Best Turn-Based Combat

[DeadEyeDragon]

If you like handheld games then I would recommend Devil Survivor.

 

[Jelly ^.^]

Advance Wars

 

[Kotep]

Resonance of Fate. If only there was more of a variety in battles and in exploration, it would be absolutely amazing. As it is, you end up fighting a lot of the same battles. But it's quite fun, and when you're playing it, it's basically like an action movie that you control (which is a lot more impressive than an action movie that you can't control, cough cough FFXIII cough cough)

 

[Zeraki]

Grandia 2 by far has my favorite turn based combat, that is part of my love for the game. The cancel system is fun, and it is cool how you can add combos to your standard melee attacks.

Also you get to listen to this during battles.

[youtube=jONfsUCAARE&feature=related

 

[bushwhacker2k]

Sonny and Sonny 2 get my vote, even though their flash games...

Good choice, can't disregard flash games

Final Fantasy: Tactics if you haven't already, classic.

 

[EzraPound]

KOTOR

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Chrono Trigger. You fight enemies on the map and the encounters are all scripted rather than random (you walk into enemies or certain areas to start fights), and there's a lot of techs that, using the battle-on-the-map mechanic, let you hit lots of enemies at once.

And trust me, the combat is only one reason that it's often called the best game ever.

 

[Smokej]

hell yeah the pinnacle of gameplay. Some good examples have already been named (like JA2, ToEE, XCom), so i want to name a few underrated ones: Dominions, Steel Panthers, Silen Storm, Front Mission

btw if you want to try a Squad Tactics game that gets Real Time right, try Brigade 7.62 High Calibre (with the Hard Life or Blue Sun mod)

 

[Ghengis John]

Well I've been playing alot of RPGs recently and I've grown tired of the dull simplistic combat all the ones I can find have. So I've decided to ask the fine members of theEscapist for their help. What game do you think has the best turn-based combat? It doesn't have to be an RPG all I need is that it's turn-based, I have next to no interest inreal-time combat unless it's truly exceptional.

Jagged Alliance 2

X-Com: UFO Defense. Finest turn based game ever made.

HM for Jagged Alliance 2, which is also freakin' fantastic, although the difficulty curve is vicious.

I second (or third) these men's recommendation. Jagged Alliance 2 is an RPG in the respect that you have stats which level up and characters have personalities and traits that effect their performance (You also make various decisions that alter events), it is a gun based tactical strategy game on the other hand where you take over a country using a big map grid of it where you direct your soldiers towards resources, towns and airports leading them into action/strategy turn-based battles.

 

[onewheeled]

Heroscape [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroscape], anyone? ...Anyone?

Fine, I'll go with Disgaea and its completely wacky, yet brilliant combat.

 

[Jandau]

Galactic Civilizations 2 is sorely underrepresented here.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Civilisation 5 i'm enjoying alot of atm and that turn based RTS. Also got Heros of Might and Magic 5 which has nice turn based combat, but its quite basic at the start.

Uhm... surely if it's turn based it's not real time?

Anyway, props for HoMM5, I love it and the rest of the series too! Probably the greatest turn based strategy games ever, I think. I know the threads asking for turn based RPGs, but you really can't beat HoMM for anything turn based.

 

[Arqus_Zed]

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga. The press turn system was a really good way of making elemental weaknesses and strengths boil down to more than a bit of extra damage, without it being totally game changing like Pokemon main games.

Pretty much this.
(though I don't like that people tend to call Pokémon into the equation, since the first Megami Tensei title came out 9 years before the first Pokémon game)

Also, I'd like to put in a good word for Shadow Hearts Covenant.
- It's turn-bassed and you can see the order of turns on the side.
- Up to four characters in a battle (as opposed to the three you see in most RPG's nowadays).
- The adaptable Judgement Ring adds an extra dimension of skill to the combat.
- It's possible to perform combo attacks with other team members.
- A rich variation of personal skills, fusions and adaptable magic from Crests.

Aaaand it also has a deep story with lots of funny undertones, awesome CG cut-scenes, a strong musical score courtesy of Yoshitaka Hirota and is set in 1915 - a WW I setting with monsters, magic and Gregory Rasputin!

 

[deshorty]

Either FF Tactics advance or Jeanne D'Arc. Not only do both have fantastic story, but the gameplay is fantastic.

 

[Vhite]

Heroes of Might and Magic. I have played it with my friend for days and it never stopped being fun.

 

[Alfador_VII]

I think pretty much all of the Final Fantasy games, or Chrono Trigger. I know some of them are "active", but still basically turn-based.

Also X-Com, and Front Mission

Mind you turn-based combat could only ever happen in games couldn't it ...

 

[Acaroid]

I still like the front mission series for tactic turn based rpg. Not the new 3rd person piece of crap but the old ones obviously.

 

[GamingAwesome1]

FF12.

I'm serious.

For all the bad mouthing that game gets thrown at it (for perfectly valid reasons IMO) the battle system was smooth and breezy if you were intelligent enough to set your Gambits up to cover all the bases, it made micromanaging your party a non-issue if you could do it right the first time.