Originally Posted by shidoshi
Not at all. The game would, essentially, allow the player to determine the challenge that is presented to them.
As I see it, there are two main problems with difficulty in RPGs. First, you have the people that aren't real RPG fans, but still want to play a certain RPG because it looks interesting. Those players try playing the game, find fights that are difficult, and find systems that they are forced to learn that are far more complex than what they wanted to deal with. (Item creation in SO3, for example, or the Sphere Grid in FFX.)
On the other end are the gamers that have been playing RPGs for a while, and find a game either too easy, or difficult in the wrong way. How many RPGs can you play where you can easily win battles simply be mashing the button to set each character to do attacks? As far as incorrect difficulty, an example of this is when you reach a new area, and suddenly the creatures in that area are really difficult until you go and buy all new equipment at the local shop.
For the players who aren't good, or who don't want to do a lot of fighting, creatures are generally easy enough to kill without a whole lot fuss, and bosses can be beaten without actually having to do so. (See below.) However, if the player IS putting an effort into the game, trying to improve their characters, and wanting to get some good challenge, the game takes note of this, and adjusts the creatures accordingly. Theoretically, the game would be set up so that hopefully the balance of challenge between player and monsters is constant. But, if you find that the creatures are still a bit too easy, or too hard, give the player the option to give the creatures either extra benefits or handicaps.
To go along with this, we get rid of the entire idea of levelling. Chrono Cross did this, and it proved to work just fine. Instead of forcing the player to level, instead give them the ability to expand their abilities if desired. When you play an RPG, why do you level? Yes, of course, to become a more powerful character. But a lot of it has to do with expanding your abilities, being able to do new and cooler things, and giving yourself more resources against your enemies. That, I think, should be the main focus of character progression, not upping your stats. For example, in SO3, I levelled not because I neccessarily wanted to become a hugely powerful character, but because I gained new abilities which made battles more fun. Let the player, if they wish, do things which would advance their character in the way of what they can do, what kinds of abilities they have, their spells, stuff like that.
Of course, as you are doing that, the bosses are also being given new abilities. The challenge then stays there. Sure, you've got this great new attack or spell, but so does your enemy. So, even as you grow as a character and gain new abilities, you are also required to learn how to deal with the new abilities your foes are gaining because of it. I like RPGs where the bosses have a lot of different things at their disposal, and I'm forced to keep on my toes and learn how to deal with them.
Instead of having fights be about life or death, have them be about storyline and character factors.
For example, let's say you are in a village where a big monster keeps attacking. You and your party get into a fight with the monster. If you win the battle, then the villagers are grateful to you, and maybe give you something cool, or from that point on let you stay at the inn and buy your supplies for free. As well, your reputation as heroes goes up, and that helps to lead to new storyline arcs or sidequests that you wouldn't get otherwise. If you fail to beat the monster, the fight ends with the villagers ganging up on the monster and killing it themselves. They then see you as weak, and you don't get the cool new item, you don't get the props, and you miss out on some storyline or game elements.
For the people who just want to play the game and see the story, they don't have to worry about getting stuck on a monster they can't beat. For the people who want to get the most from the game, they have two chances (first attempt, then the ability to momentary rest and give it another go) in order to beat the boss in an attempt to gain the benefits that are earned from doing so.
