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Final Fantasy X Review - PS2

The Final Fantasy series is a massive franchise for the Sony console. Every couple of years a new chapter is released to critical acclaim and commercial success. In fact, Squaresoft made that much money from the franchise that it funded the 100 million dollar + foray into the movies by itself. Expecting the popularity of the games to translate to big screen box-office success however was a gross miscalculation. The movie tanked- sending Squaresoft to the brink of extinction. Thankfully though, they have returned to what they do best, creating epic computer games. Final Fantasy X marks the debut of the series on the PS2. Armed with plenty of ice coffee and biscuits, I locked myself away for a few days in order to give it a good thrashing.

Gameplay

FFX tells the tale of Tidus, a star blitzball player for the Zanarkand Abes. We join our hero as he arrives for his next big match, stopping to sign autographs and giving advice to little kids on his way into the stadium. Blitzball can best be described as a water polo type sport- set inside a massive water sphere. As the big game begins, we see the rising of a mass of water from the ocean-, which eventually gets bigger and starts to engulf the city. As Tidus is about to complete his trademark move- he sees the water and quickly reaches out, grabbing onto a ledge. Losing grip, he falls to the ground, where he meets Auron who tells him to get up and get out of there. There adventure eventually leads them face to face with the water, which is known as Sin. Sin engulfs the two. Tidus is awoken by a misguided blitzball as he floats aimlessly in the ocean. Gathering his senses, he heads into the shore where he meets Wakka, a fellow blitzball player, who informs him that Zanarkand was destroyed some 10,000 years ago. Their journey takes them to Besaid and in contact with the Summoner Yuna and her guardians. So begins Final Fantasy X.

A role playing game, Final Fantasy X has a few notable changes compared to previous efforts. There is no world map this time. Instead a small radar appears- mapping out your current area, highlighting exits, save points as well as an arrow pointing you to your next destination. While this might indicate an end to the traditional free-roaming FF game, there is still a lot of exploration to be done. Hidden chests are still littered throughout the world and you can still find plenty of side quests and tasks to keep you busy. One of the sub-games is actually blitzball. In fact you can compete and play in your own season! As always there are plenty of characters that join your party along the journey. More than ever, all the characters will play a big role in your progress. Gone are the days when you played favourites, keeping the same party together in order to boost ... (continued next page)