Action encounter

Action encounters refers to a method of entering battles. Primarily used for boss battles, action encounters are engaged in when a player uses the action button to trigger a battle, or to trigger script that leads to a battle. Due to the greater amount of forewarning given before the player enters the battle, it leaves time for the player to menu grind. While most action encounters are one-time events, there are a number of exceptions to the rule in the series. Action encounters are used more in the earlier games, particularly the sprite-based games, as the model-based games allow for cutscenes where the characters can move around more.

Action encounters are similar to script encounters in the way they lead up to boss battles or other forms of special battle, the difference is the more forced nature of a script encounter as the player loses control when moving past a certain point, while an action encounter can be entirely ignored until the player is ready since the player can see the boss and choose when to engage with it.

A common form of non-boss action encounters are Monster-in-a-box encounters that serve as a form of trap since the player freely chooses to engage with the Treasure Chest. Monster-in-a-box encounters are a programmer's alternative to placing fixed encounters around chests.

Final Fantasy
In the Chaos Shrine, the player can face Garland by talking to him. In Pravoka, the player can face a battle with nine Pirate enemies by talking to Bikke. In the Western Keep, if the player talks to the King, he will reveal himself to be Astos and a battle will ensue. On floor B3 of the Cavern of Earth, the player can fight the Vampire by talking to him. On floor B5, the player can fight Lich by pressing the action button on the yellow orb. In Mount Gulg, the player can fight Marilith by pressing the action button on the red orb. In the Sunken Shrine, the player can fight Kraken by pressing the action button on the blue orb. In the Flying Fortress, the player can fight Tiamat by pressing the action button on the green orb. In the Chaos Shrine from the past, the player can fight Chaos after talking to Garland and witnessing a change.

Final Fantasy II
On the player's first entry to Fynn, and later on the Dreadnought, the player can talk to the Palamecian soldiers to result in a battle against Captain enemies, a difficult battle to win at early stages of the game.

Final Fantasy VII
In the Pagoda in Wutai, the player must talk to the guardians on each floor before battling them. The first floor is Gorkii, the second floor is Shake, the third floor is Chekov, the fourth floor is Staniv, and the final floor is Godo.