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[Graham-]

Or more radically we deal exclusively with status effects.

If my char is attacked, he might block and take no damage. He might take a glancing blow and injure his shoulder, or get his leg chopped off.

All of these things can be healed in battle. And of course each brings us closer to death. Maybe you lose 3 limbs and you die?

An injured shoulder reduces magic casting accuracy, and damage output for physical attacks. A chopped off leg has even more repercussions. Now damage is not HP based and it adds tactical variety.

edit:

My favourite bit in what you said is the randomness, creating variety.

[valrus]

In terms of what I *expect* from JRPGs, that would be a real shock if subverted: "My party will become more powerful in combat".  It sounds like this one is ripe for subversion here, if the PCs are basically Special Circumstances agents on a lower-tech world.  On the other hand, getting weaker is hardly a good gaming feeling. 

Maybe they grow no stronger but become more versatile?  As the game goes on, they learn that in a diverse environment, lower-tech solutions like pointy pieces of metal can solve a wider variety of problems than an EMP mine.

Or another way of subverting it: you start out as powerful as you ever get, but the players have the choice to develop ethically.  Over time, the PCs can decide that their goals are better achieved by avoiding conflicts altogether.  The skills they learn aren't things like "kill 20% more effectively" -- they're already the most powerful beings on the planet -- but "stun" and "roll" and "steal" and "vault".  It'd be crazy to see a "tactics" RPG where everyone's a trickster in a helzapoppin melee, bounding over guards, bouncing on gels, sliding between giant's legs, using light and smoke and neurotoxins to manipulate the enemy.

You wouldn't have to force "ethics" on the player, just give them that option, and let your normal sociopathic RPGish behavior actually have consequences.  Let the player kill every animal in the area, but allow that to have some consequences to the local ecosystem and economy.  Let them kill every guard in the castle, but be realistic and let each of those guys have families in town.

[valrus]

Or more radically we deal exclusively with status effects.

Oh, wow, that's radical, and makes sense.  If I'm an intergalactic commando and land on an inhabited alien world, what kills me?  Not swords.  Pollen.

[Mittens]

I don't like when encounters just happen from random chance (like while in the grass in pokemon)

I much prefer when you can see the enemies you will encounter moving around (like in Mario RPG)

I also don't like that encounters often transition you to a new kind of chessboard environment, I always wanted to see a JRPG where the encounters happen on the same map as the one you travel around in

I am also yet to play a JRPG where the combat moves happen simultaneously instead of one after another.
Why not choose an action for every member of your party, have the enemy choose theirs then play them all out at once?

I don't like when a players party gets amalgamated into their ass, I much prefer party members be like pikachu in Pokemon yellow and physically follow you around

Aaaaaand that's all I can think of for now

[baconman]

Mittens needs a Chrono Trigger.

[Graham-]

^^

Skies of Arcadia's ship combat has moves play out all at once. You enter the moves for your party - of 4 - then watch the combat for a little bit. Then you put in 4 more moves, and so on.

When you enter commands there are "hints" of what your opponent may do in the next round, and when he/she will do each one. There is a nice feeling of entering, then watching.

[Amirai]

I also don't like that encounters often transition you to a new kind of chessboard environment, I always wanted to see a JRPG where the encounters happen on the same map as the one you travel around in

I am also yet to play a JRPG where the combat moves happen simultaneously instead of one after another.
Why not choose an action for every member of your party, have the enemy choose theirs then play them all out at once?

You might like the RPG I'm working on in my sig, though I'm not sure I would describe it as JRPG style. All actions are happening at once, with different commands taking up more or less time, and it all happens on the same map as exploration, which enables use of the environment as well in battle.

It's sort of like a party based Zelda with a realtime with pause battle system that's tuned to be sort of more like a turn based input system with all the actions happening at once. One of the benefits of the battle system is the player can purposely react to incoming attacks with all their abilities rather than just relying on a stat for dodging, blocking, or healing after getting hit.

I know, I need to work on my elevator pitch. I find it a little difficult to describe.

[Graham-]

I'm interested. You mean there's a mass command-input phase, then an action-mechanics phase as everything plays out?

[airman4]

I don't like when encounters just happen from random chance (like while in the grass in pokemon)

I much prefer when you can see the enemies you will encounter moving around (like in Mario RPG)

I also don't like that encounters often transition you to a new kind of chessboard environment, I always wanted to see a JRPG where the encounters happen on the same map as the one you travel around in

I am also yet to play a JRPG where the combat moves happen simultaneously instead of one after another.
Why not choose an action for every member of your party, have the enemy choose theirs then play them all out at once?

I don't like when a players party gets amalgamated into their ass, I much prefer party members be like pikachu in Pokemon yellow and physically follow you around

Aaaaaand that's all I can think of for now

[Amirai]

I'm interested. You mean there's a mass command-input phase, then an action-mechanics phase as everything plays out?

Sort of, yeah, but it's more that the action auto-pauses when a character's command is complete rather than the whole party, so the action pauses while other character's and enemies' actions are still playing out. Then when a new command is inputted for that character the action resumes (there are some commands that don't auto pause, like auto attack to keep hitting an enemy, but the game is geared for the player to not want to use them most of the time for extra control).

This enables all sorts of options, like hitting an enemy before it's done casting to cancel its spell, hitting an incoming spell with one of your own to make it explode, deflecting an enemy projectile/spell to hit another enemy, running and luring an enemy into a dungeon trap, etc.

[Graham-]

Like this?

[Amirai]

Yeah, it's a lot like Grandia, except there are no periods of characters standing around waiting for their turns, characters don't run back to a spot after their turn, abilities don't pause the action for everyone else, and the player can select where the characters should move to.

I really should just make a video. Even in its very, very unfinished state, it would probably be easier than trying to describe it.

[Graham-]

sounds cool

[Graham-]

Or more radically we deal exclusively with status effects.

Oh, wow, that's radical, and makes sense.  If I'm an intergalactic commando and land on an inhabited alien world, what kills me?  Not swords.  Pollen.

Allergies, then death.

[eyeliner]

Annoying:

There's a secret uber boss that you can fight optionally, but it is before end game, so you level up like a madman to beat it, making the end boss a mere nuisance to defeat.

[Graham-]

Getting the super weapon is often harder than using it.