Games

Best Turn-Based JRPGs With Difficulty Levels, Ranked

Published

1 minute ago

January 19, 2025

Christoph Rediske

akihiko in persona 3 reload and peach in super mario rpg

Summary

Table of Contents

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection offers detailed difficulty options for a customizable gaming experience.
Bravely Default 2 allows players to adjust difficulty levels easily between Casual, Normal, and Hard mode.
Triangle Strategy features a wide variety of difficulty levels that can be changed outside of battle.

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 Quest was a notorious series on the NES that wanted players to grind hardcore.

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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.

8

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection

The Most Accessible Dungeon Crawlers Yet

Promo art featuring characters in Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection

Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Sega
Released: June 1, 2023
Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC

The Etrian Odyssey games are notorious for being brutal on the level of a Soulslike game except with turn-based combat. Each release adds more difficulty optics though and the Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection is 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.

7

Bravely Default 2

Get A Job

The difficulty menu in Bravely Default 2

Systems

Released: February 26, 2021
Publisher(s): Nintendo
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OpenCritic Rating: Strong

Bravely Default 2 is technically the third game in the series which began as sort of a spiritual reboot of the old-school Final Fantasy games. 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.

6

Valkyria Chronicles 4

World War 2 Era Tactics

The difficulty menu in Valkyria Chronicles 4

Valkyria Chronicles 4 is 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 most complex tactical RPGs out there as it can feel like a real-life battlefield.

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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.

5

Fire Emblem Engage

Fuse Into Action

The difficulty menu in Fire Emblem Engage

Systems

Released: January 20, 2023
Publisher(s): Nintendo
OpenCritic Rating: Strong

Fire Emblem Engage is 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 the series forever was Fire Emblem Awakening as it included Casual mode.

This negated the effects of permadeath, alleviating the need for players to save scum in battle. Fire Emblem Engage has Casual mode as well along with Classic that keeps permadeath on. Beyond that are the Normal, Hard, and Maddening difficulties.

4

Triangle Strategy

A Spiritual Successor To Tactical Greatness

The difficulty menu in Triangle Strategy

Systems

Released: March 4, 2022
OpenCritic Rating: Strong

Triangle Strategy is 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 of a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy Tactics except 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.

3

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake

Become A God In This Classic

Difficulty settings in Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake

Released: November 14, 2024
OpenCritic Rating: Mighty
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The Dragon Quest series, along with Etrian Odyssey, are notorious for grind-heavy gameplay, especially in the era of Dragon Quest 3: Seeds of Salvation on 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.

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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.

2

Persona 3 Reload

The Reimagining That Started It All

Systems

Released: February 2, 2024
Developer(s): Advertisement

P-Studio
OpenCritic Rating: Mighty
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Persona 3 Reload also includes an invincibility mode via the Peaceful setting. The other modes include Easy, Normal, Hard, and Merciless. While not as grind-heavy, the Persona games, 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 since Persona 3 Reload does go through a linear set of days. Any time restraint in a game can make some players sweat.

1

Super Mario RPG

Plumber’s First RPG

Systems

Released: November 17, 2023
Developer(s): Nintendo
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OpenCritic Rating: Mighty

Super Mario RPG is 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 like The 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 RPG is a great game for anyone with a Switch and it’s an easy sell to fans of the platformer Mario games who haven’t played an RPG yet.