SD) Combat Mechanics

One of the cornerstones of any RPG is the battle system. It's the primary way in which players will interact with the world that you present to them and a solid foundation from which to build the experience. The best story and visuals in the world won't save you if the majority of players drop the game early on due to a boring combat system. One of the biggest hurdles when making a game like Shattered Destinies would be to find a way to blend characters and worlds that have vastly different combat together in a way that feels respectful and cohesive. After all, we have characters from first person shooter style games, tactics grid based combat, traditional turn based, and more action focused real time combat.

My first thought for inspiration comes from one of the classics in the genre, Final Fantasy VI. Final Fantasy VI has the traditional turn based combat, but augments it the the Active Time Battle system, or ATB. ATB gives each character in the party their own separate timer that fills, allowing them to act when it's full. In addition, many of the characters have their own way of being played that is unique to them. For instance, Sabin, who is the train suplexing martial artist, has his Blitz abilities, which require the player the input button commands that are lifted straight from a fighting game to use. Similarly, Setzer's abilities are tied to a slot machine mechanic, showing his nature as a gambler. Almost all of the characters in the game play in a unique way that makes them feel different and helps flesh them out as characters.

Recently, critical darling Clair Obsur: Expedition 33 featured a similar battle system while also focusing on timing to increase or decrease damage. Each of the playable characters has unique mechanics while also having skill trees that allow players to customize how they play. This form of player expression through combat makes the game feel more personal and greatly enhances replayability as it encourages the player to try new builds. It also has what is likely my absolute favorite feature, which allows a second chance in combat by having the characters not in the active party jump in should the main party fall. It makes it worthwhile to learn how to use every character effectively and can lead to some amazing come from behind victories.

So, for Shattered Destines, I think a turn based approach is the best foundation from which to build upon. Instead of simply focusing on an active time battle system, I think having the turn order for characters and enemies displayed, while having plenty of ways for the player and enemies to manipulate this order, is the way to go. While it would be an option to simply mash your way through combat, not using special abilities and just using vanilla attacks, boss encounters as well as late game battles would be designed to discourage and punish such thoughtless gameplay.

Each playable character will have characteristics and mechanics that are unique to them, at least initially. For instance, Kanji Tatsumi will have access to his persona, giving him more options in combat while allowing him to target enemy weaknesses. His persona abilities, while unique to him in the party, will be available to specific enemies when the party has to visit a world from the Persona series. Likewise, Alfyn's apothecary skills, which will primarily be used as a way to reward exploration by finding ingredients for him to use, will be available for enemies to use should they come from the Octopath universe. In this way, I hope to reward players not just for their knowledge of the games these characters come from, but also encourage them to experiment with the party so they can best be prepared for what enemies may throw at them.