GAMEPLAY (8.5)
The storyline of FFX is more linear now, but it does keep you
interested till the end. The Ending, which I know a lot of
people want to hear about, is unique compared to the other FF's.
Do I like it? Hmm yes and no. You'll have to see for yourself.
The battle system has been
reverted back to turn based only, but this time you get to
switch characters who are not in the fight freely. This is an
interesting change from the rest of the FF series. Players are
made to think twice before making an action. However, the
pressure of making a decision is often not there since you could
practically spend and eternity deciding what to do next. Also,
sometimes (not always) I find fighting the bosses a breeze
because if one character is low on Hit points (HP), I could
switch to another character that has full HP. Another
significant change is FFX's new system of leveling up your
characters. Instead of experience points after finishing a
fight, you get Ability Points (AP). Once you get enough AP, you
gain a Sphere Level and you can use the number of Sphere Levels
you have to move around a Sphere Grid. Each node on the Sphere
Grid can be either an defense, strength, magic, agility,
ability, HP, or luck enhancement. To activate each node and get
the enhancement for a character, you'll need special spheres you
can get from battling or just plain treasure hunting. Sounds
confusing, but really its similar to a board game where the
Sphere Levels are like the number you roll after throwing the
dice. The spaces on the board are like the nodes. FFX's new
system of leveling up your characters is an interesting change
from the old exp point system.
In certain parts of FFX, you'll
have to do a sort of "insert sphere here" puzzle to progress.
Two or three times of doing those is OK, but more than that is
rather annoying and tedious. Many people have different opinions
on the "blitz ball" mini game FFX has in place of the card games
done in the previous series. I, for one, think its more
interactive than playing cards, but on the other hand, less
strategy is involved. Like regular battles, experience is what
you really need to win them. Its fun for awhile and then it gets
rather boring (especially if you want to get Wakka's
overdrives).
GRAPHICS (9.5)
FFX has very nice graphics...what would you expect
from Squaresoft? The environment is all 3D and lively. You could
see the grass swaying in the wind and the butterflies circling
the flowers. FFX utilizes the PS2's "emotion" chip and this can
be seen in the cinematic scenes. The faces of the characters
really show great emotion.
SOUND/MUSIC (8.0)
FFX is the first of its series to have actual voice dialog and
I'm happy to find the voice acting to be well done. The music
could be a little bit better...the battle music is cool and
catchy but the rest were just alright. What's disappointing is
that there wasn't an overworld theme. Oh well... CONTROL (9.0)
No complaints here...not surprising. You could control Tidus
(the main character) very easily.
CONCLUSION (8.8)
FFX is yet another Final Fantasy game good for the taking for
both FF lovers and general gamers alike. Graphics are eye-candy
and the storyline is quite like no other. Enjoy this until its
own sequel comes out! |
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