FFX-2
Well, I guess it's about time to talk about FFX-2. Only a couple of months after I actually finished it...
Good Things
- It's an existing background... This is quite nice in a nostalgic sort of way, but it's not without its drawbacks.
- Original party structure, as these things go.
- Nor is there any problem with having one character massively outstripping the others.
- Chocobo catching, like in FFVII!
- The Job system is quite interesting.
- A reasonable number of sidequests...
- I've nothing bad to say about the engine.
- It held my interest way more than Wild Arms 3 did.
- It's Final Fantasy. :)
Bad Things
- It's an existing background... Many things get re-used from FFX, and in some cases I can't help but feel that the mystique is damaged by this, particularly in [spoiler deleted]. Plus, of course, a lot of obscure little alcoves and side paths that by all the laws of reason should contain treasure chests now don't.
- Having only three characters might be seen as a bit limiting...
- Chocobos, once caught, do almost nothing. :(
- The mini-games in [spoiler deleted]. The Horror! Make it stop!
- The other mini-games in [spoiler deleted]. Only one of them seems even remotely interesting or playable.
- 'Innovative mission-based story structure', or whatever it says on the box. This makes it sound like some other sort of game entirely... It's really not quite that bad, but I did find that phrasing ominous. Plus, of course, it's no longer about a journey...
- The side-quest dungeon in [spoiler deleted]. Most Uninspired Dungeon Ever!
- The new game-in-game is even more dull than Tetra Master, and very nearly as pointless. You sort of get Blitzball towards the end, but that's been changed as well...
- Was it just me, or did the game seem a bit short?
- Okay, so you have great freedom of movement, and there is something to do almost everywhere you go. Well, the first problem with this is that the powerful monsters can't be distributed by location any more - Everything in the world is at about the same strength until specific plot events happen, at which point everything gets tougher simultaneously. This is all very well, but if like me you set out to train up specific jobs, run from one end of Spira to the other just for the nostalgia value even after having activated all the sub-plots, deliberately trying to Oversoul all the monsters and so on, it seems to be quite easy to spend most of the game massively over-leveled for what's actually going on. Worse yet, if you [spoiler deleted] to get [spoiler deleted], you seem to end up pretty much invulnerable... I think the only times that I died at all were in one of the final secret dungeons whilst getting into fights with monsters that were supposed to be obstacles rather than enemies. Oh, and chocobos killed me a couple of times. They're mean.
- Getting to the last stage of the game, then discovering that I cannot get full completion because of something I did sub-optimally right at the beginning. In fact, there's no way to tell if you did everything right until you get to the last stage and see what happens, which is all very well if you're being good and playing without a FAQ... It sure is discouraging for the second play-through, though. I realise that this is theoretically the case with other games - But in this case it's made very, very obvious that you've missed out on things.
- The PR Mission, and the other very similar one. I suspect that this is one of those ideas that probably looked quite good on paper, but when you come to actually do it... Well, let's just say that the temptation to just look it all up in the FAQ was far too high. Even if you resist, there is a pretty self-evident way to solve it if you don't mind lots of saving and reloading, and by the time you've done all that, you may as well have just used the FAQ anyway. Oh, and of course if you don't do at least relatively well, you can't get full completion...
- Plot holes. Well, specifically, the whacking great plot hole between FFX and FFX2. Maybe I just misunderstand the plot, but just compare what happened to [spoiler deleted] and [spoiler deleted]. What's up with that?
- Finally... Well, I did eventually replay bits of FFX after finishing FFX-2, and it struck me then that FFX did have, for lack of a better word, closure. I'm not sure how well FFX-2 deals with that, particularly in the matter of [spoiler deleted].
Odd Things
- ATB is back, and after the strangely lethargic FFIX and the timing-free FFX, it's fast. Very fast. I had to set it to 'Slow' just to retain control, the first time I've ever had to change the default settings on a Final Fantasy game. Maybe it's just an NTSC thing...
- You start with the airship. This is basically what it means by 'Mission-based story structure': Since you always have the airship, you can go anywhere you want, and the game therefore has to point out where the plot-advancing events are. So it's a bit like the endgame of other FF games, but it's like that all the way through.
- Chocobos can be killed in combat! It still says 'The chocobo ran away' when the hit comes in, but I've seen them fall over and turn into pyreflies...
- No Limit Breaks, or anything like them, except possibly the Special dresspheres.
- No Summons, of course.
- Is it just me, or is Yuna way too, well, happy? Maybe she was always like this, and in FFX we just never noticed, what with the Mission and everything.
- Okay, so it's an all female party. That's good. And it opens with a music video. That's fine. And the skill system revolves around the characters changing costume all the time. Okay. And when the crew get a bit indecisive about what to do, they decide to make Yuna dress up and sing for them. Okaaaaay...
In Conclusion...
I know that my 'Bad Things' list was much longer than my 'Good Things' list, but I reckon it's worth playing. It's just not revolutionary.
On to something else next, then. Maybe I could try to deconstruct all the MMORPGs I've played based entirely upon their implementation of fishing...