>>725587178
Not really
Battles happen in their own grid-like arenas like pic related shows, with a turn based option or a real time option (real time works more like ATB where AI characters move as soon as their bar fills up, while turn based makes only the character whose ATB bar is full move, stopping the action). Special moves have their own range, power and so on. There is no levelling, the characters become stronger by learning new techniques from manuals or by unlocking skills with skill points
The exploration is the most JRPG part of the game, including having a "world map", except you have much more freedom even at the start. Some areas do require main quest progress to unlock, but you're still free to explore the starting regions (or the separate dlc region) how you want
Also the game doesn't really have fantasy elements, every character is human and everything "supernatural" is explained as martial arts