Full interview:
Q: What type of battle elements come with the Demo Version Battle System?
A: FF13's battle concept is "command battle," it is something like a fusion between strategy battle and action battle. One is able to experience exhilarating and flashy actions via command inputs. The Demo held nothing but a portion of the basis (of the full version), so as far as the strategy part goes, you'll have to wait for the full version.
Q: What do you mean by Strategy Battle?
A: If you play the Demo, you are able to stock multiple commands and even mix and match them. That is one part of what I mean. In addition to this, the characters outside of the one you control may be AI controlled, but your connection to those AI characters and how well they are able to perform is another form of the "Strategy Battle". Even in the Demo, your allies will still follow up attacks on a launched enemy, but in the full version that is something that can be done more intentionally.
Q: For example, if you have a party of Lightning, Snow, and Vanilla, you would be able to switch the character you controlled?
A: Yes, that's right.
The story will proceed with a max of 3 people in a party, but we plan to let you freely use (each member) as you please.
Q: About how much of the final battle system made it into the Demo version?
A: Around 30%.
It could be considered the evolved form of the ATB system. We've merely taken the time to show you a portion of the pace of battle (that you can expect in the full version). At this extent (of the battle system?) you can't use summons so they weren't included (in the Demo), but because the full version will introduce many different elements (that weren't present in the Demo), even if you are playing the same location (as in the Demo) your impression of the game will certainly be different.
Q: The "Evolved" ATB Battle System, where you can attack even if your gauge is not full as long as you have enough gauge to use your attack, is truly ground-breaking isn't it?
A: For those who want to play a very fast paced battle, they can just use commands as soon as the 1st gauge fills up. For those who want slightly stronger attacks, they can wait until the gauge is full and use attacks such as Firaga. In this way, playing styles can be completely different. We plan to have the Time gauge be able to grow in size such that the number of commands you can enter grows as well. With that you can (expect to see) skills which consume even more of the gauge. By the way, in the full version, we plan to arrange the commands into an even more user friendly menu (than was found in the Demo). We want to make it so that even with a large number of commands, it never becomes a hassle to use commands.
