The RPG discussion thread (formerly Final Fantasy XIII)

[Romana]

Well look on the bright side, V and VI will no doubt be remade for the DS, and while they're not brand new installments, they're still the good old gameplay style. I prefer ATB as well, but maybe XIII's battle system will be a surprise gem.

[idioticidioms]

actually, hate to be the one to argue you with you, but uh... I've been playing RPG's with ATB's for about the past uh... 17 years now? Yeah, there is strategy involved to it, I will give it that. But it's hardly a challenge.

And maybe YOU should play more games that have real time fighting, because there are a lot of strategies that can be used for that. The problem is, if you're too set in your ways, and all you play is ATB games, you're not going to pick up on those strategies easily. Trust me, there is definite strategy to Real time fighting. I've played a lot of MMO's, come close to maxing out in level on a couple of them, and you can tell who sucks at them and who is really good, and it takes skill and knowing your strategies to become good.

I like a game that allows me to relax, there's ATB for that. That's fine. But when I want a challenge? I'll go with the real time battles. I'd say they're both equal in strategies, but RTB definitely takes more skill.

[placidchap]

Strategy and challenge can come in both forms, ATB and RT, it just depends on the designers and how difficult they made it.  So I don't see what all of the fuss is about.  and comparing single player RPGs and MMORPGs are like comparing apples and oranges. 

FPS games blow!

[Shadow D. Darkman]

IMHO, the best battle system in an RPG is that of real-time battles, like in FFXII.

Or KH, which had some of the best real-time battles I ever saw. And IMO, real-time battles allow you to think on your feet which is good for those of you going into the military, since you'll need experience in real-time combat.

[KebreI]

Both systems are good and bad I find that ATB or even even full turn based has a habit of growing old, but RT don't need at lot of planing most of the time. There are wonderful examples of both: Kingdom Hearts and Dark Alliance1/2 are both excellent RPGs that use RT combat.

As for FPSs, I consider them the plague of gaming. Now a few of them are good just like every genre, but they've gotten so easy to pump out that they're now just bland and generic. Still some like System Shock 2, and Farcry are still fun to play.

[nightmare975]

And maybe YOU should play more games that have real time fighting, because there are a lot of strategies that can be used for that. The problem is, if you're too set in your ways, and all you play is ATB games, you're not going to pick up on those strategies easily. Trust me, there is definite strategy to Real time fighting. I've played a lot of MMO's, come close to maxing out in level on a couple of them, and you can tell who sucks at them and who is really good, and it takes skill and knowing your strategies to become good.

Buddy, I play everything. I just prefer Turn based games in the long run.

[idioticidioms]

then say that, instead of claiming that RTB doesn't have any strategy. You just put your own opinion out as fact.

[ZealKnight]

Or KH, which had some of the best real-time battles I ever saw. And IMO, real-time battles allow you to think on your feet which is good for those of you going into the military, since you'll need experience in real-time combat.

You should die. KH is what killed the video game world, more notably the RPG world. The ATB system is the best system, you can like other systems but the fact is it is the best one.

Turn based isn't bad, but it needs to be done right, I did not like Lost Odyssey's fighting. FFX was too easy. KH's fighting was abysmal, never used summons and even though there was a challenge they destroyed it with cards and the Triangle Button. FFXII's was good but it wasn't really a fighting system unless you fought the two secret bosses

[idioticidioms]

you people have a horrible habit of passing off your opinion as fact. Fact? probably neither ATB or RTB is better than the other. Both have their ups and downs, their pro's and con's. To say that any one style is less or better than the other is ridiculous. Some games do good with the systems and some do poorly. Judge the games then, not the systems. The fact is, I'm getting real tired of people trying to push their opinions on other people by presenting it as fact. Like you, Zeal Knight. What the hell is that shit? Shadow states his OPINION and you tell him to go die? Honestly, what the fuck. Do you think that's cool or funny? Shadow is Autistic and could take that literally. You seriously need to think before you speak. fucking bullshit. And I'm calling you on it.

[Yourgingerestfan]

Im looking forward to this game , characters and music > than battle system in my oppinion

And the graphics are really nice

This is from the final fantasy wikia ...

The battle system has been described as "More tactical than FFX, faster than X-2, and almost as seamless as XII". The enemies are visible in the field. When the player runs into them with the playable characters, the camera changes position and the battle menu pop ups, marking the start of a battle. This makes the transition from exploration to battle nearly seamless.

In the battle, the player can control only one character, but that character can be switched anytime. The other party members act according to A.I.-settings. The Active Time Battle bar returns in the battle system, but this time it is divided into sections (different screenshots show three and five sections). Each command available to the battle party have a number next to the name indicating how many of these sections it will take up. This allows the player to input several commands per turn. The next turn comes up sooner if the ATB bar is only partially used.

I dunno if you guys know about that , but i didnt wanna read the whole thread xD

[nightmare975]

then say that, instead of claiming that RTB doesn't have any strategy. You just put your own opinion out as fact.

A) It doesn't have reasonable strategy, only on-the spot strategy, which restricts your planning.

B) I never said it was a fact. You just interpreted my opinion as such.

[idioticidioms]

actually, if you know what you're going to be attacking, which if you pay attention to the game, you do, you can plan ahead for it. And when you're progressing the game, you're right, you don't know what is ahead of you, which is true for any game. the whole point of real time fighting is to think on your feet. Duh. And, you never said it was opinion. the way you put it forth made it seem like you were telling people it was fact. It was very easy to misinterpret.

[FaustWolf]

Oh man, you can only control one character at a time in FFXIII, huh? That's a bit of a letdown for me. Thanks for the info gingerest.

You should die.

ZealKnight, what the hell? Let's be a little more civil here. This is getting worse than the religion thread, for chrissake.

I still say there needs to be an RPG with a revamped Xenogears-style system, add in reaction abilities similar to what Valkyrie Profile had, mix in multi-character combination techs like what Chrono Trigger had, and put a cherry on top. The result would be an utterly sweet coupling of menu driven combat and player freedom.

[chrono eric]

You should die.

Dude, that's not funny. I know you meant it as a joke, but Shadow gets enough shit from people here that I'm sure his self-esteem has taken a dip once or twice, don't you think?

[HyperNerd]

I gave Shadow shit and now feel terrible about it. But whatever. Dude, Zeal Knight, If I have my way and make a sucessful RPG someday, Kingdom Hearts was the birth of it. That was the first RPG I ever played. Anyways, this is turning into another anger thread. In my anger, I'm at the point where I realized the real reason I was angry, and how to cope with it. Now then, I really love games like Super Mario RPG where you get to play Turn Based battle, and have some participation in battles. It makes battles fun instead of annoying.