Chrono Trigger, Wild ARMS 2, Tales of Symphonia, and Suikoden all solved the random encounter problem in completely different ways and we appreciate that
re: random encounter problem
@IceWolf the random encounter problem is just that random encounters are really annoying and players don't like them
chrono trigger solved it by not having any random encounters at all, they all spawn in set locations
wild ARMS 2 solved it by giving you the ability to choose to skip low-level encounters before even the battle transition, or encounters of similar level to you but not for free
Suikoden solved it by streamlining the entire process, from the battle transition taking like one second to the menuing being very simple and straightforward
Tales of Symphonia solved it by having enemies still spawn randomly, but they move around visibly on the map and only start an encounter when they catch you
re: random encounter problem
@Felthry Huh, neat!
Okami does that last one too. :3
re: random encounter problem
@IceWolf Ōkami isn't really a jrpg, though! it does do something similar though
re: random encounter problem
@Felthry Oh, this is specific to jrpgs?
...what /is/ a JRPG, anyway?
re: random encounter problem
@IceWolf A game like Final Fantasy or Tales or something
re: random encounter problem
@Felthry Can't say I've ever played either of those. :P [Although I've been thinking about getting into a Final Fantasy, although I have no idea where I'd start.]
re: random encounter problem
@IceWolf Start with either 6 or 9! they're the best.
would also recommend wild arms 3, tales of vesperia, baten kaitos, suikoden, and chrono trigger as jrpgs to try
Final Fantasy tangent
@Felthry Neat, thanks!
Are either of those on PC? I don't have any consoles to speak of. >,,>
re: Final Fantasy tangent
@IceWolf Both of them have PC versions but we'd recommend emulating the original SNES version of FFVI if you do
re: Final Fantasy tangent
@IceWolf they kinda mangled it. the FFIX port isn't great either but it's less terrible
re: Final Fantasy tangent
@Felthry Good to know! Although /getting/ the SNES version and /reading/ the... however it's stored would probably be nigh impossible, so I'd probably have to go the PC version. >,,<
re: Final Fantasy tangent
@IceWolf Rrm? Just get the rom and play it in retroarch or snes9x, it's not hard! dubious legality but eh, not unethical in my book
re: Final Fantasy tangent
@Felthry Yeahhh... I don't like doing illegal stuff even if it's ethical. I don't know why. Just feels wrong somehow. :/
re: Final Fantasy tangent
@IceWolf Mm, that's fine then. Go with the PC version.
The PSX version is really cheap to get too but it's got super bad load times
re: Final Fantasy tangent
@Felthry *snorts* Considering I tend to run my games off of USB...
re: Final Fantasy tangent
@IceWolf can you do that with an unmodded playstation??
re: Final Fantasy tangent
@Felthry Uhh, dunno. Probably. My family /does/ have a PS4, I could use that I suppose, but I was talking PC there. I basically never use the PS4.
[I know you can use external storage for some things on PS4, I don't know if that extends to game installations.]
re: Final Fantasy tangent
@IceWolf PS4 can't play PSX games, you'd need a PS1, PS2, or PS3 for that. And afawk you can't play PSX games from anything but disc--remember this was before downloading games was even a vaguely imaginable idea
re: Final Fantasy tangent
@IceWolf the SNES original is quite a sought-after game though, so not easy to get
I don't remember how WA2 did it, but Wild Arms 3 had a really clever system where exploring around dungeons got you "Migrant Seal" items that boosted the limit of what level encounters you could just say "nah, no thanks" to.
For the long-delayed Delyria game I've been tempted to just have no random battles at all. Go ahead and explore the dungeon all you want, and then go fight the boss. You'll be woefully underprepared for it, but you're welcome to try. If you want to actually get the resources you need to build up the equipment and skills to take on a challenge, you can always summon a battle on demand. Depending on where you are and the local conditions, you might even find something rare and special.
@dodec Wild ARMS 2 uses a slightly more primitive version of the same system as Wild Arms 3. I went with 2 because it was the first to use it
@Felthry Huh, what's the random encounter problem? *perks ears* And how'd they solve it?