Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster review

[Budge74]

As someone who loved, and absolutely rinsed, IV, VI, VII & VIII, lost interest in IX, and hasn't played one since, is this worth the time investment?

I'm looking for something to get my teeth into for a bit, but I'm thinking i'll replay Twilight Princess instead (and actually finish it this time).

[nakamura]

It has a good overall story and a superb battle system. The voices are ****e and it's pretty limited in all other areas. At the time it was rightly scored 8/10 by the official UK magazine. Now? Well the genre hasn't moved that far!

[Dogg Thang]

As someone who loved, and absolutely rinsed, IV, VI, VII & VIII, lost interest in IX, and hasn't played one since, is this worth the time investment?

Right now, I would find it hard to recommend. It looks lovely and has a great world with some amazing design. The music is great. A few of the characters are pretty awesome but the main character is a low point for FF in my opinion. The battle system is fairly standard with the exception for how the summons work (they're quite cool) but I find the level up system, which is a big board of nodes, a bit of a chore.

The big problem with FFX for me is that for hours and hours this game is just walking along a single path with random battles. And I don't mean it's just linear. I mean a literal path where you could only move for a couple of feet left or right. You just keep on walking forward. I find each area unacceptably limited and for a massive amount of the game, you follow these areas in the exact order the game lays out. There is no illusion of freedom or exploration here.

I did come to enjoy it back in the day so I'm waiting for that to happen again this time and I could come back with a more positive opinion in a week's time but, right now, I don't think it's a patch on 4-8 if you liked those. Not even close.

[Dogg Thang]

Well I finished FFX last night. I do love some of the characters. I love the feel of the world. I love some of the characters. The game has a lot to love. But none of it makes up for the entire game design being based on a single piece of string. There is no sense of place, no geography, no exploration. Just one really, really, really long path.

I finished it just wishing it had been better.

[MrKirov]

That's why I find it hilarious that there was such an uproar about FF13 being so linear, when FF10,which was critically acclaimed, did the same bloody thing!

[speedlolita]

Exactly how I feel too. I don't mind it but compared to the open worlds of VII, VIII and IX... Not even close.

[MrKirov]

They need to bring back a proper world map over world! With secrets and nooks and crannies, and optional villages and story scenes and stuff!

Who doesn't remember finding Yuffie and going to her village by accident and getting your materia stolen, or randomly spending time on the Shinra mansion and finding Vincent! Then travelling in the sub and finding Lucrecia and getting his limit break!!

Such good content for off the beaten track exploration- and something that never happens these days because they're so scared of people not seeing all the effort they've put into their anime whiney boy characters they've created!

GRRR at modern RPGs!!!

[speedlolita]

Yuffie stealing my materia genuinely pissed me off way back when.

[MrKirov]

I loved that!! Although it did mean you HAD to do the side quest to get then back. And that could be hard if you were under levelled and didn't have decent items haha!

You got to see the Turks on holiday though!! Worth it!! Then Yuffie gave them all back to you and equipped them all wrong!! Stuff like that is what's missing from modern FF's. You know, fun and character :/

[Dogg Thang]

So 12 and 13 didn't have a world map either? Similar structure to FFX?

[MrKirov]

12 was incredible. Open world world map, played like a single player MMO, sadly the Japanese didn't like it, which is why they ditched it and went back to how 10 worked for the next instalment.

13 is like 10, but even more linear as there no backtracking allowed, no shops towns or NPCs. Infact until about 20-30 hours in when you get to an explorable wide open area, there's no deviation at all.

[speedlolita]

I stopped playing when I hit that open area as I was so under levelled. There's that one mob that gives silly exp though.. Should have just done that.

[MrKirov]

Yeah, and sadly that's all there is to do in that open area- fight more enemies :/ Was all a bit tiresome by then.

[Dogg Thang]

Sounds just like the Calm Lands in FFX.

[nakamura]

12, 12, 12, 12, 12.


Best game ever. Revolutionised the JRPG long before Xenoblade.