Shark Sandwich said:
There is a FFXII demo that comes with Dragon Quest 8. To be honest, I wasn't too impressed with the combat. They tried to make it act like an MMORPG. Basically, you control one character and move around in real-time. Every time your ATB fills up, your character attacks automatically unless you've selected a different action.
Maybe I just need to get used to it, but I was disappointed with the demo. It feels weird being able to run around in real-time but having to wait to attack. And, since your character attacks his/her target automatically when the bar fills up, it doesn't really feel like an action RPG either. Also, you can't dodge attacks by maneuvering, either. Your enemy automatically attacks you when their ATB is full and you can't block or dodge. Why they couldn't have used FF X-2's battle system, the best version of the ATB system yet (and possibly the only good part about FF X-2) is beyond me.
Another thing about the demo: I hope to God that the castle level was just there to show off the combat system. It's a completely generic dungen-crawler like environment, with a bunch of empty rectangular hallways with the same boring brick texture map on everything. Just imagine the exact opposite of any of FF VII, VIII, and IX's dungeons. What made it look even dumber was being able to see your enemies there. . . seeing a giant killer horse pacing back and forth aimlessly in a generic rectangular stone corridor, waiting for someone to kill, made this long-time FF freak cry inside. Apparrently FF XII is set in the same world as Star Ocean 3, where entire castles and fortresses are built for the sole purpose of filling their huge, empty hallways and empty rectangular rooms with storm troopers who pace back and forth waiting for the hero to come along.
You actually control all the characters, if you like. The demo is extremely limited in this regard though. Also, the Gambit system in the demo is not adjustable, as it will be in the final game. You should also know that as the game progresses and you obtain more gambits, you can script their actions much more intelligently. Or you could turn them off, slap on wait mode, and the game is then effectively turn based.
You can block and dodge, only not manually. What were you expecting? This isn't an action game, or even an action RPG. It is more MMOish than most RPGs, but you CAN make it turn based, or at least a good approximation.
That level will be in the game, but what is in the demo is probably akin to the tip of an iceberg. And, well, if you don't like fighting often, just avoid the game. And yes, they have removed random battles. I'm completely neutral on this -- they don't bother me, in fact, I tend to slightly favor them because they force you to fight much more often, and gameplay in RPGs is their main draw for me. Of course, if the demo is any indication, there will be no short supply of things to fight, even if they do appear on the map. Also, in case you didn't notice, things respawn after they die, which is a great addition (don't have to leave the area or whatever to get new mobs).
Many of the enemies in the game will also behave similar to those from MMOs... as in they won't just sit there waiting for you to come along. They'll actively attack you... and, in some cases, each other. The world is very, very dynamic, especially the towns. There is a 10 minute video floating around... all contained inside a single city... over 150 different NPCs in the video, who all interact with each other and have routines (they don't just stand there - and there is much evidence to suggest NPC interactions with the party are based on partly on race, what languages you know at the time, etc)... and the video doesn't even cover the entire place. This game is massive on every possible level... I'd hate to know how much they've spent on it.
