The real answer: it depends on extent.
If there are only two or three unskipable cutscenes in the whole game, then I don't mind them. If there are many and they are located in annoying places (like before hard fight), then I'm out.
The same with grinding - I'm okay with some grinding, but if I need to win gorillion fights to level up, then goodbye game.

I don't mind grinding, so long as there's a way to monitor my progress, no matter how small.

Then again, I play so few games with unskippable cutscenes that the novelty has yet to wear off.

So let me be the first in the thread to offer up an "either" with an honest-to-goodness shrug. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tough call. While I agree with Breja's sentiment about time wasting, I think in the end I'd choose the grinding. For some reason, even though it would amount to far less time than grinding, I find having to go through unskippable cut scenes over and over is far more painful.

I don't mind some grinding, because combat is the most enjoyable part of RPGs for me, but I really dislike unskippable and overly long cutscenes. This is why my main focus has shifted to roguelikes more than RPGs over the years.

Grinding can be particularly enjoyable if I have a wide choice of enemies and areas to grind with varied difficulty, and if there are rare drops or crafting materials that I might gain. I realize a lot of people dislike this style of play, but I enjoy item hunting and setting my own level of challenge.

Give me grinding easy to circumvent it.

i dont want either
but i fucking hate grinding so option 1 it is

Grinding, if there is something interesting things to look forward to.

I actually enjoyed quite a lot grinding in Fallout 2, trying to find random encounters with Floaters and Centauris or whatever those multi-legged freaks were called because they were relatively easy to fight yet gave lots of experience.

That way I started accumulating more and more interesting perks in the game, as well as of course getting most of my skills to great levels (e.g. finally being able to sneak and steal easily too, or finally mastering the big guns too). I enjoyed that part of the game a lot.

Also since Fallout 2 doesn't scale enemies according to your levels I think, I liked it too e.g. that when I met a Enclave patrol the first time, they killed my whole party in two rounds or so... but later when I came back more powerful and with better weapons/armor, I could finally beat the bastards. A very nice feeling.

An example of annoying grinding would probably be Final Fantasy 8, with the way you had to repeatedly "pull" spells from random encounters or some silly shit like that. Then again, that game probably also had lots of long unskippable cutscenes, even for some of the spells.

I never skip cutscenes anyway, so option 1.

Let's have both and call it Final Fantasy.

i can already see what final fantasy 15 will be like

I know why I took the short way out after FFX. :)


Still, even though it's clear enough what dtgreene favors, I don't think there is prejudice in the question (and really, the hostility here is a fucking shame). And there IS a connection between the two; the grinding is what made up the brunt of yesterday's games and the cutscenes are what makes up the brunt of today's games.

I grew up on RPGs with an horrific amount of grinding interspersed with a pinch of very stereotypical story. Today, designers who are in no way capable storytellers are making games with hours and hours of completely boring cutscenes (worst offender, sorry, Hideo Kojima) – while they're avoiding grinding at almost all costs (even time honored series like Elder Scrolls have eventually arrived at fucking level scaling, I hear).

So the question is valid: Boring story or boring grinding?

Sure, both can be done right. Infinite ways to put variety into leveling up for a capable designer (maybe, just maybe, take a million out of these cutscenes and put them into the battles... no?). Infinite ways to write a compelling story with great dialog and voice acting that you WANT to experience again and again.

I'm definitely more of a grinder. My demands on story are possibly too high. The grinding, at least, has a gamey instant gratification system in-built. If the story's abysmal, like in, say, the worst RPG of all times, "The Fall - Last days of Gaya", the emotional response elicited by a crunchy level up is far more intense than the one the story would ever achieve.

i hate grinding
the best way for avgame to lose me is to throw grinding at me
a boring story can be over come if the game play is engaging but if the gameplay is grinding for 80 hours ill pass
i dont have the patience or inclination to put up with that

which is why i loath diablo 1 and 2 as well because they are grindfest for moar loot to get moar loot to get moa rloot for higher difficulties and repeat it again
i dont see whats " fun" about that

I would prefer 1. This is RPG where story and characters are needed for player to play a role. And which role he can play on grinding? Guy who tries local genocide? Also. cutscenes can be skipped (for example, you can make a tea for yourself). Also, unskippable cutscenes can be very good and interesting to watch, grinding is not.

dtgreene didn't say the game would have no cutscenes, just no unskippable ones. :P Unskippable cutscenes annoy me FAR more than grinding a few levels for some power-ups. Especially when you put one right at the beginning or moiddle of a boss fight that is incredibly difficult and has a high chance to be repeated.