Final Fantasy X

THE BAD:
Not to sure about this one, we all expect some amazing graphics but their really not to good. Sometimes when the camera gets close up, the characters shake randomly...kinda stupid huh?
Sometimes the battles are really long and complicated and they sometimes have no point...D=
There are even glitches that whenever you take a step, a monster will pop up until you get out of that spot. Leveling up so many people may also take allot of time so be prepared to spend allot of extra time on that.

SUMMARY:
Here is a brief overview:
Graphics
My score: 7/10
Reason: Well, I will admit, these graphics are not the best. You can totally tell the edges of the characters are kinda pixleated and they seem to move left and right whenever the camera angle zooms up on them. although they do have some intense moments when the graphics pretty much go super saiyan and look totally kick ass...These moments don't happen allot but when they do, they are for a good period of time. This game is a diffident up-grade from the other final fantasy game remakes.

Game Play
My score: 10/10
Reason: What other RPG lets you roam around randomly and fight monsters? Everyone practically, and this one, in my mind, is the best. If you hate the other battle systems then i would suggest getting this one. I love the battle system, its not annoying like the other ones and you can switch out characters easily. One main reason I like this one is that, the battle system is easier to use then the current ones.

Bosses
My score: 7/10
Reason: Why put a boss section you ask? Well, boss battles are one of the most important aspects of the game. These ones sometimes seem kinda stupid, some of them don't even go towards the whole plot. But, I guess its just another way to level up your people. It may get annoying but I wouldn't let it change my mind of getting it.

An over all score of 24/30 is a great score. I think it is diffidently worth buying. I hope this review didn't altar your plans on getting this game and if it did, I hope you plan on wanting it even more now.
If you don't get this one then you are missing out big time.

THE BAD:
-The framerate is kind of shaky (but hey, this is Square’s first PS2 Final Fantasy)
-VERY linear exploration and gameplay
-You can’t jump (which is a very basic video game move), and you can’t even step over cracks
-The Sphere Grid is also pretty confusing at first
-All the enemy battles have the same annoying music (it's not actually bad, it's just annoying)
-When you die, you go all the way back to the starting menu instead of a last checkpoint
-You can't replace KO'd characters with other active characters, so you either revive them or you start over if your whole party dies
-Kimahri is weak and slow, and he doesn't show it when he gains experience
-You can attack your own allies (sometimes it's funny, other times it's fatal, so I'm listing it as both good and bad)

SUMMARY:
Final Fantasy has been a wildly popular game series on old, classic consoles for many years. FFX was the first installment on new-age consoles (back then), and it was indeed an excellent way to introduce the series to PS2 owners everywhere.

Graphics: 9.8 -- For their first PS2 FF game, Square did a heck of a job with the visuals (in a good way). I absolutely adore the character models. Although everyone looks like they’re shivering during some scenes, their animations are believable and smooth, except for hair and cloth. But hey, this is only Square’s first PS2 FF game. Anyway, the details are amazing! Even the background characters whose purpose was for realism look almost as good as the main characters, if a bit bland. And everyone has their own unique styling. Also, the characters can shadow themselves and other objects at times, which is an impressive detail in PS2 graphics that is usually left out for whatever reason. Also, all the details in each of the many monsters is simply amazing. It has to be seen to be believed (and not just from a screenshot). Even with a few little animation flaws, the characters almost look like real people or real creatures. But the backgrounds will take your breath away. Even nook and cranny can only be compared by pictures of the real world. You can even see the wind blowing up sand and snowflakes blowing around in their own direction. And the water looks very realistic, more realistic than any PS2 game I’ve seen from the early 2000’s. Also, the lighting is probably what compliments the scenery the most. Cliffs and temples shadow the landscape, both for realism and atmosphere. Objects, like the characters, always shadow themselves as well. The way the environments are lit easily tells you the mood of the level and the emotion of some events. It’s just the most beautiful lighting I’ve ever seen. There is a very, very slight problem with pop-up in background characters and an object or two, but it’s usually because they’re about to be cut out of the camera shot, anyway. Nevertheless, the effects are as stunning as the backgrounds. For one thing, they look 3D, when most games have flat-looking effects. And the literally light up the screen, even down to the cracks in the ground and folds in the characters’ clothing. They also glow accordingly. Flames and electricity give off a weak gleam, while explosions and special spells emit a raging radiance. Other effects that shouldn’t glow don’t, like ice and water, which is nice considering most developers just make everything light up. I hope you can get an accurate picture of how the game looks. If not, buy the game for yourself! It’s worth every penny!

Sound: 9.7 -- Beautiful music, excellent sound effects, and emotional dialog are all what good RPGs are meant to have. The music is simply the best I’ve ever heard in any PS2 game (so far). It fits the situation emotionally, physically, and based on the theme of the area. It even changes within the same area for some events. And it’s always charming, intense, or catchy. I also like the sudden change in the music during a boss or enemy battle. These tunes are very limited, unfortunately. Seriously, every normal enemy encounter has the exact same music, no matter where you are, except during a couple of huge climatic events, and it gets a little irritating. But I like the boss music. It’s almost always as deep and energetic as the battle itself. The sound effects, despite sounding awesome, could be better. In the state they are designed, they still rock, but arguably so. First off, when you run, you hear realistic footsteps, and it does vary amoung surfaces, like think dirt roads and clangy metallic floors, but it feels a little weak. And in battle, the slashes and thumps from attacks are also very believable. Basically, these are some very true-to-life sound effects. The problem is the volume. They often sound either unnaturally loud or surprisingly quiet. Explosions are about as loud as shutting a car door, and broken objects are more like a bat against a metal door, although you can’t notice this unless you focus on it and listen hard. Other than that, I don’t see (er, hear) any problems here. The dialog, however, is a slight problem. Oh yeah, it’s very dramatic and well-rehearsed and everything. You might even get choked up here and there. But I get pretty tired of having to keep the TV remote handy when someone starts talking. Yes, the dialog is dreadfully hushed. If you don’t have the volume loud enough, the music is likely to drown out the characters’ voices unless their all shouting. Thank goodness for subtitles. Other than a few volume issues and the enemy-strike music, the overall sound is near-perfect!

Handling: 9 -- I’ll admit it, this game is slightly faulty here. But even the greatest games on earth have their flaws. Well, the camera is a non-issue. You can’t adjust it, but it positions itself at a great angle in nearly every location, which allows you to see a nice amount of space. Plus, it scrolls alongside the path at the same pace as you, unless you’re entering a new area. I don’t like how it suddenly changes angles, because it can throw you off, but you learn to get used to it. There aren’t a whole lot of controls, either, which makes the game extremely simple and easy to play. Basically, you move around the environment during normal gameplay, occasionally pressing X to activate various commands, and in combat you select one of many battle commands. It doesn’t get much simpler than that, although you can do quite a lot of things with this. You can use spells and special abilities, or you can unleash powerful physical attacks. You also select which enemy you attack, and you can choose to change your mind before attacking. Oddly, this selection of targets includes your own teammates. That's right, you can attack your own allies (total betrayal)! All though it seems pointless, it's actually useful if a party member has Confusion (I'll get to that in a moment), and it's actually quite funny to see, but it can also cause mistakes, so be careful. Anyway, this Confusion I just mentioned is one of many ailments that give you a disadvantage, all while making combat more interesting and challenging. They range from Poison (which damages the unlucky victim after each of their turns) to Doom (this puts a count down on a victim and kills them when it reaches zero). Luckily, there are also many ways to heal these ailments, and you can often use them on your foes, provided they are not immune to it. Anyway, the combat system itself is uncomplicated yet efficient, and it does offer quite a load of different (and nearly unlimited) strategies for most enemy skirmishes. But the fact that you can’t dodge attacks gets annoying. Also, taking turns with everyone standing in place seems a little odd. But, I find it makes the game exceptionally unique compared to all the mindless ‘combat systems’ out there, and I kind of like it. In fact, it’s almost funny to watch the characters attack and take a beating as long as it doesn’t get too difficult. All in all, the combat system works—and it works very well, as long as you know how to use it. However, the most basic video game move is missing: there is no way to jump. I understand that jumping is unnecessary for the gameplay most of the time, but it is a royal pain to have to walk around even the slightest of bumps and such in the ground. I mean, why should you have to get out of your way to walk all the way around every crack when you would normally be able to jump (or even step) over it? Every other game on the market doesn’t even make you think about that, so why can’t FFX? It’s only a slight annoyance, at least, and there are a few X commands in the environment to fix that. But I don't take kindly to revisiting the starting menu if I were to fall. There are lots of save points in the environments, but they only serve to save your work. If your characters all die in battle, you get a big, fat GAME OVER message, and it's back to the starting menu. Wouldn't it be faster and easier to pick up right from your last save point? Also, if a teammate dies, you can't get another person to take his or her place; you are forced to revive them, or leave them. I really wish there was a way to take out KO'd allies and replace them with convenient ones, but oh well. So in the case of difficulty, this is one of the best games. Most games are rather unbalanced in the difficulty, whether it’s random, unprogressive, or unchanging. But I like how smoothly the transition from easy to hard shifts. The game starts effortless as all games should, gradually becomes intermediate, and then slowly turns tricky, which is how every game should be. In fact, as long as you’re keeping up with the pace of the difficulty, this normally isn’t a hard game to complete. It’s very long, yes, and some bosses are rather complicated, but it’s not hard to go back and get more experience. Even if you do get stuck, it’s likely that you’re underprepared, so don’t blame the game itself. But even with it’s displeasures included, this game plays pretty darn well.

Entertainment: 10 -- You can only expect a hyped-up FF to be addicting, and this game excels at it! It’s sort of like a delicious candy bar. If you just find out about it or watch others enjoy it, you can’t really get the affect. But if you try it for yourself, you’ll realize how amazing it is. Sure, you’ll get a little tired of it after a while, but it won’t belong before you’re back for more. It’s that fun to play. My sister and I couldn’t put it down for the first few weeks, which was almost a year ago, and to this day we’re still in love with it. Also, if you try to play another favorite after enough exposure to FFX, you will very likely get bored with it--fast. Running around and fighting monsters or watching emotional scenes may not sound all that fun, but there’s something about this game that makes it so desirable. Also, the many side quests, big and small, make the game that much more pleasing. It does get a little boring after a while, but after a few hours or so away from the game, you’ll be ready to give it another go. Just remember not to neglect the other necessities and joys of life, and you will experience one of the greatest RPG experiences to date.

Features: 10 -- With an RPG, you pretty much have to expect large quantities of substance. If you go to the game’s profile, you’ll be amazed at all the FAQs and how big they are! It’s an incredibly long storyline, for one thing, but it also features tons of customization and side quests. The game itself has at least 22 levels to visit, all of which are pretty darn big. Plus, there’s quite a lot to cover in most of them. So the plot itself will be at least 80 hours of gameplay, if you take your time and actually play it through thoroughly, not including the sidequests. Sometimes, though, it gets a little too long. Just when you think the game is about to end, BOOM! You uncover a whole new area and/or objective to do. That happened to me at least five times! But that's actually a good thing, because you know Square took their time with this and weren't in a hurry to finish it, especially considering the massive detail in every little thing. I'm surprised the PS2 could handle it on just one disc! But there is a problem with most of the levels: pure linear exploration. You usually get a long, compacted path with lots of boundaries, and you basically have to try and get to the end while fighting enemies and bosses, and to cover part of the storyline. There are usually some forks in these paths, and it's not as bad as you would expect. Besides, there are a handful of expansive areas that are not at all linear. You basically run from start to finish for the whole game, but you don't actually do much. Then again, there is already so much in the game, and a game can only hold so much. Anyway, there are a great deal of combat strategies and abilities you can use, and the list never seems to end. This brings me to the Sphere Grid. The Sphere Grid is a complex "map" of abilities and stats your characters can acquire, which are received by gaining experience so you can move across the map. Each character starts in his or her own spot on this map, which is adapted to their fighting style. Eventually, you can move the characters to other parts of the Sphere Grid and use the abilities of other characters. It’s a little confusing at first, but most people pick it up really quickly. There are also a good number of minigames to play. There’s Blitzball, the original FFX sport, but it’s a little more complicated than it needs to be. You can also ride Chocobos, the original big yellow FF birds, and complete a number of games and tasks with them. You can also unlock special items, weapons, and abilities to better suit combat circumstances. But the story is why this game is so spectacular. A select few ‘heroes’ go on a long quest (er, pilgrimage) to defeat Sin, a bringer or pain and suffering. There are so many plot twists that I lost track, which keeps the game fresh and suspensful, but I won’t spoil any of them for you. There’s quite a lot to this game, and it’s easy to spoil the pleasures of it all, so I’ll stop here.

Replay Value: High

Overall: 9.8 -- It looks like Square has done it again (back in 2001, of course). The cool gameplay and storyling alone would be enough to make you fall for this game, but the astounding graphics and sound added are enough to get you hooked for good. But it’s one of those things that shouldn’t be rushed, so take your time and enjoy.

THE BAD:
-If you die, you go back to your last save point. Meaning that if you die right after a long cutscene, you'll have to watch it again.
-Some of the Temples you have to go in to get a new Aeon can be complicated

SUMMARY:
Final Fantasy X, just one of the many Final Fantasy Games. This is a franchise that won't end soon. These games have always been known for their Next Generation Graphics and great stories. You'll be playing as Tidus this time around. The bold, yellow-haired protagonist.

Gameplay 10/10

The gameplay is quite well thought out. It's a traditional RPG with random battles that you'll encounter while walking in fields or dungeons. There's several different species of monsters, and lots of abilities for you to use. You eventually work your way up to 8 playable characters, but you can only use 3 at one time. If all 3 characters you are using in battle die, it's game over. The battle system is turned based, and each character has some unique abilities, for a while. Actually, when you level up, you can go to this Sphere Grid chart, and it's almost like a maze. Depending on where you go, depends on what abilities you gain. From just increasing stats to learning powerful Spells. You can cross over into another character's Sphere Grid Area, and learn some of the same abilities, so eventually, all the characters can learn everything. If you level up enough.

Graphics 12/10

If it was possible to get more than 10 of 10, then this game is the one to get it. The Final Fantasy Franchise has always been known to be at least 2 steps ahead of any game in the Graphics Department. It was released 6 years ago and still has better Graphics than most new games now. The main graphics are just slightly above normal, but it's the cutscenes that are superb. This game definitely scores remarkably in this section.

Music 10/10

There's plenty of nice music to listen to while you're adventuring. Whether it's exploring a town, walking in a dungeon, fighting monsters, or just wandering the fields. All the music is great and enjoyable.

Story 10/10

The Story is original to say the least. You start by playing as Tidus, and eventually find yourself among this group who is trying to Defeat a monster named Sin. Sin is a giant creature that represents the Sin of Mankind, and it isn't a good thing for any city when Sin shows up. The cities are far advanced too. Incredibly huge, almost as if it was the year 3,000.

Overall 42/40

Bottom line, this game wins. It's just part of a Classic Series with incredible graphics that are going to be hard to beat. Anyone who enjoys RPG's should love this game, and the graphics just add to the incredibility of it. The battle system is great, the music is good, and the story isn't faulty in any way. This game may be 6 years old, but it still ranks high above many others. It's part of the greatest hits on the PS2 now, and can be found for a mere $20. A small fraction of what it's worth.

THE BAD:
Cutscenes usually end up being way to long and if you die and don't want to watch them again you will have to sit through it all over again.

If your three characters that are out on the field die you fail the game even if you still have others available for use.

SUMMARY:
The story is one of the best I've seen in many games and although it's quite hard to follow at the start you will understand it after some time of play.

Final Fantasy X starts of with Tidus, the main character, telling a story and it ends up taking you to his hometown of Zanarkand. Tidus is about to head off to a game of Blitz Ball. During the game mysterious attacks happen throughout the city and Tidus ends up meeting Auron, an old friend, to fend off the monsters.

That's where your first battle comes in. The battles are turn based and I don't like those types very much. Reason being is that they sometimes end up being slow.

Tidus is then teleported to a different land known as Spira, which is where you will continue the rest of your quest on the game. Tidus is determined to return to Zanarkand and be reunited with his family.

Blitz Ball, one of the greatest mini games ever in my opinion. The gameplay of one of the games is very easy to do. I'd say you learn the controls for it in about 15-25 minutes which is a short time considering how great a game it is. The game is similar to soccer but you can use your hands to handle the ball around. It is kind of hard to dribble a ball with your feet underwater. This is one of the most addicting mini games I have ever played. I'm at about 40 hours of gameplay and probably about half of it just Bltiz Ball.

Sphere Grid option allows you to upgrade your characters and it will allow you to increase certain things like the HP or MP to be greater. It's on of the best things for the game because even if you don't want to upgrade your character for some reason you don't have to, it's all choice.

Graphics for a 2002 game are really good. No, not just good excellent. Even the normal scenes are crisp and they look really good. But what is really astounding is that for certain special occasions the graphics are increased.

Summonings return in this game and I think a few previously seen are also included into the game. Each one has it's own special traits that are useful for different situations. I think it's great that there are so many so you can really think out your strategies. Though most of the time they make battle to easy so they make your game time somewhat shorter.

The thing that I didn't like at all from this game is that the cutscenes usually ended up being to long. I recall a time that there was a five minute cutscenes and immediately afterwards is a hard battle. Unfortunately I died and had to watch it over again various time until I could beat the battle simply because I couldn't skip the scene.

If you exclude my previous statement this a perfect game. It's something you should play if you like any Final Fantasy games, RPG games, or are just looking for something to pass the time as this game probably has about 80 hours easy if you try to do everything.

THE BAD:
If you start a new game you cant use old data, other than that everything is perfect oh wait too many cut scenes, Yuna talks to much

SUMMARY:
well from the first time I turned on this game I knew that people were not going to see me for days. I mean the story line to this game is amazing, not to mention there is a lot of great music in the game. The only thing that I didn't like was the lengthy cut scenes, but you cant have everything just perfect can we. Well the ending is a little disappointing but I think there was a reason for that because they came out with that shameful 10-2, well enough about that. I have to say that one of the best parts of the game is that even after you beat sin there is still a lot that you can do. there is still all of the map locations like Omega runes that you can got to where you can fight Omega. but make sure you are strong enough because there are no save spheres after the begging of the dungeon, so if you did along the way there is nowere to save all the leveling you do in the dungeon with all the experience you get from the battles. If you have double action points or break damage ect.. make sure you are have them on before you enter. One of my favorite parts of the game is catching fiends for the arena so you can test your metal against the strongest creatures in the game, some of the monsters in the arena are harder than the boss fights. I love being able to play blitz ball I have to say that I have spent hours just playing blitz and nothing else. well what can I say I got hooked the first time I played at that tournament in Luca. Well I have also spent a lot of time catching fiends for not only the prizes but for also the challenges you get to face when you catch them all. But I still have more of them that I need to catch if I wanna get the final creature in the arena. Well two things that I don't like is how you have to dodge 200 lightning bolts to get lulus siggle and also how you have to race to get a time of 0.00 in the chocobo catcher to get Tidus's siggle. Well I'm going to work on it regardless because I cant get everything In the game if I don't. Did anyone else notice that Yuna is kinda a goody goody type of person? well she is almost annoying at times especially when we see the sphere of her last will. This game is worth buying it is a must have for all the final fantasy fans out there.

THE BAD:
The amount of cutscenes, and also the length of them.

SUMMARY:
Final Fantasy X is an absolute must-have for any avid RPG playing enthusiast. An exciting storyline, amazing graphics, and the amount of gameplay required to finish this game are what make this game one of the greatest RPG games ever. Like other Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy X has a leveling up system, but this time it's different; this time Squaresoft (now SquareEnix) have created the Sphere Grid. Each time you level up after a battle, you receive one Sphere Level, which moves you one place along on the Sphere Grid. Nodes populate this grid, letting you level up specific attributes like Strength, Agility, Defence, etc. In Final Fantasy X, you are in complete control of your character's attributes. Another characteristic of Final Fantasy games that has also made it to this game is the fantastic storyline. In this Final Fantasy game you are Tidus, a rising Blitzball player from Zanakand. His city is attacked by a rather large monster named Sin. With the help of a quiet man named Auron, Tidus is sucked up into Sin and when he wakes up, he is in a place that he has never seen before. He finds out that he is in the world of Spira, a place that is basically living in the stone ages. He meets a summoner named Yuna, who he falls in love with, and finds out that she is training to defeat Sin. That is all I will say about the storyline, as I do not want to spoil it. When you start playing this game you will be instantly hooked for a long time. This brings me to another point: the length of the game. Final Fantasy X, like all other Final Fantasy games, is really long. When I first completed it, it took me 70 hours. There is just so much to do: you can battle monsters to level up your characters for as long as you want, you can undertake side-quests for stronger weapons, and you can also take on the Dark Aeons, the strongest enemies in the game. The graphics for this game are awesome. Since this was one of the first games to come out on the PS2, the game is pretty old but the graphics still rival the newer PS2 games. The CG cutscenes are just brilliant. The graphics almost look lifelike. This unfortunately brings up a bad point for the game, but it is the only one: the length of the cutscenes. The cutscenes take up almost half of the game in terms of an average play time. There is a lot of talking that gets annoying, especially when you are on your second playthrough. When you play it for the first time you don't notice it as much, but when you are playing through the game again, it gets frustrating. All games usually have something that will be bad for the game, but with so many good characteristics, it doesn't really matter. I'm giving this game 4.5/5, only taking 0.5 off for the length of the cutscenes. If you are mildly interested in RPG games, get this game. Get it now!