The length of battles, the pace of combat... and the overall feel of combat.

[Rutelor]

The pace of battles is a recurring issue in RPGs in general these days. Lots of games are looking for ways to avoid the stereotype of battle systems and thus speed up the pace and/or streamline battle. Square Enix's games appear to be no exception.

One of the biggest criticisms at launch was that the combat system was... well, boring. In response to this, they have made moves to tie it into something more exciting and fast-paced, which of course results in things finishing quicker, allowing you to move on to the next foe.

Sorry buddy, but slow battles just isn't the way things are going these days.

I wish I could agree with what seems to be common so-called-wisdom these days in that speed = excitement. That's a poor imagination's solution for a problem that actually demands quite a bit of ingenuity. And actually, being just one more among the crowd is antithetical to being distinguished. And I think to perceive SE's intentions to distinguish themselves.

R