Final Fantasy X-2

The Good
This is the sequel to the great Final Fantasy X. They just should've left it the way it was.

It's been 2 years since we last saw the gang and they have splitten up except for Yuna, Rikku, and Rikku's strange brother...Brother. It appears that Rikku has found a sphere that resembles Tidus. Tidus is the hero of FFX and the man that Yuna loved. She brings the sphere to Yuna and they head out with other partners to see if its really Tidus. Along the way, they will encounter dangerous enemies, old allies, and new ones.

What I noticed when the first cut scene came on was that they really upgraded the FMVs. It looks quite realistic and is breathtaking. Yuna also has quite a decent singing voice. As soon as the game actually began going, the fighting is actually pretty fun. It is no longer turn-based like FFX (I hated that). I must say, the heroes are quite pretty and the characters and enemies are really unique.

Which brings me to my next point, some of the characters and enemies are either made for humor, for action, for sex appeal, or a combo. Some of the characters I had stuck in my head. (I actually couldn't stop saying "Machine Faction" for some reason) There are some new things in Spira that I liked quite much. Baralai and New Yevon are one of them. I must say this as well, Spira has actually stayed the same (In the way it looks anyway). You can go back and visit all the spots you were at in FFX and they will remain the same. It is a nice touch.

One thing I liked about the game was that you can choose where you can go. This game has many missions for you to choose and you can go back and visit some old allies, and learn a few new things about them. (Cheers to Wakka!) The missions are all quite different, some are serious ones, and some are actually kind of funny. There is also a new game that's sweeping Spira, and it is very fun to play.

The Dresspheres are a new addition to the Final Fantasy world and it is very well done. You can find spheres and actually have a different look and all new powers. I found that being able to go from having a sword to having a gun was a good touch. This is very easy to execute because the gameplay is nice and fluid. It never feels choppy and stiff.

Sadly, this shall begin my rant about the game.

The Bad
What's a game without the bad? This game is probably one of the poorly made Final Fantasy games.

The thing I thought about when I got the game was that the story could go no further. Sin was destroyed, Tidus has disappeared, and everyone has gone their separate ways. How could you continue that? Apparently Square had their strange story made for this game.

The first thing right away I noticed was that the girls are dressed in very skimpy clothing. Rikku isn't wearing a shirt (I never learned why), Yuna is dressed in something if not looks like a tube top, and Paine is dressed so strangely I can't describe. It seems that the Square wanted to raise the sex appeal in Final Fantasy which I don't mind, but doing it so bad that the girls are almost nude, I mind that. Even in dresspheres, they are turned into people who still wear skimpy clothing. Some stuff doesn't even belong in Final Fantasy. (There are 2 particular sexual situations that are supposed to be funny but is not funny in the Final Fantasy World). Perhaps they also did this to bring in all the teen boys.

Another thing I noticed was that the musical pieces of Nobuo Uematsu (sp?) are COMPLETELY gone. They replaced his great music for music I don't know how to describe. It is all sort of pop music. I really hated this. Nobuo's music is what made Final Fantasy a great game. His music is truly better than the one in Final Fantasy X-2.

This is one of the things that got me frustrated. Some of the missions are absolutely hard and some don't make sense at all. I remember one mission where you have to beat this person's score of 500 in this shooting competition. Laugh now but you won't laugh when you play it. There was one mission that brings a tear to my eye. Yuna is pretending to be a massage person and she has to give a female a massage. The female has no idea it is Yuna and she is making some sounds that sound pretty sexual. Does not belong in a Final Fantasy game.

The next thing that bothered me to the fullest is that this game is just too easy. You can just go right through enemy after enemy without taking too much damage. I remember the last boss. He was no challenge. Just hit, wait for him to do about 100, hit him, and repeat. It was not much of a challenge. Speaking of the last boss, there are multiple endings. It is absolutely infuriating that you have to play the game about 5 times just to see all endings. For anyone who doesn't have access to a computer, this will get them angry.

The Bottom Line
This is Square's first attempt to make a sequel to a Final Fantasy game. They could've tried to put some more effort into making this a great game.