I agree to an extent that RPG's usually have an optimal strategy that people are going to default to, as it is easily achievable. Pokemon and Persona is basically choose the correct weakness for an easy win. Skyrim has the stealth archer build. And this is typically how people will play and easily win these games. Even more complex RPGs like Nocturne and Final Fantasy usually have a default strategy. And for secret bosses anything less than maxed stats and all abilities will make the boss fight all but impossible to beat for most people. (I figured out ways to beat ultimate bosses like the Ruby weapon as kid through trial and error without maxing out my character, which probably took longer than maxing out my party honestly. But hey I had more time on my hands when I was 10)
But, usually these games at higher level of play have creative and unique ways to play and this is usually why people get upset. I'll use Pokemon for this example, but I could make the same criticism of Final Fantasy, Persona and a couple of other JRPGs.
The reason people in recent years have been critical of Pokemon's battle system is because it is actually pretty well balanced and once again at higher levels require a great deal of understanding beyond use weakness to win. Many Pokemon have access to abilities or moves that cover their weak points. You can use Pokemon like Talon flame to scout out you opponents strategy and then use U-turn to get in a more optimal choice. Maybe you can set up traps like spike or destroy your opponents traps by switching in a rapid spinner. Or you could simply go for the classic one shot through weakness. Also what Items you give a Pokemon could make all the difference. Give you garchomp a berry to reduce ice damage and then sweep the rest of your opponents team. Pokemon has a really well thought out combat system, that is under utilized until you get to the battle tower. And that usually what most people complain about. The battle tower being the difficulty spike is not the problem, but the fact that the main campaign doesn't do much to test the player beyond use x type against weak type is very lackluster. You don't have to think.
I would say amongst these games I've listed Persona and Final Fantasy might do the best to test players. While I don't really like the Elizabeth boss fight as it can be a little to restrictive to the point that using Orpheus Telos is essentially the most consistent strategy, both games usually give more freedom and choice to deal with opponents. I'd say the same of Kingdom Hearts. While you can just mash attack, most bosses actually have a weakness that could make the battle more complex. (Though stop/gravity is the best abilities in KH1)
Edit: Elizabeth and all the velvet siblings usually teach how to make unique persona's through their request system, and typically in new playthrough I'll try to do unique things with my persona's wether it is optimal or not. But yes I understand that Yoshitsune in P4 onwards is pretty busted. Izangi-No-Okami is busted in P5 royal. And techincally once you unlock certain persona's there is technically no reason to go back to using something like Pixie. But these games give you that option to experiment and sometime beat bosses the game intended you to lose to, through effort or ingenuity.
Right now the combat in this is pretty brain dead, and I'm mixed on the combat changes since the update. This game right now is a step down in comparison to CoC1. As, CoC1 allowed you to use all sort of abilities. Correct me if I'm listing builds that weren't in vanilla as I've been playing the Xianxia mostly, so I don't remeber to much of what was in vanilla. ( Still a bit of a condemnation if the modder made a better combat system) But you have access to to spells tied to things like your lust level, so in combat against monsters trying to seduce you, you can turn their abilities against them. You could be a paladin with an incredibly low libido so seduction doesn't work that well. At the cost of losing some sex scenes you can beat your opponent through raw power or magic. There is so few choice in this game. From how you interact with companions, to how you build your character. Nothing really matters. Also you have classic games like Baldurs gate and Diablo that give you descent amount of choices. Once again there's optimal builds, but there are alternative viable strategies that you can use without being punished for try something different. (Traps and ranged weapons are busted in Baldur)
Edit: Also before anyone says this is just a porn game. Then they could just remove the combat system, focus on writing sexy content and drawing sexy images. This game being a porn game does not excuse garbage mechanics. Just look at karryn's prison. Combat system way better balanced then this and feels like less of a chore.
