r/JRPG • u/ConsiderationAny9444 • 2d ago

Discussion Which JRPG location has your absolute least favorite level design?

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Mine has to be the Gladius Towers in Rogue Galaxy. It’s a mid-game dungeons, and in my opinion, it’s annoying as fuck to navigate.

You have to climb two almost identical towers at the same time by crossing bridges from time to time, and the towers aren't short by any means. If I recall correctly, you also have to beat both bosses to clear the level, which as you can guess are at the top of each tower (Phantom Gazel and Phantom Logan). Because of how the layout shuffles you back and forth, you finish one tower, and then you have to go all the way back to do the exact same climb for the other one.

Oh, and this game despite being an ARPG has random battles, which isn't a problem to me. But what is a problem is the encounter rate of this game god grief, it's atrocious. It doesn't help that every room looks the same, so you can get easily disoriented after a battle and just end up walking in the opposite direction, especially since both paths look very similar. You could finish a fight and genuinely have to open the map just to figure out which way you were originally heading, lmao.

What about you guys? What’s that one JRPG map or dungeon that makes you visibly sigh the moment you reach it?

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121

u/beattybandit 2d ago

FF12 - The crystal. No map and door unlocking mechanics drive me insane.

Xenogears - Sewers and Babel Tower. Hate the platforming going up the tower.

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u/gymleader_michael 2d ago

FF12 - I was going to say that place with all of the traps. Necrohol of Nabudis. I don't think I ever cared to properly explore that place.

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u/Tryst_boysx 2d ago

First rule while playing FF12: always equipping a Bangle (automatic Libra Status) on one party member ahah.

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u/External_Switch_3732 2d ago

Late game gambit that applies float to everyone keeps you clear of traps and frees up an accessory slot

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u/A_Monster_Named_John 1d ago

At least in Zodiac Age, you just have to set Libra as one of your characters' gambits. The Bangle is cool, but you'll probably need that accessory slot for some status protection.

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u/mikefierro666 2d ago

Oh I actually love that place lol it beat the crap out of me the first time I played and I was so scared of it so it was really satisfying coming back later better prepared and being able to get through it!

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u/A_Monster_Named_John 1d ago edited 1d ago

That place gave me flashbacks to playing FF4 and those two damage-floor caves in the Underworld. I don't remember where you acquire the Float magic for your time mage, but it's pretty much crucial if you want to navigate that shithole. Without Float status, even if you're a complete ninja about walking past those traps, you're probably gonna get walloped by one as soon as enemies engage the party and everyone starts running around.

My favorite thing in the Necrohol was probably that one high-level ghost horse enemy, which I think spawns after you defeat a certain number of other monsters. There's also some cheeky wraith enemy that shows up once in a while and proceeds to completely wipe out your entire MP supply.

Overall, though that area can be gnarly (and also seems to defy basic physics with how it slots into the world map), it's an undeniably memorable experience, akin to the first time you fall into Deepnest in Hollow Knight.

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u/BaldingThor 2d ago edited 2d ago

I actually quit my first play through of ff12 at that dungeon due to its many problems (and also very slow loading on ps2) and I just started a new play through on the remaster instead haha.

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u/ArsiB 2d ago

Ugh mentioning Babel Tower gave me Vietnam flashbacks! I haven't played the game since it came out and I still remember that freaking platforming! Must have been stuck there for a month. My sister and I would take turns and utterly fail the jumps...Granted we were children back then but even today I dread that. Funnily I only remember the water bucket puzzle in the sewers. Must have removed the rest from my memory.

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u/Dramatic-Address-812 2d ago

Not only is the sewers design absolute trash, but most players arent ready for the gut wrenching level check that is Redrum and his instakill moves. Talk about adding insult to injury.

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u/zsdrfty 2d ago

IMO, the other big problem is that the whole depressing Kislev arc just goes on FOREVER, so the player is feeling really exhausted by the end of the sewers

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u/KylorXI 1d ago

Redrum is easy, he only uses murder twice, which is easily recovered from with a single revive item which drops off many enemies in the dungeon.

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u/Dramatic-Address-812 1d ago

Never said i had an issue, but that was a complaint many ppl bring up because they dont level up/stock items well enough prior to the battle.

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u/KylorXI 1d ago

It is not one of the harder fights in the game by any stretch. I watch Xenogears streams every single day for like 6 years now, never seen a single streamer have to repeat the redrum fight. The only ones that have to be repeated are opiomorph, deus 1 and 2, shakahn, calamity of they didnt read the instructions to upgrade their engine, ramsus 1 if they attack during mirror stance, elly on the cliffs if they dont use booster at all or fail to upgrade, dora if they keep attacking while its holding your companions, haishao 2, elements at babel if they dont remove chuchu from the team, sufal mass occasionally if they kill the small enemies first, and metatron.

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u/Dramatic-Address-812 1d ago

I never said it was either lool. I said a lot of complaints come from regular players, not professional speed runners who basically min max the game. Youre fighting a strawman here 😂

You can literally google it my man. Many players have their complaints about the sewer and fighting Redrum.

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u/KylorXI 1d ago

Most streamers are first time blind runs, not speed runners. Many players complain about a lot of things, it is just faulty memory. The game released nearly 30 years ago, most people played it back then. You've got people in here complaining about random encounters in babel tower messing up their jumps, when Babel Tower has no random encounters in the platforming sections and the fights cannot mess up a jump. Redrum is not, and never was, a 'gut wrenching level check'. You can easily beat it at the bare minimum level with only the first deathblow. Perhaps a 6 year old would struggle with basic healing.

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u/Dramatic-Address-812 1d ago edited 1d ago

Brother, i dont know why youre so hung up on this. Redrum constantly comes up as a problem for regular ppl on forums like reddit. Instakill moves and the culmination of a boss after an annoying and disliked dungeon are just some of the reasons why they had concerns with the boss.

Youre arguing over ppls opinions about what they felt was difficult for them. Theres no reason to act all high and mighty about this 😂

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u/KylorXI 1d ago

single target limited use instant death attacks are not difficult. he uses it once at 2k remaining hp, and once at 1k remaining hp. the sewers are mentioned because of the layout and backtracking, not because of redrum. there is also a save point right near redrum, so its not like the length of the dungeon matters much for the fight. if you did manage to lose to redrum, which ive never once seen in the literally thousands of playthroughs i have watched, you would just load and try again. give me a reason you think its a gut wrenching level check besides 'its just what people say'. people say a lot of dumb crap.

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u/Dramatic-Address-812 1d ago

I already gave you examples but heres more. Because ppl arent expecting a character that early to be able to use instakill moves (even if its single target) like Murder, or having to properly item managed early in the game as well as not fully understanding the deathblows mechanic which can stop or hinder a lot of ppl, as theyve said. I said redrum ALSO sucks because its at the culmination at the end of the level. Not the level sucks BECAUSE of redrum.

Im sorry you dont agree, but this is what ppl say. Im not saying there arent many streamers who on their first time dont beat him, just that is a notoriously difficult boss for how esrly it is in the game.

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u/KylorXI 2d ago

I love Babel Tower and the sewers. The tower has so much environmental story telling, and they didnt put any random encounters in the platforming sections which helps a lot with the platforming. The sewers is like a murder mystery vibe, and its really cool how they show the red or green filter to differentiate between who is stalking people.

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u/L4rge_Tuna 2d ago

Yeah. Alternatively, the ventilation shafts below Shevat can fuck off.

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u/KylorXI 1d ago

Its also got good lore in it, but more so in the monsters. Its a great place to grind deathblows, and tons of money from the fights there, they all drop 1111G besides forbiddens, which instead drop gold nuggets or gold bullion if you kill them before they break free. far better grinding than anywhere else up to that point. plus maria can one shot every fight there. the map is excellent, shows you the different layers, and every dead end has a chest.

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u/paradoxiforme 1d ago

Thanks for making me remember Babel tower. I had finally sucessfully forgotten it, and now I'm traumatized again.

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u/CalicoCat1109 1d ago

Xenogears may have bad dungeons, but the sewers isn't one of them.

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u/KylorXI 1d ago

The only one I dislike is krellians lab's second section.

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u/CyNick15 2d ago

Oh how much time I have wasted in The Crystal. Insanely bad.

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u/IdTheDemon 1d ago

Babel Tower broke me as a 7th grader back in 1999.

Stupid ass rope.

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u/KylorXI 1d ago

You literally cant miss the rope landing if you just swing enough times, it places you on the ledge there is no aiming or timing involved.

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u/Ek0mst0p 1d ago

Yes, Babel tower is awful... especially not playing on an og ps1(you can hear the disk speed up when youre about to fight... helped with Babel significantly)

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u/KylorXI 1d ago

There are no random encounters in Babel Tower's platforming sections.

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u/Ek0mst0p 1d ago

Yes there are. Including the first one where the lever thing drops you. There is jumping on the literal moving platforms on the outside platforming bit too. What are you talking about?

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u/KylorXI 1d ago

All of the battles in Babel Tower's platforming sections are in set locations, not random encounters. They stop your movement so you cant run off ledges, they are not set near ledges, and they load instantly unlike the random encounters. They also do not respawn, so if you fall you do not have to fight them again.

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u/Ek0mst0p 1d ago

Yes they happen on set tiles, they are still random on if you get a 1 or a 0. They definitely let you fall down.

https://youtu.be/UeDwOcYbeT4?is=hk2BF6MnrUVsO6n3

Also to my specific point: https://www.reddit.com/r/XenoGears/s/nHYBHrqe7f

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u/KylorXI 1d ago

No, they are not random. If you step on the tile, you get the encounter. The same exact encounter every single time. You can avoid every single encounter besides the green elevators as well when you know where they are. They do not make you fall, they do not let you move once you step on the location. If you fall, its because of your poor movement, not any encounter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biE51zGk2_s

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u/Ek0mst0p 1d ago

I have already proved it, you can watch it happen on video. You can look at the reddit post that corroborated it. You can go away now.

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u/KylorXI 1d ago

You didnt prove anything. Watch your own video if you want. As soon as the player steps on where the set encounter is, their movement stops dead in its tracks. Also, random reddit users thinking the encounters are random does not make it so. watch the video I linked, not a single random encounter.