JRPGs can be really difficult, and a lot of people struggle to complete them. It’s not just due to the nature of turn-based combat, which is a stereotype of this game genre. Regular ARPGs and open-world RPGs can have stuff that makes the experience difficult.
Today, we shall be taking a look at some JRPG franchises throughout the history of the genre that are frowned upon by players for their difficulty.
The Hardest JRPGs Of All Time
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Kicking things off on this list with the game that has been labelled as ‘dark souls of JRPGs’ by many fans. While it may come off as a joke initially, anyone stepping into the Shin Megami Tensei series finds out soon enough that it might just be true.
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is the third entry in the main series of games and the first one to be widely released worldwide. Just like every other title in the series, this game starts off at the precipice of an apocalyptic event. It leaves the decision of what’s to become of the world in the player’s hands.
Etrian Odyssey
Atlus RPGs are known for their difficulty, making people struggle to complete them. It’s not just the Shin Megami Tensei franchise but also extends to other IPs such as the Etrian Odyssey series.
This is a game franchise that found life on Nintendo’s DS systems but has now been remastered for modern systems. Etrian Odyssey titles are set in a fantasy world that’s filled with labyrinths. Players get to form their own party of characters with extensive class and skill tree systems.
The main crux of the gameplay is that, players travel through grid-based dungeon systems with encounters that can take away hours of progress if a slight mistake is made.
Dark Souls 2
You probably were expecting a game from FromSoftware’s Souls series to show up, so let’s get it over with. Dark Souls 2 is that one title in the popular JRPG trilogy that breaks people, making them drop out of the game.
It is set after the events of the first game, in a distant place and an unidentified time. But the ideas around the age of fire still linger as a chosen undead keeps returning to link the flame. Except that the developers have made things much harder this time around.
With an enormous amount of bosses, absolutely hilarious enemy placements, and hurt boxes, this game makes players rip their hair out.
Vagrant Story
Vagrant Story is one of Square Enix’s many JRPGs that refuse to come back, but this one has some special reasons behind it. Some of these are directly tied to the game’s systems, which made players struggle to complete them.
Old games in this genre constantly found newer ways to torture players; sadly, modern developers avoid making games too difficult anymore. Vagrant Story makes it to our list because of its heavily punishing weapon degradation system, which forced players to carry multiple weapons.
Not to mention the difficulty got significantly ramped up the more players kept progressing, making them manage puzzles at every set, as well as enemy encounters that can disable weapons.
Resonance of Fate
We are living in an era where developers fear having to experiment with their game development in a way that would be detrimental to its popularity. The industry has gotten more popular in modern times, and this has led to normalising easier gameplay designs.
Thus leading to the loss of harder and more complex games like Resonance of Fate. This is a lesser-known JRPG from 2010 that had people struggle to wrap their heads around it due to the difficult-to-understand battle system.
But it still has its niche fan following who appreciate it as a piece of the past times when developers used to think out of the box, and the players never settled for less.
Fire Emblem: Thracia 776
Save games exist in video games so that players can go back and retry certain segments if they want to. But most of these games don’t punish players enough to use this tactic, which has been coined as ‘save scumming.’
Fire Emblem is a game franchise where you will need to save-scum a lot because actions have consequences. Your characters and units can permanently die for the rest of the game, leading to altered routes.
The difficulty is ramped up in particular titles from the franchise, such as Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, which offers punishing maps and brutal RNG during its turn-based tactical battle segments. This makes the game an absolute nightmare to complete and see through.
The 7th Saga
Localizing JRPGs used to be a difficult task back in the day, as the industry was still in a state of infancy. This led to altered release versions of certain games that would have significant changes.
This is why old games like The 7th Saga will always stay as one-of-a-kind titles. Originally published by Enix for the SNES, this JRPG features a plethora of varying character types that are playable.
The English version of this title was specifically designed to be harder than the Japanese version. It was released with absurdly increased enemy stats that made playable characters feel imbalanced. This makes it one of the oldest JRPGs that is really hard to play through.
Unlimited Saga
JRPGs falter in popularity because of their complex nature, which may prevent them from conveying their mechanics properly. This is why the genre is frowned upon by people who are reluctant to touch some of them.
No one wants to actively have to think about combat when video games are meant to be for recreation. Some of the games in the SaGa franchise are notorious for this, especially Unlimited Saga.
Players struggle to complete this specific game because of the complex mechanics that can leave someone scratching their heads if they do not understand it properly.
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
Sorry to keep you all Monster Hunter fans waiting, but we are finally at that part. This is the one Japanese RPG that is still a one-of-a-kind experience, because no other developer has been able to replicate the success yet.
But that popularity also contributes to the difficulty in these games, making them a struggle to fully complete. The hardest of the bunch is Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, which was released for the Nintendo Switch.
This game sought to bring together elements of all the Monster Hunter titles from the past generations. Thus making the experience so long that most never see it through.
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
We talked about a Capcom RPG that is tremendously popular and also very hard to play through. Now it is time to talk about an RPG franchise that Capcom makes sure it never sees the light of day.
We are, of course, talking about the Breath of Fire series, which was the developer’s answer to Square Enix’s RPGs back in the day. Specifically, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, which most don’t play because of its difficult nature.
The game uses a roguelite system that forces players to reset every time they die. This is the most notorious aspect that makes people struggle with this title.
