Final Fantasy X

The Good
The beaches of Besaid, beautiful, I could feel the wind in my hair and I could see the saliva dripping of the fangs of the monster I was throwing my Blitzball at. But seriously in all the previous final fantasys you could choose where you went and then we get Final Fantasy X which escorts you around with a nice red arrow at the top of your map saying don't find your own way just follow me." I mean correct me if I'm wrong but i don't think Tidus sees a big red arrow showing him where to go, so why should we and Blitzball gets tiring after about the fifth game since you must admit it got a bit repetitive.......throw, kick, swim etc. Maybe the creators should be concentrating more on the gameplay rather than the crashing waves and the sand between the toes.

The Bad
See above =)

The Bottom Line
If you like graphics above gameplay then this is a premium choice.

The Good
*Note: Reviewer has only played Final Fantasy 8 before playing this game.

Catchy title, eh? Must think, who in the hell is this egghead? Doh.

Well actually, I really don't have anything bad to say about Final Fantasy X, regardless of the one-line summary. What I DO have to say is that because games like Final Fantasy, other games out there become REALLY BAD in comparison, I mean really bad. I think it was the words of ol' Unicorn Lynx that said "with games like Final Fantasy, you'd wonder what all the other games are for?" True, so true. AND because of games like Final Fantasy, those crappy games out there, don't become "mediocre" or "all right", they become "dang that's an 'orrible game" or "didn't the developers who made this RPG ever played Final Fantasy?".

Don't you just love a good outlet before a getting into a review? Hahaha.

O.K. About Final Fantasy X. Considering the only other Final Fantasy game I've played was FF8, that's the only game I can compare it too. Final Fantasy is an odd exception. You can't compare it to other RPG's, because it CAN'T be compared. Even other hit games can be compared with other games of the same genre, but not Final Fantasy. It stands in its own league...its own legend.

First things first. The story was incredibly way better than FF8. At least that's what I think. More depth, more feel, more emotion. Which is probably why I love and hate it too (I'll explain the hate in the BAD section). Although I really wonder why all the FF movies suck, considering the games have such imaginative and visionary storylines. I won't get in the story, you can read other reviews for that.

The second is the combat system. I don't know about you, but I immensely enjoyed it. The fact that you can trade heroes at any point in battle makes a lot of new possibilities, as you try to get all the heroes to act in combat for experience purposes. It's nice that you don't have to get stuck with a certain type of combat possibilities because your heroes have different fighting styles.

The third. Acting. Egad, I know its eye candy but I do respect the level of detail they put in the body movements. Most of the dialogs are well put (underline most, not all...next, bad section). I really enjoy anything Waka the blitz player says in a dialog, that bloke cracks me up with his Polynesian style of speech and funny dialogs. Auron is always "mister serious", Lulu is...uh, don't quite notice the dialogs...you notice everything else though! Yuna is this nice conservative girl. The type you want to bring home and introduce to your parents. Basically "nearly" all the heroes have excellent balance in role and dialog, which makes you more acquainted and closer to the story.

Fourth. The music ahh...the music. Some shoot me because the music hit me through the heart and it never healed. More on the music in the bad section. And no, I'm not going to say the music's bad...it's something else.

Last but not least. B L I T Z B A L L!!! Go Aurochs. Dang it, I've never liked sport games. But half of the time I played Final Fantasy X, I was playing Blitzball! He shoots, he scores! Goal!! My personal record is 9-0. Dang my players are good and mostly all of them are original Aurochs. Even Waka is in my team. Though the blitzball section needed some major upgrades, especially in the configuration department, but considering it's just an "add-on" for fun (of which the fun part did very well), I ain't complaining.

The Bad
Hmm. There are several things that bothered me in the game. Not in any particular order, I'll start with Aeon, the Guardian Forces of FF8. As I recall, one of the "brands" of Final Fantasy were the summoned monsters that are really tough. In Final Fantasy X, the Aeons are wimps. Seriously, wimps. You know that because in the middle to the end game, you hardly use the Aeons as your heroes are powerful enough. At the end game (sorry, possible spoiler), you fight your Aeons. I defeat each of them with one hit. Even by my weakest hero, that is Rikku (Yuna can cast Holy). So much for the mighty summoning monsters. Wasn't surprised they got rid of it in FF X-2. The Aeons were much more like a spell than the title they rightly should deserve.

In regard to the Aeons, your heroes get too powerful too quickly. Which is probably why you don't use your Aeons. The reason why you use those Aeons is because usually they're the only ones that can reach the 9999 damage limit (or more). But when each of your heroes can do that in a single turn, plus they have more moves and abilities than your Aeons, the poor monsters don't have much use anymore. I would go as far to say that you can play Final Fantasy X without even using a single Aeon to win the game. Now something's wrong there.

A lot of the Aeon abilities were also useless, or I missed something. With spells like Life that can be taught to an Aeon, I though there were parts in the game where your heroes and the Aeon could fight together. Obviously, Life has no use as you can't use it to the Aeon (though I never tried it to a KO'd hero though). As I said, I could've missed something.

My harshest critic for the game refers to the fact that the games is incredibly EASY! Compared to FF8, this game is mother goose! The monsters are also quite unbalanced in the game. I was expecting Sin and all those bosses in the end game to be extremely difficult. They were child pickings! What gives? The monsters in the ARENA could kick Sin the behind easy! Now how can the monsters in the ARENA be tougher that Sin and the gang? I don't get it. I really don't.

Though the story is good, the story-line is somewhat bothersome. It's that quick to finish the game if you want to. After you control the airship, it ends pretty quickly unless you do something otherwise. The game is very short compared to FF8. I expected 30-40% of the game to be finished when I controlled the airship...not 60-70% of the game! (100 hours of game play is still short in my RPG book).

The Acting. The acting was good for MOST of the heroes/characters. Except of our leader (what's his name?) and Yuna. All the other characters were perfect. The leader is this adolescent kid that talks and acts too much. Probably because of the market, though some of his dialogs are quite "grown-up" most of them are really childish. Yuna is nice when she's being a not-so confident shy girl. She get's really corny and acts really bad when she tries to become the "hero" tough-girl. Though many of her body gestures were really good on her defense.

Lastly, the music. Dang I hate the composer, not because the music's bad. But because it's really good. Though they're weren't as many good tracks compared to FF8, the few that did were much better in "quality". Some of those songs really stabbed me in the heart and soul. They carried the essence of some of the truest forms pain and sorrow I've experienced in my pathetic form of existence. When I finished the game and listened to the song, I cried for hours. Like downpour crying...it is a true work of heart. But it touches closer to home, more than one would like it to. Maybe some people out there get my meaning...

But regardless...Final Fantasy says "IN YOUR FACE OTHER RPGS!"

The Bottom Line
The gameplay of Final Fantasy X is divided into 3 major sections:

1. 35% Playing FF X the RPG.

2. 35% Playing Blitzball

3. 30% Drooling over Lulu.

The Good
From the very beginning of Final Fantasy X, you can tell that this game is going to be much more than any other game you have ever played. It is so involved in every single way, that it can hardly even be classified as a traditional video game. Each character is attractive in their own unique ways, each minute of the story will leave you on the edge of your seat, each note of every song will move you in a way you never expected, and each second of every battle will leave you breathless.

As you would expect from any Final Fantasy, the story is once again gripping and unique, and it is once again completely different from all its predecessors. Starting in the futuristic world of Zanarkand, you take control of Tidus, a promising young blitzball athlete. Tidus is goofy, kind, and a little arrogant, but his troubles become apparent as he narrates the story by expressing his thoughts in a serious, insightful manner. In the opening FMV, Tidus's world is quickly turned upside down, as an unknown force obliterates Zanarkand and transports him to another place, in another time. Now, Tidus has to learn the ways of this new world, and try to figure out exactly what is going on. On his way, he uncovers a world of love, deceit, sorrow, and bravery in his epic attempt to save a world in which he doesn’t belong.

Of course, Tidus isn't alone in his heroic quest. Final Fantasy X has one of the most attractive supporting casts I've ever had the joy to play alongside. The first character you meet is Auron, a strict and introverted man who sets his sights on something and then sees nothing else. Next comes Rikku, a bubbly, cheerful, no-worries teenage girl that no one can dislike (go ahead and try, I dare you). Next you'll meet Wakka, a friendly, hard-working athlete who sort of presents a big brother feeling to Tidus. Then along comes Lulu, a no non-sense, yet insightful black mage, and Kimahri, the strong and silent Ronso. All of these characters have one thing in common...they are all Guardians, sworn to protect a certain summoner with their lives. The summoner is Yuna, a young girl who can only think of others, who does everything she can to protect others, and most of all, attempts to brighten up everyone's day with her mature kindness. I have played a lot of games where many of the characters were extremely likable, but never have they felt as real as the stars of Final Fantasy X.

With such a great story and wonderful characters, you can definitely expect to be completely sucked into the world of Final Fantasy X. Even the most apathetic of you out there won't be able to help feel some sort of emotion at some of the game's high points. For instance, Final Fantasy X has my all time favorite video game scene ever. The events that lead up to the scene, the emotion that is conveyed at the beginning of the scene, the utterly perfect background music, all of it is just simply unexplainable. To top it all off, the location where it takes place is simply beautiful, and the graphical detail is so impressive I couldn't believe my eyes. Many of the game's FMV's will bring out varied emotions, and in my case, at such a level I didn't think possible coming from a video game.

For those of you who have played previous Final Fantasies and love the ATB(Active Time Battle) System, you may be surprised at Square's turn towards the CTB (Conditional Turn- Based Battle) System. Basically this means that once it's your turn, you have as much time to choose an attack you want. But the option you choose changes the order of the turns for later. For instance, say you choose to cast Regen on someone instead of attacking, depending on the circumstances, you might get an extra turn in before the enemy's next turn. This allows for a more strategic battle system, and it really works well. In my opinion, that battles have never been more fun.

While still focusing on differences, let me explain how you will level up in Final Fantasy X. Scrapping the traditional experience points altogether, and forgetting the idea of actual levels, Square instituted the completely new and totally unique idea of the Sphere Grid. The Sphere Grid is a grid full of empty nodes containing different attributes. Some of them increase your HP, your strength, agility and so on, while others teach your characters abilities like offensive and supportive magic. To activate a node, you have to collect different spheres, and then place them in empty nodes. At first glance, the Sphere Grid can be very intimidating, making you think you’ll never understand it. But the reality is the Sphere Grid is really rather simple, and you’ll most likely have a lot of fun just experimenting with it.

Finally, let me clear something up that you may or may not still be wondering about...blitzball. I mentioned earlier that Tidus was a promising young blitzball athlete, but just what the heck is blitzball? Well, to put it simply, blitzball is Final Fantasy X's minigame, only it isn't so mini. Blitzball is a sport that takes place in a gigantic floating sphere of water. I'd like to explain to you exactly how it's played, and why you would want to spend any time on it, but truth be told, I never actually spent any more time on it than I had to; not to mention that the game is so complex, I don't think I'd be able to fit everything in here even if I was a blitzball master. Of course, after talking to other people about it, so far I'm the only one who didn't fall helplessly addicted to the strangely attractive sport. All I can tell you is that the FMV's containing blitzball sequences are quite exhilirating, and according to everyone else, you'll love playing it as much as I loved watching it.

The Bad
After having completed Final Fantasy X and looking back, I know there were times when I was a bit upset with it. But as hard as I try, I can’t remember what any of it was that bothered me, or why any of it even bothered me. My only explanation for this is that looking back at the game as a whole, every good thing about it completely shields me from remembering those little things that at one time bothered me.

The Bottom Line
Right now, I am having an incredibly difficult time summing up Final Fantasy X. All I can say is, no matter what you have read elsewhere, no matter what you think after reading this review, go get this game. There is nothing I can say that can give proper credit to this fine piece of work, and so the only way you can understand all of my babbling is to play the game for yourself. You’ll be doing yourself a huge favor if you do. And for those of you who have never played a Final Fantasy, and especially for those of you who have never played an RPG, Final Fantasy X would be the perfect place to start.