/vr/ RPGs

Have you played Super Mario RPG?

>>3429512
try chrono trigger

chrono cross and vagrant story have no level grinding (VS may be a bit too hard for a newcommer though)

Just get into action rpgs, same shit but the grinding is actually fun.

If you haven't played Mario RPG already it's a literally perfect place to start. Your assumptions about the gameplay are correct, it's not a hard game, but it's very entertaining plot-wise and will introduce you to most of the tropes and traditions seen in the genre.

>>3429569
This. No random battles, and an interesting turn based battle system. If you don't like Chrono Trigger, you're likely not going to ever be an rpg fan.

Grinding is usually an issue in jRPGs which have many level-ups during the course of the game and not all too many sidequests where experience could be gained more naturally. It's not much of an issue in western RPGs such as Baldur's Gate which have much fewer leve-ups and a huge amount of sidequests.

I was never fond of turn-based RPGs. The final straw was when I was playing Breath of Fire on an emulator and figured out that I can win battle after battle by just setting the attack button on auto-fire and have the emulator run in turbo mode. SMRPG is possibly the only one which is interesting enough to play through for those who don't care about this type of game generally.

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SMRPG is awesome, if you are emulating, use snes9x or bsnes because those are the only ones that one glitch out and freeze.

I would also suggest playing Arc the Lad.

>>3429512
I would say Chrono Trigger on the SNES (Or an emulated SNES).

It's the best RPG I know of and even today's standards rarely end up on par with it.

>>3429512
Do you smoke weed? If not, start blazing for those endless grinds. Been on final fantasy 7 for ps4, and the speed toggle is a god send

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>>3429631
The good turn-based games/RPGs are all on PC.

>>3429512
Super Mario RPG
Final Fantasy VI
Earthbound
Fire Emblem (series)
Tactics Ogre
Final Fantasy Tactics
Bahamut Lagoon
Front Mission
Front Mission 3
Secret of Mana
Seiken Densetsu 3
Illusion of Gaia
Soul Blazer
Terranigma
literally any strategy RPG

All of these games either have no grinding whatsoever or can be beat without grinding if you just put a little effort into strategizing and planning and developing characters.

Highly recommend smrpg, one of the best (and easiest to learn) rpg's out there. I loved the game so much i got it CIB this year.

almost none of the popular jRPGs require any grinding at all to be fully enjoyed and completed


Mario RPG is a great entry-level one, so are many of the SNES/PS1 FFs and Chrono Trigger

>>3429619
He wants stuff available on /vr/ consoles you fucking autist. Not some dirt aesthetic, D and D faggotry with shit combat.

>>3430091
Best list so far, but you Forgot FFV and Front Mission 2.

>>3429512
Actraiser
Faxanadu

>>3430731

Uh... I would make a distinct argument about FF4 and FF6 being pretty grindy, unless you absolutely know hwat you're doing.

CT and SMRPG are great because you just need to fight the battles as they come and there aren't any random ones. So you can skip battles and still be in good shape, you can't really do that in FF4 or 6 unless you know what you're doing.

>>3429512
Forced grinding is rarely a problem past the NES era of JRPGs. Most games you can waltz right through only fighting some of what comes at you and as long as your strategy isn't total shit, you'll be fine.

>>3430779
>unless you absolutely know hwat you're doing.
Not even close in either case. Why were you spending that time grinding instead of getting better at strategizing, especially in FFVI's case where the game is so fucking easy it barely even matters?

Japanese games are too dumbed down for me

>>3429512
Phantasy Star 4
Shining Force 1 and 2

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>>3430793
>implying

I know GBA is borderline on /vr/ depending on the context, but are games such as the Mega Man Battle Network series grindy or casual?

>>3430091
good luck starting earthbound without immediately grinding until you get psi rockin

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>>3429512
WRPGs usually don't require much grinding. Gold Box series is a good example.

>>3429530
Not him but should I? Is it any good?

RPGs are almost always long so I don't want to put the time in if it's shit and it's always hard to judge them early on.

>game x doesn't require grinding, git gud
>it just has a random battle every other tile
>and no way to speed up the fight animations
>PROTIP: mash 'A'

>>3431561
Not him either, but SMRPG isn't long and has some pretty interesting characters. It starts out very simplistic, but as you unlock new places, it begins to give way for exploration, side quests and other interactions of the kind. The memorable soundtrack is worth mentioning too.

>>3431565
If you're somehow referring to >>3431551, the mentioned games rarely have any random battles and the only animations are extremely quick.

Strategy RPGs are the best. No tedious endless grinding (unless you want to, like in the arena in FE) and there's more actually using your brain instead of mindlessly pressing A and hoping you win. Start of with Fire Emblem, then Tactics Ogre, Disgaea, TearRingSaga, Shining Force, Final Fantasy Tactics, etc. It's one of my favorite genres.

>>3431749
>Start off with Fire Emblem, then Tactics Ogre, Disgaea, Shining Force
Shouldn't it be the opposite? Start off with Shining Force as in many ways it's a mix of JRPG with SRPG and is very, very accessible, THEN move on to Fire Emblem with its ramped up difficulty and lesser RPG elements, and then go hardcore politics with Tactics Ogre or tackle the grinding nightmare that is Disgaea (OP will probably heavily dislike that one though).

In general OP, I'd suggest the following:

Play Chrono Trigger, >>3429612 is right. If you don't like it you're probably never going to like the basic genre.

Grinding is only an issue when the battle system is boring. There are more creative battle systems like Lunar, Star Ocean, or even Megaman Battle Network. Try playing those for a bit until you get to battles to see if you like the basic gameplay.

If you want a RPG subgenre, you can try action RPGs. Soul Blazer is a good place to start with this, then move on to Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma, or Seiken Densetsu 3.

I'd also recommend strategy RPGs like >>3431749 suggested, but again I'd recommend Shining Force 1 and 2 first, before moving to more hardcore strategy games.

>>3431551
What are the best gold box games? Is Menzoberranzan worth playing?

>>3429512
>I'm looking for suggestions for RPGs that are not heavy on grinding to a point where they'd be enjoyable to someone like me.
No rpg bad maybe DQI/II and the first Wizardry require grinding, grinding in a RPG is pretty much the sign of not being able to understanding its system.

That said:
Valkyrie Profile and Chrono Cross are nice if you don't want to grind, since you straight up can't grind altogether.
Metal Max can beaten more than comfortably at level 20 out of 100 since it's focused on Tank layouts instead of levelling and stats, Metal Max Returns on SNES has a decent ENG patch and it's better than the NES original in every way, so try that.
Front Mission would qualify it it wasn't just piss easy by design, FM2 is the only retro title that requires some tactics, FM3 is pathetically broken.
FFVIII can also be beaten at barely level 15 or something since Junction is another broken system, you can also learn an ability to turn off random encounters.
Lastly, the SaGa series doesn't even have levels but it's not a series for beginners and it pretty much does its own thing, though if you can get into it you'll have thousands of hours of fun, you'll need to invest some time into learning how to play it though as it has A LOT of mechanics that do matter, unlike most other RPGs that basically play themselves you'll have to understand how the games work, especially because they have zero hand holding, another extra point, you can pretty much finish most of them in a few hours if you know what you're doing since they're not really story heavy, with a few exceptions.

Secret of mana
Final fantasy mystic quest
Chronological trigger

Live-A-Live

Virtually no grinding required at any point in the game, combat is fresh and somewhat engaging, story and presentation are amazing, music is incredible too

>>3430748
>BG isn't /vr/
ok then

>>3429578
Vagrant Story just replaces grinding with switching weapons via three different menus two - four times per room. Takes just as much time, but is vastly more annoying.

To be avoided at all costs.

>>3430797
Came here to recommed PSIV. My personal favourite JRPG from the 16 bit era. No need for grinding. Oddly I find the game to be most difficult in the beginning, before you have the Rever (revive) spell.

>>3431551
> Check Page 64, Paragraph 3
FUUUUUUUU....!
> ALT+TAB, ALT+TAB, ALT+TAB....

>>3430748
Here's you go faggot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngXSpx-UaH4

>>3431804
>THEN move on to Fire Emblem
I told him to start with FE because that's how I got into Strategy RPGs, but maybe there is some more accessible stuff.

>>3431909
That depends on how you define "best".

Technically speaking, the Savage Frontier games run on the best engines, featuring things like better interface, fully customization of character sprites or the day / night system on Treasures. The Pools series is commonly regarded as having the best scenario and I personally consider it the most satisfactory story-wise. Dragonlance is the most unique, taking place on a different universe and having distinct gaming mechanics like the effects of the moon phases or the robe types.

So you be the judge and choose according to your likes. Whichever you decide to play, just make sure to begin playing from the first game of each series (that is a MUST) and have the manuals at hand (or the pdfs, and you should preferably print their journal sections). I found the Amiga versions to be generally superior, with the most notable exception being Treasures which was lazily and atrociously ported. Therfeore, you'd better go with DOS for the SF series.

I don't have much experience with the rest (if they even count as part of the GB core) so I'm not entitled to give any opinions on those. I'd say just avoid Hillsfar.