Old-School RPGs Still Hold Wonder
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I could make convincing arguments for "Xenogears," "Chrono Trigger" or "Phantasy Star." Each has the epic sweep, the time- and space-spanning sense of wonder that many of us crave from the genre. "Xenogears," for example, involves no less than the death of God. Of course, "Final Fantasy" and even "Pokemon" have their partisans, and old-timers recall the blocky eight-bit graphics of computer RPGs like "Ultima" and "Wizardry" with awe.
Each of these games has an old-fashioned gameplay mechanic at its core. It's called "turn-based combat," meaning that good guy attacks bad guy, then bad guy retaliates. Yes, it's completely artificial, and more developers have abandoned turn-based combat for a style of battling in which everybody's hacking away at the same time. The most high-profile American RPGs of recent years, such as "Fable" and "Jade Empire," have emphasized real-time combat, with its faster pace and heightened sense of involvement.
