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Final Fantasy X-2 appreciation thread
- Thread starter U5230
- Start date
Yeah, I get that, but the character is introduced to the party as a badass, well-trained sniper, and I bought that and liked the character somewhat... and then he totally blows his first real mission and is too afraid to actually take the shot.
Of course, this only helps establish Squall as a badass when he essentially goes "fuck it" and charges down into the parade, but it pretty much ruined Irvine for me.
Imagine if IRL the military had put a lot of time and effort into special ops marksman training for some young private that showed talent and in his first job he has moral pangs about killing / is too afraid to even try and take a shot. I don't think his superior officers would be very happy with him.
Come to think, he'd probably be lucky if he didn't face a court martial.
Zell and Selphie have the additive I.Q. of a potted plant between the two of them. Irvine and Quistis I'm mixed about. Squall and Rinoa I kind of liked. Laguna, I liked (and his buddies weren't around long enough to really establish themselves). The "villains" of this piece can go hang themselves.
* * *
OFF-TOPIC. I need to go play X-2, I'm just afraid that if it's really bad it will ruin what respect towards / enjoyment from FFX that I still experience when I replay that game.
How bad / egregious are the satire elements? I'm terrified this is going to be shojo hell j-pop girly dance party Final Fantasy.
Of course, this only helps establish Squall as a badass when he essentially goes "fuck it" and charges down into the parade, but it pretty much ruined Irvine for me.
Imagine if IRL the military had put a lot of time and effort into special ops marksman training for some young private that showed talent and in his first job he has moral pangs about killing / is too afraid to even try and take a shot. I don't think his superior officers would be very happy with him.
Come to think, he'd probably be lucky if he didn't face a court martial.Zell and Selphie have the additive I.Q. of a potted plant between the two of them. Irvine and Quistis I'm mixed about. Squall and Rinoa I kind of liked. Laguna, I liked (and his buddies weren't around long enough to really establish themselves). The "villains" of this piece can go hang themselves.
* * *
OFF-TOPIC. I need to go play X-2, I'm just afraid that if it's really bad it will ruin what respect towards / enjoyment from FFX that I still experience when I replay that game.
How bad / egregious are the satire elements? I'm terrified this is going to be shojo hell j-pop girly dance party Final Fantasy.
JayDubya said:Yeah, I get that, but the character is introduced to the party as a badass, well-trained sniper, and I bought that and liked the character somewhat... and then he totally blows his first real mission and is too afraid to actually take the shot.
Of course, this only helps establish Squall as a badass when he essentially goes "fuck it" and charges down into the parade, but it pretty much ruined Irvine for me.
Imagine if IRL the military had put a lot of time and effort into special ops marksman training for some young private that showed talent and in his first job he has moral pangs about killing / is too afraid to even try and take a shot. I don't think his superior officers would be very happy with him.
Zell and Selphie have the additive I.Q. of a potted plant between the two of them. Irvine and Quistis I'm mixed about. Squall and Rinoa I kind of liked. Laguna, I liked (and his buddies weren't around long enough to really establish themselves). The "villains" of this piece can go hang themselves.
* * *
OFF-TOPIC. I need to go play X-2, I'm just afraid that if it's really bad it will ruin what respect towards / enjoyment from FFX that I still experience when I replay that game.
How bad / egregious are the satire elements? I'm terrified this is going to be shojo hell j-pop girly dance party Final Fantasy.
Your J-pop girly parts are the opening scene, about 5 minutes worth and a concert about halfway through, another 5 or 10 minutes worth. The rest is exploration and discovering things.
The satire elements are satirical. If you play the game trying your hardest to believe it's taking itself seriously, you will come away pretty pissed off like 90% of people who played it. If you take the satire for what it is, you will be impressed that they managed to not only put out a game that makes fun of the Final Fantasy formula, but also enjoy what plot it does have and what serious points it does attempt to make.
My Arms Your Hearse
Banned
For the most part, I agree with Himuro.
X-2 is an amazing game, I just wish they hadn't made it a "main" FF. If it were a "spinoff" it wouldn't get half the hate it does.
The job and battle systems in this game are nearly flawless I've always loved the Job system over everything else.
Anyone else have six Iron Dukes?
X-2 is an amazing game, I just wish they hadn't made it a "main" FF. If it were a "spinoff" it wouldn't get half the hate it does.
The job and battle systems in this game are nearly flawless I've always loved the Job system over everything else.
Anyone else have six Iron Dukes?
Agent Icebeezy
Welcome beautful toddler, Madison Elizabeth, to the horde!
Greatest song ever from games is in this game. Eternity of Light and Waves
Eternity ~Memories of Light and Waves
Eternity ~Memories of Light and Waves
Himuro said:
Exactly, who out there really considers this to be one of the main Final Fantasy games? Who out there is going to consider Dirge of Cerberus to be one of the main Final Fantasy games? Or FF Tactics?
I mean, they can be good (and FF Tactics is damn good), they can be bad, but no matter what they're not going to be considered part of the main series. Hell, Final Fantasy 11 surely isn't considered as part of the overall series, bastards should have called it FFO.
FFX-2 is apparently altogether an experimental fanservice side story videogame. From reading this thread I get the impression that it probably deserves to be given a chance, as it's a decent game but shouldn't be taken seriously or directly compared to the flagship titles in the series.
charlequin
Banned
JayDubya said:
The question is, basically, do you take jRPGs wicked seriously or can you enjoy taking the piss out of them?
X-2 is deeply, deeply satirical, in ways that I think most people missed or ignored because they're subtle. Every typical jRPG -- and FFX is absolutely no exception here -- is about the plucky band of misfits who go on a linear adventure to save the world against insurmountable odds. Usually they just end there with a vaguely defined happily-ever-after ending.
X-2 throws that out the window. In showing us Spira during the Eternal Calm, it pokes holes in all those pat happy endings. Now the citizens of Spira are much better off, safe from the random destruction brought by Sin -- but without a shared threat, the people devolve into virulent factional politics over petty things. We get to see how when the great threat
Meanwhile, all those scenes that people hate -- "Oh my god, they totally ruined the emotional impact of that place from FFX by turning it into a themepark!" -- that's entirely the idea. Yuna is still lost for a place in the world and still hurting from the loss of her man -- and then she has to deal with the consequences of her fame, as the people she saved, perhaps well-meaningly, trivialize and destroy the places of her most cherished memories. This whole theme evoked a kind of emotion -- not the usual tear-jerky thing, but something different and unique -- when I played the game, and once I sat back to examine it I was pretty impressed.
Even the ending is great.
Yuna calls bullshit on the "everyone must sacrifice themselves" trope that's so common because she's been through it before and isn't willing to sacrifice any more. The final boss fight is essentially perfunctory -- it's only Yuna hooking the villain back up with his dead girlfriend that saves Spira this time, when no amount of fighting could do it.
This game really takes the character of Yuna to an amazingly developed place. Every other jRPG passive female lead tends to stay that way and need to be rescued by the hero again and again. Yuna gets to discover her own abilities and is forced to define herself without any dude -- her father or her boyfriend -- to take her identity from. It's no coincidence that it's only after she discovers this for herself that
she gets to have Tidus back
Basically, X-2 is all about how there's no perfect victory or perfect tragedy -- life always goes on, with new problems and new pleasures, and all one can do about it is try to live that life as true to yourself as possible. You can see that as trite, but in comparison to the usual jRPG melodrama I think it's pretty unique and daring. Combine all that with a kickass battle system and you have what I think is a drastically underrated game.
the year 20XX
Member
JayDubya said:
FFX-2 is perfect for you, because you need to stop taking Final Fantasy so seriously.
charlequin
Banned
JayDubya said:
Nobody's really convinced me that FF8 is worth another minute of my time (and note that I did beat it with 90%+ of sidequests, so it's not like I don't know the game). I tend to see it as a deeply flawed experiment -- the kinda cool attempt at a more personality-driven storyline hurt by some crazy nonsense and some poor character choices, the multiple interesting and innovative system ideas coming together in a way that was astoundingly broken and which encouraged unfun play, and the art design being really amazing in some places (nice characters, the Gardens are cool, etc.) and hideously ugly in others (all those goddamn grey hallways and undetailed locales). Laguna and company were awesome but underutilized and not connected well enough to the modern plotline. Squall/Seifer was a cool rivalry but very poorly realized. Etc. etc.
charlequin
Banned
Himuro said:
My problems with it gameplay-wise came down to three things:
1) I found junctioning (and card-conversion and all that) to be amazingly fun but drawing to be mind-bogglingly dull and fun-killing. The Junction System wasn't fun to play with unless I stocked everything up to 99, so I spend so much time doing dull, boring draws (even with magic stat junctioned as high as possible to draw 9 spells per shot).
2) Monsters that level with you. This eliminates the built in difficulty slider that I use to make second playthroughs fun (either by powerleveling and destroying everything or staying underleveled to make fights a challenge.)
3) No equipment = no treasure = I hate dungeons. I am not proud. I love finding cool treasure in dungeons, it's what keeps me going. FF8's dungeons didn't have interesting puzzles OR treasure, really, so I found them unbearably dull (even worse than Legendia's, which at least had treasure chests in them.) I would've been fine with (hell, actively enjoyed) the recipe-based weapon upgrading if there'd been, say, 15+ weapons per character and I was constantly finding treasure chests with components in them that I had to decide how to parcel out between my characters, but as it was it just wasn't fun for me.
If there were a mirror universe FF8 that fixed these three problems it'd probably have my favorite gameplay, but as it is I don't relish the thought of playing it again.
SupaFlySoccerMom
Banned
Exactly! FF VIII has the perfect love story for a game. Even though I don't understand your hate for Rinoa Himuro, I applaud you having the balls to say it's your favorite FF. It's mine also. I liked the range of characters it had. Zell was a nerdy fist fighter while Irvine was a bad ass gun slinging redneck playboy. loved it. Quistis is easily my least liked character. Edea is my favorite. and how the hell can you not appreciate the parade scene. Edea is all bad ass when she's shot at it, it's nothing to her because she so badass and she's so badass because it's nothing. god i love itHimuro said:
charlequin said:
I think I agree with everything you just said, AND I still have very negative memories regarding the characters and the plot.
I think it's masochistic for me to even consider replaying it, considering I already did everything except get completion on Tetra Master (even beating Omega Weapon for that oh so awesome "Proof of Omega" that did NOTHING :lol) Those f'ing card games... I hate those f'ing card games. At least it was completely optional in FFIX.
Nevertheless, so many people pile love on it, maybe it's worth it. I don't know, but as soon as high-res PC Sephiroth and Emerald Weapon die, high-res PC Squall will wake up in Balamb Garden and pick up his first two GFs. And then I will play through that game.
And if I like it as little as I did the first time, I will come back here, Himuro, and then I will kill you.
Shouta
Member
jiji said:
The primary story and etc for the game is actually pretty solid. It works like an epilogue for FFX and while it is satirical in presentation, it's not really all that cheesy. The entire premise of the game is for Yuna and the gang to go around seeing how the world has changed. It does a fantastic job in that regard. It gives most of the major characters and quite a few minor ones some small vignette to follow that ties up their story. The final story for the game was quite nice too and while it does have some issues, it's a great little piece as well.
It's a very underrated game (amongst actual gamers) IMO. Great gameplay, solid story content, and funny.
charlequin
Banned
Himuro said:
Not enough difference. I know the monsters learn new attacks and whatnot as they level but it's not enough to really modulate the difficulty the way I like. Also I like to feel rewarded for each battle I win with sweet sweet experience, not punished with improved monsters.
Boo! May the corpse of Yasumi Matsuno drag you down to a watery grave.
EDIT: It doesn't need to be equipment per se. X-2 (hey remember what this thread is about hey me too) is fine because you can find all these different Dresspheres and Garment Grids. But I need useful treasure!
Actually, a good way to fix two of my problems with FF8 in one shot would've been to eliminate drawing entirely and make spells single equippable items. You find "Fire" and now you can equip that spell to a single person, and junction it to one of their stats. That (a) encourages people to actually cast spells (since they aren't fucking up their stats by doing so) and (b) lets you have tons of treasure (because you can always use at least 3 of any useful spell....)
charlequin said:
Agreed. FFVII and FFVIII and FFX have too many sci-fi elements and too little emphasis on fantasy style / equipment.
The original game springs from D&D and they get further and further away from that over time, which is fine, I suppose, but I miss my f'ing Genji armor. And shields.
Gear is good. More and varied weapon types with unique gameplay effects is nice. One weapon per character is kinda ugh. One weapon, one armor, one accessory? >_>
I liked me FFII & FFIV's weapon / shield (or 2h weapon or dual wielding) / helmet / body / gauntlet (or ring).
the year 20XX
Member
JayDubya said:
I half-agree with this. I agree that there is always a place for fantasy in RPGs, but it seems to me that that place is "all western RPGs and Dragon Quest." I like that Final Fantasy in recent years has moved away from the Fake England setting that dominates the genre.
That said, I would be fine with another FF in some traditional knights-n-shit setting. As long as they don't do it every time.
I don't know, I like set character classes with limited customization of character abilities - customization of stats via equipment or controlled statistic advancement.
I don't like the Materia, I don't like GF Junctioning. I wasn't big on the Sphere Grid late game when every character became every other character.
It does need to have it's own style but I'd rather it stick closer to its roots every other game or three... I guess what I'm saying is I'm cool with job system every now and again and I'm cool with sci-fi every now and again but they need to cycle between styles.
FFXII is in Ivalice so I hope to get my fill of medieval sword and sorcery.
I don't like the Materia, I don't like GF Junctioning. I wasn't big on the Sphere Grid late game when every character became every other character.
It does need to have it's own style but I'd rather it stick closer to its roots every other game or three... I guess what I'm saying is I'm cool with job system every now and again and I'm cool with sci-fi every now and again but they need to cycle between styles.
FFXII is in Ivalice so I hope to get my fill of medieval sword and sorcery.
Greenpanda
Banned
I'll post more in this thread but I gotta watch 24 now (I'm on Pacific time). But in the mean time...
I appreciate FF X-2
. In fact, it's my favorite FF ... by a long shot
I appreciate FF X-2
. In fact, it's my favorite FF ... by a long shot Greenpanda
Banned
As I said above, FF X-2 is my favorite FF, so I could probably go on for pages about why it rocks your face, but I'll try to keep it to three key points
1) I think the game's GTA-inspired structure--focused on achieving 100% of the possible objectives instead of just getting to the end of the story--is a great adaption for the RPG
and I wish more games would try something like this. RPGs based around a linear story tend to be either really, really linear (FF X-1, Xenosaga, etc.) or they offer so much extra stuff to explore that if you complete the sidequests, the main game becomes ridiculously easy (Shadow Hearts 2 comes to mind ... and so does the last portion of FF X-1). FF X-2 solves this problem by making uncovering secrets/completing quests the POINT of the game.
2) As a result of the non-linear format, the game is able to present different kinds of stories and situations than you usually see in a typical "Save the world" story. It's more like a collection of short stories than an epic novel. Also, the character interaction is really well done; you can totally believe that YRP are actually friends
3) I found the game's honesty to be refreshing . Let's face it: Even if a band of heroes saved the world from some ancient evil, humanity would find new ways to stir up shit, and you can bet everyone would be figuring out how to make money off our heroes 
(hence Zanarkand being turned into a chintzy tourist trap). I could buy into this story more than the usual epic quest which supposes that a band of adventures can really solve all the world's problems. At the same time, the game isn't, like, hopeless bleak despair or anything; we still have Yuna's big musical number saving the day
I mean, sure, the game isn't perfect. The Garment Grid system is slightly broken ... it's so quick to move around the grid during battle that it rarely matters how you actually organized the Dresspheres on the grid. And I can understand why someone might not favor the game personally ... if you like games with, say, item customization systems, or lots of party members, then, yeah, I wouldn't expect FF X-2 to be your favorite.
But it seems to be that a lot of the "RUINED TEH FF X" criticism of the game comes from a certain element of the FF fanbase that only wants shy, blushing miko girls as female leads and hates it when they actually have a personality and a life
Anyway, I know some people are different, but I'd almost always prefer a game that does something novel and has interesting new ideas over a game that is just a new yearly installment of the same ideas. So I love me some FF X -2
1) I think the game's GTA-inspired structure--focused on achieving 100% of the possible objectives instead of just getting to the end of the story--is a great adaption for the RPG
and I wish more games would try something like this. RPGs based around a linear story tend to be either really, really linear (FF X-1, Xenosaga, etc.) or they offer so much extra stuff to explore that if you complete the sidequests, the main game becomes ridiculously easy (Shadow Hearts 2 comes to mind ... and so does the last portion of FF X-1). FF X-2 solves this problem by making uncovering secrets/completing quests the POINT of the game.
2) As a result of the non-linear format, the game is able to present different kinds of stories and situations than you usually see in a typical "Save the world" story. It's more like a collection of short stories than an epic novel. Also, the character interaction is really well done; you can totally believe that YRP are actually friends
3) I found the game's honesty to be refreshing
. Let's face it: Even if a band of heroes saved the world from some ancient evil, humanity would find new ways to stir up shit, and you can bet everyone would be figuring out how to make money off our heroes (hence Zanarkand being turned into a chintzy tourist trap). I could buy into this story more than the usual epic quest which supposes that a band of adventures can really solve all the world's problems. At the same time, the game isn't, like, hopeless bleak despair or anything; we still have Yuna's big musical number saving the day I mean, sure, the game isn't perfect. The Garment Grid system is slightly broken ... it's so quick to move around the grid during battle that it rarely matters how you actually organized the Dresspheres on the grid. And I can understand why someone might not favor the game personally ... if you like games with, say, item customization systems, or lots of party members, then, yeah, I wouldn't expect FF X-2 to be your favorite.
But it seems to be that a lot of the "RUINED TEH FF X" criticism of the game comes from a certain element of the FF fanbase that only wants shy, blushing miko girls as female leads and hates it when they actually have a personality and a life
Anyway, I know some people are different, but I'd almost always prefer a game that does something novel and has interesting new ideas over a game that is just a new yearly installment of the same ideas. So I love me some FF X -2
Red Scarlet
Member
Systems_id said:
Psychicer or something to that effect. There's "Festival Goer" too, but I haven't really played my International. Could make some caps/videos over the summer of them, though.
FFX2 was fun until going for 100% and the 'perfect ending' and listing enemy crap. Just playing it to play it was a fun game. Although the 'choose a destination' got dull a few Story Levels in.
Greenpanda
Banned
dangit, I hate it when I end up with the last post on a page
Synbios459
Banned
I just got this and I'm having lots of fun, it really is awesome.
AdmiralViscen
Banned
I bought this off a friend recently, along with BGE and Rygar.
I beat Rygar, kind of lost interest in BGE, never really expected to pick this one up at all. Maybe someday.
I beat Rygar, kind of lost interest in BGE, never really expected to pick this one up at all. Maybe someday.
The Jason
Member
I'll also go on record and say that I loved FF X-2. I didn't go in with any false expectations, I read the reviews and was fully aware that the game was a light hearted sequel. The battle system was fun and dealing with 3 young girls as the only main characters was an interesting dynamic.
I think the opening movie was meant to be over the top bat shit ridiculous so that the rest of the game would seem fairly more acceptable. :lol
I think the opening movie was meant to be over the top bat shit ridiculous so that the rest of the game would seem fairly more acceptable. :lol
dark_chris
Member
I hated how
was too easy as a final boss. 28,000 HP? Come on. But i thought it was a good way to conclude (with the 100% ending of course)
Shuyin
Red Scarlet
Member
It was pretty long and repetitive, but I really enjoyed battling through the Holy Bevelle Mausoleum/Via Infinitivo or whatever. Some of the fights and bosses were pretty cool.
Whoa, old thread.
Whoa, old thread.
In a way, it reminds me of how I feel about Zelda II. They are both solid games, but not what I expected .. nor what I wanted. Impossible for me to recommend it to anyone.
I hated the opening cutscene, I hated revisiting old areas, I hated all the mini-games, I hated how they changed blitzball.
I hated the opening cutscene, I hated revisiting old areas, I hated all the mini-games, I hated how they changed blitzball.
Systems_id
Banned
FFX-2 > FFX.
diablopanqueque
Banned
Inumaru said:
Wouldn't want to let this thread get too far without some fat Yuna pics. Always a cosplay favorite.
Much more here: http://www.jasonrivera.com/viewarticle.php?art_id=237
Why god? Why?
revolverjgw
Member
Loved that game, especially the music. ''I'll Give You Something Hot'', indeed. But as the game progressed, it seemed to get less wacky and more ''save the world'' standard issue RPG, which disappointed me.
Seemed way too easy, too. I hear the job system is interesting, and maybe it is, but I pretty much beat the whole game using 3 warriors, just pounding on the action button.
Seemed way too easy, too. I hear the job system is interesting, and maybe it is, but I pretty much beat the whole game using 3 warriors, just pounding on the action button.
Synbios459
Banned
So true.C4Lukins said:
C4Lukins said:
a) yep
b) yep
c) yep, for the games i've played, anyway
d) eh....
e) yep
f) can't say, haven't played 8.
although whomever bumped this thread has almost solidified my decision about which game to replay. i've been thinking about starting another run through ffx or god of war. very similar games, those two.
diablopanqueque
Banned
Pharmacy said:
Especially during a certain mini-game with LeBlanc halfway through the game...
KyanMehwulfe
Member
One day I'll finish this game. Now and again, I'll get a dose of incentive to finish it just for the sake of completion (of a game I paid for), but then that interest dies after an hour or two of the game's eccentric setting style.
The gameplay really is good. I just can't stand the paint, if you will, on top of it.
Amazing main screen song, btw. In the last few years I've probably loaded the game up to listen to just that more than I have to play the actual game.
The gameplay really is good. I just can't stand the paint, if you will, on top of it.
Amazing main screen song, btw. In the last few years I've probably loaded the game up to listen to just that more than I have to play the actual game.