Best JRPGs With No Grinding

We all love JRPGs: exploring ridiculous dungeons, progressing through over-the-top melodrama, and inevitably fighting God (or something similar) at the top of a castle.

Yet so many great games in the genre expect you to gain XP and treasure through grinding the same levels over and over.

Sure, if the gameplay is good, the grind can be fun. But even if it’s fun—what if you don’t have the time?

Fair enough! There are only so many hours in the day. So, to help you make the most of your limited gaming sessions, let’s check out ten great JRPGs without level-grinding.

10 Fire Emblem

Tactical Combat One Map At A Time

Systems

Released

November 3, 2003

Engine

Unity

ESRB

e

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Don’t want to grind the same level repeatedly? Well, in the first Fire Emblem game released in the west there is no way to play prior levels. Grinding is impossible.

While modern entries in the series have bonus missions, out-of-level training, and similar features, the OG just focuses on story missions. Combined with the series’ infamous use of character permadeath, and Fire Emblem certainly provides a strategic challenge without even considering grinding.

(Also, it’s one of my personal favorite videogame stories—beautiful and tragic, well worth your time.)

9 Eiyuden Chronicle

Over 100 Heroes, Grinding Not Included

By the creator of the PlayStation classic Suikoden, this modern descendant features a cast of over 100 recruitable heroes. Who would want to grind that many characters? The simple answer is absolutely no one.

As a result, XP progression and leveling up are very forgiving in Eiyuden Chronicle. This reduces the amount of grinding pretty nearly to zero, since just a handful of battles—which you’d do anyway while exploring a new area—are enough to bring new recruits up to level.

8 Beyond Galaxyland

Sci-Fi Adventure With Balanced Leveling

Taking a look over into the indie side of JRPGs, Beyond Galaxyland is our first example of a JRPG where you could grind … but it’s never required. Instead, progressing through the game produces sufficient XP for the next mission.

On the other hand, it’s pretty easy to over-level if you’re into cleaning up sidequests. Considering the strong completionist streak in JRPG fans, there’s a risk that the final battles will be underwhelming.

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7 Chrono Trigger

Steady Progression Backwards Through Time

Often considered one of the greatest JRPGs of all time, one oft-overlooked aspect of Chrono Trigger is its smooth, steady leveling. Despite having a maximum level of 99, all that’s actually required to beat the game is a party in the 50’s.

Why the high-level cap? Well, Chrono Trigger is damn fun, and clearly, the designers believed that while designing its iconic active time battling system. Later, it was used heavily in the Final Fantasy franchise, soit’s no wonder the game offers room for growth—but only if you choose it.

6 Persona 5

Don’t Skip The Fights

Despite the enormous runtime required to finish Persona 5, the game features very little “filler” to bump your level up. So long as you consistently engage in fights while exploring the “palaces” of humanity’s collective unconscious, it’s unlikely you’ll ever need to catch up with the main story.

If you frequently flee a palace’s shadows while exploring the dungeon, though, later in the game you might find yourself under-leveled. Your best bet is using your overworld mobility to ambush enemy encounters, rather than avoiding them entirely.

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5 Undertale

Make Friends, No Levels Required

Undertale is justly famous as an indie JRPG where you can complete the game without leveling up a single time. And not because speedrunners discovered an easily-used exploit.

Rather, Undertale’s unique combat system lets you choose when and why to battle. This game stands out not because of the gameplay’s refinement, but because your story choices let you avoid grinding.

That said, there still may be a bit of a “skill grind” the first time you play. Undertale takes notes from “bullet hell” games in its combat system. Its learning curve isn’t brutal, but may be a new experience for some gamers.

4 Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Wonderful Blend of Character Level And Player Skill

Systems

Released

May 23, 2024

Engine

Origami King’s engine

ESRB

E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes

How Long To Beat

30 Hours

Franchise

Paper Mario

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)

55 Hours

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The concept that a great JRPG is about both character level and player skill is exemplified by Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (and the other JRPGs in the Mario franchise). Get good with action commands, and you can clear any Paper Mario game with minimal battling.

That’s not to say that the casual experience is a grind-fest! The Thousand-Year Door features a sharp drop in XP once you’re suitably leveled for an area.

This doesn’t just “deter” players from grinding—it’s also a signal that no grinding is necessary. Leveling up isn’t very frequent, either, so each time you get to choose how Mario improves, your options are meaningful.

3 Chrono Cross

OK, Now You Can Flee From Fights

Although it’s the sequel to the venerable Chrono Trigger, the franchise gets two entries in this list because both are JRPG innovators. One common theme of avoiding grinding is to defeat any enemies encountered.

In Chrono Cross, you can run from anything, even boss encounters. Heck, most of them you can even run around on the overworld and continue your exploration!

Defeating bosses is still required to beat the game. However, this amount of freedom makes side-stepping the grind an interesting option alongside Elements and Chrono Cross’s other twists on the JRPG formula.

2 Pokémon

XP Share From Journey’s Beginning

Systems

Released

October 12, 2023

ESRB

e

How Long To Beat

32 Hours

Engine

Unreal Engine

Metascore

87

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Old-school Pokémon is a classic example of JRPG level-grinds. The modern games, however, give you the Experience Share right from the beginning.

Keep this device turned on while playing any Pokémon game since X / Y and you’ll get a smooth progression through the game. Pokémon featured grinding because you had at least six monsters in your pocket to keep around the same level. Now, the game handles it for you.

1 Octopath Traveler

Eight Journeys To Juggle Difficulty

In Octopath Traveler, you choose one hero from a group of eight and then meet the rest as you continue to explore the world. Each character’s journey is organized into multiple episodes of increasing difficulty.

These are spread across the world map so that exploration is required to complete your story—and along the way, you’ll meet and complete the stories of the other heroes. This structure eliminates grinding because you always have a story mission available at your level.

Of course, there’s the additional sidequests, optional dungeons, secret bosses, and so on. Everything you’d expect from a JRPG!

And really, that’s why Octopath Traveler makes the top of this list. It feels like the quintessential JRPG experience, but its cast is scattered across a world so wide you’re never left grinding to get past a prohibitive wall. Octopath Traveler is the perfect JRPG if you love the formula, but hate the grind.

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