Whatever happened to the days of traditional turn-based RPG's? The industry seems to be dominated by the so-called real-time RPG's. But what is the impetus behind the transition when turn-based RPG's worked brilliantly. It ain't broke, so why fix it? The system provided the player with complete control over the battle, permitting the player to implement effective and efficient battle strategies. Real-time RPG's, however, require a dependence upon unintelligent AI. You run into to battle with fingers crossed, hoping that your uncontrollable AI partners fight the fight correctly. Unfortunately, the computer-controlled characters are more adept at causing stress than defeating a hydra.

While most real-time RPG's allow you to customize your party members so they can battle more proficiently, the lack of direct control tends to be more frustrating than not. Kingdom Hearts is a prime example of why this engine is inferior to the traditional turn-based battle system. Donald and Goofy seem to either never use healing and support items, or use too many of them. If you set them to heal sparingly, more often than not they will die before they realize they should be using a potion. If you set them to heal often, they will use your precious healing items no matter how little damage they've received. Automation may be practical for banking but not for complex and highly nuanced fantasy battles.

That isn't to say that ALL real-time engines are bad. SquareEnix successfully executed a real-time engine in Final Fantasy XII largely because of the depth of the gambit customization. But Final Fantasy XII is an exception, and the potential it exhibits should not be considered adequate justification for the industry to abandon the turn-based RPG genre all together. The problem is that industry is apparently determined to do just that.

Sadly, the RPG's of today just don't stack up to some of the greatest RPG's in gaming history - Chrono Trigger, Lunar, Final Fantasy VI, Dragon Warrior IV, Earthbound, etc. - all of which were turn-based. A prime example of an exceptionally designed turn-based RPG is Lufia and the Fortress of Doom for the SNES. This game allowed the player to enjoy the game rather than worrying about who to level up (everybody has that one spoony bard that they hate using). Although the option to choose your own party featured in today's RPG's can be enjoyable, it often causes the player to spend hours upon hours farming just so every character can be at the same level. Is that the purpose of an RPG? Shouldn't the player be spending time advancing through the story instead?

In addition, a game like Lufia is not riddled with hundreds of side quests. Side quests can be rewarding and add length to the game, but too many of them and you can lose track of the main story. Lufia, on the other hand, keeps your attention focused on the plot. You continue playing not because you want to power level your characters but because you want to find out how the game ends. Finally, Lufia provides total control over the entire battle as the game is turn-based. Your options are attack, defend, magic, item and run. It's as simple as that. Choose attack, and the character will attack without the necessity of incessant button mashing.

Some criticize turn-based systems for the slow pace of play preferring the frenetic pace of real-time battles. While real-time battles may seem more action packed, turn-based battles can be just as dramatic if not more so. Most anyone who has played a turn-based RPG has experienced a critical life or death moment. Your entire party is wiped out except for one character who clinging to life with only 10HP. The protagonist is flashing red. The enemy attacks but by some miracle it misses. In desperation, you strike. Critical hit! The beast has been defeated! This is what old school RPG's were about, and it's impossible to witness this phenomenon in real-time fighting because the action is too fast to build such drama. Sadly, the dramatic crescendo mechanic is becoming a relic of gaming lore as the industry's focus shifts to real-time RPG's.

But SquareEnix has proven lately, with its remakes of turn-based RPG's Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV and Dragon Quest IV for the DS, that this paradigm shift is not necessarily what the consumers want. Final Fantasy III sold over a million copies in 2006. Final Fantasy IV, which was just released in Japan only, sold nearly 300,000 in its first week. These are all impressive numbers for an RPG, which rarely top the 1 million mark. In addition, the Dragon Quest series, which has never strayed from its turn-based roots, is by far Japan's most popular video game series. Dragon Quest IV, released in November, is already on the cusp of selling a million copies, and the upcoming Dragon Quest 9 is poised to shatter DS sales records.

Although real-time seems to be all the rage these days (i.e. Radiata Stories, Final Fantasy XII, Rogue Galaxy, Tales of Legendia, etc.) within the development community, could it be that the consumer wants something else? It wouldn't be the first time that there was a disconnect between the publishers and the consumers. Might the publishers take notice of SquareEnix's impressive sales figures and return to a turn-based system for their next big budget RPG? One can only hope.