Afterthoughts on X-2

[CVFreak]

I got X-2 christmas 2004 and never played it past chapter 1 back then because I was sucked into 11 alot after that, anyway after ordering the international version ( because I played through x and wanted international and also decided to get both as a combo when finding out about all the added stuff ) I finaly decided to do a test run of the NA version last week ( to prepare for the tedious task of the kanji version ) and since playing both back to back for the last month I have some new views on the two games.

I love X the more I play it now, I think X is probably my favorite in the series next to 5 ( because of the jobs ), but I felt that X ( int helps this area ) missed alot of "end game" content or sidequests, the monster capturing while time consuming is nothing compared to the wealth of stuff X-2 has in it, but they are both very diferent games world aside, I mean the battle engine and story have changed vastly compared to what x was...or did it ?

I must confess I have not got 100% on my first play through, in fact I only got around 77% but that is what new game + is for, anyway its safe to say there is still tons of hours for me to fully explore x-2 to its fullest but one thing I have noticed is alot of people bash ( and I am perfectly ok with anyones opinion even if they think x-2 is /xxx.gif/xxx.gif/xxx.gif/xxx.gif ) x-2 saying its all slutty women and a happy cheery mood, that yuna has changed etc, now I wont argue that the characters have changed, they have but to say x-2 is a disney childs mood story I personaly believe is false, in fact I would say looking back that SOME of x-2 is much much more sinister or dark than what x was.

I wont branch fully into x story here but one of the things I loved was how they basicly expose "organised" religion for ignorant brainwashed sheep of spira to be hypocrisy, how we learn that waka opens his mind in the end and there is alot of reflection to real world issues ( even his racist views toward rikku ) around that part of the game, hell auron is full of bitter spite when it comes to yevon for most of the game and we learn the truth in the end, I really did love this part of the story.

Getting back to X-2, as I said I was not sucked into X-2 at the start and it took me getting to chapter 2 to fall in love with it ( and of course the fact dark knight is put up to where it belongs unlike how they butchered it in 11 ), infiltrating bevelle is what did it for me.

The minute you enter high bridge and enter the main building and revisit the cloister you know something in this game has changed, that the mood has taken a much sicker and twisted turn of events and it only gets more horrible as you go along. While X exposed Yevon for being corrupt bastards, it does not exactly go to the depths ( literly 100 hehe ) that x-2 does even the music in this part is pretty haunting ( try putting disquiet track on a hq system and wow its pretty nasty and mood filled and secrets ), this whole damn area is so cool to me and I am sure what is in this game is not nearly all of the secrets this place holds. For those of you who have played this I think you know the scope and how dark this place really is, especialy a certain part with banners and things flying around, for me the whole place makes this game and I never got sick of that late game side quest.

This game for alot of parts does have an upbeat mood and tons of humor, personaly I did laugh out loud at some of the parts in this game, and again looking back I really think SE got the mood switching parts just right, like how chapter 1 is then 2 then it switches back to humor etc, yea most is upbeat I admit but I do believe chapter 2 is much darker then some of what x had in it.

Thoughts ?

And I personaly hold x-2 as one of my fav ff titles now, it just took a playthrough to get into more for me.

[Renmiri]

Aye... A frequent joke on the thread "You know you played too much X-2 when" is

.. when you start liking the game.

The game definitely takes some getting used to. The J-pop soundtrack. The "Charlie's Angels / girly feel. Only 3 playable characters, all female....

I like it a lot but X is still my favorite. But yeah, the battle engine in X-2 is better than in X and Dark Mage is a sweet armor (I refuse to call them dresspheres). And I even got to like some of the soundtrack. Guess I played it too much already ;)

[Del Murder]

I didn't feel I wasted my money on it.

[~SapphireStar~]

Enjoyed every last minute of it.

[Armisael]

Enjoyed every last minute of it.

Me too! Awesome game!

[Sefie1999AD]

I had fun playing the game. It wasn't excellent or as good as many other FFs, IMHO, but it had its enjoyable parts, such as exploring the world of Spira, the characters and the battle system with the return of the Job System and the fast-paced ATB battles.

[Venom]

50.00 down the drain.:(

[The Real Dark Messenger]

I really liked the game, but something... I dunno... was missing.
Maybe it was the fact that only 3 characters were playable, maybe is was the feel of, maybe the music...
One thing I do know - I wanted to find Tidus all the way - so I enjoyed it!

[Tavrobel]

I've played it nineteen times through, and I've only made back twenty-seven cents. Gross, not net.

[The Infinite Telomerase]

Why would you play a game you don't particularly like 19 times? I struggle to get through games that I consider pretty decent more than once.

I thought FFX-2 was pretty decent for what it was. It's insanely easy (not that I expect a challenge from FF games now days but even so..), recycled FFX models like there was no tomorrow and the plot is a little 'iffy' to say the least but it was quite fun to play and a welcome departure from recent FF titles that take themselves far too seriously.

Plus it's non-linear. Can't argue with non-linear.

[Setzer Gabianni]

It was alright. Can't stand the main 3 characters so..I kinda focused on enjoying the Yevon vs Youth League rivalry.

~Setzer Gabbiani

[Dynast-Kid]

I had fun playing the game. It wasn't excellent or as good as many other FFs, IMHO, but it had its enjoyable parts, such as exploring the world of Spira, the characters and the battle system with the return of the Job System and the fast-paced ATB battles.

[Chocobo_Knight]

Hmmm X-2. I personally think it was based on much fanfare after X. There wasn't a proper-game-development feel to the game. It was fun initially, but then becomes rather drab when all one does is go on missions. It's not cohesive and the storyline can get rather confusing.

Charlie-Angels feel definitely a big turn off for me hahaha. And I wasn't used to not controlling a single male character :(

Dressing up was fun though!

[XandrewX]

I think that X-2 was created on because to have an ending of Yuna and Tidus together...Shuyin and Lenne was simply created just because they had no stories to tell left...

[loza]

Enjoyed every last minute of it.

same but tha story sucked...

[Breine]

I had fun playing the game. It wasn't excellent or as good as many other FFs, IMHO, but it had its enjoyable parts, such as exploring the world of Spira, the characters and the battle system with the return of the Job System and the fast-paced ATB battles.

My words exactly. I appreciated it for what it was and really enjoyed it.

[Little Blue]

I enjoyed the game and the story immensely, especially the ronso / guado arc. It was relatively easy to complete, much quicker than any other FF I've played which makes it a very good game for me to play when I'm bored since missions usually only take about 10 minutes to half hour to complete which fitted in beautifully with other stuff I was doing. But then I realised it was supposed to be continuing FFX, which then made me sad...

[Kalinda]

Wow.. I'm surprised there isn't a lot of "It totally sucked!" bashing here...

X-2 is my guilty FF pleasure... really, it's far from perfect.. but I love it anyway and look past its faults.

Critcally, I'd probly give it a 7.5/10; it had a great story but they didn't put enough effort into it to remove some of the gaping plot holes/unanswered questions... Actually, the whole thing really lacks in effort... except for the battle system and voice acting and whatnot... but the game itself.... yeah... I wish they'd devoted some more of the optional missions to expanding the story instead of to stuff that didn't matter much.

Really, it's true that they were trying to cash in on X's success.. but I'm glad they did it because it opened the door for things like Kingdom Hearts 2, which they might not have done otherwise. And that was a GREAT game :D And while in XII they are scantily clad, I believe that stronger female characters is a direct result of X-2. I note that XIII's heroine isn't wearing skimpy clothing, either.

The only problem with it is that it also encourages them to make sequels without much effort... like, I haven't played any of them.. but from what I've heard, an awful lot of the FF7 games are pretty crappy... and I don't think Advent Children was anywhere near as good as it could've been... Sequels are fine, so long as they are good games. I can excuse X-2 because it was their first try and was an experiment... but I still want them to make good games, games as good as regular numbered FFs.

[silentenigma]

A couple of years ago I played and completed Final Fantasy X.

Then I played and completed Final Fantasy X-2 (99%) some 9 months later. I never thought it was all that good anyway, and the only "fun" parts were the battles, if you can call that fun.

Now about a month ago I decided to replay Final Fantasy X just for fun, because the way the story goes with the foreshadowing, it's a good game to play over. The thought that FFX-2 took a lot away from FFX was always in the back of my mind. But when I reached the part in the game where Tidus says "listen to my story, this may be our last chance" (just like in the introduction) and I thought about FFX-2 where there were a bunch of tourists standing there, I thought to myself, "Boy, did FFX-2 ruin the atmosphere of FFX and everything the game accomplished."

also, in order to maintain the overall theme of FFX, Tidus should have stayed dead, which makes FFX-2 a pointless game to make in the first place.

[daiyu]

Yeah I'm also impressed by how balanced this discussion is.

Looking back I suppose I was mainly impressed by the work they did with Yuna's character -- right up to the final cutscene sequence before her fight with Vegnagun (with the interjections from Auron, Braska, etc) , which I found to be a more moving "ending" than either the normal or special FMVs.

As Kalinda notes too many of the side missions had absolutely nothing to do with the plot: this largely negated the advantages of having a non-linear game structure, and I ended up actually missing FFX's linearity. This was a particular problem in Chapter V, when I had a hard time stringing together the missions together in a way that led thematically into the endgame (the Zanarkand, ViaInfinito, Luca, Gagazet, and Besaid missions cohere pretty nicely, the others are simply random battle missions or just pointless, best I can tell). I wonder whether anyone has come up with a preferred order for completing the Chapter V missions...

[Rinion]

I was not challenging enough. I like game that are very challenging. Gives you more to strive for. Games that require thinking and pondering. This game left much to be desired.

Don't get me wrong, overall it was a great game. But I just didn't find it as interesting as X , or for that matter most of the Final Fantasy series. But it had it's moments. Good game, not a waste of money, but still would be easy to improve.

[Old Manus]

FFX-2 was awful. Refer to THE TRUTH thread to find out why.

[Christmas]

FFX-2 was awful. Refer to THE TRUTH thread to find out why.

This lice is only upset cause there aren't enough scenes of Brother to satisfy his lust.

[FallenAngel411]

I'm afraid the mew really didn't like this game at all. We got bored halfway through and kept playing just to find Tidus, and when we did, we hated Square for actually bringing him back. Tidus should have stayed dead for the sake of emotional impact! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DAYS WHEN THEY VALUED STORY OVER MONEY?? 3:<

[samantha]

the only thing i dont like is how its sety up my people bary did any thing the first time i played and i powened the last boss its kinda bad when the desert boss is harder than the one to beat the game.... i like ffx's set up better....

[Melodies_of_life]

I, personally, loved the game. To me more of the story lies within the game itself other than in only the missions.
The main thing that I liked about it is that you had a lot of freedom in it unlike X, I am not saying that X isn't good, because it is good.
I really love the way X-2 ended because the way X ended was kind of depressing, it was to me anyway.

And another thing, did you know that it is possible to get 100 percent complete on the first play through.

[Tabris]

Great post, CVFreak. I have to admit, I didn't really learn the appreciate and enjoy the game until I reached chapter five. It wasn't really until then I saw the brillance of the battle system, how flexible it was when you had the grids, the DS' and the accessories - with those, you could make almost anything.

X is my favourite game, and Spira is my favourite game world. Therefore, I always loved X-2 simply for the fact that I was able to explore Spira further. However, some of the dialogue and girliness still makes me cringe. (And as a woman, I am offended if SE thinks this is what "we" like).

Plotwise, I have to admit that I'm not too impressed. I loved the New Yevon/Youth League fractions, and the dynamics between them. (But I found it rather silly that a J-pop concert was all it took to make them forget their differences). But I didn't much care for the Shuyin/Lenne-plot, it felt too random and far out. Personally, I would've preferred if they delved deeper into the canon background mentioned in X: history of Yevon, machina war, Mi'ihen etc etc.

Ok, so I know Vegnagun was a part of the machina war history, but it was sort of a completely new thing being introduced.

[Changsta]

Iunno... I found it to be painfully easy...
The only difficult part was killing the aeons...
But i loved X's storyline... the ending made me cry lol
so yah I had to play it
It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as X
well... in my eyes anyways.
It's interesting to look back and notice how Square was deviating from the normal battle system, making way for XII
though it'd be nice to have a new FF with the oldschool battle system...

X2 was a good idea but it just didn't really feel like an actual FF...
Kinda like Dirge of Cerberus and VII.

[Materia Hunter Yuffie]

It was fun for what it was... a sequel... I don't expect much from them anymore. Once I got into the game I had fun playing it. The piano thing ticked me off though. I think it was more for the girl fans who wanted Yuna to get Tidus back. (which i'm guilty....) But I wish they would have had a different approach to it. Yuna couldn't possibly change that much in two years, come on now. She was my favorite character and I loved her Kimono-like outift in X.

[Nasarian Altimeros]

FFX-2 succeeds in what it was trying to achieve more than any other FF game in the series. It's basically the Majora's Mask of Final Fantasy (ie awesome).

[silverjunky]

I actually really liked x-2, the battle sysytem and job system thing was great, but i do have to admit that i spent most of my time playing x-2 for the battles wich were just grand fast paced and flashy, the story was a bit slapdash, and cobbled together, but it also introduced some fun lil characters, and opened others up i loved leblanc and brother. "full speed ahead!"
Compared to ffx it had its good and bad points, x annoyed me with its so linear plot and gameplay, even the "sidequests" were pretty dismal. X2 opened things up a hell of a lot more.
Best bit for me Bevelle via infinito, i have played the game completly four times now and still havent achieved full oversouling of all possible fiends.
Then again im a perfectionist player so i love games where you have to achieve completion points and stuff.