Final Fantasy XII ruined classic battle system?

[Voxen16]

What do do you think of the new battle system?

[Dimi]

Honestly I think the battle system flowed well with the game in general. It eliminates the screen blacking out and waiting the screen to happen and it also eliminates random battle encounters. For some reason have an ATB system wouldn't go well the way the structure of the game is though. I don't think it ruined Classic Final Fantasy because it isn't "classic Final Fantasy" of course. FFI-FFVI are the classics. FFXII is more new-school.

[Psy]

I was really worried about the battle system, but after playing it's hard to go back to random encounters. As much as I love them, I can't help but get paranoid when it comes to wondering if I'm going to make it those last few steps without running into an enemy. With XII, it's much easier to strategize your tactics and plan ahead.

While I do think that the system does tend to take away from the "epicness" of the battles at times (particularly the final battle, but that may be attributed to other factors as well), I think it's a much deeper and greater system overall.

[~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.

[drydrong]

i was worried bout the new battle system, but after i got used to it i really enjoyed it. the new system put a whole new twist to the game and got rid of the boring a@$ move the hand and just click and watch where as now you can actually run circles round the enemies. on another note, you can actually use range to your advantage now where as to before you couldnt, all that you could do was put you char on the back line

[Crazy Chocobo]

Meh, it's alright I suppose but I certainly don't think it's great. I found it to be confusing at first and it took me a while to understand. It's not too bad once you get used to it but I prefer the classic battle system, probably because I'm more used to it. The Gambit system is pretty neat but annoying sometimes, you have to make sure you set it up right. I suppose it's good though because you can just run away from enemies without being held up like in the old school games, you can get to your destination quicker! Also you can roam around while battling which is also neat. Still, I prefer the old way.

[Angantyr]

I think it was ok but nothing great and needed a bit more work on it. With the gambit system it was good as you could keep your characters with all the good status effects and healed up but it became bothersome that they were constantly using MP unless you turned it off, though not too bad as it regenerated. It was a nice change, it still kept the ATB which was an important tradition I felt but still allowed for new game mechanics. Though I still prefer the classic way.

[Silver]

I also preferred the old way. No random battles may be seen as a good thing, but it comes at the price of that older gameplay which is what caused me to fall in love with Final Fantasy in the first place.

It might make things a bit prettier and functional when you get the hang of it, but I prefer the old formula. It WAS Final Fantasy for me, despite it being used in several rpgs.

[dimmufan]

I thought that was what it needed. The times are changeing so maybe the battle system should, also. Although I did think the battle system in Star Ocean 3 was just slightly better.

[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.

As for whether I like it or not, I do. Sure, when it comes to Final Fantasy titles, I do prefer the traditional ATB style from the old school era, but the new system in FFXII was fun as well. It was a decent mix of real-time and ATB, without being wholly turn-based like the FFX battle system was.

Gambits were clever. With the right setups, you could let the game run itself. Sure, maybe that takes the "fun" out of it as I've heard so many people complain, but it's excellent for chaining and point/level binges. Don't like the gambits running the game for you? Set up only the simplest, most essential ones, and give all the other commands yourself.

[havok]

I didn't like it nearly as much as the classic battle system. It was too slow and really not what I had expected in Final Fantasy 12. Final Fantasy 8 had a better battle system than Final Fantasy 12 did.

[drizza]

I dont think it ruined classic battle system it actually had most of the elements in it. Picture this game battle system as FF X-2 but without the battle screen. The gambit was good but needs fixing (example once you set a gambit to steal your idiot character keeps on stealing even when the enemy has nothing.) If they can fix the gambit system a bit more this could be a new welcome change to the series because it make it seem more realistic.

[AAARGH!!!]

I liked the new battle system. You can see the enemies, and if you are a wimp you can avoid them. But I still go for my Kill-'Em-All strategy... so much better in the new system.
It feels good to go back to the Turn-Based system though. A lot more suspense.

[ZantetsukeN]

Originally Posted by Fantasy X

it sucked and it's dumb to see a character getting hit by an enemy that never touched the charcter.

Actaully, if you look at some of the other installments, they don't hit the character either

On topic, I thought the battle system was good for the game, it didn't ruin the battle system. although yeah it is hard to go back to random encounters

[Athna Loveil]

I liked it. I was cool. And even though it may take long to attack, I like the gambits. CoOl!

[Magic Defense]

I like it a lot. I find it quite addictive, and it's very diverse.

Because of the way the battle system is set up, you don't have to fight in this game if you don't want to. You can flee all the regular battles and just fight the mandatory bosses. However, fleeing all the time will catch up with you as you're not gaining experience to level-up your guys, not gaining gil for equipment/items, and not gaining LP. Because of this, you will wind-up getting one-hit killed by various bosses later on.

Unlike previous games in the series, whenever you "flee" from battles on FFXII, enemies can still come after you and attack you, and others may even join the group.

On the other hand, in many of the previous FF games, you weren't able to flee at all from certain random battles.

But, imo, the battle system is so fun that you want to fight mobs anyway.

[Treize]

I don't think that the game ruined the classic system. Sure it was different, but it should be. Final Fantsy XII is not a classic game like all the older ones are. Change is good. You wouldn't really want to have a game that is exactly the same as the previous ones in the series. I actually thought that the battle system was pretty good. They got rid of the random encounters which I'm sure many people loved. I personaly don't mind the random encounters. They aren't that bad, but I like this new battle system as well without the random encounters. Also I liked the License board. It made it easy to customize your characters however you wanted to. So overall I think that no this game did not ruin the classic Final Fantasy battle systems.

[blak_spyder]

The thing I loved most about the new battle system was the fact that you can actually see your enemies before the battle starts. I mean whats the point of running around like an idiot and wait until the screen fades away or breaks, while you are searching for enemies to loot and level up? Also, by seeing your enemy, you have the choice to enter or avoid the battle in advance. I also loved those target lines. The gambits were quite helpful too. I embraced the new battle system without any fuss.

[Jolts_D]

"In the new Final Fantasy world, the characters get attacked by blue and red lines."
I thought that was funny the first time I read it (in a magazine, they were joking, at the time there weren't many screenshots with the green healing spell lines)

I was skeptical about the new battle system as well, but once I got the hang of it, I loved it. Especially since I'm into minor programming (RM2K/3/XP, RPG Maker 1/2/3...I got them all). I just wish you could get more 'Self' commands earlier in the game.

[GRIM REAPER]

I kinda liked the new battle system. Before you would run around on the screen then randomly a battle will start but you won't know what you are figting until the batlle screen shows up. This way you can actually see the eniemes and choose if you want to fight them or not but most of the time you have no choice if they are in the way of your destination. The Gambit system took some getting used to.