Quote Originally Posted by Elexia View Post
Hm..nope all of the FFs had grinds in them, this is where the fact people think of grind and immediately go into a frenzy without thinking:

FFI - III - You definitely grinded for levels due to difficulty in general.
FFIV - V - You didn't have to grind for levels, but it certainly helped in V because of the job system.
FFVI - You grinded for levels, you absolutely had to during the world of ruin
FFVII - You grinded. Holy shit did you grind if you wanted master materia lol.
FFVIII - Grinding was detrimental, this is actually the only FF game where you didn't grind in terms of progression, however you had to draw grind.
FFIX - Chocobo Hot & Cold grinding and yes you did need to be at least level 50 by the end-game unless you knew how to manipulate enemies and items perfectly.
FFX - God weapon grind.
FFX-2 - ...A lot of grinding lol.
FFXI - MMO.
FFXII - Grinding in a different way, especially hunts and treasure lol. (While it seems like a side activity..you had to grind them if you wanted the best stuff.)
FFXIII - Weapon upgrading grinding.
FFXIII-2 - Monster raising grinding.

This is ignoring side games. So yeah, grinding, in some fashion, has always been a part of FF, it's just never really thought about unless it aggravates you.
About half of those games you listed didn't require grinding, especially X, XII, IX, V, and IV, unless you wanted the game to be easier or wanted "good" weapons/equipments.