I'm not a big fan of random encounters, but some are ok. Also if you can avoid them, like with the grass in Pokemon, or use an item or spell to reduce them helps as well. I have a SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii U, and Switch, but can play Wii on the Wii U, so basically any Nintendo console games except for NES. I do also have a GBA and 3DS, but I'm not looking for handheld games right now. US region only as well please.
Examples of games I've liked like this
Chrono Trigger
Pokemon Series
Tales of Symphonia
Mario & Luigi / Paper Mario Series
Examples of too many randoms
Final Fantasy 3-5, 7, 10 (haven't played much of the others other than 15, but that one is different)
I did overall like FF7, and 4 and 10 are looking good so far as well, I just think that their randoms are a bit much (unless there was a way to reduce the randoms that I missed).
Most entries in the Dragon Quest series feature random encounters, but later games in the series change this.
Dragon Quest VIII on the 3DS was changed to have overworld encounters instead of random encounters, from the original PS2 version.
And Dragon Quest XI S on Switch also uses overworld encounters. The only exception to this is that seafaring still features random encounters, but it's a pretty low rate.
SNES Lufia 2 Rise of The Sinistrals
Gamecube Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
Switch Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE
Those are rather nice JRPGs without random encounters.
I want to try Lufia 2 at some point, but it's way too expensive on SNES unfortunately. How expensive is Baten Kaitos?
Also, I probably should mention that I'm more looking for turn based right now instead of Action, but I'll give the Action JRPGs a look too. And something I should mention is that a game with a low encounter rate could be fine too. If I could have reduced the encounter rate in FF7, that would have been nice for instance.
Ás a Nintendo fan and not necessarily a Sony fan, I do have to say you are missing out on some absolute gems by not looking up the Playstation JRPGs.
Chrono Cross will be released on Switch soon, that one is probably a good fit for you as well. I also enjoyed the Voice of Cards demo, you should try that one as well.
Ás a Nintendo fan and not necessarily a Sony fan, I do have to say you are missing out on some absolute gems by not looking up the Playstation JRPGs.
Chrono Cross will be released on Switch soon, that one is probably a good fit for you as well. I also enjoyed the Voice of Cards demo, you should try that one as well.
I actually do have some PS consoles as well, I just didn't mention them here since it's a Nintendo site
As for Chrono Cross, I have the PS1 classics version on PS3. It does seem cool, but the level system was throwing me off a bit. I could try it again though.
Earthbound doesn't have any random encounters and is a beautiful game, it is also turn based and aged pretty well most of the time. You could play it on switch online (not sure how easy you could get it on SNES)
I've looked over these suggestions a bit and came up with a list of some games that I'd be wanting to play. I'm currently finishing up Pokemon Shining Pearl, and was looking for something to play when I'm done. I realized that I was wanting something a bit more retro (or at least feels like it) and turn based. Here's what I've come up with from my collection that I might be in the mood for.
Chrono Cross - PS1 Classic on PS3
Lunar Silver Star Story - PS1
Dragon Quest 11 - PS4 (only non retro on the list)
These next ones look really fun, but do have random encounters, and I don't know how frequent or if you can lower/avoid them. Would like some advice
Wild Arms 1-3 - PS1 & PS2
Final Fantasy 6 - GBA on Gameboy Player (my friend said that there's a ton of encounters, but I've also been told you can reduce them)
Dragon Quest 8 - PS2
Dragon Quest 7 - PS1 (This I heard was really slow, though, and had lots of randoms so I'm not wanting to play this as much)
Suikoden - PS1 classic on PS3
Which ones out of these are best, and how bad art the randoms in the ones that have them?
The only game that I can think of right now that nobody has mentioned is Secret of Mana. It's available of the SNES as well as the Swtich in the Collections of Mana collection. There is also Kingdoms of Amular and Skyrim on Switch and Diablo III as well.
RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.
At a certain point in FFVI, you can get an item that disables random encounters.
You're probably not getting that one without a guide.
You can get an item earlier which reduces it. But that one is probably even less likely to be obtained without a guide.
Breath of Fire 1 has an item to temporarily stop random encounters. But the game itself is just Okay in my opinion (perhaps it is the nostalgia factor why I like it).
I hear the equivalent in Breath of Fire II is broken, even though the game itself I'd consider better.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest has no random encounters (except for a couple places in the game they hide enemies as a means to make you get a fetch quest item). But it's a short game designed for beginners which gets higher regard for its soundtrack than its gameplay. Still I think it's a decent short game. Might be nostalgia bias again though.
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Topic: Good JRPGs with no/few random encounters?
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