RPG Diary

Final Fantasy X-2

After completing Final Fantasy X, I had to decide whether to play its sequel or skip ahead to the next main game. Ultimately, I chose to play this because it was released chronologically between X and Final Fantasy XII, so it felt historically relevant. Oddly, I cannot remember if I have actually played this game before or if I've only read about it. It's a very controversial game among fans of the series, so I was curious how I'd feel about it.

Title	Final Fantasy X-2
Year	2003
System	PS2
Developer	Square
Publisher	Square

In many ways, Final Fantasy X-2 is a polar opposite of Final Fantasy X. Unfortunately, since I enjoy almost everything about X, that means I really did not enjoy this one at all. Honestly, I wanted to quit pretty much immediately, and that feeling lingered the whole playthrough.

The most obvious and glaring thing that hits you as soon as you start the game is the massive change in tone. Final Fantasy X is a very serious game, but Final Fantasy X-2 is lighthearted and campy. I found this a little frustrating as some returning characters felt reduced to gags and some of the changes seemed nonsensical. Yuna cannot be a summoner anymore, so now she's a dual pistol wielding pop singer in hot pants? Cid turned Zanarkand into a tourist trap? And what is the deal with Brother? I was fine with the new characters being campy however.

I really do not like the plot in this game at all. The doppelganger / mistaken identity plot device feels lazy and uninteresting. The concept of Vegnagun is somewhat interesting, but I don't really understand how it and everyone else travels to the Farplane. Worst of all, I actually hate the "good" ending more than the "bad" ending! The "good" ending somehow handwaves Tidus back into existence and that really undermines Yuna's character develpoment. On the contrary, the "bad" ending has Yuna finally move on and accept Tidus's disappearance, which seems much more fitting.

Final Fantasy X-2 brings back the job system which is a favorite mechanic of mine. However, this particular iteration felt very flat to me. You generally cannot mix jobs together this time — instead, you can change between jobs mid-battle to access the abilities you need. This game also brings back ATB battles. Unfortunately, it also brings back charge times which I think is an absolutely awful mechanic. The basic Attack is instantaneous, but powerful abilities and spells have a delay before executing. All these factors led me to spend most of the game parked in high strength jobs repeatedly selecting Attack which was quite dull. I couldn't even be bothered to use Armor Break most of the time due to its lengthy delay!

Finally, this game is absolute hell if you are a completionist! There's a progress meter on your save, so naturally I wanted to get 100%. However, this is truly tedious as it requires very careful planning to avoid missing some very minor scenes. In addition to that, there are a lot of mini-games and tasks to do, most of which I found either boring or just not fun. The main in-game reward for doing all of this is the previously mentioned "good" ending, which I actually hate anyway! (Apparently, you only needed 75% for that, while the full 100% just adds an extra bonus scene.) I regret the time spent grinding that junk, and I almost feel punished for it. (I actually gave up at 99% — the last few things were just too tedious.)

In the end, I think I set myself up to really hate this game. I can't help but compare it to Final Fantasy X, and it really fails to deliver anything like that game. I also tried to 100% it, which forced me to meticulously follow a checklist, sucking most of the fun out of the game. If I ever play this again (New Game+?), I would definitely ignore most of the side quests. I'm not sure I could ever truly separate the game from its predecessor though.

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. There's no doubt that this was the least fun that I've had playing anything in a long time. (Sorry.)