Favorite RPG combat.

[Bostur]

After having considered it for a while, I think I'll go for either the SSI Goldbox series, or the Spiderweb games. I'm partial to real turn-based systems instead of pause and play. I think it's easier to handle.

I don't consider X-Com or Jagged Alliance RPGs, although their combat is far superiour.

Action RPGs are out of the question mainly because it is the player doing the fighting instead of the character. I like action combat, but it is as far away from RPG as it can get. Although both Bethesda and Obsidian have made decent compromises adding some RPG feel to the combat.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

For real-time battles, I'd have to say The World Ends With You. It's got a heck of a learning curve, but once you get used to it it's actually pretty fun to just go around kicking animal ass. Turn-based, Chrono Trigger, for having all the battles take place in the same place as everything else - adding a quite literal new dimension to the battle...

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Tales of Eternia, and the Final Fantasy Tactics games! Man, FF:T has some real chalenge to it at time! The think I loved the most about those games was having to plan battles in advance, know what you wanted your team members jobs to be, and work towards them. Yes this involves cheating a bit, and looking up stat growth for characters, and the abilities before hand, but it was worth it!

I loved tales of Eternia for how the battles looked as you played. Everything happened real time, and a bit like a 2D fighting game! Street fighter with summons, and customisable magic...! Then there were all the colours and people jumping around all over the place, it was awesome to watch, and play!

 

[Guffe]

Pokemon Red/Blue hands down.
I just won this thread
I AM YOUR MASTER!

 

[Smooth Operator]

Baldur's Gate funnily enough:
- paused based system, all the tactical advantages of a turn based systems with no waiting time, or alternate dimension fights, hell if you have some Korean Starcraft training you could even play it in real-time
- party based, you can have classes and clear distinction while getting the full flexibility through your party members

And it is so very rare, or rather dead
Problem is that it needs to be very nicely balanced or it turns out really bad, and which dev would bother with that when you can just make one hack&slash character and give him all the abilities...

 

[MortalKomic]

Damn, didn't even think of M&B!

 

[MortalKomic]

I personally have enjoyed Mass Effect, but Elder Scroll's first person bow/magic/melee all work awesomely. Fallout is okay.

 

[Smooth Operator]

RtwP doesn't have all the tactical advantages of a fully turn based system.

Well you need to elaborate, what is it missing?

 

[Scorekeeper]

Kingdoms of Amalur's major selling point has been it's stellar combat, the reception of which has fluctuated from glowing to dismissive. So, in your opinion, what is the best combat in an RPG?

Mine would have to be Jedi Academy. Best Star Wars game ever. It's floaty, jumpy, runaroundy, lightningy, lightsaber swinging fun.

Jedi Academy wasn't really an RPG. I suppose it had RPG elements, though. Also, I agree that it had the best combat EVAR.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Tough to choose. Human Revolutions had good gunplay for an RPG, it was also a stealth based game and I love stealth games. But I also enjoyed Dragon Age Origins a lot because I love that kind of RPG. The Witcher 2 had amazing swordplay. Swords felt like swords. More than in any other game. On the other hand Skyrim has the best bow and arrow combat system and dual wielding is also a lot of fun. Like I said, tough to choose because there isn't a game out there that combines all of my favorite elements from these games.

 

[Thoric485]

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic really nailed first person fantasy aRPG combat - stealth, melee, archery, spellcasting, the utilisation of physics. It was all fantastic and not a single game has come close.

 

[Smooth Operator]

snip

Seems to me it is an interface issue.
It might have been many moons since I last played BG but I do not recall a "clusterfuck" happening at any point, if things got hectic I paused and issued new orders.
The console was there to help out but never strictly necessary, if people got hurt / debuffed is was always displayed in their portrait so you cloud keep an overview of everyone at once, hell the characters would even comment when things went wrong.
Also don't remember scrolling between members because you could just jump to your squad mates via portraits or key bindings, but you have a point on pausing you do haveto do that yourself.

The interface is busier because you control everyone and not one at a time, but with pausing you always have the option to play at your pace.
With TB the pace is set which means you always wait for each squad member and you always wait for each enemy, and those holes are always the reason I eventually stop playing and even during gameplay I usually end up reading emails or forums because the game is wasting my time.

 

[Martijn Nijkeuter]

turn based: tactics ogre duh
action: The Witcher 2
motion: zelda skyward sword

and i really worry about those who think fft is best o..o

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Turn-based: I love the press turn combat system in PS2 era Shin Megami Tensei games. You have to play smart and exploit weaknesses and enemies doing the same thing can quickly destroy you.

Action: Dark Souls. It requires skill and strategy.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I used to love the Infinity Engine, but now I find it much easier to see it's flaws. One of the most irritating is how it's basically impossible to form any kind of defensive formation around your mages--the enemy just walks right through your lines.

You can't form a defensive line if there aren't enough people to form it, but otherwise (from what I remember) summoning cannon fodder to hold back the tide was always one of my tactics, there was even a bunny summon spell that would fill up the area completely bogging down movement, not to mention all the holding / slowing spells.

Have you played the Temple of Elemental Evil? The combat engine is excellent. It reveals what a sloppy mess combat in the IE games are.

Haven't but I will need to look this up and probably loose hundreds of hours again, damn you!

RPGs are turn-based.

Computer RPGs are digital single-user emulations of an RPG experience.

Therefore, computer RPGs should be turn-based.

ESPECIALLY ones based on existing p&p systems like d&d, which are turn based.

Turn-based gameplay was created for table top games because it is the only way it can work, and shooting the shit with your mates while waiting is the part that makes it all good, waiting for the computer to work shit out... not fun in the slightest.

 

[syndicate]

Speaking from the point of view of someone who hasn't played a lot of TBB at all, Chrono Trigger, because it just rocks.

 

[Smooth Operator]

As far as ToEE goes, you shouldn't lose HUNDREDS of hours. It's not this massive CRPG, as it's based on the original ToEE D&D p&p module. Just go back to pg2 of this thread and read my post (#68) before you decide to play.

Ya I looked into ToEE and what is with that interface, it seem designed for consoles yet the game never went there, really strange.
But the main thing is gameplay and it is exactly the sort of thing that will keep me away, because you set them to attack then wait for character 1 to do his thing, then wait for character 2, then wait for character 3, then wait for character 4, then wait for character 5, then wait for enemy 1, then wait for enemy 2,... and a minute or two later you get to play some more.

As for the turn based vs RtwP debate, it's pretty much about personal preference, of course.

I guess we can leave it at that, I just prefer a consistent flow to the game world.

As far as your argument with turn based being the only way p&p can work. Look at chess, It's been a amazing game for a pretty long time now. Should a video game representation of it suddenly turn it into an RTS or something ? I don't think so.

No I was saying that it is a actually constraint in table top games not in D&D, i.e. video games can adopt other systems, not saying they haveto.
On the subject of chess, that game is based on a very tight set of rules if you change them then it is a completely new game, and RTS is one of those modified play styles.
Chess also hits that tedium issue, playing with people is ok, absolute boredom with a computer, hell I've even been on tournaments where judges got bored and just called a match that went on for too long.
D&D is not that tightly woven, one of it's bigger parts is actually chance which makes the battle field very flexible, no doubt RtwP adds a time component but with the already present uncertainty it is really not far from TB.