Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes II (PC Engine)
I really liked what I've played of LoH VI (aka Sora no Kiseki aka Trails in the Sky), so I decided to go back and play the series in order. I completed DS:TLoH last year, and while I didn't care much for it, it was charming enough for me to finish it.
TLoHII starts out with a great first impression. The main character is the son of the hero of the first game, and the game takes place in the same world and pretty much uses all the same maps. During Chapter 0, you are sent all over the world to deliver letters from your father to the rulers of other lands, which is basically just an excuse for you to check up on what's happened since the previous game, and to visit all the locations so you can then warp to them using your "Warp Wing."
Once you hit Chapter 1, though, the game becomes an unbelievable grind. The first game, too, was very grindy during the first two chapters (it literally had level requirements for plot flags), but combat was quick and levels came quickly. TLoHII is not so kind. Everything is tied to your level. When you enter a new area, you are either at the required minimum level, and can somewhat comfortably progress, or you are below that level and your attacks are reduced to inflicting a single point of damage (!) to regular enemies. This is true for the bosses at the end of each chapter, too.
What's worse is that the game is ridiculously stingy with EXP and gold. By the time you reach Chapter 1, you will be around level 5, and gaining even a single level requires winning 20-30 battles. Buying even a single upgrade for your equipment can take 5-10 battles. It's so bad, that I figured there must be something wrong. Maybe the game expects you to rely on spells early on? Nope. The only solution is to grind, grind, grind.
I've completed dozens of RPGs, both on PC and console, and can count the number that have actually required grinding just to make progress on one hand: Dragon Warrior (NES) and Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes (PC Engine). Now I can add one more, and it is by far the worst example of forced grinding I've yet to experience.
However, I've read that the game eases up a bit once you reach Chapter 2, and I just cleared Chapter 1 earlier today, so I'll stick with it. I'd really like to get this one over with so I can play TLoH III (Shiroki Majo aka White Witch).
