Final Fantasy XIII's battle system detailed in Famitsu

For years (literally) Final Fantasy XIII has seemed like an ethereal, heavenly destination. Like the Golden Fleece or a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Only recently, with actual in-game screenshots, does it feel like Final Fantasy XIII is actually a game. One for us mere mortals, not just reserved for the gods. The latest issue of Famitsu not only has more screenshots, but actually gives us some details about the combat system. Yes, actual gameplay stuff.

Random-battle haters will love the fact that, just like in FFXII, enemies will be visible on the world map and there will be no transitions into combat. The combat itself looks quite complicated. The familiar ATB (Active Time Battle) system seems to be present, but multiple actions can be chosen per turn, according to how many points each action has assigned to it. For example, Fire costs 1 point and Firaga costs 3. So far there appears to be a 3-point limit per turn. Hopefully this indicates a rich combo system, much like in White Knight Chronicles.

Enemy names and HP are visible during battle and there appear to be "chain" and "bonus" systems, though what exactly these do is still unknown. With a demo being released in Japan in three months, we should know more by then. Don't get too excited, though. You almost certainly won't get to play it in 2009.

[Via Kotaku]