Since I decided to get Magna Carta: Tears of Blood I've decided to outline some aspects of the game. This time I felt it was important to outline the battle system. I feel the battle system in Magna Carta is very unique and challenging. It requires a small degree of skill and I think without this battle system I probably wouldn't enjoy this game as much as I do.
 When moving around the world you will notice an orange circle around you. This circle represents your field of vision. There are two modes of moment, one is dash mode and the other is detect mode. In dash mode your field of vision is small but you can run. This mode leaves you vulnerable to surprise attacks by the enemy. To avoid encountering these inconvenient encounters you can press 1 ad go into detect mode. In detect mode you can only walk, but your field of vision is considerable larger than it is in Dash mode. You can also choose to attack enemies if you choose, this will grant you the ability to gain a surprise attack on the enemy giving you the chance to attack the enemy first. I think this is an interesting way to go about things and it eliminates random battles (which is a good thing in my book).
    After a battle is initiated you go into the battle mode. In the battle mode there is a large field of play. You battle with 3 allies and can move freely around the field of play. You can switch which character you're using by pressing R1 or L1. When you want to attack one of the enemies on the screen you will run up to it. There is a circle around your character, this represents the character's attack range. Generally characters with melee weapons like swords have a small attack range, magic users will have a bigger circle. If your range touches the enemy you can attack them. You can't attack anytime you want though. There is a system in place that tells you when and when you cannot attack. This system is maintained by the leadership meter. The leadership meter must fill to a certain mark in order for you to attack. The distance on the meter that mark will lay depends on the amount of charisma the enemies and the allies have. So if you can defeat some enemies quickly the mark will lower and you can attack more frequently. When you can attack something pops up called the trinity circle. The trinity circle will display what buttons you need to press in smaller circles around this circle, when you input the first command the circle will quickly turn and you must push the next button when it reaches the top circle. This sounds easy but the circle turns very fast so you mush have quick reflexes or you will fail your attack. If your timing is perfect the result will say "great" but if it is a little off it will say "good" and if the timing is of it will say "miss."
 Getting a "great" rating on your trinity circle button presses has it's advantages. By getting three "great" presses in a row you can perceive a new skill. Your new skill will deal more damage than your old skill, but you will always need to use the lowest skill first before you can use the next highest skill. Getting a "great" on the trinity circle will also power up something that is called the Trinity Drive. Everytime you get a "great" 3 times in a row your Trinity Drive will go up 5%. When it reaches 30% you can use it. Press square and follow the button presses and it will increase the damage done to the enemy you are fighting.
 In addition to everything already mentioned there are 3 different attack modes, standard, combo, and counter. Standard mode is the safest way to fight. The trinity circle is pretty easy to use the only disadvantage is it won't deal as much damage as it could. Combo mode will deal a lot of damage, but the risk is high. You can't guard and the trinity circle rotates faster and there are a lot more than 3 button presses. However if you can pull off this attack the payoff is great. Counterattack mode requires an enemy to attack you. The trinity circle pops up and instead of buttons they are replaced by question marks. If you can guess the enemies' button presses you will perform a counter attack.
      Finally, there is something called chi. Chi is the elemental power of nature. There are eight types of chi: Celestial, wind, water, ice, mountain, earth, and fire. Each of these chi have a chi that will compliment it and a chi that will contradict it. Wind chi is complimentary to celestial, but is contradictory to mountain and earth. In the world chi will increase your power, and the powers of the enemies, depending on what chi is being used. Chi associated with your skills decrease during battle and when you run out of chi for that skill it can't be used. On the world map you may encounter chi lamps which if you put a talisman in you can change the chi in that area. Changing the chi can increase your power and decrease the enemies power.
     There is more than meets the eye to this game and the system is very deep. This may be intimidating to read but if you think this sounds interesting you will probably enjoy the game. The more I play the more I may elaborate on these aspects and outline others. I've only played for three hours but I'm having a good time.