"Final Fantasy XV" only allows players to control the main character, Noctis, without the option to switch to his party members. This makes the game function similar to "Kingdom Hearts." However, in a recent forum post the developers did confirm that there will be a way for players to indirectly influence how the AI allies behave in combat.
As reported by RPGFan, fans asked if there would be a system akin to the "Gambit" mechanic seen in "Final Fantasy XII." This mechanic allowed players to create a list of actions that the AI-controlled party members would do as well as edit the priority for each action.
This would allow an AI-controlled party member to automatically use a potion if their hit points drop to a certain percentage, attack an enemy with a specific type of magic if the enemy is resistant to other forms of magic, or buff the rest of the party if the buff spells such as Haste have ended.
In response, AI programmer and lead game designer Prasertvithyakarn Prasert stated, "We have created a system for FFXV where the player can decide the battle style that they and their comrades use, although this takes a different form to the gambits in FFXII. This will be revealed at some point in the future so look out for further information."
Fans also asked if it would be possible to ride monsters into battle, a mechanic that was reportedly seen in the 2013 E3 trailer. Lead game designer and combat planner Yuji Kenichiro did not give a direct answer but instead explained there is a mechanic that allows players to target specific body parts and that this will come into play in combat.
It is heavily speculated that Kenichiro's statements hint at a mechanic where players must first disable monsters before riding them or at least manipulating them to become temporary allies in battle.
"Final Fantasy XV" is scheduled to release in 2016.
