One-on-one battles Options

[CWCprime]

What do you think of one-on-one battles in certain situations in turn-based RPGs? I usually get the feeling that they are taboo, since there is a severe lack of options, and battles are hindered as a result. Obviously, if the whole game is one-on-one, it isn't going to be very good, but for certain situations, do you think one-on-one battles are justified if they're under the right context? For example, in a game story I have, the final battle is one-on-one. In a lot of stories (like in film, not just games), a one-on-one final battle is the only way to go. Think about the final battle in Return of the Jedi.

[Show/Hide] ROTJ Spoilers

Would it have been the same if Han Solo or Lando had been by Luke's side fighting Darth Vader? Of course it wouldn't, it would downplay the significance of Luke's lone triumph over Vader, his triumph over the dark side of the Force.

So it ultimately comes down to sacrificing game design for better story telling. How should one-on-one turn-based RPGs battles be balanced? Are there any examples? Thoughts?

This post has been edited by CWCprime: Feb 16 2012, 09:26 PM

[Nintendoshs]

I only have 2 one-on-one battles per storyline in my game (hero,villian,werewolf). In the hero set (Which has the best two, and ethe only one we will use for examples.) My main character, Max, fights a mirror version of himself, but evil. The reason this is a one-on-one is because the rest of your party thought he was you. The other is the final boss. The final boss is invincible but to beat him, you must lower his health and a character must hold back some of his power and then the rest can continue fighting. So for the boss it is 1vs 4, 1 vs 3, 1 vs 2, and of course the 1v1 fight with the main character to finish him. This will be a strategy fight because Max's father was a warrior and his mother was a wizard. At the end, the boss has the same health and better stats than the hero. The boss was corrupted by the power of the goddess that was supporting the heros. He killed the goddess and released a magic(s?) that started eating away at the world. Most of the game is spent fising the corruption so the fight is very planned and fair.