SANTA MONICA, Calif.—Your history and experience with video games may very well be defined by the acronyms you hold near and dear. All-caps letter slams like WASD, LFG, GLHF, QTE, and HPB represent a lot for certain gaming genres or eras (and probably read like gobbledygook to outsiders), but in the console gaming space, one acronym may very well count as the longest-lasting of them all: ATB.
That stands for the Active-Time Battle system from Final Fantasy, which debuted in its fifth game and has remained a constant in a series that otherwise revels in full memory-slate wipes with its every sequel. Sure, the games share constants like Chocobos, mechanics named Cid, and elemental magic mixed with giant-monster summons, but the RPG series is probably best known for, and identified by, its meter-charging twist on turn-based combat.
The upcoming release of Final Fantasy XV is interesting in a lot of ways, from its enormity to its car-cruising "band of bros" premise. But after being given full room to roam in the game's entire first chapter, the largest takeaway by far is its battle-system shift. Forget the teases and dances with real-time active combat in games like FFXIII; Square Enix has finally, truly pushed its golden child into the real-time combat realm.
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