Final Fantasy 13 Battle System

  From the footage shown at E3, battles in the game appear to be in real-time similar to Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII, but without the colored target arcs linking player to enemy. Square Enix has also confirmed that the game will feature real-time battles.

  Each action the player makes (for example casting a spell) seems to cost points, which adds up on an "ATB cost" numerical value on the lower part of the screen. In the 5 action slots (on the bottom of the screen) it seems that a player can queue up to five commands at a time to execute in battle; so long as the sum cost of all actions are not greater than the character's total "ATB cost" points . All of the currently known commands shown from the trailer and scans thus far are "Escape", "Cure", "Shoot", "Aerial", "V Strike", "Attack", "Fire", "Blizzard", "Thunder", "Defend", and "Firaga", each with an allotted amount of ATB cost. It may be that the player fills up the queue, and then the character performs these actions in successive order making it an interesting combination of real-time and turn-based battle systems.

  When the blue gauge becomes full the player is given the opportunity to instigate a move, the action slows down while the player selects up to 5 commands and possibly targets. The game then resumes to real time once the move has been confirmed. This will add a dynamic to real time combat which other games such as Seiken Densetsu have pioneered.

  In a developer interview, Motomu Toriyama stated that the E3 Trailer shows what is known as the 'Gravity Bomb', known as the spell 'Gravity' in previous games. Presumably, it refers to the electrical energy field that surrounds the young woman shown in the trailer. It has some unique properties by allowing her to defy gravity, as well as allowing her to use it as a weapon.

  In the upper right-hand corner of the battle screen, a circle-shaped gauge is visible. Once the number inside this circle and other conditions have been met, the protagonist can enter a so-called Overclock status. This status has a slow-motion effect, slowing down everyone but the player. It has been suggested that this Overclock system would replace the traditional limit break system found in previous Final Fantasy games. Overclock seems to resemble the Trance mode in Final Fantasy IX. Once Overclock is activated a number appears inside the meter and decreases, probably signifying the duration of the Overclock mode.