Final Fantasy X
December 18, 2001
When I think about the name Square, I see images of epic battles, incredibly detailed graphics, deep and fulfilling storylines, beautiful music and sound, and state of the art gameplay. Square is without a doubt the greatest RPG maker in all the world. However, in recent years, their games have been less polished and just not as much fun as they were back in the 16 bit era. Any doubts I had in my head about Square declining as the greatest RPG maker in the world is now gone after playing Final Fantasy X. They have completely and totally redeemed themselves and have once again proven that they are one of the greatest development studios in the world.
(Before I continue on, I suggest one thing. If you don’t already own a copy of Final Fantasy X, let me spoil the rest of the article for you by saying it receives my highest praise ever. GO BUY IT NOW!!!)
Usually when something has a lot of hype around it, it fails to live up to all of our expectations. And let me tell you, my expectations for Final Fantasy X were about as high as you can get. I had an opportunity to play FFX back at E3 2001. While it was in Japanese, I could not believe my eyes. It was so visually pleasing and the combat system was just incredible. No matter how good the game looked at E3, nothing could prepare me for the final version.
Final Fantasy X begins with the main character, Tidus (you can change his name if you want), walking around a group of friends. To get the players caught up on how Tidus got to the point where he is, he begins to reflect on the events that lead him to this place. Players are then thrown into a futuristic-looking city known as Zanarkand. Tidus is a star Blitzball player for the local squad and fans are trying to get his autograph. Without ruining any of the story, Tidus will soon be swept out of his comfort zone in Zankarand and carried away on an epic quest to help the Summoner Yuna complete her pilgrimage and ultimately destroy Sin.
For around the first 20 hours of gameplay, the story seems very linear and straightforward. In fact, it is so predictable that you will grow a little tired of the story. However, don’t be fooled. Square did a marvelous job gradually getting the player involved into the story, getting used to the gameplay, and making you feel like you are actually playing a vital role in Yuna’s pilgrimage. Just when you think you have everything figured out, a new twist in the plot will appear that you never expected. Without giving specifics, you will find that the storyline will change drastically quite a few times… This is something that I have not seen Square try in a Final Fantasy game since the SNES days.
While the plot is very good, you will fall in love with the gameplay. Square is notorious for changing up the combat and magic systems in each Final Fantasy title. However, nobody could have prepared me for the drastic changes that they had in store for the gamer in Final Fantasy X. Utilizing a totally new combat system, players will be able to have up to three characters in their battle party. At any time during your turn, you can switch out a character for one that is on the sideline so they can get in the action too. At the end of the fight, all characters who participated in the battle will get AP points. When they accumulate a certain amount of AP points, they gain an AP level. Once you gain AP levels, you can use the Sphere Grid to gain HP, MP, Defense, Luck, Abilities, and all other attributes. There are no levels gained in Final Fantasy X–a first in the series.
The Sphere Grid is absolutely huge and I must admit it is very intimidating at first. After a short while of playing with it, it will become second nature. Spread out all over the Sphere Grid map are your characters. They start out on a Node and with only a few abilities. With gained AP levels, they can move around on to other nodes and if you have gained certain “Sphere Grid Items” during battles, you can utilize them to gain the abilities that we discussed above. However, it will take careful planning to get the abilities you want. There are several places on the Sphere Grid that are locked and require a Key to unlock. You will get the keys needed as you progress through the game in battles and hidden in treasure chests.
You will also use the same “Sphere Grid Items” to customize your weapons, armor, and Aeons (summoned monsters). In order to get the most out of your items, you must be careful not to waste things on needless upgrades when your characters will need them to upgrade on the Sphere Grid. Like I said above–this system is very overwhelming at first but it works very well and provides a lot of replay value. Look for other RPG’s to copy this system in the near future…
Another first for the Final Fantasy series found in FFX is the way your party is handled. In past titles, your party members would walk into your body and vanish. Whenever a dialogue scene appeared, they would then walk out of your body. This time around, players will actually see their party members walking around the screen behind or in front of our main character, Tidus. While this is not a drastic change, it does help to another level of realism into the gameplay.
Speaking of realism, Square also has incorporated another first into Final Fantasy X–voices. While not all characters speak, every main character has their own voice. Text will appear by default on the bottom of the screen instead of the standard text boxes that prior titles have had. There are even voices in the cinema scenes! However, this is both a good and bad thing. The good side is that having characters speak draws you into the game much more than reading standard text. On the other hand, there are a few voices (*cough* *cough* especially Cid *cough* *cough*) that are extremely annoying. Another problem with the voice acting is that the lip synching is not always very good. This is probably because Final Fantasy X was first a Japanese game and then was translated and redone for the US market. For the most part the lip synching is okay and I am confident that Square will be able to perfect it in a future title.
Just like prior titles in the series, the music is top of the line. Square did a great job incorporating different types of music into scenes to make things more of a dramatic, urgent, or just fun.
If you don’t bother with any of the extras, expect to play Final Fantasy X for about 50 hours. However, if you try and complete all of the extra side quests, find all of the weapons, and spend time upgrading your characters via the Sphere Grid system, you will probably spend closer to a hundred hours of play time.
We have been waiting for Final Fantasy X for quite a while… but the wait has been worth it! This is without a doubt the greatest RPG ever made and arguably the best game ever made. While there are three consoles out there trying to get your time and money, you could easily spend the next three months only playing Final Fantasy X every night and not lose interest. Final Fantasy X is the new standard in gaming that all developers will try to live up to. If you are on a budget and can only afford a few games, make sure that Final Fantasy X is your next purchase… you won’t regret it. For those of you who are struggling with which console to buy, remember that the Playstation 2 is the only console Final Fantasy X is going to be on. This should make your decision much easier.
Square, you deserve our highest praise.
Final Fantasy XDeveloper: Square
Publisher: Square/Electronic Arts
1 Player Game
Genre: Role Playing Game
Rating: A+
Platform: PlayStation 2
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