JRPG controls, and diagonal field movement

So, I recently uploaded a prototype for a JRPG project that I am considering working on, barring any serious technical or conceptual shortfallings.

One of the complaints/ideas/suggestions that I keep hearing whenever I use this sort of top-down perspective (including my previous project, The Hero's Journey), is to include diagonal movement by way of pressing the keys for two axes at the same time. My question is, why?

There are a lot of games that don't feature diagonal movement from a top-down perspective. (I am providing YouTube videos by LPer H.C. Bailly, in the interest of academic discussion.)

For instance, the first Legend of Zelda:

...Skip ahead a few years to Final Fantasy IV:

These are foundational classics, that use the same field perspective that I am using, yet they don't feature diagonal movement, and no one really complains that they don't. Why is it OK for them to not have this feature, but somehow not OK for me to leave it out?

I can also add reasons why I think it's not OK for me to add diagonal movement to my projects:

1. Animations. I do not have, nor want to create, diagonal-facing animations. This is extra work that adds nothing of great value to the game; I could use that time to polish the rest of the game more thoroughly and/or more thoroughly test stuff.
2. I want the player to be able to consider and measure their position by using the tiles on the map (in other words, build the players' spatial awareness) Moving diagonally violates the grid that tiles provide and makes them meaningless; at that juncture, I may as well just make a more standard hand-tailored 3D world in the level design tool of my choice.

...So what gives? Am I correct, or do I have it all wrong? Is it a meaningless aesthetic choice, or is it really a matter of paramount importance? What am I missing?

 

I think in older games when you move the player moves a full tile. In your prototype it stops immediately after I release the key. So the character can be between two tiles. If that's the case, way not move freely in all directions including in diagonal.

EDIT: I take that back. It seems the original Zelda has similar movement.

 

@violinbg - In light of your comment, this might also be a good time to remind everyone that my question applies in general, and not just to my prototype - as said in the original post, I experienced this same line of criticism in my previous project.

 

It depends on the game. Zelda would do better with omnidirectional movement, given the fact it's an action game requiring quick escapes. Wheras a slower, turn based game would be better suited for up/down left/right movement. I think hexes would best in this situation, however.

 

Part of it does have to do with tile-based vs free movement. Free movement nowadays usually implies that it has a diagonal component as well.

A bigger issue, I think, is that those games you use as examples used a controller. There's something very different from WASD/Key Arrows and the D-pad on a controller. On a controller, only a single digit is controlling the movement (the thumb, usually), so only being able to move in one direction makes more sense and is less noticeable. Using a keyboard, however, I have three digits on the movement keys, and so I am far more likely to try and press two directions at once (by virtue of not having to try to press two directions with one finger).

 

I don't really mind the one axis direction.

However, in your prototype when you hold the left and right down you are still able to hit w to go up and your character responds. But when you hold the w, pressing a and d doesn't do anything.

If you think back to the d-pad, you didn't have to lift up on one direction in order to stop and go another. You could just slide your finger to the direction and it responded.

 

nowadays people expect more free movement and openness, and i think unless the gameplay has a good reason not to allow it, there should be diagonal movement.

i think the first zelda was the only one that didn't have diagonal movement (and maybe the second if you count the map). and when they did introduce it for snes and gameboy, im pretty sure they didnt add extra animations, they just reused the same up/down animations because it still looked right, plus having a sprite angled like that would've looked funny back then.

 

What about the Final Fantasy titles? Even as late as Final Fantasy VI (1995) there was no diagonal axis on field views; only when Final Fantasy VII (1997) came, and with it the big switch to 3D did diagonal angles appear.

In fact, even games such as Half Minute Hero and Half Minute Hero: The Second Coming (2011) don't have diagonal movement, and those are games released after the turn of the millenium! This is probably a better set of games for my situation, since I'm trying for a retro style like these games.

Half Minute Hero (PSP):
[video=youtube;1Y1itqXhlZk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y1itqXhlZk‎

Half Minute Hero: The Second Coming (Steam)

 

I'm sure people playing the games you mentioned would have also wanted diagonal movement if they could have it because its much quicker moving from place to place.

It's up to you if you have diagonal movement, its just a case of weighing up how good you want to make the game vs how much time you have. Isn't that always the way?