Final Fantasy X (2001)

Final Fantasy X - An Epic, Fun-Filled Adventure

Introduction

Square really hit us hard with this game. It was a slap in the head with a baseball bat when they released this remarkable work of art. The Final Fantasy series has been an extravagant video game milestone to the entire industry. Square seems to out-due themselves with every release of a new game, with such a vast audience and a large anticipation for every new Final Fantasy to be released, Square really needs to keep higher standards in order to surprise us with their extraordinary RPG video game masterpieces.

Game play

The entire game play of the game is incredible. Like most of the previous Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy X offers a few of the same options and medieval settings that give the game a wonderful taste of the classics. Of course there are several new intriguing features and options to the game to make it completely original and very hard to put down the controller. The game is lightly complex with the sphere board level system, mazing temples, and questionable decisions.

But the game itself is very easy to operate and learn quickly. The battles flow smoothly along with a beautiful story line that keeps you on your feet. Square seemed to construct a perfect blend of every important RPG aspect while making this game, which will make this game forever great.
Score: 97%

Graphics

The anticipation for the graphics of the game was very high, especially since the game was released on the Sony Playstation 2. It may be hard to believe, but Final Fantasy X simply has the best and most detailed graphics compared to any other game released to date. The FMV scenes scattered throughout the entire game are astonishing and will cause your mouth to drop. There are virtually no loading times, and you will have a hard time deciding if you are watching a FMV or reading the game dialogue scenes.

Probably the most enticing aspect of the graphics in the game is the dialogue held between the life-filled characters. This makes the story amazingly better compared to all the previous Final Fantasys released in the past, which seemed to just bore us by reading the dull acts. The characters given the ability to talk and interact really gives the player a since of an attachment with the character.
Score: 97%

Story

All right, so far there are really no flaws in the game. This may seem surprising, but the game really didn't have many letdowns. From the beginning of the game you automatically know that the evil force 'sin' is going to be the overall enemy to defeat, this leads us to the storyline of the game. From the first point of the game to the very last, the game sort of takes a linear approach with the plot.

This isn't a bad thing, but can lead to a very predictable game. Although there are several twists and turns to the story, you are still not that shocked when the actions take place. This isn't true for all the events, believe me, there are some serious mind blowers that will lurk up on you. The story really has depth and includes every character perfectly to give the game an unbelievable passion to play and find out what is going to happen next.
Score: 90%

Music

Wow, simply wow, the game really leaves no improvement for the extraordinary music produced by the superior Nobou Uematsu. The entire Final Fantasy series' music is more than just a constant background music that flows with the game; it is a fine art and puts a whole new definition to video game music. Final Fantasy X has an endless amount of tracks that seem to fit perfectly with the scene and the events taking place to help give the player a more realization of what is going on and feel more in to the game.
Score: 94%

Battle System:

This is probably the single most noticeable improvement of the game. The battle system is structured by a 'sphere board' that characters can move around as long as they have AP to use. After each battle characters obtain AP, these are then used to move the character a certain amount of spaces around the sphere board. This allows you to give full customization to each character in the game. This means there is really no ending to the game.

You can make characters faster, stronger, more HP, even have Tidus learn Black Magic. This sure as hell beats the simple level up system used in the previous Final Fantasys and many other RPGs out there. Also, during battle, you have the ability to switch characters while fighting. This is insane and very new to any other Role-Playing Game, which makes the game extremely fun and can turn a random battle into a pleasurable, tactical, and strategic battle of fun.
Score: 95%

Overall

If you don't have the game right now, you need to go get it. It is highly ranked everywhere and has very little flaws to upset any player. Don't hesitate on buying it, buy it now.
Score: 94.6%

Be sure to check out our complete list of other Final Fantasy Reviews.