Final Fantasy XIII Battle System Detailed
The latest from Japan's happiest magazine
by Anoop Gantayat
US, March 2, 2007 - We've gotten used to seeing Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama in interviews regarding Final Fantasy XIII, but a new face joined the executive staff for the latest feature on Japan's most anticipated PS3 title. The latest issue of Japan's monthly Ge-maga magazine is home to an interview with the three FFXIII mainstays, along with a newcomer, Tosirou Tsuchida. Following his work on Front Mission and Final Fantasy X, Tsuchida is taking charge of the battle system in Final Fantasy XIII.
Before getting into the details of his latest creation, Tsuchida gave some insight into his previous work with the Final Fantasy series. Back at the start of Final Fantasy X's development, he was told that he could do whatever he pleased with the game's battle system. He ended up asking if he could do away entirely with the ATB (Active Time Battle) system for which the Final Fantasy series is known. This caused an emergency meeting within Square. The result was that Tsuchida wasn't allowed to completely do away with the ATB system, resulting in that game's CTB (Count Time Battle) system.
This time, Tsuchida was asked from the start to create a flashy, speedy battle system. He felt that the command-based systems that have been used for previous Final Fantasy games wouldn't allow for this. However, Square Enix wanted a battle system that was as fast as an action game while allowing the player to input commands. That's apparently what we'll be getting in FFXIII.
The battle system is still considered an ATB system, complete with time flowing by as you input commands. However, the actual means of input has changed a bit and, according to Tsuchida, will now allow for more control options. You'll be able to, for example, select between carrying out a simple slash, or charging and then slashing. Some characters will be able to combine magic with standard attacks. And all of this is somehow connected to a new animation system that will blend individual motions to result in a single smooth motion.
Final Fantasy XIII's battle system may share a few points in common with the Final Fantasy XII system. Rather than a standard encounter-based system where battle begins with the allies and enemies in a face off, Tsuchida suggested that FFXIII's battles will begin with the player noting, "Oh, here's an enemy."
Players will be able to change the battle conditions to an extent. Tsuchida gave the example of a player considering what can be done in order to create a winning situation for an upcoming battle.
This doesn't mean we'll be getting an evolved version of the FFXII system either. Toriyama stated that the FFXIII battle system will be something that's not quite encounter based and not quite seamless. Players will have a new way of getting into fights with enemies.
Although Ge-maga got a couple of pages worth of comments from him, Tsuchida managed to keep most of the specifics on the battle system to himself. He wouldn't even confirm if players will be inputting commands for ally characters, or if they'll just be in control of a single character (his response to this question was "no comment.").
Toriyama did, however, refer to the battle system as a "party battle system" as he went on to describe how he wants the game's cast to appear in battle without straying away from their roles in the scenario. This latter point seems to be of prime importance to the FFXIII combat system. It seems that battles in FFXIII are going to be more meaningful than those of previous FF games.
Outside of your main party characters, Tsuchida wants to make the enemies that you encounter in battle more wholly connected to the main game. Scenario and battle should be more closely connected, he feels, and so the enemies will change based on the conditions of the scenario. As an example, he mentioned players moving through an area that's being searched by the army. You'll end up encountering the appropriate type of enemy for this situation, and may even get shot at.
An enemy's specialty and habitat will change based on the location. In the case of an enemy requiring thought and feelings, you can expect to encounter things that aren't strictly "monsters."
In addition to moving differently based on the situation, an enemy's "category" will also change. Enemies in FFXIII are categorized with much detail, Tsuchida revealed. Kitase (who didn't speak much during the interview) made it clear just how much detail we can expect. Battalions will have their own personnel chart, with each soldier having his own background story.
Closing off the Ge-maga feature, Kitase made mention of the fabled "White Engine," the next generation engine Square Enix is using for Final Fantasy XIII. He hinted that Square Enix is considering using the engine for games after Final Fantasy XIII. The recent announcement of the company's plans for the Unreal Engine 3 caused some concern that Final Fantasy XIII would be the first and last sighting for the internally developed toolkit.
战斗依据你输入的顺序来完成，所以依然被认为是ATB的。但是输入的准确含义却有了很大的变化，根据Tsuchida的意思，现在有了更多的输入选项。例如，你现在可以选择是直接砍，或者是装料以后再砍。有些角色还可以在普通攻击中联合魔法。所有的这些都将不确定的影响到这个充满生机活力的系统。在这个系统中的对角色的各种控制会自动产生一个流畅的动作流。（原句为 And all of this is somehow connected to a new animation system that will blend individual motions to result in a single smooth motion.以上是笔者意译）
最终幻想13的战斗系统会借鉴一些FF12战斗系统。与传动的敌我面对面的踩地雷方式不同,Tsuchida暗示说，FF13的战斗系统会给玩家提示“那儿有敌人！”
玩家可以将当前战斗带到一个更广阔的空间去。Tsuchida举了一个玩家为了取得一个将会参与的战斗胜利而改变战斗环境的例子。
不过这不是说我们只是进化FF12的战斗系统。Toriyama解释到，FF13既不完全象踩地雷，也不会象无缝战斗。玩家会以一种新的方式进入战斗。
虽然Ge-maga杂志对Tsuchida 的话做了大篇幅的解释。Tsuchida依然准备保留大多数的战斗系统的细节。他甚至不愿意透露玩家是控制每一个角色，还是控制一个角色。（他的回答是“不发表意见”）
然而Toriyama解释到，战斗系统会象是一个“群体战斗系统”。他继续解释到，他想让游戏的情节也展现在战斗中，而不是完全的流离在外。后面这点似乎正是解释战斗系统的“关联性”重要依据。看上去FF13的战斗系统将会比以往的更加有趣。
除了游戏的主要角色以外，Tsuchida希望你战斗中的敌人与游戏有更多的关系。他觉得剧情和战斗应该更加精密的结合起来，因此你战斗中的敌人会随着剧情而变化。他打了个比方，如果你正在穿越的区域在剧情中刚被某军队搜查过，那么这个区域上的某些敌人会对你攻击。
敌人的属性和习性会根据地区而变化。有时那些不是攻击性怪物的怪物也会随着他的想法或感觉而对你攻击。 In the case of an enemy requiring thought and feelings, you can expect to encounter things that aren't strictly "monsters."
根据你随着情形的走动，敌人的种类也会发生变化。Tsuchida透露到在FF13中，敌人的种类将会分得更加细致。Kitase解释到会细致到什么程度。敌人的阵营会有自己的职员表（大概是会有一般罗罗，小将，大将之分吧，象FF11一样，笔者注），而且每个士兵都会有他自己的背景。
在Ge-maga杂志的后面，Kitase提到了“白引擎”---SE为次世代FF13而开发的专门引擎。他暗示到SE有意将此引擎在FF13之后运用到其他游戏上。最近公司宣布购入UE3引擎，引起了一些人猜测FF13（白色引擎）将会是第一个，也是最后一个内部开发出来的游戏开发工具.
