A colorful cast brings a lot of character to the game.

Game Info.

Genre RPG

Publisher/Developer Square Electronic Arts/Squaresoft

Peripherals Dualshock 2

Release 12/18/01

Media

While I'm no die-hard Final Fantasy player, I love RPG's to the bone. What's kept me away from fully immersing myself into this series has always been the tediously slow progression of story and gameplay, among other, less important things. However, FFX has enchanted me more than many video games I've played. It's stylish, fast-paced, and impressively sophisticated, all giving it a certain je ne sais pas that makes it by far my favorite FF. Judging by Gus's review, the game appeals to those elite fans of the series, so let's see just how it "works" for a player who until recently couldn't care less about the future of Final Fantasy...

Gameplay
A lot of FF fans have complained about some aspects in the game that I actually admire. One of these is the absence of a secret character, a feature in nearly all FF's. Having fallen in-love, so to speak, with all 7 playable characters, and watching them grow and learn from eachother, forming bonds you couldn't see coming until near the very end of the game, I just don't see how a secret character could fit in, and that's just story-wise. Gameplay-wise, all the bases have really been covered in terms of RPG archetypes (again, I mean gameplay-wise). Another character or two could only tip this precious balance, and I'm personally glad that isn't the case.
The second major complaint I hear from FF fans is the extremely late arrival of the airship, a most exciting feature in all FF games. Again, I think the ability to use the airship earlier would disrupt the way the game fits together. In FFX, the story progresses in a very linear way, especially for Final Fantasy titles, and the ability to go back anywhere you've been before any earlier than right before the final area is unlocked would ruin that, which to me is one of the game's most admirable features (see Replay Value). Plus, there are quite a few nice little bonuses you can find all around the map once you've finally gained access to the airship, in every nook and cranny you've ever been (or not been, if that's the case). A few of my favorites are Jecht's Spheres, which have kept a video record of different key steps along the main character's father's journey upon the same road, ten years before FFX takes place. They also show one of the game's most beloved main characters, Auron, in his youth, which alone is nothing short of FFX deserving it's own prequel.
Other than that, it seems like Gus- I mean, FF fans, agree with me on the gameplay's finer points, which include the Sphere Grid, FFX's ingenious new level-up system; the Active Time Battle (ATB) system, a more tactical approach to FF battles; and Blitzball, one of the best-developed mini-games in any RPG. There's just so much more I could talk about, but I think I've made my point.
Such a barrage of beautiful innovation, not only in one feature but in every tiny aspect of this game, down to the very finest detail, makes me wonder how Squaresoft (or, excuse me, Square Enix) can one-up themselves for Final Fantasy XII. I wait with cash in-hand.
9/10

Control
The uber-complicated menus can be a little hard to navigate at times, and it definately contributes to the game's learning curve, having to figure out just what everything does and how it helps you out in the game. Thankfully, unlike the tedious and much-despised FF8, the tutorials are quicker and far less frequent, and since you find yourself more engaged and willing to figure things out on your own, the game almost never presents them to you straight-out - instead, there are little monitors placed in every tavern where you can access a tutorial if you really, really need it.
The only shaky part of the play control is in the Chambers of Fayth, the 6 or 7 dungeons in which you run around and solve all sorts of weird puzzles to get a powerful Summon in the end. While they're nice to play in themselves, the game tries to pull off puzzles that are almost Zelda-like with an RPG control scheme, and when you really need to be precise about your character's movement, sometimes the combination just doesn't work out.
Otherwise, the walking controls are just what you'd expect from a 3D RPG.
8/10

Graphics
I may just be too used to Nintendo's favoring abstract over realistic, but I think these graphics are just incredible. The character models in FF games just keep getting better and better, as the line between real-time and FMV diminishes quickly. No longer are things like facial expression and lip-synching limited to the infrequent FMVs. The static pre-rendered backdrops have moved out in-favor of fully-rendered 3D environments, but still look as lush and detailed, if not moreso. Of course, when the two factors come together, the game is undeniably beautiful and believable.
Squaresoft's famous FMVs are still an important part of the game, but instead of storytelling, they show scenes that require more detailed attention, or vivid, colossal action, with intense "camera work". Of course, they're still as amazing as ever, and make you wonder why they thought they had to make an FF movie in the first place.
9/10

Sound
As to be expected with Final Fantasy games, this game's music is awesome. Just incredible. And the ability to "purchase" 68 songs from the game, in the game, is a real treat.
What should be noted is FFX's extensive use of voice acting. Every line of text spoken by one of the seven players, as well as at least over 20 other side characters, has its own distinct voice. I'm convinced now that every RPG should have full voice acting from now on. There's just something so magical about it that I can't really describe. Well, in any case, it's perfectly suited to this game. It's just a pity the lip-synching couldn't have been redone for the American version.
9/10

Replay Value
Oh boy. Normally here, for any other Final Fantasy game, I might even give this score a 5. These games are infamous for lasting well over 50 hours of game time (basic path alone), making it a self-draining, daunting task to take one on. Forgetting about all other games and solely committing my time to an FF game for at least several weeks just isn't my cup of tea.
Thankfully, in FFX, this aspect has been worked on for players like me. There's really no longer that sense of blind adventuring, where you never really come to any grand conclusions outside of two or three moments in the storyline. Progression on the map is pretty straight-forward; very little back-tracking and "soul searching", which is something that just drove me nuts in the past three FF titles. Every character makes perfect sense, like I said before, so it's hard not to care about what's going on in their world. If you've got luck and skill on your side, I'd say you could complete the game in under 30 hours. Although there are still the occasional "impossible" battles that just completely suck and shouldn't be included in any game ever, the delightful combat system makes them very rewarding to complete.
7/10

Overall
A year and a half ago, I decided to try FFX out at Gus's house. I loved it so much I had to borrow his PS2 for a month. I never beat it, though, and that file eventually got lost, but I knew I had to play it through again someday. Long story short, I replaced my PlayStation for a PS2 just for this game. Yeah, if you're into RPG's, it's really that good.
Could it be that FF games will be more like this in the future? Hopefully. FF Eleven is online, and entirely a different game, but there is hope in the game's sequel, FFX-2, as well as the still very mysterious FF 12.
If kept for core FF titles in the future, I think the changes in this game could make a "classic" series truly enjoyable for all RPG players, for once. Cheers to FFX for at least being the intense game it is, and now one of my all-time favorite titles, Nintendo or otherwise.

FINAL SCORE: 9/10
=Amazing=
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