Current Events > Having enemies visible on the map is objectively better than random encounters

(+) Yeah! (+)

You can't change my mind.
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That's something I hope they keep in the next mainline Pokemon game

I despise random encounters in games
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Yeah it makes exploring so much better.
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yeah I agree
Chrono Trigger is what Chrono Cross failed to be, a masterpiece.
wait what? huh?
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Garioshi posted...

You can't change my mind.

No
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I agree. I can't even play random battle RPGs anymore.
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I still consider it "random battles" because I think having map enemies and advertising "no random battles" is misleading. IMO NoRB means like boss battles only, or forced encounters like the first battle in FF7 by the train.

Conflict posted...

It is better but not really that much better. Your instinct is to just suck it up and participate in more battles for more exp

"You don't have to fight them"
You don't have to fight regular random battles either but you'll still be underleveled if you don't.
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It's just random encounters with extra steps.
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Valkyrie Profile did it perfectly way back when.
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Iunno I still fight all the enemies anyway.
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Every play through is the same though

unless its on-map AND random. EarthBound did it well.
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@DarkTransient posted...

It's just random encounters with extra steps.

you avatar is great
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I liked how South Park handled it. You could see enemies on the overworld, and if you could hit them before the battle screen they would enter battle dazed
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DoomSwell posted...

I still consider it "random battles" because I think having map enemies and advertising "no random battles" is misleading. IMO NoRB means like boss battles only, or forced encounters like the first battle in FF7 by the train.

Conflict posted...

It is better but not really that much better. Your instinct is to just suck it up and participate in more battles for more exp

"You don't have to fight them"
You don't have to fight regular random battles either but you'll still be underleveled if you don't.

unless you're playing Chrono Cross, that is

you also don't have to waste your time when exploring a previous area for whatever reason
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Not being able to see them before they attack was just a technical limitation at the time when RPGs were first made. There literally just wasn't enough memory to do that. I have no idea how it lasted up into the PS1 era, let alone beyond that.

I get that some "outdated" mechanics can still be fun as they are, but this just isn't one of them. Even if you see them and they can't be avoided it's still better since you know when it's happening, as opposed to out of nowhere every unknown number steps adding unnecessary stress because it's not known.
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Squall28 posted...

Yeah it makes exploring so much better.

It makes it worse. You have to actively dodge crap, and specifically in lets go, takes the same if not more effort to find a certain mon. Since you have to chain a specific mon to raise rarity chances, and can't catch/let run away that specific type of mon otherwise you gotta start from the beginning again. Still gotta run around in circles, but you gotta dodge shit now.
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SpiralDrift posted...

unnecessary stress

Please don't let me run into a--NOOOOOOOOO
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Enemy chase patterns can be done in a way that it's possible to avoid them if you know how they move. It should neither be impossible nor too easy to avoid them.

Basically it can work if it's done with care.
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I agree. Visible enemies may cause some annoyances depending on how they're implemented (e.g. having to move several screens away or reset to respawn enemies or not being able to avoid certain encounters), but I definitely prefer them overall. I like the control they give you over what enemies you face (if any), as often you'll want to encounter a specific enemy (for a drop, steal, etc.). Even just seeing information about encounters or being able to view what you're encountering is nice and can allow for things like optional tough enemies a la Xenoblade.

Some of this can be emulated in a random encounter system, but ultimately it pales in comparison to the real thing.

That said, I don't mind random battles if the encounter rate is reasonable. Even better if there is an indicator showing when a battle is going to happen and there's some control over the encounter rate, like in Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.