Final Fantasy XII better with turn based fights?

I don't think so. They needed to incorporate real time combat to update the series. This was fairly experimental. Hopefully they will

be able to find a nice mixture of the two in FFXIII.

With the exception of FFX (the only turn based FF game since III), every FF game since the snes era has had a real time combat system, so FFXII isn't a sharp departure in that regard. Apart from some mostly superficial differences, I thought the battle system in XII played like a hybrid of the ATB system of IV - IX and the CTB system of X.

I too prefer turn based battle systems (I really like the battle system in X), and I like that XII had a "wait" option which can be selected to make it play more like a turn based game. However, I thought what XII really lacked was a fully "manual" option which would automatically pause the action and bring up the battle menu for each character every time their action meter filled.

This would eliminate the need to rely on gambits, as every action would be selected by the player when each turn came up. The gambits could even still be used to speed up menu navigation by having the default gambit action already selected when each menu pops up, then the player can choose to accept it or override it with a different command.

An encounter system like the one used in Chrono Trigger might have also worked well in FFXII. This would mean that visible enemies are encountered and fought seamlessly in the same environment, but once a battle initiates all combatants stand in formation until the battle has ended.

All in all though I think the most important thing about the many changes seen in FFXII is that in contrast to what some other RPG series have done to "innovate" their gameplay, FFXII did not attempt to become an action game. There are no swing meters, dodges, or button combos. The gameplay remains about strategy and stats instead of reflexes and button mashing. As long as that continues to be the focus of the series, then I am glad they are trying new things; otherwise we would end up playing the same game over and over with a different story.

Well turn based fights was the main type of fightings in final fantasy.. if a final fantasy is kind of not a turn based, it may not recognized as a final fantasy because final fantasy is more recognized in turn based fights.. that's what made the game great..

So turned based fights for Final fantasy XII.. for me!

(i have said the words final and fantasy 5 times xD no big deal actually ... =P)

With the exception of FFX (the only turn based FF game since III), every FF game since the snes era has had a real time combat system, so FFXII isn't a sharp departure in that regard. Apart from some mostly superficial differences, I thought the battle system in XII played like a hybrid of the ATB system of IV - IX and the CTB system of X.

I too prefer turn based battle systems (I really like the battle system in X), and I like that XII had a "wait" option which can be selected to make it play more like a turn based game. However, I thought what XII really lacked was a fully "manual" option which would automatically pause the action and bring up the battle menu for each character every time their action meter filled.

This would eliminate the need to rely on gambits, as every action would be selected by the player when each turn came up. The gambits could even still be used to speed up menu navigation by having the default gambit action already selected when each menu pops up, then the player can choose to accept it or override it with a different command.

An encounter system like the one used in Chrono Trigger might have also worked well in FFXII. This would mean that visible enemies are encountered and fought seamlessly in the same environment, but once a battle initiates all combatants stand in formation until the battle has ended.

All in all though I think the most important thing about the many changes seen in FFXII is that in contrast to what some other RPG series have done to "innovate" their gameplay, FFXII did not attempt to become an action game. There are no swing meters, dodges, or button combos. The gameplay remains about strategy and stats instead of reflexes and button mashing. As long as that continues to be the focus of the series, then I am glad they are trying new things; otherwise we would end up playing the same game over and over with a different story.

Blizzrad

What? I believe was fairly good certinty that VII and VIII at least were turn based.

A turn based battle system is one which involves players taking actions in designated turns. This means that each player will have an orderly opportunity to act, during which no other players can take actions (like a chess game). Turn based systems can have time limits on turns to keep things moving more quickly (like competitive chess), but players still take actions according to a turn order.

FFX has this type of battle system, which Square called the CTB system (conditional turn based battle). In battles, each character takes actions during their turn and has an unlimited amount of time to do so. When your turn comes up you could go and make a sandwich, come back, and everything would be just as you left it. Turns are "conditional" because certain actions will change a player's placement in the turn order (i.e. haste or slow), but the system still revolves around ordered turns, and paying close attention to the turn order is a crucial element of the strategy.

All of the numbered FF games from IV to IX used the ATB sytem (active time battle). This system eliminated turns, and instead uses time meters to determine when characters can act. The battles play out in real time, as the game does not wait for the player to input commands, and enemies will continue to attack regardless of whether or not the player has acted (no time to make sandwiches).

All of the numbered FF games up to XII have a menu driven interface in which the player does not directly control the movement and action of the characters during battles, but instead issues commands by selecting them from a menu. I think many people confuse this menu driven interface with turn based gameplay as though they were synonymous. This is understandable because most turn based video games are also menu driven, while most real time games are controlled directly by the player. Visually, a game like FFVII looks much like any other turn based rpg, but it is the way in which the game deals with time and attack order which determines whether it is turn based or real time.

This is why I didn't find the battle system in XII to be so radically different from the old FF games, because apart from giving the player direct control over character movement (which is mostly a superficial difference) the way the battles play out is very similar to the old real time ATB system. By the way, I'm sorry that i keep writing a five paragraph essy every time I make a post, I took an english class in college that basically rewired my brain to write like this.