Did you do any of the side missions? I got all of the celestial weapons (I DESERVE PRAISE FOR THIS) and defeated Omega.
How many hours did you put into it? 83
On December 20, 2001, Square unleashed the first Final Fantasy entry for the Playstation 2. When it was first released, it received almost universal positive critical reactions and fan reactions alike. As time passed and more Final Fantasy games were released, the series seemed to be in a hard spot, and many fans and critics sited Final Fantasy X as the starting point for the decline. Does that mean that if you were to play it now, you wouldn't have a good time? Was it not as good as we remember it being? Was it really responsible for the decline in the quality of the series?
No, yes, and maybe.
My current experience was Final Fantasy X may have actually been better than the first time I played it. I'm thinking the reason for this may be that the newer games in the series have been so lackluster, that it was nice to play one when the series was in it's prime.
Things were changed up a bit from it's predecessors, though. You don't have a numbered level in FFX. It chose to try something different with it's sphere grid system, and this may be one of the few times Square tried something different with Final Fantasy and it actually worked very well. It worked so well, in fact, that some games even stole the idea (here's looking at you, Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga). Rather than leveling up once every 10 to 50 fights or so like in most JRPGs, your characters would receive a sphere level every 2 fights or so. Each sphere only increases one stat, but it made it feel like you were improving on a more regular basis than most games in the genre. Later in the game, it also gives you some control, as you can split into other characters sphere grids and learn their abilities. This came with a downside, too. If you decide to level up high enough to fight some of the high end monsters in the monster arena, some of the characters inherent abilities seem a bit useless. For instance, if you were to run someone through Tidus' sphere grid, which is high in agility, they'll be able to hit fast enemies just as well as Tidus can. However, if you run someone through Lulu's sphere, they still don't seem to hit the damage marks that Lulu's magic does.
The side quests come with a downside, too. They aren't introduced until the very end of the game, when you acquire the airship. If you get all of the celestial weapons and don't flee from battles, you'll be leveled up enough that you'll likely be able to kill the final boss with one overdrive attack. You'll still have problems with the monster arena (at 83 hours into the game there were still several I could not take down), but being able to take down the final boss in one hit shows some major balancing issues.
Speaking of side quests, getting the celestial weapons, crests, and sigils was unseasonably hard in some instances, more specifically the sigils. To get the sigil for Tidus, you have to play a chocobo racing mini game, but you have to play it pretty much perfectly. It took me several days of playing to master it, and the mini game isn't even fun. A couple of the others were just as frustrating, possibly even worse. Let's just say you will play a LOT of blitzball.
Fortunately, blitzball is actually kind of fun once you start getting good at it. In fact, I began to think it was kind of neat that it came packaged in this game, as it is surprisingly in depth to be a mini game. Though it probably would have been poorly received, Square probably could have gotten away with selling it as a full fledged sports game and charging full price for it.
In regards to it's influence to the future games in the franchise, I found that the game was pretty linear, and designed a lot like Final Fantasy XIII. Given, Square took everything about Final Fantasy X that made it great completely out of FFXIII, but I can see why people would site FFX as a blueprint.
Visually, the game actually stands up pretty well. I noticed a few graphical glitches here and there, but this was a time when your system didn't connect online and force you to download patches for your game. None of it was game breaking, and considering the scale of the world of Spira, that's a pretty decent accomplishment in my book. It looks a lot better than most of the JRPGs that came out after it on the PS2, and the cinematics look legitimately awesome, even now. The mouth animations are a little funky when the characters are talking, but it's forgivable considering the hardware limitations.
The audio is sort of a mixed bag. The music is mostly great. The voice acting is where things get a little weird. American voice actors have never been a strong suit for Square, and this is no different. Most of the side cast is voiced well enough, like Auron, Rikku, Lulu, and Wakka. I have some issues with Tidus and Yuna, though. Tidus' laugh is not only grating, but placed in some very odd places. It could have been an easy fix had the voice actor just laughed a few seconds less, but instead of doing that they just let him sound awkward. Yuna was similar in that regard, and the way she said "ok" drove me nuts. It just sounded off, and the voice actor didn't seem like she was putting much effort into it.
I really like story in Final Fantasy X. It's not as in depth as Final Fantasy VI, VII, or VIII, but it's much easier to comprehend. There's a lot of emotion and tragedy, and it's fun to keep up with as you play the game. The side cast all have very interesting stories and it's fun to unravel all of their secrets. Tidus, however, sucks. His backstory and story in general is fine, but he's one of my least favorite lead characters in a Final Fantasy game simply from the way he acts. He's childish and kind of a moron, and while you watch Yuna mature and become a more interesting person, Tidus just keeps being an idiot.
The battle system is probably the thing that has changed the least in this entry. It's actually much easier than in the previous games, as it lets go of the ATB bar and just lets you take turns normally. If you just sit there, the enemy isn't going to attack you. Considering you need to think about who you're going to use and who you might switch out to better benefit the battle, this style of battle system is very convenient.
Overall, I'd say playing Final Fantasy X again (or for the first time) is a safe bet if you're looking for one of better PS2 rpgs. It's not the best one in my opinion, but it is a blast to play and tells a story very much worth telling.
8/10
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