Turn based RPGs, are they all hard to play?

[Invisible Crane]

Final Fantasy Tactics is to get a UK release soon, and although I am tempted to get it, I've never been into turn based RPG games, mainly because to me they are hard to play.

Are these sort of games really hard to play and complicated to understand how to play to begin with?

[pathos]

I dont know about fft, since I don't have it.

But, generally speakinig, to me turn based rpgs are generally easier to play than other types.

Well, more thinking, less twitching, which means easier.

My opinion of course

[jojo_home]

Turn based RPGS are some of the easiest games to play when you get the hang of menus. Action RPGs get me stuck far more often.

[broodwars]

Generally speaking, the difficulty in most Turn-Based RPGs comes down to leveling and equipment (even and especially in tactical strategy games like Final Fantasy Tactics): your characters have the stats they need, the equipment they need, and the abilities they need. If you've wasted enough time grinding, you usually don't have to worry about strategy that much. I don't care much for grinding, so I usually just strategize my way through...but to each their own.

Frankly, if FFT is as abysmally mediocre as Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was on the GBA, I wouldn't waste my time with it.

[Suwako Moriya]

Turn-based is actually rather simple to play. It's simply a matter of stats, making use of the skills you've obtained, and deciding what to do ahead of time based on experience. It eventually becomes second nature in terms of when to heal, to defend, to attack, learning from mistakes made, and so forth. As well as of course deciding when it's time to improve your party.

Also Final Fantasy Tactics is not so much turn based as it's charge-time based. Turn-based has it so you select all the actions for the party members at once. At which point they and the enemy act out in an order determined by various factors. Charge-time based has it so each character can act one at a time uninterrupted and the order is determined by speed. The higher a character's speed the more often and sooner their turn comes up. It's sort of like turn based perhaps, but a bit different.

[ADC]

At times FFT can be a challenging game, but it's never hard to play. And that's pretty much the way it is with "turn-based" RPGs (though, as Whatshisface mentioned, FFT's turn order is not fixed). So what you do is, you buy FFT and love it to death.

[Suwako Moriya]

So what you do is, you buy FFT and love it to death.

And the reason why is because of the divine truth. It's the will of Saint Ajora and everything is guided by the will St.Ajora. Heresy is not allowed. :)

[Foxfossil]

yeah turn base ones are pretty easy like most people say the only hard thing is preparing your characters by leveling up the person upgrading weapons and having to do a little strategy in the game.

[HitokiriShadow]

Frankly, if FFT is as abysmally mediocre as Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was on the GBA, I wouldn't waste my time with it.

I lost interest in Advance after about 6 or so hours. But FFT is awesome. I want an FFT2 so badly.

Final Fantasy Tactics is to get a UK release soon, and although I am tempted to get it, I've never been into turn based RPG games, mainly because to me they are hard to play.

Are these sort of games really hard to play and complicated to understand how to play to begin with?

Well, FFT wasn't quite what I was expecting to hear being asked about when I clicked on the thread title. When I hear "turn based" I think of something like the more traditional FF games as opposed to something like Tales or Star Ocean. FFT is Tactical RPG (or TRPG) and TRPGs are always turn based. Or at least I've never heard of one that wasn't turn based.

In any case, FFT can certainly be challenging. I can think of two particularly tough fights in the later chapters. Unless you are horribly over leveled, Velius will make you his bitch on your first attempt. I doubt anyone finished that fight in the first try unless they were way over leveled and/or already knew what was coming. But its not horribly unforgiving or any harder than most other RPGs.

It's awesome and you must get it when it comes out over there.

[Lovely]

My personal opinion is that strategy rpg's (like FF tactics) are harder to play than regular rpg's.

However, by that I mean that I have a short attention span and I have troubles with the battles in strategy rpg's simply because they take a lot longer. That and I like "exploring" and I never really got that feeling from strategy rpg's.

[Chloe]

I agree with those who think they are easier. I am half blind, so any game requiring 'twitching' at all immediately puts me behind the 8-ball. You would laugh yourself sick watching me try to play a typical Zelda game, for example. I get it done, eventually, but it's not pretty. :P

The turn based are a matter of getting used to the menus, and developing a feel for the system itself. That is, what works best against what, and a certain feel for timing. As in, when to heal, throw your best spell, whatever. A good turn based game will usually have some provision for doing this faster/with less power if you are clever with the maneuvering/timing, etc. This rewards the player for gaining a better feel for the game itself.

Some of them can be really hard though. X-com could be a B**** at times, and this game Rebelstar: Tactical Command which plays like a land combat only version of X-com can be even worse, for example. I have had to play some of the early combat missions more then a dozen times in order to win once. I'm not a complete twit with these kinds of games either, this one has just brutal mission requirements so far. When losing even one character blows it, with the heavy weaponry floating around on it's battlefields, it's a challenge, to say the least. Most turn based games are nowhere near that hard though.

[TheStrongMan]

Seeing as how very few RPGs out there scale enemy encounters to your level, there is one way to make things easier on you no matter the type of RPG.

Level up.

Unless the game is throwing a major curve ball at you, all you need to do is take some time on the side to gain a few levels and acquire some more skills.

Quite frankly, I think the turn based RPGs are much easier to play than these newer action RPGs where it's all in real time and you have little control over your other characters. To each his own I suppose.

[Nyanyaan]

Seeing as how very few RPGs out there scale enemy encounters to your level, there is one way to make things easier on you no matter the type of RPG.

Level up.

Unless the game is throwing a major curve ball at you, all you need to do is take some time on the side to gain a few levels and acquire some more skills.

Quite frankly, I think the turn based RPGs are much easier to play than these newer action RPGs where it's all in real time and you have little control over your other characters. To each his own I suppose.

Yup, considering the grid/hex based military sims TRPGs develop from, it really is often just about leveling/powering up. Rarely are you developing actual plans like turning the open flank, pounding with artillery, etc.

While part of this is the scale (even the largest TRPG fight will rarely be more than 20-25 individuals a side) it is also that usually fights are the events which drive the story (ala Fire Emblem). The real difficulty can be in achieving a specific goal such as saving the life of someone who likely would die over the course of a normal battle -- Shining Force III had several of these.