Artificial intelligence, commonly shortened to AI, is commonly used to refer to computer-controlled elements of units in RPGs. Enemies in the Final Fantasy series are AI-controlled, but in certain cases, party characters can also be computer-controlled.

Certain status effects, such as Berserk and Confuse, can cause allied characters to be taken out of the player's control and start performing actions on their own. Although these can be considered negative status effects, certain specific conditions can benefit the player.

This is not to be confused with artificial autonomous systems and entities present in the setting of various entries, such as the Lufenian robots from Final Fantasy, or the CPU of the Giant of Babil from Final Fantasy IV.

Appearances

Final Fantasy

The AI enemies use is simple. It determines if it attempts to escape through a calculation involving its morale level against the lead party member's level. If the enemy does not try to escape, it checks if it casts a spell, at a rate of chance unique to each individual monster. If it chooses to cast, it uses the spell it is currently on while moving the pointer forward to the next entry in its spell list. Otherwise, the enemy determines if it uses a skill, using an identical process to magic. If it chooses to do none of these the enemy will attack physically.

For the Anniversary Edition and the versions based on it, Chronodia breaks this AI convention. While she works the same as every other enemy in terms of selecting spells, skills or attacks, Chronodia always casts Seal every five turns.

In Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, there are no spell or skill cycles. Enemies can cast any spell or use any skill in any order, and can choose to use the same spell or skills consecutively. In this case, each of the enemy's actions have a given probability for it to use them, with the chance determining how often that action gets used in battle.

Final Fantasy II

Enemies use skills in battle. If an enemy can use skills, their AI is controlled by a list of up to 8 skills. Each of their skill slots has a percentage chance associated with it, which determines how often that skill is used in battle. The slots will always have these chances associated:

20%, 20%, 20%, 10%, 10%, 10%, 5%, 5%

Selecting an empty slot will have the enemy use a normal physical attack. Enemies can still use skills so long as they have MP, even if it is not enough for the selected skill (though their MP is reduced to 0). However, if an enemy has 0 MP and selects to use a skill, it will instead use a normal physical attack. If an enemy selects to use a skill, but loses all their MP before their action within the turn (via Sap or Osmose), they will instead fail the cast.

Final Fantasy VI

Cyan is controlled by the AI where he is given an AI script just like the enemies. For three battles in the Imperial Camp, his AI script is as follows:

Attack Turns:

1st Turn: Fang (33%) or Attack (33%) or Attack (33%)

If attacked by anything: Attack (33%) or Nothing (66%)

In the Dragon's Neck Coliseum player characters are controlled by the computer and will randomly use any commands they have available, even ones that can kill the character, like Self-Destruct. Thus the battle outcomes are often random and risky.

Umaro is an optional playable character who cannot actually be controlled in battle and is in a constant state of Berserk. Umaro only uses physical attacks, unless equipped with his special relics that allow him to randomly use a special ability.

Gau can emulate a monster. When he does he becomes a computer-controlled character in battle, and has the chance of using two abilities. One of them is always an Attack, the second can either be a special attack, a magic spell, a lore, a dance ability, or an enemy spell.

When Mog selects a Dance, he will randomly perform one of four abilities from the selected dance. The player will lose control of Mog while he's dancing.

Final Fantasy VII

Sephiroth, while as a party member, is entirely computer-controlled. He can attack enemies with physical attacks and powerful magic that targets all opponents. If Cloud is dead, Sephiroth can use Life2 on him.

Vincent is computer-controlled when using his Limit Breaks. When using his Limit Break form, Vincent has a random chance of either using a physical attack or a special attack, but the special attack is always rarer, in each of his turns.

In the Chocobo Races, the player can let the Chocobo be controlled by the computer, in which case the Chocobo is controlled the same as the other opponent Chocobos on the track. The computer does not usually take the most effective turns on the race tracks, however, and might waste Stamina.

Final Fantasy VIII

Rinoa's Limit Break, Angel Wing, turns her into a sort of "Magic Berserk" state, in which she is computer-controlled and casts random magic from her stock, without actually expending the spells. Because Rinoa only casts spells she already has, it is easy to manipulate Angel Wing by letting her only have powerful spells, such as Meteor.

The player also has the option to set Squall's and Zell's Limit Breaks into automatic, in which the computer performs the Limit Break without player input.

Final Fantasy X

The Magus Sisters and Yojimbo are optional aeons whose commands the player cannot actually directly control.

While commanding the Magus Sisters, the player offers suggestions to each one individually, and the AI will choose a relevant ability and target. Sometimes they may fail to take an action.

The player uses gil to manipulate Yojimbo's actions: the higher the amount paid the better attack will Yojimbo perform. The Overdrive gauge also plays part of which action will Yojimbo choose.

When playing blitzball, the ball carrier's movement can be set to Auto.

During the battle against Evrae, Cid is an ally who aids the party with his airship.

Final Fantasy X-2

In the International and HD versions, captured monsters and characters can be placed in the party and used in battle. They are controlled by the game's AI.

Blitzball returns and is now fully automatic.

Final Fantasy XI

Trust Magic allows players to summon AI-controlled avatars of characters from the game to assist them in most game content.

Final Fantasy XII

Gambits allow characters to seamlessly perform actions in battle on their own. The player is still able to interrupt these actions and give the characters commands manually, but if the character has no player commands to execute, they will act according to their gambits.

Guest characters and Espers are computer-controlled allies in the original version, but the Zodiac versions let the player control them, as well as modify guests' gambits.

Enemies, likewise, operate via gambits of their own, which the player cannot view.

Final Fantasy XIII

The battle system has the player control the actions of the party leader, and the computer controls the two others. The player can also choose the Auto-Battle option, which has the AI choose the commands for them depending on various battle situations. The actions the computer performs and who they target depends on the characters' Paradigm Roles and the situation.

Final Fantasy XIII-2

The battle system mostly functions the same, but Serah and Noel can be freely swapped as the party leader. The third party slot is reserved for monsters, who are fully controlled by the AI.

Snow appears as an AI ally against Royal Ripeness.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

Fang and the Angel of Valhalla are computer-controlled characters when they assist Lightning in battle in the Dead Dunes and the Wildlands respectively.

Final Fantasy XIV

Adventurer squadrons, Duty Support, and Trust, allows players to access a selection dungeons and trials with AI-controlled NPC's instead of with other players.

Arcanists, summoners, scholars, and machinists can be accompanied by AI-controlled "pets", whose form and function vary by job.

In public field areas, the player may use gysahl greens to summon their company chocobo companion as an AI-controlled ally after completing the quest My Feisty Little Chocobo.

Final Fantasy XV

Noctis is controlled by the player, while Gladiolus, Ignis, Prompto, and guest characters are controlled by the AI. A later patch allowed switching between non-guest characters in battle.

Each of the DLC episodes feature a controllable character with an AI ally.

The developers wanted players to feel they are actually with friends, and thus built up AI and animation system on that. During the project, the team considered developing an open seamless world and developing realistic AI for Noctis's friends the main challenges. The allies were designed to pay attention to Noctis and walk together with him, but randomize the speed and the distance from the player character. If they get left behind they come running. Because the system is constantly calculating the friends' AI, its CPU cost is high.^[1]

Final Fantasy XVI

The player controls only Clive Rosfield while able to give commands to Torgal, and the other allies who join temporarily fight autonomously.

Final Fantasy Type-0

The player controls one cadet, while two others are AI-controlled. The leader can be swapped in battle with a simple button press. AI cadets are relatively unaggressive (as combat is centered around the player landing breaksights) and may focus more on staying alive than dealing damage. To compensate, they take half damage from attacks, and only consume 1/3 of the normal cost for magic and abilities. They may also prioritize their defensive spells on the player.

Final Fantasy Tactics

The player controls most party members, but not guests, who have similar intelligence to enemies, but fight on the side of the player. There also is an Auto-Battle mode, where players can select actions for the characters (such as "Fight for Life") but they will execute them themselves, as if they were guests.

Enemy AI will ignore units with Invisibility or Doom. Enemies know to avoid or take advantage of magick that is going to be reflected, but disregards what reaction abilities their opponents have equipped and thus frequently set them off.

The AI will never try to invite the player's units, even under Confusion, and even if Entice is the only option possible.

In what appears to be an error, Wiegraf Folles will not use Holy Sword skills against targets who absorb holy, even if Holy Sword abilities are not holy-elemental in and of themselves. Enemies will not use attacks that are guaranteed to fail; e.g. they will not throw something at a target who has Sticky Fingers and 100 bravery.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

Benjamin's ally, if present, can be guided automatically by the computer: AI can be enabled or disabled at the press of a button. The AI control character will exploit enemies weaknesses or cast their most powerful spells on the enemy party. There is a bug that involves Phoebe being controlled by the AI. When controlled by the computer, Phoebe will sometimes randomly cast Aero, a spell she does not have in her possession.

Final Fantasy Adventure

Temporary party members have poor AI. They'll attack walls and trees, and even thin air for no apparent reason making them hardly useful.

Final Fantasy Legend III

The Auto function allows the player to set a character(s) on an automated function, where one or more will become automated. When a character(s) are set to Auto control, they will usually act in a manner befitting the situation.

Etymology

Artificial intelligence is the intelligence exhibited by machines or software. It is an academic field of study which studies the goal of creating intelligence. Major AI researchers and textbooks define this field as "the study and design of intelligent agents", where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chances of success. John McCarthy, who coined the term in 1955, defines it as "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines".

Citations