Turn-Based Battles

Comment by Echoes221, on 14.08.2012 at 00:27

Half the time TBC feels lazy because they couldn't be bothered to put a decent combat system in. They've just tagged up some TBC into the mix. Look at Last Story and Xenoblade for Christ Sake! Even KH: Chain of Memories worked it's way around it!

Comment by Slydevil, on 13.08.2012 at 22:16

In a general sense I don't really like turn-based battles.

It's not an immediately approachable system, and it can be boring and slow. However, in Paper Mario it's central to the the experience of the game. It would no longer be the same game were it not for that battle system, and what a wonderful game it undoubtedly is. I think it works for me as it has the necessary depth in it's battle system to be rewarding, without being unintuitive and overly monotonous. It creates a storybook pace.

But certainly most of the time I don't want it. But it's much like a peshwari naan bread - I love it, and it's a great accompaniment to a chicken madras, but I wouldn't have it with much else.

Comment by Canyarion, on 12.08.2012 at 08:53

I don't play too many RPGs, party because of the turn-based battles and random encounters.

I do like Pokémon, but I always wish they'd improve the battle formula.
Time-based > turn-based. It would make 'fast' attacks work, like tackle. You could opt for multiple weaker attacks or 1 strong attack. Maybe they could even make a dodge move work.
Max 6 learned moves > max learned 4 moves. Maybe they could only allow 4 offensive moves and 2 defensive (double team, leer, etc.).
Voice commands. :D

Comment by bornforthis43, on 12.08.2012 at 04:45

I think I used to like turn based way more when I was younger. Now that I realize how precious time really is, my opinion has changed on them. I don't want to spend my time grinding away as it seems like a huge waste of time to me. However, when done right, I think it can be engaging. Chrono Trigger was like a hybrid of turn based and real time which was awesome. The Mario RPG's also do it in an engaging way. This time it's an active turn based system where you have to press buttons and get timings right. I feel more direct control in these situations rather than just sitting back, picking from a menu, and watching an animation.

Comment by Echoes221, on 11.08.2012 at 11:06

As SuperLink said, fluid battle systems can hide turn based combat really well, for instance whilst it wasn't particularly brilliant, Lord of The Rings: Third Age had a really fluid system. You knew when you were about to hit a battle (the eye would gradually light up in the corner) and you would be picking your moves on the fly and the order of battle would change randomly always keeping action happening on screen.

The thing that gets me about TBC is that it just hasn't evolved very much from the start, some people like that, some don't. Pokemon hasn't done anything to try to change, Final Fantasy has branched out a little but you can practically let that game play itself once you've set up your commands in XIII.

I haven't found a TBC game for a while that felt 'intuitive' and had a reason for that type of combat.

Comment by Cheesing it up, on 11.08.2012 at 10:19

I kind of flip-flop with this. Sometimes I really like it, sometimes I get bored of it.

I would say that competitive pokemon battling is such brilliant fun that I pray to God that turn-based battles never die.

Comment by TAG, on 10.08.2012 at 23:09

I enjoy turn-based combat. I believe they definitely have their place in gaming. So many games, even (especially?) the oldest, require the player to have skillful hands and reflexes. Timing jumps in a platformer, reacting quickly to an enemy in a shooter, taking a turn without hitting a wall in racer, etc. A game with turn-based combat takes almost all of that away, which can be very nice. It replaces the above skills with different mental skills. Instead of relying on your lightning quick reflexes, you can take your sweet time to ponder the best move, not just for that moment, but for your long-term strategy. And the turn-based combat is usually governed by stats, which the player can manipulate between battles. To draw an analogy with "real-life" games, turn-based games would be more like checkers or chess, while many other video games would be more like a game of darts or whack-a-mole. I sometimes am frustrated by other games because my reflexes aren't quick enough or my fingers are subtle enough. Turn-based battles are a welcome relief from that.

However, I share many of the others complaints with turn-based games. Random encounters become annoying. Fighting small bad guys is no fun. I feel obligated to fight them to gain the necessary experience points, but otherwise they are a waste of my time. Turn-based combat itself is usually only fun when you're fighting some kind of major enemy. Those battle are when you are thinking and strategizing, and those are the enemies your prepare your characters for.

I think Knights of the Old Republic handled combat well. It was turn-based, but you never entered some kind of "battle screen" and there were no random encounters. There were various enemies scattered throughout the hostile parts of the world, but often you could choose to stay away from them or sneak around them. I feel like there were more major battles, too. The battles have more purpose when the enemy is an important character and not just a palette swap of some thing you beat three levels ago. Also, your characters earned experience from things besides battles, which cuts down on the compulsion to fight minions for the sake of experience points. There should be more of this kind of thing in turn-based RPGs. This seems to be a more Western approach to turn-based combat, and I approve.( Edited 10.08.2012 23:13 by TAG )

Comment by Azuardo, on 10.08.2012 at 20:28

I've rarely ever played in Wait mode. But I suppose I am looking at RPGs as a wholeÂ there, and not so much the battles themselves. If you removed the things you mentioned, yeah, I could have more fun with those types of games. Once I remove no encounters in FFVIII or X, I can enjoy things much better (of course I enjoyed them in the past with encounters, but replaying today I have to get rid). I'd be interested to know if there are any RPGs like that, though.

Comment by SirLink , on 10.08.2012 at 20:05

I love turn-based battles, mainly because they are a nice change of pace and much like Rudy said, they allow me to be distracted. When I was replaying Pokémon FireRed a week ago I watched some Let's Play's at the same time (I don't watch TV anymore) and it was really cool. My first real RPG was Final Fantasy III DS, so perhaps that also played a part in it.

Are people considering the ATB system from many Final Fantasy games starting at FFIV turn-based as well? You still choose commands but at maximum battle speed and in Active rather than Wait mode they feel far from strictly turn-based ones like Pokémon or FFI, II and III.

Looking at the replies from SuperLink and Az, you guys sound more like you dislike other elements that usually accompany turn-based battle systems, such as grinding, farming or random encounters. Let's say there's a game with no grinding (bosses are challenging and doable as long as you don't avoid/run from absolutely everything), no random encounters and no farming for money, abilities like Blue Magic etc. Would you like a turn-based battle system a lot more in this case or would your opinions still be the same?( Edited 10.08.2012 20:15 by SirLink )

Comment by Azuardo, on 10.08.2012 at 19:44

Interesting question. Frankly, I can't be doing with turn-based any more. Back in the day, I could sit for hours every day, grinding and farming happily. But these days, I just can't justify sitting on my arse in my spare time to do it. Over the years, it's become tedious. As much as I love RPGs and the stories, doing this same thing over has become tiresome. I'll put up with it for FF, but in general now, I don't have the patience.

Same goes for random encounters. Hate them now. Adored FFXII and XIII for doing away with them, and was saddened they came back in XIII-2. If it has to be in there, always include no encounter abilities.