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[Jennipeg]

Yeah, that whole "-2" thing is really misleading. Oh, Square.



Yeah, they really dropped the ball on having Yuna develop into a strong world leader, by having her be a pop idol instead. It was like they didn't play FFX.

I don't know, I don't think she ever wanted to be a world leader, and she only actually sang once (1000 words) and that had a purpose.

I think the concept of her trying to find a place for herself is pretty interesting.

Spoiler

She never planned to live this long, so didn't have ambitions.

It's not perfect but I like some of the themes within the story.

Her discomfort about politics makes sense to me. The factions just want to exploit her, and after the events of X, she wants nothing to do with it. That part at least rings true to her character imo.

 

[Turnip Truck]

Disasteriffic! Rikku was ridiculously campy and silly.

I really liked the job system, especially the Songstress. A bit like the Troubadour class in Etrian Odyssey.

 

[Linkura]

The battle system.
The music.

Did not enjoy:
Chapter and % completion structure. Total bullshit.
Some of the ridiculous sub-characters.
Offensive "fanservice."

 

[Lights and Waves]

Yuna becoming an idol was fucking awful and stupid.

I don't understand this criticism. Yuna isn't an idol.

Real Emotion isn't sung by Yuna. LeBlanc stole the songstress dressphere and threw the concert in Luca because she wanted the attention (and probably to discredit Yuna as a serious treasure hunter).

1000 Words is a result of the songstress dressphere reacting to Shinra's sphere display. Lenne's spirit manifests with Yuna to help Yuna bring the people of Spira together and to show the girls what happened during the summoning war and what Bevelle was hiding.

Yuna sings one song, but she isn't a popstar. At the very start of the game, when you steal back the dressphere, there's even that scene of Yuna being possessed by the sphere and dancing to emphasize that she isn't a performer and that Lenne's memories within the sphere are particularly strong.

 

[chrominance]

I can't find the article now, but there was a piece looking back at Final Fantasy X-2 and why it's secretly great. One of the big takeaways that I really liked: X-2 is one of the few JRPGs that answers the question of what happens AFTER the heroes save the world. Going back to all the places you visited on your pilgrimage in X and seeing how things have changed (sometimes not for the better) is one of my favourite things about the game. Spira feels more like a real world because of it, more complex and interesting than the bits you saw in X.

I also appreciate how goofy the game is compared to X. I mean, yes, Yuna deciding that what the world really needs to come together is a kick-ass concert is one of the dumbest things I've seen in a Final Fantasy game. And yes, I'm guessing back in the day that dumb massage minigame was supposed to be at least vaguely titillating. But, like, it's also goofy as shit that that massage minigame exists. And that second concert was pretty dumb, but the FIRST one that everyone seems to hate, the one with the J-pop song and the Charlie's Angels-style character intros, THAT intro is awesome and I won't hear otherwise.

That's not to say that X should have been goofy too, or that it suffered from being too serious; I think you needed both. And that's why I think X-2 works so well as a sequel; it's very much its own thing, but it's also a great complement to the first game's setting and tone.

 

[Exentryk]

The monster arena.

 

[Hashmal_Bringer_of_Order]

I think it has the best combat of any "Job-System" based Final Fantasy.

 

[Stumpokapow]

I don't understand this criticism. Yuna isn't an idol.

Real Emotion isn't sung by Yuna. LeBlanc stole the songstress dressphere and threw the concert in Luca because she wanted the attention (and probably to discredit Yuna as a serious treasure hunter).

1000 Words is a result of the songstress dressphere reacting to Shinra's sphere display. Lenne's spirit manifests with Yuna to help Yuna bring the people of Spira together and to show the girls what happened during the summoning war and what Bevelle was hiding.

Yuna sings one song, but she isn't a popstar. At the very start of the game, when you steal back the dressphere, there's even that scene of Yuna being possessed by the sphere and dancing to emphasize that she isn't a performer and that Lenne's memories within the sphere are particularly strong.

Granted that you've successfully corrected him on a misinterpretation of the game's plot, but what you actually just described is deeply stupid and I don't think it should surprise anyone that this turned some people off the game, even to the point of misunderstanding.

My sense is that pretty much anyone who got over the game's numerous aesthetic hurdles enjoyed it mechanically, and that a great number of people also enjoyed returning to the world of Spira, but I think the whole reason the game has a bum rap enough to need a "Leave YRP Alone!!!" thread is because of surface level stuff like that.

 

[crashnburn]

I personally thought most of the game was garbage and disrespectful to the characters and tone of FFX. Seeing the meltdown over Cindy's design in FF15, I can only imagine how Rikku and Yuna would have faired in present day....haha. That said, it's biggest redeeming quality was the battle system.

Iterating on the job system and reverting back to ATB were exciting. I especially liked that the ATB system rewarded chain attacks and gave it a strategic element of timing. If Final Fantasy ever goes back to ATB, I'd love this style incorporated.

It was encouraging that SE made a push to expand on a FF universe beyond just FF7. However, as we've since seen with almost any other FF that has had a sequel or spinoff, it's hard to recapture the magic of the source. Maybe one day they'll find a world and story that works to expand upon...

 

[kromeo]

One thing has to be mentioned, the chocobo music is unacceptable, the worst tune to ever feature in a FF

 

[Fj0823]

Playing dress-up with hot anime girls...

That's it.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4voJjkJevs

 

[Hellsing321]

Everything except the perfect ending. There is actually a great character arc and ending for Yuna in the sad ending, that doesn't ruin X's ending. Should have been the only one.
SPOILERS: Sad Ending

 

[Asmodai48]

Gave the game an hour so nothing of note

 

[Lights and Waves]

Granted that you've successfully corrected him on a misinterpretation of the game's plot, but what you actually just described is deeply stupid and I don't think it should surprise anyone that this turned some people off the game, even to the point of misunderstanding.

My sense is that pretty much anyone who got over the game's numerous aesthetic hurdles enjoyed it mechanically, and that a great number of people also enjoyed returning to the world of Spira, but I think the whole reason the game has a bum rap enough to need a "Leave YRP Alone!!!" thread is because of surface level stuff like that.

The issue is that there are so many people who didn't even play the game because all they did was watch the opening CGI and run to every single GameFAQS thread they could find and scream "YUNA IS BRTINEY SPEARS THIS GAME SUX!"

I'm glad to see that there are plenty of people that really did enjoy this whimsical adventure!

 

[OniBarubary]

I mean, please don't take my like, 8 word sentence to be an accurate summation of the entirety of why I dislike what happens to her character in the game. I'm at work and don't really have the care to go in depth with "Her treasure hunter/Gullwings/Charlie's Angels stuff was awful"

I played through the game 5 times, don't act like I didn't actually understand what was happening in the game please.

 

[Wavebossa]

Honestly everything but the story.

There's a reason I put 500 hours into it. It was a fun game (with GREAT music).

 

[rhandino]

I just cant hate the game because its so damn goofy and happy.

It's everything J-Pop destilled in an incredible fun and pretty JRPG.

Thank god I received a spiritual successor in Tokyo Mirage Sessions.

 

[AuthenticM]

I love that Yuna cast away her summoner duties and all the religion-imposed oppressive culture that came as baggage, and went for skimpy outfits and a more general liberation. It's the 60s revolution all over again. I love it.

 

[Vostranoid]

Combat system was cool. I hate everything else about the game with the power of a thousand burning suns.

 

[Lothar]

The battle system was great.

The music in the title screen was great.

 

[Brandon F]

Combat system was cool. I hate everything else about the game with the power of a thousand burning suns.

Pretty much this. Well, the attract sequence piano theme was great to hear everytime I loaded it up too.

 

[TDLink]

Everything about it except for the main story.

The campy tone, which the music and character design ties into.
The characters themselves and their development.
The best version of the ATB system ever.
The greatest implementation of the job system.

 

[Athreous]

Nothing, sorry >_<

 

[kamineko]

I love X-2

I didn't like the story of X. It's a time-travelling water polo star, or something. X-2 pushes beyond into a transcendent realm of ridiculousness--it's endearing as opposed to irritating. The end is a mistake, but otherwise I think it's great, dumb fun. Good video games.

Combat system is a blast, dress spheres are fun, too.

My only beef is how exacting and un-fun the 100% thing is. Too exacting, too easy to mess up, too counter-intuitive--this is back in the era where selling strategy guides was still a big thing.

 

[120v]

How is it not a sequel? It takes place directly after the first one and the driving factor of the team's actions is their attempt to find the main character of the first game. It's a sequel.

I mean technically it is. But I'd be hard pressed to call the game an earnest "follow up" to FFX based on tone alone. I even remember an interview with the director at the time lamenting that fans weren't "in on the joke".

Probably better just to name it X-2 for commercial reasons but I think it'd be looked back on more forgivingly as a spinoff or whatever

 

[Soltype]

A few songs in the game were pretty good, and the battle system was good.Everything else was awful.The game just felt lowbrow and juvenile, I know there has always been some silly aspects in the more recent FF games, but this was too far.

 

[Lunafreya Nox Fleuret]

The Combat was really fun but I think too easy. FFX definitely had the edge in difficulty and everything else. X-2 is a downgrade of X, imo but there are a few things X-2 did better like changing outfits and multiple opportunities to go a certain path without maxing the sphere grid like in X.

 

[EndMerit]

Mega Tonberries wandering around in Via Infinito was pretty unnerving, and first time encountering that optional desert boss is something you were mentally not prepared for.
Also, I'm not gonna hate on anyone liking 1000 Words.

 

[UCBooties]

I own the Vita and PS3 re-releases and I think I still have a PS2 copy somewhere.

...

I should probably play this...

 

[inner-G]

The world, music, story and characters

I preferred the combat in X, but X-2 has probably still better combat than any FF since

 

[Clear]

I've always thought X-2 was pretty terrific; tons of content, a likeable cast, and a surprising amount of originality in making story about "winning the peace" as opposed to just waging a war against some evil-doers.

Strip away the frivolousness and what you get is a dry and often downbeat tale of what happens in the aftermath of a global revolution. It needs the fluff in order to distract from what is in the final analysis, a story about the end of magic... which is as un-FF as it gets really.

Main thing though, I like that its a story about healing and reconciliation, because that's something REALLY worth striving for, but is rarely dramatized in video-game narratives./

 

[LordKasual]

Yeah, they really dropped the ball on having Yuna develop into a strong world leader, by having her be a pop idol instead. It was like they didn't play FFX.

Yuna was muuuuuuch closer to a pop-idol than a "world leader" in FFX, she was already a celebrity before she became High Summoner. Considering she uses dresspheres to sing and dance, it's not as farfetched as it seems.

Yuna simply does not have the personality befitting a world leader, she was way too passive as a person. That never would have worked, and if it did it would have felt forced.

That's why i'm glad they didn't change her personality too much. Despite the story being garbage, her characterization felt natural at least. Yuna and Rikku changed outfits but were essentially the same characters.

 

[Izuna]

Awesome gameplay, and I had the biggest crush on how Yuna tried to be confident when I was younger...

It's hard to play again though, now that I know how horrible it is to get the True Ending ;( If you walk somewhere instead of fast travelling, you could miss a cut-scene.

I think it's best played if you go through without a guide, then get True Ending on New Game +.

The gameplay is REALLY good. I would say it's the best, but FFXII is the peak (outside of the fact that the new version put speedboost in the game... stupid devs).

--

Damnit, now I want the PC version of this.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

I love the battle system of X-2. It's second to XII's.

 

[Izuna]

I love the battle system of X-2. It's second to XII's.

high five

 

[100%TrophyMaster]

The battle system and job system (dress-spheres) were so fun and addictive that it made the experience worthwhile.
Story and going back through the same environments of FFX.....meh.
Music was okay...not up to the ridiculous high standard FF games have set but it was okay.
Overall a mixed bag but still enjoyed it for what it was.

 

[TokiDoki]

The good ending . Yes I only played it for the good ending , I'm a sucker for bittersweet story .

Oh and trigger happy is quite a fun skill tho

 

[HeelPower]

Non linear open world design.Makes replays really fun.

Tons of interesting quests and interaction with the world.This is surprisingly done well in retrospect.Something FFXV doesn't manage to do half of what X-2 did here.

Deeply rewarding super customizable combat that IS NOT AUTOMATED FOR ONCE.This contributes to replay value because its simply insanely deep.

The story,barring the "happy" ending, is actually very interesting.Also can progress a bit nonlinearly.

The music is incredibly good.

So yeah.This is a game ahead of its time tbh.

 

[Cloud7]

I really liked the combat and job system. Truly one of the best of all time in RPGs.

The soundtrack was stil good for the most part.


I still reallllllllly dislike the story and overly bubbly pacing of the game. I love me some poppy bubbly stuff but not for this game and not for this world-building. I think it helped hamper X retro-actively honestly.

 

[Durante]

The job system.

S-E JRPGs are by far the most interesting mechanically when they use a job system (case in point: this, FF5).

 

[Fox_Mulder]

Sexy Yuna and job system.

 

[jrush64]

The whole final Fantasy X world is the best Square has ever created hands down. I loved X-2 so much because it showed the world after sin was gone. I had no issues with it whatsoever.

 

[Magnus]

On top of everything everyone else mentioned, I really dug revisiting Spira's varied locales to see how the world changed after FFX's dramatic ending. Years of tradition were upended, and it was fascinating to see the outcomes. Zanarkand being turned into a tourism site, etc.

Battles were fast and furious (although they now manage to feel slow compared to FFXV, haha), and the job system was solid.

Despite all my love for the game, I couldn't manage to get into it when I tried again last week. Hmm. Can't put my finger on it.

 

[pirateluigi]

The job and combat system is my favorite in the series. I also really enjoyed the music and the lighter time of the game.

 

[george_us]

I have a guilty pleasure for Real Emotion and 1000 Words.

No need to feel guilty at all. I loved both of those songs and the cutscenes they accompanied.

 

[tariniel]

When I played it when it first launched on PS2 I thought the battle system was really great. When I tried to replay it earlier this year on PC, I hated it. So I guess nothing anymore?

 

[Jennipeg]

I've always thought X-2 was pretty terrific; tons of content, a likeable cast, and a surprising amount of originality in making story about "winning the peace" as opposed to just waging a war against some evil-doers.

Strip away the frivolousness and what you get is a dry and often downbeat tale of what happens in the aftermath of a global revolution. It needs the fluff in order to distract from what is in the final analysis, a story about the end of magic... which is as un-FF as it gets really.

Main thing though, I like that its a story about healing and reconciliation, because that's something REALLY worth striving for, but is rarely dramatized in video-game narratives./

I totally agree with you here, I actually think X-2 is a very sad story. It's about dealing with huge social change, but also personally dealing with loss and grief. Not just Tidus, but her father, she basically found out that he died for a huge lie. Her speech at the end of the game is fully in keeping with the tone of X.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkbOZut4Cfo

It legit made me cry when I played it. She's been trying to put on a brave face but she is still very effected by the events of X.

 

[muteki]

I really liked Paine as not-Lulu.

 

[MartyStu]

I quite like the gunner outfit, well except for the low cut top. All they needed to do was cover her chest and make the shorts a couple of inches longer. I can accept Yuna in a more revealing outfit, but they went too far. Love the songstress costume though.

That fact that it is revealing is not the problem. In fact, it actually makes a ton of sense when you look at how Yuna was previous forced/encouraged to dress and who one of her current largest influences is (Rikku).

I take issue with with how poor of a design it is.