[Thoughts] Final Fantasy X · 1:49am Jun 7th, 2018
Hey guys, new series! Trying out something new that will hopefully get me to produce more content more frequently. I want to preface that this isn't really a review of the game, or any game in general, more of a "what do I think about it?" kind of thing. The way it works is like a written ramble; completely unscripted. I just type what comes to mind about my thoughts on the game, or hell even movie if I'm feeling up to it. So here we go!
So I recently got my grubby little hands on Final Fantasy X for the PS2; because, y'know, I have one now. I borrowed it from a friend alongside Dragon Quest VIII and the demo for Final Fantasy XII, the former I've played an hour of and the latter I haven't played at all. I'm as far as the first blitzball game, so in a shocking turn of events I must please ask you to not give me any spoilers (even though I already know all the ending bits to the game). I have however gotten far enough to start explaining to you what I think of the core elements of the game.
The story is that you are Tidus, or whatever you want to name the main character. Already this sucks because characters never say Tidus's name because of the voice acting and that basically kills any belief these characters are all good friends. Anyway, Tidus is a pro blitzball player and just before he's about to enter a huge match this giant, and I mean COLOSSAL, whale monster called Sin comes in and destroys his home city of Zanarkand. But before it does, Tidus and some other guy named Auron are both sucked into Sin's whirlpool of death and are sent to the world of Spira, a land where literally everyone worships a god called Yevon because he apparently did something good or whatever.
That aside, the game revolves around Tidus trying to find a way back home, find his douchebag father, win every blitzball tournament in Spira and try to get laid with this heterochromia summoner babe straight out of deviantart. Or something along those lines. So far the story is okay. I certainly do expect more out of a Final Fantasy game, but at least the start of the game kicks off with a blast as any good FF game should. FF6 had you raiding a town, FF9 had you kidnapping a princess, FF7 had you literally blowing up a nuclear reactor and this game had a giant whale killing everyone. Awesome job, you have my attention! I don't know how the story will progress, but so far so good.
The characters are a mixed bag, really. I think people bully Tidus too much; he's far from my favorite FF protagonist, that being a tie between Zidane and Cecil, but he gets the job done and he always makes me smile whenever he's on screen. Others like Lulu and Kimahri Ronso are strangely endearing as in I shouldn't like them with how they act but there's something about them that just draws me to them. Kimahri doesn't talk, so he expresses himself through expressions and that's always funny. Lulu is basically Camilla from Fire Emblem if Camilla from Fire Emblem wasn't a one-note bitch. Basically she's kind of a cunt but she's also super motherly to Yuna and secretly deeply cares about her friends. Also she has an affinity with plush dolls and that's so cute that I can't even.
And speaking of Yuna, I don't like her! Yay! While Tidus he can be a little obnoxious but in a kind of lovable sorta way, Yuna is literally just your typical romantic interest who has some super awesome power. Oh my god, Square, when I was making parallels to deviantart I was just joking around, holy shit. I'm sure she gets better as time goes on but I literally can't stand her cute giggles at literally, and I mean LITERALLY, every situation. I haven't seen much of Rikku to have an impression, though she's slightly in the red since she's voiced by Tara Motherfucking Strong, Auron is okay but again haven't seen much of him and Wakka is just... well... he's Jamaican, there's no other way to put it. Not really in an entertaining way either, it just comes off as kinda silly. Doesn't help he's voiced by John DiMaggio, a really good voice actor terribly miscast.
The music is also kind of a mixed bag. On one hand I really like some tracks like "Zanarkand" and the normal battle theme which makes every random encounter NEVER boring. Seymour's battle theme might also be one of my favorite boss battle themes of all time and the final boss theme "Otherworld" is so metal and so bitching good that when I first heard it I couldn't believe it was even from the same franchise as Final Fantasy. This is some of Nobuo Uematsu's best work without question. Having said that, the true final boss theme "Decisive Battle" is really boring and the regular boss theme is also pretty uninteresting. Some of the town themes are also really repetitive and the temple theme WILL get on your nerves the more temples you complete. Basically the music is either really, really good or really, really boring, never in between. And that sucks because as mentioned before, I really do like some of the tunes in this game.
Now, as for battles! Yeah, the whole thing Final Fantasy is known for! How do these hold up? Actually pretty good, surprisingly. FFX decides to go back to its roots and remove the active battle timer in favor of true turn-based combat. And sure, let's add in a turn list while we're at it. As much as I frickin' love the ABT from IV through IX, I also love me a good classic RPG as well and the turn list adds some serious strategy to the game. I also really enjoy the new "water" magic, or if that isn't new then speak up now because I haven't played any of the older FF games. LOL! It's like Fire and Blizzard but now with Thunder and Water! Furthermore, the awesome Overdrive system works basically like a mixture of Limit Break and Trance where a meter next to your character charges up with every hit you take and then you can unleash a super awesome attack through a quick-time event. It's really cool! Also switching party members is here and while it may seem a little broken it's actually super useful, never too OP and makes the party feel like, y'know, a PARTY OF FRIENDS AND HEROES.
Now for the big one: I have a love-hate relationship with the Sphere Grid system. I won't go into detail since even the game itself took fifteen minutes explaining it to me, so go look it up yourself. It replaces traditional leveling up, and while the tutorial did leave a bad taste in my mouth I've actually come to enjoy the system. On one hand, the grid allows you customize your party to be whatever you what it it be. This is, of course, really neat! For example, sure Kimahri may start out as a big beefy catman with high HP and a lot of attack, but set him down Lulu's sphere grid and you can turn him into a hard-hitting magic user. This is the same as everyone. Want Lulu to do ludicrous damage with her plush doll? Go right ahead! Want a super OP tank Yuna? Fucking take that ball and marry it because it's possible. And because of how easy it is to get SP levels, it's never annoying to customize your party.
What I HATE is how some spheres are empty. Every SP level is basically a level up, and the sphere grid allows you to upgrade one, two sometimes even three stats every "level up". I am fine with this. If every level up means I increase one or two stats every time, so be it, that's not a huge deal. What IS a huge deal however is that sometimes you will land on an empty sphere node and the level up you just got will be literally worthless. Sure you can fill those slots up with certain spheres and customize your characters beyond what the game originally intended, but those certain spheres are so few and far between that you'll be missing most of the empty nodes before you amass a bigger collection of them. It's not fun.
And speaking of not fun, the summons in this game, or as Square calls them after spinning the "Wheel of Random Names We Give To Summons", Aeons, kinda suck. They're no longer flashy attacks that deal a lot of damage, they are basically party members that get stronger maybe if you're lucky. Sure they still have flashy attacks in the form of Overdrives, but that takes time to build up so you'll mostly be attacking or doing magic or whatever. I do kinda see the prospect of the Aeon system but here's the thing: if you just have one powerful party member do all the dirty work, no one will earn any SP levels. A character MUST take an action to earn anything, even if it's healing or just a simple attack and then switch out, so if a giant ass monster does all the work no one will ever level up. It sucks and it's party why I mainly use Yuna as a white mage instead of a summoner.
That's pretty much everything I wanted to say about the game. All in all, this will probably never be my favorite FF game. Far from it, actually. Having said that though, I can still respect the game for experimenting with certain things and nailing ALMOST every single one. I can say with certainty that I will continue enjoying this game until then end simply because of the combat and because I want to see where this story will end. Long story short, I really do like this flawed but otherwise deeply enjoyable game.
Oh, one more thing! This is the Final Fantasy game where memes are born. Pick something to laugh at and you will. The awkward laughing scene, the walk cycles, the sometimes silly voice acting, the game's inability to smoothly flow from happy topics to depressing topics, the Al Bhed language in general, Seymour Guado's motherfucking hair, you name it you'll laugh at it. My personal favorite is the super emotional scene at Besaid Island where Yuna leaves her home to go on a journey and says goodbye to everyone and you are given FULL control over Tidus. So while Yuna's tearfully saying goodbye to everyone, you're walking around behind her like a moron. It is so fucking funny that it has been recorded and laughed at for years. Look it up if you've never seen it before.
Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments!
So you're as far as the 1st Blitzball game against the Goers...please note that it is possible to win that game...the game doesn't make it easy though.
You are playing the PS2 version, so please note that you are a bit limited (Most of the things are there, but some things were region locked...AKA the US version is the version that has less content in the end-game sidequests...aka removed from the US version for the most part. Also, there's a second sphere grid...only in the international versions; btw pick up the PS3/PS4 version if possible.). You won't notice this because the main story wasn't affected.
Auron is a mysterious man...I won't spoil anything further about him...same with Rikku (not really mysterious, but...no...I'm not spoiling it)
Seymour...he's a strange Guado (You'll find out his mindset later).
There are some big twists in this game that change how you feel about what goes on in Spira (Not spoiling, but you will be shocked)
This game is easy to play and is a good entry point for anyone looking to get into the franchise...aside from certain points of cringing (the awkward laugh is still something that I mute to this day...and even in the HD remasters...you can't skip cutscenes
)
Oh yeah, Final Fantasy X. I got the PS4 remaster... some time ago. I got to the second battle against Seymour but got totally wrecked and then just kinda forgot about it. Might have to get back. I found the plot a bit confusing and never got really invested in it.
Really? Tara Strong and John DiMaggio? (Looks up...) Kimahri, too?
4878054
Thankfully I know most of the endgame moments so you don't have to worry about those. I do thank you for keeping spoilers out of your comment however.
That sucks about the version I'm playing. Unfortunately I can't really play any other version of this game due to my lack of owning a PS4 or a competent PC. As long as most of the stuff is here in the game then I'm alright though.
Seymour is obviously a villain if his threatening battle music and silly appearance has anything to say about that.
This is certainly easier than other FF games I've played for sure, which is a little disappointing since after coming from FF9 and FF6 I'm all battle hardened and ready for most things. Still and all its an enjoyable experience so far.
Thanks for the comment!
4878146
Yeah, Tara is in goddamn everything. My sister and I both consider her our own personal villain for this sole reason, lol.
Also kinda figured there'd be multiple battles against him, as any good main antagonist should have.
4878406
No problem, also...you aren't completely cut-off from sidequests in the end/late game, but damn they're tedious as hell (even in the International Version)
Ok, so you are aware that Seymour is a bad guy...ok that opens things up a bit...he's a persistent guy.
Keep using Yuna in battle (make sure she gets at least one turn per fight; having her go on the defensive does count) because the Aeons will get stronger (and get more HP) as Yuna gets stronger...yes this actually how the Aeons get stronger...for the most part (something will open up to you soon on how to further strengthen them).
You're probably wondering about the empty slots on the weapons and armor...a bit later (about mid-game) you'll get an explanation as to why this is important.
Also note...there is an invisible counter going on. Tidus (or whatever you named him), when he (and it must be him) heals a certain character with a potion (and also who Tidus talks to first when the party is spread out on the field before an event) that counter goes up for that character and in 4 instances (not spoiling) this is shown in a conversation as to who you will talk to at these certain points in which character has the highest value. (The affection mechanic essentially...and it started from the question Wakka asked you about Yuna: "She's Cute, Ya?"). Don't worry about this too much...or at all, it does nothing to the story.
Enjoy the game, I still do.
Interesting new series buddy.