As part of my attempt to get more into the franchise, I decided to give one of the most acclaimed ones a shot and see how I felt about it. What I got was an enjoyable, yet sometimes tedious adventure with a fun story and a (mostly) solid cast of characters.

Let's get it out of the way: the minigames in this game often range anywhere from mildly annoying to downright frustrating. I personally didn't care much for Blitzball so I mostly stayed away from it, and the assortment of games aside from that (Chocobo racing, butterfly catching, lightning dodging, etc.) were basically all duds for me. I'd imagine it was a combination of baffling design and old-game syndrome but playing them in a modern gaming content just felt miserable as most felt like they were made specifically to frustrate the player and make it nearly impossible to win until you've given them a fair few attempts.

As for the combat, I think it was mostly solid. Outside of a few encounters (one late game boss in particular was NOT IT) and some various cheap tactics from enemies, I felt like the turn-based battles played out in fun ways and I appreciate the on-the-fly character switching. Having to make sure every character acts in a battle to get AP (the game's experience equivalent) was kind of a drag but I got over it pretty quickly. The Sphere Grid system that enables characters to upgrade stats and learn skills was a bit odd at first but I grew to appreciate what it was going for over the course of the game, with my main complaint being the availability of some of the "lock" spheres needed to unblock paths to some of the more impactful moves the game has to offer.

As I said, this is one of the handful of FF games I've played and as such I felt the story was an overall solid experience. Tidus and Yuna's relationship was fun to see grow (albeit with some rather outdated voice acting/character movements) and I felt the core cast all gelled well with one another. Some got fleshed out less than others (Lulu specifically felt somewhat dry and lacked much of anything interesting plot-wise outside of a sidequest or two) but overall they did well with what they had and the narrative kept me playing and curious to see where everything was headed.

Overall I liked my time with Final Fantasy X and can see why it's such a beloved entry in the series. I had my qualms with it and it's by no means perfect, but as a JRPG fan it's hard to argue that it wasn't influential to games that came after it in the space.

I played this on release but decided to run through it again knowing it’s a fairly short game and I’m happy to report it’s just as enjoyable the second time around.

It’s a great remake that keeps the spirit of the original in tact while giving it a very appealing makeover. The narrative is a basic “beat the bad guys” plot and it does exactly what it needs to. The combat is the focus here and it’s simple, yet extremely effective.

Battles are turn-based and feature action commands, a feature that would be incorporated into multiple Mario RPG spin-offs in the future. Every character (including the fun additions of Mallow and Geno) are charming and each bring a unique identity to the game and give you enough options in fights to keep things from getting stale throughout the relatively short runtime of the game. The remake adds team attacks that gradually build using a gauge and make fights even more manageable than they were in the original.

With that said, the game is VERY easy. The original wasn’t known for its difficulty and the remake is even easier with more ways to win and the balance staying relatively unchanged between the versions barring a handful of bonus fights added in the remake which may provide a bit more of a challenge for many players.

Overall I’d say this is a must-play for any turn-based RPG fan. As someone who had no nostalgia for the title prior to the remake, I’m glad Nintendo acknowledged such a fun legacy title with so much love and care and I’m looking forward to a hopefully experience with the upcoming TTYD remake.

This is one of those games I can’t help but have a ton of respect for after finishing it. As a relatively new Vanillaware fan (Unicorn Overlord was my first title from them) it’s no wonder this game is beloved by so many and I’d say it’s more than earned it’s passionate fanbase.

The prospect of weaving together a narrative of 13 different protagonists to create a cohesive story isn’t something I would’ve ever thought could work as well as it does here, and the fact that it does is extremely impressive. With that said, there are some hiccups with the overall story presented here which frankly was always going to be the case given how ambitious this method of storytelling is.

Most if not all of the protagonists are endearing and have their own standout moments from their own stories, and being able to gradually piece things together in varying orders depending on whose stories you focus on was overall a fun experience that does a great job of getting you attached to the characters themselves. Some were more interesting than others (Minami and Ogata were particularly great) but I’d argue everyone at least had something going for them that kept their respective narratives interesting. I had a few qualms with the ending of the overall plot and felt some aspects were rather convoluted but at the end of the day it’s more than serviceable and accomplishes what it sets out to do.

The combat sections are…fine. You assign members of the team weapons and abilities to fight in squads through strategic mech battles fighting off waves of machines, and its clear that while these sections serve the plot, it isn’t the focus of 13 Sentinels. It works well enough and can thankfully be taken care of relatively quickly if you know what you’re doing, especially given that the battles themselves aren’t particularly difficult.

Overall, Vanillaware made something special here and it’s no wonder that this game has developed such a dedicated following. It isn’t perfect, but the scope of the game combined with its endearing cast of characters makes this a title I’d recommend to just about anyone into narrative-heavy titles.