Final Fantasy XIII utilizes an Active Time Battle system for combat. We’ve seen version of this battle system in Final Fantasy VII: Advent children and also in plenty of non-Squre-Enix titles like this years PS3 exclusive White Knight Chronicles. The ultimate question here is, whether or not the ATB battle system works better than the traditional turn based combat from the past. What are your thoughts?

At first I must admit that I didn’t feel like there was much depth to Final Fantasy XIII’s ATB system. I absolutely hated only actively controlling one of my party members at any given time. I felt like all I was doing was pressing the X button and the computer fought the battle for me and that there was little strategy to it at all.

But all that changed after a few hours spent with the game and after the more advanced battle options unlocked. I found that the battle tactics were still there from turn-based combat, but that they were utilized in different ways. Instead of switching between characters and controlling individual players, players are switching between active battle paradigms which affect how each player individually fights during the battle. Sure, it’s different and does take a bit longer to get used to, but in the end you have just as much control over you party as you do in a turn-based battle system with the added bonus of amping the pace of battle and making the fight flow more fluidly.

For me, I would have to say that the ATB battle system is the better of the two. Which battle system do you prefer, the new ATB system or the old school turn-based system?