1. Evil Baddie has 100,000 health, and does 50 dmg per hit.
You have 500 health, and do 8000 damage per hit.
or
2. Evil Baddie has 600 health, and does 350 damage per hit.
You have 500 health, and do 300 damage per hit.
You should see what I'm talking about. Examples of the first type of game include Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga and the first three Final Fantasy games. Examples of the second type include Pokemon and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
Neither. Or it depends on what part of the game we're talking about.
I've actually thought of this before and I prefer the second type. The numbers just seem easier to handle and everything's a bit more organized.
The thing is, though, is that the games of the second type have really quick battles. Yeah, they are better for multiplayer, but once the characters get really powerful, it can turn into a bunch of OHKO'ing action.
Yeah, but the problem with the first type is a boss who has 1,000,000,000 HP but only does 75 points of damage. It's retarded.
And the problem with the second is that it's TOO balanced. Personally, in an RPG I like to see a bit of challenge. You know, have the bosses and bigger characters at least a bit more stronger than me. It brings some strategy in the game and make you think. Plus, it seems more plausible. I mean, if you're going against this big, bad boss, shouldn't it be quite a bit stronger than you are (Unless you level up a lot, but point stands)?
Option 3: Enemy has 30 HP, and can do 5 damage.
Player has 15 HP, and does 2 damage, but can attack multiple times.
That sounds like the second type of battle...
Except more simplistc. =P
It's easier to figure out Paper Mario stats.
If they had bosses who adjusted their strength to work with your current level, it could lead to a more interesting fight. I know Final Fantasy VIII did this. (So if you over-levelled on disk one or two, and didn't juction worth a sh*t, you were screwed).
Paper Mario's battle system was quite direct if you think about it. The most amount of damage done in a single turn, how much HP the boss has, they are all low compared to other RPG's. But they manage to get around this with "Action Commands" and other stuff happening. Sometimes before you know it, this boss can really dish out the pain. If the most HP a boss in the game had was 200, and you can do up to 13 damage in a single turn, then compare that to a boss having 10,000 and doing up to 800, you really get a similar feel.
What I would like to see is a system a lot like chrono trigger. In a sense where there was a lot of double techs going on and lots of damage being delt to both sides to premote a good strategy.