>>Persistent parties for
>>turn-based games looks to be a pretty rare thing.

^ ^ ^That is EXACTLY what I would like to see changed/reversed.
I think that persistent-party-management should be a staple at this point, ya dig.

Its like this,.....
Kats LOVE to rank up their character(s) via the accumulation of EXP right?.....
Developers need to apply this concept to the party-dynamic as well.
This generates a greater incentive for players in the turn-based tactical RPG milieu.