This is what you will rely on the most, being he is your MAin Character.

This is when you choose the " attack " option.
You have a record that spins, and you're supposed to hit the confirm button when it hits a colored section.
Yellow sections add to the combo, the red section makes the record spin again.

What they don't tell you , is that you can hit the confirm button multiple times on yellow to rack up combos.
Beyond that, there's a feature that lets you slow time down in battle ( represented by a meter in the top right ) it's mapped to L trigger, or L2 on a controller.

The trick to Alex is to wait fo the record to reach the fat yellow section, and then hold the slow down time option, and hammer confirm like mad ( you can get about 8 -10 hits this way on the first section alone )

hitting the red section spins the record again, but you'll probably be out of time slowing energy by then.

* it's important to let you know that you should buy and equip any new record you find, regardless of the stats they provide - as neweer weps allow for more revolutions of the record when you hit the red section.

As for his special attacks, I only recommend using the Panda B one to help defend yor party against attacks. Alex doesn't gain any worthwhile skills till he hits level 15 +

Michael may seem like a weaker character, but his camera actually does more damage than you might think.
his combo is VERY basic, a film strip unrolls, and you have to hit the correct button as it passes by, for a total of 3 hits.

I haven't seen a single upgrade to his combo yet, and he's almost level 20 in my file.
So new gear , just focus on the cameras that have better stats for you.

His special moves --- are junk. Don't bother with any of them, they do very poor damage for a TON of effort, and aren't worth the time at all. ( and yes, even at level 20 I still find his specials to be useless )

That's it for Michael.

This is a fun , and very easy char to use.
Her attacks work identical to Semi's - you pull back on the analogue stick , and three lights light up.
When it hits green, release, and you're done!

New keytars add more to her combo, with the first upgraded adding a random face button to the green light after you release the analogue stick.

Her special move, banish - is pretty important -

Here's how it works, ( and yes, it works on almost every enemy )
You pick the attack, and it overlays an 8 bit little mini game, with the " entity " shooting fireballs at you, and you're given a melee attack ( by hitting confirm )
You have a life meter and the entity has one, too. When you drain their meter, the enemy is removed from battle, and you get NO EXP for it - however; the entity is then placed in Alex's mind dungeon, where it will proceed to lock a door in the sub levels of the dungeon.

The entity can be ignored ( meaning you lose the door stats ) or, you can fight the entity to purge it from the door, and if you win ( it works identicial to using banish as Vella ) the door 's stats will get a hefty bonus. So keep this in mind.
Spare enemy in battle for less exp, to gain mega stats later on.

As for her other skills, not the most useful - her main attack is more than plenty to keep you tickin in battle.

Rory does NOT attack. He is essentially your Paladdin for the team.
Instead of an attack option, he has Pacifism - which blocks a party memeber from taking damage for that turn ( it's VERY usefull )
he can also swap his current PP and HP in case his Hp gets low.

As he gains levels and skills, his defense, and healing capabilities get even better. He may not be able to deal damage, but he can save your party from dying on more than one occasion if used properly.

Also, it's worth mentioning he can pacify on himself as well.

Best course of action for Rory is to use him for healing items on party members, restoring pp, and the like. And guarding other members as well.

You may not use these skills too often, but every character has them.
Defending makes you take less damage from attacks, and it slows down the cursor to enemy attacks, allowing you more time to accurately dodge them, and hit the button presses in time.

running away ( you WILL need to perfect this skill )

you can select any member to run, as long as they get away - your entire party flees as well.

when you select it, the game opens up an 8-bit mini game where you are being chased by a monster- you can still hold r2 to speed up, but I don't recommend it. And, you can jump with the CONFIRM button , there will be obstacles coming at you, liek boxes , and enemies that hop - sometimes you can run under them, sometimes you have to jump over them - other times they hit the boxes, and remove both themselves and the box from your path.

When the enemy falls behind on the screen on the left, you are clear to go, and the battle will end.