LogFAQs > #978591028

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

It kind of is. You've got a party of 12 (out of a total of 56 characters) but only 4 are "active" (often referred to as "frontliners") at a time. You can swap who's active and who's in reserve whenever you get a turn, but if all 4 active characters fall, then it's game over, even if you have some characters in the back.

It also utilizes ATB kinda like some Final Fantasy games, though thankfully it pauses whenever someone gets their turn.

Each character has a unique playstyle, further compounded by skills they can learn with SP they earn via leveling up. For example, one character only has one Spell Card (a special attack that costs MP), but after learning one of her skills, she can use the Spell Cards of any character that is currently on the front line with her, albeit at an increased cost.

All that to say, it's a lot to think about at any given moment, and I personally usually hate games like that. I'm not very smart so a lot of times overcomplicating mechanics just makes them fly right over my head. But something about this game just felt right to me, from the very beginning. I highly recommend the game, but only if you can manage to get it all to "click" with you, so to speak.