The battle portion of the game is the best bit. I love how the AI takes over. I’m sorry, purists, this is the 21st century and with a fast action-packed fight, I don’t want to be sitting for 30 seconds pondering whether I wanna choose an esuna or a cura next, whilst my nemesis can hover menacingly over me not doing a thing. Whilst I don’t like the Kingdom Hearts/Dirge Of Cerberus: FFVII more-hands-on type of fighting, the fact I could just click and choose and still kick major ass in XIII is just ace.

XIII has introduced a more automated version of the gambits seen in XII called Paradigms. Paradigms comprise a combination of different jobs (akin to those seen in earlier FF’s like III) – hence, the Relentless Assault paradigm contains an all out attacking force whilst the Solidarity paradigm has a good mix of attackers and healers. And the best thing is that you switch the paradigms (Paradigm Shifts) during battle instantly. Can you magine stopping in the middle of a battle in XII and changing the gambits? My only grudge with the battle portion of XIII is the ‘arena’-esque feel of the screen, like the older FF’s unlike the real-space fights you get in XII. Very minor grudge, though.

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