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Final Fantasy X-2
Final Fantasy X-2 (X-2 is pronounced "ten-two", not "Ex-Two" or twelve, as some people might think) is a video game in the Final Fantasy series, and the first to be a true sequel to any Final Fantasy game.
OverviewTaking place two years after the defeat of Sin in Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2 follows the reconstruction of Spira, for better or worse. The story revolves around three young women, the returning characters Yuna of Bevelle and Rikku the Al Bhed, and a new young woman called Paine. The game is often criticized for having a shallow storyline, for pandering to fans' fantasies, and for its focus on 'girly' things like clothing. Others view it as attempt to bring a more upbeat tone to the Final Fantasy series as well as attract female gamers by telling a story that is almost exclusively about women: a chick flick RPG. It is the first direct sequel in the Final Fantasy franchise; the rumors for why they chose to make a sequel include 'marketing', 'the merger with Enix', 'the storyline needed it', and 'an affordable way to recoup losses from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within'. It is set in the same world as Final Fantasy X, and very little was required to update the geography. StorylineIn a prequel story to the game, (released on a Playstation Magazine demo disc, as well as as a bonus ending on the international version of Final Fantasy X Yuna is dealing with the aftermath of saving the world: the factions flowering in the Eternal Calm all want her support of their ideologies, and she is rudderless now that she has fulfilled her purpose for living and lost her beloved. Rikku arrives with a memory sphere found by Kimahri showing someone very like Tidus in a dark place, being punished, and convinces Yuna that she's done her duty to the world, and deserves to follow her heart. The entirety of the following game is punctuated by Yuna addressing Tidus, as if writing a letter to a distant loved one, with her thoughts and memories of the places they pass through and their own relationship, as she searches for a place in the new world. The main storyline of the game follows the clash of two philosphical factions as their struggles uncover some nasty legacies from Spira's ancient history. Headed by Mevyn Nooj, the Youth League is a radical organisation that encourages a massive upheaval of the systems which have dominated Spira for the past millenium. They preach complete freedom of speech, attracting support from Spira's younger generation and the former members of the Crusaders, who were disbanded after the defeat of Sin. Opposite them is New Yevon, a conservative group led by Praetor Baralai. Inspired by the now-defunct Yevon religion, New Yevon promises to make up for their predecessor's false teachings by aiding those who feel overwhelmed by the rapid changes sweeping Spira. Their motto is "One Thing At A Time", believing that a slow evolution of Spira's customs is the only way to prevent complete anarchy. Following the forced resignation of the last praetor, New Yevon is run by a committee of younger members. A third philosophy, the Machine Faction, prefers to stay out of the main political conflict in Spira, but their awesome military influence makes them a relevant factor. Headed by an Al Bhed called Gippal, the Machine Faction are pioneers of machina research, which was banned during the Yevon reign of Spira. The Machine Faction are entirely composed of Al Bhed, and use the term "machine" to distance their creations from the negative connotations of "machina". A significant portion of the game is unnecessary for completion of the main storyline, but much of the depth of the game is in the optional content, which generally follows how each part of Spira is healing, along with Yuna's search for Tidus. The themes of the game include searching for identity and acceptance of that identity, as well as coming to terms with loss, change, and the limits of personal responsibility. Like other second-time saviors, Yuna comes to reject the notion that sacrifice is the only way to solve problems. FeaturesThe battle system from the previous game (CTB - Conditional Turn-Based) was dropped in favor of a fast-paced variation on the traditional Active Turn Based system. Instead of waiting for enemies to attack, it is now possible to interrupt an enemy while they are preparing their attack, or chain your characters' attacks together for special bonuses. Of course, the same thing can be done to your own party. Because your party never grows beyond three characters, the ability to switch out characters in battle was invalidated; instead, Garment Grids and Dresspheres were introduced. A Garment Grid is simply a geometric shape with nodes on it; the nodes are slots that can be filled with "Dresspheres", which are basically Jobs from Final Fantasy V. The Grid-Sphere system allows characters to change from one Class to another in battle, and allows the player to decide which jobs any given character will have. Each Dressphere has a smaller list of abilities than the characters and classes of most RPGs, meaning that spherechanging is often advantageous or necessary in battles. Furthermore, each Garment Grid adds bonuses, for instance allowing the character wearing it to cast Firaga, and moving between certain nodes will sometimes trigger bonuses (Automatically cast "Shell", for instance). Finally, certain Limit-Break-like skills (actually a unique Dressphere) can only be triggered if the triggering character changes between all her Jobs in one battle. The field system has been upgraded, and now Yuna has the ability to jump and climb, and, in the words of Ken Berry (the SE Product Supervisor), Yuna can also "do heaps of other cool stuff". The field is still totally 3D. The world map is essentially unchanged. Most of the locations from Final Fantasy X return, though some have changed (the player was never able to visit Bevelle outside the main storyline, for instance, and Kilika is no longer in a state of ruin) and others have been added. Players are also able to visit almost every location from the (near) beginning of the game, via an airship interface--another major departure from normal Final Fantasy fare, in which the airship is never obtained until late in the game. These two changes allow for a third reworking of the game's design, namely in its storyline. As opposed to Final Fantasy X, in which the player always walked from one direction to the other and the story was likewise linear, X-2 is entirely freeform, divided by locations and chapters. The game has many locations and five chapters, and each location has one "event" per chapter. Put together, the five "events" in one locale form an "Episode". Only a few events per chapter are important to the game's overall plot, however, and these are marked on the world map as "Hotspots" (Active Links in the Japanese version). By accessing Hotspots only, the player can speed through the story (and find out whether Yuna gets Tidus back) in ten or fifteen hours if they so desire. However, the game keeps track of percent completed and only by achieving a 100% completion and taking certain actions is the search for Tidus brought to an optimal conclusion. In addition to this, the game also features a fork in the plot, allowing the player to make choices that change what scenes and percentage points they see. It is not actually possible to see all of the game's content on a single playthrough, though it is possible to achieve 100% completion. However, when the game is completed for the first time, it unlocks a New Game+ that allows you to start the game over with all of the gear, Garment Grids and Dresspheres you picked up throughout the game, as well as the same percent-completed score you ended the previous game with. MiscellaneousThis is the first Final Fantasy game to feature an all-female cast of player-characters, and the first since FF3 to feature a constant party throughout the entire game. The game includes a number of side-quests and minigames, including Gunner's Gauntlet; a third person shooting minigame and Sphere Break; a coin based minigame. It also has the typical optional dungeons and bosses: the Den of Woe and the Via Infinito. The underwater sport Blitzball also makes a return appearance. There are multiple endings to the game, depending on both percentage completed and certain actions taken at certain points through the game. SoundtrackAll of the music has changed, as Nobuo Uematsu has been replaced by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi (composers for The Bouncer ). Among the songs are the J-Pop styled "Real Emotion" and a slower paced song, "1000 Words" (Senn No Kotoba in Japanese). The Japanese and International versions of the songs are sung by Koda Kumi, a Japanese music artist. The American versions of the songs are sung by Jade of Sweetbox. Playable Characters
Non-Playable Characters (NPCs)
Cast(English)
Cast(Japanese)
Release datesFinal Fantasy X-2 was released in Japan on March 13, 2003, in North America on November 18, 2003 and European/PAL regions on February 20, 2004. An extended version of the game, entitled Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission, was released (exclusively in Japan) on February 19, 2004. External links
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