Topic: Random idea: Chrono Trigger battle system

[Align]

After playing Valkyrie Profile and realizing just how obsolete menu-based combat is, I've been thinking about gameplay in RPGs a bit.

Chrono Trigger had a good base with the positions affecting if your techs hit enemies, or them hitting you, but it doesn't help much in practice since you have no control of your dudes. So it's not much more mentally stimulating than the usual "dudes standing on opposing sides of the field and taking turns hitting each other", with little skill or thought involved.
This can be a good thing for players who aren't looking for an adrenaline rush, and want to take their time deciding what to use, but this doesn't need to be actually fast-paced despite what it might sound like.

So. Controlling your dudes:

Each character in battle is controlled by a specific face button (ABXY), which you can set up in menus etc. Now, the way it works is, while holding XY for Chrono and Lucca or what have you, nothing happens unless you press another button:
D-pad: dodge/move around (short hop; items like say Winged Boots could affect speed/distance)
R: attack (pauses to let you choose enemy; can attack towards enemies that are currently out of range in case you want to get a pre-emptive hit on enemies that are approaching you)
L: tech (pauses to let you choose; techs are arranged in a 5x5 or whatever square, and the cursor starts in the middle, so you can choose quickly)
...And since we have 4 buttons but only 3 dudes, the remaining one is used for blocking - the closer your pressing the button is to the enemy hitting you, the less damage you take.

The ATB gauge would still be used: so you don't just spam attack with your guys, you can't attack unless it's full, and it's emptied when you do so.

Start would be used for stuff that affects the whole party like running away, or mapping characters to buttons.


So... does that seem like it could be fun and interesting?

[xnamkcor]

What about an RPG version of 4 Sword Adventure?

One problem I see is than when two people are moving and one is faster they separate.

One of the best RPGs to use realistic physical spacing in a field was Grandia II. It took tike to get to the enemy and you could attack an enemy on the way to make hi attack and stun him out of his attack. And the whole game was turn based. If you could somehow translate that to an action format, I think that would be what you are looking for.

[Align]

Haven't played the 4-sword games, but if you mean like moving around on the overworld with the characters separately... Eh.
I mostly just wanted to improve the combat system while leaving the rest of the game intact, since it's pretty great. Not sure what would be the problem if characters moved at different speeds in battle.

Grandia is great, but still lacks in the "moving your dudes" department unless they fixed that in II.

[xnamkcor]

You'll have to play Grandia II. I assume you played 1, but I always got the feeling character positions meant very little in that game, or the graphics very badly represented where they were. In 2 everything is polygons and it's very clear where you are and there is a stat for how fast you move. I'll have to double check, but I think you could move via a command or whenever you Defended.

If not, it would make a nice addition if it were ever made into an action game.

Another system that might work well with what I think you are describing would be a tactics game, but instead of a grid, all movement is based of a radial distance. Or maybe attacks could use action points too and you would have to balance movement and attacks.
And each unit would have it's own speed and when that unit's turn is up, time stops and you do commands. If you units ever have overlapping turn, then a more action based engine would take over, but time would only pass while you were walking or attacking, like Valkyrie Profile 2's combat.

In fact, VP2's combat would work well, if it weren't for the damned thing re-locking on to other enemies I don't want to lock onto just because they got too close to me.

[Align]

You'll have to play Grandia II. I assume you played 1, but I always got the feeling character positions meant very little in that game, or the graphics very badly represented where they were. In 2 everything is polygons and it's very clear where you are and there is a stat for how fast you move. I'll have to double check, but I think you could move via a command or whenever you Defended.

I just found out it came out for PC/windows, so I might actually do that. Yeah, it was rather limited in 1, you could sometimes move out of range from enemies if they were slow and melee-only (but then, so were you for the most part).

I'm still not sure what you're imagining, I really just meant this all to be Chrono Trigger with movement in combat.

Posted on: 2012-04-23, 13:13:36After having played Grandia 2 for a bit, it hasn't solved the problem 1 had; you can move, but it's too limited to be useful. Most of the time your dudes automatically run off to the edge of the battlefield, leaving you no room to dodge.

Also it's a little too turn-based and passive; what I meant with still having the ATB gauge was purely to prevent attack spam, not to make you stop everything until it recharges, so Grandia isn't really like what I had in mind.

[The Drunken Dishwasher]

Final Fantasy XII?

Xenoblade?

dare I say Mass Effect?

[Align]

If only I had played those games.

Or well, I have played a Mass Effect demo and it's nothing like what I had in mind, and from what I've seen of FFXII you can't really move fast, just walk?
-
Though perhaps you were just suggesting more actiony combat RPGs? I know those exist, I just wanted to know if this one I dreamed up sounds usable, or if I was missing something important.

[xemiroth]

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[xemiroth]

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