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Final Fantasy XII - Battle System FFXII’s battle system has many similarities to that of its online predecessor, FFXI. It offers a surprising amount of freedom, allowing you to explore its vast environments while having full camera control at your leisure. Also, enemies already appear up-to-scale on the field and are ready for combat, thus eliminating the need for traditional transitioning into battle sequences. The entire process is seamless. You have three characters in your party at once. Basically, you control one of these characters and move them around the field as you explore and fight. Assisting you are the two other characters in your party, both of which are controlled by the computer. You can change the routine actions of your two members’ AI, though, through the use of the Gambit system. Many options will be available. It’s also possible to switch which character you control by simply cycling through them with the up and down arrows on the D-pad. As shown in the playable demos at Square Enix Party 2005, some enemies will charge at you and attack if you get too close and within a certain aggravation range. If the enemy’s friends see him or her being attacked, there’s a good chance they will help out and make the battle more difficult. On the other hand, some enemies are perfectly content with going about their business, and will not bother you unless you initiate the attack. In this case, they will fight back. The game is still menu based; however, it’s in a way that’s similar to FFXI. By pressing the square button, you bring up the battle menu. This includes options that enable attacks, magic use, summoning, item use and Gambit settings. Upon initiating battle with an enemy, you automatically attack until you give commands to do otherwise. Also, you are able to select commands for the other two characters in your party without switching control to them. When you begin battling an enemy, the game displays a blue target line in an effort to solve any confusion as to who or what you have targeted. To switch targets, simply select the attacking option again and choose a different enemy. Any enemy that’s attacking you – whether you’re attacking it or not – is connected to you with a red line in order to let you know that it’s the one damaging your character. Since this information applies to all of your party’s characters, it’s a great way to keep track of who’s attacking who, as well as who’s being attacked by what. Another similar feature to that of FFXI and other such games is that you have the freedom to move your controlled character around freely during battle. You can move close to the enemy for physical attacks, back away for magical attacks, or even run away completely if you get into a predicament. If you let go of the controller, the computer AI will take over your controlled character’s actions for you. FFXII Content By: |
