Favorite party based RPG Combat Systems

Games & Technology
1

Hi all,

I am in a JRPG mood at the moment and wondering what some of your favorite combat systems are in a JRPG. I guess it doesn’t have to be a JRPG, and RPGs are kind of blurring the lines. Maybe it is better to say “party based RPG”.

While I liked turn based RPGs, I find overly simple ones often a bit boring and lacking in skill required. Part of me wonders if I am wrong in that respect and there is more to them than I realize. I often prefer systems that blend turn based with other methods.

Baten kaitos - Card based, building decks and stringing together attacks/specials/healing/misc cards to achieve combos is a lot of fun. It is fast paced and the customization/collecting is addictive.

Paper Mario - Love the interactive combat. yes it is sort of glorified QTE on top of turn based, but it is fun and keeps you engaged in each match. Plus the badge system and party members add depth and variety.

Kingdom Hearts 1 - At first seemed somewhat shallow, but when you get the hang of it and and do some party management and quick dodge rolls to evade in intense battles, it is a nice mix.

Tales of Zestiria - not perfect, but fun for what it is. Hopefully Arise makes it just as fun and requires some new layers of skill, even if it is just the dodging being added.

I am currently playing FFXII: The Zodiac Age. The combat system is growing on me, but not sure I am sold. One one hand, I am starting to use Gambits more and enjoying being an archer that stays back and heals, almost like Baldur’s Gate, but on the other hand, many bosses just seem to be beaten by letting the gambits go and watching the boss die. I hear the later bosses and optional ones are much harder though and require more thought.

I have played many more pure turn-based games like FFVII, Golden Sun, Skies of Arcadia, Chrono Trigger, Persona 5, and more, however some click with me more than others. I cannot get into Dragon Quest 11, as it just seems so simple and to take no skill. Maybe I am not far enough or misunderstand the system. Or maybe I just tolerate the simplicity in some of the previously mentioned games because they are more engrossing games to me. DQ11 just seems so boring all around and overpraised by critics and users a like.

As for games like FF Tactics and Fire Emblem, I have yet to get into those, probably because they seem to be 99% combat and not much if any exploration/puzzles.

2

Chrono Trigger.

Wild Arms 3 and 4, both introduced a variant to their previous methods.

FFVIII with manual controls of Ultimas.

Nearly anything on the Wii because you become the controller and that has some fun elements but does get tiresome, and not because of physicality.

Planescape:Torment, just because it is one of the best RPGs on PC ever.

And, of course, old school SSI goldbox games like Pools of Radiance and Curse of the Azure Bonds.

Oh, and an honorable mention: Betrayal at Krondor.

3

Beat Chrono Trigger and the combat was quite good for the time and still holds up. I remember it being a tad simple on todays standards.

Wild Arms I hear a lot of good things about. Gotta give that a shake sometime.

Have not played FFVIII. Is the combat more or less the same as VII?

Still have not beaten Xenoblade Chronicles and never opened The Last Story for some reason haha. I need to get back to those games.

Planescape is on my list of games to play that I already own on Steam.

4

Similar but not the same. You can summon “Guardian Forces” and they’ll mostly do massive damage but the part I’m referring to is individual character combat where, when you get your Ultimate or Ultima (whatever it was called) and your attack bar is all gold, you can either manually control the attack with each character being slightly different in execution. It becomes a sort of timing game but the Zell character is much more fun on manual since he does combos, like press X at the right time, then Triangle, and Circle, and then back to X, etc.