Final Fantasy X-2: "Well... that certainly wasn't dull."

After nearly 34 hours, I've finally finished it! I swear, the pacing nearly made me drop it but, at the same time, the combat and the characters gave me the strength I needed to make that final push and clear the game.

Originally released on the PlayStation 2 in 2003 (JP/NA) and 2004 (EU) but later released on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita in 2014 and on the PlayStation 4 last May, Final Fantasy X-2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed and fan-favorite Final Fantasy X, released 2 years before it.

Now, if you ask a Final Fantasy fan what he/she thinks about Final Fantasy X-2, you'll get an answer along the lines of "the combat system was wasted on that thing". And they're not completely wrong.

Final Fantasy X-2 follows the adventures of Yuna, Rikku and Lulu MkII Paine in a now (seemingly) peaceful Spira, free of the looming danger of Sin and the machinations of the Yu Yevon religion. They travel together with Brother, Buddy and Shinra in an airship by the name of Celsius, hunting down rare spheres and solving problems that arose with the appearance of two antagonistic factions: the Youth League and the New Yevon.

And that's pretty much what I'm going to say about the story. It only goes down-hill from here, really. While the premise seems rather interesting, the story ends up being nonsensical while trying to be somewhat serious.

The characters, however, were the main attraction of the story, at least for me. Yuna becomes an up-beat person, Rikku... is still Rikku, Paine actually develops into an interesting character, and Buddy and Brother are pretty comical. I admit that the general "up-beatness" of the game can get annoying and that Buddy's and Brother's jokes are not for everyone but even if you, like me, start hating the characters right off the bat, there's still a chance you end up liking them.

Gameplay-wise, Square brought back the Active Time Battle system of previous Final Fantasies (strangely absent in Final Fantasy X) while refining it and introducing the option of changing jobs dresspheres in the heat of battle. Three nuances stand out in X-2's itineration of the ATB system: the first is that characters move "freely" in the battlefield, the second is the introduction of a "Chain" mechanic and the third is the "Garment Grid".

Why is "freely" in quotes, you ask? Because characters don't move freely in the true sense of the word, they simply approach the target (if using melee weapons of course, otherwise they stay in place), whack it and then make a small jump backwards. You don't really control any movement directly.

The Chain mechanic is exactly what you expect it to be: chaining attacks to slightly increase the damage done to the enemy. Nothing groundbreaking, but still an interesting idea.

Example of a Garment Grid

Garment Grids are basically the dresspheres available during battle. Each Garment Grid has X slots (ranging from 2 to 6 or more) where you set the dresspheres and then the character that has that specific Garment Grid equipped can only change between those during battle. They also offer passive bonuses in the vein of "Strength +15", "Immunity to Poison" or bestowing magic and skills, so there's plenty of room for customization.

Speaking of customization, there are NO weapons or armors in the game, unlike Final Fantasy X. You can only equip a Garment Grid and 2 accessories. 

Exploration in Final Fantasy X-2 is rather unorthodox. You start the game with an airship (that functions as a hub) and choose from a menu your destination. ANY destination. Yes, you can explore every corner of Spira right away, although you need to be careful with the local monsters's levels. In each destination there's a mission per chapter and where you have a "Hot Spot" notice means that the mission in that area needs to be cleared for the story to progress.

Honestly, this system, while fun at first, gets tiring after a while. You'll be visiting the same places over and over again. Good thing the game is rather short, unless you want to complete all missions and attain a 100% clear rating that is, in which case it can take beyond 40 hours.

If you're playing the HD remaster, there's also the Creature Creator and the Last Mission, both features previously Japan-only. Creature Creator is basically a monster collector while also letting you use monsters in battle instead of Yuna, Rikku or Paine. You can't control the monsters directly, just toggle their aggressiveness between 0 (do nothing) and 5 (always attack). Last Mission is a 80 floor tower where the trio fight monsters, obtain loot and talk about some of the events that transpired during the course of the main game.

...And that's enough about Final Fantasy X-2. I liked it, mind you, otherwise I wouldn't be thinking about tackling one or both of the post game dungeons. Still, it wasn't the follow up to Final Fantasy X that many (like me) were waiting for and it is sort of a slog to play, specially considering the weak sense of exploration, only aggravated by 90% of the game being reused assets from X and the terrible camera that only hinders the player.