{"id":281,"date":"2008-01-08T22:02:36","date_gmt":"2008-01-09T03:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wurb.com\/stack\/archives\/281"},"modified":"2017-10-20T16:50:16","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T23:50:16","slug":"final-fantasy-v-atb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wurb.com\/stack\/archives\/281","title":{"rendered":"Final Fantasy V: ATB"},"content":{"rendered":"

FF5 does not actually have a monster called AAA. It does, however, have one called ????.<\/a>Combat in Final Fantasy V<\/em> is handled through a system called “Active Time Battle”, or ATB. Introduced in FF4<\/em>, it’s somewhere between realtime and turn-based systems. It has a Wizardry<\/em>-like abstractness, in that there’s no tactical movement on a battle grid or anything like that. The monsters and the party are displayed graphically (usually with the PC’s on the right side facing the monsters on the left, because that’s the direction that seems like forward to people who read Japanese), but this is basically just a more visually interesting way of presenting a list of creatures. That much was true of the FF<\/em> combat interface before ATB. The distinctive part, the thing that makes it ATB, is the realtime bit, wherein each combatant has a timer that governs when they can take an action. Each player character’s timer is represented on-screen by a gauge that fills up at a rate governed by the character’s Speed rating. When it’s full, you get to select something from a small menu that pops up at the bottom of the screen, typically including the options “fight”, “item”, and, if relevant, “magic” (although the Job system adds complications to this). But while you’re making your selection, the clock is still ticking. If you’re not fast, the monsters can get in an attack while you’re making up your mind. (This is another reason why it can be good for your tanks to be berserk: that way the game doesn’t waste time asking you what they should do.)<\/p>\n

The whole system is very strongly associated with Final Fantasy<\/em> in my mind. Fight\/Magic\/Item is as emblematic of Final Fantasy<\/em> combat as Name\/Job\/Bye is of Ultima<\/em> conversations. And the only game I’ve ever seen that even tried to do something similar to ATB was Grandia 2<\/em>, another Japanese console RPG, which places an ATB-like action timer (albeit with a different user interface) in a system with less abstraction and more running around the battlefield. Presumably the patent<\/a> 1<\/sup><\/a>Be sure to click on the “more” link where that page displays the diagrams. They’re really the best part.<\/span><\/span>