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I think that RPG combat encounters are something that could use a lot of work. Too many developers are falling back on the same old system. Not that the system is bad, but is change really that bad? I know that some developers are trying to step outside the box, but not every attempt to do so seems to be successful.
Do you enjoy just roaming around and waiting for some random unseen enemy to attack? Fans of Dragon Quest VIII sure didn't seem to mind. It's the same old encounter system that has been used for years, but did it hurt Dragon Quest VIII? It's really tough to say, because DQVIII had too many other good things going for it. Could it have been better? Probably.
Another attempt to change things up in terms of battles was the use of on-screen enemies. This has never really worked for me, but it all depends on the way everything else is setup in the game. Games like Lunar and Lunar II for the Playstation were tainted by on-screen enemies, at least compared to the original Sega CD versions. The Lunar games originally had a balanced encounter rate and that was thrown off completely by the on-screen enemies of the Playstation versions. In this case, a new attempt at random battles was ruined by the high encounter rate. It was not bad in theory, just in execution.
Wild Arms 3 and Alter Code: F are two more games that fall into the category of a bad attempt at evolving battle mechanics. You get in the habit of button pressing to avoid enemies, because most people would prefer not to be attacked every ten steps. After avoiding too many battles, the ability to do so runs out and boom, right back into random battles. It's kind of like giving you a good meal and then taking it away from you half way through. It also can mess with level progression. If you can avoid boring battles, you most likely will. However if you avoid too many, you can be missing out on the precious experience needed to progress at the correct pace. It seems like a good idea to avoid constant battling, but it just doesn't set well with me.
Another game that might suffer the same fate is Final Fantasy XII. Having enemies on-screen is one thing, but the slightly more real time aspect of Final Fantasy XII could really come back to hurt you. In case you are not aware, the FFXII battle system places all enemies out on the open field of battle. This is not like other games where you touch an on-screen enemy and are suddenly warped into a bubble where you fight only those few enemies you just touched. Other enemies can't just wander up during your battle and attack also, even though they are right next to you. So with the way that FFXII is now set up, not only could avoiding enemies hinder your level progression, but with on-screen enemies able to attack you at any time you could accidentally find yourself fighting not only a boss, but also all of the enemies that you thought you had avoided. Now this is not confirmed, but it could be a possibility with the current known design of battle system.
Is the traditional random battle system just too good to do away with, as old as it may be? Or has there just not been another system that people enjoy and agree on? I think that it's a mix of both. As old as the traditional random battle system may be, it still works if battles are not too long and the game's encounter rate is not too high. Though, I would really be glad to see something new and exciting in the area of combat encounters.
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