FF9's implements its infamous time based battle system once again. You are allowed 4 party members to take part in each battle, where you must wait til your character's "Time Bar" fills up before you can select a Command for your character to preform during battle. Your Speed (how fast the time bar fills up) may vary considerably, depending on your characters stats and/or what you have equiped to your character.
Your Character has a set of COMMANDS that he or she may chose from. These commands vary from character to character, since each character has different abilities they can preform. Here are the list of commands that the FF9 characters can preform:
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Attack :: Everyone in your party has this command. Basic attack that does damage. Rely's on attack power to do damage.
Steal :: A command that allows Zidane to steal items from an enemy. Only Zidane can use this comamnd.
Skill :: A command that allows Zidane to use a Skill, which he may learn from various weapons. Only Zidane has this command.
Item :: Allows a character to use an Item in your Item Stock. Any Character can use this Command.
Black Magic :: A command that allows Vivi to cast magic that he has learned from equipment.
Focus :: Vivi can use this command to increase his magic power, allowing for more damage when he casts Black Magic.
Sword Art :: A command that allows Steiner to use his Sword art abilities, to cause damage. He can learn Sword Art abilities from various weapons.
Sword Magic :: This command allows Steiner to cast power magic using his sword, with a little help from Vivi. Please note that Vivi MUST BE IN THE PARTY if Steiner wants to use Sword Magic.
Summon (aka Eidolons) :: This is a command that allows Dagger to summon various Eidolons, which she has learned or is in the process of learning. You must equip add-ons for her to learn Summons. This command may also be used by Eiko.
White Magic :: A command used by Dagger and Eiko, which allows them to cast an assortment of spells which aid the party in some way, like the use of the CURE spell, which restores Hit Points. White magic is generally not used for attacking.
Jump :: A command used by Freya. When you use this attack, Freya jumps high into the air and off the screen. She stays there for another full turn, then once the time bar fills, she Falls hard, spear first, right onto the enemy. This attack causes more damage then the regular ATTACK command.
Dragon :: A command similar to Zidane's, which allows her to cast various dragon knight spells which can be learned from equipment.
Throw :: A command that allows Aramant to throw weapons in your current inventory.
Flair :: A command allows Aramant to use various skills learned from equipment. This is very similar to Zidane's SKILL command as well.
Eat :: Allows Quina to Eat certain enemies after they have been weakend. This is how she learns Blue Magic Skills.
Blue Magic :: Allows Quina to cast magic that she has learned by eating certain enemies.
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In battle, you will see a yellow cursor above your characters. This shows whose turn it is to select a command. To switch Characters, press the TRIANGLE button to switch to another character whose time bar is already full.
At the bottom right of the screen, you will see a few things. First, you will see the Characters name, Hit points value, Magic Points value, the Active Time Bar, and the Trance bar. Your characters name will be highlighted in Yellow if its His/Her's turn to select a command.
If your character's name is displayed in RED, that means she has been K.O'ed, and needs to be revived with medicine or magic.
�Trance Bar�
The Trance Bar is unlike the ATB (Active Time Bar). Every time an enemy attacks you, it will filled a little bit. Once full, your character can perform special abilities once in that TRANCE MODE. Attacks become more powerful as well.
A few things before we move on:
::You can switch turns with the TRIANGLE button, as long as other characters' ATB's are full. ::
::You can escape from battle by pressing the L1 and R1 buttons. ::
::By pressing the SELECT button on your controller, you can bring up the HELP window, which explains every option in which you can select on screen. ::
�Active Time Events (ATEs)�
Active time Events allow you to what other characters are doing. Whenever a ACTIVE TIME EVENT icon appears in the the bottom left portion of the screen, press SELECT to view the events. Most ATEs are optional, but there are a few which you MUST view. For the sake of the story, view them all. It makes your FF9 experiance a whole lot better.