FF goes PS2! (Final Fantasy X (PS2))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Final Fantasy X (PS2)
Date:	24/06/09 (9 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great visuals, lasts AGES...

Disadvantages: Doesn't always retain the FF feel...

I recall with fond memories that Final Fantasy VII was the very first game to really get me into games, so naturally I hold the series very dear to me (namely all of the PlayStation versions - 7, 8, and 9). As the first FF game on the PS2, there was a lot of hype and expectation surrounding Final Fantasy X. It's the first FF game that didn't blow me away, but it's still one helluvan RPG.

One point in its favour is that it's as narratively conscious and inventive as the previous games - you play Tidus, a star-played of Zanarkand's Blitzball team, a sport not unlike Volleyball in water. The story introduces a wealth of rich characters, such as badass Auron, the spiritual Yuna (who has the most depth of any character in the FFX-verse) and the comic Wakka. The game touches all the right emotional buttons, just as the previous games did, even if the change is a bit jarring.

Aside from the vocal narration, the most stark change to the series' form is the gameplay - there is a newly introduced Sphere Grid system that found much criticism from reviewers at the time for being clunky and overly complicated. The combat system, however, is as good as it has always been, and I had absolutely no problem with this whatseover.

Visually, the game is an absolute stunner. The pre-rendered backgrounds of the previous games on the PS1 are gone, and this time, everyone and everything is fully realised! At the time this was released back in 2002, I recall being absolutely stunned at the level of detail, and to be honest, it still holds up pretty well. More impressively, although by no means thanks to the PS2's actual system architecture at all, the FMVs can easily rival anything that animation giants like Pixar are still releasing now, particularly the opening FMV with Tidus playing Blitzball. Breathtaking. Series mainstay Nobuo Uematsu also returns to compose the soundtrack, but is also joined by a few others as well. The song "Otherworld" which plays during the Blitzball segments, and a few key boss fights later on, is incredibly catchy, and sounds more like something Rammstein would produce rather than Nobuo Uematsu. This is the first and only FF game that features heavy rock music!

This game can literally last you hundreds of hours - the replay value is absolutely immense. There are tonnes of mini-games and divergences, such as playing in the Blitzball league, which, in itself, can take up countless hours of your time, as it is rather addictive. Strangely, there is no New Game+, but this is at least something that Square Enix clearly took notice of, because the next game in the series, X-2, did include it.

As far as FF games go, it may stand below 7, 8 and 9, but as an RPG, it's a superb slice of entertainment that, even if you plough through, will last you about 30-40 hours. There's tonnes to go back for, the requisite rich characters and lush backdrops, and even if there are a few hiccups, this is one of the best RPGs that the PS2 ever saw, and is well worth your time.

Summary: A great RPG but only barely a great FF game...