Summary
Grinding, that is, taking out as many enemies as possible to level up a party of characters, has become a standard part of thegameplay loopfor most JRPGs, including theFinal Fantasygames. In truth though, not every fan of the genre likes the act of grinding, especially when they simply want to get on with the story and explore the world.
Thankfully though, sinceFinal Fantasyis a series that changes with every new entry, it also means their gameplay formulas work quite differently from one another. Therefore, while a few of them may harken back to JRPGs of old in terms of forcing the player to grind out EXP, others can be a lot more lenient in this department. Anyone looking to dive into the universe ofFinal Fantasywithout getting stressed out about maintaining party levels, weapons, and equipment through grinding should check out the titles listed below.
Compared to the three games that came before it,Final Fantasy 4is far more forgiving in terms of the amount of grinding players must endure. However, this can ultimately depend on which version of the game is being played, as while none of them are as grind-heavy as 1 through 3, there are still some ports that can require just a little extra work.
The original NA release onthe SNES, along with the PSP port, are often considered to be the most grind-free thanks to their easier battles and plentiful EXP points. However, the DS version is much tougher and may require some extra battles to be fought to keep up with the challenge. Overall though, this JRPG classic is a largely straightforward and easygoing experience that won’t force players to hunt down as many enemies as possible to make it through in one piece.
Dirge of Cerberus,a spinoffofFinal Fantasy 7that follows Vincent Valentine, opts for a drastically different gameplay style compared to the rest of the series as it actually plays as a third-person shooter. There aren’t numerous party members to level up or endless amounts of gear to equip. Instead, players are able to customize Vincent’s guns to acquire some quirky abilities and powerups, but that’s about as far as it goes in terms of what can be acquired.
This makes grinding unnecessary since Vincent is usually more than capable of dealing with the monsters who stand in the way of his mission to stop Omega from awakening and plunging the world into chaos. It might not be what a lot of longtimeFinal Fantasyfans are used to, butDirge of Cerberusis still a great game to play as a refreshing break from the more in-depth and difficult mainline RPG titles.
Final Fantasy 13often gets mocked for being ‘one large hallway’, and while this is somewhat of an exaggeration, there’s still some truth to the infamous saying. Up until Chapter 11, where the party arrives at Gran Pulse, it’s virtually impossible to grind in the game, since players must follow set paths with a set number of enemies to face along the way.
While it’s therefore very difficult to ever fall behind on levels, players can still end up running into issues if they spend their Crystarium points on the wrong roles and aren’t paying attention to each character’s strengths and weaknesses. As previously mentioned, there is some potential for grinding out weapons and armor on Gran Pulse, but after this brief period, the game becomes largely linear and story-focused again.
Similarly toFinal Fantasy 13,Final Fantasy 10is a largely linear game, meaning players will randomly run into enemies as they go, earning EXP, weapons, and armor automatically throughout the playthrough. Therefore, grinding really isn’t necessary to reach the end in a regular playthrough, though there is a caveat to this statement.
If players lead their characters down the wrong paths in the Sphere Grid, it can quickly result in characters being underpowered compared to the other members. Since theSphere Gridmakes it clear where a character ought to be heading on the upgrade tree, this usually isn’t a problem, but those who decide to get a bit too experimental may need to grind at least a little to get things back on track.
UnlikeFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthwhich allows players to explore a wide open world full of monsters and minigames, the predecessor,Final Fantasy 7 Remake, was a lot more closed-off and isolated in its gameplay. This isn’t inherently a bad thing though, as it helps out the pacing a lot by allowing players to blast through the story without ever needing to stop and do battle with enemies for hours on end - unless they want to 100% the game, that is.
Remake’s fast and fluid action combat also makes it easy to jump in and out of battles, many of which reward the characters with more than enough EXP to prevent any need for a lengthy grinding session. Those looking to fully complete the game may have a little extra work cut out for them, but others who simply want to enjoy the main game won’t need to worry about being bogged down with grinding for much of their adventure.
In mostFinal Fantasygames, the enemy levels will be entirely different from the party’s, meaning there’s always the potential to wander off into a high-level dungeon, which most people will use for grinding out EXP and weapons.Final Fantasy 8doesn’t follow this formula though, as instead, enemies will scale their level alongside the characters, meaning trying to level up as high as possible is pretty much pointless.
This does, however, ensure the game always poses a significant challenge by restricting players from becoming too powerful, instead directing their focus tothe narrative, exploration, and card game. Admittedly, the Junction system does mean players can still grind out spells if they so wish, but this isn’t forced on the player, as they can still gather all they need by taking on a few mobs here and there.
It might sound weird to say when speaking about aFinal Fantasygame, but levels don’t mean all that much for the 15th game in the series. Because a lot of Noctis' journey is centered around exploring theopen worldand cruising around with his buddies in the Regalia, Square Enix decided to lay off the intense grinding sessions to give players more freedom to explore.
Admittedly, this does mean the game is somewhat of a refined taste since the battle system in general does become a little basic, but it’s largely because it prioritizes flashiness over substance, which many people enjoy. However, there’s still an incredibly compelling story here packed full of of memorable characters, especially the main party of four, so it’s still worth a playthrough.
Final Fantasy 16leans a lot more heavily into the character-action genre than any other game in the series. There’s still a handful of RPG mechanics mixed in to play around with, but for the most part, the game plays like a fast-paced beat ‘em up where players are able to take down swarms of enemies with no more than a few button taps.
To complement this new style of gameplay, Clive starts off the game with someimmensely powerful abilitiesand only gains more as he goes along and learns the ways of each Eikon. As a result, there isn’t any real need for grinding, unless players ignore all the side quests where they then may need to partake in just a few more battles to get up to speed. For the most part, though, this is a story-driven game where players can easily level up as they go without ever falling behind.
