something on the comparisons of Xenoblade and FF12 I found on the Xenoblade board that I found after the episode
"The battle system has a few similarities but does everything so much better. It is also far more fast paced and you definitely have to be using your artes (spells, abilities, etc.) if you want to get anywhere... and thats not even mentioning things like chain attacks, topples, stuns, buffs/debuffs (like watching for and neutralizing spike damage later on), etc"
"Anyway, this game is really different from FF XII. The artes really aren't the same as the attacks and spells in FF XII, there's no chain attacks in FF XII (save for Deathblows but those are still different), all characters have their own unique skillsets, moving around does matter, vision system, it's more action-y, and no gambits so you'll never just sit there because the game is very involved. There's a lot to differentiate it from FF XII."
"The biggest difference with XB and 12 is that XB lets you control 1 character while in 12 every character is automated depending on gambits.
Because of this XB controls more like Star ocean 3 and Tales of Bamco.
Also 12 adopted the "generic"(i'm not counting the rerelease with changes to the game mechanics here) character role while XB has specialization.
What I mean is 12( like 7, 8 and 10) created a system where all characters can have the same abilities and setup to some degree(aside from special attacks, summons etc). So in the end it really doesn't mater what party you have. The only real variety is with character equips which greatly changed their stats.
XB gave every character their own different roles initially but your not pressured to play a certain way. You can feel the difference when you control different characters and depending on who you control, you'll need to adjust your strategy.
If your tanking you need to mitigate damage and soak damage for the party. If your healing, you need to know what the timing of your spells should be so you won't be on cooldown when something crazy happens. When your dealing damage, you need to get into the right positions to maximize the attacks damage and effects (attack from the side to reduce enemy stats etc..)
Also the auto attacks in XB are more of a mechanic to recharge the skill unique to each character and not really the main source of damage in the game"
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