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Favourite kind of rpg Action versus Turn Based

Best kind of RPG

  • Action RPG

    Votes: 112 47.9%
  • Turn Based

    Votes: 122 52.1%

  • Total voters
    234

Hydroxy

Member
My favourite will always be turn based rpgs. There's something so comforting and chill about it. Taking your time to think about what to do next instead of frantically mashing button in an action game.
 

Rockondevil

Member
Action for me. I like to think quick and act on the fly.
Combat isn’t turn based in life.

Nothing against those that prefer turn based.
As long as something exists for everyone.
 

Skelterz

Member
I like both the same what I dislike is when franchises from either genre try to become something they’re not like the final fantasy series. It’s history is rooted in turn-based games but has since adopted some middle
ground cookie cutter action style which neither feels as good to play nor sells as well.

I can’t compare games like Elden ring and Persona 5 there so different but I love them both for different reasons.
 

Robb

Gold Member
Turn-based is my favorite I think, but I’m not a fan of strictly turn by turn games. The ones I enjoy the most give you the ability to counter enemy moves and force you to be active when making attacks (not just picking a move and then it’s all automated) etc.

Love the Mario & Luigi RPG series, for example.. Sucks that AlphaDream went bankrupt.
ValidLankyDogwoodtwigborer-size_restricted.gif
 

KXVXII9X

Member
Turn-based is my favorite I think, but I’m not a fan of strictly turn by turn games. The ones I enjoy the most give you the ability to counter enemy moves and force you to be active when making attacks (not just picking a move and then it’s all automated) etc.

Love the Mario & Luigi RPG series, for example.. Sucks that AlphaDream went bankrupt.
ValidLankyDogwoodtwigborer-size_restricted.gif
Still my favorite Nintendo game till this day!
 

KàIRóS

Member
I like both equally, but I'm not gonna lie Action RPGs have obviously been treated better by the years, if I try to compare stuff like the first Ys games from the 80s to modern Action RPGs it's like night and day, meanwhile you have Game Freak and Atlus adding minimal changes to their turn based battle systems in decades, but hey sometimes same old is same good.
 

Sentenza

Member
As a GENERAL preference I'm all for turn-based. That said, I think some clarifications are required:

- I'm not against any style of combat and I would take a GREAT action combat over a poorly-made turn-based one any day.
- Like for action combat (where games like Dark Souls and Tales of Vesperia exist) "Turn-based" can ALSO include a lot of different stuff. Games like Temple of Elemental Evil or Baldur'Gate 3 are basically an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT GENRE when compared directly with stuff like FF7 or Dragon Quest.
- Not all systems in a genre are created equal. I like turn-based systems where things like positioning and line of sight matter (i.e. XCOM, Jagged Alliance, BG3). I don't like the stereotypical "menu-based" ("Attack, Item, Skill" etc) combat that works as a baseline of most classic JRPGs, where characters and opponents sit in two lines in front of each other.
- I also have very specific preferences on the type of progression curve and itemization these games offer. I tend to despise systems built over exponential inflation of values (i.e. "you'll start at 16 HP and end the game at 9999 HP") and I'm far more interested in system that have a far more limited range (i.e. "You start at 16 HP and you end the game at 80-100 HP at most and a lot better at dodging or deflecting/absorbing damage"). In the same way I prefer games where items get more powerful in a very gradual way and with very limited range. I don't like when, say, the gap between starting weapon and end game weapon is 40X or 100X the amount of damage.
 
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Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Xenoblade is not even remotely anything like turn-based. You move and position yourself in real-time, you have a bunch of moves with their own independent cooldowns + you can use them whenever you want if they’re ready, timing + chaining your moves together is crucial…
Yeah XB is like MMORPG squad mechanics but in a single player game. That's not turn based.

I think the best kind of turn based is SRPG. Something like Triangle Strategy is just so wonderful. You could also take every limit off and have Disgaea, but that's more like something trying to turn you into an addict than something meant to be a good experience. Too bad that nobody ever really makes technically advanced forms of this. Fire Emblem is the best we get but the rest of the genre stays in retro style. Kinda sad. XCOM and BG3 are different stuff.

As for traditional JRPG turn-based, I feel when people try to spice it up they often end up fucking it up. Octopath Traveler and Chained Echoes are good examples of this. Both of their systems basically end up making the vast majority of your options very obviously inefficient/underpowered/vulnerable so you are practically prescribed a specific order of commands to utilize the special system properly or you'll be fucked. That's really boring.

Mixing turns and action in Valkyria Chronicles was pretty neat. I would enjoy a Sakura Taisen game like that.
 
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Laptop1991

Member
Action for me every time, basically Bethesda style, the only turn based game i tried to play was Civilization back in the day, i never got into it or the hang of it really
 

Sentenza

Member
Action for me every time, basically Bethesda style, the only turn based game i tried to play was Civilization back in the day, i never got into it or the hang of it really
This reads like "the only type of carbohydrates I've ever tasted are frozen crackers so I don't get why people like pizza".

Also, even in an attempt to favor action, I'd put "Bethesda-style" of combat pretty much at the bottom.
 

Laptop1991

Member
This reads like "the only type of carbohydrates I've ever tasted are frozen crackers so I don't get why people like pizza".

Also, even in an attempt to favor action, I'd put "Bethesda-style" of combat pretty much at the bottom.
And yours is like a "i don't like a different opinion", well that's the way it is, i've never liked turn based or played any apart from 1, so tough lol.
 

Cyberpunkd

Member
Turn-based:
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. While I don't love this for its combat, I love it for everything else.
Even if I forgot everything about this game I still remember the ending was cool AF, one of the best ones in the history, close second to the Summoner one.
 

Sentenza

Member
And yours is like a "i don't like a different opinion"
Well, I don't like it and in fact I strongly disagree with it.

But no, that wasn't the point.
The point is that the argument you made to sustain it was dumb.

"I tried ONE turn-based game that isn't even in the genre questioned in this topic and now I will argue as if my experience with it will apply to any other turn-based game" is a puzzling argumentation at best.

If you genuinely think games like, say, XCOM and Civilization have much in common only because both are turn-based I don't even know what to tell you.
 
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SyberWolf

Member
depends on the game, some i like action, some i like turn based.
for example i like Persona 4 and 5 turn based combat but i dont like Baldur's gate 3 combat.
 

Laptop1991

Member
Well, I don't like it and in fact I strongly disagree with it.

But no, that wasn't the point.
The point is that the argument you made to sustain it was dumb.

"I tried ONE turn-based game that isn't even in the genre questioned in this topic and now I will argue as if my experience with it will apply to any other turn-based game" is a puzzling argumentation at best.

If you genuinely think games like, say, XCOM and Civilization have much in common only because both are turn-based I don't even know what to tell you.
And it's still tough, you like them i don't, you don't like Bethesda games and i do so what!, we like different games, and it's not a puzzling argument it's the truth, i don't play loads of games i don't like, grow up mate, or find someone else to argue with, i chose my option and gave my opinion and you won't change it, and it doesn't matter whether you like it or not, no wonder there is so many console wars on here with posters like you.
 
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Sentenza

Member
And it's still tough, you like them i don't, you don't like Bethesda games and i do so what!, we like different games, and it's not a puzzling argument it's the truth, i don't play loads of games i don't like, grow up mate, or find someone else to argue with, i chose my option and gave my opinion and you won't change it, and it doesn't matter whether you like it or not, no wonder there is so many console wars on here with posters like you.
I don't know if we are talking fucking different languages or what, but let me try one last time: I don't give a shit about what you like.

My issue with your comment is how it's framed - by your own admission - by a position of ignorance. "I don't like this thing. I also never actually tried it".

"How do you feel about turn-based RPGs?"
"My only experience with them is Civilization".
That means your experience with them is literally ZERO since Civilization is not a turn-based RPG nor it plays even remotely like one.
 
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Laptop1991

Member
I don't know if we are talking fucking different languages or what, but let me try one last time: I don't give a shit about what you like.

My issue with your comment is how it's framed - by your own admission - by a position of ignorance. "I don't like this thing. I also never actually tried it".
Again it doesn't matter what you think or like about what i said, and you do give a shit about my opinion or you wouldnt have commented, mind your own business
 
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Sentenza

Member
Again it doesn't matter what you think or like
You're right. It doesn't. Because what I like is irrelevant.
And so it's what YOU like, incidentally.

Because I'm not trying to change your preferences nor I'm trying to argue that they are wrong.
I'm just pointing that you don't know what you are talking about.
 
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Laptop1991

Member
You're right. It doesn't. Because what I like is irrelevant.
And so it's what YOU like

Because I'm not trying to change your preferences nor I'm trying to argue that they are wrong.
I'm just pointing that you don't know what you are talking about.
i don't know what i like or dislike, because i've played only 1 game turned based, right!, i suppose you've played all of the Bethesda games when you don;t like them to decide then, seems legit, your still making excuses for still not liking my different opinion, well your right i don't know a lot about loads of turn based games because i don't play a lot because i don't like them!!, glad to see you agree about the other points!.
 

Sentenza

Member
i don't know what i like or dislike, because i've played only 1 game turned based, right!, i suppose you've played all of the Bethesda games when you don;t like them
Yes, I did?
Literally. Since Arena.

But no, having played every single one wasn't the issue, to begin with.
 

Aion002

Member
On wrpgs: Action.


On jprgs: Turn based.

As someone that mainly plays Japanese games, my first experience on western turn based rpgs was on Divinity 1...

I Dont Think So No Way GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers
 

Laptop1991

Member
Yes, I did?
Literally. Since Arena.

But no, having played every single one wasn't the issue, to begin with.
Ok, of course, knew you would say that!, your a time served expert in what you don't like, the issue is you not accepting other opinions and no matter how much you try and change it, my opinion won't change no matter what you type and it shouldn't have bothered you in the 1st place.
 

NahaNago

Member
I prefer turn but based. It is more these days because you can enjoy the party interactions throughout your journey. I kinda wish turn based had more interactions with the environment when battling versus just attacking one another. Make it to where you can actually use things or find things to use in or from the environment outside of special boss battles.
 
Ok, of course, knew you would say that!, your a time served expert in what you don't like, the issue is you not accepting other opinions and no matter how much you try and change it, my opinion won't change no matter what you type and it shouldn't have bothered you in the 1st place.

His issue is that your arguments are coming from an uninformed point of view.

It would be like me judging sports games based on having played only, say, Mario Sports Mix.
 

Duellist

Member
I’m an old school turn based guy because that’s what I grew up with but I also love action RPG’s. I love both
 

sigmaZ

Member
Both. I like to mix it up.
Ideally I like fast paced paced turn based stuff. I like to be able to have more abilities and elements to select from but I also don't like drawn out battles.
Even when it comes to action RPGs, I loath games like FF16 that rely on stagger mechanics and huge HP pools. It feels like you're doing the same things again and again until your hands wear out.
I much prefer the boss to rely on mechanics that are unique to that particular boss that force you to adapt your customization or playstyle.
Octopath Traveler 2 handled this quite well in my opinion in stark contrast to the original. I constantly was able to get the edge by trying out different attacks and abilities from different characters.
Problem with action RPGs in this regard is that they are usually focused on a single character so it's hard to capture that feeling of ultimate party control. (FF7R does a pretty decent job though).
 

Laptop1991

Member
His issue is that your arguments are coming from an uninformed point of view.

It would be like me judging sports games based on having played only, say, Mario Sports Mix.
Doesn't matter, of course I haven't played many, i said, turned based never clicked with me as a gamer, its none of his business, and if i dont like them, well i don't like them, no need for his comments, I didn't say they were bad, just not my thing
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
I really like both
But since Souls games exist I have to go with action
this is my answer pretty much lol. Kingdom Hearts, Crosscode and Souls draw me to action more than anything because those games do their action combat extremely well.

That being said many strategic turn based games like Baldur's Gate and Tactics Ogre quite interest me.
 

Fredrik

Member
After having played Baldur’s Gate 3 for a couple weeks I now prefer action RPGs.

🤷‍♂️

I don’t know, I guess I don’t have the patience for turn-based combat anymore. I used to love turn-based JRPGs but in BG3 the combat mostly annoy me. Maybe it’s more fun playing with others coop idk. I only game for 1-2 hours per session, feels like I’m progressing at a snail’s pace.
 
action > turn based > strategy

but i can do either. i also think ff should go back to being turn based.
 
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Rat Rage

Member
My favorite is turn based. That being said, I also like Action RPGs.

There haven't been any truly great turn based JRPGs for a long time, though. I feel the market it oversaturated with ARPGs.
I hope Eiyuden Chronicles is gonna be a able to fix that.
 

Svejk

Member
My younger self would no doubt pick turn based, but when looking back, I always wanted full control of how the characters animated and attacked. FF7R proved that this can be done and be wildly more stunning to play and interact with. Still can have the same turn based strategy, but adding a phat layer of control on top of it.

Grandia on the other hand, still the best turn based RPG mechanics to this date, IMHO.
 
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