PS2 - Final Fantasy X-2 review

Final Fantasy X-2

| GAME FEATURES |	Developer : Squaresoft
A.)Take this game as a Final Fantasy X sequel.	Publisher :Square-Enix
B.) A lot of objectives. This game will keep you accupide for hours.	Released Novemeber 11, 2003
C.) Comes with some of the best FMV ever created
D.) A lot of cutscenes.	Type : Role Playing Game

Here is my review of the first sequel to a Final Fantasy game. Final Fantasy is notorious for being a solid, and well-liked game on any platform. The story takes 2 years after Yuna defeats Sin and turned Sphira into Eternal Calm. The developer, Squaresoft, took the original code of the first game and put it in X-2. Everything that was familiar in the first game is here in this game including all the characters. Squaresoft managed to improve the physics engine since their last title. This is not Squaresoft’s first project since Final Fantasy X. The first game to be developed was Kingdom Hearts, released last year, which combined Square’s most detailed engine.

The game opens up with Yuna a Summoner turned pop star. The game soon after reveals the plot on the Gillwing Airship. Yuna, Rikku and Paine as the three main characters are now Sphere Hunters. The Sphere hunters where created by the Youth Group and the Al Bhed to locate all the former technology that was created 1000 years later. Yuna is using it to find a look a like of the main character in FFX, Tidus. The game is already set 2 years after he started looking for him. Like the first game, Yuna finds Spheres which recorded the past. That’s the plot of the story. And later, Yuna meets a group apart of the Youth Group called the Leblanc Syndicate. Leblanc, the leader, can change herself to look like Yuna with a special sphere. However in the beginning of the game, Yuna gets that sphere back. This sphere might have something to do with the ending of the game, although the story is really foggy. Yuna is part of the Gillwings now. The Gillwings are neutral to New Yevon, a democratic country that owns most of Sphera and the Youth League and New Yevan are against each other in their ideas on how to rule Sphira. Later in the game, Yuna will have to make the overwhelming decision of befriending once side. Final Fantasy X-2 has three ending movies depending on the way you make the game end. This adds more replay value, because you can play the game over to see two alternate endings.

The plot does take part in the story. But most of the RPG is about completing missions that are acquired by jobs. There are small jobs and large jobs. Such examples are the Marriage Mission that spans all the game. One thing positive about Final Fantasy X-2 is that no mission is required to be done immediately. With the use of the Gillwing Airship you “fly” to any location that you want to, and back track to locations on the globe that you’ve already been too.

Final Fantasy X-2 is not better then Final Fantasy X - although it is a sequel with similar characters and locations. Instead of keeping the Sphere Grid, Square changed the battle system to a Garment Grid. This grid allows any main character to change abilities or as the game calls it….jobs. This selection screen can be accessed in REAL MODE, formally called Action Time Battle, in enemy or boss battles. Campaign Mode will always allow character to interact with their surroundings. The Garment Grid totals 10 garments in the game. There is a gun mage, black mage, white mage, thief, warrior, paladin, sorceress type job too. There are more, but I forgot what they are called. Each Job has 6 skills that can be mastered as easily as just using the skill often. You also level up automatically as long as you use the same skill. Some skills are better to use in different areas. Although the default jobs for the top main characters, Yuna, Paine and Rikku are most likely the best overall skills to use. The game tells you how much further until the game are completed. I’m about 18% through with FFX-2, and I seen no reason to switch garments unless there was some enemy in the game that was resistant to physical attacks, which you will see sometimes. It may frustrate a novice gamer because everything is so fast paced. Which is a definitely a good thing according me and most other RPG fans. Squaresoft has one prime purpose, and that is to create a fun, addicting game that RPGS fans around the globe enjoy. I don’t think they ever had a game that failed to sell well.

The most obvious reason that people got this game was that the battle sequences where in full 3D. That part hasn’t changed. In FFX and FFX-2 there was always a limit of 3 characters that could be on screen at once. However, since the sequel uses the same buttons as the original on the Duel Shock II controller, FFX fans will know which buttons do what. X is attack. Square is always find locations for activation codes for Macha and/or find spheres. Triangle can access is the menus screen only during both real mode and campaign mode. Circle is always cancel used to cancel any commands in the game or highlight the cancel. In fact during some long cut-scenes, circle can stop them by pressing the START button during one of them.

The graphics are better then that they were in Final Fantasy X. Remember FFX had FMV, 3D graphics and a solid REAL MODE. The game can push out a lot of polygons to make it look well close to, well Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Hearts and FFX-2 could use the same physics engine.

My final comments in the game are ….

I have some personal favorites about this game too. I really bought this game to see if it stood up to it’s predecessor. FFX was ground braking in the FMV department, the REAL Mode department and the experience department. It did have some catchy tunes. So far this game is pretty good. I’m really one of those people who played RPGs, and all Squaresoft games are essential. They started games including Parasite Eve, Xenogears, and Breath of Fire for other developers to continue. Just because they have so much experience backing them, doesn’t mean that no one can create a game that outperforms games from Square. Namco and Capcom have come very close to creating large scale games that meet the magnitude of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. Square develops the highest percentage of Role Playing Games on current consoles. Although Squaresoft tried entering the Racing Genre (with Emotion Type S Racing) 1 Action Fighting Genre (The Bouncer), even the Baseball Genre (Japanese Baseball) they’ve came out average to below average on their attempts. Although Parasite Eve recieved good online reviews. They’ve managed to develop over 20 RPGs for PC, NES, SNES, Gameboy, Playstation, Playstation 2, Gamecube, and Wonderspan spanning 17 years of their existence. Perhaps down the road, with so many gigabytes available on DVDs, gamers might see re-releases of old games on future platforms. Squaresoft released all their old school Final Fantasy games on Playstation. Something that Nintendo is also notorious for doing on Gamecube – if you know what I’m leading too? If not, I’ll fill in the details. Nintendo re-released the popular N64 game. Legend of Zelda Orcania of Time and Master Quest expansion pack on Gamecube. They also included Metroid with Metroid Prime. Super Mario Bros, and Legend of Zelda included with Animal Kingdom. Nintendo is also bragging about the release of all Legend of Zelda games re-released called simply dubbed “The Zelda Collection” that’ll will definably be a must buy for any RPG lover owning a Gamecube. Rumors say that a popular Final Fantasy game from the NES or SNES days is going to be re-released on Gamecube with a bonus disk or unlockable game in FF: Crystal Chronicles. This has nothing to do with Final Fantasy X-2. But it may mean in 5 to 10 years we might see a re-release of Final Fantasy in the future. Latest Rumors on the Internet say that Final Fantasy 7 will be updated onto PS2, but there are no details to it except for the new Final Fantasy movie coming out next year based after the events of Final Fantasy 7. If you never played Final Fantasy 7 before or any other Final Fantasy game, I wouldn’t worry about it. Final Fantasy X-2 is a worthy title to own. I like it almost as I like the prequel.

"Posted on Decmeber 20, 2003 4:10 AM"

Summing up Final Fantasy X-2
Graphics	9.5	Great
Control	9.0	Good.
Orginalism	8.0	OK
Sound Effects	8.3	Good but not jaw-dropping
Replayibly	NA	I don't know yet.