I've been playing the final fantasy series again. And this time I've been playing them in order, 1 through 8 so far, and now I'm on 9. And the ATB combat feels even more slow and sluggish than FF4. Battle speed is cranked up to maximum, but still, the ATB gauges fill up quite slow, and there seems to be some 2-3 second pause between characters action/execution. So I find myself moaning and groaning when I get back attacked by 4+ enemies that can cast spells because I'm waiting (censored)ing forever for each of them to complete their spell animation numerous times. I guess I'm more accustomed to FF5 and 6 in terms of how quickly things move along.