Good feature. I like all of these games and battle systems except Panzer Dragoon. I would love to play it, but will have to wait until it gets re-released, if ever. Tales games have my favorite overall, which is one reason the Tales franchise has become my favorite jrpg series. If I had to pick my favorite, it would have to be Graces or Xillia. I also like Shadow Hearts. It was a traditional turn-based series, but the ring meant you had to pay attention. Another favorite, though I realize I am probably alone, is FFXII. I loved the customization of the party's ai. As long as you don't set gambits for the character you are playing, you are always busy in a battle.
Love the System: Our Favorite RPG Battle Systems
Can't get enough of these fights.
Legend of Legaia
by Chris Yarger
A lot of people like the Xenogears battle setup, but there’s another game that strikes a better sounding chord with me. Legend of Legaia dropped into the gaming market in 1998, approximately eight months after Xenogears, and it took everything that was great about the Xenogears battle system and plunged beyond the initial groundwork originally laid out with such force and depth that even the most experienced of porn stars would moan in ecstasy as they witness greatness turned into something even better. The battle system has more flow, the animations are smoother, and the combo system is as seamless as the winter sweater knitted with wool and love that I receive every Christmas.
The battle system follows the turn-based standard of RPGs of the time, but the turns themselves are what separate this game from norm. Much like Xenogears, whenever you attack an enemy, you input various commands. The difference here, though, is the commands themselves. In Xenogears, your three options were light attack, medium attack, and strong attack. Legaia changed this simple formula up, allowing you to attack with each limb individually - allowing for chained combos that could be crafted into special moves.
The action doesn’t end there, either. If you choose the right attacks, you’ll be rewarded with a special move dealing extra damage. Each special move (called Arts) cost AP (Art Points), and Art Points can only be restored through dealing damage, taking damage, and defending. If you were lacking the proper AP to utilize an Art, you would simply attack without the extra ‘oomph’ your heart justly desires. You’re even able to chain your Arts together with some well-formulated and calculated inputs. For instance, if one Art ends with a right punch and another Art starts with a right punch, you can combine these two into one maneuver that utilizes both Arts.
Beyond the combat itself, you can charge your ability bar and increase the amount of attacks you can dish out. While it will costs you a turn to use this particular skill, it’s useful in not only extending your ability bar, but also increasing your defense in anticipation of special skills and magic used by your enemies (which are normally signaled for your convenience). Speaking of magic; magic in this game is not as ‘magical’ as you might expect. Instead of learning set abilities to use, you are able to absorb certain enemies like a sunbathing addict soaks up sunlight. After you absorb a magical enemy, you’re able to use the very skills it once used on you.
The details only go deeper, though, as you dig further into the game. As I stated earlier, each attack is controlled by a different limb. Damage for each attack is respectively increased through equipping new weapons and boots, which is my absolute favorite aspect. You see, every piece of armor, every set of boots, every weapon, and helmet equipped alters the appearance of your character! It seems whimsical, but I always love when developers incorporate this amount of detail in a game.
Overall, the story is predictable and the characters can easily be forgotten, but the combat system has always left a lasting impression on me. I picked this game up on a whim for my thirteenth birthday, and I’ve never once parted with it. While most of the game is a stereotypical RPG, the combat system has easily bumped this game as a whole to the top of my preferred games to play, where it sits as one of my all-time favorites fourteen years after its release.
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