FFXII: Battle System

shiva · Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2006 2:31 pm

Battle system:
A new battle system has been created for Final Fantasy XII. Influenced by Square-Enix's own Final Fantasy XI and Vagrant Story, the battles now real-time and take place on the field. No more battle transitions or victory poses. Gil and experience are gained automatically after an enemy is dispatched and some even drop items for characters to pick-up.

Features:

During field exploration, all three party members in the active party will be on-screen following the lead character. Players will be able to rotate the camera freely to get a good view of the surroundings. Characters will be seen carrying their weapons in and out of battles with a new battle system called ADB (Active Dimension Battle) in real-time. Players will be able to control the actions and movement of one of three active characters at once. It's also possible to pause during the battle with the Circle button for issuing commands and switching control to the other two characters at any moment.

Available enemy targets will have an icon appear above their heads when the party moves within combat distance. When an attack is issued, an arch appears between the character and the enemy, indicating which target the character is focused on. Similar to FFX-2, commands are issued, the ATB begins to fill and the character will perform the action when his or her ATB is full. Characters will automatically keep on attacking the enemy until the battle ends or a new command is issued. Other than Black and White, Green is a new branch of magic. Green Magic will contain buffs like Shell and status-inflicting magic like Blind. A new Gambit system will allow players to select certain strategies and tactics for the characters controlled by A.I. The new battle system also takes into account character placement, which adds a layer of strategy to battles. Melee characters can be pushed to the front in order to prevent the enemies from attacking the ranged characters shooting from behind.

Summons:
Known for their impressive entrances and devastating powers, summoned beasts have played important roles in previous Final Fantasy titles. While the developers of Final Fantasy XII have declined to comment about the summoned beasts for this game, the trailers have displayed some impressive-looking monsters. A number of these monsters look similar to summoned beasts in previous Final Fantasy games. Currently, it is purely speculation, but these beasts could end up as allies in the final game.

Ultima
In Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, each of the five Crystals in Ivalice has a guardian known as Totema. Once the guardian is defeated and the crystal is broken, the player can summon the Totema. Each race can only summon a specific Totema and Ultima is the Nu Mou's Totema. The resemblance Ultima shares with the summoned beast in the FF12 trailer are almost exact. Soaring high above the planet, the summoned beast uncovers a giant canon under its dress. A close-up reveals the face of a beautiful woman. As it awakens, energy is gathered near the tip of the canon and a powerful beam is shot towards the planet.

Ifrit
Ifrit is one of the first beasts shown in the FF12 trailers. He resides in a cave, bound by chains to a small patch of land among a lake of lava. Once it gathers enough strength the beast unfolds a pair of large arms, breaking the chains that once held it. Unleashing a great power, the lava erupts and the beast explodes upwards. The fiery environment, demon-like face and horns draws comparisons to Ifrit, the fire-demon from past Final Fantasy titles.

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