Who came up with this idea anyway?
I know they were very graphically limited back in the 80s, but random encounters are like a slap in the face everytime they happen.
Seriously, if I am busy trying to solve a tricky puzzle the last thing I want is to be interrupted almost literally every minute in the midst of my train of thought, and if I don't want to fight then I will just attempt to escape from the battles anyway.
I don't see the point in random encounters at all, this really could've been solved in a better way, like having enemies roaming the landscapes or something.
They don't even need to be big, they could simply be character-sized sprites that let you know that they are monsters.
Secret of Mana solved this the best way and is proof that even fairly old games can work fine with visible enemies in the overworld, and I believe it really should inspire other RPGs.