RPG with the best encounter system?

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RPG with the best encounter system?

Postby Thoul » Fri Feb 27, '09, 6:20 am

Many RPGs have different ways of handling how encounters with enemies start. The most common is what we see in Phantasy Star: wander around until you're suddenly pulled into a random encounter. Another common option is scripted encounters, like in Chrono Trigger: the enemies always appear at certain places. Some games have monsters walking around the screen; you can dodge them or run into them for a fight. And there's probably other ways I've forgotten at the moment.

What game, or games, do you think take the best approach to starting up enemy encounters?
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Postby DrkTr14ce » Fri Feb 27, '09, 11:25 am

Hmm..in all honesty, I'd nominate Earthbound for this one. And the reasoning is simply the fact that you can see what you're fighting and avoid it, you can insta-win battles if you're high enough in Lv, and then there's the always dirty trick of moving far enough in one direction so that the enemy disappears, or in some cases shows up with reinforcements. Lol.

Oh, and sorry I got here before you could nominate it, Caged Wolf.
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Postby Lucas » Fri Feb 27, '09, 12:54 pm

I'd nominate the battle system in Xenosaga Episode II. Much like in Earthbound you can see your enemies and have the chance to prepare in advance. When you encounter the enemy. You are met with a quite complex looking set up. But really there is nothing to it. Your characters have a boost gauge in the bottom right hand screen this allows you interrupt enemy turns to try and take them out faster but the enemies also have one, which can be to your disadvantage, but it can provide a fun challenge. Your boost gauge has a maximum stock of 3 allowing you too boost your characters within enemy turns three times. To fill it back up after you use up your three boosts you have no choice but to just wait your turns to attack the enemy. You also have a stock gauge which is really great you can stock to a maximum of three and input the on screen button commands to let loose some really flash and damaging combos on your enemies. Thankfully enemies cannot stock or else you would have hell. But the disadvantage to stocking up powerful attacks is that you basically skip a turn. All in all as long as you are at a decent level you can easily handle this sweet as battle system in my opinion that is. :p

I knida rambled on with the battle system there but the visable enemies are prety much all Xenosaga has to offer for an encounter start up. :wink:
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Postby Wolf Bird » Fri Feb 27, '09, 2:34 pm

Darn you, Drk!! *shakes fist.* You did get there before me, because I'd EASILY nominate Earthbound for this one! Fine then, I'll nominate Mother 3 in addition to Earthbound because it uses pretty much the same system, with some changes. For one thing, when you run from enemies, their sprites don't disappear from map, but you have a brief period of invincibility to get away from it. There isn't an insta-win system, but instead there's a dash command, and you can just plow through the weak enemies instead with that.
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Postby DrkTr14ce » Fri Feb 27, '09, 2:37 pm

Mwahahaha! The Evil Hacker DrkTr14ce strikes again! And while I'm at it, go get someone to post in that Rp Forum. It's actually gathering cobwebs.

And back to being on-topic.....I didn't know you could use the Dash move like that in Mother 3. I could probably use that, seeing as how I can't get too far without being ambushed. And before you ask, I'm still early on in the game.
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Postby Wolf Bird » Fri Feb 27, '09, 4:24 pm

Really, the dash through enemies thing is largely useless up until later in the game since you don't get to be Lucas and start forming the core party until chapter 4, so it's not until after that that you get strong enough to plow through weaker foes. So maybe you're just not far enough to use it like that, I dunno.

DrkTr14ce wrote:then there's the always dirty trick of moving far enough in one direction so that the enemy disappears, or in some cases shows up with reinforcements. Lol.


Forget to mention...on Starmen.net's guide to the 1/128 item challenge this practice is called the Scrolling Nullification and Obliteration Technique or SNOT. :lol:

I'd reply, but I think it's time Trenzer/Atlin and Kaloes take the initiative. *Prods both of them with a shovel.*
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Postby Darkil » Fri Feb 27, '09, 6:06 pm

I'd also like to nominate Secret of Mana. You can see what's wandering around and if you attack it first then you generally get a bonus[ie extra damage].
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Postby LordShibas » Sat Feb 28, '09, 12:42 pm

I always liked the encounter system in Grandia. You could see the enemies on the screen, and initiative was based on how you touched the enemy. Basically the enemies were formed in a line and if you touched the rear member of the line, you got initiative, but if the enemy snuck up on you, they got initiative. Any other way of encountering them just produced a regular encounter.

Looking back, I guess it's kind of funny to see a bunch of monsters walking around in a perfectly straight line, but then again, there is a reason for it.

I'm actually one of those old school gamers that doesn't mind random battles in RPGs. Especially if there is incentive to fight in them. A good example is the Summon Night Swordcraft Story games. You hit a lot of random battles, but you have so many weapons that you will want to level up that you just won't care.

Final Fantasy 1 for the GBA had the most awesome random encounters ever. It had static encounters mixed in there as well, to really make you go insane. Truly a masochist's dream.
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Postby Schala Zeal » Tue Mar 3, '09, 9:31 pm

I personally like the Grandia series setup of you bumping into a monster that you can see and either getting the initiative or having the enemies get the initiative depending on where you bumped into the enemy. I usually prefer any system where the player can see the enemy as opposed to randomly bumping into enemies out of the blue.
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Postby Thoul » Thu Mar 5, '09, 12:40 am

Man, it's been way too long since I played Grandia. I didn't remember the monsters being lined up in that at all. That's pretty unique.
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