I plan on making a top-down sprite based game that has gameplay in a combination of Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy, meaning that the battlefield would be grid-based and units have different attacks and ranges, but that every unit goes in a turn according to speed as opposed to fire emblem which has the entirety of a side move at once. In the overworld I plan on having puzzles and diagonal movement akin to Earthbound or Octopath Traveler. RPGmaker seems to be a poor choice here because it lacks real diagonal support or any real changes to the turn-based combat. But that begs the question of what engine to use, or if I should make my own?

I've taken a few game design classes and know python, which isn't even a whole language, but i've been planning on learning another language that's more relevant. I mostly just have spritework for the game and a few tiles. I've also been considering partnering with someone to help out.

5 hours ago, Rutin said:

From what I know there are plugins that will allow you to do this in RPG Maker. I'm assuming you're wanting isometric?

https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/creative-eds-isometric-solution-alpha-0-2.98725/

https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/ultra-mode-7.94100/ <--- PLUGIN

Thanks, i'll give it a try! But what about the unconventional battle system? I fear that would be the biggest hurdle to implement into rpgmaker.

9 hours ago, Rutin said:

Sorry, I only knew about the ability to do isometric. When you're using such tools you're limited to what they can do unless someone or yourself knows how to mod the tool. The community for RPG Maker would be better able to answer your question for you.

If you're still on board with using game maker tools and RPG Maker doesn't cut it, then maybe look into Game Maker Studio. You can still get the ISO look, and you'll be able to use GML to code in your battle systems from scratch.

Best of luck!

Oh my gosh Game Maker Studio is perfect, thank you so much!