The Alchemist Penguin wrote:
Cal wrote:
I don't like the way real-time systems always seem to be reduced to button-mashing.
Interesting stuff, I take it your the kind of person who plays turn based games on "wait" mode as opposed to "active"? I always play on active, so if I sit there spending ages thinking then the enemy gets in a bunch of free hits. I prefer to think on my toes, plan as I play, so to speak.
Although I'd say that if you're playing real time RPGs that just collapse into button mashing then you're either missing out on the game's real depth, or you aren't playing the best the genre has to offer.
I've actually compared FFXII's real time system to chess in the past, as it requires the correct placement of your units
and good use of proper attacks while a turn based system relies more on just the choice of attack. Any recent 3D Tales game is the same, and Eternal Sonata is swimming in strategy as the light/dark mechanic and movement can lead to some truly beautiful setups.
In all those games you could just grind your way past the strategy, but the same can be said of any turn based game too, and you really shouldn't be doing that as you really miss out. Actually! FFXII also has a wait mode, so although it's in real time you can basically "pause" the game and chain up all your moves whenever you want. I wouldn't recommend playing the game like that, but the developers did include it for those who preferred the older style turn based play so you might get along with that.
Personally, i prefer "wait-time" RPG's like Baldurs Gate, where you can pause, rethink and issue orders, then watch it unfold in real time, and you can pause and readjust on the fly. I find this gives a pretty good flow to the battles, and allows you to control more units than you could feasibly manage in real-time. Increased numbers of units adds more depth, and allows the developer to really differentiate the classes.
This is also why I'm NOT a fan of Neverwinter Nights and Kotor. I find that neither game has a sufficiently large party, so the combat never really fires on all cylinders. Kotor's jedi's are some compensation, though, and Neverwinter Nights multiplayer really brings it back to life.
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Star Ocean: The Last Hope, then? I didn't get on with it. After nearly four hours I just had to admit it wasn't 'doing it' for me, impossibly pretty boys with green hair or not. 
