Grinding is a controversial topic in the discussion of RPGs. It’s generally considered a negative element in an RPG, but there are those who enjoy a good grind-heavy video game that takes a long time to complete. Grind is present in both JRPGs and Western RPGs, but it can manifest differently in these two subgenres.

6 Pokemon: Colosseum & Pokemon XD: Gale Of Darkness

The first few generations of Pokemon are notorious for their grind. Before the Exp. Share was changed, giving experience points to the entire party instead of just the lead Pokemon, it took a long time to level up a team. Of course, trainers have always been plentiful, but even that feels like a grind in its own right.

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Generations I and II were particularly bad when it came to this, but Generation V also felt like its own special type of grinding purgatory. As great as they were, this era’s spinoffs Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness made players balance purifying Shadow Pokemon and training their already-purified Pokemon. XD: Gale of Darkness introduced a purifying machine, but that could only hold so many Pokemon and required a decent amount of purified Pokemon to work in the first place.

5 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers Of Sky

Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon is a spin-off series to the Pokemon franchise, in which the player takes on the role of a Pokemon in a world full of talking Pokemon. The dungeons themselves started easy, but quickly become lengthy and challenging. It wasn’t uncommon to get wiped out by a monster house room in the mid to late game, and that’s not even mentioning the Legendary Pokemon boss battles.

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Training is more difficult in Mystery Dungeon, as leveling up is slower than in the core Pokemon games. Plus, there is far more risk involved, because players lose items and money when they get knocked out of a dungeon. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers Of Sky is an improved version of Explorers of Time and Darkness that really makes the game shine. The story is compelling and downright emotional, but players have to earn it through the difficulty and grind of the dungeons.

4 Bravely Default

Bravely Default has the traditional grinding that is implicit in an RPG. Players are incentivized to level up their classes to gain abilities to distribute among anyone in that class, and any character can be made into any class. This has its own special kind of grind.

However, the real grind in Bravely Default really comes from how long it takes to get the “true ending” of the game. Players have to reawaken the crystals four to five times to get the true ending, which requires going through four boss dungeons four to five times to accomplish this. Altogether, it takes seven runs to get to the true ending. All of this said, the game is fun and compelling in a way that eluded JRPGs in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

3 Final Fantasy 10

Final Fantasy X has less grind than most of its predecessors in the Final Fantasy series, particularly the earliest entries in the series. It has the grind that is inherent in the JRPG genre, but that’s just a part of the formula and expected when paying the price of entry. The intense grind from Final Fantasy X comes from acquiring the legendary weapons, which are called Celestial Weapons in this game.

Obtaining the Celestial Mirror includes winning a Chocobo Race, which is required to get many of the other Celestial Weapons. Caladbolg also requires some Chocobo shenanigans, and the World Champion requires playing a lot of Blitzball. Others require a lot of fighting and repeated fights, and it all adds up to a lot of work by the end of it. Despite this, Final Fantasy X is among the best of the series, and players will want to stick around in the world to get those Celestial Weapons.

2 Persona 4

Persona 4 is remembered for being a lot more grind-heavy than its successor, the much-celebrated Persona 5. The latter is an exceedingly long game, but it doesn’t require as much grind to get there. (Upgrading social connections in the time limit can feel a tad stressful, but that’s not grind.)

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Managing money is one of the main things that makes Persona 4 such a grind-heavy experience. Money is required for practically everything in the game, so that contributes to the issue. The second dungeon has a steep difficulty curve, so leveling up one’s characters to deal with the threat can bog down the early game a good bit. However, if that challenge seems tantalizing, then Persona 4 is definitely worth playing. Though the grind is diminished in the later stages of the game, Persona 4 still has the engaging characters and fun combat system that the series is known for.

1 Dragon Quest 2

Dragon Quest II is a legendarily grind-heavy game with expensive equipment and deluges of combat encounters to pad out the space between dungeons. It’s also well-known for the steep wall it presents in the endgame, where it takes players a long time to get past the powerful enemies that put up roadblocks to completion.

However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for those who want to get lost in the world of a JRPG for a long time. Dragon Quest II will provide players with a lot of content and impressive challenges if they want to take on this JRPG classic.

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