Quote Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover View Post
FFX is a good game.

Unlike FFVIII and IX, it didn't throw the majority of the party under a bus. It gave each character their own arc and conflict to overcome and they remained relevant from start to finish. It also avoids the common flaw of FF games - the flaw of "why the hell are they even in the party?" - by having a common objective from the start of the game.
Yes yes yes. All correct. I'm really enjoying my current playthrough of FFIX, but having played FFX earlier this year I can see the distinction between FFIX's and FFX's party make-up.


The game does a fabulous job with atmosphere, establishing this bright and colorful world that is simultaneously also the darkest and most depressing world ever seen in an FF game.
Yes, the world is fabulous and some of the small details really bring it to life (so to speak). For instance, the city sunk under the Moonflow or Maechen's history lessons really add a lot of intrigue and tone. Coupled with the soundtrack, FFX is bliss at times.

The soundtrack was fantastic and contains some of the best pieces ever heard in the series.
FFX is probably my favourite soundtrack in the series. It's magic.

Man, the thing is is that I simultaneously love and dislike FFX. I don't know what it is. The world is beautiful and immersive, but at the same time playing through the actual stages (ie: running in a straight line or solving awful sphere puzzles) is pure tedium.

The battle system is my favourite of the 'real' FF games (the first ten, FYI) but the game itself doesn't throw a lot of challenges at the player to really make it shine, outside of a few bosses.

The adventure is focused and relatively short, but the areas and random battles draaaaaag out so long to make what is effectively 20-25 hours of content into 40-50.

It all makes me think of the Mi'ihen Highroad area. I love the look, the style, the music, the chillin' atmosphere, running toward the horizon while people go about their business, etc, but the actual part of my brain that's parsing it as gameplay is just raging at how uninteresting it is. I'm bored as a player, but once I move on to the next section I think about how enjoyable it was (even though it wasn't).

I realize I've stopped making sense. It's just that I don't think it's possible for me to be more ambivalent toward a game and not be able to put coherent words to what I'm thinking.