I've always been a fan of split parties in RPGs. It brings an interesting dynamic to the system. I can only think of old examples, but I really enjoyed when groups split up for whatever reason in a couple of the Shining Force games. And the first few hours of Wild ARMs was especially nice when you switched between playing each main character individually for a while, before they all met up. And I liked it in FF8 during the missile crisis issue. I think more games need to do that kinda stuff. It'd help flesh out minor characters better, and you wouldn't have to feel rushed to get to a certain place as the story would have two groups to choose from to aim at that place. But it probably would grow old if over-done