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By Lonnie on January 1st, 2002
Introduction Final Fantasy X brings fans of the series many new emotions never before expressed. Not only is FFX the first final fantasy on the ps2 it spans a grand total of 1 disk. Don’t underestimate the game just because of its single CD this story, your story, will take about 100 hours to complete to satisfaction. 30-40 if you rush through it. The story begins in Zanarkand, an oddly named city that holds the very odd child. Tidus is this child, Son of the world famous blitzball player. Tidus himself is a very respected blitzball player, who drives the chicks crazy. All of this is about to end, for suddenly from the sea a great mass emerges from the sea, its Sin. Sin destroys Zanarkand. The mysterious Auran takes hold of your hand, pulling you into Sin. You awake 1000 years in the future. Tidus’ travels take him across mountains, plains, snowy valleys, great deserts, and even underwater as he searches for the man who stole his other pant leg. Presentation For the first time in any Final Fantasy game, with the exception of Eyes on Me in VIII, there is actual human voices in the game. Square took a completely different approach with FFX one thing we noticed is the lack of a real world map. This gives FFX a more linear look but when you think about it, it’s really not. The one thing that really annoyed me is that they have a red arrow on your radar showing where you have to go. This will probably annoy hard-core Final Fantasy fans because it requires less exploration on the player’s part. Overall FFX is a fresh twist for the series. Final Fantasy IX lacked the artwork of Yoshitaka Amano and Tetsuya Nomura and thus turned many fans of the series off with the very dull character design. It’s refreshing to know that while Amano and Nomura were not on staff for the 9th installment that they were hard at work on FFX. Amano is everywhere.Graphics & Sound Every little detail of Final Fantasy X has the word Amano all over it, and that’s just the regular stuff. The FMV pushes the envelope adding for an orgasmic experience. You truly can tell the difference between real time and FMV, but the difference is blurred at moments. Part of what makes this title such an orgasmic experience is the return of Nobuo Uematsu. For the first time you will hear heavy rock in a Final Fantasy game, and boy is it done well. Hopefully soon we will have our hands on the official soundtrack. Besides the music, Final Fantasy X is packed with hours of voice-audio from the characters, both in the FMV’s and out. This adds an incredible amount of depth to the characters, even more so than the previous Final Fantasies. A good voice can make or break a character and with the exception of Yuna, the cast is marvelous. I can’t get enough of Wakka’s accent, or how Lulu’s tone is always low and soft, but not harsh. Tidus was also cast very well, with an exuberant-youth type of tone that fits him perfectly. The only way I can express the true feeling of the game is to forcefully make you play it.
Gameplay The core of any game has got to be gameplay, and Final Fantasy X packs a lot of it. As a long time fan of the Final Fantasy games I am glad to see some of the changes come to pass. The annoying ATB system has been kicked to the curb. Replaced with a less-defined turn-based system. Square has also kicked the number of avaliable characters in battle down from four to three. But don’t fret, you can switch from all of your party members in battle giving you the chance to use all of them. For the most part Magic remains the same, lumped into two categories, White and Black. White is supportive and healing as usual. Black is dark and pain inflicting. Some new spells have made their way into the game as well. The nul-spells seem to be the biggest addition to the game. These white spells allow for a one-time annulment of an elemental attack, and they prove to be one of the most-used spells later in the game. Also "Haste" and "Slow" now have an upgraded form "Hastaga" and "Slowaga" which hits all your allies or enemies, respectively. Ultima is back too, along with its little brother Flare. I haven’t seen any Meteor, darn, well unless you count Ifrits attack. Summons have also taken a turn for the better. In this game, Summoned Monsters, called Aeons, which is easier to say than Eidolons, are more like actual characters. Once summoned, they’ll sit around and wait for you to tell them what to do, be it attack, use a special ability, or even cast spells. Ifrit, Shiva, and Bahamut all make a return from the previous Final Fantasy incarnations, and Ifrit and Bahamut both look better than ever, with Ifrit becoming more and more leonine as the games have progressed. Newcomers include Ixion the thunder horse, and Valefor the ugly bird. The Magus Sisters are back from Final Fantasy IV, by the way. I hate them. In addition to all of this the Exp. levels have been given the boot and replaced with the Sphere-Grid system. While a little discouraging at first, it proves to be pretty neat. Instead of EXP., characters gain AP, which is, in turn, used to gain Sphere Levels. For each Sphere Level a character has, he can move one space on the Sphere Grid, much like a board game (if most board games granted people superhuman powers, of course). In addition to this, enemies drop Spheres of various influences (Power Spheres, Ability Spheres, etc.) which allow your character to increase HP, raise Strength and Defense, learn new powers, and all sorts of neat things. Of course, if you don’t have a corresponding Sphere to the ability you want to learn, you’re just out of luck. Fortunately, enemies drop more Spheres than you’ll probably end up using, so there’s little fear of running short. Limit breaks have also made a return in the guise of overdrives, which do an utterly-amazing job of replacing the hideous Trance garbage we saw in FFIX. Each character has his or her own Overdrive set (duh), all with varying effects. The main difference here is that most Overdrives require you to be involved with the game; no more sitting back and watching the carnage, skin puppy. You got to be IN there, pushing those buttons and spinning that stick, or you’ll go nowhere fast. Lasting Appeal If your one of those people who think FFIX was better than FFVII, or you just happen to hate Amano’s artwork, I strongly encourage you to try FFX. This game is to the Playstation2 what FFVII was to the Playstation. Final Fantasy X is slightly more linear than the previous games however, the battle system is new and requires much more strategy than I have seen in any of the earlier games. Aside from the rest of this you have blitzball, a quirky and unique game that reminds me of a weird 3D rugby, only under water. If you spend as much time as you should in blitzball and in the game you can expect this game to take at least 100-150 hours of your time. However, if you are like most of the world and rush your way through you can probably finish this epic in about 50 hours.Conclusion Final Fantasy X is the pinnacle of the Squaresoft series that has spanned several different platforms, systems and years. Through this adventure, the story offers you characters that you don’t come to hate by the end of the game and the full evolution of those key characters is what truly makes the game a joy to play! With the different battle elements that have been included that span as far back as Final Fantasy III, anyone with any sort of Final Fantasy experience will find their niche here in the game. The completion of a hybrid character development, which allows you, as the player, to direct just how powerful your character can be, truly completes everything that games such as this should be. A game that can’t be completed in a single weekend or even a month, this game is not only a purchasing choice, but truly a collectable game that will be hard to top with another sequel later on down the road!
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