| Title | Final Fantasy X-2 |
| Year | 2003 |
| System | PS2 |
| Developer | Square |
| Publisher | Square |
After completing Final Fantasy X, I had to decide whether to play its sequel or skip ahead to the next main game. Ultimately, I decided to play this because it was actually released chronologically between X and XII, so it feels historically relevant. (It was also the last release before the Square Enix merger.) Oddly, I am not quite sure if I've ever actually played Final Fantasy X-2 before or if I've only read about it. I know it's a very controversial game among fans of the series, so I am curious how I'll feel about it.
In many ways, Final Fantasy X-2 is a polar opposite of Final Fantasy X. Unfortunately, since I enjoy almost everything about Final Fantasy X, that means I really did not enjoy Final Fantasy X-2 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 feel reduced to gags and some of the changes feel almost 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? Is Brother on drugs? I am 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 is lazy and uninteresting. The concept of Vegnagun is somewhat interesting, but I don't really understand how it and everyone else gets 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 really undermines Yuna's character develpoment in the process. The "bad" ending has Yuna finally move on and accept Tidus's disappearance, which seems much more fitting to the overall story and theme.
Final Fantasy X-2 brings back the job system. While this is a favorite mechanic of mine, this particular iteration feels very flat to me. You cannot really mix jobs together this time -- instead, you can change between jobs mid-battle to access the abilities you need. This game also marks the return of ATB battles. However, it also brings back charge time which I think is an aboslutely awful mechanic. Powerful abilities and spells have a delay before executing, but the basic Attack is instantaneous. These two things combined led me to spend most of the game parked in high strength jobs selecting Attack repeatedly which is quite dull. I couldn't even be bothered to use Armor Break because of 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 just had to aim for 100%! However, this is truly tedious and painful as it requires very careful planning to avoid missing some very minor details or 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 hated anyway! (Apparently, you only needed 75% for that, the full 100% just adds another short 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.
3/10
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 awhile. (Sorry.)
More Enjoyed
- . . .
- Pokemon Scarlet / Violet (NS)
- Final Fantasy VIII (PSX)
- Final Fantasy II (NES)
- Final Fantasy (NES)
- Final Fantasy X-2 (PS2)
Less Enjoyed