 IntroI actually picked this game up in Japan back in April, so I'd played through maybe 25% by the time it was released in the USA. It's a fun game, but if you're not 100% fluent in Japanese (and I'm still not), it's almost impossible to get through. I got the English version as soon as it came out (Nov 19, 2003), so now I'm able to spend all my time enjoying instead of working at understanding. |
| Warning! Final Fantasy games are largely aimed at girls in Japan. Guys here generally don't know that, but with X-2, it couldn't be more obvious! Therefore, I'm a little afraid that this game might not go over well... (not enough girls play games here!) Aside from the silly music, I LOVE the fashion and all the other stuff that the game focuses on. However, I think for the most part it's still a lot like FFX. If FFX was too girly for you, then X-2 is not for you. |
| Characters This game's all about Yuna, Rikku, and a new girl called Paine. You do meet a lot of the other characters from the original FFX too, but you only play as the 3 girls. Yuna and Rikku you should know, and aside from the outfits and Yuna's fighting style, not much has changed. Paine, the new girl, is kinda boring... I hope she gets a little more interesting. She's the serious, quiet, no-nonsense type. (i.e. boring!) |
| No voice acting is really bad in X-2, but some of it isn't quiet right either. I especially think Rikku's got the wrong voice. The English voice seems so plain after hearing the Japanese voice acting which was absolutely amazing because it was so unique that it added something special to the character. |
| Speaking of Rikku, how cool is she now?! I absolutely love the new look, and as silly as she is, she's really not that annoying. I think she may now be as popular (maybe more!) than Yuna in Japan. |
| Yuna's not as wild as you'd think... she's still pretty shy and quiet. And she's not as athletic as you'd think either... if you haven't seen her run yet, you'll have a good laugh when you finally do. (she runs like SUCH a girl ^_^) |
| Storyline Yuna, Rikku, and Paine are Sphere hunters. Remember from FFX... Spheres are little balls with movies inside. There are lots of lost Spheres around the world, and the girls are looking to learn more about Spira's past. More importantly, they found one Sphere which looks like it's Tidus somehow trapped after FFX. |
| Aside from Sphere hunting, most of your time is spent revisiting various locations on Spira and discovering what's been happening in the 2 years since FFX (and that's what's best about this game!). It's a very laid back game in which you spent a lot of time wandering around doing whatever feel like doing. |
| Gameplay The gameplay is really a lot like FFX, except that the battles are real-time, so you really have to think fast because your characters and the monsters are attacking all the time. That can get a bit hectic, and you tend to not use all of your abilities as much as you could or should. |
| As for the jumping, climbing, and all that stuff that's new to this game, don't get too excited or worried... there's almost nothing to it... there's not much of it, and it really doesn't affect the game very much. |
| Strategy Guide I don't like Brady, but they're the only ones who are allowed to do guides for the FF games. This new one isn't really all that bad. And more so than in other games, this FFX-2 is SO deep that you really have to get a guide unless you don't mind missing a lot of the game's details. You could use a FAQ, but how annoying is that? Playing with the guide (even if it is Brady), should make the game more enjoyable. |