Final Fantasy X-2 Review
Let me start off by saying, this was the most disappointing game I have ever played in my life. Okay, now that you know of my obvious bias against the game, you may now continue reading.
The game takes place two years after the end of Final Fantasy X, and Spira is finally free of Sin. But a split has occurred; Yevon has been denounced by many because of the lies perpetuated during Sin?s reign. The Youth League opposes the new teachings of Yevon and paves the way for much hostility. As Yuna, you must choose sides at a point in the game, which affects how the other side treats you through the rest of the game.
The story lacks any true villain; I?d hardly consider LeBlanc or Shuyin as villains. LeBlanc strikes me as being a filler villain who loses importance once the true plot has been revealed. Shuyin is simply a restless spirit in need of calming.
There is no true character development taking place here. Paine is pretty much a shell of a character with a past that remains mostly a mystery even after completing the game to its fullest. Yuna and Rikku play off the development they received in FFX, making X-2 poor as a stand-alone title.
I?ll start of with the positive points the game has going for it. First of all, the graphics were right on par with FFX. They were pretty much identical, but they were beautiful so I?m not complaining. There were a few gorgeous cut scenes and the in-battle graphics were unique in their own way.
The battle system was a first; I?ve never encountered anything quite like it. If you like interchangeable job classes then you may like the Garment Grid system X-2 introduces. Of course, it drained much of the fun out of customizing your characters with various abilities and spells that the sphere grid allowed in FFX. I liked the 3D battle environments, it?s nice to allow the characters mobility on-screen rather than fixing them in a lineup.
The loss of interchangeable characters was a major disappointment, FFX had the advantage of switching character for character during battles and X-2 lacked any character switching whatsoever. There went most of the strategy involved in developing your characters? abilities.
Another disappointment was the loss of Aeon summoning. I know it wouldn?t make much sense story-wise to keep them usable in X-2, but it was truly a big loss for the game. The special dresspheres don?t hold much water in comparison.
Perhaps the biggest loss for the game was the fact that Nobuo Uematsu did not compose the soundtrack. Instead the game was filled with pop music that should have no place in a Final Fantasy title.
Ratings:
Soundtrack: 4
Graphics: 8
Story: 3
Enemies: 7
Battles: 7
Settings: 8
Total score (out of 100) is 62.
Written: May 1st 2005
Reviewer: Jay
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