Final Fantasy X was a video game that, truthfully, took me by surprise.

To offer a little backstory to the rest of my post, let’s begin at the start. Years earlier, when I was quite young, I got a Final Fantasy video game for the PlayStation 1. No, I do not keep in mind which one it was and I just played it for a couple of minutes. I was young, unskilled, and didn’t rather comprehend the subtleties of turn-based gameplay.

Quick forward in time a couple of years to when I found The Legend of Dragoon. I intend to talk more about this video game in a future post so I will not enter it excessive now. Nevertheless, I will state that it is frequently viewed as a Final Fantasy knock-off, total with turn-based gameplay and all the stereotypes of a JRPG dream title.

Nevertheless, this time I fell in love. Whatever about it was fantastic and ever since has actually turned into one of my preferred video games OF ALL TIME. Yet, I never ever went back to Final Fantasy. Previously.

With X’s remaster for the PS4, I had every factor to dive back in to this franchise. To experience it as a developed, experienced player. Things had actually altered, I understood how to play. I would enjoy the video game and go on to play the whole series … Only, that’s not what took place. I didn’t fall for FFX. I flinched. A lot. I understand this is blasphemy to all the die tough Final Fantasy enthusiasts, however let me describe. Here is why I didn’t succumb to this enduring favorite …

1|Capabilities

I’ve meant this in a previous post, today it’s time to truly discuss this point. The capabilities in Final Fantasy X are differed, varying from dark magic to white, unique capabilities and abilities. There are spells that benefit you and your group– defense, strength etc. And there are the attack spells– fire, water, and so on. These aren’t truly the issue.

It’s when you begin entering objective, reflex, and luck that their advantages get a little fuzzy. To me, a newbie to this franchise, these capabilities seem useless. Certainly not something I require in fight. Yet, talk with skilled gamers and they not just discuss what these kinds of spells do, however likewise how they are useful. I made it to the end of the world and still had not utilized numerous of the capabilities my characters can. And what about Rikku’s Overdrive, mix? You acquire a lots of products throughout the video game, yet we are anticipated to experiment to discover which ones will become a helpful mixture.

I understand this is an RPG and it is implied to be checked out, every element to be poked and prodded up until you comprehend it. Nevertheless, after investing a lots of hours into this video game, I left feeling as though it is produced the Final Fantasy veterans. The players who have actually been playing these video games for years. To me, Final Fantasy does not feel available. That is unless you wish to hunt the web for whatever.

On the other hand, gamers are offered a full-length, info-dump tutorial on how to play blitz ball. This minigame didn’t attract me so I carried on as rapidly as possible. I simply want that Square Enix had actually provided this much attention to eliminating opponents and less time discussing undersea soccer.

2|Sphere Grid

Yes, I am pointing out the sphere grid due to the fact that how can I not? What you finish with the sphere grid at the start of the video game can quickly figure out the next 50+ hours. While particular characters’ instructions are user-friendly, others are not. And after investing a great deal of time into a specific instructions for Kimahri, for example, you might understand how useless of a colleague he ended up being.

Connecting my previous point about capabilities, this rapidly ended up being apparent through the leveling up system. Along my picked course, I would discover particular capabilities that I had no concept what they did. Or if I concerned a fork in which instructions to take, it was difficult to figure out which method to go since I didn’t understand what function specific capabilities served.

While I do comprehend that video games need various levels of experience and there will constantly be a knowing curve, Square Enix has an unique skill for over-complicating gameplay for no evident factor.

3|Cutscenes

If you’re about to riot over this next point, you might be struggling with a major case of fond memories. Return and experience FFX today. Today. Not as some memory from when you played it for the very first time (or twentieth time) on the PS2.

The discussion is stilted and uncomfortable. The voice acting in English makes you flinch. (The Japanese noises a lot more natural.) And on a number of events, Square Enix would start some actually random cam angles. More than as soon as, I would discover myself entering the story, the characters. And in the next minute, the cutscene would advise me why this article was inescapable.

You might be believing to yourself that I require to go easier on Final Fantasy X. It is, after all, a PlayStation 2 title that was “remastered” for present gen. However, the issue is that Square Enix is infamous for all of these things in their other video games also. The Last Remnant, for example, was established on the PS3 and there wasn’t much enhancement from FFX. There are those who take pleasure in these video games and I appreciate that, yet I simply can’t appear to surpass the cringe-worthy cutscenes.

4|Seymour

Yep, that’s right. Seymour gets a whole point committed to himself. He made it.

Our troop of heroes have their very first confrontation with Seymour quite early on in the video game. In the beginning, he appears regular enough. I indicate, besides his unusual voice and unwavering decision to wed Yuna. However besides that, he’s a regular man.

Throughout the video game, you find Seymour’s real intents and he ends up being * surprise * the bad man. So you combat him … and after that you battle him once again, since although he’s dead, he hasn’t been sent out to the Far Plane. And after that you combat him once again. After battling him 3 times, you believe it’s over. He’s chosen great. Nope! You combat him 4 times, each fight ending up being harder and being available in several stages.

stillattempting to charm Yuna to wed him. For somebody who is so durable, he’s not really intense.

5|Pacing

The pacing is the conclusion of all my disappointments with this video game. And it’s not something I found up until completion.

For the whole video game, I moved on. Leveling up and making brand-new capabilities, action by action. The only thing delegated do now was to beat Sin. It is then that you make the capability to quick travel, thanks to the Al Bhed ship. In the beginning I believed this was simply a method of offering gamers a last possibility to experience the worlds and get some additional playtime.

However after diving in the very first couple of battles with Sin, I understood that it’s not actually an alternative, however a requirement.

All of a sudden, I discovered myself at the very end of the video game needing to go back and grind to level up. To locate any aeons that I had not currently gotten. To power up the ones I currently had. It’s not that I mind grinding in video games, it’s that I was required to do it at the end. Returning to earlier locations, the majority of the opponents are weak and get eliminated in a couple of hits. These battles are quite ineffective. Going to more current locations, the opponents are harder, the benefits more reliable. Nevertheless, it does not take long to get bored staying in the very same location, combating the exact same 3 opponents on repeat.

Covering it up …

So after years far from the Final Fantasy series, I lastly did it– I played my very first video game. And I can’t state I enjoyed it. Things like choppy discussion and bad cam work messed up a few of the more legendary minutes. And the complicated upgrade system and unclear capabilities made the video game feel unattainable for beginners to the series. Consider the odd pacing and the repeated fights with Seymour, and Final Fantasy X seems like a grind to survive.

I wish to enjoy Final Fantasy, I actually do. And perhaps if I attempt playing it once again, I will. However till then, there are simply a lot of things Final Fantasy X got incorrect.

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