Well, I agree that I do enjoy cinematics in an RPG battle system. I feel the gaming medium should use cinematics whenever they can unless it gets in the way of gameplay. RPGs generally don't make this gaming sin though I have had a few times when the cinematic camera moved to an awkward view and reversed targeting controls but these are generally few and far between.Originally Posted by Bolivar
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.
The only problem I have with a cinematic camera is that its really cool the first hundred battles, and of course most boss battles make splendid use of it but after awhile, you stop noticing it. In my current playthrough of VII, I only noticed the camera again cause you brought it back to my attention in another thread. Its actually a really cool camera system but it didn't change the fact I stopped noticing it a few hours into the game. Even then, most RPGs don't make good use of dynamic camera systems, barely changing the angle every battle and only utilizing it when the character uses a special move or spell and even then most RPGs don't use it well including FF.
My love of XII's camera system has more to do with the exploration aspect of the game. I feel it created better immersion by allowing you to see the world around you. Perhaps not very good at making battles feel special but it made exploring the cities and landscape far more exciting. Other games that use similar camera styles also utilized it for puzzles and hidden treasure. I'm a little bias cause I really dislike pre-rendered backgrounds with 3D models ever since the days of VII. I just never felt it worked well in 3D. Besides, today's technology makes me feel its a relic of the past.
Course I believe we can reach an agreement, a cinematic camera is still easily possible without returning back to random encounters. A seamless transition from exploration to a dynamic battle system is quite plausible and to be honest; I feel XIII may perhaps be the game to show us.
I actually agree, Persona 3 hits many of the biggest RPG cliches and still I feel its one of the best RPGs to come out in a decade. I can't believe how much it blew me away. Yet here I see the problem with cliches. I feel they are labeled thus cause very few RPGs use them alot and very few ever use them well. I can forgive a game using certain cliches if its done really well or has a unique spin to it but if its not used effectively I can understand how it takes away from the enjoyment factor. Not so much the gameplay aspect but the story aspect. Its getting harder to find a good RPG that doesn't poorly rip off ideas from the genres 20+ year history.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.
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