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[Modest Mauser]

I like turn-based but I'm a big tabletop gamer

Also I feel like a lot of popular video games that use turn-based systems don't actually have very good systems so people think turn-based games are inherently shallow or not fun

 

[Papo Swing]

I don't know I just like it, but Divinity Original Sin really made me appreciatte it.

 

[ClaptoVaughn]

I enjoy turned based combat but can definitely understand why it can be a love or hate thing for others.

It's a very particular (and peculiar if you're not used to seeing it) style of gameplay that goes against the more intuitive nature of real time combat systems.

 

[Opa-Pa]

I'm fine with others not liking it, it's clearly not for everyone. But when people start calling it archaic and saying it takes no skill or whatever... Yeah, no.

 

[CrazyHal]

I like to be able to command multiple characters in a fight, something that simply isn't possible in a action game.

 

[ambar_hitman]

I too dislike turn based combat. I tried to like it but I just can't. I hate it so much that if in future all games start forcing turn based combat, I will quit gaming. I just feel completely out of the game if there is turn based combat. Same reason I dislike RTS games too.

And Mario Rabbit is turn based RTS? I am never playing it, even for free.

 

[Fou-Lu]

I like to be able to command multiple characters in a fight, something that simply isn't possible in a action game.

This is a really good point in turn based's favour.

 

[Alter_Fridge]

I loved it in the 1st XCom when I was 12, but ain't nobody got time for dat now

I found Advance Wars incredibly tedious

 

[Fou-Lu]

The lack of people spending time to think is one of the biggest problems our world faces.

 

[Orayn]

I whined about not liking it and thought it was archaic for a few years until I played Persona 4 Golden, now it's totally fine.

Not every turn-based system is fundamentally great, but I've let go of my grudge.

 

[Archanfel]

It's a boring numbers game that takes no skill. Sure, there's strategy and you can certainly do things wrong, but if your characters' stats haven't reached a certain number then that won't mean a thing.

Sure, some can be and then there's ones like XCOM or even the new Mario + Rabbids where positioning and appropriate skill execution are essential to win with all party members intact. This thread's actually making me wanna try Divinity OS. Never got around to that one. For some reason I thought it was an action RPG.

 

[Phediuk]

I like turn-based strategy games like XCOM, Jagged Alliance and the like, but the JRPG-style shit (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest etc.) where you just select "Attack" over and over again is mind-numbingly dull.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

There are things abstract combat can do that non-abstract cannot.

It's a boring numbers game that takes no skill. Sure, there's strategy and you can certainly do things wrong, but if your characters' stats haven't reached a certain number then that won't mean a thing.

We as a people here have to up our troll game. This is garbage.

I like turn-based strategy games like XCOM, Jagged Alliance and the like, but the JRPG-style shit (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest etc.) where you just select "Attack" over and over again is mind-numbingly dull.

I'm serious. Drinky would shake his head in disgust at such efforts.

 

[Magnus]

It's one of those things that likely wouldn't have made it into so many games if we had a way to do real-time gameplay (in all genres) well right from the get go. It necessarily feels....old, as a result. Ditto for things like random battles.

 

[blummer102]

I didn't like it that much either at first. Whenever I played a turn-based game as a kid and entered a battle, I'd immediately think "oh, it's one of THOSE games" and my interest would drop. But I got used to it in time.

Once I started playing D&D and saw where turn-based systems all came from, I appreciate this style of combat much more.

 

[StrategyFan]

i don't like most turn-based rpgs

the combat gets repetitive faster because performing an attack is exactly the same every time. the games tend to be more about grinding and less about the player's decisions/skills


but turn-based strategy is the greatest pvp genre of all time. there's enough skill where the better player wins, but not so much skill where the weaker player is prevented from having any fun

 

[Print_Dog]

I enjoy turn based games, because of the pre-planning and strategy involved. In FF games buffing and debuffing can make you feel like a powerhouse.

There's also the advantage of being able to do other stuff while waiting on the enemy's turn to finish, i.e. check my phone, eat food, reform strategy.

 

[Yohane]

turn based combat is awesome

 

[magnetic]

In both Dragon Quest and SMT I had some super intense and satisfying boss fights, but also hundreds of mindless battles in between.

I would love a turn based RPG that is basically just a boss rush. Turned based combat is a very broad term with a large variety of depth and challenge, just like action titles can be very complex or flat and boring.

 

[The Illiterati]

Some games just need it, IMO. I love action RPGs, but I can't stand the Real Time w Pause of Pillars of Eternity/Baldur's Gate 2(anymore, I loved it years ago). Then there's Divinity: Original Sin which has some of the absolute best turn based combat in a western RPG. Same for Mario + Rabbids, which wouldn't work any other way. In both of these games, battles are more like puzzles and if the designers did a good job you can have a lot of fun breaking the traps and challenges they placed for you.

 

[Taliban Stan]

I like them because they are the polar opposite of a real time game and variety isn't of the devil.

 

[You Pay This Much]

Same op. Except it even kept me away from pokemon mostly too. I'm not entirely sure why. I like games that require strategy, but not like turn based combat. I just don't really don't like it.

 

[Shouta]

Action and Turn-based games focus on different things in regards to enjoyment.

For action, it's all about what happens in that moment, that interaction you have with the enemy when you do your combo or your dodge with a button press. Dodging that enemy attack and scoring a critical counter strike is very satisfying as well as the joy of just executing it.

With turn-based games, it's not about the individual actions but rather what that implies for the flow or outcome of a battle and the journey you're on in that part of the game. If your objective is at the end of the dungeon, each of the small decisions you make as you fight through it can decide whether or not you'll have the resources to tackle that boss encounter or not. This becomes even more apparent when you challenge yourself like avoiding grinding so you don't overcome encounters by just out-stating it. Or if it's a harder game, figuring out how to utterly make it a cake-walk to get through.

If you keep that in mind the next time you play, it might be an entirely new experience.

 

[James Scott]

Turn based games are usually really boring since they're glorified menus. It's pretty hard to get right and even the good turn based games usually aren't good because they're turn based, they have a strong story backing it or maybe some other mechanic like monster catching...Like Persona. Persona is great but not because of its combat.
It's about the characters and building relationships.

 

[Sanctuary]

Suspending your disbelief certainly helps. Otherwise, it looks sort of goofy having characters stand there and take turns attacking and getting attacked.

Must be really hard for you to play chess.

 

[Arion]

I'm with you op. I can't stand turn based combat mostly because of the stop and go rhythm they have. After getting my turn it just bothers me that all my dudes have to stand their and take a hit. I know if I play perfectly they never have to take a hit but still it bothers me to no end.

Then there is the RNG aspect. Playing Valkyria Chronicles had me ripping my hair out every time my perfectly lined up shot would be dodged in the last second cause the enemy soldier just happened to be Neo. In the end I just save scummed my way through cause fuck relying on random chance to determine whether I win of lose an encounter.

Sometimes I will force my self to get through the combat because I want to see more of the story and characters but as soon as I put down the game I never pick it up again. Happened to me with the Fire Emblem Awakening. Started it multiple times and never got past the first three hours.

There are some exceptions though like Civilization and Persona. Turns go by really fast in those games so I barely notice it.

 

[Turin Turambar]

I've never been into regular turn based combat but strategic turn based I have found myself oddly into. XCOM and Divinity Original Sin got me to change my mind pretty quickly and have really enjoyed them.

What the heck regular turn based means in comparison with 'strategic turn based'?
If you aren't playing turn based games without strategy on them, you are doing something wrong.

 

[GRaider81]

I love it, I just love the strategy of it and How much it usually works my brain.

Some of my favourite games use TB combat. Advance wars, FF tactics, kOTOR, xcom series and Divinity OS are all in my top 10.

 

[Hektor]

I like to think and win big battles with strategy. Good TBS games are just constantly changing, infinite, always unique puzzles.

And Mario Rabbit is turn based RTS? I am never playing it, even for free.

RTS means Real Time Strategy, so no it is not a real time turn based strategy game.

 

[pagrab]

I like turn combat when it is just about picking out an action, but I immediately loose interest if you also have to position your avatars (like in sRPGs or Xcom). I do not know why. Probable reason is that at this point the game gets too complicated to me.

 

[MrFrankFontaine]

I grew up playing chess with my dad. Something stuck with me for turn based strategy and tactics.

 

[LOLDSFAN]

It's boring.

I'm also not a very tactical person.

As a 3DS owner, this sucked because that system pumped them out like a factory. Wish I could have taken advantage.

 

[Cuningas de Häme]

I played a lot of strategy games and Baldur's Gate and similar RPGs when I was young.

I'd say that a PC gamer is more open to play turn based games, because a lot of the best of the best of PC games are turn based. We are used to it, and many of us enjoy them immensely.

Console gaming has a lot different dynamics, so it makes sense that a console player would not like tbc as much.


I have to say that I don't enjoy turn based combat on consoles, I dislike clumsy UIs and annoying style. Final Fantasys are horrible games, for instance. Of course this is only my opinion and your mileage may vary.

 

[AxeMan]

I'd say that a PC gamer is more open to play turn based games, because a lot of the best of the best of PC games are turn based. We are used to it, and many of us enjoy them immensely.

Console gaming has a lot different dynamics, so it makes sense that a console player would not like tbc as much.


I have to say that I don't enjoy turn based combat on consoles, I dislike clumsy UIs and annoying style. Final Fantasys are horrible games, for instance. Of course this is only my opinion and your mileage may vary.

hmm, perhaps you've stumbled on it. It may be the keyboard\mouse combo verses a controller.

A controller isn't really suited to a turn based game whereas a KB/M is. A KB/M is adept at both but if you primarily play on a controller/grew up with a controller then maybe you prefer RTS.

Just a quick thought I had

 

[Sodding_Gamer]

With you OP. I've tried so many times to get into turn based strategy but I just can't. There are some exceptions but for the most part I just get annoyed because I'm simply not good enough at them.

I remember getting stuck on a level on XCOM once and after dying like 10 times (over a period of hours) and having to replay the level because where I had saved I was basically fucked.... Yeah I ain't got time in my life for that shit lol.

 

[gelf]

When I play turn based RPGs, I always play with my party slightly under-leveled. I do it sub-consciously by now, and it's pretty easy to tell if you are over/under leveled(even if it's a new game for you).
I played Pokemon Moon like this and sometimes I would get wiped or surprised by the tactic used by the Trial Bosses. I find it fun and challenging to win without grinding most of the time.
When I play Fire Emblem, I intentionally bring weaker characters onto the map and try to feed them exp. It's very fun to play like this.

Grinding is a trap.

Same. I avoid grinding as much as possible as I figure a good game will allow for low level strategy to beat it's challenges anyway. I'd rather die to the same boss several times until I find the right method to beat it then spend the same amount of time or more grinding. I get by fine doing this the majority of the time.

Funnily enough the only RPG series I can remember feeling I absolutely had to grind was Ys which is real time. You can find yourself doing zero damage if your under levelled.

 

[redcrayon]

I love turn based but really I got into computer games through tabletop RPGs and strategy games. Generally I prefer being able to take my time to plan moves and party/force synergies rather than action games where everything is happening so quickly that it's more reliant on reactions. Also I mainly play on my commute and find turn-based much more relaxing.

Obviously there are good/bad real-time and turn-based systems. Etrian Odyssey is a great turn-based one, but I'm less of a fan of the ones in JRPGs where you mainly hammer attack as non-boss battles offer little threat. In those games I actually prefer real-time as it gets the basic battles over with more quickly. In any fight that requires digging into your skills and strategies to pull a win, or where you have control over a whole party, I much prefer turn-based than action combat so that I can make sure units are acting in harmony rather than having allies standing around doing nothing. That's probably why I prefer SRPGs and dungeon crawls to general JRPGs/WRPGs to be honest.

 

[gconsole]

It is a stupid concept when you are under certain rules and you can only make a move when allowed to. I think it works for certain type of game/genre like card or strategy game. Role playing not so much, but of course people will defend this as they were used to it without knowing that they add turn based into JPRG only because of hardware limitation. Hence the change in the direction as soon as hardware become more powerful lol.

 

[redcrayon]

It is a stupid concept when you are under certain rules and you can only make a move when allowed to. I think it works for certain type of game/genre like card or strategy game. Role playing not so much, but of course people will defend this as they were used to it without knowing that they add turn based into JPRG only because of hardware limitation. Hence the change in the direction as soon as hardware become more powerful lol.

That's not true, it's turn-based because the tabletop RPGs that inspired them were turn-based before computer game RPGs were a thing.

 

[danowat]

I love turn based, I wonder if it has something to do with age.

To me, turn based is one of the purest forms of gaming, pure strategy, but I can get why some people don't like it, it's obviously not as immediately gratifying as other genres.

 

[cireza]

Turn based are my favorite RPGs by far.

You can't have deep strategic mechanics if everything is real time. It will never go as far as what you can actually calculate when you have time.

This is why games like Shining Force, Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, Terra Phantastica, Ogre Battle etc... offer things that you cannot have in a real time game.

Also, a lot of games require players taking turn, like table-top games, or real life RPG such as Dungeons & Dragons to only name one. And they are great games.

 

[Szadek]

I like turn-based strategy games like XCOM, Jagged Alliance and the like, but the JRPG-style shit (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest etc.) where you just select "Attack" over and over again is mind-numbingly dull.

You just need to play games with better battle systems.
It's like complaining that all action games are just brainless button mashers, which obviously isn't true.

 

[takriel]

Because you have good taste

 

[Joey Ravn]

I adore purely turn-based combat. I enjoy action-based, games, but I strongly lean towards turn-based. It's one of the reasons why I prefer FFV to other games in the series, for example. Even the ATB system was too action-focused for me.

 

[Hektor]

It is a stupid concept when you are under certain rules and you can only make a move when allowed to. I think it works for certain type of game/genre like card or strategy game. Role playing not so much, but of course people will defend this as they were used to it without knowing that they add turn based into JPRG only because of hardware limitation. Hence the change in the direction as soon as hardware become more powerful lol.

Utter horseshit.

Action RPGs have been a thing even on the SNES

 

[Danjin44]

It is a stupid concept when you are under certain rules and you can only make a move when allowed to. I think it works for certain type of game/genre like card or strategy game. Role playing not so much, but of course people will defend this as they were used to it without knowing that they add turn based into JPRG only because of hardware limitation. Hence the change in the direction as soon as hardware become more powerful lol.

What!!? What about games Tales games and Star Ocean? They were action RPG from the beginning.

 

[mnemonicj]

I feel you OP, but hate is too strong a word.
I've always really disliked turned-based games, and the only one I can remember playing is FFVIII but I couldn't finish it.

 

[danowat]

I think the take away from this should be, not all turn based games are the same.

 

[hotcyder]

I don't really like menu-driven turn-based combat like you'd see in Final Fantasy or Pokemon, but for some reason I love XCOM, Advance Wars and FF Tactics. Don't know what it is about the formula that turns me around on it - whether it's unit placement or w/e,

 

[peakish]

It's okay to not like turn-based combat. It and action combat serves different purposes, after all.

I like turn-based systems which are either pretty open by giving you lots of options (strategy games like Fire Emblem, Xcom, etc.) or those weird games which turn combat into puzzles of a sort. Although I think it was overused, Radiant Historia has this super awesome combat system where you and enemies each occupy a 3x3 grid. Your attacks can target individual cells, but also entire rows and lanes - not to mention that you can knock enemies around to set them up for these larger area attacks. It's super neat. I love stuff like that in turn-based systems.

Cosmic Star Heroine also forces you to plan your attacks in a similar way since your moves are used up and need to be refreshed, forcing you to plan several turns in advance to maximise your outgoing and minimise your incoming damage. It's more fast-paced than most other RPG's I've played, mostly without filler combat. Every battle is pretty much a puzzle for you to solve in the best way possible.

Then games like Baten Kaitos just does something absolutely bonkers by being card based and giving you boosts by following poker rules (pairs, triples, straights, etc) as your hand is refreshing. Pulling off sweet combos in that game feels so damn good, in a way that action games cannot replicate (although they can have their own combo systems which are great).