I didn't talk about a spooky game challenge this year because I'm playing the scariest game of them all:


In all seriousness, the job class thread had me thinking that my memory of X-2 is so foggy that maybe I should suck it up and actually try to play it again. Hell let's 100% this nonsense so I have less reason to ever replay it. I finished the game maybe two years after it released despite getting it not long after it came out because I'm not going to turn down a job system. Two years later I said smurf it and powered my way through to the end just to say I finished it. I couldn't even tell you my completion ratio. I'm sure it was in the 70s at best.

So now I've started a new playthrough. I'm playing the original version because my loathing of the Spira entries makes it obvious I didn't race out and pick up the HD collection. So no Last Mission, no two new dresspheres, and no monster collecting. Just boring old 2002 FFX-2 vanilla on the PS2. For the most part, this will not be as in-depth as other threads I do. I'm not going to put in the research like I do for my on-again-off-again FFV Let's Play. I'll likely do something similar to the The Zodiac Age thread with a plus and negative list. I have no delusions that this playthrough will make me like this game, but I'm hoping to come out of it with some level of appreciation. It's been so long, I've forgotten a lot. I will also be using a guide for this 100% completion because smurf this game and its obtuse requirements. I do imagine I will occasionally write up my general thoughts about the job classes though since it's the feature I like the most from the game.

I am currently in Chapter 1. I've collected the Black Mage dressphere, but I'm skipping past the two story missions and doing smaller ones instead. I finished Luca and saw Yuna explain what she was doing during the prologue. Mi'hen Highroad, and just reached the Youth League Headquarters.

Pros:
  • I do appreciate Shinra's glossary. Got me caught up on things quick.
  • I do like the contrast of Yuna narrating the plot in a nod to Tidus doing the same in the original.
  • While an non-traditional set of classes. The starting classes do get you in the thick of things.
  • Thief is a far better class in this game than it deserves to be. I feel like people at Square just love thieves for some reason.
  • I like being able to learn abilities midbattle.
  • While my general feelings of the FFX cast has always been either indifference of loathing, I do find Brother amusing for some reason.


Cons:
  • Man the male gaze in custscenes is creepy.
  • I wish I could shut off battle dialogue. The puns are going to kill me.
  • I can't figure out what the issue is, but I just don't feel like the classes have a lot of weight to them. Warrior and Black Mage feel underpowered to me, except they're not. I can't put my finger on what the issue is.
  • I'm still debating whether the combo system is a great idea or a terrible one. On the one hand, it adds a bit of strategy to combat, on the other it undermines the speed of the combat that is often praised.
  • I'm still not sold on the Garment Grid mechanic. I just feel it slows the combat down too much for meager rewards I would have been happier being added back to the jobs. Not exactly happy to know magic staples like Flare, Holy, and Ultima are locked behind a Garment Grid I'm going to have to waste several turns in battle to class change for the opportunity to use the spells. The early ones are especially annoying because you get accessories that grant access to some of the same magic and gives you statistical and defensive bonuses as well. Like I'm fine being limited to what you can access in battle but the bonus system doesn't seem worth it to me at the moment.