Coming soon to a debate near you!

With that in mind, I will begin my rebuttal by addressing his example: "Before I begin, I'd like you to picture that you're playing an RPG (perhaps FINAL FANTASY), that you've just defeated an extremely difficult boss, are low on HP and MP and are now returning to a "save point" so that you may save your progress. Indeed, this "save point" is well within your sites and you are about to access it . . . BUT THEN SUDDENLY, the screen goes all haywire, you hear this annoying "battle theme" which you've heard hundreds (if not, then thousands) of times before and you see some equally annoying monsters. Noting your low HP and MP, you try to flee the battle, but for someone reason, you're either too slow to flee or the monsters are too fast. After having tried to flee and taken damage in the process of attempting to flee, you decide to fight back against the monsters, only to have your party annihilated due to your low health, at the same time, undoing the progress against the extremely difficult boss you just defeated. " While this would be an obvious problem with this game and similar ones, where you must reach a save point, in other RPG's such as Golden Sun, you can save your progress at any time (while out of battle or a cutscene, of course). This would counter the problem of dying due to random encounters. So while it may be true that in a game where you must reach save points, random encounters can be troublesome, in a game where you can manually save, there is no such problem. Since the resolution encompasses ALL RPG's, and the random encounter problem presented is not applicable to such RPG's that manually save, all RPG's should not discontinue the random encounter system. Also, what about the Pokemon GBA games? They are RPG games (at least for the basic storyline), and not only can you save manually and heal at a Pokemon Center, but catching wild Pokemon is essential to completion of the RPG and Strategy portions of the game. Even if we do not consider the above examples, there are still ways around my opponent's example. You could heal your party (with magic or items), keep attempting to run until it works, or simply reset the game until you can walk to the save point without a random encounter. "Now, this may have been a legitimate reason to favor random encounters back in the old days, but gaming has evolved. Now, the detail in the battle scenes can be equated to the detail in the non battle scenes. My evidence for this claim is the rpg known as Final Fantasy XII. An RPG which did not rely on on random encounters might I add. Thus, with the newer, more powerful gameplay machines, the addition of random encounters should be completely out of the question. " So you're saying this system is better than a random encounter system? True, but I believe FF has a patent on this sytem, so other RPG's cannot use it. Even if they didn't, it would just make all the RPG game that much closer to each other. (I'll expand in my case. ) "As implied in my opening story, you had no choice but to face the random monsters. You couldn't simply circumvent these monsters (with a little strategy mind you) and you certainly couldn't choose when to fight them (with the exception of a rare item). You fought this battle when the computer told you to. This removes plenty of potential from the game as who likes being controlled? Who likes playing a game in a highly linear fashion. There's a reason the "Grand Theft Auto" games are as popular as they are and that is because of the overall CHOICE you have in the game. It would be far better if players were able to choose which battles they wanted to face in RPG games as restrictions are detrimental to the gameplay's potential (a statement which I shall elaborate on if my opponent request). " Other systems of battle are not much better. For example, you encounter an enemy. While in the battle screen, you have the option to fight it or run. So you don't have to battle. If you are unable to run, it is because you either have bad luck or are weaker than the enemy, and in real life, would you be able to run from something that is bigger/faster/stronger than you? "Finally (and most obviously, as hinted by the above story), random encounters can really make a game tedious due to the sheer repetition. This actually ties into the above point concerning freedom. When you are randomlly forced to fight "random Malaboro #10" 50 times over, something is indeed wrong with the gameplay. This a reason as to why choice/freedom is necessary as doing the same over and over again just makes the game highly repetitive (a point which I may need to elaborate on). " Well there can be more than one Malaboro can't there? Just because it gets repetitive doesn't mean it should be removed from the game. Also, it's completely realistic to be caught by surprise by an enemy, thus forcing a random encounter. So, to sum up my opponent's case, RPG's should not have random encounter systems because: 1. They can pose a problem when they are forced upon a weak party. RE: This only applies to games with save points, and even then, there are ways around it. 2. Their main purpose was to showcase a cool battle screen, but with modern technology that isn't necessary. RE: They are also used to provide experience for your player, items, etc. 3. Random encounter are not necessary, as seen in FFXII. RE: That system is patented, and even if it weren't, it would make all RPG's that much similar. 4. It controls the player. RE: It exercises little control over the player, since you usually control your specific actions in the battle. 5. It's repetitive? RE: So? Whew. Now for my case, I'll try to make it short and to the point. Point 1: Different kinds of RPG's need random encounters. Pokemon, for example, requires you to face wild Pokemon to proceed through the storyline. In Golden Sun, for example, they are necessary to gain experience and items, and you can avoid the dying problem by manually saving. For the resolution to be true, it must address ALL RPG's. Everything else I said in my first rebuttal. (Sorry for being lazy. ) Point 2: It encourages diversity within games. Not only do different games have different enemies to help define them, but they have different battle systems as well. Abolishing random encounters in all RPG's would bring them all so much closer to each other and make them more like each other. That's all I will present for now.