First time completion and I find FFX to be a game with a compelling world that it struggles to fully execute in the story. I could be wrong but it feels like the transition from PS1 to PS2 and the addition of voice acting meant the dialogue had to be dialed back or dumbed down to accommodate; pile on some wonky performances on top and you have a game oddly feels more aged than anything from the SNES/PS1 era. Though there's also the typical JRPG tropes that drive me insane, like how long it takes for the world to actually open up, the spike in difficulty at points, and grindiness the game asks for at times and in a number of side quests.
But it's not without merit; the Sphere Grid is such a great concept and has so much more muscle to it than your average skill tree in 2023 (looking at you FF16). I love the ability to swap characters in and out during combat, it adds to the feeling you can create your team exactly as you want to prepare for any enemy in the game.
The overall setting does feel wholly unique, I do think a large part of the reason people have such reverence for FFX is that its setting sets it apart from the typical medieval fantasy or futuristic settings the series typically bounces between, and even for a 20 year old game it has a number of backdrops with a tremendous amount of scale to them.
Sin is one of the stronger antagonists Square has created in that it’s not a typical malevolent force out to destroy the world or recrate the world in its image, it’s just a giant fucking whale that destroys because that’s what it does, but then it falls short with the serving antagonists around it (also what the fuck is that final boss fight about).
So yeah, it’s pretty good - nowhere close to the best FF, and with a bunch of systems I’d love to see them tackle again in the future. Just don’t ask DiMaggio to do the accent again, OK?
But it's not without merit; the Sphere Grid is such a great concept and has so much more muscle to it than your average skill tree in 2023 (looking at you FF16). I love the ability to swap characters in and out during combat, it adds to the feeling you can create your team exactly as you want to prepare for any enemy in the game.
The overall setting does feel wholly unique, I do think a large part of the reason people have such reverence for FFX is that its setting sets it apart from the typical medieval fantasy or futuristic settings the series typically bounces between, and even for a 20 year old game it has a number of backdrops with a tremendous amount of scale to them.
Sin is one of the stronger antagonists Square has created in that it’s not a typical malevolent force out to destroy the world or recrate the world in its image, it’s just a giant fucking whale that destroys because that’s what it does, but then it falls short with the serving antagonists around it (also what the fuck is that final boss fight about).
So yeah, it’s pretty good - nowhere close to the best FF, and with a bunch of systems I’d love to see them tackle again in the future. Just don’t ask DiMaggio to do the accent again, OK?