Grinding...

At what point did every single JRPG developer decide that they should implement the requirement to grind in every f*cking game? I just got Ni No Kuni the other day, and have had to grind more than a handful of times to pass bosses. 

Considering most of the battle systems in these games are pretty monotonous, why do they always insist you spend hours running around fighting little monsters in order to take on big ones. It just gets so f*cking boring! The same 4-5 moves, the same one liners after each battle, the same idiotic friendly AI...WHYYYYYYYY?!

Am I alone in this belief? It's a shame because I tend to enjoy the setting and story of these games, but their actual gameplay is almost always a let-down, and  tends to not allow you to further experience the story unless you grind for hours on end to beat tough enemies. They don't exactly require skill, they just require a huge amount of time to be sunk into them, doing the same thing over and over. 

I find that I avoids grinding as much as I can in JRPG. I get stuck in a JRPG then I just get a level or two and win the fight. They are better when you try to run them as low as you can. I skip many fights in JRPG to keep my levels low because I enjoy the combat form JRPG.

If you want me to talk about where I do grind then I would talk about WRPG. I will just run around killing monster so I can be overpower and shorten the combat as much as possible. Most WRPG combat is just bad.

I guess it's for a feeling of progression, instead of something like Oblivion where you can beat the game without fighting at all. I don't have a problem with grinding, and I enjoy it in most handheld RPGs.

1) If you feel this way you should consider turning down the difficulty to easy
2) How far are you into the game? I'm currently playing Ni No Kuni as well, I reckon I'm about 50% in the story and I have yet to require any grinding. If anything, I feel that some ordinary monster encounters were harder (but shorter of course) than some of the bosses. The bosses so far haven't really been that difficult.
3) I do however think that while Ni No Kuni is a great, one of the things I do feel is very frustrating is the amount of monsters and how fast many of them chase you. Additionally, at this point I have no way to completely restore my characters health and mana except visiting the inn. This is very unfortunate considering the AI feels rather lacking and seem to waste about 70% of their mana in a single fight when you tell them to do whatever they like.

I love th graphics in the game. I love the voice acting and the storytelling. I jump ship with the painful intro and outro cutscenes for every battle.

I find that I avoids grinding as much as I can in JRPG. I get stuck in a JRPG then I just get a level or two and win the fight. They are better when you try to run them as low as you can.

wiouds

I tend to do this too. The only exception are the impossible-super-ultra-mega-overpowered-secret bosses like Trema from Final Fantasy X-2, Baal from Disgaea, or the ridiculously overpowered DLC bosses from Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2. Then I'll try to grind and aim for the level cap (or as high as I can in the case of Disgaea, I don't think I've ever maxed out to lv 9999 in that game).

Because japanese developers have the power to boast about "hundreds of hours of play time" with a straight face.

The reality is that you could breeze through the standard JRPG in 10 hours or less if you didn't have to grind before every boss. It's the same principle of the 8-16 bit era, when you had 20 minutes-long games that were made insanely hard to create the illusion of playing a longer game.

Because japanese developers have the power to boast about "hundreds of hours of play time" with a straight face.

The reality is that you could breeze through the standard JRPG in 10 hours or less if you didn't have to grind before every boss. It's the same principle of the 8-16 bit era, when you had 20 minutes-long games that were made insanely hard to create the illusion of playing a longer game.

Black_Knight_00

I rarely grind and it still take 40+ hours to beat a JRPG.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]

Because japanese developers have the power to boast about "hundreds of hours of play time" with a straight face.

The reality is that you could breeze through the standard JRPG in 10 hours or less if you didn't have to grind before every boss. It's the same principle of the 8-16 bit era, when you had 20 minutes-long games that were made insanely hard to create the illusion of playing a longer game.

wiouds

I rarely grind and it still take 40+ hours to beat a JRPG.

[QUOTE="wiouds"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]

Because japanese developers have the power to boast about "hundreds of hours of play time" with a straight face.

The reality is that you could breeze through the standard JRPG in 10 hours or less if you didn't have to grind before every boss. It's the same principle of the 8-16 bit era, when you had 20 minutes-long games that were made insanely hard to create the illusion of playing a longer game.

Black_Knight_00

I rarely grind and it still take 40+ hours to beat a JRPG.

You do that while moving through a dungeon in a WRPG.

Grinding can really suck in some games.  Others I find it enjoyable and don't mind it at all.  

I hate the games that have incredibly high encounter rates, you grind until the appropriate level and then you need to reach your destination.  But you need to fight another 30 battles along the way.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"][QUOTE="wiouds"]

I rarely grind and it still take 40+ hours to beat a JRPG.

wiouds

You do that while moving through a dungeon in a WRPG.

[QUOTE="wiouds"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"] Grinding is not just intentionally stopping in place X and keep killing enemies for XP: many games normally force grinding on you through random battles. You're grinding all the time in JRPGs.Black_Knight_00

You do that while moving through a dungeon in a WRPG.

By what you call grinding then WRPG have just as much. Then by your logic WRPG also trying to make them appear longer.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"][QUOTE="wiouds"]

You do that while moving through a dungeon in a WRPG.

wiouds

By what you call grinding then WRPG have just as much. Then by your logic WRPG also trying to make them appear longer.

By the way: in several WRPGs you can bypass combat entirely: Skyrim for instance allows you to sneak through all the dungeons in the game never killing a single thing.

[QUOTE="wiouds"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"] And your point is?Black_Knight_00

By what you call grinding then WRPG have just as much. Then by your logic WRPG also trying to make them appear longer.

I tried sneaking through dungeons in Skyrim and got caught everytime. You are still force to take actions even if it to fight or run.

I do not call that grinding. Grinding is smoethign you choose to do that is not apart of the main quest. Grinding is when you are going a place to level up your character or gathering something. It is like going through Skyrim in your picaxe of soul stealing to gather of souls for enchanting or runing around Risen 2 just to get stronger.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"][QUOTE="wiouds"]

You do that while moving through a dungeon in a WRPG.

wiouds

By what you call grinding then WRPG have just as much. Then by your logic WRPG also trying to make them appear longer.

I tried sneaking through dungeons in Skyrim and got caught everytime. You are still force to take actions even if it to fight or run.

I do not call that grinding. Grinding is smoethign you choose to do that is not apart of the main quest. Grinding is when you are going a place to level up your character or gathering something. It is like going through Skyrim in your picaxe of soul stealing to gather of souls for enchanting or runing around Risen 2 just to get stronger.wiouds

[QUOTE="wiouds"]I tried sneaking through dungeons in Skyrim and got caught everytime. You are still force to take actions even if it to fight or run.

I do not call that grinding. Grinding is smoethign you choose to do that is not apart of the main quest. Grinding is when you are going a place to level up your character or gathering something. It is like going through Skyrim in your picaxe of soul stealing to gather of souls for enchanting or runing around Risen 2 just to get stronger.Black_Knight_00

5 hours of grinding? What is wrong with you that you need that much time? I don't grind that much in JRPG but in a WRPG 5 hours is little grinding for me.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]

[QUOTE="wiouds"]I tried sneaking through dungeons in Skyrim and got caught everytime. You are still force to take actions even if it to fight or run.

I do not call that grinding. Grinding is smoethign you choose to do that is not apart of the main quest. Grinding is when you are going a place to level up your character or gathering something. It is like going through Skyrim in your picaxe of soul stealing to gather of souls for enchanting or runing around Risen 2 just to get stronger.wiouds

5 hours of grinding? What is wrong with you that you need that much time? I don't grind that much in JRPG but in a WRPG 5 hours is little grinding for me.

JRPGs get a bad rap for the grinding requirement. I have really only played a few where grinding is absolutely necessary, including the Dragon Quest games. I've never had to grind too much to beat an RPG.

I've never had to grind too much to beat an RPG.turtlethetaffer

[QUOTE="turtlethetaffer"]I've never had to grind too much to beat an RPG.Black_Knight_00

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"][QUOTE="turtlethetaffer"]I've never had to grind too much to beat an RPG.wiouds

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"][QUOTE="wiouds"]

I rarely grind and it still take 40+ hours to beat a JRPG.

wiouds

You do that while moving through a dungeon in a WRPG.

[QUOTE="wiouds"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"] Grinding is not just intentionally stopping in place X and keep killing enemies for XP: many games normally force grinding on you through random battles. You're grinding all the time in JRPGs.iDefinition

You do that while moving through a dungeon in a WRPG.

[QUOTE="iDefinition"][QUOTE="wiouds"]

You do that while moving through a dungeon in a WRPG.

Black_Knight_00

In the grand majority of those games you can run away too.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"][QUOTE="iDefinition"] I thought grinding means stopping at X point because you have low skills/level/something that blocks you. When you're going through a dungeon you're advancing toward something and not stuck leveling yourself so you can get past that something. That's quite different.Yangire

In the grand majority of those games you can run away too.

RPGs, back in the day anyway, required a lot of grinding. Anyone remember The 7th Saga on Super Nintendo? Some of the enemies were impossible to beat until you stood outside of town and grinded for hours and hours on end until you got to the appropriate level!

The last game I remember grinding for awhile on was Dragon Quest VIII, on Playstation 2. You had to grind for a bit before getting to that point of where you were strong enough to take on and eventually defeat the bosses.

RPGs, back in the day anyway, required a lot of grinding. Anyone remember The 7th Saga on Super Nintendo? Some of the enemies were impossible to beat until you stood outside of town and grinded for hours and hours on end until you got to the appropriate level!

The last game I remember grinding for awhile on was Dragon Quest VIII, on Playstation 2. You had to grind for a bit before getting to that point of where you were strong enough to take on and eventually defeat the bosses.

Metamania

I grinded in Skyrim and Risen 2.

[QUOTE="Metamania"]

RPGs, back in the day anyway, required a lot of grinding. Anyone remember The 7th Saga on Super Nintendo? Some of the enemies were impossible to beat until you stood outside of town and grinded for hours and hours on end until you got to the appropriate level!

The last game I remember grinding for awhile on was Dragon Quest VIII, on Playstation 2. You had to grind for a bit before getting to that point of where you were strong enough to take on and eventually defeat the bosses.

wiouds

I grinded in Skyrim and Risen 2.

Good for you.

If a game is really addictive then I don't mind grinding, but if you just want to hit a certain level in can be a pain.

[QUOTE="Metamania"]

RPGs, back in the day anyway, required a lot of grinding. Anyone remember The 7th Saga on Super Nintendo? Some of the enemies were impossible to beat until you stood outside of town and grinded for hours and hours on end until you got to the appropriate level!

The last game I remember grinding for awhile on was Dragon Quest VIII, on Playstation 2. You had to grind for a bit before getting to that point of where you were strong enough to take on and eventually defeat the bosses.

wiouds

I grinded in Skyrim and Risen 2.

[QUOTE="wiouds"]

[QUOTE="Metamania"]

RPGs, back in the day anyway, required a lot of grinding. Anyone remember The 7th Saga on Super Nintendo? Some of the enemies were impossible to beat until you stood outside of town and grinded for hours and hours on end until you got to the appropriate level!

The last game I remember grinding for awhile on was Dragon Quest VIII, on Playstation 2. You had to grind for a bit before getting to that point of where you were strong enough to take on and eventually defeat the bosses.

Black_Knight_00

I grinded in Skyrim and Risen 2.

I grind a lot more in WRPG.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"][QUOTE="wiouds"]

I grinded in Skyrim and Risen 2.

wiouds

I grind a lot more in WRPG.

It doesn't bother me so much......LJS9502_basic

[QUOTE="wiouds"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"] We all did. That doesn't change the fact that JRPGs are capital offenders under this point of view.Black_Knight_00

I grind a lot more in WRPG.

You are overgeneralizing.

[QUOTE="turtlethetaffer"]I've never had to grind too much to beat an RPG.Black_Knight_00

Good for it. To me, I;ve never been asked in a game to grind to what seems to me to be excessive.  Just a few levels or so.  If you feel differently then that's your issue.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"][QUOTE="turtlethetaffer"]I've never had to grind too much to beat an RPG.turtlethetaffer

Good for it. To me, I;ve never been asked in a game to grind to what seems to me to be excessive.  Just a few levels or so.  If you feel differently then that's your issue.

Oh sure, there are hardcore JRPG players who can beat anything with a level 1 unarmed character, but that's not the case for most of us.Black_Knight_00

Doing challenges like that is great for multiple playthroughs, it's another reason why I like leveling systems.

[QUOTE="turtlethetaffer"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"] "Too much" is a very relative concept.Black_Knight_00

Good for it. To me, I;ve never been asked in a game to grind to what seems to me to be excessive.  Just a few levels or so.  If you feel differently then that's your issue.

so what was the point of you saying that?

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"][QUOTE="turtlethetaffer"]

Good for it. To me, I;ve never been asked in a game to grind to what seems to me to be excessive.  Just a few levels or so.  If you feel differently then that's your issue.

turtlethetaffer

so what was the point of you saying that?

[QUOTE="turtlethetaffer"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"] Yup, that's what "relative" means, no?Black_Knight_00

so what was the point of you saying that?

Where are you getting this 5 hours from as other been saying they do not do it for nearly that long.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"][QUOTE="turtlethetaffer"]

so what was the point of you saying that?

wiouds

Where are you getting this 5 hours from as other been saying they do not do it for nearly that long.