Has anyone else gotten a chance to watch that latest FF15 gameplay video? You know, this one:
It looks cool as shit… but I’m trying to imagine an alternate scenario in which it was just an untitled mystery video. And there wasn’t that demo released last year. Would anyone have believed it was the next Final Fantasy game?
Or perhaps more to the point: does it even need to be a Final Fantasy game?
I stopped playing the series after FFX-2 – not because of FFX-2, but simply because I transitioned away from console gaming in general – so perhaps it’s a natural evolution post-FF13 or whatever. I seem to remember FF12 having some kind of real-time combat system where characters basically attacked by themselves or something? Never played that one more than a hot minute, myself.
Ah well. We’re getting a FF7 remake, so Square can do what it wants.
The FFXIII saga is indeed the link you are missing in the evolution of the series, regarding both the gameplay and the… setting, feel, I’m not sure what to call it. However, in FFXIII the ATB gauge was still there in a way. You issued commands, and while they were being executed with flashy animations, the ATB gauge started charging again, so that when the animations were done you were ready to issue new commands and the combat looked fluid.
Also in XIII you could only control one character at a time, and then in XIII-3 there was simply just one character.
This demo though… it does feel more action-based. And honestly, I’d be surprised if the FF7 remake didn’t employ a similar system. Guess there’s always Star Ocean?
(And yes, in FF12 you could customize the PC’s AI so they could fight mostly autonomously.)
Interesting. I have purchased the first two FF13s – and isn’t that an interesting sentence? – so I suppose I’ll be able to see this evolution firsthand at some point.
Although FF7 is my favorite of the series overall, I will say that I enjoyed FFX’s “Conditional Turn-Based” combat system the best, FFT notwithstanding. Being able to see exactly whose turn is coming up – and being able to do things to manipulate it – feels exciting despite the actual combat being paused during selection.
In An Age 
The FFXIII saga is indeed the link you are missing in the evolution of the series, regarding both the gameplay and the… setting, feel, I’m not sure what to call it. However, in FFXIII the ATB gauge was still there in a way. You issued commands, and while they were being executed with flashy animations, the ATB gauge started charging again, so that when the animations were done you were ready to issue new commands and the combat looked fluid.
Also in XIII you could only control one character at a time, and then in XIII-3 there was simply just one character.
This demo though… it does feel more action-based. And honestly, I’d be surprised if the FF7 remake didn’t employ a similar system. Guess there’s always Star Ocean?
(And yes, in FF12 you could customize the PC’s AI so they could fight mostly autonomously.)
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Interesting. I have purchased the first two FF13s – and isn’t that an interesting sentence? – so I suppose I’ll be able to see this evolution firsthand at some point.
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Every RPG wants to move toward action, MMO or JRPG. It sucks. I like taking turns.
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Although FF7 is my favorite of the series overall, I will say that I enjoyed FFX’s “Conditional Turn-Based” combat system the best, FFT notwithstanding. Being able to see exactly whose turn is coming up – and being able to do things to manipulate it – feels exciting despite the actual combat being paused during selection.
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That is fair.
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