So after two huge marathon sessions and about 8 more hours of play time I can say that the fighting system is very interesting and well done. It wasn't until characters starting to develop three or so different classes as once that the combat really shined. The game does a good job of giving you a mix of enemies that require certain tactics to beat them, tactics that have you changing paradigms constantly. The main character and party is always changing so you always have different types of attacks. Depending on who you are controlling you get to perform actions you didn't before when you were the basic attacker.

What I have come to realize is that this game has removed all the individual choices of the different classes like choosing cure vs regen, which spell to attack with etc. Of coure your main character can choose but it almost feels weird to do so after getting used to the fast paced nature of paradim shifting. So instead of having to pick one spell in a category you are picking to use the entire category. If you need healing switch to healing and your teamates will pick all the best curing spells for you. If you want buff choose a synergist and the computer will pick all the appropriate buffs. Want to attack choose commando, and if you want to use spells choose ravager. So you are picking the category rather than the action, this makes everything quicker and easier to manage.

The result are fights were you are switching categories on constantly and adjusting to ever changing battle conditions quickly. It almost feels like an action game rather than a turn based RPG. It's so much like an action game that it grades you after each fight like Bayonetta. In fact there is nothing else to do in this game except fight. This is Final Fantasy the action game! Lighting launches enemies in the air and chain combos them as if she were Dante. Now that I think about it they should have removed the damn menu system completely, go full player control real time combat like an action game. The action can still be goverend by stats and such, you can keep the paradigm system for the partners but the main character could have been all action. Blocks, attacks, dodges, it would have been awesome.

What we get is still fun. It is literally all you do in the game, well besides managing the party and such, so it better be good. I love trying to get the jump on enemies. I loved the part where enemies were fighting each other and you had to manage the fight so that one side isn't winning too much. With the removal of MP and all health being recovered at the end of each fight it allows each fight to be its own seperate battle so there is no worry of using your best attacks or buffs to save MP for a future battle or what not. I like that, it makes every skill and attack useful.

I just finished a long section where you controlled Hope and Lightning, it switched from Sazh and Vanille, these parts were easier than before when I had a full team of three. The diffculty is a bit uneven, the part I got through was very easy. The majority of battles were won with the most basic of strategies, I never had to buff almost never had to heal. It was the equivalent of the easy enemies that you can quickly kill by non stop attack in older FF games. That was a contrast to the area before where there were better mixtures of enemies and characters that lead to better battles. So it is a bit up and down in that regard.

The level up system much easier to navigate than FFX and FFXII, like everything else it is more linear with less options. Plus the game decides when you can continue to level up, it slowly opens up new levels to you, i guess from keeping the player from getting overwhelmed. At least it is easy to understand and use. The weapon upgrade system is a bit more complex, I still don't know exactly how you get the added bonuses, I know how to get an EXP multiplier but that is about it. After each team change paradigm shift teams are important to customize, but again it's way easier with two characters than with three, I want three again.

I got my first two summons, I love the way you aquire them. It's a battle where the point isnt to kill the enemy but to impress them. So you need to figure out what actions impress the eidolons and then use them. The summons themselves are interesting, kind of like FFX where they come into the battle to help you, I wish you could control them though. You can do the whole vehicle change where you do crazy attacks and damage, this is more like classic summons each has a super attack. Interesting but I haven't found much use for it outside of boss fights.

I am enjoying the game much more now that the combat has opened up considerably though I still want more complex fights. The locations are still stunning, I stopped in this forest that is eye melting, one of the most beautiful areas in any game. The story has picked up with some excellent cutscenes sprinked throughout. I wish there was more to the game than combat but the combat is so good that it is fine for now. Not my favorite FF so far but a good one.