March 17, 2004

Title: Final Fantasy X-2
Genre: RPG
System: Playstation 2
Producer: Square Enix

By James
unrivaled.info

After ten completely different worlds had been crafted, Square Enix finally decided to give fans a direct sequel to a Final Fantasy game. The game may look girly, and cute, but don't let the looks right off the bat fool you, As beneath the bright colors and hot pants lies top-notch RPG game play.

Story: 6/10: For a Role playing game, the story is pretty weak. First off, don't play this game if you haven't played Final Fantasy X. Square Enix tried to design a story that stands on its own while continuing the storyline of Final Fantasy X. However, too much of the story is going to be confusing to you if you haven't played the original. The story actually begins in the extra scene in the International version of the game which most North American players do not have access to. Fortunately both Final Fantasy X, and the Another Story add-on are summarized in the instruction booklet. However there just isn't enough summary of Final Fantasy X to help you understand many things that will happen in the game. You'll end up feeling like you have amnesia, walking around in a world where every one knows you and you don't have a clue about any of them.

The main story of the game is Yuna (the heroine of the first game) looking for her heartthrob Tidus (who disappeared at the end of Final Fantasy X), after receiving a recording of what appears to be him. Along the way Yuna and her friends, old and new, uncover a 1000-year-old super weapon, and a plot to destroy the world. The story takes a good while to get going, and the first couple of missions are feminine enough to put off many male gamers.

The game uses a mission system, allowing you to pick and choose which missions to do each story chapter (there are five story chapters in the game). You have to do certain missions each chapter. This system has some benefits to it as it adds for very non-linear game play, and lots of side quests. The negative aspect of this is that you can go through the game with a very skeletal representation of the plot. Every mission you complete adds to your percent completion of the game, and affects the ending you get, and there are several. What happens if you don't get that perfect completion in one sitting? Well there's always new game +, which allows you to replay the game, with all of your equipment and abilities and your percent completion.

Even with 100% completion of all story elements, the game is still incredibly short for a Final Fantasy game. Experiencing everything the game had to offer, I only put sixty-five hours into it, which is about forty less hours than I put into the original.

Graphics 10/10: Square Enix has a long history of producing beautiful games, and they don't fail to disappoint here. The landscapes are vibrant and beautifully colored. The character models are incredibly detailed. They even have fingernails. The computer-generated imagery is more lifelike than it has ever been before, though there is allot less of it then I'm used to seeing. I still find myself doing a double take when I see it however as some of the images at a glance are hard to distinguish from real people.

Game play 10/10: This is the real meat and potatoes of the game. By containing what is possibly the best RPG battle system ever made, Final Fantasy X-2 makes up for all of its faults in my eyes. The game utilizes the ATB (active time battle) system. Meaning that you have a bar that fills up, and when its full you can act, the same goes for your enemies. Your enemies don't pause while you make decisions, adding a sense of realism to the combat.

The other great component of this game is the job system, referred to as dresspheres in this game. Dresspheres are basically the clothing of certain classes, such as warriors and samurai, which allow you to use the abilities of those classes. For example, wearing the warrior dressphere allows you to use a sword and hack your enemies up, while wearing the white mage dressphere allows you to heal the party. There are many different dresspheres to discover, and all have their uses.

The new twist on this old concept is the garment grids. Garment Grids, are grids on which you place your dresspheres, which allow you to change your dresspheres mid-battle. The garment grids also grant special abilities and grant some abilities that aren't available any other way. There are quite a few garment grids, and finding them all can take a while.

The fast nature of the battle system can takes some getting used to, and you might need to go to the menu and slow it down a bit. Expecially if you've never used the ATB system before.

Sound - 2/10: This is what really hurts the game. Composer Nobuo Uematsu (who has done the score for all ten previous Final Fantasy games) does not return. Instead Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi replace him. The music has an incredibly pop feel to it, and is horribly repetitive and conveys little emotion. The game has a few themes that are great, but they can't counteract the rest.

Replayability - 8/10: You'll have to play through this game multiple times to get the 100% completion and the best ending. Even after that, there are an incredibly large amount of mini-games to keep you occupied. Even after all that, you can play through it later to experience the story again. All Role Playing Games should have a New Game + option.

Overall - 7/10: As far as the story and game play goes, this is a great game, whose only real failing is the music. Allot of people don't like the game, allot of people do, its all a matter of perspective. I happen to like it, and I feel it delivers as the first direct sequel of a major franchise.

Full Metal Alchemist