Final Fantasy is, without a doubt, the most prestigious series in
gaming. So, it’s no big surprise that Final Fantasy X was the most
anticipated title worldwide when announced. The PS2 had its share of
Japanese turn-based RPGs, but it came into its own with the release of
FFX. With all of the hype surrounding it, could FFX possibly deliver an
engaging, beautiful, and fun RPG? It should come as no surprise to
anyone that it did. FFX is the pinnacle of the Final Fantasy franchise,
and can stand tall on the shoulders of its great predecessors.
You start this particular story in the shoes of Tidus, an irrepressibly
perky Blitzball star. While getting ready for a game, he finds that his
city of Zanarkand is under attack by enemies unknown. The next thing he
knows, he's washed up on a beach on the world of Spira. This kicks off
his journey to uncover exactly what's happened, and to stop the beast
Sin which plagues Spira. Tidus begins to understand what he's involved
in, and questions how he can stop Sin once and for all when so many
others have failed. While FFX does fall into the cliched RPG "young boy
gets swept up in an adventure to save the world" plot, Final Fantasy X
tells it well. Throughout the game, you'll pick up an interesting array
of characters to join your party and set off to save the world.
Ultimately, you're a bit of a motley crew, but one that gels and can
work together. The story has a few surprises, and the ending is one of
the best that I've seen in some time. However, the story is pretty
linear, as is the story in most Final Fantasies, and there’s no world
map to run around. You’ll find that you pretty much just move in a
straight line from one locale to the next. Some open-endedness would
have been nice.
The visuals in Final Fantasy X are a cut above just about every game
made for the PS2 and complement the story well. Some Final Fantasies,
like VII and VIII, have had dull and muted colors, but FFX is vibrant
and lush. The world of Spira has a lot of lush jungles and bright
characters, which shows through in every place you go and every person
you meet. The characters are all realistically proportioned, and the
same character model is used for cutscenes, traipsing about the map,
and combat. That little touch brings a bit of cohesion to each of the
different aspects of the game. The main party is all animated nicely,
and I found that a lot of personality showed through in how their
bodies moved when talking.
FFX's sound quality matches the high standard set by the visuals. FFX
is the first game in the series that provides voice over for the main
cast, and the voice acting is really good throughout. Yuna's delivery
is a bit flat, but the rest of the crew lends a unique voice that
really matches the characters. Wakka is my personal favorite, as he's
voiced by the same actor that did Bender on Futurama. The score is on
par with other RPGs as well. It's mostly sweeping orchestral themes,
but there's a few tender songs as Yuna and Tidus begin to get closer.
The sound effects are also well done, and combat effects like attacks
and magic have a good amount of punch to them.
Combat in Final Fantasy X is as good as the rest of the game. The
series' trademark Active Battle Timer has been scrapped, and battles
are 100% turn-based. While this move may be surprising, it enhances
combat dramatically. First, battles are much faster, since you do not
need to wait for the Active Timer to fill before choosing an action.
Also, you can apply a lot more strategy, as you're able to swap out
characters on the fly to give you the right attacks against your
enemies. For example, if you face off against flying creatures, you can
swap in Yakka who is better able to hit flying enemies. Alternatively,
you can bring in Lulu for a couple of turns to whittle down the health
of a boss that's weak against certain magic. The double-edged sword of
this system is that battles do get easy as you progress. Since you're
always in a position to swap in the best matchup against your enemy,
you'll be able to wipe out most baddies easily. The Limit Break system
also makes a comeback, though it's called the Overdrive system. The
Overdrive bar can fill up in different ways, such as by attacking, by
taking damage, by casting healing spells, or by defeating an enemy.
Once the bar is full, the character can unleash one of their Overdrive
attacks. The neat twist on this attack is that it starts a
character-specific minigame to pull off the attack. For instance,
you'll need to spin the analog stick to power up Lulu's Overdrive, play
slots to fire off Wakka's Overdrive attack, and hit a certain button
series with Auron’s Overdrive.
Another change to the combat system surrounds the beasts that Yuna can
summon. Summons used to be nothing more than a very powerful spell that
you unleashed against your enemies. In FFX, a summoned monster
basically acts like another party member. When Yuna summons one into
battle, the party steps out and the summon takes over. There's about a
dozen or so summons, each with their own magic, special skills, and
Overdrive bar. By the end of the game, the summons are ridiculously
overpowered, and their ultimate attacks can take out the strongest of
enemies.
Post-battle, you'll acquire experience, but it takes a different form
in FFX. Rather than just leveling up, your characters' skills and
abilities are all represented on the Sphere Grid. This board contains
nodes and links which you activate with the spheres you collect from
enemies, quests, and treasure chests. Each node has different
abilities, such as giving you HP, spells like Fira, skills like Steal,
or stat boosts. The experience you gain from battles goes towards
points that allow you to move across the board from node to node. This
system gives you a lot of options for customizing each character. Want
to make Yuna a White Mage/Thief? Want to make Rikku a heavy-damage
dealing Fighter? Using the Sphere Grid, you'll be able to. Each
character is able to level up certain skills more easily than others,
but putting in the work will allow you to make any character whatever
you want them to be.
Minigames have become a staple of the Final Fantasy series, and FFX is
no different. The big minigame this time is Blitzball, the major sport
of Spira. Blitzball is a combination of soccer and water polo, where
teams of six move through an underwater arena, trying to shoot the ball
into the opponents goal. After each game, your characters level up and
you can win prizes by beating your opponent. Blitzball is pretty
simplistic, but it does provide a good distraction from the main quest.
Like combat, your team will become powerful quickly, making Blitzball
really easy to win.
Overall, Final Fantasy X doesn't push the conventions of Square-Enix's
long running series, but it's a shining example of how good an RPG can
be when it’s executed well. FFX is absolutely gorgeous, has a very
touching story, and keeps the action fun throughout. Final Fantasy X
can be recommended to most gamers willing to put in the time it takes
to finish the story and is one of the few RPGs that can be played
repeatedly without it getting old.
