Regent Cid, the ruler of the peaceful nation of Lindblum, hires Zidane to kidnap Garnet in order to learn the Queen's plans. Instead of attempting to resist the kidnapping, Garnet decides to go willingly in order to stop her now-tyrannical mother, taking her loyal knight Stiener with her. Brahne learns of this and sends a group of Black Wizards to attack the group. In the chaos of the battle, Vivi is pulled into the conflict and ends up fighting alongside Zidane and company. Continuing with the idea of returning to classic Final Fantasy style, battle parties once again consist of four members, with access to a back row and a front row.
Magic is cast using magic points once again as well.
When a character's hit points are low, they enter trance mode and gain access to an extra set of abilities. Most abilities are character-specific, such as Zidane's Steal and Freya's Jump. New abilities, as well as additions to a character's existing abilities and magic, are gained through the game's nameless item system, which can be described as a Final Fantasy VI-esque balance between customization and character uniqueness. Each piece of equipment gives any character who equips it a new ability or spell, so long as it stays equipped. After you gain enough ability points in battle, the ability becomes a permanent addition to the character's ability set.