Final Fantasy X-2

Written by Tom Clare in PS2 Game Reviews, Monday 8 March, 2010

Released: 2004
Developer: Squaresoft
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: RPG
Platform: PS2

The first Final Fantasy universe to be revisited for a full and direct sequel was that of the popular though divisive tenth game. Though by no means a classic, several common-sense improvements make X-2 a more balanced and enjoyable role-playing experience that fans will get the most from.

Story-wise, it acts as a giant epilogue to the events seen in FFX. Thus its narrative credentials are somewhat dubious, centring as it does on the exploits of the blandest of FF’s leading-ladies, the (former) summoner Yuna, as she travels the world of Spira in a vain attempt to appear in some way interesting, with Rikku (recognisable from FFX) and the unfortunately-named Paine helping out, as they front a band of “sphere-hunters” known as the Gullwings.

The story suffers from a myriad of familiar problems; the translation is frequently awkward (particularly bits where characters sing or hum), whilst the voice-acting ranges from pretty bad to unashamedly awful. The mediocrity of the three leading ladies is welcome next to the Gullwings grating leader “Brother” who is ludicrously over-acted (and, in fairness, a terribly scripted character), whilst the Hypello creatures bring to mind an entire race of Jar-Jar Binks archetypes. The series more familiar world-saving themes are punctuated by some odd and jarring moments of frivolity, such as Yuna’s J-Pop concerts and a bizarre hot-springs scene; a not particularly subtle attempt to exploit the “assets” of FF’s first all-female party.

So the story isn’t exactly Shakespeare, but it is easy enough to follow and what FFX-2 does do well is make smart use of its environments. The majority of the locations fans will already be familiar with, but whilst FFX allowed little deviation for side-quests or exploration for the most part, here you are given near-immediate freedom to visit a dozen or so places, each containing a glut of missions and rewards that update a number of times to encourage the revisiting of areas, and there’s also the opportunity to see what became of a number of the previous games characters, if, unlike me, you care or can indeed remember who half of them were. It has the sense of both freedom and structure, and the variety of the tasks you are given helps breathe fresh life into old locations. Whilst there are the more conventional treasure-seeking and bounty-hunter tasks, you’ve also some rather unusual pursuits to tackle, such as finding troops of lost cactuars, competing in a coin-puzzle tournament and capturing a wild chocobo.

The battle-system remains a straightforward turn-based setup, but sheds the Aeon summons and clever-but-convoluted Sphere Grid in favour of a more conventional levelling-up system. The main new gimmick is the introduction of ‘Dresspheres’ – essentially a glitzier and more expansive version of the Job System last seen in Final Fantasy V. Different outfits (or job classes) allow a variety of moves, magics, defences and attributes to be learned as you progress. So as ever, the White and Black Mage abilities grant healing and offensive properties respectively, whilst Berserker bestows increased power and counterattack abilities and Songstress gives the player the chance to cause or protect against debilitating status changes. The costume changes are suitably glamorous, their design varying nicely from character to character, and they represent what is possibly the games strongest new asset.

Though it reuses the earlier graphics engine and a lot of FFX’s locations, X-2 has all the trimmings presentation-wise that you would expect from Square, with fine character models, colourful environments and the usual quota of snazzy FMV sequences. The soundtrack is of a good standard even if it’s unlikely to be remembered among the series better scores, with an uncharacteristically forgettable battle theme the chief offender.

With dozens of tasks to dip in and out of, there’s plenty of depth for those willing to immerse themselves, and thanks to a decent array of Dressphere’s and a steady stream of unlockable items, it’s rewarding enough to keep the player engaged. The sight-seeing you’re able to do also serves to reduce the time put aside for building up your characters for those all-important boss fights, which on the whole are pretty fair, but for the odd exception. It yields a modest 40 hours or so of gameplay, significantly more if you aim for 100% completion and the full ending, though it’s unlikely many will consider such an exhaustive task a sound investment. When all’s said and done, it breaks little new ground and there are a number of Final Fantasy’s that perhaps would have been more worthy of a follow-up, but it’s a good RPG in its own right, and one that those who’ve yet to tire of the FFX universe will likely enjoy.

 

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