Summary
Turn-based RPGs in the 80s and 90s typically didn’t have difficulty levels. RPGs overall were scaled toward grinding for EXP. If players wanted an easier experience, all they had to do was level up.Dragon Questwas a notorious series on the NES that wanted players to grind hardcore.
While that mentality still exists today, many modern games receive difficulty levels. The best ones don’t tie players down to a choice at the beginning of a game. Being able to swap between them anytime allows players to experiment with their comfort level. Let’s rank how well these games did and what options they give players.
8Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection
The Most Accessible Dungeon Crawlers Yet
TheEtrian Odysseygames are notorious for being brutal on the level ofa Soulslike gameexcept with turn-based combat. Each release adds more difficulty optics though and theEtrian Odyssey Origins Collectionis the best entry yet for assist features. Each difficulty level spells out exactly what it will do for the player and these options apply to all three games included. Expert is actually just the normal intended difficulty level as it adds no bonuses to the gameplay. Basic and Picnic though will increase damage taken and dealt along with how much EXP is gained with Picnic being the easier of the two options.
Bravely Default 2is technically the third game in the series which began as sort of a spiritual reboot of theold-schoolFinal Fantasygames. Players can choose to play in Casual, Normal, or Hard mode in the game and they can change their difficulty whenever.
This makes it simple for players to adjust their experience accordingly. The game overall features four main characters who players can equip with a wide variety of Jobs including Beastmaster, Thief, Salve-Maker, and more. Players may wish to try the game first on Normal and then adjust from there.
Valkyria Chronicles 4is the latest and last game in the series. It doesn’t have a lot of difficulty options, just Easy and Normal, and they can be changed at any time. This is one of the mostcomplex tactical RPGsout there as it can feel like a real-life battlefield.
On a character’s turn, they can move around freely but while they do that, enemy soldiers can fire back. If players are bad at moving, they can get their character killed in an instant. Easy mode allows players to gain a little more slack on the battlefield basically while Normal mode forces players to truly think strategically.
Fire Emblem Engageis another tactical RPG and one that isn’t as hectic depending on how players choose to play their game. In the West, the big game that changed theseries forever wasFire Emblem Awakeningas it included Casual mode.
This negated the effects of permadeath, alleviating the need for players to save scum in battle.Fire Emblem Engagehas Casual mode as well along with Classic that keeps permadeath on. Beyond that are the Normal, Hard, and Maddening difficulties.
Triangle Strategyis the final turn-based tactical RPG worth noting and it has a plethora of difficulties. Players can start with Very Easy, Easy, Normal, and Hard, and they can all be changed in the menu outside of battle. It’s kind ofa spiritual successortoFinal Fantasy Tacticsexcept that it didn’t include a swappable Job system. Instead, each hero unit came with a specific class from building ladders to flying around the battlefield on a giant bird. This made planning strategies around missions a bit tougher, so anyone who didn’t want to think too hard could lower their challenge levels to enjoy the branching story more.
TheDragon Questseries, along withEtrian Odyssey, are notorious for grind-heavy gameplay, especially in the era ofDragon Quest 3: Seeds of Salvationon the NES. Barely any game in the series includes difficulty levels although the gameplay has eased up over time. However, the remake,Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, does include difficulty levels including Dracky Quest, Dragon Quest, and Draconian Quest.
All of these challenge levels can be changed after starting but the truly impressive thing is the Dracky Quest level. It will turn players invincible which is nice for those trying to make their way through their first RPG.
Persona 3 Reloadalso includes an invincibility mode via the Peaceful setting. The other modes include Easy, Normal, Hard, and Merciless. While not as grind-heavy,thePersonagames, including this remake, do have some rather harsh difficulty spikes especially on boss encounters.
The big thing that makes combat challenging is the status effects as bosses love to dish them out. Peaceful or even just Easy will allow players to go at their own pace in the game which is great sincePersona 3 Reloaddoes go through a linear set of days. Any time restraint in a game can make some players sweat.
Super Mario RPGis a remake of the classic SNES game that started Mario’s RPG career,Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. It was innovative beyond getting the plumber into a turn-based RPG setting such as the time-based combat. Many RPGs have borrowed this mechanic from indies like Sea of Stars to bigger titles from well-regarded studios likeThe Legend of Dragoon.
The original version did not include difficulty levels but it wasn’t that hard to begin with. The remake does include a new mode though, Breezy, along with Normal for those who want to enjoy the original experience.Super Mario RPGis a great game for anyone with a Switch and it’s an easy sell to fans of the platformerMariogames who haven’t played an RPG yet.
