The other day I watched a video that explores the appeal of Turn-Based RPGs, and one of the things he mentioned was how Turn-Based RPGs are more like puzzles. They require more knowledge than skill. Thinking about it, I guess that's what I enjoy about those games.
You can watch the video below:
Unlike action-based games, no muscle memory training is required to excel at Turn-based RPGs (with exceptions of course,) what you need is understanding the games systems and how they interact with each other. It's about resource management where everything is a resource: What skills do and how to counter them? Which items to use immediately? Which to save for a hard boss? Can you beat a dungeon before your items run out...?
In a platformer or a hack-and-slash action game, you could know what you should do and not have the muscle memory to do it. But in an RPG, most of the challenge is about figuring out what to do. Anticipating how the system would be utilized next replaces the reliance on muscle memory...
RPGs usually have complex and deep systems that are easily to learn but take a long time to master. For example, Final Fantasy VII's Materia system allows you to equip Magic and Skills to any character, pretty standard for an RPG... But materia can be linked together for combined effects. Deeper exploration into the system and materia combinations, allows for staking multiple actions in one turn.
That bit about systems also reminds me of another video I watched:
This video argues that RPG players brains work differently from everyone else, as they're trained to think in terms of systems. I don't agree with the video, I think his evidence is weak, especially when he gave a shooter game to an RPG player and he didn't know what to do.... But it's still interesting way to look at the topic.
RPG Bosses as Puzzles
What best illustrates Turn-based RPGs are puzzles idea, is how often bosses are made to have a trick or a weak-point that the player is supposed to discover. Some bosses have set attack patterns, some have alternating weak points, some even limit the player choices... All of them try to utilize the game's battle systems in interesting ways rarely found in common enemies.
Persona games are all about discovering enemy weaknesses and exploiting them, and that holds extra true for bosses. I can think of more than a few enemies whom knowing their strategy before hand obliterates all of the challenge... In ATB-era Final Fantasy games, bosses usually have phases. Some RPG games make bosses immune to all status ailments, but some games make them susceptible to certain effects.
I think the best use of Battle Systems in RPGs is making the player feel clever for beating your challenges, and the best RPG games in my opinion are ones that keep players in the flow-state the longest...
What do you guys think?