JRPGs of the 80s and 90s typically didn’t have difficulty levels. To get better, players simply had to level up their characters, and some JRPGs were better than others in terms of balancing. To get better nowadays, leveling up is still usually the way to get stronger, but a lot of JRPGs also have difficulty levels now, which helps bring more players in.
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Even games that are better balanced or have difficulty levels can still take unexpected turns into unfair areas of challenge. These are some of the best game examples that aren’t necessarily impossible to get through, but they do have difficulty spikes that come out of nowhere.
Final Fantasy 10 HD
Beware The Dark Aeons
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
- Released
- March 18, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
The original Final Fantasy 10 had some difficulty spikes, or at least there were areas and special bosses that were harder than others. Overall, it was one of the more balanced Final Fantasy games, but this balance was altered in the HD version. In later sections of the game, random encounters can occur in dungeons against Dark Aeons.
These super bosses are almost impossible to defeat or prepare for, which was an addition to the international version of the PS2 version in Japan. Players don’t need to beat them, but they can be wiped out in a single turn before they can escape, which is a bit unfair and never warned.
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
A Job’s A Job
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- Released
- January 26, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Simulated Gambling, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth takes place in Hawaii, and it’s a fairly normal game as long as players do some side quests and don’t avoid too many enemies. In combat, most experienced turn-based players can coast through.
About midway through, there is a difficulty spike that seemingly demands perfection from players, because enemies get a boost in levels. They need to learn how to balance their Jobs and skills more in battle, and grind to get money for the best gear, or else they’re going to go through a lot of healing items.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership
Replay The Game, Again
Mario & Luigi: Brothership
- Released
- November 7, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is the latest RPG starring Mario and his brother Luigi in an enchanted land outside of the Mushroom Kingdom. Like most Mario and Luigi games, things aren’t too hard as long as players learn to dodge and counter enemy attacks early.
In what seems to be the final dungeon, players will learn afterward that they have to replay some areas again in a limited capacity because it is not the end. These revised areas feature stronger enemies that deal greater damage, making the grind for EXP more demanding and time-consuming.
Octopath Traveler
No Shared EXP
Octopath Traveler
- Released
- July 13, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Octopath Traveler lets players choose one of eight characters to begin with, but the other seven are recruitable afterward. The turn-based party can consist of four members in battle, and players will naturally grow accustomed to the first four that they recruit. They may swap out one or two as they gain the other four members, but overall, most players will get too comfortable, which is a mistake.
It’s a common trope in JRPGs, but it is a problem in Octopath Traveler. The thing that makes the game harder than most is that EXP is not shared outside of battle. Every character has their own story arcs, and they MUST be in the party during their sections. Players will receive difficulty spikes when trying to complete the later section of each character’s story because of the constant need to catch up lower lower-level party members.
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy
The World Anew
Bravely Default
- Released
- February 7, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy is mostly a straightforward JRPG experience that harkens back to the good old days of Final Fantasy. Players only have four party members, but they can evolve greatly thanks to the Job system.
With normal leveling, players should be able to get through the game without much hardcore grinding, until the twist near what seems to be the endgame. Without spoiling things, there will be a series of excessive backtracking, and enemies and bosses from this point onward will be much stronger, as if players are starting back at Level 1. This is true in the remaster on Switch 2 as well.
Xenosaga Episode 2: Jenseits Von Gut Und Bose
Learn The Mechanics Or Else
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse
- Released
- June 24, 2004
- ESRB
- T
- Developer(s)
- Monolith Soft
- Genre(s)
- RPG
The first Xenosaga game is not easy, but it’s not impossible to finish or understand the battle system, given time. Xenosaga Episode 2: Jenseits von Gut und Bose greatly increases the difficulty level and only gets harder as players progress.
Even if players learn to execute combos in the complicated turn-based battle system and level up at a decent rate, there will be a difficult spike about halfway through that almost mocks players. The game is worth seeing through to the end, but patience is a must.
Radiant Historia
Time Is A Fickle Thing
Radiant Historia
- Released
- November 3, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Radiant Historia is a unique JRPG that features time travel. The game is almost built on difficulty spikes, as players will get to an area, find that opponents are way too strong, and then they will have to figure out dialogue choices or events to manipulate in order to make things simpler through time travel.
Once solved, the difficulty levels will shrink, but the up-and-down nature is almost a constant, like a rollercoaster. The final area will test everything players have learned from the turn-based combat, and if they weren’t absorbing everything perfectly, they’re going to have a rough time.
Ni no Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch
Not So Cute Anymore
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
- Released
- January 22, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch starts things off easily as a Pokemon-like game wherein players will be whisked away into another world full of adventure. During battle, players can perform skills as human characters or have their Familiars act for them.
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The game is fairly well-balanced until players get the third and last party member, Swaine, and after that, the game expects players to grind like crazy because the enemies get stronger. Also, there are mini-spurts of difficulty spikes before this, too, whenever players get to a boss in the dungeon, who are usually at least five times stronger than anything else in that dungeon.
Breath Of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Starts Hard, Gets Worse
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
- Released
- November 2, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- JRPG, Strategy
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is another PS2 JRPG like Xenosaga Episode 2 that starts hard and only gets harder as things go. The tricky thing about the game is that a meter will increase with every action players take, from exploring dungeons to using actions in combat.
The protagonist, Ryu, can transform into dragons, which will make battles easier, but increase the meter greatly. Eventually, the meter will become too unruly, and players will have to restart using a feature like New Game+ and try to get through the game, and hope it will be less challenging after the second, third, or even fourth attempt.
Lost Sphear
The Mechs Won’t Help You
Lost Sphear
- Released
- October 12, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Lost Sphear was the second game from Tokyo RPG Factory, a subsidiary company of Square Enix formed to focus on making more classic JRPGs like those from the SNES and PS1 eras. A good portion of the first few hours is simple, with characters taking turns to attack or activate skills.
Once the mechs are introduced, called Vulcosuits, things get more complicated, and by hour ten, which is about a third of the way through, things get downright nasty. Players will have to rely on Vulcosuits, but they are not impenetrable, and without using them, enemies can deal high amounts of damage, or just take forever to kill. It’s a big difficulty spike for such a relatively early section of the game that does not let up until the end, and this takes into account the actual difficulty levels of the game.
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