Well the original simplicity certainly has its charme. E33 leans a bit too much into git-gud-territory for my taste (cheers for the patched easy mode).

I interpreted those as buffs, but didn’t play nearly enough JRPGs to judge the novelty of this mechanic.

I do prefer it for games with stat-based combat. Pokémon, Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Baldur’s Gate 3, Pillars of Eternity, Into The Breach

Looking at the end game design of E33 I believe that the devs also thought combat would be more relevant, but in the end I only stayed for the plot (and looked up plot threads hidden behind hours of end game grind in longplays). I enjoyed BG3’s grounded approach more.

You mean the parrying which they borrowed from Super Mario RPG / Paper Mario?

what’s referencing this?