Quote Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Yaridovich View Post
The thing I don't like about XII's non-random battles is that is way too much like a Western RPG, and that is something that Final Fantasy should never ever try to be. The game was a snooze-fest and many of the battles did not hold the drama they do in a turn-based ATB setting.

I prefer random battles in certain games, but I don't mind them not being random, as long as the developers don't smurf it up. An example in which I can think it was bad was Mystic Quest. I don't mind then not being random, but they can't just sit there. They need to move around and at sometimes chase you.

I don't think that random battles can be called a "cliché" anymore than hit points can be called a cliché.
I will never understand the appeal of random encounters.

I found the encounters of XII to be far more epic than actually having random encounters. The only time random encounters become epic is when you occasionally run into that "random monster of near-invulnerability" beyond that they are tedious after the first 15 minutes of the game. Especially when you are trying to do something like a puzzle or you just want to leave the area and move on.

I like how XII made the cannon fodder monsters interact with each other (calling for help, luring you into traps, forcing you to not use certain abilities so you don't get killed) they felt like a part of the world itself.

I never even thought of random encounters as part of the formula of an RPG, I always felt it was a solution to technical problems caused by limited technology. Considering RPGs are based on pen and paper RPGs like D&D where the random encounters have more impact and bearing than "surprise! you get to fight another bunny slime!". With better technology we can finally be rid of this archaic nonsense.
To each his own. Like Yaridovich, the western-imitating open field for battles in XII was more boring to me than previous FF's. I know I've been over this before, but the use of the 3d camera, as a movie director would use it, in the middle of a turn-based battle, is epic to me. More cinematic than a gamer could be with a free camera. I just really wasn't pulled in sitting there watching pre-determined battle actions unfold to an inevitable outcome. Although i will say, for a game in which you basically do nothing, there was a hell of alot of strategy in FFXII.

I don't know what to say about RPG cliches. When it comes to art, you can quantify techniques and categorize established methods, but there's something beyond that when it comes to judging whether something is good or not. Shining Force is probably the most cliche RPG I've ever played, but it's one of my favorites, I just have fun playing it, and its sequel is probably my favorite 16-bit RPG. I think a game could follow all 15 of those points (except for the specific and unseen weapon conditions) and still be a great game.