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Post by EasyHard on Apr 17, 2021 16:03:34 GMT -5
Recently I was playing some Great Greed (Gameboy, entirely thanks to the 8-bit RPG thread), as well as finally giving Robotrek (SNES) a brief whirl. And just the other day I was browsing 7th Saga guides and thinking about maybe doing a new playthrough of that.
The coincidence here was that these are all turn based games with 1 or 2 party members. I feel this is a very odd category that mostly goes unrecognized. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is another "two partier", and I think it is a good example to see how the design consequences leak into the rest of the game: challenging battles can turn entirely on the decision to heal and your ability to recover from status effects. Parasite Eve and Quest 64 might broadly be called turn based, both in the "solo party" category. The fact that they get more creative with movement and dodging during battle is a direct consequence of only controlling one character.
It isn't so much that this category of games are unified by being very alike, it's more that a game can't really achieve the standard 3 or 4 party combat dynamics in a turn based system with just 1 or 2 characters. They always feel a bit weird, and it usually pushes these games into adopting unique elements. If you can think of more examples (and I'm all ears), chances are they are somewhat of odd ducks too.
(side note: Roguelike-style RPG systems, where 1 tile = 1 turn, probably shouldn't count here, since they form a pretty neatly defined category themselves)
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Post by toei on Apr 17, 2021 16:13:46 GMT -5
Well, the original Dragon Quest was a solo adventure. All battles are one-on-one. Another one is Beggar Prince on the Genesis, a Taiwanese RPG; to compensate for you being alone, turns are based on points, so you can move more than once per turn.
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Post by Xeogred on Apr 17, 2021 16:36:54 GMT -5
For traditional menu turn based systems, this feels like a kryptonite for me personally! Hah. I think it's why I fell off Mystic Quest pretty fast. I know there's diminishing returns in some RPG's with dozens of playable characters (Arc the Lad 2 perhaps, the Suikoden's, Chrono Cross, etc), but... I generally love really feeling like I'm commanding an army in these genres.
Vagrant Story is a big one though, if Parasite Eve and Quest 64 count. So if it's semi real time like these, that can definitely be more my jam. I'm always curious about how Quest 64 is today... but it seems like a best left in the past kind of thing probably.
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Post by toei on Apr 17, 2021 20:27:44 GMT -5
I played through the GBC version of Quest, but I remember almost none of it. Vagrant Story is definitely more action-based, IMO. Arc the Lad is a SRPG / traditional RPG hybrid, so it has to have more characters. My sweet spot is around 10 characters or so, 15 at the most, and I prefer 4 or even 5-character parties.
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Post by EasyHard on Apr 17, 2021 20:56:46 GMT -5
Vagrant Story is a good example (it does have strict turns, no?). The game is practically known for its combat quirkiness.
The GBC version of Quest is very forgettable (which isn't a statement about its quality, but I think it is basically a one-and-done curio experience if you happen to enjoy Quest 64). The main problem with Quest 64, both then and now, is that it is easy to see all the areas it comes up short as an RPG and as a tale of a grand adventure. The game has good qualities though, it is sort of a guilty pleasure of mine. It plays more like a series of dungeon crawls. Very focused on survival and managing health and mp. Legit exploration, combat depth, and a 4 element magic skill tree/character build system that plays a big part of the motivation to keep playing.
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Post by Ex on Apr 17, 2021 22:49:58 GMT -5
That's an interesting metric to try and build a list from. The first two I thought of were Vagrant Story and The 7th Saga, although VS is not truly turn-based. Guardian's Crusade on PS1 also comes to mind.
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Post by Sarge on Apr 20, 2021 15:31:09 GMT -5
The 7th Saga is one of the best examples, in my opinion. That game, while brutal, really stresses choosing a team wisely and figuring out how to leverage your turn order to maximize your attacks/defense. It's a game I have a ton of respect for. Perhaps one day I will run through Elnard, just to laugh at how ridiculously powerful the characters get in that game. Oh, Ex : Do you get a party in the Fallout games? The first two are turn-based, at any rate.
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Post by toei on Apr 20, 2021 15:35:41 GMT -5
The 7th Saga is one of the best examples, in my opinion. That game, while brutal, really stresses choosing a team wisely and figuring out how to leverage your turn order to maximize your attacks/defense. It's a game I have a ton of respect for. Perhaps one day I will run through Elnard, just to laugh at how ridiculously powerful the characters get in that game. There's something to be said for a turn-based duo, for sure. It creates a special balance. I never had a problem with it in 7th Saga. I think I just went with a strong team without having to think about it (I wanna say I had Lux (that's the cyborg, right?) and Lemes).
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Post by Sarge on Apr 20, 2021 15:36:50 GMT -5
Lux is definitely one of the best. My team at the end was Lux and Valsu. A partially stat-boosted Valsu at that, since I made sure to pick him up late. Another example on PC would be the original Ultima. No parties there! I think Ultima II is the same way, but UIII instates parties. Xeogred: I think Vagrant Story and Parasite Eve are edge cases. They're kinda sorta active, kinda turn-based. PE in particular is almost like an ATB system.
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Post by Xeogred on Apr 20, 2021 15:41:42 GMT -5
You can recruit companions in Fallout and more than just one unlike the new first person entries. That said, they can be an issue when it come to the combat... narrow hallways and doors, etc, they literally just get in the way. I might have liked Fallout 1 more if I stuck with it solo or limited myself to one companion.
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