Oh nooooes! Change is bad! Reminds me of a certain topic I created (but I'm not the one complaining this time around)...! :(

Anyways, I don't think I'm part of the "turn-based RPGs suck" bandwagon because a good turn-based battle system can work. It can be enjoyable IF the battles at least require strategies and not just wait for your character to attack until the enemies die. Lost Odyssey was a good example of what I'm talking about. Some enemies in that game won't die unless you do certain move patterns. You can't just button mash the "A" button for attack, you need to plan everything out. Enemies can actually kill you too. Wow, a hard RPG, that's quite rare and enjoyable, can you believe it?

Oh, and even if I don't like dull turn-based battle system, I still play the games for the story. Ever thought about that? Even if I don't like the gameplay and don't grind the entire game, I can at least enjoy what I'm seeing and witness the whole universe the developers wanted to portray in the game. Example: Final Fantasy VI. The battle system never really appealed to me, but I still completed the game because the story was amazing.

By the way, isn't it story > gameplay for RPGs? I thought it was always that. Sure, gameplay is always a plus in my book, but since I don't grind in RPGs to make them a bit harder (since, you can't disagree with me on that, they're not the hardest games to finish eh?), I don't really care most of the time. o_O

Final Fantasy XII's battle system was real-time, so even if I wanted to skip the battles, well... enemies are in the world map. It's already another big plus. I'm glad enemies are on the world map, because random encounters are just boring and lazy on the developers' part (not just talking about Final Fantasies by the way).

It's not anything we couldn't figure out with the trailer, but it's worth a read anyways

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3173436

Final Fantasy XIII's Battle System Exposed

A preview of what you'll be seeing in a few weeks.

Regular non-gaming-industry Joes will have their first crack at Final Fantasy XIII in only three weeks, once Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete hits stores in Japan. Kind of crept up on all of us, didn't it? The epic RPG, due out before the end of the year over there, looks to involve everything people love and hate about the series -- and if the battle system (first revealed in full this week in assorted Japanese magazines) is any indication, fans don't have much really new to worry about.

The battles in Final Fantasy XIII are basically realtime; you can see enemies on the game map and fall into battle when you come into contact with them. Your party has a time gauge that fills up over...time, and once it reaches a certain level, you can execute commands. This is sort of like the "Active Time Battle" system we saw up until Final Fantasy IX, but unlike before, commands can be executed even if the time gauge isn't completely full.

You see, the gauge is divided into sections; when each one fills up, you are able to execute one command, such as "Fight" or using an item. When the gauge is full, you can input several commands in one go and watch as your party executes them all at once, with the results depending on the sequence of your orders.

Every command, meanwhile, has an associated cost. For example, while "Fight" only consumes one time unit, trickier magic could cost three or more units, draining your time gauge rapidly. While unconfirmed, it seems likely that more time units will be added to the gauge as you levels up, and that'll be important -- given that there's no visible MP display on the battle screen, there's a decent probability that magic works completely off the time gauge and there's no MP concept here at all.

Like in most recent FFs, chaining attacks plays a major role in the battle system. Attacking the enemy multiple times in rapid succession results in a Chain, which gives a bonus to the damage you deal. Linking a chain together fills up a gauge on the top right of the screen; once it reaches a certain level, enemies will start to flash red onscreen. Keep the chain going until you fill the gauge to maximum, and enemies will go into Break mode, letting you deal even more damage until the gauge is fully exhausted. Enemies in Break mode can be thrown into the air with a dedicated command, letting you juggle them around for -- you guessed it -- more damage. (You can't juggle really huge monsters, of course, but there might be some other method of making them vulnerable for a short period of time.)

There's no doubt more to the battle system, of course, but further details will have to wait for the launch of FFXIII's demo, due April 16 in Japan.

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Overall, I'm very interested in the battle system of the game, it has a certain Xenosaga vibe that attracts me, and FF's battle systems have almost always been good, so I doubt this one will disappoint

No need to, since FFXIII will have an improved ATB.

ATB = Automated Turn Based. I could walk away from the game for hours and the game plays itself. Just like WOW leave the game on and just walk away and the game plays itself and your character levels up by you not doing anything.