Amazing detail and good storyline
User Rating: 9.3 | Final Fantasy X (Mega Hits!) PS2
Only in the middle of its second generation, the Playstation 2 has already seen visually mind-boggling titles such as The Bouncer, Zone of the Enders, Metal Gear Solid 2 demo, Star Wars: Starfighter, and of course the incomparable Gran Turismo 3. Although, it would be only weeks that another game would be released, that defined the visual integrity of the aforementioned. Boasting visual aspects that would make even the most bitter fanboy rise in sheer delight! Final Fantasy X is one of those games that can brighten up any day with its bright and vivid colors. Its visuals feed the eye with tons of eye-candy, as Square has done a tremendous job of turning FFX into the best looking videogame thus far. With the powerhouse technology at Square's hands, a first ever inclusion into the series has been implemented, voice acting and lip-synching to go along with it. The lip-synching looks almost as good as a perfectly translated anime-manga series. On occasion a little miss-timing is present, but nevertheless the overall presentation of the mouth to speech coordination is excellent. Far exceeding my initial expectations, FFX has blown me away with its monstrous level designs, the immense -and may I add real-time- backgrounds, and of course the tearfully beautiful CG work. With the medium format being DVD based, CG compression shown off in the game is like nothing you've ever seen before. When viewing these gorgeous strands of animation in motion, you'd swear the same techniques were used to create FFX's CGs, as was Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The level of exuberant detail is like no other, the way every single strand of hair moves independently (just like the movie), the way the clothes wave in a cool breeze, and the way the facial detail is so defined you can notice fine things like pores. Final Fantasy X has marvelous CGs, no-doubt about it, but when one isn't running, Square utilizes real-time and produces a real-time sequence via in-game engine. The CG and in-game sequences substitute seamlessly, absolutely no loading time in between, it's spectacular. At times it's hard to distinguish real-time from CG, that's how defined the in-game engine is! Now following an all new 'yellowbrick' road, Square has finally cast real-time environments, a first for the series. Every little environmental detail shines in FFX. Be it pottery or a building, Final Fantasy X is filled with a deluge of triumphantly done textures, the vast magnitude of the detail is simply phenomenal. It's tough to compare the characters of Final Fantasy X to the characters of Metal Gear Solid 2. After all both games have already been nodded as single-handedly the two best looking PS2 games thus far. While Metal Gear Solid 2 is without a doubt a gorgeous title with excellent character detail, it lacks slightly in terms of variation. Final Fantasy characters have always been known for their artistic designs, characters such as Kain, Cecil, Cloud, Sephiroth and Zidane conferred their respective 'fantasy' with their unique appearance. Zidane wore a pirate-esque outfit, and had a tail. Sephiroth had a very dark demeanor, and with one look at his eyes it becomes painfully apparent. He -Sephiroth- wears a long black trench coat, and carries a curved-tip sword. Character inspiration has always been a force in Final Fantasy games, thanks to legendary anime artists such as Yoshitaka Amano and Tetsuya Nomura. And Final Fantasy X is no exception. Boasting some of the liveliest characters in an FF to date, each has excellent clothing detail. In addition to that, the characters boast a spirit of realism. They stand out amongst every other game character, and they have a glow to them, that almost shouts: "I'm 'this' close to actually breathing your air." Creepy, but true nevertheless. The amount of polygons each character features, eclipses anything you've seen in the past. Take Auron for example, he is a middle-aged man, and his outward appearance shows it. He's detailed with some facial wrinkle-age, and a 5 o'clock shadow. In-fact, I'd say he's possibly the most detailed character in the whole game. It's stunning really. It's hard to imagine how any other future title, on any console can compete with Final Fantasy X. It is bar-none, hands down, the best looking game to see release on any platform. 
