RPG Maker Forums

Im curious to know the opinion of the community regarding the mechanics of this niche genre, almost exclusive to japan sadly.

Personally i really loved games like Eiyuu senki (World conquest) In case you have never played one of these, it usually plays out like a regular JRPG (sometimes with strategic and or tactical elements) but the exploration elements are removed to focus on the narrative and the combat system.

Fire emblem and other tactical rpg series are also similar to this but the complexity is usually within the battle system and not in the visual novel aspect.

Another more or less well know series that attempted this was the Record of Agarest war games, but the execution was deeply flawed imo.

I will use Eiyuu senki as an example of what i mean, basically the whole game takes place in a world map (like in tactical rpgs) and from there you choose where to go, once you select a chapter/location, etc you get a visual novel segment followed by a battle or series of battles. After the battle you use your rewards to replenish the health of your forces, buy new equipment, etc...

The above was pretty standard rpg fare, now the real appeal of this genre lies within the narrative, unlike a traditional rpg where choices can alter the story but you never deviate from the same framework, since that would mean making multiple games worth of graphics, animations, etc. A visual novel hybrid allows you to have real different routes depending on your actions where things can get really different from the "main route"

The only problem i can see people having with this is:

-1 You dont like visual novels, at all.

-2 Combat gets boring/repetitive

-3 The story sucks

-4 any combination of the above.

Still i would love to do a game like this someday (not crazy enough to do it now ;D) So what are your thoughts? im very new to game dev so if i missed something, please let me know.