Combat is now somewhat active, rather than completely turn-based. So, if you're not quick in selecting your characters, you'll get beaten up. However, when you select a character, time freezes to let you thoughtfully choose your move.
The screen is still laid out with the characters in
the top third, the
enemies in the middle third, the combat menus on the left of the bottom
third, and an enemy list on the right of the bottom third. You can now
be simultaneously attacked by a lot more enemies than before.
The characters' vital statistics show up in the top portion. If you've been poisioned or immobilized, a handy little icon that shows up to notify you of this condition.
The combat menus are now in a cross-like formation with magic on the
top arm, items on the left arm, defense on the right arm, and special
technique
on the bottom arm. Attack is in the center. When you defend, you can
now
choose who you want to defend.
Bars under the character pictures fill to let you know when you can
attack. If you let the bar fill up twice (the second time, it will be
green),
you can cast more powerful magicks and your attacks (if they hit!) will
be at least slightly stronger.
By the way, magic is still elemental, but now, there are little icons showing you which element each magic is related to.
The special technique varies for each character. Van does a poweful strike, but loses a lot of health, too. Rim does a flurry of attacks, Annie heals the party, etc...
The downside to the special techniques are: you can only do them a
certain
number of times per battle and it takes a while to recover from them.
So,
if your offensive special misses, you're in deep trouble.
When you select a command, the character's happy face
will show up briefly
and the game will figure out if you hit and for how many points. The
enemies
are still rather static. Some of them have animated attacks (other than
bobbing slightly), but they are few and far between.
If a character is attacked, usually, the sad face pops
up. However, if
the character successfully counters the attack, the happy face pops up
again. (By the way, they're not really "happy." It's more of
an
aggressive, challenging look.)
If the hit points of a certain character dip below a certain level
(I'm not sure how much), their stat box turns red. If they lose all hit
points, they are no longer active. In the above screenshot, Annie has
lost
all her hitpoints (far right) and Van is in the red (far left). If
you'll
notice Pikku only has 19 HP and isn't red yet, that proves just how
weak
the poor cat is. :( But, I did charge his bar to green.
Changes from previous CF games:
Obviously, everything's redesigned from 1-3.
From CF4 Chapter 1, other than the auto-battle mode being vastly
improved,
the character selecting triangle is now three dimensional.
Everybody got really short!
(Gee, the floor captured very nicely. I'm so proud!)
Yes, the interface has changed its appearance yet again. You still
can't walk diagonally.
Bringing up the menu allows you quick access to the
status of your characters,
your story number, and how much gold you have. Pretty compact and
informative,
eh?
Isn't it amazing how you start the game and you're NOT at level 1? Not that it makes that much of a difference. The enemies from the get-go are quite tough, if you try to fight them normally. (Magic is the way to go. Also, buying equipment in Remlai is probably a good idea.) (Remlai is the first town you go to after the space port. We all remember that nice little castle town, right?)
The menu is (from top to bottom): Item, Magic, Status, Equip, and Customization. In the customization screen, you can change the order of you characters, the message speed, and the walking speed. (In that menu, it's fast on top, slow on the bottom.)
By the way, if you happen to die in Act 1 and haven't saved, you
restart
right after entering the space port. You don't have to go through the
digital
comic again. Speaking of which, it never reappears again.
Here's Rim's status screen. Pretty basic.
Of course, you don't start with equipment. Why would any Cosmic Hunter want to keep equipment around? Geez...In CF2, Van at least started with a spear and in CF3, Rei had a dagger. But, I guess Telenet believes starting you off in a party makes up for that.
Changes from previous CF games:
Obviously, everything's been redesigned. Towns are icons on the field
map, again.
For part of the beginning, you're in a little Digital Comic-type
interface,
with your choices along a bar under a largeish picture. After making a
choice, the bar disappears and a little animation may occur. If not,
character
faces will show up and they'll talk.
Changes from previous CF games:
Of course, 1-3 didn't have this. CF4 chapter 1 also has this, and it
also works about the same.
Back to the Cosmic Fantasy 4 Chapter 2 Page.
(Last touched-up: 05/02/10)