1 out of 1 people found this review helpful:
Final Fantasy X is, in my eyes, the best Final Fantasy ever in terms of, well, everything! Like 'em all, it's an RPG from Square, released in 2001.
A lot has changed from the old ways of leveling up. Now, when you win a battle and collect AP, you don't gain levels, you get "Sphere Points" which can be used on the "Sphere Grid" to give your character abilities and stats. It's very complicated, but by far on of the best systems for leveling. Also, you can get special abilities attached to your weapons such as HP +20% by equiping the items with spheres. A really cool part about battles is that you can change the formation of your party, so if characters 1, 2, and 3 are in, you can swap character 2 for 5. Overdrive is another cool thing. You can set the mode (after you learn the modes) to pump up your overdrive so you can unleash a powerful attack. Modes include taking damage, doing damage, healing, winning battles, ect. After you do enough of these, your overdrive gage will fill and allow you to perform your attack, although with some characters, you have to do something to make the attack successful. And, the best thing about FFX, Aeons. Aeons are just like summons, but effect the game much more than regular summons. First, when you call an Aeon, it fights for the party, and second, Aeons can use magic spells and overdrives just like everyone else, but only one person can summon them.
The game starts off with Tidus, the main character, going to play Blitzball with his team, the Zanarkand Abes. As the game starts, a huge wave towers over the city of Zanarkand, destroying almost everything in the city. Tidus makes it out alive, with the help of his friend Auron, but Sin, the giant whale-like monster causing all this, sucks them 1,000 years into the future. In this future, machines, or machina, are forbidden by Yu Yevon, a "god" (no offence to any religions) who teaches the people of Spira (that's the planet) that if they atone for their sins of using machina, Sin will be destroyed. Summoners (people that can call Aeons) journey all over Spira to the temples of Yevon with their Guardians (a select few that protect them) to get the Final Aeon, located in Zanarkand (which is destroyed) and destroy Sin. Tidus gets sucked into all this when he joins the Besaid Aurochs, a Blitzball (its like soccer underwater) team and eventually becomes a Guardian to Yuna
(another main character) and goes on to fight Sin (which is actually Tidus'- ooooops, I can't give that away!).
Main Characters:
Tidus: Tidus is a 17-year-old Blitzball player from Zanarkand. He got sucked into Spira and became a Guardian of Yuna. He has a deep affection for Yuna, but it barely seems to show until late in the game
Yuna: Yuna is a 17-year-old Summoner from Bevelle. She has lived most of her live in Besaid training to be a Summoner. She is the daughter of High Summoner Braska, one of the greatest Summoners ever, and she plans to live up to her father, even though it's a long road ahead of her.
Auron: Auron is a legendary Guardian. He helped Braska defeat Sin ten years ago, and plans to help Yuna do the same. He has a mysterious secret that is very easy to figure out about 1/4 through the game.
Kimari Ronso: Kimari is a Ronso that has protected Yuna since she was 7. He has a fierce rivalry with Biran, a taller, stronger Ronso, that ripped off Kimari's horn when he was younger. He is the most fun to use, since you can send him down the road to be any sort of character.
Wakka: Wakka is a Guardian of Yuna and a Blitzball player/coach for the Besaid Aurochs, but he quits Blitz to become a full time Guardian. He is a key member, because he can hit flyers that others can't.
Lulu: Lulu is like a sister to Wakka, well, she would have been if Wakka's brother, Chappu, wasn't killed by Sin. She has a pretty short fuse but is very strong with Magic.
Rikku: Rikku is an Al Bhed (someone that speaks a different language and uses Machina) but despite that, she still joins Yuna as a Guardian. For some reason, she wants Yuna to quit her pilgramage. You can find out why later in the game.
And now, for the Review (on a scale of 7).
Graphics: 7
The character look exactly like real people! The graphics are amazing, and the cinematics are even better! More than you could expect from PS2!
Storyline: 7
Ding ding ding! We have a winner! This storyline, in my eye,s is better than that of FFVII, enough said.
Sound/Music: 7
The characters have voices, the music is the best from a game ever! I have the soundtrack and it's the only thing I listen to!
Control: 5
This is where the game stank! Sometimes, when selecting a target to heal or attack in battle, I would hit my own units because in one battle, I would press < to change targets, next battle it would be press ^.
Characters: 7
They all look amazing, and have their own personality and everything! Not to mention this is the only FF so far that makes everyone worthwhile!
Length: 5
Without side quests, the game only took me about 35 hours, but with side quests, the game takes well over 100 hours
Ending: 7
A very emotional ending, although it was cool, I didn't like it for a few reasons, which I'm not gonna name 'cause it gives the ending away.
Environments: 7
Whew! They were really amazing, You can even swim around in some places, and the background and music fall into place, simply amazing!
Battle Mode: 7
Character swapping, Aeons, and overdrive mode make this the best battle mode yet! Not to mention the airship battle, whew, so cooooool!
Difficulty: 7
You'll probobly have to go online for help on how to beat a few bosses and how to solve a few puzzles. That's more than enough to make a game hard. Also the side quests and for a 100% run is friken hard.
Items: 7
The items in the game are amazing, and with Rikku's ability, use, there's so many amazing items you won't know what to do!
Fun Factor!: 7
You can throw away everything but Blitzball and still get a 7! Blitzball and other mini0games, even the story are all fun, and Blitzball never seems to get old.
Overall: 7
I think FF7 has been topped!
Reccomendation: If you have a PS2, this is a must buy, especially if you're a Final Fantasy or RPG fan.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful:
The Evolution of Final Fantasy
What do you know from watching the first trailer of Final Fantasy X from E3 2001? Oh. My. God. NO WAY! We can actually see the eyes of the characters. Oh, and they have voices! Read on please.
Story
"HOLY YEVON! IT'S SIN!" In Final Fantasy X, Sin is a gigantic, flying, and swimming whale-like fiend, created from pyreflies (or souls/spirits) as any other monster in Spira. He was given birth about a thousand years prior to the beginning of the main character's adventure in the real world after a dreadful war between machina civilizations - Zanarkand and Bevelle. With Zanarkand at default having summoners call Aeons (fiends that help people, basically) to fight the machina-armed Bevelle, many summoners had lost their lives, and the surviving Zanarkand citizens were transformed into "Fayth" by their leader, Yevon. Together, they created different entities as Aeons. With the power of these fayth, Yevon himself summoned "Dream Zanarkand", a memory/ghost of the civilization, and becomes Yu Yevon to create the first Sin, which automatically targeted every machina city (Zanarkand and Bevelled). Over the last centuries, many summoners have made pilgrimages all around Spira to attain the power to the Final Aeon, the only Aeon who could finish Sin. Not all were successful to being granted the power. Those who were, defeated him...at various different times.
The last summoner to face Sin is Yuna, whom Tidus, our main character, meets after mysteriously being transferred from "Zanarkand" to an unknown world when Sin demolishes his home. The story begins late in the game, where Tidus has flashbacks before the Final Summoning.
Gameplay
Exploring
Unlike the previous installments to the Final Fantasy franchise, X does not consist of a World Map with small villages and random text appearing to say "Gagazet Dungeon". Through out the whole game you explore Spira as a real world, from city to city or dungeon to dungeon. But don't worry, there's a Save Sphere in every level. Not only do they allow you to save, but they heal your characters upon triggering action.
Wait! There's more to the Save Sphere - we can play Blitzball by selecting the Blitzball option.
Blitzball
In my opinion, Blitzball is the most boring minigame in the whole world. Yes, it does have a part in the story. Blitzball is somewhat an underwater tactics soccer/football game (The ball is gripped with the hand) played by Tidus. In his Zanarkand, he played star of the Zanarkand Abes.
Battle
Indeed, Final Fantasy X is turn-based, but there are no ATB! ATB is when you have to wait for a bar to fill up in order to command action or complete one. Who attacks first is based on Agility or weapon. You can't be too confused, because in battle there is a menu to the upper-right screen showing all (including enemies) turn in the right order. It CAN be changed by doing certain actions.
Another new skill is being able to swap fighters. Like you can be in battle with Tidus, and switch him for Yuna! Not always though. Some battles you are forced to use a specific party.
There is no standard "Leveling" system. You could gain an SP level after battle, but your stats won't increase. The SP levels are used to move nodes on the new giant Sphere Grid, which consists of spheres/nodes (circles, really) that give your character stat increases or new techniques (Cure, Fire, +4 Strength). As said, you need SP levels to browse through each sphere (one per new node, one for five old nodes). Meaning that paths a character has not passed, s/he needs 1 SP level for each node, but if it has been explored 1 SP level could be used to move 5 spaces.
Important note regarding nodes: You need to activate a node to gain attributes. They are activated by Power, Speed, Mana, Ability, or Fortune Spheres.
Music
I LOVED the music in this game. Although, the battle theme can get annoying quickly while training. The theme you hear in the first trailer/intro, "To Zanarkand" resembles the hatred received and the courage/love/power of our Final Fantasy X Party, even if it meant for them to die. It also represents "Awakening from the dream and false hope, to face the reality" regardless of how cruel it may be.
Graphics
Meh, why should I care? Golden Eye 64 is 10000000000 times more fun than Halo 3. Cutscenes are quite moving.
Replayablity
Ahh. I played it twice. A Normal game and a perfect run. Start with the normal because maxing stats (255 of everything, including luck) and collecting all Celestial (Ultimate) Weapons isn't easy and requires a lot of time. If you do, the last boss will be a piece of cake. There are NSG (No Sphere Grid) challenges, but it won't be easy I warn you.
Overall
Final Fantasy X is a terrific installment to the FF series, and MUST be played and understood by all fans, for it has a valuable and life-changing moral if you could put the (Simple) puzzle all together. The game itself answers the question people have been wondering and fighting about ever since humans have developed. Few have the answer, and I am one of them and a part of the question.
10/10