You’d be strapped to find a gaming review that doesn’t address grinding. Grinding is usually a process of gaining character experience, including repetitive tasks such as farming items or engaging in enemy battles. Over and over and over again – ad nauseam. In recent JRPGs, the concept of auto-battle has been introduced. In games such as Square Enix’s Bravely Default and Atlus’ Persona 4, the player is granted the ability to create an enemy-shattering battle strategy. This strategy, once plugged into the game’s battle system, can be automated. No more memorizing moves or smashing X. The game plays itself.
By eliminating the need for grinding, does the inclusion of auto-battling present an upgrade for JRPGs? Or does automating battle systems cheapen the game and ultimately result in developer-condoned cheating?
Possible approach: Comparing and contrasting auto-battle in other games.
I think this topic will be particularly interesting to pursue considering the general focus on the story in JRPGs. Is it the case that JRPGs care more for story than they do for gameplay and does this affect whether we view Auto Battle as an upgrade? The option to Auto Battle in some entries in the Fire Emblem series seems particularly interesting, considering the series is notorious for its difficulty and strategy elements. – Lbrook47 years ago