I was not a big fan of Final Fantasy X's storyline, so I really didn't
care for this universe. I've always had low expectations for this game,
from everything I've read to everything I've seen, I just had no
interest in this game. I must say though, Final Fantasy X-2 turned out
alot better than those expectations. I really loved the battle system,
I loved the job classes and learning new skills. The game was fairly
easy and not very long, this is good because of the multiple endings
and New Game+ you get at the end.
I wasn't to fond of the
storyline, but it was better than I expected. The music videos were a
big turnoff, but luckily there was only 2 of them in the entire game.
The graphics seemed dumbed down a little from Final Fantasy X. The new
characters didn't add much to the game. There was never a real sense of
world destruction or anything. I guess that's unique, but for the most
part I was just wondering where the storyline was taking me. It all
clicks at the end though, so it's worth playing through.
Final
Fantasy X-2 felt more like a side game rather than a real sequel to the
series, but I can't say that's a bad thing. If you loved the Final
Fantasy X universe, then you'll enjoy this. If you're turned off by the
pop music and girls dancing, then look beyond that because you'll find
a pretty decent RPG. Was this better than Final Fantasy X? In alot of
ways, yes. The battle system was much faster, the game was much less
linear, and the job classes added much needed depth.
----------Battle System----------
Final Fantasy X-2 is a turn-based RPG. The turns are determined by the
character or enemy with the highest speed. The game has a Active time
system, much like Chrono Trigger. This means you can view the speed of
your characters by a bar, and when that bar is finished loading, then
you can pick your move. While you're picking your move the enemy can
still attack you, so you have to pick quickly. Once you finally picked,
then you have to sit through another bar that counts the time down for
the move.
This game also includes a nice job class system,
very similar to Final Fantasy III or V. You can be a Black Mage, White
Mage, Dancer, Gunner, Knight, and so on. This balances the game out if
you want a strong tank or a healer, the strategy is up to you. Each
class starts off with a handful of basic moves, and some locked moves
you can learn. You can only learn one move at a time. Each most costs
points, and the way you gain points is to kill monsters. So let's say
Fira costs 40 points, then your team will have to kill 40 monsters.
The game also has a "Dressphere" system. This system allows you to
change job classes in the middle of a fight. This is kinda unique, but
you lose a turn when switching. You can find a big variety of
Dresspheres in the game. Each Dressphere can give you stat boosts or
allow you to equip more job classes. Some Dresspheres can hold up to 2
jobs or 5 jobs, they're all different, so you can't change to any job
during battle.
There's no weapons or armor in the game, but
rather you only equip 2 Accessories. This is basic, but I dig it.
There's a big variety of accessories, some will boost your defense,
offense, or magic, others will grant you status effects, or grant you
the ability to use spells. Unlike Final Fantasy X, your characters gain
experience after killin monsters. After a predetermined amount of
experience points your character will level up.
The game is
full of weird minigames, and for the most part they're all horrible.
Some dungeons are full of weird puzzles or tasks. There's also some
terrible Zelda-ish platforming, and when I say terrible I mean it. You
can't really jump, but when you get near an edge of a platform Yuna
will "catch herself" from calling. If you get anywhere near this edge,
she will do that, and you can't stand and jump, you have to run and
jump. If you don't jump at the right moment, then Yuna will catch
herself and you have to restart the jump, it's quite annoying actually.
----------Characters / Story----------
It's been 2 years since Yuna saved Spira from Sin. Since then the world
has recessed into a "Calm". Summoners have become obsolete, so Yuna
decided to become a world wide Pop star. On her offtime from being a
superstar, she decided to become a member of the Gullwings, along with
Rikku and newcomer Paine. The Gullwings are sphere hunters and fly
around the world looking for new spheres to add to their collection.
The story was.. eh.. good enough? The game moves at your own pace, so
if you want a deeper storyline, you'll have to do as many sidequests as
possible. There's also multiple endings, so in the middle of the game
you get a choice that will change the direction of the game too. It's
kinda Chrono Triggerish in a way because of that.
----------Graphics----------
There's not nearly as many full blown CGI cutscenes in this game as
there was in Final Fantasy X, and the graphics just don't seen nearly
as polished either. The three main characters, Yuna, Paine and Rikku
look great, but the rest of the cast look underdeveloped and blocky.
They reuse a few dungeons and towns with some tweaks but it's mostly
the same stuff. There was only a few original areas in the game.
----------Sound----------
The sound is good. There's alot of reused songs from the original game,
and the same voice cast. There's really no complaints really. I can't
even complain about the dance/music video stuff either because there
was only 2 songs, one at the beginning and middle of the game. It was
never shoved down my throat, sure the music sucked but I was expecting
the game to be full of this type of music.
----------World Map----------
The world map is near identical from Final Fantasy X. The only
difference is the map is completely unlocked from the start of the
game. This gives the game a non-linear feel. Each town and dungeon are
listed on the map, and you can scroll through them with ease. Each
town/dungeon have atleast one mission pre-chapter in the game. The
main/storyline missions are marked with "Hotspot" icons, so if you
don't want to sidequest, you can straight breeze through the game.
----------Time to Complete Game----------
23:56
Story Completed 64%
Played 1 Time(s)
Yuna - Lv. 59
Rikku - Lv. 61
Paine - Lv. 63
At the end of the game you unlock a New Game+ mode. This allows you to
keep all the Dresspheres, items and abilities you gained in your first
playthrough during your second playthrough.
