Last post of the week - and of the main FFX-2 game. Thank you SO MUCH everyone for reading and commenting
Summary: Some final thoughts on Final Fantasy X-2.
Protagonists
Yuna: A major strength. This was finally her story. I mean, FFX was her story too in my opinion, but X-2 focuses on it. She’s the protagonist, and what a wonderful protagonist at that. It’s a difficult thing to show a major character change from one game to the next and still maintain the core of what made that character great, but FFX-2 achieved it.
YRP art by ohheydj, posted by djinn87.
Rikku: Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing for Rikku. Rather than building on Rikku’s loyalty and strength as her core traits, X-2 focused on her silliness. She often acted like she was eight. This wasn’t always the case – and it wasn’t always a negative! – but it disappointed me.
Paine: Love her. Possibly my favorite part of Paine was how organically she was developed into the framework of characters we already knew (Yuna and Rikku). There wasn’t a huge exposition dump about who she was. We only uncovered that gradually, through the Crimson Spheres and her interaction with the other Gullwings.
She started out a bit one-note, gruff and stoic, but again, this was just the surface. The more we learned about her past, her changes, the more we saw her parallels to Yuna, her ties to Rikku and Yuna, and her potential for change.
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Antagonists
Vegnagun: I thought Vegnagun would be the main antagonist, but it ended up just being a machina. A tool for Shuyin. A remnant of Spira’s destructive past.
Shinyu: One of the more sympathetic antagonists in the FF series. I hesitate to even call it a Big Bad. He wasn’t even a full character since the real Shuyin was long passed away. This was just a shadow of Shuyin’s rage.
Justified rage at that. He and his beloved Lenne met an awful end, one without any sort of closure (for him). He was like the kind of deadly and sympathetic spirits taken out weekly by Sam and Dean.
---
A Few Side Characters
Lenne: Poor Lenne. She was dragged away from what sounded like a happy life in the Machina War 1,000 years ago, only to be sucked back in now. She tried to find happiness. Totally blameless, and did the best she could to resolve things in the present. Glad she found rest.
Brother: Ugh. What a jackass. He had some funny moments, but mostly he felt like a surrogate for the part of the game’s audience that they assumed would only play to ogle the Gullwings.
Buddy: Liked him a lot. I wish he had a bigger role, and took over the non-crappy parts of Brother’s character. Chill, friendly, smart, supportive.
Summary: Some final thoughts on Final Fantasy X-2.
Protagonists
Yuna: A major strength. This was finally her story. I mean, FFX was her story too in my opinion, but X-2 focuses on it. She’s the protagonist, and what a wonderful protagonist at that. It’s a difficult thing to show a major character change from one game to the next and still maintain the core of what made that character great, but FFX-2 achieved it.
YRP art by ohheydj, posted by djinn87.
Rikku: Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing for Rikku. Rather than building on Rikku’s loyalty and strength as her core traits, X-2 focused on her silliness. She often acted like she was eight. This wasn’t always the case – and it wasn’t always a negative! – but it disappointed me.
Paine: Love her. Possibly my favorite part of Paine was how organically she was developed into the framework of characters we already knew (Yuna and Rikku). There wasn’t a huge exposition dump about who she was. We only uncovered that gradually, through the Crimson Spheres and her interaction with the other Gullwings.
She started out a bit one-note, gruff and stoic, but again, this was just the surface. The more we learned about her past, her changes, the more we saw her parallels to Yuna, her ties to Rikku and Yuna, and her potential for change.
---
Antagonists
Vegnagun: I thought Vegnagun would be the main antagonist, but it ended up just being a machina. A tool for Shuyin. A remnant of Spira’s destructive past.
Shinyu: One of the more sympathetic antagonists in the FF series. I hesitate to even call it a Big Bad. He wasn’t even a full character since the real Shuyin was long passed away. This was just a shadow of Shuyin’s rage.
Justified rage at that. He and his beloved Lenne met an awful end, one without any sort of closure (for him). He was like the kind of deadly and sympathetic spirits taken out weekly by Sam and Dean.
---
A Few Side Characters
Lenne: Poor Lenne. She was dragged away from what sounded like a happy life in the Machina War 1,000 years ago, only to be sucked back in now. She tried to find happiness. Totally blameless, and did the best she could to resolve things in the present. Glad she found rest.
Brother: Ugh. What a jackass. He had some funny moments, but mostly he felt like a surrogate for the part of the game’s audience that they assumed would only play to ogle the Gullwings.
Buddy: Liked him a lot. I wish he had a bigger role, and took over the non-crappy parts of Brother’s character. Chill, friendly, smart, supportive.
Shinra:
I wanted to learn more about this kid, but even the little I saw made
me like him. A genius, yes, but still allowed to act like a little kid.
His songs were adorable. He had a sadness to him too. Happy he found
a family in the Gullwings.
YRP sketch by leisha-riddel, posted by djinn87.
Gippal, Baralai, Nooj I wanted to like these characters more than I did. In the end, I just don’t feel like I knew enough about them. Didn’t feel invested in them. Like, the game told me how awesome Nooj was and how much people looked up to him and loved him, but I didn’t feel it. Part of this is on me for not finding all the Crimson Spheres. I might’ve felt differently if I were able to complete that storyline.
Leblanc I’m super conflicted on Leblanc. I like her take-charge attitude, her willingness to leader the syndicate (as silly as it was with Ormi and Logos). I even liked that she combined this with love for Nooj, and that it wasn’t sinister. She felt genuine love and respect for him.
But personally, her whole “Noojie-woojie” thing grated on me. Or maybe it’s the way Nooj seemed to dominate her story and personality.
Dona: So happy I got to see her again! More openly affectionate towards Barthello, but this wasn’t her only storyline. She maintained her wonderfully nasty core from FFX, and used her cunning to help improve Kilika.
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Story/Themes
Grief, the Past: The most poignant and pervasive theme of X-2. Yuna was trying to find her place in the new world. She had been through a hellishly traumatic experience in FFX. She lost Tidus, and this was just part of it. She lost her faith. She saw many die to Sin. She lost the aeons, with whom she had a deep bond.
Who was she now? How could she deal with this? Ignore it? Become the person who saves the world? Or take a new kind of leadership role, one focused on doing things for herself? Helping people with the Gullwings while making money and having fun.
Her relationship with Paine expanded this theme beautifully. Both of them trying to find ways to deal with their past, finding no easy answers.
Paine art by ronfaureart, posted by djinn87.
It wasn’t even just the Gullwings dealing with issues of grief. Shuyin’s shadow took solace in rage, trapped in the rage of the past and unable to move on. The main Ronso storyline focused on how as a race to deal with their anger at the Guado assault. The Guado grapple with their sins and complicity in murdering the Guado. On and on.
YRP sketch by leisha-riddel, posted by djinn87.
Gippal, Baralai, Nooj I wanted to like these characters more than I did. In the end, I just don’t feel like I knew enough about them. Didn’t feel invested in them. Like, the game told me how awesome Nooj was and how much people looked up to him and loved him, but I didn’t feel it. Part of this is on me for not finding all the Crimson Spheres. I might’ve felt differently if I were able to complete that storyline.
Leblanc I’m super conflicted on Leblanc. I like her take-charge attitude, her willingness to leader the syndicate (as silly as it was with Ormi and Logos). I even liked that she combined this with love for Nooj, and that it wasn’t sinister. She felt genuine love and respect for him.
But personally, her whole “Noojie-woojie” thing grated on me. Or maybe it’s the way Nooj seemed to dominate her story and personality.
Dona: So happy I got to see her again! More openly affectionate towards Barthello, but this wasn’t her only storyline. She maintained her wonderfully nasty core from FFX, and used her cunning to help improve Kilika.
---
Story/Themes
Grief, the Past: The most poignant and pervasive theme of X-2. Yuna was trying to find her place in the new world. She had been through a hellishly traumatic experience in FFX. She lost Tidus, and this was just part of it. She lost her faith. She saw many die to Sin. She lost the aeons, with whom she had a deep bond.
Who was she now? How could she deal with this? Ignore it? Become the person who saves the world? Or take a new kind of leadership role, one focused on doing things for herself? Helping people with the Gullwings while making money and having fun.
Her relationship with Paine expanded this theme beautifully. Both of them trying to find ways to deal with their past, finding no easy answers.
Paine art by ronfaureart, posted by djinn87.
It wasn’t even just the Gullwings dealing with issues of grief. Shuyin’s shadow took solace in rage, trapped in the rage of the past and unable to move on. The main Ronso storyline focused on how as a race to deal with their anger at the Guado assault. The Guado grapple with their sins and complicity in murdering the Guado. On and on.
Music: At the worst parts of my life, music has been there for
me. It is a way to vocalize and express emotions that I can’t put into
words. It brings joy and release. It’s not always a positive because
it becomes associated so clearly with painful moments and memories, but
even then it brings release, the chance to express that pain.
So it is in X-2. “What Can I Do For You?” sets the energetic tone of a Spira unleashed from Sin’s terror. Yunapalooza uses Yuna’s and Leene’s shared grief, pain, and strength to reunite a divided Spira, reminding the audience how much they had in common, how much experience they shared. Even more minor appearances like the presence of musical puzzles in the final dungeon.
What Comes Next: This wasn’t so much a theme as a story focus I loved. We got to see what happened after Sin! This Spira had (most) of the same locations as we saw in FFX, but the tone was so much different.
A fair bit of nuance too. This was a more jubilant and carefree world, one without the constant fear of death-without-warning from Sin. It came with its own problems too. There was so much pent up and unrestrained energy that it was tearing itself apart.
Overall, it just felt like a clear and accurate picture of what Spira would’ve looked like after the events of FFX. Just what I wanted.
---
Gameplay/Mechanics
Dresspheres and Garment Grids: Holy shit. Holy shit holy shit holy shit. THIS WAS AMAAAAAZING. It was like the FFV system, but more dynamic, and the themes and flavors of each dressphere were unique and colorful and exciting.
Rikku art by kahentine, posted by djinn87.
A potential downside of X-2 was that I kept retreading the same zones in each chapter, but the joy of the dressphere system completely negated any boredom I might have otherwise been inclined to feel. I didn’t care that I was going over the same areas because each fight brought me closer to seeing the next ability to unlock.
The only downside I could see about this system compared to FFV was that FFV let you mix passives from some jobs with actives from other jobs. However, X-2 approximated this with garment grids and certain accessories.
I feel spoiled now with the flexibility of X-2.
Combat Style: I got used to it as it went on, and it had some positive elements. I just didn’t like it nearly as much as the FFX turn-based combat. X-2 was faster-paced, more energetic, and yet still more hectic than I like. FFX was a game-changer for me. I never want to go back to the ATB system.
The one positive I’ll say about X-2’s combat is that it fit the tone of the game well. Just as Spira was overflowing with energy, and the music of X-2 was fast-paced and upbeat, so too went the combat.
Semi-Open Structure: This was neat! I liked being able to bounce around to different side-quests and non-hotspot zones to explore as I wanted. The freedom was pretty wonderful. It’s not something I always want, but for X-2 it worked well.
So it is in X-2. “What Can I Do For You?” sets the energetic tone of a Spira unleashed from Sin’s terror. Yunapalooza uses Yuna’s and Leene’s shared grief, pain, and strength to reunite a divided Spira, reminding the audience how much they had in common, how much experience they shared. Even more minor appearances like the presence of musical puzzles in the final dungeon.
What Comes Next: This wasn’t so much a theme as a story focus I loved. We got to see what happened after Sin! This Spira had (most) of the same locations as we saw in FFX, but the tone was so much different.
A fair bit of nuance too. This was a more jubilant and carefree world, one without the constant fear of death-without-warning from Sin. It came with its own problems too. There was so much pent up and unrestrained energy that it was tearing itself apart.
Overall, it just felt like a clear and accurate picture of what Spira would’ve looked like after the events of FFX. Just what I wanted.
---
Gameplay/Mechanics
Dresspheres and Garment Grids: Holy shit. Holy shit holy shit holy shit. THIS WAS AMAAAAAZING. It was like the FFV system, but more dynamic, and the themes and flavors of each dressphere were unique and colorful and exciting.
Rikku art by kahentine, posted by djinn87.
A potential downside of X-2 was that I kept retreading the same zones in each chapter, but the joy of the dressphere system completely negated any boredom I might have otherwise been inclined to feel. I didn’t care that I was going over the same areas because each fight brought me closer to seeing the next ability to unlock.
The only downside I could see about this system compared to FFV was that FFV let you mix passives from some jobs with actives from other jobs. However, X-2 approximated this with garment grids and certain accessories.
I feel spoiled now with the flexibility of X-2.
Combat Style: I got used to it as it went on, and it had some positive elements. I just didn’t like it nearly as much as the FFX turn-based combat. X-2 was faster-paced, more energetic, and yet still more hectic than I like. FFX was a game-changer for me. I never want to go back to the ATB system.
The one positive I’ll say about X-2’s combat is that it fit the tone of the game well. Just as Spira was overflowing with energy, and the music of X-2 was fast-paced and upbeat, so too went the combat.
Semi-Open Structure: This was neat! I liked being able to bounce around to different side-quests and non-hotspot zones to explore as I wanted. The freedom was pretty wonderful. It’s not something I always want, but for X-2 it worked well.
---
Side Games
Calm Lands Mini-Games: Meh. Didn’t really appeal to me.
Sphere Break: I know I (gently) mocked this as “competitive sudoku,” but it really grew on me. It was intense. When I was in the mood for that sort of thing, it was incredibly satisfying. One of my most exuberant moments in X-2 was beating Shinra at the tournament.
When I replay X-2, I intend to try learning the details better, things like echoes and quota that I only started to grasp this time around.
Chocobo Ranch: Clasko was SO ADORABLE with the chocobos! The game itself was decent enough. I think I might enjoy it more with a guide in front of me. I never really got a sense that it was rewarding, and felt a bit confused in terms of coming up with a strategy.
Gunner’s Gauntlet: Not for me. A fine challenge; I just don’t like fast-twitch-reflex type games.
Cact-War: Which is why it’s weird that I enjoyed the Cact-War shooting games! Perhaps because even if it was fast-twitch, I could take my time, plan my shot. And the flavor of the cactuars was as great as it was in FFX.
”To Zatch Star,” by Cassie Logan (Pika Loo), posted by Noybusiness.
Creature Creator: Didn’t play with it much. It looked fun though! A new combat system, and the chance to learn more lore and stories about various fiends of Spira. BORIS, YOU ARE A TRUE HERO!
Fiend Arena looked interesting too, but I don’t generally like those auto-fight systems. (A downside of X-2’s blitzball as well.)
Blitzing Yuna art by cheekpea-art, posted by djinn87.
Blitzball: Hard to say since I didn’t spend much time on it, but the little I saw I disliked. At the same time, I appreciate what X-2 was trying to do, the change of focus, so maybe if I spent more time I’d enjoy it more.
---
Music
I don’t know that there are a lot of pieces or songs I’ll put on repeat. I still really liked the music in X-2! It was so energetic, so jazzy, so frenetic. Some real gems. Some favorites:
-“Real Emotion” – what a way to start the game!
-“We’re the Gullwings!” – nice and funky airship music
-“Sphere Hunters” – I like it for much the same reason as I like “We’re the Gullwings!”
-“Anything Goes for Leblanc” – Not exactly a favorite, but it stuck in my head because it so strongly reminds me of something from a prior game and I can’t pin down what.
-“Besaid” – so peaceful
-“1,000 Words” – YES. The major highlight. Part of it was the concert scene being so powerful, but even on its own I think it’s a great song.
Side Games
Calm Lands Mini-Games: Meh. Didn’t really appeal to me.
Sphere Break: I know I (gently) mocked this as “competitive sudoku,” but it really grew on me. It was intense. When I was in the mood for that sort of thing, it was incredibly satisfying. One of my most exuberant moments in X-2 was beating Shinra at the tournament.
When I replay X-2, I intend to try learning the details better, things like echoes and quota that I only started to grasp this time around.
Chocobo Ranch: Clasko was SO ADORABLE with the chocobos! The game itself was decent enough. I think I might enjoy it more with a guide in front of me. I never really got a sense that it was rewarding, and felt a bit confused in terms of coming up with a strategy.
Gunner’s Gauntlet: Not for me. A fine challenge; I just don’t like fast-twitch-reflex type games.
Cact-War: Which is why it’s weird that I enjoyed the Cact-War shooting games! Perhaps because even if it was fast-twitch, I could take my time, plan my shot. And the flavor of the cactuars was as great as it was in FFX.
”To Zatch Star,” by Cassie Logan (Pika Loo), posted by Noybusiness.
Creature Creator: Didn’t play with it much. It looked fun though! A new combat system, and the chance to learn more lore and stories about various fiends of Spira. BORIS, YOU ARE A TRUE HERO!
Fiend Arena looked interesting too, but I don’t generally like those auto-fight systems. (A downside of X-2’s blitzball as well.)
Blitzing Yuna art by cheekpea-art, posted by djinn87.
Blitzball: Hard to say since I didn’t spend much time on it, but the little I saw I disliked. At the same time, I appreciate what X-2 was trying to do, the change of focus, so maybe if I spent more time I’d enjoy it more.
---
Music
I don’t know that there are a lot of pieces or songs I’ll put on repeat. I still really liked the music in X-2! It was so energetic, so jazzy, so frenetic. Some real gems. Some favorites:
-“Real Emotion” – what a way to start the game!
-“We’re the Gullwings!” – nice and funky airship music
-“Sphere Hunters” – I like it for much the same reason as I like “We’re the Gullwings!”
-“Anything Goes for Leblanc” – Not exactly a favorite, but it stuck in my head because it so strongly reminds me of something from a prior game and I can’t pin down what.
-“Besaid” – so peaceful
-“1,000 Words” – YES. The major highlight. Part of it was the concert scene being so powerful, but even on its own I think it’s a great song.
---
Art/Graphics
Two things jump out to me here:
1)Awesome facial expressions. Characters in X-2 expressed a much wider range of emotion and reactions compared with FFX. It made a big difference.
2)Dresspheres. A huge (if qualified) success. Some of the sheer variety, color, and creativity present in the dresspheres is delightful. Even if I didn’t use a dressphere much, like Gunner, it was awesome to see the design for each character’s individual dressphere. The only negative is that some of these were clearly designed in a fan servicey way for male gaze. (I'm probably mis-stating this - don't really have a great vocabulary to talk about what I mean.)
---
Length
My game was just under 61 hours. Never felt too long. My favorite part of the game’s length is how flexible it is. I probably could’ve blazed through in less time if I just wanted to do the main story, and probably could’ve spent much more time if I wanted to fully complete everything.
---
Replayability
Very high. New Game Plus is especially appealing. It could allow me to replay FFX-2 without worrying about regrinding dresspheres. The main thing I want to do with a replay is explore Creature Creator. Seems like a valid alternative way to build a party (to say nothing of the fiend tournament mode).
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A Brief Ranking of the Sequel & Compilation FF Games I’ve Played It’s Just One Small Opinion Please Don’t Kill Me
I haven’t done this before, but feel like I have enough of a sense of the range of these compilation games to at least attempt a ranking. Seems like it would be unfair to compare compilation games to the base games, so hopefully this will be a bit more apples-to-apples.
1.FFX-2. Easily the best. Not even close.
2.FFVII Crisis Core
3.FFIV The After Years
4.FFII Soul of Rebirth
5.FFVII Dirge of Cerberus
---
So that’s Final Fantasy X-2. Well, most of it. I’ll see what “Last Mission” has in store for me.
Far and away the best of the compilation/sequel games in my opinion. The distance between X-2 and Crisis Core is huuuuuge. The strongest points of X-2 were the dressphere system and Yuna’s story, as well as just the general portrayal of a post-Sin Spira. What a treat to get to play this.
---
Next time: Final Fantasy X-2 Last Mission.
Art/Graphics
Two things jump out to me here:
1)Awesome facial expressions. Characters in X-2 expressed a much wider range of emotion and reactions compared with FFX. It made a big difference.
2)Dresspheres. A huge (if qualified) success. Some of the sheer variety, color, and creativity present in the dresspheres is delightful. Even if I didn’t use a dressphere much, like Gunner, it was awesome to see the design for each character’s individual dressphere. The only negative is that some of these were clearly designed in a fan servicey way for male gaze. (I'm probably mis-stating this - don't really have a great vocabulary to talk about what I mean.)
---
Length
My game was just under 61 hours. Never felt too long. My favorite part of the game’s length is how flexible it is. I probably could’ve blazed through in less time if I just wanted to do the main story, and probably could’ve spent much more time if I wanted to fully complete everything.
---
Replayability
Very high. New Game Plus is especially appealing. It could allow me to replay FFX-2 without worrying about regrinding dresspheres. The main thing I want to do with a replay is explore Creature Creator. Seems like a valid alternative way to build a party (to say nothing of the fiend tournament mode).
---
A Brief Ranking of the Sequel & Compilation FF Games I’ve Played It’s Just One Small Opinion Please Don’t Kill Me
I haven’t done this before, but feel like I have enough of a sense of the range of these compilation games to at least attempt a ranking. Seems like it would be unfair to compare compilation games to the base games, so hopefully this will be a bit more apples-to-apples.
1.FFX-2. Easily the best. Not even close.
2.FFVII Crisis Core
3.FFIV The After Years
4.FFII Soul of Rebirth
5.FFVII Dirge of Cerberus
---
So that’s Final Fantasy X-2. Well, most of it. I’ll see what “Last Mission” has in store for me.
Far and away the best of the compilation/sequel games in my opinion. The distance between X-2 and Crisis Core is huuuuuge. The strongest points of X-2 were the dressphere system and Yuna’s story, as well as just the general portrayal of a post-Sin Spira. What a treat to get to play this.
---
Next time: Final Fantasy X-2 Last Mission.
