Current Events > Alright CE, what are some desired features in a turn based RPG?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Skippable cutscenes.

Definitely this. I don't replay a lot of games lately but losing to a boss and watching their spiel again sucks.

Just off the cuff my opinion, I am not sure I am a bit of an old rpg head and think at times QoL goes too far. But I like when parties are more than 3. Especially when the game has say 10 characters. How am I going to factor them all in. So I just stick with the early faves usually.

Agreed. Just make my party size the max number of characters. They could write the game so that 2 potential allies are in conflict so you can only get one of them. Ups replay value by picking the other one for a different experience.

No.

SMRPG remake did this and made the game even easier than it already was. Absolutely not.

Timing-based combat like the Mario RPGs.

I'm not a fan of that TBH (if you're meaning when you need to press a button at the right time to do extra damage)

Turbo mode

Sorry but sure I guess there is no reason not to have it as an option but Eiyudean Chronicle as poorly as that game runs on the PS4 for loading. It has this thing where you can equip dash boots and have a support member also increase your speed. The dash boots are necessary, but both is stupidly awkward.

It's miserable and that was probably only 4-6 times turbo. In Trails to Reverie I just use 2x if I forget something or rarely want to move faster. That game has like 8x turbo mode? Who wants or plays that shit that fast?

I want to play it that fast

Seeing enemies, not random

• More depth to the usual RPG elements and mechanics.
• Four members on the frontlines.
• If the main protagonist is "locked" to the front lines, give them a unique feature or two that other members don't have (i.e. Mario's Special Moves in Paper Mario, Sophie having a fifth inventory slot in Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream, etc.)
• Limit Break Meter, especially for each member.
• Skills learnable beyond "just leveling up".
• Symbol Encounters (personally, I just don't see the point in Random Encounters nowadays)
• Very few opportunities for members leaving the party.
• "Vanity" equipment options for each member.

Character switching and turn indicators. Which is why FFX is one of the GOATs.

Im replaying old Mario RPG and they make so enemies battles unique. Theres a boss that deactivates buttons randomly (attack, magic, or item), giant paratroopers that spend a turn charging before hitting your guy hard so you need to immediately unload on that guy, they have battles where you can ignore the mooks til the end and others where the assistant packs a punch so its best to get the weaker guy out first, different characters not just resistant but immune to various types of attacks. There was one boss with 2 but once you kill one the survivor retreated to get a really strong backup friend so you wanted the survivor to be as weak as possible at that point to help round 2 go faster.

So that. Make me think about my options instead of blindly going for my favorite because my favorite move doesnt always work.

Having status effects be useful to the player

Having good things to steal in battle

Seeing enemies, not random

Not having equipment take up limited inventory space.

Skills learnable beyond "just leveling up".

• Build options that are more than minor numerical differences (equipment, skills, etc.)
• Meaningful treasure and rewards (every treasure chest being a potion or money sucks)
• Equipment should not be part of inventory space (unless equipment can be used in a way to present meaningful options inside combat)

• Improved consumable implementation. Give them more meaningful effects, have battles drop them but with strict limits so players are encouraged to use them or start "wasting" drops they can't carry. I've also had thoughts of using consumables to attach or modify other player actions so you don't feel like you're wasting a turn by using them.
• More meaningful or diverse actions. Recommend looking at FFXIV or Darkest Dungeon kits as examples. Have building combo actions, secondary resources, or status effect generation/consumption to make more actions have purpose.
• Background action. This is more dependent on resources, but the "line up and stare" setup does seem silly. Having some basic "idle" action going on in the background--especially with ATB style systems--can make this more believable.

• 6 party members in battle like Suikoden. 3 party members is stupid and 4 is the bare minimum.
• Things to differentiate the battle system like SMTs Press Turn system (where if you exploit an enemy weakness they lose a turn and you gain a turn, and give versa), the positioning from the Lunar games, the one used in Trails, etc.
• Ideally, visual encounters, but with the ability to toggle on random encounters for the purpose of grinding, as having to exit and re+enter an area to fight more enemies sucks.
• Good equipment slots instead of the bare minimum weapon, armor, accessories.
• Meaningful rewards (especially for side quests) instead of money and potions everywhere.
• No missables.
• Mechanics to differentiate characters, ideally avoiding the everyone can do and be everything in the end that a lot of JRPGs devolve into.