The main theme that you’ll find during your journey in X-2 is that of change. In all of the Final Fantasy titles, we’ve never had the opportunity to see the after effects of a character’s decisions, until now. The world of Spira has stayed relatively the same on the surface, but much has changed in this world since Yuna and her friends defeated Sin. The political landscape has changed drastically. Instead of one ruling religious body in Yevon governing things, there is a struggle for power between three factions: The Youth League, New Yevon and the Machine Faction. Each party thinks they have the right philosophy in order to direct Spira’s future, but this obviously leads to tension and bitterness between everyone involved. Enter Yuna, the high summoner from Final Fantasy X that defeated Sin and brought the Eternal Calm to Spira. She’s the X factor in the whole mess, and that becomes obvious during the game as all three sides are hoping that she sides with them in order to tip the balance of power into their favor.

Of course, Yuna has her own plans. She’s gotten a makeover, sporting a revealing new outfit, and she’s now a sphere hunter with Rikku and newcomer Paine, a cold, callous woman who seemingly has ties to all three factions in Spira. Together with Al Bhed members Buddy, Brother and Shinra, they form a group called the Gullwings, which is dedicated to finding new spheres all over Spira. This is all due to Yuna and her discovery of a certain sphere a certain, and thus gives her the motivation to go on her sphere hunting journey. But being a legendary hero of Spira doesn’t help matters. Throughout the game you’ll not only have to hunt for spheres, but you’ll have to resolve differences between the three parties in Spira and help out those who still depend on the high summoner for assistance. Some things never change.

What has changed from FFX to X-2 is basically everything else. Instead of the ultra linear structure of past games, X-2 is now non-linear, and mission-based. You can visit any area of the world you want to, in any order... and you can do this 20 minutes into the game. It’s quite a different game than any other Final Fantasy title you’ve played in the past, but it’s refreshing to have that kind of power. Final Fantasy X-2 is broken up into five chapters, with each chapter containing several missions that can be found by visiting different areas of the world. In one mission you may have to help people get rid of some malfunctioning robots that are terrorizing civilians, while in another mission you’ll have to help a repairman calibrate some lightning rods on the Thunder Plains. The missions that are given to you are extremely diverse. Best of all, the game offers a branching storyline depending on a couple of choices that you have to make throughout the game. In order to get the complete experience (as well as the ability to view all of the endings), it’s required that you play through the game at least twice using New Game Plus, a special mode that allows you to keep your stats and equipment as you start the game over. Although it’s not something new to RPGs, it is new to the Final Fantasy series, and it’s a welcomed addition.

There are some other new wrinkles in the game. For one, you’re limited to just three party members throughout the entire game. The only characters you’ll control are Yuna, Rikku and Paine. Sure, you’ll meet other characters from FFX, but they’re far too busy with their own lives to help out Yuna in her adventure. There’s also the ability to jump from ledge to ledge using the Circle button. While purists may complain about similarities between this and Tomb Raider, they couldn’t be any further from the truth. Many Final Fantasy games have had the ability to climb ledges and jump across chasms, the only difference here is that there’s a button dedicated to it. Honestly, it’s not that big of a change when you think about it.

Instead of the timeline based battle system of FFX, this time around the good ol’ Active Time Battle (ATB) system has been reintroduced, with several refinements. The most obvious one is that certain actions and character classes will make your ATB meter shorter or longer. For example, using an item in battle will give you a much shorter ATB meter, letting you attack faster than normal. Then there are enemy attacks that will actually lengthen your meter, or slow it down. Even your abilities have their own ATB meter, and charge at different rates. So using abilities like Power Break will take longer than casting a spell like Flare. Of course, this was true in previous FF games, but it’s never been visually represented before. The varying ATB meters does make a significant difference in combat, particularly late in the game when you’re facing some of the more powerful enemies. Sure, you might be able to deal a significant amount of damage to someone with one of your abilities, but in the process you’ll be slower to recover, and you might get killed for it.

The biggest change to combat is the inclusion of Dresspheres, which is a basic Job System that fans of the series may be familiar with. There are 17 classes in the game in total, which range from the basic White Mage class to the Alchemist class, which allows you to mix items together to form more powerful items. Complementing the Dresspheres are Garment Grids, which allow you to switch between each job during battle. The thirty-plus Garment Grids in the game have different configurations that allow you to place two or more Dresspheres on them. The Grids also have embedded bonuses that give you enhancements when you equip them or when you switch jobs. The Sacred Beast Garment Grid for example, nullifies any Holy-based spells directed at you. Should you switch jobs while using this particular Grid, you will be given the ability to cast Holy yourself. This system actually encourages the player to switch jobs during battle in order to reap the benefits that a particular Grid might give them. It also makes setting up the Grid more strategic, since you don’t want to switch to a weaker job just for a bonus.

As expected, the graphics in X-2 are stunning. Most of the areas in Spira are directly from Final Fantasy X, which is a disappointment, but FFX wasn’t lacking in visuals to begin with. It is disappointing that the same camera angles were used though, since using different positions for the camera would have made older areas feel new again. The new areas are lacking the exotic look that the rest of the game has too. On the other hand, the new character models are looking very good. The different costumes for each Dressphere are distinct in their appearance, and while some may be purely fanservice, they still look pretty good. The aural aspect of the game is probably the weakest point of the game. There isn’t anything that truly stands out as far as music goes, as the music goes from a lovely, sullen piano track to some techno track while on your airship. Consistency is not present here. On the other hand, the voice acting is top notch, just like it was in FFX. The lip-synching is a little off, but the presentation is top notch, and all of the voice actors nail their parts perfectly. You can actually hear the difference in attitude between the Yuna from FFX and the one in X-2. She seems a lot more secure about herself, and much more determined.

If there’s one major fault that this game has, it’s that it is just too easy. Certain jobs are very overpowered, while others are too weak to even bother with unless you just want to complete everything in the game. That’s not to say that there aren’t some significant challenges in the game. There are plenty of hard dungeons and monsters to fight, the problem is that none of them appear during the main storyline, existing mainly in sidequests or optional dungeons. Even with the overpowered classes these bosses are extremely hard, so it’s a shame that you actually have to seek them out instead of having them appear in the story.

Some may claim that Final Fantasy X-2 is just a quick cash in on the success of FFX, and it very well may be. It’s obvious that many parts of the game (particularly in the graphics aspect of the game) were recycled from the previous game, but anyone who proclaims that this game is mere fanservice is a fool who hasn’t played through the entire game. Sure, it may take you a good 25 hours to finish the game the first time around, but I guarantee you would not half finished even half of the challenges offered in the game by then. This is easily a 40+ hour game that provides you some good challenges if you take the time to seek them out. For fans of Final Fantasy X, picking this game should be a no brainer, although non-fans will probably want to stay away.

· · · Reno