Tales of Destiny

The game uses an enhanced version of the Linear Motion Battle System that debuted in the first game of the series, Tales of Phantasia . Battles take place on a 2-D plane where characters and enemies act in real time. Melee and ranged attacks are executed in real time, with spell casting requiring a chanting time that increases directly with the complexity of the spell being cast. When the chanting of a spell is complete, game-time temporarily stops as the spell animation is carried out and damage is assigned, so spells essentially pause the battle when cast.

Special melee and ranged attacks do more damage or have more hits than normal attacks, but require technical points, or TP, to be consumed for use. Also, the battle system rewards the player with extra experience for stringing together multi-hit combos . The end result of this break from turn-based RPG battle systems is a more fast-paced and reaction-oriented system that behaves more like a side-scrolling action game . Pre-battle options include assigning spells and special attacks to buttons and button-directional combinations, changing the party's battle formation or order, and assigning AI behavioral patterns for computer-controlled allies.

Certain spells can also be taken off the active casting list for computer-controlled allies. At any one time, the AI is controlling the other characters in the party that the player is not directly commanding, taking general strategic orders into consideration when acting. The player controls one character directly at a time, but can switch to other characters and issue special attack or spell orders for any character on command using an in-battle menu system. This menu system enables the player to use items, spells, or special attacks at will during battle.

The menu system also allows the use of general commands given to the entire party during battle, along with instant adjustment of previous strategy or formation orders.