During my adolescence, I bought an unofficial guide for Final Fantasy VII that transformed my gaming experience by teaching me how to breed Gold Chocobos, acquire each character’s Level 4 Limit Break, and strategize against formidable foes like Emerald and Ruby Weapons. Since then, I haven’t tackled a JRPG without a guide at my side.
While I typically figured out boss strategies and optimal paths independently, I relied on walkthroughs to ensure I didn’t overlook critical collectibles or hidden side quests. The introduction of Achievements and Trophies intensified my completionist inclinations, compelling me to seek out every challenge a game presented. However, not all JRPGs are worthy of the obsessive grind.
In this article, I will highlight several JRPGs that are particularly challenging and less enjoyable to platinum hunt, even though they are well-crafted games. The only rule: I will include only one title per franchise for variety’s sake.
10 Trails in the Sky SC
Returning to Liberl
This analysis focuses on the Steam version of Trails in the Sky SC, which has a more manageable achievement list compared to the notoriously difficult trophy list of Trails in the Sky SC Evolution for PS Vita. Completing the game to 100% required consulting a highly detailed guide, as the linear design restricts players from backtracking for missed Bracer requests or chests after finishing a chapter.
While hunting achievements can enhance your exploration of the game world, it can quickly become overwhelming for completionists. This obsessive focus on tracking progress can detract from the enjoyment of the game, transforming what should be a rich experience into a laborious task.
9 Granblue Fantasy: Relink
Excessive Grinding
Granblue Fantasy: Relink was a refreshing surprise, delivering an engaging experience that kept me invested in farming for late-game content. However, the trophy requirements proved daunting, particularly the need to acquire every character’s Terminus weapon through a tedious quest with unpredictable drop rates, resulting in excessive repetition.
This grind-heavy experience felt akin to games like Monster Hunter, which may appeal to some players but diminished my enjoyment. After securing the platinum trophy, I found it hard to return, as the repetitive tasks had taken a toll on my enthusiasm.
8 RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army
New Game+ Locked Difficulty
This game presents a particularly frustrating feature: the hardest difficulty setting is only available after completing the game, even though you can switch to it before the final boss. While I appreciate not having to replay the entire game to unlock the hardest challenge, I found the New Game+ setup reset my progress, compelling me to grind again for higher levels necessary to survive.
This mechanic soured my experience, as the challenge felt artificially prolonged. After I finally achieved the platinum trophy, I deleted the game almost immediately, eager to move on.
7 Rogue Galaxy
Way Too Tryhard
Rogue Galaxy is celebrated as a hidden gem of the PlayStation 2 era, but even its remastered version comes with a cumbersome trophy list. The game’s complexity often overshadows the depth of its mechanics, leading towards a tedious platinum journey. Players are required to complete unsatisfying side tasks such as gathering item blueprints and excelling in the monotonous Insectron tournament.
Additionally, the astonishing requirement of leveling a character to level 99 seems unnecessary and only serves to prolong gameplay without adding meaningful depth. Ultimately, I found myself engaged in futile grinding, which detracted significantly from the overall enjoyment.
6 Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
I Hate Medals
To the developers of Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, I must express my incredulity regarding the medal collection mechanic. Players are tasked with finding 500 medals scattered throughout the game, with a painful 99 of them being rare drops from enemies, requiring repetitive grinding.
The situation is exacerbated by the randomness of gacha machines, where players spend resources to obtain medals that could already be in their collection. This tedious task of relentless button-spamming drained my enthusiasm and made me question the intent behind this design choice.
5 Kingdom Hearts Final Mix
No Light or Friends Here
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix enriches the original experience with additional content but presents a grueling trophy list that requires players to complete a multitude of tasks, including speedrunning the game in under 15 hours and finishing without changing equipment. These contradictory demands detract from the RPG experience and emphasize speed over immersion, making the trophy hunting less enjoyable.
While I completed the challenge on a beginner setting, the overall experience felt counterproductive to what an RPG should deliver—an engaging narrative and character progression. This culminated in a rather unfulfilling trophy acquisition process.
4 Tales of Symphonia
Not Even Kvothe Has That Many Titles
It’s frustrating when a lengthy JRPG comes with trophy requirements that force multiple playthroughs. Tales of Symphonia, despite being a favorite of mine, embodies this frustration. To achieve platinum, players must unlock various character titles by manipulating in-game relationships—a process that necessitates multiple completions of the game.
This design feels disrespectful to the player’s time, mirroring an industry trend that seems to prioritize trophy collection over memorable gameplay experiences.
3 Persona 3 Portable
Optimizing Your Schedule
Like many games in the Persona series, Persona 3 Portable challenges players with time-sensitive objectives and missable content. Achieving platinum typically involves maxing every Social Link, stripping away the thrill of personal decision-making in favor of efficiency.
This forced optimization often leads players away from engaging with the story and characters, reducing the deeply personal RPG experience to a checklist of tasks necessary for trophy completion.
2 Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Minigames Trophy Hunting
In Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, director Hamaguchi suggests that the game’s length stems from the wealth of content available to players. While I appreciate the lighthearted nature of the minigames, they become a significant hindrance when pursuing platinum trophies. Tasks like Desert Rush and Cactuar challenges can feel far more tedious than engaging, often overshadowing what makes the RPG worth playing in the first place.
For the love of Aerith, if you adored Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, reconsider pursuing trophies to avoid muddying an otherwise stellar experience.
1 Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
Hundred Hours Wasted
As an avid Suikoden fan, I was thrilled by the announcement of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes. I played Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising first and enjoyed it, which raised my expectations significantly for Hundred Heroes. However, pursuing the platinum trophy soon turned into an arduous and dull experience, involving mindless grinding and a frustrating card minigame that required recruiting all characters.
This grind of collecting 120 recruitable characters eclipsed any nostalgic sentiments I had for Suikoden, suggesting that not all titles carry the weight of their predecessors favorably. To honor Suikoden’s rich legacy, I strongly advise skipping the pursuit of the platinum trophy in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.
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