Summary
- 80s RPGs had rare monsters for great rewards, a tradition carried over to modern games and consoles.
- Shiny Pokémon in Gold/Silver were introduced as extremely rare with unique color palettes.
- RPGs like Bravely Default 2, Diablo 2, Dragon Quest 4, & Final Fantasy 9 had challenging encounters with rewarding monsters.
80s gaming fans knew the satisfaction of a good RPG when they beat it after grueling sessions of grinding for days, weeks, or maybe even months. Today, most RPGs are not as grind-heavy as the ones back in the early PC and NES days.
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In this era, developers typically put in rare monsters that granted huge EXP rewards or loot if they were found and defeated. This tradition carried over to modern games and consoles. Let’s rewind the clock and remember the most rewarding and hard-to-find enemies in RPGs. Retro and modern RPGs will be ranked based on how rare these monsters actually were to find and destroy.
7 Big Wiki-Wiki (Bravely Default 2)
Going Bravely For That Sweet EXP
Bravely Default 2
- Released
- February 26, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Bravely Default 2 is actually the third game in the series and features a similar Job system to the other games. With over a dozen Jobs to master, it can take a while without the right grinding spots. That's where the Big Wiki-Wiki enemies came into play.
They appeared in a few varieties, but they all looked like goofy little kiwis. Finding them is not as tricky as rare monsters in some other RPGs, as they can appear in dungeons like all enemy encounters, but defeating them is another story, as they can absorb a lot of blows before going down.
6 Hell Bovines (Diablo 2)
The Demon Goes Moo
Diablo 2
- Released
- June 28, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
There were rumors started about a secret cow level in the first Diablo, which then persisted into the sequel. It turns out, such a level never existed in the original, but Blizzard took those rumors and made them their own in Diablo 2.
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To encounter the Hell Bovines, players have to beat the game, get some specific items, and then restart on the same difficulty to unlock a portal. There, they will fight these demonic cows to get some good loot and EXP, but unless players were in the know back in the day, they may not have known this secret encounter existed. The cow level also appears in Diablo 2’s remake, too.
5 Platinum King Jewel (Dragon Quest 4: Chapters Of The Chosen)
Metal Slimes Of Many Flavors
Dragon Quest 4: Chapters Of The Chosen
- Released
- February 11, 1990
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Metal Slimes were a rare version of the Slime monsters in the original Dragon Quest that rewarded high amounts of EXP. The trick was that they were nearly impervious to damage, and they had a high probability of fleeing. As the series went on, more versions of these enemies were added, including liquid and stacked Metal Slimes.
Platinum King Jewel is the rarest of them all, which first appeared in Dragon Quest 4: Chapters of the Chosen and hasn’t had many appearances overall since then. Striking it down is next to impossible, as is encountering it in the first place, but if players do so, they are guaranteed a level up (or three).
4 Rare Breed (Etrian Odyssey 4: Legends Of The Titan)
I Love Goooold!
Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan
- Released
- February 26, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Mild Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Dungeon Crawler
Etrian Odyssey 4: Legends of the Titan was the first game in the series released on the 3DS, which leveled up the franchise to make it more appealing for novices. There were easier difficulties, more tools for exploring dungeons, and a new type of monster that could help with grinding.
Most enemies in the game have a variant called a Rare Breed that will appear as a shiny gold version. Their defenses are better, and they will likely run away after a few turns, so players have to cross their fingers that they can both encounter and defeat these little devils.
3 Yan (Final Fantasy 9)
Jewel-Hungry Monsters
Final Fantasy 9
- Released
- July 7, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Violence, Mild Language
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Final Fantasy has a few rare encounters throughout the series, but they don’t have recurring encounters like Dragon Quest’s Metal Slimes. Final Fantasy 9 probably has some of the most interesting exemples in its Friendly Monsters. These monsters want gems and will reward players with rare items and AP to level up their skills.
Yan, for example, can be found around Vile Island and wants a Diamond in exchange for items and AP. There’s also the Ragtime Mouse, a quizmaster who can appear in forests throughout the world map, and if players answer his questions correctly, they will win prizes.
2 Wealth Hand (Persona 3 Reload)
Slap This Hand Silly
Persona 3 Reload
- Released
- February 2, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17 / Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- JRPG, RPG, Life Simulation, Strategy
Persona 3 revamped the series in a few ways, like focusing the narrative on a high schooler, adding Social Links, and creating new enemies. One of these enemies was the Wealth Hand, a rare golden glove-looking monster who was prone to running away and was hard to defeat.
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It had a variant called a Treasure Hand, too. Great rewards awaited patient players, and Wealth Hands became a staple in the series after this. In t he most recent entry, Persona 3 Reload, which was a full-blown remake, finding Wealth Hands wasn't that hard, as they appeared physically on the map like Bravely Default 2's Big Wiki-Wiki enemies.
1 Shiny Pokemon (Pokemon Gold & Silver)
The Rarest Of Rare
Pokemon Gold and Silver
- Released
- October 15, 2000
- ESRB
- Everyone // Mild Cartoon Violence, Simulated Gambling
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver were the first games to introduce Shiny Pokemon to the series. Most players probably didn’t even know they existed, let along that they were available to capture, because they were that rare.
Shiny Pokemon can have good stats compared to normal versions of Pokemon, but what mostly sets them apart is the different color palettes. A Bulbasaur could appear in brighter green, for example. Most Pokemon players have probably never encountered a Shiny Pokemon, even dozens of games later. That’s how rare they are for the franchise.
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