Active Time Battle

Active Time Battle (also abbreviated as ATB) is a role-playing video game mechanic invented by Hiroyuki Ito. It was first used in the 1991 Final Fantasy IV, and patented in 1995 by Ito and Hironobu Sakaguchi, though the patent expired in 2010, allowing it to be used in any game. It added a timer bar to turn-based gameplay, allowing both protagonists and enemies to attack at their own pace, even while navigating menus. Different types of techniques caused the timer to move at different rates until the character could move again. The system was successful enough to go on to be used in most subsequent mainline turn-based Final Fantasy games, although the series eventually abandoned turn-based gameplay for mainline titles in favor of action role-playing gameplay. Active Time Battle has been noted by critics as a revolutionary step in the genre and a defining aspect of the series' Super Nintendo-era games and Final Fantasy as a whole.