Back in the day, after I finishedSuper Mario RPGfor the first time, I mentioned it to an acquaintance, and he said, “But did you get Luigi?” And that kicked off an endless quest for the Green Mario, scouring magazines (we didn’t have internet back then) and asking other players.
The thing is, it was all a myth. Luigi was never playable. But that hunt to try to recruit him, to do everything a game could offer, sparked something in me. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to discover and find every secret in aJRPG, and that’s why a walkthrough is never far behind me whenever I play.
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That’s also why, when the PS3 introduced a trophy system, I was thrilled. Now I’d have validation for my effort and the hours I poured into a single game. What more could I want? Common sense! I want some common sense from a few developers who include absurd achievements that take way more time than they should!
Some trophies or secrets, honestly, aren’t worth the time investment, and in the end, it’s better to shelve the game and move on to the next. I’ll provide some examples from this list of 10 JRPGs that take forever to complete.
Note: I’ll use HowLongToBeat in the Completionist category as a reference, but some games demand even more hours than what’s submitted there. Also, I’ll prioritize JRPGs that I’ve played or tried/completed 100%, and I won’t repeat franchises.
10Persona 5
New Game+ Shenanigans
Main Story
Main + Extra
Completionist
As soon as I picked the topic, I jotted downPersona 5with all the certainty in the world that it would be featured here. Little did I know, my naivety was about to be tested, as I almost had to remove the JRPG because many others demand way more from the player.
Even thoughPersona 5 Royalhas a whole new semester, the original game takes longer for completionists because it requires doing a half playthrough in NG+ to complete the Persona Compendium – that’s assuming you didn’t miss anything along the way.
Overall, allPersonagames are alreadytime-consuming on their base campaign, but completing everything requires not only more patience, but also a dedicated walkthrough to ensure nothing is missed, and your calendar is optimized.
As one of my favorite JRPGs ever, I don’t regret putting almost 150 hours into the game. On the other hand, that’s why I avoid recommending it to anynewcomer to the genre.
9Tales of Symphonia
Four Playthroughs Minimum
Tales Of Symphonia Remastered
ThefirstTalesofI got the platinum for wasTales of Zestiria. Not exactly a fan-favorite, but the timing felt right since I had just bought a PS4 and was short on cash to buy new games. Then, later on, I wanted to check out other titles in the series and see how hard it would be to platinum them.
Aside fromTales of Arise, all the others demand too much from the player, especiallyTales of Symphonia. I’d be down to replay the game on one of its seven remastered versions, but only once. Not thrice, much less four times, Bandai Namco – the minimum number of playthroughs to complete everything the game has in store.
The biggest hiccup in your 100% journey inTales of Symphoniais earning every character title, some of which are ridiculously locked behind content that demands an entire playthrough, like those related to affinity. Since a third of the trophies are missable, you’ll also need to have a handy step-by-step walkthrough by your side.
Unfortunately, this is a recurring theme in manyTales ofgames.Tales of Vesperiaalso requires careful planning not to miss anything, while other titles demand a cursed grind. Looks like I’ll just stick with my two measly platinums from this series.
8Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Three Houses, Four Routes
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houseswas featured on my list of “JRPGs that don’t respect your time,” and the same reasoning applies here. The thing is, you can easily complete one route, taking you around 50 hours, and never look back. But you’d be missing out on a lot.
That’s because canonically,Fire Emblem: Three Houseshas four routes. The problem is that the first half of every route is pretty much the same, which is why it doesn’t respect your time and may demotivate those who want to see the narrative from the perspective of other houses.
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Probably the most contradictory topic I’ve ever written in my life.
Ultimately, it’s a matter of multiplication. If one route takes 50h, multiply that by fourfold, and you’ll have the time needed to complete at least all the story content in the game.
For good measure, add a few more hours for content like recruiting every character, learning all combat arts, and reaching maximum proficiency with weapons, and you’re looking at over 200+ hours of playtime. Not for the faint of heart.
7Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Damn This Gacha System
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
After I finishedXenoblade Chronicles, I was determined to do all the in-game achievements. I don’t recommend it because not only are some of them not even worth calling achievements (dying 100 times isn’t an accolade, Monolith), but it nearly killed my appreciation for the game.
Like any good JRPG player, what did I do? I dove into a journey to 100%Xenoblade Chronicles 2because, well, I’m stupid, so why not? There are, however, two significant undertakings involved in doing so. First, the Blade gacha-like system, and second, every Blade Affinity Chart.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2introduced a gacha system that ties way too well with its lore and world-building. Though, as with every gacha mechanic, you have to rely on your luck. I’m over 100 hours in and have yet to get KOS-MOS fromXenosaga, reportedly the rarest of them all.
EveryBlade has an Affinity Chartand nodes that, when completed, unlock new skills and boost the potency of their Arts. The requirements range from killing a certain number of monsters to delivering Pouch Items or completing sidequests. They’re amusing, yeah, but that doesn’t make them less time-consuming. May the Architect bless my 100% journey.
6Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
Freaking National Dex
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
Even though I’ve listed both, of course, I’m considering eitherPokémon DiamondorPearlseparately.
Every goodPokémonplayer knows that an adventure only truly ends when we complete the Pokédex, right? Well, for some reason, Game Freak wanted to make trainers’ lives harder and threw in some extremely elusive Pokémon – and I’m not counting their Shiny variation.
One of them is Munchlax, which you may potentially find from four honey trees in the game. There’s a 1% chance for a Munchlax to spawn in them and, if it doesn’t happen, you have to wait six in-game hours for the honey trees to reset so you can try your tiny bit of luck again.
After that, there’s still the National Dex. Before the remake of these games, the only way to complete the National Dex was through the Pal Park, meaning you’d need to own Pokémon from Generation III, plug them into your Nintendo DS, and migrate them to the Safari Zone of your respective Generation IV game.
Basically, you were forced to play – or borrow from a friend – a Pokémon from Generation III if you wanted to go for 100% inPokémon DiamondorPearl, which, let’s be real, is basically a tied-sale trap for completionists out there.
5Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten
It’s Over 9,000
Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten
You know the drill: TheDisgaeaseries went bonkers with the default JRPG threshold and introduced a system where the max level was 9,999 and damage could reach into the millions.Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgottenwent even further, bumping the damage to 10,000,000,000.
And it’s around those two absurd numbers that most of your grinding playtime is spent completing everythingDisgaea 4has to offer. If you’re a casual player, you’ll finish the goofy and humorous campaign in 40 hours. But if you’re hardcore, expect to clock in about 200 hours farming to clear every side activity and snag all the trophies.
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There’s a long, and rather tedious, to be honest, process to deal 10 billion damage, like reaching max level, using the Custom Map Editor with the right Geo Block, and a bunch of Trapezohedrons before you even start thinking about chunking that obscene number.
Managed it? Well, hopefully you got every item in the game, crafted one to level 300, unlocked all characters and classes, and, after several grindy activities, visited the Land of Carnage before even thinking of nabbing a platinum trophy. Fun!
4Star Ocean: The Last Hope
The Last Straw In Your Gaming Career
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Before I start a JRPG, I always take a look at the Trophy Guide to check two things: missable trophies and average time to platinum. Well, even though HowLongToBeat claimsStar Ocean: The Last Hopetakes around 188 hours for completionists, trophy hunters may beg to differ.
Several trophy guides indicate that it takes over 500 hours to platinum the fourth title intheStar Oceanseries. Simply because of the Battle Trophies, earned by pulling off certain feats in battle like defeating X enemies with one character or, say, “defeating the hardest boss in the game in under 10 minutes using the weakest character.”
I mean, I platinumed the first, second, and sixth game in the franchise, but I don’t see any plausible reason to even attempt that withThe Last Hope. It’s a wonderful way to drain all your appreciation for the game and video games in general.
3White Knight Chronicles
The Chronicles Of A Thousand Quests
White Knight Chronicles
White Knight Chroniclesis another JRPG that’s not well represented by HowLongToBeat, since it also falls under the “one of the longest platinum trophies on PS4” label. Both this game and its sequel demand an insane grind in the online mode to raise your Guild Rank and unlock upgrades in the GeoRama.
The problem is that, being late 2000s games, the online mode is no longer available. What’s left is offline grinding, which increases the completion time fivefold because the AI isn’t competent enough to handle the hardest guild missions.
I once did a quick estimate of this undertaking and concluded it takes 300h of repeating the same quest to go from Guild Rank 8 to Guild Rank 12, which is when you get a trophy. Worst part? We’re talking completionist here, not platinum, and the max Rank is 15. So yeah, throw in a few extra hundred hours into the equation.
2Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
Borderline Insanity
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
Even though Nintendo doesn’t have a built-in achievements system, several games add their own, likeDragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. Considering how long it takes to complete this JRPG, I kind of understand Nintendo – because holy hell, trophy purists would give up playing the game after checking every achievement.
Dragon Quest IXfeatures accolades, which are in-game challenges. Among them all, we have some time-consuming ones, such as the Wanderluster, which requires 1000+ hours of playtime. Still, we can easily cheat that one, so let’s look at Friend to the End, which rewards players who spend 1000 hours with a companion. You know what that means? 1000h on multiplayer.
I know what you’re thinking: “Why not just complete both at the same time?” Well, Square Enix pulled a fast one and added the accolade Socialite, which, let me paraphrase, says “Time spent in Multiplayer is at least 50% as much as your normal game time.”
I don’t even know how to express my genuine, jaw-dropping shock. If by any chance you don’t complete this one before starting your 1000-hour single-player journey, yeah, I have some terrible news.
And we’re only talking about playtime here. We still have RNG-accolades, such as revisiting the Grotto endlessly to complete the Bestiary and cataloging every item available. Anyone out there who’s completedDragon Quest IX100%, you’re either a trooper, a lunatic, or maybe both.
1Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
Requires A Few Generations To Complete
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
Monster Hunterplayers are used to farming — after all, it’s the whole gameplay loop of the series. So if someone wanted to complete everything, how long would that take? A lot, my dear hunter of monsters. A lot. And the title that trumps every other in the time-consuming department isMonster Hunter Generations Ultimate.
First, you need to complete the Guild Card, basically a compilation of achievements. These involve a variety of tasks, but the most exhausting one is completing quests and hunting all the Gold Crown monsters, which is extremely RNG-based, by the way.
Then, you also have to solo all the Deviants, which are uber-powered versions of monsters, and get Hunter Rank to 999, which I know you’re thinking you’ll reach once you complete the Guild Card.
Well, I have some bad news for you: you won’t. I’ve seen accounts of people who took over 2000 hours to reach HR 999, and they aren’t even an outlier. Hope you’re ready, hunter.
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