adventure

When I first heard that there would be an actual sequel to FFX, I was happy. FFX is probably my favorite RPG of all time, but the ending was kind of disappointing.

Unfortunately, FFX 2, is not in the same league with it's predecessor.

Graphics: 3 - Ok this game is every bit as beautiful as FFX, but not better. In 2001 this was amazing. In 2003 they are old news.

Sound: 1 - Annoying! Plain annoying. First of all, 90% of the game has the exact same music throughout. And the loops are very short. Normally I don't care about the music in a FF game that much--I usually end up blocking it out, because I'm so wrapped up in the game. Here it is impossible to ignore, unless you want to use mute and miss out on the voice acting.

Which brings us to the other annoying factor in sound. The voice acting is terrible. At times I felt like I was playing a video game version of "Spice World" set in a fantasy world. Rikku was one of the highlights of FFX. In FFX 2, she has become Britney Spears. Yuna isn't much better.

Plot: 1 -- Plotwise, you'd be better off watching "Charlies Angels," as it doesn't require you to waste as much time. Where FFX had a moving story, this one is about style over substance all the way. Well there is Brother's crush on Yuna, which is kind of bizarre seeing as how they are first cousins.

Game Play: 2 - Some actually like the new battle system, over the old one. I say if it aint broke, don't fix it. Basically, in this one battles are in real time, which means you'll take a lot of damage if you try to plan out a strategy. Even if you slow down the ATB and set it to wait mode, you still don't have much time to plan. There are no limit breaks either. I did like the function that allows you to completely turn off the dress sphere change animations, as they can get old very quickly.

The dress spheres are another problem. Instead of advancing in levels to learn new skills, you equip dress spheres. It's annoying to be in a battle and have to change professions in the middle of it all, because you've got three warriors but need a healer. The old sphere grid was a much better concept.

Overall, I'd say only play this game if you are a fan of the whole series. Even then expect to be disapointed. If you haven't played FFX stay away from this one, as it will be too confusing.

Personally, I found I couldn't play this one for more than an hour at a time--it's just too goofy and boring. Quiet frankly, midway through the game I no longer cared about what happened to Tidus. Square is capable of much better than this, and hopefully this flop isn't a sign of things to come.

Final Fantasy X-2 is a brand new world in the beloved series. While it is based on, and set in, FFX's world of Spira and containing the core characters of Yuna & Rikku, and a plethora of the supporting characters seen previously, it as much different as it is similar.

Some 2 years have passed since Yuna, Wakka, Sir Auron, Rikku, Kimahri & our lost dream (and Yuna's love,) Tidus defeated Sin to bring the eternal calm. For anyone that hasn't played and beaten X, it's a good idea to pick up a copy and play it through first simply because X-2 doesn't give you a lot of backstory, instead alludes to things and moves forward.

Storyline:
Yuna is now a Sphere Hunter with the Gullwings and travels with her cousin Rikku and a brash new character, the Gothic female Paine. Rikku arrived on the Isle of Besaid and gave Yuna a sphere containing a video of someone that looks like Tidus trapped for trying to use some kind of weapon. I can't elaborate more or I would spoil most of the adventure. So, Y. P. R. (as they call themselves) are hunting every sphere in Spira trying to find out just who this is. Along the way, they are constantly hounded by the Leblanc Syndicate (another Sphere Hunter group) and the rise of New Yevon. If X's tagline was "This is my story," (meaning Tidus,) than the tagline for X-2 is appropriate as "This is Yuna's story." In fact, it is a deep story as I have come to find out and far moreso than the brief synopsis by Square-Enix. (This is a good thing.)

Graphics:
The same source code was used for many of different area's seen in FFX, but have been tweaked and updated to bring the world of Spira 2 years forward. Some area's look exactly the same, however, with new people and places to explore. Graphically, FF X-2 is better looking and superior to X because of these added elements.

Graphics II:
The character models are sharp and gorgeous. The speech to mouth movement has been overhauled and plays out smoothly. You'll notice the incredible graphics while in battle and especially while changing dressspheres.

Gameplay:
This is where X-2 differs so much from FFX. Instead of the linear world of moving from place to place, you now have a beautiful airship to roam wherever you want to, when ever you want to. In short, you can play this game any way you want too as there's no preset way to go. The world map has returned and with your airship you pick where you want to go instead of waiting until deep into the game to acquire the ship (as was the case in previous FF titles.) Also, instead of one defined mini-game, like Blitzball & Tetra Master, there are many (sorta like the things you could do at the Gold Saucer in FFVII.)

Gameplay II:
Ah, the battle scheme. It is easy, and it is tough. ATB, "Active Time Battle," seen in Final Fantasy IX has returned and you can change job classes in the middle of battle. Be careful however, changing classes in a tough fight could leave your party vanquished. Gone is the usual fight stance and style where one party stays on one side and the fiend on the other. X-2 presents the battle in a realistic form. You may surround the fiends once, or they may surround you. Also, I can't leave out the mentioning of the "Chain Attack," a cool feature done in other games and now bringing a great strategy to FF's turn-based battle system. (You'll notice in X-2, that it doesn't as heavily rely on turn-based as previous FF's and could be an Action RPG like Summoner 2 if was loosened any further.) Again, a good thing.

Sound:
The voice acting is suberb by the same cast as the original. The music is upbeat and lively and bear's no, and I mean NO, resemblence to Nobuo Uematsu's awesome scores and themes. This may be the games only drawback and is sorely missed, at least by me.

Overall:
X-2 is presented as a game in itself with ties to X. The mission-based gameplay, free roaming world and familiar meetings make the game an incredible RPG. Square-Enix has outdone itself. Don't expect to be replaying FFX, this is a forward-driven, exceptional new chapter as much as a sequel.

Note:
I have left a lot out in this review, simply because to divulge too much would be to give away spoilers. There is something at every turn in the game that is new and connecting the 2 games.

how do you make a sequel that can live up to it's predecessor? have three awesome leading ladies with new cool abilities and quests, allow the player to pick his/her own destinations, and throw in superb graphics that surpass final fantasy 10's fan expecatations. even though ff10 would have been fine as a stand-alone game, the sequel isn't even close to as bad as some are saying it is. it may not have a deep, emotional storyline, and gameplay is very lax, letting you roam freely and choose where you go. but that's what makes this a fun game to play if you aren't looking for a headache- you can just play it whenever, without worrying about what's going to happen next. the battles are fun, the characters are awesome, and i think the look of the game is great. my only complaint is that the music got repetitive at times, but that's a minor factor- the rest was wonderful. just don't expect a huge epic adventure like ff9 or ff10, and you can love this game, too!