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I hate this trend of jrpgs being dumb easy

Lognor

Banned
Glad to see I'm not alone in thinking Dragon Quest 11 was way too easy. It was my first DQ game and after all the hype it got I finally picked up the Switch version and was really disappointed, mainly due to the difficulty but also the story. I had primarily been playing more difficult jrpgs prior to DQ11 (Octopath Traveler, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Final Fantasy VI) so the difficulty in DQ11 was a huge turnoff. HOWEVER, there are plenty of jrps that are more difficult. SMT V and SMT II, both on Switch, I played after DQ11 and really enjoyed due to the difficulty, even though the stories in both were lacking.

Fuck these easy jrpgs. I don't need baby's first jrpg. Thank goodness that Atlus is still churning out challenging jrpgs.
 

jorgejjvr

Member
Going to try it with these 3 and see how it goes

(post below, thankfully I had a save file with all enemies are super strong, went back to it)
 
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jorgejjvr

Member
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rush777

Member
DQ 11 with the draconian options activated was perfect. Unless you are the god of gaming I can’t see how anyone would find that easy and if it is then don’t level up, avoid fighting and go straight to the bosses.
 

Belthazar

Member
Isn't JRPGs challenge equates to more grind ?

That said I am glad JRPGs are not "challenging". Is there a way to play JRPGs battle so smart that it can overcome 1 hour of grind ?

Not really, most RPGs give you the option of either playing smart or grinding. Dragon Quest is widely known as a grindfest, but it couldn't be further from the truth. You can get through all difficult bosses simply by using the tools at your disposal effectively (buffs, status effects, usable equipment). If you're not able to do that, then yes there's the option of grinding and brute forcing a victory.
 
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jorgejjvr

Member
DQ 11 with the draconian options activated was perfect. Unless you are the god of gaming I can’t see how anyone would find that easy and if it is then don’t level up, avoid fighting and go straight to the bosses.
Yeah its definitely better now with enemies being super strong
 

killatopak

Member
That's fine. I do encourage you to turn them all on though and see which ones you can tolerate and which ones you don't. You can turn them off individually anytime at 3D mode by talking to a priest.

Do take note that once you remove a draconian setting, you can't turn them back on unless you reload a previous save.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Kinda offtopic, but since there's people here who know about DQ XI, I'd like to ask...

I have the non-definitive version on PC. Am I fine with that one + the soundtrack mod? Or would I miss on a lot of stuff if I don't play the S version? I heard the later has some graphical downgrades, which sounds like a bummer.
 

jorgejjvr

Member
That's fine. I do encourage you to turn them all on though and see which ones you can tolerate and which ones you don't. You can turn them off individually anytime at 3D mode by talking to a priest.

Do take note that once you remove a draconian setting, you can't turn them back on unless you reload a previous save.
Good to know, this has been good. And I don't want to start over
 

Belthazar

Member
Kinda offtopic, but since there's people here who know about DQ XI, I'd like to ask...

I have the non-definitive version on PC. Am I fine with that one + the soundtrack mod? Or would I miss on a lot of stuff if I don't play the S version? I heard the later has some graphical downgrades, which sounds like a bummer.

Well, you lose on a bit of content (mostly the 2d mode and sidequests from all the previous Dragon Quest games) and a few quality of life improvements, but it's not game changing at all. And yes, the graphical downgrade is severe.
 
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TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Well, you lose on a bit of content (mostly the 2d mode and sidequests from all the previous Dragon Quest games) and a few quality of life improvements, but it's not game changing at all. And yes, the graphical downgrade is severe.
So just like Persona 3, it's another case of a game having multiple versions, but not one that's 100% better than the rest? Shit sucks man.

Thanks for the info! I guess I'll play the vanilla version since it's the one I already have, and don't care too much about the 2D mode.
 

Amiga

Member
No, I want a balanced rpg. In my firstly post I mentioned not all games need to be elder ring. Balanced, fair does not equal torture. I'm talking about the EXTREME rpgs where it was made for babies, it's so easy you press one button and win, you don't need more than than 1 brain cell. Yeah, a LITTLEFIELD decent push back would be nice. But no, not looking for a soulsborne. Like I said, some get or right like xenoblade, but not sure which other game does
Souls games are not torture, just get properly equipped and learn the pattern. little twitch reflexes needed.

NiOh is better "balanced" if you like. tight levels that are are easier to comprehend and save spots that make exploration and loot runs non-stressful. FFOSOP goes further and gives you an easy difficulty option. Code Vein is another souls lite.

 

Graciaus

Member
Kinda offtopic, but since there's people here who know about DQ XI, I'd like to ask...

I have the non-definitive version on PC. Am I fine with that one + the soundtrack mod? Or would I miss on a lot of stuff if I don't play the S version? I heard the later has some graphical downgrades, which sounds like a bummer.
The quality of life stuff in the definitive edition is worth it over better graphics.
 

Mozzarella

Member
Have you tried Fire Emblem Three Houses? its a good one.
Also its not a JRPG but if you are a fan of turn based gameplay, then check out Divinity Original Sin 2, its pretty good.
 

jorgejjvr

Member
I sure do. I don't play it for another take on the classic tale of five or six 10 year-olds and one "elderly" 30 year-old saving the entire planet.
Yep, so much this. Some do get story right, and unique, and change it up. But definitely not the draw, but a nice plus
 
This isn’t some new trend. You could beat ff7 by just holding the attack button down 25 years ago.

Just like 25 years ago there are plenty of more challenging jrpgs as well. Find them
 

Life

Member
Finally, more gamers are waking up and realising how archaic JRPGs are - and they have hardly changed in decades. The only meaningful fights are boss battles, which means 90% of your fights are time-wasting grind fests where you press A to win.
 

Lethal01

Member
So what about modern JRPG’s like Dragon Quest, Octopath Traveler, SMT 5, Persona 5 etc? Are they classed as modern JRPG’s. They play like JRPG’s from SNES,PS1/PS2 just better graphics and all turn based combat.

Yes, they are all modern JRPGS.

JRPGS which are modern.

If Skyrim had been made in Japan, it would be the same type of game as Dragon Quest or Pokémon? But, since it was made in the west it's not?
Yes

If you want to talk about turn based rpgs, then say that.
 
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BreakOut

Member
1st game I ever sold (and only game I've sold so far) was ni no kuni 2. So easy, I pressed a and win. Great art style, but what's the point? My friends said I was wrong, but months later it gets a difficulty mode, I must not have been that crazy

Now I'm trying dragon quest 11 s, lovely game. Looks pretty, nice music, nice characters so far, basic story (so far), but I don't see how I spend 100 hours smashing a to win. Really a shame. Hate this new trend. And this is with draconian quests on.

I looked online and the sentiment is that even with all draconian quests on, and skipping monsters... It's still too easy. Really a shame

If only more games were like xeno (I'm biased lol), but yeah

Is Arise a bit of a challenge? Or also a cake walk?

How about persona 5 royal?

I'm debating trying those

Not all games need to be elder ring, but at least get my health under 50% once in a while, killing 1 character here and there would be nice too lol
JRPG games with difficulty sliders are really heavily based around those sliders. They lean into it a lot. It does seem like most are easy peasy now, or damn near impossible at the next difficulty. I miss that sweet FFVI spot..
 
I'm playing Crystal Project currently and I find it to be quite more difficult than anticipated. It really asks the player to strategize as you can't just attack aimlessly...unless you're overleveled for the area of course
 

Karmic Raze

Member
Try Scarlet Nexus. It’s not easy if you play it on Normal or on harder difficulties than that. Especially once you get to the later Phases. Phase 12 is a bitch, but I love the game. I plan to run through it another 2 times. One more with Yuito (first up) then with Kasane to see her side of the story.
 

Lady Bird

Matsuno's Goebbels
JRPG games with difficulty sliders are really heavily based around those sliders. They lean into it a lot. It does seem like most are easy peasy now, or damn near impossible at the next difficulty. I miss that sweet FFVI spot..
FF6 is a really easy game, though. I mean, you pretty much spam your most overpowered abilities early game with your characters on the back row, and then spam overpowered magic in the second half. There are so many ways to break the game easily. You simply cannot fall in the trap of believing that normal attacks are good in this game: they aren't.
 

nightfly

Member
Just sucks how seemingly hard it is to find a balance. On one hand the newer JRPGs really are pretty easy for the most part, but at the same time don't really want NES, SNES hard either.
 

jorgejjvr

Member
Try Scarlet Nexus. It’s not easy if you play it on Normal or on harder difficulties than that. Especially once you get to the later Phases. Phase 12 is a bitch, but I love the game. I plan to run through it another 2 times. One more with Yuito (first up) then with Kasane to see her side of the story.
I've been wondering about this game
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
Then play games like Shin Megami Tensei V, that game might give you challenge you want.
definitely recommend SMTV. i got through Souls/Bloodborne/Sekiro/Elden Ring but it was SMTV that broke me and i was only casual difficulty :messenger_tears_of_joy:

to be fair it's not insanely difficult. the world exploration is very similar to something like souls/nier automata or even BOTW but the game will kick your ass if you don't build a strong starter team and party of demons (some fights will require switching out demons so you need reserve demons that are just as good as your starters) that can all work together and attack the weaknesses of your enemies. you will need to be constantly tweaking your entire party and you will be punished (death = losing all progress since last save). there is an item that will show you enemy weakness but even then i would say the game is designed to make you die because you might have a really good team for certain weaknesses but you will likely need to change it all when you come up to the next boss. i was doing quite well towards the end even though i did need to use a guide but i couldn't be arsed grinding. i did try grinding and doing side quests but even that didn't seem to help.

i never got to fight the final bosses. i was stuck against abcess and field demons :messenger_astonished: so i would say that difficulty could get more intense. i couldn't bring myself to keep playing and admitted defeat.
 
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