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[Amir0x]

I'll admit, medics are a huge problem but other than that, the A.I. always doe exactly what I want it to do while the gambits felt incredibly limited and made it so I was very reluctant to use them over choosing everything manually.

nonsense is nonsense.

if gambits are "limited", then by virtue of comparison Paradigms must be completely unusable to you. To say anything else is simply lying to yourself. There is no objective argument to make that gambits are more limited than Paradigms.

 

[Magnus]

Oh ya, 300 hours and mostly completed optional game content is not understanding the battle system, k.

You can use something for 300 hours and not understand its structure and how it works if it mostly does its job for you. So much of XIII is automated anyway, so I can't fault the average player for not realizing just how little they're doing in combat.

A competent player who understands how both XII and XIII's battle systems work cannot possibly argue that a player has more control over what's happening in XIII than in XII. It's just factually incorrect.

edit- echoing what Amirox just said too.

 

[IronFistedChampion]

How do you upgrade weapons? This is my first time playing a FF in a long time (last one was X, which I didn't even finish) so I'm pretty much a noob at this.

 

[commish]

How do you upgrade weapons? This is my first time playing a FF in a long time (last one was X, which I didn't even finish) so I'm pretty much a noob at this.

The game will introduce that mechanic to you eventually, you can't miss it. That said, you don't NEED to upgrade your weapons, ever.

 

[Jeels]

You can use something for 300 hours and not understand its structure and how it works if it mostly does its job for you. So much of XIII is automated anyway, so I can't fault the average player for not realizing just how little they're doing in combat.

A competent player who understands how both XII and XIII's battle systems work cannot possibly argue that a player has more control over what's happening in XIII than in XII. It's just factually incorrect.

edit- echoing what Amirox just said too.

It was more of a point of how complete bull shit it is to limit the argument to "you just don't understand", that's pretty weak and arrogant, when as marathonfool pointed out, you don't need gambits in FFXIII, maybe it's you who does not understand FFXIII. (And I'm beginning to think so with your comments like "it's mostly automated".)

Off I am to continue my hunts, need to vent my anger on the monsters instead of people like you.

 

[Meier]

Hah, after struggling with

Spoiler

Proudclad

1.0, I beat 2.0 with no trouble. 3 star on a boss is about as good as I've done, lol.

 

[IronFistedChampion]

The game will introduce that mechanic to you eventually, you can't miss it. That said, you don't NEED to upgrade your weapons, ever.

Well, I see that each weapon has a level associated with it (Lvl. 1 in this case). However, I don't see a progress bar that shows when that weapon will increase to Lvl. 2 or whatever.

That's why I was asking. Should I stick with one weapon the whole way so that it levels up faster (if that's even how it works) or does it not matter and I should use whatever I like?

I just finished using up all my CP points so I figured I'd try and upgrade weapons if it was possible to do so at this time. I'm about halfway through Chapter 3 I think.

 

[Jrmint]

Hah, after struggling with

Spoiler

Proudclad

1.0, I beat 2.0 with no trouble. 3 star on a boss is about as good as I've done, lol.

Really? I thought his 1.0 version was easy as hell.

Haven't gotten to the 2.0 version yet since my game crashes now (>).

 

[Fuu]

The only limitation Gambits had is that a chunk of them was not available for a good while in the game. There's really no arguing that you get way more control with that system, even if we don't consider that you could reach to the AI controlled characters and select things yourself. I really wish I could configure the AI priorities in XIII like I could in XII (like in Skilletor's example, Protect before Barfira). +1 for a future game with something akin to Gambits+Paradigms.

 

[Magnus]

It was more of a point of how complete bull shit it is to limit the argument to "you just don't understand", that's pretty weak and arrogant, when as marathonfool pointed out, you don't need gambits in FFXIII, maybe it's you who does not understand FFXIII. (And I'm beginning to think so with your comments like "it's mostly automated".)

Off I am to continue my hunts, need to vent my anger on the monsters instead of people like you.

My friend, someone does not understand the systems and how they work if they believe they are in more control in XIII, than in XII. I'm not being arrogant. I'm showing someone that they're wrong if they actually believe this.

Referring to gambits as limited in comparison to anything offered in XIII is a failure to understand how both battle systems operate.

Referring to the Paradigm system as a system where you feel just as in control of your party as you were in comparison to any previous FF is a failure to understand how Paradigms work.

I understand the system perfectly well. You want heals, you bring in a Medic, and cross your fingers. You need to absorb a lot of incoming damage or redirect damage, you bring in a Sentinel, and cross your fingers. You want to stagger something quickly, you bring in your Ravagers or Saboteurs (depending on the fight) and you cross your fingers. You want to deal a lot of physical damage quickly, you bring in Commandos, and cross your fingers. That's it.

Why do I say 'cross your fingers'? Because the Medic might just buff the wrong buffs and often does. The Sentinel might just fail to grab the right enemy's attention, and often does. The Commandos often go off and stagger the wrong enemy, especially in a situation where you've preemptively struck a whole group and you only want your crew to stagger and focus on one enemy.

Don't insult my intelligence by claiming that my valid criticism of the game is "weak and arrogant" because you enjoy its simple, streamlined nature and think that I've somehow missed the point. There isn't much to grasp in XIII's battle system. It's shallow, it's simplified, it's Final Fantasy "Lite" combat.

By all means, go vent your anger on the game. You'll only be able to do so for a third of the time you spend though. The other 2/3 will be controlled by the AI.

 

[CryingWolf]

This game is basically a dungeon crawler, except the dungeon is one very long hallway.

Brilliant... utterly brilliant!






*run down a hallway*
*watch a cutscene*
*read 5 new pages in the Datalog if you want to understand what is going on*



If I wanted to watch a movie or read a book, I would do one of those things. I want to play a game.

 

[Meier]

So is stop a spell or a technique? Techniques are kind of useless for characters I never control so I'd rather save my CP if it is one.

 

[Skilletor]

I understand the system perfectly well. You want heals, you bring in a Medic, and cross your fingers. You need to absorb a lot of incoming damage or redirect damage, you bring in a Sentinel, and cross your fingers. You want to stagger something quickly, you bring in your Ravagers or Saboteurs (depending on the fight) and you cross your fingers. You want to deal a lot of physical damage quickly, you bring in Commandos, and cross your fingers. That's it.

Why do I say 'cross your fingers'? Because the Medic might just buff the wrong buffs and often does. The Sentinel might just fail to grab the right enemy's attention, and often does. The Commandos often go off and stagger the wrong enemy, especially in a situation where you've preemptively struck a whole group and you only want your crew to stagger and focus on one enemy.

This.

I'm fighting a boss now where I would like my Sentinel to provoke until he/she has the enemy's hate. However, the sentinel will provoke for a complete turn, w/o getting hate, and the next turn use Mediguard, which is completely useless since the boss is now attacking another character.

Sigh.

 

[Jeels]

My friend, someone does not understand the systems and how they work if they believe they are in more control in XIII, than in XII. I'm not being arrogant. I'm showing someone that they're wrong if they actually believe this.

I understand the system perfectly well. You want heals, you bring in a Medic, and cross your fingers. You need to absorb a lot of incoming damage or redirect damage, you bring in a Sentinel, and cross your fingers. You want to stagger something quickly, you bring in your Ravagers or Saboteurs (depending on the fight) and you cross your fingers. You want to deal a lot of physical damage quickly, you bring in Commandos, and cross your fingers. That's it.

Why do I say 'cross your fingers'? Because the Medic might just buff the wrong buffs and often does. The Sentinel might just fail to grab the right enemy's attention, and often does. The Commandos often go off and stagger the wrong enemy, especially in a situation where you've preemptively struck a whole group and you only want your crew to stagger and focus on one enemy.

Don't insult my intelligence by claiming that my valid criticism of the game is "weak and arrogant" because you enjoy its simple, streamlined nature and think that I've somehow missed the point. There isn't much to grasp in XIII. It's shallow, it's simplified, it's Final Fantasy "Lite" combat.

By all means, go vent your anger on the game. You'll only be able to do so for a third of the time you spend though. The other 2/3 will be controlled by the AI.

Right, and I'm telling you your criticisms are utter bullshit because everything you just said has never happened to me. So suck it.

And for the record, I absolutely loved FFXII too. "I'm Captain Basch of Dalmasca!"

Your entire post is filled with hyperbole. You HAVE completely missed XIII's battle system with most of your comments, I'm glad you made such a hideous post as it just affirmed my belief.

Half the things you said I can say right back at you. "Don't insult my intelligence", yatta yatta.

 

[Magnus]

Right, and I'm telling you your criticisms are utter bullshit because everything you just said has never happened to me. So suck it.

What are you, 10 years old? :lol

And for the record, I absolutely loved FFXII too. "I'm Captain Basch of Dalmasca!"

Your entire post is filled with hyperbole. Half the things you said I can say right back at you. "Don't insult my intelligence", yatta yatta.

Hyperbole? Everything happened that I described in-game. I'm stating facts. I'm stating limitations. You can't exaggerate limitations. They exist. They hinder you, time and time again in this game. So much of Chapters 1-10 lets you get away with fucked up AI prioritization, because the game is so damned easy and the consequences for using one spell before another won't kill you, but just frustrate you as a player. Look at the other replies echoing the complains in this thread for validation of my 'hyperbole' please.

You can say "I don't mind the lack of precision control over my party", but it's just plain ridiculous to say, "I have total control." That's my only point. And I know you personally didn't say those things, but others in the thread did. It bothers me a lot that players can feel that way about this, because XIII is fooling them. Player control has to be one of the most important things in the design of a game (in my opinion), and XIII takes a backward step that its predecessors got right years ago.

 

[Skilletor]

Right, and I'm telling you your criticisms are utter bullshit because everything you just said has never happened to me. So suck it.

And for the record, I absolutely loved FFXII too. "I'm Captain Basch of Dalmasca!"

Your entire post is filled with hyperbole. Half the things you said I can say right back at you. "Don't insult my intelligence", yatta yatta.

lol. As far as gameplay is concerned, it most certainly is not hyperbole. I've had everything he said happen to me constantly throughout 10 chapters of play.

 

[mr_nothin]

Right, and I'm telling you your criticisms are utter bullshit because everything you just said has never happened to me. So suck it.

And for the record, I absolutely loved FFXII too. "I'm Captain Basch of Dalmasca!"

Your entire post is filled with hyperbole. You HAVE completely missed XIII's battle system with most of your comments, I'm glad you made such a hideous post as it just affirmed my belief.

Half the things you said I can say right back at you. "Don't insult my intelligence", yatta yatta.

Im sorry, I do not see this hyperbole that you speak of. What he's stated is what is happening in FFXIII.

 

[Jeels]

There are just as many posts that echo the opposite, opinion is opinion is opinion.

 

[mr_nothin]

There are just as many posts that echo the opposite, opinion is opinion is opinion.

 

[Fuu]

So is stop a spell or a technique? Techniques are kind of useless for characters I never control so I'd rather save my CP if it is one.

Technique (you can check it at the crystarium btw, just put the cursor above the crystal and that info is written below, next to the CP cost).

 

[7Th]

Jesus, guys. I personally found FFXII's battle system boring due to the lack of excitement, not due to the lack of control; I prefer XIII's battle system because it is more enjoyable, fast-paced and involving.

 

[Magnus]

You can say "I don't mind the lack of precision control over my party", but it's just plain ridiculous to say, "I have total control." That's my only point. And I know you (Jeels) personally didn't say those things, but others in the thread did. It bothers me a lot that players can feel that way about this, because XIII is fooling them. Player control has to be one of the most important things in the design of a game (in my opinion), and XIII takes a backward step that its predecessors got right years ago.

I prefer XIII's battle system because it is more enjoyable, fast-paced and involving.

Hey, I dig the speed, the pace, the flair. I can't agree with "involving" though. My complaints stem from the fact that I feel like I'm watching a movie. Battles take on a life of their own and work without me after the paradigms (which I had no real hand in constructing) are in place. That's the opposite of involving for me.

When XII's gambits worked as I planned, I had an incomparable sense of achievement. I built those gambits, I planned how the battle went, I adapted when shit went wrong, I interrupted and threw out some choice spells to counter the unexpected shit.

Combine XII's methods of control with XIII's flair, and hell yeah, that shit would be amazing!!

 

[Neil]

So... I just got to chapter 13. I didn't get the achievement for beating chapter 12

 

[Alex]

If it had gambits/command assigning and the ability to attack/heal/buff/debuff different enemies/allies on the same command line then it could have been one of the best.

It would've been better, but it'd still have been a waste.

Just revert it to X-2.

X-2 did it right. No AI at all, better job and ability variety, player required input, better subsystems, better challenge.

XIII is even speedier and super pretty and effective at what it does do, but it's really a wash, you really don't have much of a place outside of swapping paradigms based around boring concepts that you have no control over.

You HAVE completely missed XIII's battle system with most of your comments

No he hasn't. There is nothing TO miss with this games battle engine and character development. What you actually think people are overlooking is beyond me.

 

[Meier]

Technique (you can check it at the crystarium btw, just put the cursor above the crystal and that info is written below, next to the CP cost).

Geez, didn't even notice that. Thanks!

 

[CryingWolf]

At this point I would love a game where each character gets a turn, and you can select an action from a menu for each individual character.

But I guess that isn't fast-paced enough for today.


What's next? An RPG that completely plays itself and removes all player choice? That would be the fastest paced game of all. You could just watch the whole game on fast forward and never be bored. Well, until it was over in 5 minutes.

 

[Meier]

So... I just got to chapter 13. I didn't get the achievement for beating chapter 12

Me neither..must come later?

 

[mr_nothin]

It would've been better, but it'd still have been a waste.

Just revert it to X-2.

X-2 did it right. No AI at all, better job and ability variety, player required input, better subsystems, better challenge.

XIII is speedy and pretty and effective, but it's really a wash, you really don't have much of a place outside of swapping paradigms based around boring concepts that you have no control over.

Well, what I stated in that post + merging it with the gambit system and the other stuff I've said in the posts after

Oh and add what you've stated too. Maybe FFXV? :lol

 

[Magnus]

What's next? An RPG that completely plays itself and removes all player choice? That would be the fastest paced game of all. You could just watch the whole game on fast forward and never be bored. Well, until it was over in 5 minutes.

That's precisely why I fear XIII's popularity and support. If people think this type of battle control is ok, it may become commonplace to see this kind of loss in other games, especially other RPGs coming from Square.

This goes hand-in-hand with the counter-argument from those that had no problems with the AI. Isn't that an even more dangerous proposition for the future development of RPGs and games in general? An AI that always gets it right? Who the fuck wants that?

I want to play my games, even if I'm going to do a shittier job than any AI.

 

[7Th]

Hey, I dig the speed, the pace, the flair. I can't agree with "involving" though. My complaints stem from the fact that I feel like I'm watching a movie. Battles take on a life of their own and work without me after the paradigms (which I had no real hand in constructing) are in place. That's the opposite of involving for me.

I do Paradigm Shift every 10 seconds or so, it really works for me to change my strategy in a very swift manner so I'm never just watching.

 

[Alex]

Well, what I stated in that post + merging it with the gambit system and the other stuff I've said in the posts after

Oh and add what you've stated too. Maybe FFXV? :lol

Hopefully XIII-2, they could correct a lot of wrongs and recycle the rights at the same time.

I got a lot of problems with XIII, but if you gave me X-2 quality gameplay with these visuals and locations I'd do a damn backflip

 

[Crash Station]

Jesus, guys. I personally found FFXII's battle system boring due to the lack of excitement, not due to the lack of control; I prefer XIII's battle system because it is more enjoyable, fast-paced and involving.

You know this is what I should be arguing, not the control thing. I don't give a shit about a slight lack of control if I'm having fun. FF12's battle system was dull as hell to me because when I was using gambits, the game was playing itself and when I wasn't, it took forever to do any significant damage. As someone who doesn't play WRPGs or MMOs, it just didn't feel like a Final Fantasy game at all, something XIII doesn't suffer from even if I would prefer full control.

 

[Magnus]

I do Paradigm Shift every 10 seconds or so, it really works for me to change my strategy in a very swift manner so I'm never just watching.

What I would have loved in XII is a system similar to the actual "Paradigm Shift" that you can execute in XIII. A quick way to switch between gambit setups, because yeah, it's kind of a buzz-kill to jump into a menu in the middle of a heated fight and change things around. XIII definitely got the exterior shell and feel of combat right. It's fast-paced and visibly exhilarating in a way no FF has been before.

Edit- I apologize if I came across as legitimately insulting to anyone. I dig arguing this kind of shit because I'm pretty interested in the series and the way these battle systems are designed, and I guess I feel quite strongly about how they'll evolve in the future.

 

[dramatis]

Right, and I'm telling you your criticisms are utter bullshit because everything you just said has never happened to me. So suck it.

Half the things you said I can say right back at you. "Don't insult my intelligence", yatta yatta.

He was being reasonable in making his point though.

Looking at the Gambit and Paradigm systems from a viewpoint based in customization and precision, there's no doubt that Gambit > Paradigm. However, the Paradigm system is more convenient and accessible to the player. In other words, the best way of doing it is Gambits + Paradigm, with preset profiles available from the start.

And, if there is a party, the ability to save party configurations.

Personally, I think Gambits is excellent because it also lightens the load on the programmers a bit—they can use it to configure enemy AI as well. I wonder if we could have enemy Paradigm Shifts as well.

Jesus, guys. I personally found FFXII's battle system boring due to the lack of excitement, not due to the lack of control; I prefer XIII's battle system because it is more enjoyable, fast-paced and involving.

You need to move onto higher level stuff now, like RoF.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

I understand the system perfectly well. You want heals, you bring in a Medic, and cross your fingers. You need to absorb a lot of incoming damage or redirect damage, you bring in a Sentinel, and cross your fingers. You want to stagger something quickly, you bring in your Ravagers or Saboteurs (depending on the fight) and you cross your fingers. You want to deal a lot of physical damage quickly, you bring in Commandos, and cross your fingers. That's it.

Why do I say 'cross your fingers'? Because the Medic might just buff the wrong buffs and often does. The Sentinel might just fail to grab the right enemy's attention, and often does. The Commandos often go off and stagger the wrong enemy, especially in a situation where you've preemptively struck a whole group and you only want your crew to stagger and focus on one enemy.

It's simplified, it's Final Fantasy "Lite" combat.

I must say I agree with you.

While I am loving FFXIII as a whole and, I've only been knocked out a handful of times all the way up through chapter 9, I'm starting to get that "I better grind I bit" feeling. Even if you cast Libra your party members still don't always take the best action. I see them fighting two different opponents when I'm trying my best to kill that one asswipe with haste and a machine gun. As for healing, Cura might be a better option if two characters are very low on health instead of someone casting 4x cures on me then 1x cure on themselves. They could be knocked out before they even get to curing themselves then i have to cast raise just to get back where we started. So just go ahead and cast Cura to begin with and if I need to switch to medic myself or drink a potion I'll make that decision. I'm also getting tired of hearing "time for another approach" or "new strategy" 25 times during a fight.

Still a great game though, I'm loving it.

Jesus, guys. I personally found FFXII's battle system boring due to the lack of excitement, not due to the lack of control; I prefer XIII's battle system because it is more enjoyable, fast-paced and involving.

I see your point. While I didn't think FFXII's battle system was boring at all, I thought it was wonderful, I do feel FFXIII as a game is moving much faster keeping me more interested in the story. It makes me want to keep playing for hours on end where in FFXII I didn't get that feeling near as much.

 

[IronFistedChampion]

Damn, this thread is dangerous. :lol

 

[7Th]

You need to move onto higher level stuff now, like RoF.

I'm currently busy with the best game of the year, but I will eventually play RoF; I have a thing for games with "dress-up" systems.

 

[mr_nothin]

Damn, this thread is dangerous. :lol

Better switch paradigms.

 

[Magnus]

Another cool little fix could be something like a Focus Fire mark you could raise on a target at any time in battle. It would alert all your characters to tailor their actions according to that one enemy, and treat them as the biggest threat in battle.

For a Commando or Ravager, this could mean to focus fire them.

For a Medic, this could mean saving one's turn to heal the damage only that enemy causes.

For a Synergist, this could mean buffing whatever would be most beneficial to counter that enemy's threatening capabilities (say you've Libra'd it, and identified that the monster "uses powerful Fire attacks"), your Focus Fire mark would basically force your SYN to treat that monster as the biggest threat and prioritize BarFire, or whatever.

For a Sentinel, that monster would obviously be the number one taunt/provoke target, at any other cost.

etc

Such a fix would keep you in the battle instead of menus, if that's XIII's overarching goal (battle excitement in favor of menus and micro-management)

Hell, the Mark could be raised on an ally too, in which case your SYN would target them with all their buffs first, your SEN would taunt off them first, your MED would heal them first, etc etc

 

[Alex]

Damn, this thread is dangerous. :lol

It's fun, you know in the end it's had some really good debates and posts and I've enjoyed reading it more than the universal hype or universal pan threads that usually make up everything.

I usually NEVER bust out huge posts and rants and responses anymore but I've had a lot of fun doing it here. Good crowd to talk with and no one has threatened to kill anyone yet... I think.

 

[Skilletor]

omg @ the crystarium.

I just beat a boss in Chapter 10 and the shit in the crystarium is going to cost me 4k per node? Wow.

 

[Crash Station]

Better switch paradigms.

Now's as good a time as any for tortoise

 

[Alex]

omg @ the crystarium.

I just beat a boss in Chapter 10 and the shit in the crystarium is going to cost me 4k per node? Wow.

It adds up fairly fast, don't fret over it. It actually typically adds up faster in late game than it did during some of the bulk, you just have more to fill.

 

[Fuu]

Heh, if anything I'd be satisfied with just being able to reach to the other characters at any given time. While Lightning is executing her attack queue (or after I've selected what I want to do and the ATB is still filling) I could be selecting a single Protect with Hope or whatever. There are always people saying "but it's too fast!!" but who cares? Make the game run like Speedy Gonzales with AI controlled characters and still leave the option for manual input there for those who want to use it.

Reminds me of the 3DS discussions about a second stick. "No thanks, I'd rather have perfect cameras". So? I want a perfect automatic camera and manual control.

 

[Jeels]

Looking at the Gambit and Paradigm systems from a viewpoint based in customization and precision, there's no doubt that Gambit > Paradigm. However, the Paradigm system is more convenient and accessible to the player. In other words, the best way of doing it is Gambits + Paradigm, with preset profiles available from the start.

I agree with all this. I guess I just don't like him.

 

[Magnus]

But I love you!

(John Krasinski is cute)

 

[Dedication Through Light]

omg @ the crystarium.

I just beat a boss in Chapter 10 and the shit in the crystarium is going to cost me 4k per node? Wow.

YOu will get tons of CP from the fights in the Chapter 12 and 13, as well as a nice grind place in Chapter 11.

 

[Rpgmonkey]

Nothing in FF 13 requires a level of micromanaging like the gambit system.

I don't understand the the complaints unless you're a control freak.

Yes, Gambits are overkill. There's no real reason for anything in this to be that specific. Battles are usually too fast and to some extent, too dynamic for such a specific and detailed A.I. system to get any intensive use.

But the game could make very good use out of general A.I. settings, with ability to give each role its own A.I. priorities, and the ability to change your leader as the situation demands. The game is so dependent on the party leader and A.I. that can't be altered, that problems that didn't really need to be there arise. It doesn't mean you can't win or anything, it means sometimes things become more complicated/difficult than they ever needed to be.

Tales' LMBS is very similar to FFXIII's "ATB 3.0". You control one character, while the others are A.I.-controlled, designed to act according to the situation. To make up for the battles being fast-paced and dynamic, A.I. settings are usually general instead of specific, so you're not changing the A.I. constantly. Except Tales lets you change the A.I.'s behavior in a few ways so you can get the most specific results possible out of the A.I., and lets you change the controlled character should the situation require direct control of someone, like if your controlled character is KO'd. I said this in an earlier discussion in this thread about the A.I., but this kind of stuff is exactly what a battle system like FFXIII's needs.

 

[mr_nothin]

Yes, Gambits are overkill. There's no real reason for anything in this to be that specific. Battles are usually too fast and to some extent, too dynamic for such a specific and detailed A.I. system to get any intensive use.

But the game could make very good use out of general A.I. settings, with ability to give each role its own A.I. priorities, and the ability to change your leader as the situation demands. The game is so dependent on the party leader and A.I. that can't be altered, that problems that didn't really need to be there arise. It doesn't mean you can't win or anything, it means sometimes things become more complicated/difficult than they ever needed to be.

Tales' LMBS is very similar to FFXIII's "ATB 3.0". You control one character, while the others are A.I.-controlled, designed to act according to the situation. To make up for the battles being fast-paced and dynamic, A.I. settings are usually general instead of specific, so you're not changing the A.I. constantly. Except Tales lets you change the A.I.'s behavior in a few ways so you can get the most specific results possible out of the A.I., and lets you change the controlled character should the situation require direct control of someone, like if your controlled character is KO'd. I said this in an earlier discussion in this thread about the A.I., but this kind of stuff is exactly what a battle system like FFXIII's needs.

Soooo, basically gambits. Just not as many and not "too specific"

 

[Firestorm]

Yeah, I think people who have played a Tales game can easily envision the type of AI control that would have worked in this game. I understand that the series is a lot less popular than Final Fantasy so a lot of people might not have played one, but it would be perfect for FFXIII.