Final Fantasy X, is it worthy of the praise? (Final Fantasy X (PS2))

Member Name: mtbanger

Product:	Final Fantasy X (PS2)
Date:	02/06/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Compelling story, a lot to do, enjoyable battle system

Disadvantages: At times poor voice acting, a few annoying characters.

Final Fantasy X is one of the most successful of the series, and the first rendition of a legendary series on the sixth generation of consoles. Is it worthy of praise?

GAMEPLAY

The bulk of the gameplay mechanics in Final Fantasy X can be found in the battle system. Each Final Fantasy has slightly different battle mechanics, but Final Fantasy X moved away from the Active Time Battle or "ATB" systems of the previous games and devised a new system dubbed "CTB". Or Conditional Turn-based Battle system. The new battle system is far simpler than that of its predecessors, but allows you to devise more complex strategies with greater precision than the other games. Each activity you take in-battle causes a certain delay, with more powerful moves causing bigger delays. The sequence of turns is displayed on the right hand side of the screen and lets you plan ahead before acting.

Another change made to the battle system is the ability to swap different characters in and out at any time during the combat. Thus allowing you to use all 7 characters whenever you like and opening more avenues for you to explore with your strategies. This change adds a great deal more flexibility to the games and is definitely welcome.

The different characters all have their own abilities and specializations, the main character Tidus is a fast acting guy, then you've got other types, Lulu the black mage, Yuna the white mage-cum-summoner and Rikku the thief, among other characters with other defined roles.

Summoning itself has been changed from previous entries in the series, this time instead of merely watching an extended (albeit flashy) animation and then seeing the damage flash up, you get to assume control of the Aeon (summoned creature) and do battle yourself with it. This is a great feature that allows more choice to the player and encourages you to summon more often.

That's not to say it's all set in stone. The only character specific ability (outside from overdrives) is summoning. All other abilities and specializations can be learnt by other characters, and if they're schooled correctly and follow the correct path, they can be used effectively too. This is all because of the sphere grid system.

The sphere grid is a large network of stat boosting "nodes" which you can activate upon gaining "sphere levels". Each character moves around the board acquiring their stat upgrades and new abilities as they go along. Initially areas of the sphere grid are sectioned off to certain characters, but as you go through the game those barriers are broken down, and you are allowed to then develop each character as freely as you wish. This allows the game to be simultaneously open-ended in terms of character abilities, but also influence you to keep to certain classes that suit those characters roles until the endgame where maxed stats are needed, as some of the bosses are insanely powerful (12,000,000 HP anyone?).

The minigames are pretty fun, but one of them, a sport called "Blitzball" completely takes the cake in terms of depth. It's like a cross between Rugby, Football and Water Polo. Select characters have different stats which are used within the game, and you have to build up a dream team with which to win the league. The prizes won are then used in the main game. Blitzball was one of the most enjoyable aspects of FFX, and I found myself playing it frequently.

5/5

STORY

The story is linear for the most part. The game begins with a game of Blitzball in a spectacular city. Which is then promptly destroyed by an entity called "Sin". A mysterious man in a red cape called Auron shows up, and directs you towards it. After being spoken to my another mystery character in purple robes, a few fights later you are engulfed in a white light, only being told "This is it. This is your story.". From there on it's up to you to figure out exactly what "Sin" is, where you are and how to get home. All the while travelling across Spira (the name of the FFX world) on a pilgrimage to gather powerful entities.

There are appropriate twists and turns, and whilst the then revolutionary voice acting is at times laughably bad, the characters are likeable enough. I found myself genuinely caring what happened, and hating the main villain. It'll keep you gripped till the end.

4/5

AUDIO/SOUNDTRACK

This game has one of my favourite sound tracks, from the heavy metal Otherworld to the eerie Hymn of the Fayth, to the epic theme music and the recognisable character themes, Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu certainly lives up to his prestige in this example of his music. All recognisable and never boring nor unfitting for a given area of the game.

5/5

ART DIRECTION & PRESENTATION

As with all Final Fantasy games, there is a painstaking amount of effort put into the visuals, which are often benchmarks in terms of graphical quality. The character designs are in-depth and the facial and expression animations were revolutionary.
The background and scene design were especially well done from the sprawling metropolis/ruin of Zanarkand to the tropical paradise of Besaid. From the high peaks of Mt Gagazet to the sprawling calm lands and immaculate holy city of Bevelle. All the while with the looming menace of Sin behind it to add an extra layer of depth where peace is an illusion and destruction of these fantastically designed and elaborate places can come at any instant.

The FMV's shown in this game can still easily compete with FMVs of the current day, and continue to amaze me every time I see them. The Aeons I found were especially well designed, but the number of palette swaps, whislt expected, were noticeable and distracted somewhat from the experience of an otherwise fantastically presented game.

5/5

For me Final Fantasy is a great experience that transports me to another world every time I play it. I bought it when it came out way back in 2002 and I've continued to pick it up since. For fans of this genre, a definite recommendation.

*****

Summary: For fans of this genre, a definite recommendation, worth every penny.