Nearly every Final Fantasy to date has used a variation of the same battle system. Final Fantasy IV introduced the Active Time Battle System (ATB) which let gameplay continue while attacks were selected. With the next installments, the battle system was kept the same; however, summons and the HP/MP system were altered.

The next shift in the series came with Final Fantasy XI: Online, which used a real time battle system. Instead of the dreaded random encounters, players had to ‘run into’ a monster in order to initiate a battle. Square Soft Enix used this system in Final Fantasy XII which I largely consider a failure. In XIII, they have finally nailed it.

Going into Final Fantasy XIII, I didn’t know quite what to expect. I’ll give you one thing, the beginning is tedious. The first 6 or 7 hours can be thought of as a long tutorial, where you don’t have many abilities. However, when you unlock more stages of the crystarium and unlock new paradigms, the game becomes amazing.

The new system is much different from anything else seen in the series. Instead of controlling all three party members, you only control one. The battle system revolves around paradigms, which are basically classes that you can change on the fly. Although this may not sound as fun, you actually have to change quite frequently when you face more difficult battles.

In addition, the HP/MP system has been reworked. In regards to HP, you regain lost HP after each battle, which means that you don’t have to spend every post-battle curing all of your members. On the MP side of things, well there is none. While some veteran players may scoff at the lack of MP, I welcome it.

All in all, the new paradigm system is a huge benefit to the Final Fantasy series. Not only has it reducing micromanaging of characters, but it has streamlined the battle system. I hope to see this system used in Final Fantasy XV (XIV is an MMO) with only minor changes.