I tend to lean towards turn based battle systems a bit more as compared to action battle systems. However, there are also turn based battle systems that I find boring. An example of a turn-based battle system that completely bored me is the battle system of FF X-2. I dunno. Maybe I was just so full of the first game. Anyways, here are the battle systems which I think are the best when it comes to turn-based RPGs: -MonsterSeed -Xenogears -Front Mission -Final Fantasy Tactics -Vagrant Story
My favorites are always FF7, FF8, and Dragon Quest 8. I don't know if it's nostalgic factor or what but these are the games where I never felt tedious playing for long hours.
My all time favorite was FF7! I have not played a lot of turn based games, but I found it fun even though I played the game way late.
Hmm, I never really got into the turn based gameplay of Dragon Quest. It got boring after a little while. But FFVIII? Yep, the turn-based battle system of that game got me hooked too. The only downside was the "draw" system wherein you had to absorb magic from your enemies.
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne has the best turn-based battle system, in my opinion. The way the turns work in the game make it both extremely rewarding and extremely punishing. It's fantastic! You gain turns when doing criticals or exploiting weakness but lose turns when you get hit by criticals, have your weaknesses exploited or miss an attack. In a way, it allows you to totally destroy enemies before they even get a turn if you set yourself properly for the battles.
The old Infinity Engine games all had an awesome semi turn based battle system. You did not actually take turns, but you could pause the game, give orders, and then unpause at will. It was later implemented in Dragon Age also.
Turn-based gameplay is what I also look for in a RPG. While I am not closing my door to other RPG genre, turn-based is just special in my opinion as not all types of gamers has the determination to understand the mechanics of this genre. All gamers can play FPS games and action RPGs, but not everyone can play and understand turn-based RPGs.
Dungeons and Dragons: Temple of Elemental Evil. It's the perfect implementation of turn based tactical combat.
That was a really good game, it uses the turn based system I was talking about. Another good one is the system in The Banner Saga. That one is more traditional turn based like Heroes of Might and Magic.
I wrote about this in another thread, but one of my favorites is Radiant Historia. It adds a cool twist to the turn based combat system by adding a 3x3 grid and placing a heavy emphasis on enemy position.
I prefer the Fallout 1 and 2 styled turn based system. I also like the Fallout 3 style as well, where it's optional.
Those were really awesome. I think Fallout 3 and New Vegas tried to implement that old system with VATS and actually did a pretty good job in combining turn-based combat with a shooter/rpg in my opinion.
Final Fantasy X is probably my favorite turn-based. I liked being able to play with my whole party by swapping everyone in whenever I needed/wanted to.
Final Fantasy 10 perfected the turn-based battle. It's such a shame that immediately following its success, Square Enix decided that all the forthcoming FF games not be turn-based but instead be a hybrid combat system. Was very jarring playing XII for the first time after having enjoyed what 10 brought to the table so much.
I would probably say pokemon. If we can consider it an rpg, there's considerable debate among people as to whether it is or isn't. I'd certainly consider it one, and the turn-based battles in pokemon are simply iconic.
I haven't had much experience with this as I often veer away from turn based games. However, I do enjoy the final fantasy series, as well as the Pokemon series. At the same time, I would still choose an action based RPG any day.
