Comments on: Editorial: Final Fantasy Battle Systems

By: Kenjujuu

Kenjujuu — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 22:30:22 +0000

I loved the X-2 battle system – it had a lot of micromanagement in terms of battle system. You could choose which ability to train up on each dressphere, and the garment grid made the battles quite fast-paced. But I do agree with Korusi in that it was just as easy to not worry about all that and stick to a dressphere for each character, never having to make a choice about anything.

By: Korusi

Korusi — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:26:12 +0000

I rather disagree with the battle system of XIII and XIII-2… while -2 is better than the first it just doesn’t feel like I’m making choices.. Sadly you never mentioned IV which had probably the most strategy even in some parts of the easy mode that required you to makes plans of attack. (IE: The Magus Sisters) I do agree that X was probably the most battle focused instance as far as strategy goes, but you can still just power through some sections with enough time and SP. (or summoning a monster)

I agree that VI didn’t do a good enough job of challenging you after you got the Ragnarok Sword but it did sometimes force you to come up with plans and battle strategy that could hold off hordes of enemies. (I really wish they played that up more as the series went on but alas…) Even later in the game they would force you to split up and form equally competent teams which meant you couldn’t just let one character or two power their way through without some serious challenges. More importantly it gave you choices without becoming overly complicated

VII was just a quest to find and build up the best materia and if you never skipped a battle you would stay on par most of the game. (Or you could cheat in the new PC release)

VIII was a disaster- nothing more needs to be said on this you said it all.

IX True enough wasn’t exactly challenging for the main storyline but there were a few bosses here and there that required either a min-max party or some serious strategy or maybe blind luck.

V I save for last because it was a unique event… it returned to it’s much earlier roots and I think while it was a fun idea it suffered the same problems of Final Fantasy Tactics without the reward of actual tactical planning playing a roll in your class and skill choices.

By: Ethos

Ethos — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 02:09:13 +0000

@Lusipurr – Funny you mention XIII so specifically. Writing this article made me really crave its battle system so I went out and bought it for 15 bucks. I know those games will never be my number one – I have too many issues with the writing and tone and XIII’s design choices – but I am in COMPLETE agreement about the battle system.

By: Lusipurr

Lusipurr — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 01:27:20 +0000

On the line of favourite battle systems, VII, XIII-2, XIII, VI, IX, and IV are examples of what I have liked best–a list which ranges from extremely traditional to very ‘modern’.

Playing XIII/XIII-2 several times has fundamentally changed the way I think about video games (and what I expect from them) more than pretty much any game since the original Final Fantasy was released. It is for this reason that the XIII metaseries is now my second-favourite FF game. Who knows, it may even pass VII one day. The battle system is fantastic, and I am hard pressed to think of a game which has a system which is better implemented.

By: Epy

Epy — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 00:19:41 +0000

Very insteresting stuff. My favorite battle systems in the series are from V, X and X-2 so I don’t have a style preference so much as I like how they’re implemented (V does a much better job than III in the Job system for instance) but I do vividly recall having a blast with X-2 battles. It’s a marvelous system and it’s a shame that it was attached to that game.

Outside of FF, I enjoy the battle systems of Tales and Star Ocean.