[Arch]

i like the original classic battle system but it wasnt bad it was quick and easy to get

[Jeremy]

FF12 was such a big leap in the Final Fantasy series.. The battle system was amazing. I love how the monsters were already out there instead of the ol' pop up battles. Sure it made it easier to survive when you're low on health since it's much easier to escape, but it's so much more realistic.

[gothdra]

I disliked it.

I prefer the old style of fighting

[imapanther]

I actually thought that this battle system was better than the classic battle system of taking turns in a 2d battle format, this one takes the game to a whole new level of 3d combat, which seemed better, and you also didn't have to wait between turns if you set the battle mode to "active."

[rydia123]

i like how on FFXI you didnt have random battles ALL THE TIME
if you wanted too you could run around the monster
and i hate fighting low level stuff all the time just by running through a zone
that was nice sometimes

but
the classic battle system was way better
your charcters didnt attack so randomly like on FFXI
you can control all your charcters equaly so that was better
feel more in control of my partys full capability to kick ass
but it was still hard too

its just better

[Dodie16]

I loved the battle system in Final Fantasy XII. No I don't think it ruined the classic battle system, because this was completely different. It's a GOOD thing to try out different ideas because that's what innovation is all about. Yes, some may not like it, but that just means you try to improve on what made them not care for it.

I liked the fact that there were no random encounters. You saw what was coming at you and you could face said encounter or not. You didn't have to feel like a loser for running from a battle that you could not win. You could just avoid it altogether. It was also neat to see how the monsters on the field interacted with one another.

I loved the gambit system. Yeah, if you made a good enough list, you didn't have to do much of anything, but then again, that was optional. If you wanted to, you could pretty much keep inputing commands like you would do in the older games.

[SephirothII]

i like better than the other battlesytems it was just a lot more fun.

[Megidolaon]

Originally Posted by ~FANTASY-ENDER~

I hated the whole battle system, it sucked and it's dumb to see a character getting hit by an enemy that never touched the charcter. Square-Enix needs to make the battle system more fun for the game players.

But seeing an enemy step forward once, raise its weapon into the air and then step back, damage numbers appearing above your character is better?
Really, as far as sprite animations go, FFXII is the best in the series.

Anyway, I absolutely love the battle system, my favorite in any rpg ever.
The gambits are also the best thing since Jesus sold sliced bread during his 2nd coming.
Best party ai in any game ever. You have full control over your team's actions and can easily adapt the gambits to every possible situation (even turning them off and on in a split second).
But no one is forcing you to use them, you can just as well do most stuff manually and always override any gambit with manual commands.
Can't wait for XIII as it supposedly has even improved gambits and seems to build upon XII's battle system.

Originally Posted by LocoColt04

...in response to the actual thread title, it's impossible for FFXII to "ruin" the classic ATB style. It's something new and fresh and completely unrelated. It doesn't change the past.

That aside, classic ATB was one of the greatest atrocities in gaming history.
SE took a perfectly fine round base system and add beyond pointless timing that in the end only meant you had to navigate the endless menus with a time limit and allowed enemies to kick your ass while you were still searching for the Elixir in the menu.
There is quite literally NOTHING ATB improved over classic round based.
All the stuff like Junction, Materia and the whole rest has nothing to do with ATB and FFX proved that it actually works better in round based battles, hell even speed works better.

[Locke4God]

Final Fantasy as a whole has been looking to move away from random battles for quite some time, even as far back as VIII, and I think with the Gambit system they accomplished that very successfully. Will future games do it even better? Sure, I think there will be a game or two going forward that find even more success, but esspecially for a first go at elimating random battles I think was XII provides is a huge step in the right direction.

Remember, it's a evolutionary process.

[WilsonDean1990]

Ruined the Final Fantasy Series, i preferred the randomness of not knowing what you were going to fight

[Locke4God]

The Random battles had to go. We all knew this was coming many games ago, and it was just a matter of putting together a system that would do it in a way that didn't make it an action game and retained the FF feel. If you didn't like the gambits, then hopefully 13's battle system will be more to your liking, but I hope it doesn't ruin the series for you because random battles are never coming back.

[Josh_R]

I am not going to bash anyone views on whether it ruined it or not but I personally did not like it I prefer random battles and turn based fighting systems...

[ivaridan]

For me the new battle system was better because like everyone says, you can avoid battles when you want to for example when i fought gilgamesh part 2 on a little too low level i had no mana and almost no health left but still i had to walk back.
With random encounters i would've been killed.
Second: i think it makes the game more realistic by adding the creatures in the game and not in random encounters, for example when i find a boar or something in real my vision doesn't go black or shatters like in the old ones i just see the boar , like it is in final fantasy XII

[ViveLaVive]

i think it was really good. i personally perfer the older method, but it was much more fast paced and exciting. it also got rid of random encounters. people who hate it need to relize, it essentialy the same thing, just where you move around. i dont see whats not to like about it, but to each his own.

[Sunglasses]

I liked the battle system of the game, I mean the old one is still better IMO but the FFXII battle system isn't that bad.

[Simen3004]

Just started playing the game, and am now starting to realise how incredibly clever the gambit system and all actually is. I think they made an incredibly innovative solution to a problem that might have been haunting them for years, and I think it's a step in the right directions. I am looking forward to XIII, though, looks like it might be taking some of both the old and new and making it better.

[Sunglasses]

Its like some popular gaming series gameplay are changing. Look at Resident Evil for instance.

Square-enix is probably trying something new and if it would work it out with the fans.

[ffking997]

i thinkm it was a much better battle system because it was nbot random u had a much easier way to run away... and got to decide wheter to enter the battle