| For the first time in the Final Fantasy series, a sequel that directly continues the storyline of the previous game is made. Does FFX-2 have the same “Squaresoft magic” of past Final Fantasies? Read more to find out Presentation Two years have passed since Yuna banished Sin, and lost her love Tidus. In those two years Yuna has joined a group of Spherehunters named, The Gullwings. The Gullwings travel across Spira looking for spheres to sell, and make fortunes of Gil. One day they find of sphere with of video of someone who looks like Tidus on it(though not once is he referred to by his name, it's always “him”.) How can this be? Yuna watched Tidus vanish. Was it him in the sphere? Or someone else? Yuna makes it her personal mission to figure this out. Along with fellow Final Fantasy Veteran, Rikku,and newcomer Paine, they form Y.R.P. And set out to get to the bottom of this. Graphics Prepare for a major case a deja vu. Granted this is a sequel, and most sequels look identical to their predecessor. But a very large portion of FFX-2s environments are lifted straight from FFX. That's not to say they're bad(though X didn't impress me much) They just don't seem to live up to the usual Squaresoft standard. The character models do look a little better, you can see a lot more emotion in their faces during cut scenes. The baddies, for the most part, are all the same, all rehashed from FFX. Also, Full motion video is almost non-existent, much to my disappointment. Square has been known to deliver some of the, if not the best, FMV, and for it to not be here, it's a real shame. There were almost 50 FMV scenes in FFX, and like 6 in X-2, granted the ones thats are there, are quite beautiful. While on the downside of the graphics, FFX-2 sports some bad slow down, mainly during the gunner's gauntlet minigame. Sound As with the graphics, the sound doesn't quite meet expectations. FFX composer, Nobuo Uematso did a wonderful job with the music in FFX. Why Square-Enix didn't use him again, I'll never know. Instead they went with Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi. Don't get me wrong, they do a good job, but the music isn't as memorable as past FF games. A lot of people will complain that the music is too poppy, and it is, but so is the rest of the game. The voice acting is pretty solid. Yuna has been improved. She sounds more determined, and realistic now. Rikku is just as feisty as ever, and Paine couldn't get any more monotone, but that's her character type. Her voice often reminded me of Dariah from Beavis and Butt-head ...scary I know Gameplay I think Square-Enix took the comments about FFX being too linear too heart. While X absolutely oozed linearity, FFX-2 takes even the notion of linearity and shatters it. Now instead of being lead from one point to another, you are given the choice of where you want to go(except for a couple of situations.) You can even control the pace of which the story unfolds. This is possible because FFX-2 is a mission based game. You can select any mission you want, but the ones labeled as “hot spots” progress the story. Do you want just burn through the game? Go ahead, do just the hot spots. Or do you want to find everything and enjoy Spira? Do the hot spots last. Though if you do this, the game will get off to a slow start, and it won't feel like you're accomplishing anything. At first, I didn't even feel like I was playing a FF title. I found it best to do a little of each, do a few side missions, then hit a few hot spots. Don't worry, save the rest for your second run through(more on that later.) Of course, one of the most important aspects of any RPG, is it's battle system. FFX-2 uses an Active Time Battle system(ATB from now on.) With an ATB enemies will keep attacking you while you're selecting and / or making your attack. The battle doesn't stop until one side wins. This helps to keep the normally tedious battles on the fast paced side. For the first time in a long time, I didn't fall asleep during random battles. Though the ATB does have a downside, in the first couple battles, it creates a little confusion. There's just so much going on, it's hard to keep track of it all. But it's very easy to get accustomed to. In no time you'll be keeping track of your attack, Hit points, Magic points, and what skills you learned. Speaking of skills, FFX-2 also uses a job system. Throughout the game you'll find different dresspheres. Each dressphere is a different job class. Equip which ever dressphere you want to your garment grid, and you can switch to that class in battle. So while you only have three main characters, you still get all the abilities of previous Final Fantasies. Though, now that the game uses a job system, the old sphere grid has been scraped! Which I think was a mistake, I loved the sphere grid. Control Control really isn't an issue with many RPGs(though there have been a few where it has), and X-2 is no different. It's a near clone of FFX(which itself is a near clone of every PS2 RPG) with one exception. The circle button is now used for the rather useless ability to jump, or more specifically, and auto-jump. There are a few instances where you can jump, and all you have to do is the down the Circle button and walk near the ledge. Jumping adds nothing to the gameplay and is more annoying then anything. Square-Enix, do us all a favor, get rid of it next time. Replay Value Replay? Yes please! While playing any Final Fantasy, I've always said “I think I'm going go through it again, and try to find everything” and you know what? I never have. Until now. For the first time in Final Fantasy history, there's multiple endings. Three in fact. And the best one can't be achieved unless you have 100% completion. And unless you're real good, you're not getting 100% on your first run. Also aiding the game in the replay department is the accessibility of it. Final Fantasies have always been easily accessible, and FFX-2 follows suit. The ATB is a nice welcome, and it keeps the battles interesting. The dressphere system will make you want to get into random battles, just so you can see all the outfits, and abilities. Not that you'll have much choice, as the Final Fantasy tradition of random battles every third step still lives on. Theres also tons of mini-games to play, and if you elect to do the non-hot spots, tons of side quests, that can be very rewarding. Overall On a whole, FFX-2 is a great game. I didn't know what to expect when I heard a true sequel was going to be made. But Square-Enix has another masterpiece on it's hands. It's a solid RPG, if you liked X(I did) you'll like X-2. I actually think it's better then X. But I can't help thinking that Square-Enix could have done better if they started fresh, and went with a totally new Final Fantasy, and really used the power of the PS2. Well we'll see how FFXII turns out... TFA Rating 9/10 Nate |