I just finished precipice of darkness and it was really a great time. I get the impression that the combat system is considered unsophisticated by today's rpg standards, but I thought it was perfect. I love how they incorporated the action-y elements into the special attack mini games, the first and last time I can remember this type of thing was with Sabin in Final Fantasy III ( or VI or whatever). From that you can tell that I haven't really played any turn based rpgs in a long while, the time commitment is just too unmanageable what with the level building. My question is, what other types of rpgs these days (or in the past 5 years) should I look for if I loved this type of combat?
Final Fantasy VIII also had similar stuff, one of the characters does extra damage if you time a button press with his sword stroke. Also some of the special moves were interactive. Zell had a combo system like Sabin that you mentioned, Squall had timed presses. Most characters didn't have this though.
I don't really see why such a little thing would determine whether or not a game is worth playing, but to each his own :P
Final Fantasy X have mini-games at some of the characters special attacks, of about the same complexity, Final Fantasy VIII has Squall do more damage if you press a button at the right time, in Final Fantasy VII, Tifas limit breaks are controlled by slot machine (reused for Wakka in FFX). Other then that I don't remember any right now.
Almost all the Final fantasy games have some sort of Active Time Battle system like the RPOD one.
You should really play the games for their story rather then the combat system I would think, but I have always loved the gameplay of Final Fantasy X, the story was good aswell, but the gameplay was one of the best in Final Fantasy history in my opinion.
Thanks, maybe I will fire up the old ps2 and see what's shaking in there. I wouldn't really say that this type of thing makes the game worth playing, but it seems to suggest a departure from rpgs that reward you mostly for time spent leveling up. I like the sense of urgency it brings and the fact that you need to switch gears a bit mentally mid fight.
The Shadowhearts games incorporate action elements into the combat through the judgement ring, which is like a more difficult version of Carl's special move in PAA. The series can also be pretty funny, as it occilates between being a tongue-in-cheek parody of serious JRPGs, and being a serious JRPG itself.
Mario RPG on the SNES and the first two Paper Mario games also incorporate action elements into RPG combat. And again, they're funny.
Thanks, maybe I will fire up the old ps2 and see what's shaking in there. I wouldn't really say that this type of thing makes the game worth playing, but it seems to suggest a departure from rpgs that reward you mostly for time spent leveling up. I like the sense of urgency it brings and the fact that you need to switch gears a bit mentally mid fight.
Yudiit
Final Fantasy X is perhaps not quite to your tastes then, it has a very special leveling system, that can be hellavu complex if you want that, but can also be totally forgotten and just be a background thing, only in the european and later Japanese versions is any real attention to it needed if you want to complete everything. The american contain nothing super powerful (both games story parts are completable without any attention to the grid).
The battles are the least active time battle in FF history, as the game appoints places in the attack order based on agility scores and will wait endlessly for you to do something, all other FF games employ a faster more active battle system.
The attacks of the characters of Tidus, Wakka, Lulu and Auron use mini games for special attacks, there are 3 others who use items, learned abilities and summonable extra characters for specials though.
If you want the speed of the combat part of RSPD you would be better off looking at any other FF title, if you want the minigames on attacks, FFX is the best.
The Shadowhearts games incorporate action elements into the combat through the judgement ring, which is like a more difficult version of Carl's special move in PAA. The series can also be pretty funny, as it occilates between being a tongue-in-cheek parody of serious JRPGs, and being a serious JRPG itself.
Mario RPG on the SNES and the first two Paper Mario games also incorporate action elements into RPG combat. And again, they're funny.
So did the Mario RPG for DS, Partners in Time or whatever it was called.
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I don't really see why such a little thing would determine whether or not a game is worth playing, but to each his own :P
Almost all the Final fantasy games have some sort of Active Time Battle system like the RPOD one.
You should really play the games for their story rather then the combat system I would think, but I have always loved the gameplay of Final Fantasy X, the story was good aswell, but the gameplay was one of the best in Final Fantasy history in my opinion.
Yudiit
Mario RPG on the SNES and the first two Paper Mario games also incorporate action elements into RPG combat. And again, they're funny.
Final Fantasy X is perhaps not quite to your tastes then, it has a very special leveling system, that can be hellavu complex if you want that, but can also be totally forgotten and just be a background thing, only in the european and later Japanese versions is any real attention to it needed if you want to complete everything. The american contain nothing super powerful (both games story parts are completable without any attention to the grid).
The battles are the least active time battle in FF history, as the game appoints places in the attack order based on agility scores and will wait endlessly for you to do something, all other FF games employ a faster more active battle system.
The attacks of the characters of Tidus, Wakka, Lulu and Auron use mini games for special attacks, there are 3 others who use items, learned abilities and summonable extra characters for specials though.
If you want the speed of the combat part of RSPD you would be better off looking at any other FF title, if you want the minigames on attacks, FFX is the best.
So did the Mario RPG for DS, Partners in Time or whatever it was called.