what's the Final Fantasy XII battle system like?

Question

I have not seen or play the game. But from what I hear, it has a new battle system that is no longer turn-based like the 10+X2 Final Fantasys before. And from what I am hearing, is it like a Secret of Mana and The Legend of Zelda format? If not, then what other game's does it resemble? Thanks.

Answer 1

It's not turn based, it's not like any FF before ('cept maybe 11, I haven't played 11) but it's not really like Zelda or the Mana series either (though it is more like those than previous FF's)

It's actually a mixture of both to be honest. It has the ability to walk around and even run away from enemies just as easily as in the Mana series, but when you select a target to attack you must still wait for your action bar to fill before your characters will actually attack

If you have any more questions feel free to message me. It's an alright battle system though, gets easy once you get used to it

Answer 2

There is a new battle system, but it is not like Zelda or Secret of Mana. The game plays like a modified version of a MMORPG.

You freely run around the map, with all enemies quite visible in their little mobs. When you decide you want to attack one, you tell a character in your party to attack. They will then build up an action bar and will execute the action you told them to when the bar is full. (Note that an enemy can chose to target you instead.)

To help reduce the micromanagement of the real-time battle system, characters can be assigned 'gambits' which are a system of it/then statements that a character will complete in order as necessary.
Here's an example:
Character: Vann
1. Any Character = Poison, Use Antidote
2. Enemy = Closest, Attack
In the above example, Vann will constantly check to see if a character is poisoned. If someone is and an antidote is available, Vann will use it on the poisoned character. Otherwise Vann will attack the closest enemy with regular attacks. Unfotunatly, this simple 'enemy = closest' means Vann will sometime attack things he can't hit and you will have to get involved.

You collect additional conditions and commands as the game goes along and it can grow very complicated in the end, but a well assigned gambit can basically allow you to put the controller down during fights and watch it happen. (This is not very likely, emergency commands will always be necessary, but you can override the gambit at anytime by putting in manual commands.)

Answer 3

Basically it's very similar to a Star Ocean game, if you've played those. What you do is set up gambits, which is basically how you want your party members to fight. Then when you get in a battle they automatically fight without you telling them what to do. You can make them do specific things if you want them to, but they follow their gambits to the letter otherwise.

It's definitely not turn based, and you encounter enemies just walking around on the map. You can see them from a mile away, so if you don't want to fight, just avoid them.

All in all it's a good system, but very different from other FFs.