Great review =)
Final Fantasy X is easy play and includes many good tutorials ingame and many are optional to read so playing it a second time round isn't too tedious either. As long as you're prepared to spend some time and energy with this fantastic game then Final Fantasy X is the game for you! Like all Final Fantasy games, this one's plot is completely unrelated to any of its predecessors, although series fans will appreciate all the subtle references to the previous games such as Yuna's general beliefs in general if applied to other worlds (as in other games in the FF series) and the Magus sisters from an early FF game.
The visual styling of FFX closely resembles that of Final Fantasy VIII for the PlayStation, which was the first game in the series to resemble the characters as more lifelike with non-repetitive personal shaping, shading and more realistic facial movements. The hero of Final Fantasy X is Tidus (although you can rename him as yourself at the start of the game), a teenager who is into the sport of Spira (the world he ends up in and the one he came from) and has bleached feathered hair. Unlike most other Final Fantasy heroes, this one isnt shy or stoic and instead outgoing and outragous compared to the natural order of things in the world he ends up in.
FFX features 7 main characters that you can control and communicate with in cutscenes and at events in the game. They are, Tidus, Yuna, Wakka, Lulu, Rikku, Kimahri and Auron. Tidus is the protagonist who leads the story. Yuna is the young summoner following her father's, Braska's, path. Wakka is the leader of a Blitzball team called the Besaid Aurocs and becomes the first main character Tidus becomes friends with. Lulu is a second time guardian of a summoner after her last summoner died as she was unable to protect him as she was too young, she now protects Yuna as her guardian. Kimahri is a Ronso (the Ronso tribe, race, come from Mount Gagazet) and protects Yuna as a guardian but has been her friend since she was a child. Kimahri took Yuna as far from bevelle as possible under her fathers wishes after he defeated Sin (Sin is the monstrosity in Spira and brings death) and died. Auron is the first person he meets at the very beginning of the game and you don't get told much about him at all. He travelled with Braska and Tidus' father, Jecht, on Braska's pilgrimage to get the final Aeon and defeat Sin then offered his services to Yuna at the beginning of the Mi'ihen Highroad some way through the game. Auron is already dead, he is so because Jecht was sacrificed and turned into the final Aeon by lady Yuna and when Braska defeated Sin him and Jecht both died, then Auron went back to the Zanarkand Ruins where Lady Yunalesca is and tried to avenge them but died in the process. Auron was never sent by a summoner to the Farplane (the Farplane is where dead people are sent by summoners but the ones that aren't turn into fiends, fiends are monsters) and so hung around in Spira of his own will but never became a fiend and retook his normal form as he suffered an unclean death, that's why he has a huge scar on his face. Rikku is the second person Tidus meets in the game although the last person to join the party. Rikku is an Al Bhed and fights with forbidden Machina (forbidden by the teachings of Yevon, the law of Spira) until you meet with her just before you reach Guadosalam.
Character advancement is one of the main aspects in any role playing game. FFX uses an interesting system of leveling up that has never been used in any other RPG game before. When you complete battles you'll recieve AP (experience) and you will level up in the normal way but instead of being lumbered with the stats the game is programmed to give you like in most games, which can be boresome and demeaning, you get a sphere grid to move around in and decide what path you take and what stats you gain and can forge the paths you want for each and every character you control. The spheregrid is a vast and complex convention in the game but is easialy usable and manuvered, it even gives you an optional tutorial at the start of the game. The game offers you two types of spheregrid at the beginning of the game, the beginner spheregrid is for new players and forces each character to follow a path at the beginning so that each character has a certain speciality for monsters they can defeat. This is a brilliant idea and took a lot of time to create and then balance, it is also very handy for new and repeating players as there is an expert spheregrid too. The expert spheregrid is practically the same as the beginner one and has changes as the locks are in different places, the characters begin in different places and it is a lot easier for you to make them take the path you choose for them.
The spheregrid isn't the only way to improve your characters, by the time you reach Guadosalam (about 1/3 of the way through the main story) you'll have recieved the ability to enhance your characters weapons and armours with additional abilities by using items you have aquired from chests, item shops and from the people you have met throughout Spira. Aeon's abilities (Aeon's are the creatures Yuna summons to aid the party in battle) can also be learnt by using items you have aquired throughout your journey. When you reach the Calm Lands (about half way through the main story) you will meet Belgemine again and whether you defeat her Aeon or not you'll recieve a key item "Aeon's Soul" which will allow you to increase your Aeon's stats using sphere's you aquire from monster fights. You can also increase your Aeon's stats by increasing Yuna's stats by using the sphere grid as Yuna's stats affect all of her Aeon's stats.
FFX battles are very similar to the other games in the FF series but features some key innovations that make it so that the player is more involved. Firstly, you can only have 3 out of a maximum seven characters that you control active in battle at the same time and if all three are KO'd at the same time you are annihilated and get game over then have to restart the game from the last place you saved at. This provides a balanced battle even though some are surprisingly challanging but are possible if you ahve the right abilities on your weapon, armour and skills learnt by your character from the spheregrid. There are over 50 skills you can learn on the spheregrid and then use in battle which may provide bonus sphere drops from monsters and a lowering of your enemies stats. The battles also provide a tactical innitiative as the status element poison doesn't affect players that aren't currently active in battle.
The attention to detail in characters, facial movements and scenery bring the game to life. The characters have perfectly suited attitudes and personalities to their abilities in battle if you just go through the story instead of going off to do the bonus tasks to truely complete the game. For instance, Auron plays the part of being the best combatant and he is for the main part of the game.
This game is truely inspirational and a great test of how great can a game be? This game by Squaresoft is the best non follow-on part of the Final Fantasy series and is 100% original although small aspects are from the earlier games such as the Magus sisters who's origin is Final Fantasy VI but are back and are better than ever! This game truely redefines the boundaries of what can be achieved in the means of a good game!
NOW TO FIND OUT WHY I HAVENT GIVEN THIS GAME 10/10.
I'm very sorry and I would give this game 9.99/10 if I could but Gamespot wont let me. The only thing that lets me down is that you can't go to the menu in this game and run around as all of the different characters. You can only ever control yourself... I'd love to run around as Kimahri but sadly they haven't added that small feature to their tenth game of the series.
SORRY GUYS AND THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT STOPS IT FROM BEING A 10/10 FOR ME.