KH2FM - pretty much perfect. Very well thought out and constructed battle system. It's amazing to see what was done at the time. Great game balance (except Peter pan), no option really over powers another.
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Best combat systems, what's your favorite?
- Thread starter jukeboxhero2396
- Start date
Sekiro comes to mind. If played as intended, the last few boss battles were amazing. I was quite disappointed i saw speedrunners cheesing the shit out of them though, so that kind of negates it. Those battles felt like a rythm and reaction based dance, where you had keep focus for minutes on end. So rewarding.
Basically everything FROM has released since Demon's to Dark Souls 3. I like Sekiro, but find it's refined to the point of being extremely limited, even more so than Bloodborne was. Aside from those games, I really enjoyed the combat in Dragon's Dogma a whole lot. There hasn't been much like it before or since, and in third place I suppose it would be Monster Hunter.
This is really hard, as I love so many.
I'll say Sekiro though, due to how focused it is, being based around the one weapon.
If not Sekiro, then probably PS2 Shinobi.
I'll say Sekiro though, due to how focused it is, being based around the one weapon.
If not Sekiro, then probably PS2 Shinobi.
Id say it's a pretty even tie between Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Nioh, Bloodborne, Devil May Cry V, and Ninja Gaiden. Hard to put a pin on which is the "best" since they all offer some incredible and unique experiences within the genre, but it'd definitely be between one of those five titles for me.
I will add the list my get bigger, since im looking forward to titles like Final Fantasy VII Remake and Granblue Fantasy Re:link, which I hope to add to the list at some point. Everything I've seen with those two games looks amazing so far, and I can't wait to get my hands on them and try them out for myself.
I will add the list my get bigger, since im looking forward to titles like Final Fantasy VII Remake and Granblue Fantasy Re:link, which I hope to add to the list at some point. Everything I've seen with those two games looks amazing so far, and I can't wait to get my hands on them and try them out for myself.
Tales of Graces f.
It's like, imagine if Devil May Cry was a RPG with 5 characters simultaneously fights in one battle.
It's like, imagine if Devil May Cry was a RPG with 5 characters simultaneously fights in one battle.
Horizon Zero Dawn ranged combat is pure bliss. Fluid and responsive, gives you a lot of tools and approaches to taking down each machine (even though some strats can be exploited and become cheap, don't optimize the fun out of your games, folks).
I gotta say FFX- no penalty character swapping, tactical fast based turn battles, a fun weakness system - my favourite JRPG battle setup.
Always kept the Grandia 1/2 combat system in my heart. Lovely.
I've always loved the simplicity of Demon's/Dark Souls combat. The fact that your moveset in those games is so limited means that the games are more about learning how to overcome specific boss or enemy mechanics, rather than trying to figure out which of your long and complicated combos deals the most damage. I appreciate the crazy combos you can pull off in stuff like DMC4, but whenever I play games like that I always just end up sticking to 1 combo that works well enough to clear the game and I always feel like I'm not playing it properly. It also helps that the combat in Dark Souls feels great - the attacks and dodges all feel suitably weighty, and DkS 1 in particular has a perfect amount of iframes on your dodges.
I also love the combat in Ys: The Oath in Felghana/Origin, which take simplicity even further. The games don't even have a dodge/block button, forcing you to evade stuff through movement alone. That + the fast pace of the games + some great boss designs make those games a blast to play.
I also love the combat in Ys: The Oath in Felghana/Origin, which take simplicity even further. The games don't even have a dodge/block button, forcing you to evade stuff through movement alone. That + the fast pace of the games + some great boss designs make those games a blast to play.
I really like Nioh's gear-shifty combat, though I haven't really dug into that game so much. Bloodborne's is flashy and very crunchy. No More Heroes had a really interesting system too. Killer Is Dead's was nice at first but I couldn't really appreciate it cause the game itself was a bit too hard lol.
Devil May Cry 5 Nero and Dante, especially Dante with the crazy shit you could pull off with him. V......not so much.
I just want to name Dragon's Dogma, that is a spectacular game.
Though there are better combat systems, for the type of game Dragons Dogma is... is still unmatched.
Though there are better combat systems, for the type of game Dragons Dogma is... is still unmatched.
Games that immediately spring to mind:
- Final Fantasy XII, X, X-2 and FFTA2
- Crisis Core
- Lost Odyssey
- Shadow Hearts series
- Bloodborne/Souls
- Monster Hunter World
- Persona 3 & 4
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
And if it counts, World of Warcraft from Vanilla to WotLK/Cataclysm. MoP (and WoD especially) destroyed the core gameplay and class design as far as I'm concerned, and it's only gotten worse since then.
Also, I'm currently five hours into Chrono Cross and I quite like the combat so far.
- Final Fantasy XII, X, X-2 and FFTA2
- Crisis Core
- Lost Odyssey
- Shadow Hearts series
- Bloodborne/Souls
- Monster Hunter World
- Persona 3 & 4
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
And if it counts, World of Warcraft from Vanilla to WotLK/Cataclysm. MoP (and WoD especially) destroyed the core gameplay and class design as far as I'm concerned, and it's only gotten worse since then.
Also, I'm currently five hours into Chrono Cross and I quite like the combat so far.
Grandia 3. Grandia II is my favorite game out of the series, but 3 basically refined and had a lot of the great improvements Grandia II Extreme introduced such as learning special moves on the fly and combination attacks. The active battle system with cancels and criticals made for some of my favorite strategic moments in an RPG.
Dark Souls 3: It's fast, tight, and due to build variety you have a lot of ways to approach something.
Runner ups are Bloodborne and Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix.
Runner ups are Bloodborne and Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix.
The same few games end up getting banded about in threads like this (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) such as Dragon's Dogma, Vanquish, DMCV etc. so I'll try a few that I thoroughly enjoy that might not be as popular.
Resi 4-6 - I love them all. The over the shoulder shooting / melee system in 4 and 5 is simply excellent and incredibly satisfying to use. Resi6 is very much it's own beast, but regardless your feelings toward the game the intricate melee system it introduced is an incredible evolution of what came before. It's some genuine gun-fu nonsense.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden - This was a game I didn't expect to enjoy nearly as much as I did. It plays in a similar fashion to XCOM using cover based firefights in a turn-based combat encounter. It's a streamlined system and is incredibly satisfying to play.
Crackdown - Perhaps an odd choice, but the manic combat of the original crackdown is something I've always found immensely satisfying. The lock-on system might seem to trivialise the shooting, but in motion, whilst bounding across rooftops and lining up head / hand / knee shots it really comes together well. I generally stay away from the explosives in favour of roaming with a handgun and landing headshots whilst moving. It also adds a tangible sense of progression as your aiming becomes faster and more accurate as you level your various skills. Melee is also hilarious if only for round-house kicking enemies off of roof tops.
Dying Light - Its shooting is a bit sub-par, but bows and the crossbow introduced in The Following are very good fun. It's the melee that shines, though. Slice, dismember and club your way through hordes of the undead in a first-person melee system with a visceral sense of feedback. Mix that with the excellent parkour and mobility options as well as a variety of hand-to-hand combat moves and you have a combat system so full of options by the end of the game that it's just a joy to clamber rooftops and drop kick zombies to death.
Mount & Blade: Warband - I've only played this on console (i.e. without any mods) but the combat is truly excellent. Melee is difficult and unforgiving, but something you can truly master. It's very satsiying to win a 1v1 duel, or emerge victorious from a manic army vs. army clash. For me though, it's the archery that shines. As a skill you can improve, it ends up being this skilful death dealing ability that never feels overpowered. My Warband is essentially a pack of marauding mounted archers and we use our ranged abilities judiciously/
Resi 4-6 - I love them all. The over the shoulder shooting / melee system in 4 and 5 is simply excellent and incredibly satisfying to use. Resi6 is very much it's own beast, but regardless your feelings toward the game the intricate melee system it introduced is an incredible evolution of what came before. It's some genuine gun-fu nonsense.
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden - This was a game I didn't expect to enjoy nearly as much as I did. It plays in a similar fashion to XCOM using cover based firefights in a turn-based combat encounter. It's a streamlined system and is incredibly satisfying to play.
Crackdown - Perhaps an odd choice, but the manic combat of the original crackdown is something I've always found immensely satisfying. The lock-on system might seem to trivialise the shooting, but in motion, whilst bounding across rooftops and lining up head / hand / knee shots it really comes together well. I generally stay away from the explosives in favour of roaming with a handgun and landing headshots whilst moving. It also adds a tangible sense of progression as your aiming becomes faster and more accurate as you level your various skills. Melee is also hilarious if only for round-house kicking enemies off of roof tops.
Dying Light - Its shooting is a bit sub-par, but bows and the crossbow introduced in The Following are very good fun. It's the melee that shines, though. Slice, dismember and club your way through hordes of the undead in a first-person melee system with a visceral sense of feedback. Mix that with the excellent parkour and mobility options as well as a variety of hand-to-hand combat moves and you have a combat system so full of options by the end of the game that it's just a joy to clamber rooftops and drop kick zombies to death.
Mount & Blade: Warband - I've only played this on console (i.e. without any mods) but the combat is truly excellent. Melee is difficult and unforgiving, but something you can truly master. It's very satsiying to win a 1v1 duel, or emerge victorious from a manic army vs. army clash. For me though, it's the archery that shines. As a skill you can improve, it ends up being this skilful death dealing ability that never feels overpowered. My Warband is essentially a pack of marauding mounted archers and we use our ranged abilities judiciously/
Dark Souls, it's not really deep with complex combos and moves, but it makes up for it in weight and makes it all about timing your moves than learning combos since all of your attacks cannot be cancelled once you begin. Not that combat systems with combos are bad, because I also love the depth and freedom of DMC5's combat.
Modded DMC3 to allow style switching. 5 is great, with better normal enemies and some great weapon nuances, but I just love stuff like crazy combos, wild rides, and wall runs. Also it has Nevan and A&R. It's real close.
Turn based is D:OS2; between the positional stuff, the impressively tight balance, and the elemental combinatorics, it's all just great. I've my issues with the armor system, but I can't think of a better turn based system.
Best FPS combat system is Battlefield 4. It may not have the best pure gunplay, but taking "combat system" to be "systems that work together to make up the combat" puts it ahead. This is a game which is emblematic of the idea of "lets try to replicate weapon platform nuances so they actually feel like themselves" but still feels, well, game-y.
Shoutout to Golden Sun 2 though. The loop between in-battle class changes, djinn use, and summons is pretty fantastic, but the balance is just too screwy with melee attacks and special weapons.
Turn based is D:OS2; between the positional stuff, the impressively tight balance, and the elemental combinatorics, it's all just great. I've my issues with the armor system, but I can't think of a better turn based system.
Best FPS combat system is Battlefield 4. It may not have the best pure gunplay, but taking "combat system" to be "systems that work together to make up the combat" puts it ahead. This is a game which is emblematic of the idea of "lets try to replicate weapon platform nuances so they actually feel like themselves" but still feels, well, game-y.
Shoutout to Golden Sun 2 though. The loop between in-battle class changes, djinn use, and summons is pretty fantastic, but the balance is just too screwy with melee attacks and special weapons.
Melee: Devil May Cry 5 is the GOAT. Particularly Nero ridiculously fun, in depth but still easy to understand a lot of things. You go as deep as you want. KH2 FM is a close 2nd. Other than that I really enjoy souls melee combat as well as a different flavor to the above two.
Ranged: Love the feel of guns and mobility in Vanquish and Doom(2016)
Turn based: Persona/SMT is always great fun combat wise but I think my new favorite is Octopath Traveller's system. Hope to see more of it.
Ranged: Love the feel of guns and mobility in Vanquish and Doom(2016)
Turn based: Persona/SMT is always great fun combat wise but I think my new favorite is Octopath Traveller's system. Hope to see more of it.
Quite fond of Bloodborne and Monster Hunter, myself. I'm fancying up to Devil May Cry V quite a lot in the character action arena.
Most of my favorites have already been mentioned (Dragon's Dogma, Monster Hunter, KH2FM, DMC5), so I'll throw my hat in for a slightly different choice: Transformers Devastation.
While the game around it is only decidedly okay, the combat design is where the game truly shines. It's most similar to Bayonetta, but the combat has a surprising amount of depth beyond the surface level:
While the game around it is only decidedly okay, the combat design is where the game truly shines. It's most similar to Bayonetta, but the combat has a surprising amount of depth beyond the surface level:
Like any good fighting game basically dwarfs the rest.
Id still pick SSBM any day of the week in that regard with every second of the game letting both players have control even while being comboed
For Single player melee combat probably Sekiro or Bloodborne
Id still pick SSBM any day of the week in that regard with every second of the game letting both players have control even while being comboed
For Single player melee combat probably Sekiro or Bloodborne
Fuck me, thank you for reminding me of Graces F. That's another top contender.
Ninja Gaiden Black is still incredible to this day. Easily my favourite Action combat game
Virtua Fighter 5 is still my favourite fighter mechanics.
Virtua Fighter 5 is still my favourite fighter mechanics.
Devil May Cry 5 for me personally.
Never had this much fun with a combat system. After that, probably Bloodborne or Bayonetta 1.
Souls is just okay for me, the game design greatly elevates the combat system which, by itself, is nothing to write home about or has been done better in games inspired by DS (see Bloodborne).
IMO of course.
Never had this much fun with a combat system. After that, probably Bloodborne or Bayonetta 1.
Souls is just okay for me, the game design greatly elevates the combat system which, by itself, is nothing to write home about or has been done better in games inspired by DS (see Bloodborne).
IMO of course.
Ninja Gaiden Black, Nioh, FF Tactics, Kingdom Under Fire, Baten Kaitos / The Lost Kingdoms 2, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance serie, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, God of War, Gujian 3, Persona, Original Sin 2, Pillars of Eternity 2, FF XII, FF XIII-3, Bloodborne and Dead Space
Also all the 2D Zeldas
Also all the 2D Zeldas
Bloodborne, Sekiro, MHW, Dragon's Dogma are some of my favorites. Easy choices I know.
I LOVE this one, really really fun.