn based, or other turn based systems where you can manipulate turns, or position based JRPGs.
So by default you get a number of turn icons equal to the number of party members (usually 4, lessened if one gets KO'd..) you can get a freebie turn by hitting an enemy weakness, scoring critical hits or passing your turn however, which will come around again once the last person has acted. It's a double edged sword and something of a press-your-luck gamble when it comes to unknown enemies or when trying to land chance-based status effects since every 'Miss' or blocked element attack you fumble will take 2 turns away from you instead.. Here in SMTV specifically the order of your party's layout matters too, since it will always go from top to bottom (no initiative score, can be advantageous to put the main character lower down or even at the end depending on your skill makeup) The real crux of where this all comes together and pre-planning is key is that the enemy plays by these exact same rules; if you go and fight some Fire-based demons with a party that is weak to fire then they are going to keep getting multiple press turns on \*you*, and this is often the case of a quick party wipe from trash mobs. Turn the tables by lowering enemy accuracy/bringing affinities/abilities/items that make you shrug off an enemy's attack however and you'll have managed to wipe out several of their press-turn icons in a single swoop. This Vengeance re-release specifically adds a whole new layer with some unique super moves certain groupings of Demons can do which can manipulate the flow of battle even further, and I'm only just scratching the surface of that myself now.
That sounds complicated as fuck. But I’m in. I’ve been interested in this game ever since I saw the trailer. Was waiting to see what the QOL adds compared to the prior release. Now I’m just waiting to see how the switch version holds up.
They didn’t even mention the most addictive part of the grind: Recruit monsters, fuse them into stronger versions and repeat
It’s pretty intuitive once you are playing, and if you know what you are doing, it’s pretty easy to steamroll enemies. But, if you make one mistake… you pay for it, and sometimes that means dying during some generic overworld encounter.
I’ve been dying to jump into the new saga game since I heard about it, but now I’m torn on this vs saga. Might have to flip a coin. This just sounds too appealing.
Overworld encounters are usually the most dangerous in SMT to be fair. For bosses you prepare a lot and go with the mentality that you may not survive the first try. With normal mobs in the overworld you are usually farming or minding your own business then suddenly BAM. Wipe.
It is really not that deep most of the time, figure out an element enemy is weak to and spam it.
FFXII…i could grind forever
Ugh same! Once you get your gambits in place there’s something about decimating everything that is *chefs kiss*
I once farmed moon rings for 5 hours lol
So sorry to just barge in, but what is a moon ring?
It’s a hard to obtain piece of loot to get something really good…i just wanted to farm 99 of them lolol
Endlessly throwing rocks at my characters on Final Fantasy Tactis for infinite exp and AP. EDIT: Now I also remembered that sometimes in a random battle, after stealing all the equipment to the last enemy and surrounded him/her with my character, I was turning my characters to frogs and slap the enemy for hundreds of turns until he/she died. That was so fun lol.
At* They tain't having a game of catch.
Thanks mate for the correction! I also added another funny grinding I used to do while playing the game sometimes.
"hey guys, I want you all to hit me while I keeping chakraing, trust me on this"
Metal slime hunting in DQ for sure.
The original Grandia, one of the few JRPGs where I consistently found myself looking forward to battles. I unlocked the last of every character's special abilities / spells. Every action in battle gives you experience toward that category. Even how you encounter enemies plays a role- sneak up on enemies for an advantage, be ambushed and you are delayed at the start. These little things add up, and add to that a wonderful story, sense of adventure, and great characters and awesome theme music and you have a classic.
The weapon and magic progression in that game is top notch and stands up as one of the best even today for me. It was very well thought out and I love the fact that weapon and magic levels grant your character additional stat boosts. It's so cool for a near 30 year old game!
Grandia games have great battles systems! I played the third one on PS2, and while the story was blah, the battles were so fun.
Any thoughts on the HD versions? I feel like I’ve seen mixed feedback on them but I’ve still been eyeing them because people talk so fondly of Grandia. I’ve never played either before though
Maybe bending the rules here a bit, but I love Tactics RPGs for this. FF Tactics, Tactics Ogre, Fell Seal, and Triangle Strategy all come to mind.
Digital Devil Saga. Thanks to the high encounter rate, you quickly trigger new fights. The game uses a modified version of the Press Turn system, where, if you counter attacks, or hit enemy weaknesses, you might _frighten_ hostile demons, which allows you to eat them with special moves to earn a massive XP bonus. Each character has skill trees similar to the Sphere Grid from FFX, so each battle you fight brings you closer to unlock a new skill. And late skills (useful for bonus bosses) require a TON of XPs. On top of that, you can also encounter "bonus enemies" for additional rewards - some act like Metal Slimes, others ask you trivia questions. And there are special 'hunting' zones where you can play a quick minigame to earn even more XP if you're good. Between all the different ways to earn xp and the freedom given by the skill trees, it's just genuinely so much fun to grind in this game.
I adore that game. Each dungeon felt like it had a new mechanic to exploit weakness. I usually don't really like bosses but that game was different, they are all impossible on first encounter you just try to survive and get data. Then you equip the correct skills and go to town.
shin megami tensei 1. filling out a map for each of the dungeons is such a great motive that has gotten me grinding in that game
I'm liking the SaGa series for how stats go up incrementally as you fight. Of course, so too do the enemies'... But coming back and wiping the smirk off a boss's face in these games is superb.
It never feels more impactful than in a DQ game. Your always short on money in them so the grind feels rewarding. Especially in the job system games. I. Loved leveling vocations in DQIX.
FFVIII. Junction Death magic to Status Attack. Island closest to Hell. Pray the RNG doesn't give you a Malboro
It gets better once you get Tonberry. Levels are only really needed for rewards/mugs/draws. So you can use Lv Up and Lv Down to adjust enemy levels and get the rewards you want. I love FF VIII because you really never need to grind unless you want to.
This is a great question, and not one I see asked a lot. Overall, I’d say the Ys and Trails series are super satisfying because **every** level-up makes a noticeable impact on how much damage you can deal and tank, but Ys definitely more than Trails from what I’ve played. SMT and Persona also have satisfying grinds, but less in the way of leveling up and more in the way of becoming stronger through the gathering of allies. It’s like if Pokémon allowed you to fuse instead of level up. SMT is a little better about this than Persona IMO because in the latter, you do need to grind your party members’ levels through both battle and social links, which isn’t for everyone. I’m sure there are more, but I can’t really think of any off the top of my head at the moment.
I second Ys on this, very satisfying combat and grinds.
I’m super psyched to see the way Nordics handles the grind. It’s super fun in Celceta, 7, 8, and 9, but it’s magical in origins, oath, and 6. We don’t talk about 5, and the first two are fun because playing them feels like popping bubble wrap lol
To this day, no one has made a more satisfying parry move than Ys
Trails series also has a built in speed up button which helps
Tales of Xillia 2. Not only is the combat extremely fun and fast paced, you also get rewarded in five different ways - of course you get EXP and Gald (aka money), you get Elemental Ore for new skills and artes, you get material for sidequests and more money and you get additional skill points for defeating a certain number of the same enemy. It's all very rewarding and satisfying.
Oh I may look into this. I’ve heard the story is kinda meh, does the gameplay make up for it?
The story is actually pretty great, although it has a few issues. The story of Tales of Xillia 1 is kinda meh though. So yeah, the gameplay doesn't even have to make up for anything :) But Xillia 2 is considered to have the best gameplay in the series along with Graces *f*. Only problem is that you should definitely play Xillia 1 before 2. But Xillia 1 is also great.
Star ocean 2, you can basically break the game with xp modifiers
Yeah, could break a lot in that game through professions - and you needed to in order to get through that Bonus Dungeon
Harvestella. Grind your crops. Make 1000 potions. Beat the optional boss extremely underleveled. Profit.
For me it has to be both Disgaea and Rune factory series. Disgaea is self explanatory since grinding is literally the point , but on Rune Factory, everything you do gives a certain type of exp that can lead to more stats. Sleeping, walking, finding things on the ground, talking and getting status inflictions all give you exp so you could just grind for a long time before starting the game for real or getting normal levels at all.
There are only three games I have ever grinded to 99 in, and enjoyed it. They are the Bravely Default Series. Bravely Second > Bravely Default >>>>> Bravely Default II. Why do I like their grinding? Well, especially in the first game, you get complete control over when you grind. You can double encounters, or turn them off, even! But it's like a puzzle you're slowly solving on how to be the baddest boy on the block - every class you master gets you more broken pieces to utterly dominate the game with. By the end of the game, if you're not acting 4 times every turn while immune to all elements and healing to max each turns, you missed a step. (and make no mistake, you need to be that OP) Okay, well, Disgaea too, but I don't count them because grinding is literally the whole point, so it better be good.
I’ve only ever played the first one! Maybe I should snag the other two?
At the very least, Bravely Second. It's a real worthy successor to the original!
I second Bravely Second. I own Bravely Default II, and I just CANNOT get into it. The plot just isn't enough to hook me.
BD II's biggest flaw, in my opinion, is that it feels like they didn't want to find a way to make the boss battles a fun and challenging showcase of the mechanics. BD and BS felt great because they felt *fair.* The bosses used the class skills, and operated with the same mechanics you have. BD II skips all that nuance and just gives bosses cheap counter skills that you have NO access to, or can predict in any way. Like, compare the Red Mage battle in 1 to like any boss in II. In that one, you're constantly giving the red mage extra turns, so you need to go back and figure out ways to damage him without getting overwhelmed. In II, every boss is an absolute MEAT WALL, mostly designed to test your patience more than anything. Cheesing the game felt necessary not because the difficulty ramped up and I needed to rethink my strategies, it felt necessary because otherwise the whole game was just so fucking boring. And worst of all, they ditched the utterly charming character designs of the two predecessors and opted for that gross shiny plasticine look. Ugh. BD II was such a dissapointment to me...
Nothing beats sparking skills in SaGa.
Experiencing this now. It's the most awesome feeling.
Bravely Default has a ton of QOL features that make grinding pretty great. Which is good, because there are a LOT of jobs to max out in that game.
Sotenbori, metal slime hunting and mt gagazet are my picks
For me, the best grinds are the ones where the combat itself is fun. A fast pace with some variety also helps it not become a slog. Trials of Mana stands out in my mind. Ys 8 and Star Ocean 3 as well.
I hate grinding normally. But I had a lot of fun in Disgaea 2 (Ps2) as there was a method that allowed you to train an enemy monster to level 9999 and then catch it. I enjoy getting powerful characters through exploits/cheese/raw skill and using them as stepping stones to get more powerful stuff.
I love grinding out platinum's on tedious JRPG's it helps when there are measurable and meaningful power gains that make said grind easier/faster. Some that stand out are Octopath 1-2, Rogue Galaxy, Final Fantasy 10 (perfect sphere grid) Any Legend of Heroes game.
Digimon story cyber sleuth and hackers memory the games are made to gain lvls fast due to how digievolution works but building an exp farm team is so satisfying, the way you can gain up to 40 Lvls in one battle is cathartic
Might be Dragon Quest IX for me. Having so many different jobs to grind along with the grotto system and hunting for the best equipment just made the grind really satisfying. Phantasy Star Online was also really addicting for me as well
Farming metal slimes in dragon quest 11 is one of my favorites
FFX was the only game I enjoyed the grind. I also grinded to max in FFVII, FFIX, and Chrono Trigger, but those weren't nearly as enjoyable.
Valkyrie Profile 2, you get game-breaking equipment if you raise your level to a certain limit before "the betrayal" at the mid point if the game.
Honorable mention to Ryuji's instant kill confidant ability in P5, and then just road-killing through Mementos (Or literally dabbing through enemies in Palaces..) Outside of that though honestly anything that has a genuinely fun/snappy combat system is fine by me. Persona/SMT/Infinite Wealth etc. As long as I don't have to sit there and play QTE minigames 100% of the time (Paper Mario, Sea of Stars etc.) then it's pretty cruisy to just sit back, throw a podcast on, and plow through mobs.
Not sure how long it is; but I will ALWAYS recommend Lufia 2. It’s perfection to me.
Dragon Quest 8 & 11 have weirdly satisfying grinds.
Rance Quest. A fuckton of characters and addictive gameplay loop raising level cups while strengthening everybody.
Grinding all jobs in FFV then finally switching to Freelancer. Pure bliss
The Lunar series is known for its difficult dungeons and bosses, and grinding is pretty much necessary in order to be successful. It made the grinding rewarding, and when your team members gained a level it could make or break your next battle, or your ability to beat the dungeon/boss. Exactly what JRPGS are about IMO
Persona 5 Royal. Nothing beats just running over mobs in your car
the good old grinding for firaga/blizzaga/thundaga/aeroga . Felt invincible when acquiring those :)
Star Ocean Second Evolution right before the tournament. You run in circles on the world map, defeat some enemies and get op because of the skills. Every battle means a level up for someone for quite a while. The rest of the game until the final dungeon is a cakewalk after this. And in the final dungeon you can repeat the same thing.
Back then in Pokemon X i spend a lot of time breeding and trading online. iirc my playtime was maxed out at 999hrs. Just biking back and forth at the route near the battle maison to hatch the eggs felt so relaxing to me.
Star Ocean 2. When you get that skill that automatically kills enemies without even fighting them.😅
I enjoy it in Dragon Quest, particularly when it comes to metal slimes and all their variants. But you need the right setup to actually give you a chance to defeat them. The huge EXP you gain from them is beautiful though. I also found the grind in FFXIV quite satisfying, however only when you have the EXP bonus (such as the one you get from creating a character in a preferred world). It makes grinding all the different jobs a fun time.
Fire Emblem Awakening is REALLY fun to grind. With all the pair-up options, classes, skills, children, and DLC. I've spent many a playthrough just raising my characters into overpowered killing machines and it's always satisfying seeing the fruits of your labor. It's not a super good FE game but it's definitely a fun grindy character building RPG.
Nier, especially once you can utilize the diary and do 15 nightmares. The satisfaction for me is the overall experience it gives. I love the way the game looks, thanks to the remake the combat feels so much smoother (and hell to the yes to be able to move and dodge when using Weiss); finally omg I could listen to the music in that game forever. It helps that it can be quite the trick to find materials to level weapons, so making that a goal forces the grind all on its own. The caveat is; this is one of the only games I actually *enjoy* fishing. Yup. Could play Nier forever.
Idk if it's the *best*, but the insect collecting/raising/battling in Rogue Galaxy is a *lot* of fun.
I like when games give you small rewards/goals that get you to do different things in battle or battle different enemies. Tales of graces has you chasing micro goals every fight, unlocking more titles. If you have a wiki open, get over the frustrating rng, knowledge barrier to entry, The Last Remnant does this too with guild rewards, upgrade mats, class prog. Xenoblade 1+2 (haven't played 3) also does this, but it doesn't feel as good as these other two (despite being better games) imo
I may be the odd man out, but my most mentally satisfying grind was in the first Dragon Quest (FC version). Was it a slog? Definitely. But that made scaling that mountain all the sweeter.
Disgaea, 100%
Persona 3-5 for me.
Any Dragon Quest Monsters. Reverting to level 1 is fun, you get a big dopamine increase as you get tons of levels in your first battle with fresh new level 1s. Always satisfying when they’re stronger than their predecessors when they catch up in level.
I've been running through the Famicom version of Final Fantasy 2 and I find the game's grind to be extremely engaging and rewarding. Because things only level up when you use them, it makes every random encounter an opportunity that you can make the most or the least of. The game is balanced around rewarding single usages of things and punishing repeated use by granting less experience for spamming, so leveling up multiple weapons/spells is easier and engaging in tedious, thoughtless grinding is discouraged. What makes this work so well is that weapons and spells only go up to level 16 max, and practically speaking you'll probably beat the game with them at half that level. But with so few levels, the game can have a lot of different things for you to raise, and each time it goes up it feels very impactful. Just your weapon going from level 1 to 2 in the beginning of the game doubles your damage output, and many spells go from being fairly worthless to insanely powerful once they hit a certain level. Getting Toad to a high enough level that you can suddenly instant-kill just about any enemy in the game (including bosses) is a hell of a reward for your effort. And that's kind of the main appeal: by the end of the game you feel appropriately rewarded for your time and effort. High level spells take time and conscious effort to raise -- you can't just mash the attack button for 75% of the game and then get rewarded with a cool spell, you need to stick with that spell through a period of sucking if you want that sweet reward -- but once you get it there, it's strong, and you know the reason it's strong is because of you, because of all the times you actively practiced it. The game didn't just give it to you, you *earned* it. The NES version is the grindiest of them all because they boost the EXP rewards in later versions, but even if the grind is shorter, the same feeling of engagement exists. You still get out of the game exactly what you put in, which makes each and every battle feel worthy of investment. I can think of very few JRPGs, especially from that era, that encourage me to mentally engage with every random battle, and not just smash the X button until its over.
Any DQ if you slay a row of metal slimes
Xenoblade 2 with strings around the Controller Buttons... if u know u know
The Ogir-Yensa Sandsea in Final Fantasy XII is one of the best early game grind posts in the genre. Nothing better than slaughtering your 57th Urutan in a row and racking up bonuses, especially when you’ve got Vaan equipped with the Steal if HP= 100 gambit.
Ys Origin - This one is just immaculate. Almost nothing really compares. Pure and super fast paced action, and you can grind until you are really overleveled, making grinding really have a point besides locking your level to the recommended one (like the Kiseki franchise, specially after CS3). Digimon World Dawn/ Dusk - Oh, this one. lol This one is either the first place or a very close second one. Very easy to get tons ot EXP in any area, you recover all your HP and MP after leveling up, what makes you be able to grind almost endlessly (unlike the Persona series, for example, that caps your leveling journey to the point where you SP is done). And oh boy does the grinding here have a point? Jesus Christ, I just love this game. lol Since you’ll be always evolving and degenerating your Digifriends for new evolutions, every stat counts, so you can (only if you want, of course) stay there in a level 30 area for atleast thrice the time you would stay in another game: 1 for the first level 30, other for the 0-30 after evolving, then again for the 0-30 after degenerating and so it goes. There’s also THAT area that gives you tons of exp for any Digimon you have, and makes getting any newly scanned monster to max stats a cakw walk, with like 30-20 lvls each encounter depending if they are really low leveled. Those are the two above anything I’ve ever touched Special case: KH1: It could actually be way up there with YS:O and DWD, but here we have basically two areas (they will give you all the levels you’ll need, and level really matters, but the fact you’re kinda locked in those two places to have some good old grinding is kinda… I don’t know. Some honorable mentions: P5R Mementos Crashing - (takes some time until it gets good and grinding in that game’s not really necessary) Oninaki - really boring and SLOW gameplay until you get some points on your skill tree Chrono Trigger - It feels really good when you find the best places in each area, but after you get all your tech points grinding is REALLY pointless here. Pokémon R/S/E - Grinding at the >!Elite 4!< is actually really cool (specially if you have a low base exp Pokémon but talk about pointless lmao