Fifteen hours is a hell of a long time to stay in a car.
I’ve been on a car trip to Missouri with my family since last Wednesday, giving me ample opportunity to stare out the window at passing countryside, and equal opportunity to be bored out of my skull. I prepared before we departed, though, and purchased a 3DS specifically for the journey, along with New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Mario Kart 7. In light of my new software acquisitions, though, I’m surprised that I’m spending the most time with Radiant Historia, a game I bought nearly six months ago and rarely played before last week. It’s been therapeutic in ways I’ve totally forgotten about in the years since I’ve played a top-tier JRPG. In particular, grinding.
Though quality storytelling is generally high on the list of why gamers love JRPGs, I feel like combat—turn-based, active-time, whatever—is a huge draw for me. There’s something about JRPG battles that feel much more deliberate and methodical than traditional console action games, and that same change of pace brings me to a Zen-like state when I’m on a roll. Unwanted grinding can be one of the most tedious experiences in gaming, but deliberate, chosen grinding makes me feel like a well-oiled experience-gaining machine.
Gaining experience feels good. Most modern games have adopted some sort of progression system as a result; look at this year’s Madden and Call of Duty, both of which feature extensive experience and customization options. JRPGs handle it the best, though, because of how their gameplay is already driven by numbers. If I spend round after round hammering at dudes with 45s and 68s, being rewarded with a big, fat 174 feels not just satisfying, but appropriate. It feeds into the videogame power fantasy, but in a math-y way that feels really damn cool.
Progressing in life can be an uncertainty. Who knows if anything I do will positively benefit me, whether it’s trying to lift weights at the gym or spending time playing videogames. JRPGs tell stories in their own right, but their play mechanics tell another, more alluring one: if you spend time doing something, you’ll get good at it, no matter what. If I can fill up my experience bar, I can improve myself. Bar none. This direct feedback loop of effort and progression rewards hard work, appealing to the Puritanical side of the American psyche.
Plus, it’s just good fun to over-level your party and wreak all kinds of havoc on previously-challenging mobs, you know?
When time allows, the grind-happy side of JRPGs can soothe my jangled gaming nerves. Number-driven power fantasies and decisive ass-kickings are a great way to pass the time—that’s how Pokémon did it, that’s how America does it, and it’s worked out pretty well so far.
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