RPG Diary

Final Fantasy X

Final Fantasy X is a game that I have many fond memories of. It's one of the very first games that I can remember buying for myself. I know this game well, but it's been 15 years since the last time I've played it. Does it still hold up today?

Title	Final Fantasy X
Year	2001
System	PS2
Developer	Square
Publisher	Square

Final Fantasy X is the first game in the series with spoken dialogue. This seemingly minor change along with the next generation (at the time) graphics make a huge impact, giving the game a very cinematic quality. This style suits the game well as it is probably the most plot-focused title so far — there are very few sidequests until the endgame. I personally enjoyed the pacing and presentation of the game, but my wife complained about the frequency of little cutscenes, especially in the first couple hours.

It goes without saying that such a plot-focused game needs a good plot. Thankfully, I think it has one of the best plots in any RPG that I've played. The world of Spira feels much more immersive than the settings of previous games. The main character, Tidus, is foreign to Spira which allows the game to explain the world naturally. This leads to several memorable plot twists. Yuna's impending death and everyone else's knowledge and acceptance of it really surprised me during my first play. While I did not understand the ending the first time I played this game, this time I was really saddened the way Tidus and Yuna's fates were swapped. However, I hated the post-credits scene with Tidus again because I felt it ruined the ending.

Final Fantasy X replaces the classic "ATB" (active time battle) system from previous games with a new battle system. Battles are turn-based again, but quick characters (and/or quick actions) can "lap" slower characters and act again before the slower characters. The game provides a timeline preview so you can determine when every character will get their next action. I really enjoyed this system as it felt very tactical, yet there was no anxiety over an enemy moving before I could select my action. The game also lets you swap out party members mid-battle. This is a great mechanic because most characters are specialized for certain enemies and it helps keep the party evenly leveled. Overall, this is one of my favorite RPG battle systems. My only complaint is that endgame superboss strategy mostly degenerates into just equipping Auto-Haste and spamming Quick Hit so that the enemy cannot use their big party wipe attacks.

Final Fantasy X eschews conventional character levels for the sphere grid system. For lack of better description, this is basically a board game in which your characters move along to unlock stats and abilities. In theory, the numerous intersections on the board allow for a lot of customization. However, many of these intersections are blocked for much of the game (at least in the original release), so characters mostly just complete their own section first. The optional superbosses require very high stats, so I ended up sending a few characters all the way around the entire board anyway. Thus, I think the sphere grid is more of an illusion of customization than an actual source of customization. Unfortunately, to truly max stats you need to actually erase and rewrite a significant amount of the board! This is a very tedious grind and it is not really worth the effort in the original release. (Re-releases added even harder superbosses which seems to justify it.)

The only serious complaint I have about this game are the mini-games. Thankfully, these are optional so you are not forced to complete them. However, many ultimate weapons are locked behind them. I found the following mini-games painful and I abused save states to finally beat them for the first time: dodging lightning, chocobo training, and butterfly catching. Many people will also include blitzball in this category though that mini-game is not difficult, just very time-consuming (minimum 9 hours). I personally enjoy blitzball and have actually loaded the game a few times just to play it, but even I did not unlock Wakka's ultimate weapon before I finished this play.

After completing a game, I add it to my overall enjoyment ranking which orders the games I've completed from those I most enjoyed to those I least enjoyed. Clearly this is still one of my favorite games of all time, but it's getting crowded at the top. I preferred the plot just a bit more than Final Fantasy IX, but the painful (though optional) minigames leave it just under Final Fantasy V for me.