Final Fantasy X ~ review

I was a little late in discovering the amazing world of Final Fantasy video game series as I was only introduced to Final Fantasy VIII during my teenage years. But it was Final Fantasy X that became the first game in the Final Fantasy series that I had completed playing. To finally finish a game that I had only managed to adore from afar before, it was truly a satisfying feeling.

Final Fantasy X is a role-playing video game by then Squaresoft (now known as Square Enix) released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2. It was the first game in the series to introduced voice-acting. The game was a critical and commercial success and had sold millions worldwide, which then lead Square to release the first direct-sequel in the series, Final Fantasy X-2.

Final Fantasy X (FFX) is set in a troubled world called Spira, and follows the main protaganist, Tidus, as he became one of the guardian to a summoner, Yuna, as the group traveled Spira on a pilgrimage to obtained aeons and in the end to destroy Sin, a montrous creature that had been creating chaos across Spira. The group also consists of other iconic characters which are Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri, Auron and Rikku.

Let's start dissecting FFX with its plot. Story-wise, FFX has a very complex story that are quite hard to follow or understand if you do not really paying attention to what the characters are saying during the cutscenes or gameplay. But that not to say that the story is bad, in fact it was rich, entertaining and satisfying. Since the plot deals with the theme of death and a glimmer of hope, the atmosphere of the story are quite gloomy and sad,  which you can immediately feel from the start of the game at the start menu. But it's not melodramatic all the way to the end. To be fair, there are some cheerful moments throughout the game and some pretty good action cutscenes but overall, it is a game with a sad story.

The narrative was quite cleverly executed too in which players will follow Tidus as he journeys throughout Spira which was an unfamiliar world to him since he was transported there from his homeland, Zanarkand. As Tidus was introduced to the unique places or phenomenon in Spira, players will have the same experience too. This create a great way for the game to explain things to the players in which it does not feel forced because of Tidus's presence, meaning that the game was explaining things to Tidus instead of the players. In other words, it put players directly in Tidus's shoes.

Apart from the main storyline, FFX also stored a lot of side-quests for players to play like Monster Arena where players can fight tougher monsters, lightning-dodging in Thunder Plains, butterflies-hunting in Macalania and Blitzball match. I like quests like lightning-dodging and Monster Arena (although Monster Arena can get quite frustrating with its ridiculously high-level enemies) but I hate Blitzball. It is quite a fun game if you are good at it but since I'm not, that's why I kind of dislike it.

Being the first Final Fantasy game on the PlayStation 2 platform, FFX featured stunning 3D graphics compared to its predecessors. The environments were beautifully scaled from tropical islands, deserts to the snowy mountains while the characters are well-designed and carefully modelled so that each of them are unique and have their own individuality.

The Full Motion Videos (FMVs) is one of the high point for FFX as it featured great graphics and memorable scenes. Although the intimate scene with Tidus and Yuna in a pool of water surrounded by small flickering balls of lights is one of the popular scene from FFX, my favourite are actually in the early part of the game when Yuna performed the 'sending' ritual for the deceased at Kilika Island, and another one which is the ending scene of the game. Personally, I feel that both scenes are emotionally strong and managed to capture the hearts of the characters, also the tension and sadness of the situation.

What about the gameplay? Just like the previous video games in the series, FFX is played through a third-person perspective but is more linear in which it let players travel through corridor-like passages between towns / places instead of a miniature representation on a world map like in Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy VIII. Although some might argue that it make the world seems smaller compared to previous games, I personally feel that the world of Spira still feels big and spacious for players to travel.

The combat system of FFX was called Conditional Turn-Based Battle system. Basically, each player and enemies' turn are stacked up in a graphic box on an upper-right side of the screen, and each turn are not real-time, so players may take time to think of their next move without worrying that the enemies might attack them while they think. It may feel a bit easy in the first 1-2 hours of gameplay because of no time pressure, but as you continue on, combat with enemies will definitely get more intense and difficult, and lead to a more challenging gameplay. Summoning is back in FFX, but only one character can do summoning which is Yuna. "Limit Breaks" is back as well, the special attacks that do a lot of damage, but this time it is called Overdrives. A new system for character upgrades called the Sphere Grid is also introduced with simple graphic feature that allows player to easily customize their characters.

As for the difficulty level, from my gaming experince of FFX, I would say that it is equally balanced throughout the game. The battles in the beginning of the game were understandably easier compared to the ones in the later part of the game, and all players got to do is to make sure that they steadily level up their characters as they progress through the story. But there are a few battles, especially boss battles, near the end of the game which are much harder and need appropriate strategy to make it through, one in particular really got me frustrated. But I guess that's normal for every game and these few harder-than-usual boss battles made me appreaciate more the strategy nature of the game.

Final Fantasy games usually not only praised for their epic story and great characters, but for their music as well. The same goes for FFX where the music play an important role in setting the mood for the story. There are a lot of melancholy music, which suited the game perfectly well because, as I mention before, Spira is a world surrounded by death. The music are memorable and strongly connected to the scenes or places they are played to, which I think is important to create a fun and memorable gameplay to players.

The voice-acting, while it was not strong, it was still good overall. My favourite voice-acting was for Wakka, I think the voice suited his personality well. The voice-acting that I don't like is for Tidus, which I felt a bit forced and awkward. But it did grow in me after awhile, I think it takes time for me to get used to his voice. There is a lot of room for improvement though, and seeing this as the first time the series introduced voice-acting, I would say that it is a commendable effort.

Overall, FFX is a great game that offers you satisfying gameplay and story as well as beautiful graphics and memorable music. Although the voice-acting were not strong, but it still gives playes the extra value to dive more into the plot. Personally, I enjoyed the game vey much and was mostly impressed by the deep and emotional story. It was truly a satisfying gaming experience. Since Square Enix is planning to release High Definition (HD) remaster of the game soon, I think this is a geat chance for new players to be introduced to it, and fans to relive some of the great moments of the game. Final Fantasy X definitely deserved a spot in any gamers shelf.

Images from Wikipedia and Wikia.