X-2 character develpment is superb imo , after 1000 years of fearing for their life because of sin , the people and most of all Yuna finally gets to live a little not only exist. the people blooms after all the sadness and sorrow , i like it.
This game for me has the highest replayability in any game I own (this isn’t opinion, it’s a fact for me). Without trying I’ve easily replayed this over a dozen times, and X is my favorite FF!! Ic think it’s due to the fact that it’s quirky, unserious, and funny. But also, I get to see Yuna’s growth and how she’s so different than who she was in X. It has almost all the characters I loved in the first game so for me I get a lot of satisfaction with the animations and soundtrack 😮💨
@@christopherserratos9401 word! Also Yuna struggling with her identity after X. In X she knew who she wanted to become , and the people of spira wanted her to be a summoner. In X-2 for the first time she can make her own path , i like to imagine the dresspheres are a reflection or metaphor for Yunas search for her own identity.
Tbh you're right. It doesn't try to paint the correct version of old characters like crisis core or ff7r. This game compared to ff7r is actually a masterpiece of added content.
Final Fantasy X-2 is a direct sequel not a spin off. X is the story of Yuna’s pilgrimage. Tidas is the POV character but it’s Yuna’s story & the two games together tell her full story.
@@EruditeMMA Okay, counterpoint. The gameplay is entirely different from the original, it doesn't label itself as next in the sequence, it has a different narrative character, it introduces mechanics and plot points that do not mesh with the tone or setting of the original, and while it does bring Tidus back at the end, it instead tells a story that has nothing to do with the core story of the original. And by the by, I firmly disagree with people saying it is Yuna's story. While Tidus is following her story as it happens, our focus and his role is to make his own peace with his father and himself. To find what he values most in the world and to stop living in a manner shaped by anyone but himself. A parallel story is happening involving the same story and Yuna, but Yuna doesn't arrive in the story for many hours and she isn't the character from whom's perspective we are seeing things. Just because it is her pilgrimage and she has parallels and influences in our story, doesn't mean that this is in fact her story. Sherlock Holmes stories are technically centered on him, but they are Watson's relationship and journey to discovering what Holmes already knows that is the usual formula. Is Holmes the center focus and the moving engine? Yes. That doesn't make him our main character. It is a very easily misrepresented view. Parallel story telling is far more common than people believe.
The tone of this game can be summarized as one thing: camp. It's flamboyant, over the top, and melodramatic but thats the point. A game for the girls and gays if you'd prefer. It is definitely fitting of the time it was released. The greatest sin of the game is how almost all of the pertinent character development is hidden in "blink and you miss it" optional scenes. This game was clearly made to make money before it was made to advance any plot for these characters. And part of making money is selling merchandise which includes strategy guides. FF games from 7 to 13 were very shady about "buy this book to find all the secrets of the game!" and it hurt this one a lot. Speaking of character development, and coming back to it as an adult, the core of this story is about Yuna coming to terms with loss, processing grief, and becoming her own person now that she isn't being weighed down by being a summoner. This is best shown in two main scenes and both are fully missable. In chapter 1, you can go to Luca and do this goofy little balloon delivery minigame with Yuna but then she's on the docks and gives an inner monologue about how everything is fast paced and fun and exciting but she's still in mourning over Tidus saying "Sometimes I find myself stopping. I'm listening for your whistle" and thats just heartbreaking. The second scene is one of the multiple endings you can unlock and imo the best one for Yuna as a character. When you beat the game and have enough story percent and watched the correct optional scenes, the fayth can appear before Yuna and ask her if she wants to see Tidus again. Saying yes will give you the happy ending where they reunite on Besaid. If you say no, then the ghost of Tidus appears behind Yuna and hugs her while she finally gets to say goodbye on her terms. It shows how much she's grown and learned to stand on her own over the two games. As for the novella and audio drama, I rebuke those. They're hashed out and were made because Yoshinori Kitase is mad that Motomu Toriyama gave X-2 a happy ending when he wanted FFX to have a sad ending. That's why immediately in the novella all of Yuna's character growth is undone and Tidus explodes (literally). It's written like bad anti X-2 fan fiction and is most likely going to be held as canon when X-3 inevitably gets greenlight after FF7 Remake part 3. Anyway I wanted to say that this game is not for everyone but that doesn't make it bad. If you like FFX and you also enjoy 90s and early 2000s anime, this is gonna be fun for you.
I really REALLY hope the audio drama and novella never make it into anything ever again, because jeez they're so poorly written and hardly thought-out in any meaningful way, I think it breaks its own rules about beckoning too, but I don't remember too well
I remember being so obsessed with FFX it was my favorite game of all time. I put so much time into blitzball and was so attached to all the characters. So naturally I was excited for x-2 and got it for Christmas. I was massively disappointed
I was fine with the gayness lol I was mainly really entranced by the fighting and leveling schemes though, dress spheres are still the greatest and most elegant battle system in all of Final Fantasy IMO. I really liked that it introduced a higher level of complexity and strategy to your in-battle party changes, and upgrading spheres felt much more intuitive than most other FF leveling systems
Wow, hearing this review made me realize how heavy my nostalgia goggles were on. I played this when it first came out and got all the achievements on it five or so years ago. I was so stoked to get closure to the story and see how every character worked towards their personal emotional fulfillment. I loved how dark the story became in contrast to how lighthearted it started. I loved being able to explore my favorite places in Spira freely...but now remembering the back massage mini game (and others), doing the recruiting event, and getting 100% was not fun or enjoyable.
Played it 2 times this year after over 15 years of not playing it I payed for the HD Remaster of FFX/FFX-2. I absolutely enjoyed it just like I did playing it in 2006 when I first played it as a kid... 😊
I played FFX and honestly had so much fun, but with X-2 I'm genuinely having trouble getting into it. I really do love the new turn based system though, all the flaws I am finding is stuff you're pointing out. I'll play a bit more and see if I can really get into it though.
Thank you foe the video. I've tried playing FFX-2 like 3 or 4 times, and I never get further than a few hours. The story and tone are just so different from FFX which I adored. I feel like I could play it if I drank some alcohol and/or realized these are completely different characters from their FFX counterparts. I had a similar issue with FFXIII-2. People tell me the battle system is great and worth playing the game for. But if the story makes no sense or is frustrating to me, then I really can't get into it. I can't separate the world, story, and characters from the gameplay itself. If I have no investment in the story, the gameplay doesn't do anything to convince me to play it in spite of that. Also, the amount of insignificant things you have to do to get 100% in the game for the bonus final cutscene is ridiculously asinine. And if you missed one, you likely can't go back and get it. This alone turned me off from the game in addition to my other issues with it.
@@kristopher4557 To start before Square Enix was Square Enix it was Square Soft with Enix being its own thing, a massive rival to Square Soft, and before Square Soft was Square Soft it was just Square and the Soft from Square Soft comes from yet another company. Also if you look for copies of the original release of X-2 you will find Square Soft on it not Square Enix. It wasn't branded under Square Enix until they put out a second way of copies due to the first wave having sold out. X-2 was Square Soft's final game before the merger with Enix and the exit of some of the remaining staff that had come from the Soft end of Square Soft. Please learn your history if you're going to bash something. And don't be so close-minded that you dismiss the notion the game was intentionally made the way it was. That it was an intentional departure from its predecessor. Another fact for the record: this is the last Final Fantasy game that was a success story in the traditional sense. The last one they released that regardless of mixed reviews due to how different it was from X sold well enough to not just recoup its production costs, but make them a significant amount of bank on top of that recouped production cost. This was at the time something they desperately needed because of some of the films they'd made over the course of some of the years immediately beforehand. After this game every Final Fantasy game has either broken even or lost the company money. Hence when people talk Golden Era Final Fantasy it shouldn't be 7-10 or 6-10 it should be 6 through 10-2. And I only say that before 1-5 were the years where they were focused on creating the foundations and formulas for what would become the core of all the Final Fantasy games moving forward until they took a drastic departure for the sake of evolution beginning with Final Fantasy 11. Speaking of 11, you never hear about it precisely because of how much of a trainwreck it was. And you don't normally hear good things about 12 because by the time it came out the PS2 was on its last legs and the game itself was flat out odd, gameplay and mechanics wise it was trying to enter the next generation while still staying true to the systems that had come before and not really succeeding at either goal due to never committing to one or the other. I think the less said about any of the Final Fantasy 13 games the better. 14 started out a mess and the company lost a whole lot of money making it into something decent. If you check in present time though the game is still going because they're making bank off micro-transactions and due to everything about the game before it was fixed they still haven't made enough bank off the micro-transactions to completely recoup the costs of fixing it. Final Fantasy 15's release was a mess, and even though they've made plenty of money off of said mess they killed off what remained of the trust between them and their consumers in the process, which has as a consequence made games like 7 Remake and 16 under-perform for them financially.
X & X-2 are part of my childhood. I love them and constantly replay them together with 8. However, I just hate the amount of mini-games in X2... still feel the ick thinking about them
I started this game like 3 to 4 times but never played more tha 1h, i just don't feel like playing it, at least not now but like it's predecessor i may play in the future and may like it, who knows?
FFX-2 is a really fun game to play, but I'll be honest the dialog is just too goofy sometimes. The story has it's moments but on the whole I usually don't pay it much attention...I'm not an anime enjoyer so view this through that lens lol The battle system is extremely fun and without stacking broken items pretty challenging sometimes. The overworld gameplay is fine except for some sections of the game; the part where you need to find 3 uniforms is an absolute slog.
so many people missed out on the masterpiece that is X-2 because it had an all-female cast so a lot people saw it “gay” or “too girly” even though it has some of the best features and mechanics of any FF in the entire franchise
I appreciate that you make these videos, I enjoy just vibing for 30 mins, and I am always impressed that you take the times to get the audio mixing right and have great and relevant footage I'm glad you didn't get into the novella. I remember laughing for like 10 mins so fucking hard when I found out lol
Fuck yea it is! The best version of the job system! The best version of the atb system! The story is great and around Chapter 3 gets really good! It's basically Yuna's equivalent to Tidus's growth in FFX..
one of my favorites final fantasies of all time. after 6 and war of the lions. the most fun i've had with a FF game at least. the plot and pacing are definitely weak or.... terrible sometimes but dresspheres and magical girl transformation are things we need more of in more things
I've actually started replaying it and honestly I never knew just how much side stuff there was back in the day I just went through did where it told.you and thought it was pretty linear but it's alot more open then x
1:09 not gonna lie I remember running home the day FFX2 dropped plopped my ps2 open and slapped that disc in to play that intro just to be like this doesn’t make me gay right 😂 good times
Actually i loved this game as well as the original one. I dreamed to see what's next after ff10 and suddenly x2 appears. I was watching trailers again and again to know what's happening in spira universe ❤ oh and I really enjoyed the game. I think it was good sequel
I dunno man, this part at 25:24 feels a bit harsh honestly. This is happening in the farplane, and we've already seen how the images of the dead can come to manifest when in there. Most importantly to this point though, is that Yuns is in her songtress dressphere, which we've already seen Yuna meshing both hers and Lenne's memories together in dreams and lost literal control of her bodily control due to Lenne's spirit inhabiting the sphere for the dressphere itself, she even questions if what she's feeling in this scene are her feelings or Lenne's. Yuna isn't manifesting the image of Shuyin, Lenne is, and he's not seeing Yuna but instead Lenne which is brought up again later at the tail end of the game. It isn't until she fades out of being in the songstress sphere that we no longer see Shuyin over Baralai. The only thing that I feel is potentially out of the realm of what both this and X has shown us to be possible, is the possession bit, but that is shown at the end of X with the aeons and Yu Yevon so I don't think it's that crazy really. Now, am I gonna sit here and argue that it's one of the greatest stories ever told and is done so with impeccable fashion....no....no I will not. It's endearing in a lot of places, campy in so much more, and I think it was just trying to have a bit more fun overall to combat how sullen a lot of X was even with it's more lighthearted moments it had.
The only sour spot i have with this game pacing wise, is chapter 4 since there's almost no battling and a ton of cutscenes. The other chapters are fine imo.
@@thechance-lore4711 The other points you made I agree though. This is practically my favorite FF game although thats strictly due to the battle system. I've adjusted to the difference in tone compared to FFX and the goofiness has grown on me lol. Good video tho. I like hearing opinions on games like this.
Every jrpg feels like a spreadsheet simulator, if you can push certain stats you win. If you can’t you lose, it’s fun if you’re the type of person who find excel spreadsheets riveting
I love this game the battle system is so good, the mini games are a little bit of a slog in some areas. The best part is there is new game plus so you can go in blind see how you go then if you really want the 100% and the good ending you can use a guide. Idk how you struggled Finding the uniforms you speak to the npcs around the area in guadosalame they tell you where the syndicate is in the world, The team even tells you they need 3 uniforms. I kinda feel like you rushed to play this game to get the video done.
I was doing really good at getting the 100% complete in this game until the whole commsphere interludes decided to not trigger the cutscenes (I remember Besaid especially didn't trigger no matter what). This eventually caused me to miss the chapter complete for Besaid. I beat Shinra for the first time ever and got Lady Luck so I felt soooooo lucky and happy until this happened. I never touched the remastered game after this happened cause I am still bitter AF about it😢
This game got an absurd level of hate, it's actually very refreshing and a fantastic, whimsical twist to a somewhat sinister chapter of the saga. I loved it and I still do to this day, even if I never really found out how to fight with monsters in your party and stuff.
It’s not that fun to grind constantly, to be stuck at bosses for eternity. It’s only fun if you love spreadsheets and stat pushing, if you don’t like starting at numbers all day it’s not that fun the game is all about maximizing this number and that number. If you get higher numbers you win, it feels as engaging as an excel spreadsheet with an attached novel to read
To be honest, i can't get used to the combat, even if i do think it's a more exciting way to play than X. I also feel like the story isn't as focused, as from the first moment in X, you know what you gotta do, and you do it (defeat sin), even if the world is a lot more complicated. I felt like in X-2 you just fuck around with your party. That's a bit of a whiplash, considering how X starts and ends. Otherwise, i do think it's a good game, i just prefer X better
X-2 is weird, bizarre, surreal even. But for some reason it has just stuck with me and has a place in my heart. I don't really care that much for most of the story, but there are some interesting pieces and ideas here and there, and most importantly it just feels good to play. In my opinion they really nailed the balance of the gameplay, the mechanics, the open-world chapter and mission based system, the pacing (most of it), the battle system and the dresspheres etc. It's just great casual fun. Easy to play, fun to get into. Despite all its faults and fan/critic dislike it will always be a guilty pleasure of mine.
I really liked the job system and the more dynamic feel of the battle system. The tone of the game was too goofy for me though and I did not think the story was all that good. I still played through it when it was new but I doubt that I would now have the patience to sit through the lackluster story.
FFX-2 for me is the perfect sequel to a "dark" game like FFX was because while the story o FFX is more heavy and dark arround death and sorrow, FFX-2 is light and soft just like Yuna's life os right now. Yuna was ready to die by killing Sin but now she's alive and with almost no meaning on her life or what to do so she end up with Rikku to form the Gullwings and tries to copy Rikku's traits for a more outgoing personality of her own but deep down she's still the same Yuna who now refuses to let someone die again(Tidus and a lot of people in Spira) just so they can be happy for a few years, Shuyin was "the real" Tidus from Zanarkand who died using vegnagun and became a dream of the Fayth in the form of Tidus and if you 100% the games it reveals how Tidus came back by Yuna helping everyone in Spira including Shuyin himself so she can wish Tidus back because in the credits scenes of FFX we just see that he returns with no explanation why he returned or even when so for me FFX2 is a sequel that ties up everthing in a nice bow and does not deserve the backlash most people give to this game so i hope i cleared maybe some questions Also: i did hear the audio/novella thing and did not think it was that bad because it's very clear that Yuna is lying to protect Tidus from "dying" again if he gets too close to Sin but who knows what happened, only if FFX3 comes out and if we will be alive to see it or play it
The mini games are to each his own but i kinda like them, they are better than a lot o mini games from Kingdom Hearts like the ice cream one from BBS but i do think that FFX2 is better than people think, also: your reviews are great, have a nice day or night~
X-2's greatest weakness is the collectathon nature of it, but honestly if you consider collectathon RPGs, X-2 is an easy one. Donkey Kong 64's story mode is IMHO "baby's first collectathon" and X-2 is only a small step up the ladder from there. But with regards to Final Fantasy itself collectathon wasn't remotely new. Especially when it comes to content walled off by annoying mini games. For X in particular if you were able to get through that one's mini games without criticizing it for them criticizing X-2 for its own shouldn't be a thing. It shows how tightly wound your nostalgia googles for X are if you do, and is extremely hypocritical.
I played this around September of 2022 for the first time and I actually liked it. For me it is one of those dumb fun games. Hell, I think I liked the gameplay more than the first FFX, it's not linear and it seems like it has more side content. But the story wasn't as good, of course.
I wanted to finish this game so badly in my attempt to play all current games. (So far, beaten 7, 9, 10, 13, 13-2, 13 lr, and 15). But the story and dialogue just had me cringing every 2 seconds and I had to drop the controller like every 5 minutes
I realized something that they had a missed opportunity to do this. For the sequel. That the character Choices did in the 1 game Could had a minor effect in the sequel. I think you know the choice I'm talking about. The 2 characters that could die in operation And one of the characters become a Raise Chocobose And the blitzball tournament. That's my opinion if they do a remake of this game Do you want to see? Those choices haven't affected the sequel. And do you think they could have added small romance options? Besides yuna
@@thechance-lore4711 you know i get sad thinking that we will probably never see another iterations of this combat system, or ff12za, of ff13 trilogy combat systems.... we just gotta pray some indie dev creates a game based on one of these battles systems. I what to see what these systems could be if they were balanced and expanded upon
@@zedrico8577 Technically when you think about it FF13's battle system is an evolved form of X-2's combat, what with everything being in real time, the ability to change jobs/roles mid battle, and the chaining attack hits aspect of X-2 could be seen as becoming FF13's chain/stagger system since X-2's chain makes subsequent attacks deal more damage the higher the chain gets, just like FF13's. I thought that was cool when i found out
Final fantasy veteran here. All I can say is I loved it after FFX back in 2003. And to this day the memories and music still bring about happy memories. You remember more colourful games than dark ones. You know liking something that’s uncool isn’t a bad thing.
@@thechance-lore4711 it's something I have learn since 1994, you will hold deeper feelings for games like this. Be that banjo kazoo, spyro, wind waker, Mario sunshine, FFX, SSX.... Endless list 😄
Dude I loaded this game up a week ago for the first time in years wtf why did you make this rn??? Btw I’d say this is a sequel ass sequel, it assumes you beat the first one like 4 months ago, and the tone is so different to make it definitely its own thing, with its own tone and energy. Thinking about how dour and “fight against the hopelessness” the tone is in FFX I love how the first scene on the airship has music that is outright joyful compared to FFX. You right though it’s the fighting that makes the game fun…
I would disagree that the opening to 10 2 is as opposite as it gets from 10s. They both literally start at a stadium full of fans if anything the 10 2 opening is a clear omage to 10s
This game is an insult to FFX. Yuna was a shamanistic spiritual summoner that was albeit powerful, a symbol of piety and healing. WHY THE FUCK DID THEY HAVE HER DRESS LIKE A SKANK WITH TWIN PISTOLS SMH. LIKE WHAT WAS THAT? TRASH GAME.
@@matthewtonna1 ait fair take. I enjoyed the battle system and the character progression. After not being able to live and have fun at all while sin roamed the seas. Seeing people actually living and not only existing . Having fun finally. But i get your pov too !
