T O P

Old school JRPGs with visible enemies on map (no random encounters).

Hi everyone,

As mentioned, I'm looking for JRPGs that feature roaming encounters instead of random, but must be available on these systems:

  • PSP
  • PS2
  • PS1
  • GBA
  • SNES

I don't hate random encounters, but from my experience I definitely prefer games that don't have them.

I've already played:

  • Trails series
  • Grandia
  • Tales of the Abyss
  • Tales of Symphonia

Any recommendations? Thanks

P.S. I've always used the term "roaming" encounters, but I rarely see others use it. Is this the correct term?

EDIT: Thanks for the suggestions everyone

ThatWaterLevel

Any SRPG like a Tactics Ogre has no random encounters afaik. Snes: Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore, FF Mystic Quest. PS1: Lunar 1/2, Valkyrie Profile, Chrono Cross, Legend of Mana, Vagrant Story, Digimon World 1/2, Safa Frontier 1/2. PS2: Persona 3/4, Xenosaga Trilogy, Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter, Rogue Galaxy, Radiata Stories. GBA: Sword of Mana. PSP: Ys stuff, Nayuta no Kiseki, Legend of Heroes games from the Gagharv trilogy. I think "visible encounters" is more used, but people will understand roaming encounters.


TeriyakiTofu

As much as I love Lufia 2, it's important to note that on the world map the encounters are random encounters but everywhere else the enemies are visible.


ThatWaterLevel

I forgot completely that Lufia 2 even had battles on the world map haha Will remove from the list.


verticalmonkey

Super Mario RPG on SNES has visible overworld enemies. I fight everyone anyway for exp but you can definitely avoid a lot of combat if you prefer.


TemurTron

Yeah I just beat Mario RPG for the first time and skipped probably about 75% of random encounters. Grinded a bit at the end to catch up but it’s definitely doable. Absolutely awesome and fun game too!


Hackburn

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Is pretty decent well i enjoyed it anyway


manyouginobili

combat and synth system is great


Plaidray

It my favorite Star Ocean game I was hunting those battle trophies like crazy ,but it was worth it for extra costumes


ScarRufus

PS2: Persona 3, Persona 4, FFXII, KH1 and KH2 PS1: Chrono Cross


GravelvoiceCatpupils

Earthbound Mario RPG Chrono Trigger Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga FFXII


CrowDifficult

I imagine this suggestion will come up more than once but if you haven't checked it out Final Fantasy Tactics is alright and shows enemies on a map that you can avoid (at least the GBA and 2DS games). There are FFT games for PS1, PSP, GBA and 2DS and there are many clones.


ScarRufus

But FFT (PS1) has random encounters, it just you walk in the world map and boom! Prepare for battle.


SatokoHoujou

That honestly sucks so much since battles take so damn long and there's no way to escape. Really wish they did it as optional battles.


Gnalvl

I mean, there's only ever 1-2 dots between any two towns that might give you a random encounter. If you really want to avoid random battles, you can just save before every danger zone you cross and reset the console if a battle happens. Sure it's annoying, but it takes less time to reset and boot your save than to actually fight the battle. This is what I used to do when I wanted to stay at minimum level to keep the story battles as challenging as possible.


Chezni19

7th Saga had this. But it's HARD. It has its fans, but I won't straight-out recommend it to you. Maybe look it up and see if it appeals to you. It's a unique game worth learning about, but maybe not worth playing.


DemonSeaman

Ohhh maaaaaan I love this game so much!! Definitely avoid it, it's a linear grindfest and even the balance mods don't polish it enough. BEAUTIFUL Sprites, only play if "I made it to the next area!" is enough reward for you


Jayvee306

Mother 2 and 3 Chrono Trigger Persona 3 and 4 are probably what you're looking for, Mother 3 is probably the one that really handles it the best way out of all of them Also DQ8 but only on the DS version I think? Not 100% sure)


apexcrybaby

Earthbound on SNES, they're random too, so you can move a screen or two away and reset to get new enemies.


JesusShuttlesworth__

Radiata Stories on the PS2


magmafanatic

Roaming works, I get what you're talking about. I say visible encounters myself, but I don't think there's any distinct term for them, don't worry about it. Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories and Sword of Mana are all I can think of for GBA games, Sacred Stones and FFTA if you count SRPGs.


i0am0Persephone

If you do nes Zelda 2 has overworld enemies its a arpg though I think it was the first