Final Fantasy X PS2 Review

An unstoppable evil is terrorising Spira. A giant beast known as Sin has amazing power and is destroying every living soul on the face of the earth. Every 10 years a gifted individual called a summoner sets out on a pilgrimage to beat Sin. Take control of a summoner and her guardians as they battle the most unlikely enemies on a quest, a quest for peace. Final Fantasy 10, the story of two people brought together by love and fate.

Graphics

Finally the Final Fantasy series is brought onto the PS2 but who could have imagined a game as amazingly detailed as this. The graphics are outstanding and beat most of the current games out now even though it was released in 2002. The detail is truly superb with even the most tiny things having lots of attention paid to them. Like the swaying of the leaves in the breeze or the clouds moving. This is not a game to rush through without admiring these amazing backgrounds. They run together so smoothly that you can see that the animators’ hearts and souls have been put into this title.

There is so much going on that in one video scene you might not even notice such things as the characters actually blinking. The most amazing video scene has to be the Tidus and Yuna twelve-minute scene by the lake. Like I said a superb amount of detail has been put into this so when you get a chance just stop running and look around at the beautiful scenery; the leaves moving and the water trickling down the hills. The video scenes are also very well connected with the game so you won’t have to worry about waiting for a video to load for about 5 minutes.

Gameplay

Although nothing can even compare to the amazing Final Fantasy 7, this game has a very involving plot. One thousand years ago man made war on each other using tools known as machina, guns cannons and other high tech weapons. They destroyed each other until one day a creature created itself, a creature so powerful it had the power to destroy all of mankind and that is exactly what it set out to do. This creature known as Sin created itself to stop mankind obliterating itself. Unfortunately its way of getting the message across was to do that itself.

People tried to get rid of this gigantic monster with machina but this was what Sin had been made to destroy. Everyone who faced it did not live to tell the tale until one day a man called Yevon set out to get rid of machina so they could truly destroy Sin. The Faith were then born – souls of people who had died who had passed on their power to a summoner. A summoner has the power to use beasts to aid him or her in their quest. These aeons as they are called are still weak compared to Sin so the summoner must go to the ruins of Zanarkand where they will find the final aeon, the only beast known ever to get rid of Sin!

Although this final aeon is the second strongest creature in Spira it is still not enough to stop Sin permanently. Sin will always come back in the form of the final aeon ten years after its defeat. This ten-year period where Sin is not haunting all the souls of Spira is called the calm. It is a time when people can relax and enjoy themselves but always knowing that one-day Sin will come back.

When the world got rid of its machina there were some that still believed they were OK. This group of people called the Al Bhed broke away from other humans and created there own little world away from everyone else. They made there own language and continued to use machina as an every day item. These Al Bhed are the reason Sin still exists but they refuse to give up their ways. As you will find out in the game you can never predict these people and never trust them but sometimes you just have to go with your gut instinct.

You can never believe that you are always safe though because even though you think you have beaten the evil you do not know how much more evil is out there. On your quest to defeat this evil you will: meet characters with hidden personalities and secrets, fight beasts known as fiends who are souls from the unsent dead and uncover people’s true selves as you guard Yuna, the only one who can destroy Sin.

Each character has a mysterious link to everyone else and they must discover these links for themselves. Tidus will have a long and hard struggle as he tries to rid the world of evil guarding Yuna at the same time.

Characters you can expect to come across:

Tidus – A fun loving blitzball player who manages to warp himself to another dimension with the help of Sin but what relation does he have to this beast?

Yuna – A shy and quiet woman who has to follow in her fathers footsteps and temporarily defeat Sin but what secrets does she know that she is not telling Tidus and why?

Wakka: A blitzball player who is the captain of the Besaid Aurochs. He still cannot get over the loss of his brother Chappu who was killed at the hands of Sin. What feelings does he have for Lulu?

Lulu: A stern yet soft woman who is not afraid to say what she thinks and tries to convince everyone else that she is right. She has some feelings for Wakka but has still failed to convince him that his brother Chappu is gone forever.

Auron: A wise man who does not reveal a lot of his personality. He knows a lot but does not tell anyone of these deep, dark secrets that are too shocking for most. He is an expert sword fighter and also was a guardian for Yuna’s father Braska!

Kimhari: A member of the Ronso tribe, this fierce beast does not share his feelings with anyone and will only ever think of talking to Yuna who he has guarded since her birth.

Rikku: The youngest in the group, this fun loving individual is also a master at item mixing. She is an Al Bhed and also turns out to be Yuna’s cousin amazingly!

The amazingly hard to master mini game blitzball is a major part of Spira. Blitzball tournaments are held every year in Luca where thousands of people hurry to catch a game with some of the most skilled people in the entire world competing. Tidus and Wakka are blitzball players and you will get to play as them when playing the mini game. Like I said earlier though you are going to have a hard time mastering it. It is made slightly easier by the fact that you can upgrade your characters playing levels which will gain them new skills.

Sound

This game truly takes music to a whole new level. Nobuo Uematsu has composed some of the greatest music ever to be heard in this game. With all different styles of music this game is truly nothing without it. From the heavy metal sound of “other world” to the most amazing classical music piece “Suteki Da Ne” which translates to “isn’t it beautiful” which it truly is, this music has surpassed any other games’ music. The music is also amazingly linked so you might not even notice it changing.

The sound effects are a big part of the game as always and you can actually hear the trees sway in the wind if you listen very carefully. Of course the most important sound effects in this game are the voice-overs. Yes in this game the characters actually speak rather than dialogue just being displayed in annoying little boxes which block your view of the scene. This is a wonderful feature to the game and should not be taken for granted.

Lifespan

The continual battles can become annoying at times but the thrill of the plot should be enough to keep you running down that long stretch of road. This is one of those games you may get stuck on quite often but this should not put you off because there is always a way to overcome something even if it seems impossible.

Overall

A truly fantastic game, which is going to keep you busy for months with all its features. It is definitely worth buying now that it has come down in price and has been made platinum. See if you can get hold of the bonus DVD that comes with some editions so that you can enjoy the interviews with such people as Nobuo and the voice of Tidus.

9 out of 10