Turn-Based Combat

[Forsaken Lover]

I have a complex moral/philosophical question for all of you.

What is everyone's problem with turn-based combat? Do you have a thing against turn-based combat?

I was talking about FFVII Remake, and a lot of people were theorizing it's gonna play more like FFXV or whatever, and I just don't get it. It feels like Square and a lot of people online want to argue that being turn-based is outdated and being "new" means that characters should at least wobble around a lot a la FFXIII. (and I know ATB isn't exactly turn-based but it's also far from an Action RPG)

I even had this interview linked to me that says Americans hate turn-based RPGs.


I know some people will argue "it's silly how you just run over to them, poke them, then return to your spot so they can attack you back" but it's also ridiculous when they shoot you in the face for 10 damage or blow up the solar system for 500 damage.

[Jinx]

Turn-based is my favorite kind of combat. If they go with a system like FFX-2, it wouldn't look ridiculous. They way they stand is much more "realistic".

[Bolivar]

I usually highlight here that Torment: Tides of Numenera polled Kickstarter backers if they wanted turn based or real time like the original and turn based won out. I think there is a desire for RPGs to be RPGs and bring back the strategy and fun that's supposed to go with it.

Not sure what's up with EoFF but this is a Nomura game (mistake) and I guess KH fans expect this to be more of and action oriented game. I think generally, there is a stigma attached to the idea of high production games having turn based combat, for whatever reason it has to be something else. I hope VII's remake at least presents and compromise for both sides of the debate.

[Shauna]

I think on EoFF 90% of the people talking about it not being turn-based has been people hoping that it won't be more action orientated, and that it should stay ATB. So I don't see anyone here pushing for it to be action RPG.

[Ayen]

I like Turn-Base just fine. It's just the transition to it I don't care for. I'm trying to do something here, just leave me alone for five minutes.

[Del Murder]

I like both turn-based and action-based. I prefer a turn-based style most of the time because I like to have time to think about my choices and be able to make individual decisions about my team's actions as the battle develops. That's difficult to do in action RPGs. Often I even prefer the extreme of the tactical RPG where the combat basically freezes while you take your action. However, I am also very fond of action RPGs like Kingdom Hearts.

I think the main complaint of turn-based RPGs are that they are slow. However, you can crank up the battle speed and turn on active mode to make it faster in many traditional RPGs.

As has been mentioned many times at this site, FFX-2 was a great example of how to do turn-based combat and make it fast paced with a definite flow to battle (hell, you literally flow through your dress sphere grid to change jobs in that game).

[Mirage]

I just don't want it to have strict turns. That trout is usually pretty boring. I like an element of urgency, a bit of pressure.

[theundeadhero]

I really liked the games where you had an ATB action bar, but you could set the combat to active and turn the combat speed all the way up. They were perfection in combat - a mix of ATB and action.

[VeloZer0]

I strongly prefer turn based. I have action genres for action games.

[Wolf Kanno]

The stigma against Turn Based combat is a carry over from when JRPGs were big deals back in Square's heyday. The genre brought in new fans but ones that didn't appreciate turn based combat and found the whole concept of characters standing in rows, taking turns to hit each other looked silly. SE took it to heart and have been trying to bring the genre closer to action games ever since.

The reason why so many people think the VII Remake will ditch the system is because A) Turn based gameplay is still niche in today's market and they'll want to make a system that will appeal to the largest demographic, B) Newer fans are more accustomed to newer versions of ATB like FFXII and XIII which rely on A.I. partners to speed up the decision making process and make battles move faster. C) the game may very well stick to modern game design principles and ditch the world map for a perpetual world like Xenoblade or Skyrim, and will thus need a combat system that help this flow better. D) Fans wanted the ultimate remake, why settle for the old when SE can make something new (and possibly popular enough to incorporate into future games) than stick to something old? They've already said if you just wanted a prettier FFVII to stick to the HD Remaster coming out instead of the actual remake.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the battle system they choose to implement would be some combination of FFXII's gambit system/party switching, FFXIII's encounter system, and Crisis Core combat and Materia management, all retooled of course.

[Skyblade]

Wolf just highlighted most of the ways that Square could make sure I didn't pick up the remake, aside from adding in the Compilation retcons.

[NeoCracker]

I'd like to say that interview doesn't say Americans dont' like Turn Based RPG's, it says American Reviews don't seem to like Turn Based RPG's. This is an area fan reaction and critic reaction don't seem to agree on very much.

[Pumpkin]

I love turn-based and would like to see more games use it

[Fynn]

If Bravely Default has taught us anything, it's that non-ATB turn-based combat can be fast, exciting, and well-received.

[Wolf Kanno]

If Bravely Default has taught us anything, it's that non-ATB turn-based combat can be fast, exciting, and well-received.

True, but listening to Nomura and Kitase, it sounds to me like they want to move away from Turn Base if they could. Hell even Ito said that he felt the medium would eventually become an Action-RPG series, though he also said in the same interview that he feels ATB has more room to grow...

I'm not saying Turn Base is bad or dead, but from a marketing standpoint, it makes sense to evolve the current systems rather than retread the old. I feel it's one of the reasons why SE has been mentioning that traditionalist should be looking towards the HD Remaster because I'm sure the VII remake will have more in common with more recent entries than the original in terms of game design.