It was bittersweet. I was shocked by the sad ending initially, and kept waiting for the "surprise - he's alive!" throughout the credits. I had only previously played Final Fantasy VII and IX, and of course we were eventually treated to the happy-ending-after-much-suspenseful-waiting in the latter. There were sad moments in VII as well, but over all the story had a happy ending. So with just those two under my belt at the time I first played X, I was definitely stunned by the ending. "What? That can't seriously be it? He's really just a dream, and is now gone forever?" Yeah, I'm a dude and I got tears in my eyes. I'll admit it. On the one hand, it was more "realistic" I suppose in that stories don't always have happy endings. But then we don't generally play fantasy games in order to experience real world unhappy endings, do we?

Anyway, on the topic of X-2 - since others brought it up - I find myself agreeing mostly with ANGRYWOLF. Almost everyone I've ever met that didn't like X-2 was either a guy, or they didn't even play the game or only played a little bit (i.e., got as far as dress spheres before saying "eff this!"). I'm not saying all guys don't like it, but most people that don't like it seem to be guys.

Anyway, I played thru X-2 twice just to get the perfect ending and - well - I went through more tissues on that one than I did with X. So personally, I loved both games, and have played through them a few times. Unfortunately, I never get the same feeling from the endings as I did the first time, but man I could hardly breathe I was so choked up when I finally got that perfect ending.

And in an effort to avoid spoilage while also defending SE against those that say they ruined X's ending... what's so horrible about being granted a wish? I mean it's a fantasy game after all, and magic abounds. We accept fantastic settings like the blitzball stadium and that people can turn into monsters if they aren't sent to the other side, but it's too hard to accept the fayth could use their immense magical powers to grant Yuna's one wish?