Final Fantasy X-2 (2003 Video Game) User Reviews

Sorely underrated, and devilishly entertaining

[jolostuki · 8/10 · 28 June 2006]

Many people see the title as overly "loose"; the story, the gameplay, the girls.

Many people forget that aside from the fact that we have now crossed the border from interactive entertainment into artistic beauty, many gamers still have one integral requisite for any entry to their video game collection; FUN.

This game is light-hearted, following the events in a world torn apart by a 1000-year war, and the events of a very depressing game in said world.

The main character, once a girl-next-door type, full of excitement and curiosity has broken her shell of naivety and humility to broaden her horizons and look for a lost-love.

Alongside her spunky cousin and a not-so-familiar denizen of Spira, Yuna watches as a plot of love and betrayal unfolds amidst her journey across many familiar towns to reunite with many familiar faces.

The girls are three fun-loving, yet scantily clad - and with good reason - females who hunt for spheres containing video snippets of long-lost Spiraian history throughout the mostly-tropical world -hence the title of "Sphere Hunters", and hence the bikinis.

The game is a dramatic change of venue from the previous title, and not unreasonably so. Along with the removal of a plot-heavy story, yet still set in the same world, a complete reversal of mood is not an unwelcome change, as it is accompanied by myriads of non-pertinent games, missions, and enemies that await those who wish to explore, and a surprisingly cohesive plot awaits those who don't necessarily want to wait, but rush right to the end.

This game was made for everyone, and at the same time, nobody in particular. It is right in some senses to say that this game is hit-or-miss for various gaming audiences, but a strong sense of planning and effort went into this game in the graphics, the music ( be they the cheesy, 70's bucka-bucka-wow tracks, or the beautifully orchestrated tracks sung by a particular main character ), the story, the unbelievably fun and compelling battle system, or the dozens of optional quests that will keep you occupied for hours.

All in all, this is a great game, because that is exactly what it is; a game, and the only thing a game needs in order to be called such is one element; fun.

And trust me, this title is packed with it.

Entertaining, but could have been much better

[kjhizzle · 6/10 · 21 December 2009]

FF X-2 was a game with which i had great anticipation of playing because I found its predecessor phenomenal. However, upon playing through the entire game, i was left somewhat disappointed.

For starters, the transformation of Yuna from a shy, sheltered and reserved summoner, into a sphere hunter/ pop singer seems so spontaneous and in my opinion, makes little sense. It seems as if Yuna as become the Rikku from FFX and Rikku has become...who knows what. Although i thought the story of Paine with the Crimson Squad was a nice addition, she acted much like Lulu did in FFX, which left little variation in the 3 sole characters you are in control of for the entire game.

Also, the dialogue was very corny, repetitive, and childish to the point where I would just want to skip the entire cut scene. Phrases such as "Oh poopie", and consistently talking about the same thing, such as Yuna wasting 3 cut scenes to talk about telling Lenne how Shuyin felt, was just un-necessary. The dialogue was not the only irritating factor, for many missions and side-quests were very lame and tedious. For example, the main mission of Chapter 2 was to gather up clothes from Leblanc's Hench men to sneak into her hideout.Even the mini-games, such as blitz ball, were painful. In blitz ball, you are not even able to control the movement of the characters or the actions they can carry out, which ruins the whole point of the mini-game. Also, when it comes time to give back the "awesome sphere" the Gullwings nabbed in Kilika, whoever you do not give the sphere ends up hating your guts, which made absolutely no sense to me. A whole group of people is going to hate the high summoner who brought them the eternal calm for not giving them a lousy sphere? Give me a break.

The procession of the game's storyline was also a drawback. You could just go to all of the hot spots in each chapter and beat the game in less than 20 hours, but then you miss out on a lot of side-quests. The problem with the side-quests though was that it seemed impossible when certain side-quests were available or not.

Another new aspect the game offered was the "new game plus data". This allows the game players to play through the game again to learn abilities that weren't learned previously, obtain forgotten dress spheres, and attempt to gain more percentage completion. However, once you beat the game once or twice, playing X-2 is not even a challenge because you can just decimate every single enemy with previously gained/ learned abilities and superior accessories (i.e. the Key to Success accessory, which comes with the "double all" ability practically makes all enemies a piece of cake, even bosses).

The subtle aspects in the game that could completely change the ending of the game were also quite annoying. Like at the end of Chapter 3 when Yuna is in the farplane (after the cut scene with Shuyin, Nooj, and Gippal), and she utters "I'm all alone", if you don't press the X button a certain amount of times, then Yuna may not even be re-united with Tidus at the end of the game. How could something that subtle impact the game so greatly?

Don't get me wrong though, i did find the game somewhat entertaining. I liked the dress spheres and the garment grid system because it gave a lot to do with learning new abilities and planning strategies for certain encounters. Also, the graphics were phenomenal and the music was still good. Yet the drawbacks of the game are just too great to ignore.

Rating: 6/10.

A fun game, but on the whole didn't fit the tune of a FF game and could've been better...

[pinkpower · 7/10 · 22 July 2006]

Final Fantasy X-2 had been a game Id been looking forward to for a long time- the end result was hardly what I had been expecting. After the magic of X, I expected some of that magic recreated in X-2. Although the music was beautiful ("Yuna's Ballad" and "Kimi He", which was featured in the Internation version, were amazing for me), the graphics fantastic, and the battle system made effective and efficient by allowing every one of the characters to be of use in battle, I was a bit (okay...REALLY) turned off by Yuna's and Rikku's clothes and most of the game dialog (although some of the lines were hilarious). Simply put, it didn't feel like a Final Fantasy game to me, more like a "Charles Angels" sequel set in Spira and staring Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. The English cover of "1000 Words", sung by Jade from Sweetbox, was a disappointment to me. I felt Jade really killed most, if not all, of the song, and would've preferred that the original Japanese version by Koda Kumi be used instead. On the whole, Final Fantasy X2 delivered good music, great graphics, an awesome battle system, and was actually a fun game to play- but all the while it just did not feel like a Final Fantasy game, and could've been much better.

Absolutely breathtaking

[soula · 3 January 2004]

Like Final Fantasy VIII, the focus of Final Fantasy X-2 isn't on the worldsaving-- though worldsaving does, of course, appear. Instead, it's on the characterizations of the protagonists and her allies, and it does an amazing job of it. I clocked in at 77 hours, gaining the Normal Ending; a replay is definitely in order and I'm glad they've included New Game Plus in order to make it easier to get the story again.

X-2 is a game where you definitely have to explore and poke around everywhere in order to squeeze every bit possible from the story; if you only follow the big clue hammer plot points, you will indeed only get the barest sketchings of a story and maybe even finish it in 15 hours. However, I feel that the Square-Enix team has used the previously created world of Spira very well, taking advantage of players' familiarity and interest in the world to weave engrossing stories about not just the protagonists but many of the characters encountered in the previous game.

It's not only a game where you have to explore in order to find more story, it's a game where you can't see and get everything on a single playthrough. It's also a game where you repeatedly run across signs that Yuna and company aren't the only adventurers and explorers in Spira.

I really enjoyed the development of the inhabitants of Spira-- what retired summoners do, the fact that the fiends of Spira encourage even grandmothers to be competent-- the game starts out extremely easy, although it does get harder later, and this is clearly meant to reflect not only Yuna's experience in Final Fantasy X but also the world's experience with wandering monsters.

Finally, the music and voice acting in FFX-2 is just fantastic. Yes, the music is peppy and jazzy. It's also quietly desolate in places, and some of the repeated themes are just beautiful. As for the voice acting-- Yuna, Rikku and Paine's voice actresses all deserve medals, as do several of the other more minor characters. They bring a richness, subtlety and depth to the story that older games could only reach for. Yuna's voice actress in particular once again does a stellar job, conveying a nervous, self-conscious, but determined Yuna who can't help wanting to save people but wants to learn to have fun, dammit. And who misses her boy a lot, underneath it all.

Good Game,but Could've Been Better

[bumpy5132 · 8/10 · 22 June 2006]

When I first beat Final Fantasy X,I literally almost cried.The end was so emotional and reflects so much on the life of young lovers being apart,I'm not going to spoil the end for you,of course=P.

So,two years have passed since they defeated Sin.Though her life is now peaceful and no worries(Hakuna Matada,haha,ahem,sorry),Yuna still senses that something is missing(I guess life on an island with nothing to do is pretty much boring).Yuna wants more out of life,now that she isn't a summoner anymore.Her two friends Wakka and Lulu still lives on the island with Yuna,and they're now having a baby together(only Lulu and Wakka,OK?).It's pretty weird how Yuna called them her big brother and sister in FFX,and now they're having a baby,bleh.Rikku travels around the world teaching people how to use machines,or machinas(wow,big difference-.-).And Kimahri lives in Gagazet mountain with his tribe.Of course Auron is dead now,and Tidus is gone also.Now the people in Yuna's village wants her to get married,but Yuna doesn't want to get settled,not until she ventures once more,the her story begins....

Anyways,It is SO weird how Yuna is such a gentle and nice and quiet girl in FFX and now she is entirely the opposite of that.I mean,her clothes is not a somewhat traditional Kimono anymore,but is now replaced with clothing that would be worn by hos,haha.She wears super short-shorts,and her top is a see-through-the-middle shirt with designs.And on her left leg is a piece of blue cloth,much like Jecht's clothes in FFX(except it was orange).I think Yuna got affected by the way Rikku dresses,in which she wore pretty much a bikini.Paine is the only decent-dressed character in this game.In this game,you can only have 3 characters to play with the whole time,but to make up for that,you have dress-spheres(i think it was supposed to be called job spheres,but whatever).And these dress sphere have special abilities you have to learn by gaining AP for each of them INDIVIDUALY.This process can takes months of playing to completely max every dress sphere in the game,let alone finding them,ugh.You have a total of 17 dress spheres in the game to find,3 of them are special dress spheres,each for a certain character.When you change into this dress sphere,for example,Yuna,Rikku and Paine will disappear in order for Yuna to activate the special dress sphere,this is much like summoning aeons in FFX.Okay,enough of that.Now the story of FFX-2 is about Yuna finding Tidus,though she knows he is gone.The reason she decided to venture once more is because of a movie-sphere she saw of Tidus,or someone that looks like him.In fact,that movie-sphere is of a young man named Shuyin,and that is another love story between a summoner and a young man that lives 1000 years before the story of FFX.Again,I'm not going to ruin the story for you,you'll just have to play the game to find out.

Overall,the story is pretty good,but the gameplay isn't.Frankly,I just don't like dress spheres.In my opinion,Final Fantasy X was just perfect the way it was and they didn't need a sequel to it at all.However,this game is not as bad as bad as I imagined,either.Enjoy playing the game!

Goofy but fun

[MissSimonetta · 7/10 · 13 June 2014]

For awhile, I disliked this sequel immensely. It felt almost blasphemous after the somber, heartbreaking FFX. Yet the years and a replay have given me a kinder view of this entry into the Final Fantasy series.

Yuna's journey to reunite with her lost love is all over the place and episodic. Unlike the first game, the story is not linear and the majority of the missions are filler, meant to show us how Spira is faring with its newfound freedom from the corrupt theocracy of Yevon. It's interesting to see this world in transition, the amount of revelry and turning away from traditions which creates much conflict within the game's universe.

The development of Yuna's character has proved controversial, though I think it makes sense. Throughout FFX, we saw the cheerful, carefree Tidus take on some of the characteristics of the responsible, self-sacrificing Yuna. Now Yuna is becoming more like Tidus, able to smell the roses, have fun, and be a little impulsive. It really fits into the yin-yang theme within their relationship.

Of course, there is a lot of rampant silliness too. The character of Brother has been altered in a most curious manner, as the writers have made him insane. He also loves/lusts after Yuna, which is creepy since they're cousins. The Leblanc Syndicate are grating and very much in the Team Rocket mold, but they're also kind of funny... sometimes anyway. And then there's the parade of fan service, from the main trio's skimpy, skin-tight outfits to a massage mini-game in which Yuna straddles Leblanc, who makes sexually suggestive moans when you massage her in just the right spot.

As for the game play side of things, FFX-2 is tons of fun. The job class system, while not as customizable as FFV's, is well-done. The Active Time Battle system is back, allowing for faster-paced battles in comparison to the turn-based FFX, which required more careful strategy.

The music is mostly forgettable and pop-inspired, though I will admit "Real Emotion" is catchy and the ballad "1000 Words" is hauntingly romantic. "Yuna's Ballad" is pretty as well.

Overall, this sequel is not as good as the original, but it is not the abomination many fans deem it to be. The game play is fun, the theme of a world in transition is compelling, and overall, it's nice to see what's become of the characters we knew and loved in the original game. If you loved the first game, then you owe it to yourself to play through this at least once.

Fantastic!!

[orli_n_me · 10/10 · 17 December 2006]

This game is excellent, and I haven't played another game like it. It starts off with three main characters: Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. Yuna starred in Final Fantasy X as well, and she fell in love then with a guy named Tidus. At the end, he disappeared, but now she's searching for a way to get him back. Rikku is Yuna's best friend, and she invited Yuna to come with her and to help her search for Tidus. Paine has had some very troubling and cloudy past issues, but she is a good friend. The three girls look for spheres (kinda like portable movies) and find that an age old machine is gonna be used to save the world. Yuna kinda gets upset about all this, and the three girls do what they can to save the world. (Again.) In the very end, if you have done specific requirements throughout the game, Tidus can come back in a very interesting and touching scene. All of the characters are very multi-dimensional, and all of the voice actresses in this game do a fantastic job conveying sadness, happiness, anger, and everything else all at once. This is one of my all time favorite games and has very different levels of being played. I love this game, and you probably will too.

Interesting

[billabum2 · 7/10 · 18 July 2006]

OK, So this game is the sequel to one of the best-selling games of all time. Yuna is convinced that Tidus is still alive because of a sphere she receives. Well, that's the storyline, but of all the time it took to get through the entire game, I think I heard about a total of five minutes about it.

Well, that's definitely not the reason why I gave the game such a high score of course. The gameplay is the best I've seen in a while. This is what ATB should have been from the beginning. When you get into a random encounter, the first person to go is the first person to hit their command. But unlike other games, you can attack when someone else is attacking.

The job system also is great. Plenty of jobs and plenty of things to do with each of them. The story of the game might not be that great, but everything else is.

Rather good as it is the first Final Fantasy true sequel.

[Aaron1375 · 9/10 · 25 April 2007]

I am a bit surprised to see this one ranked rather low here compared to other FF games, however, I thought it was great to revisit some of the characters I got to know from Final Fantasy X. An actual sequel this game features Yuna and Rikku along with a newcomer named Paine as sphere hunters. Granted Yuna is mainly doing this as a means to see if an old love is still alive. The format is different from X as it is more of a mission based and chapter based game. The story is still rather engaging, but combat is a bit tough this time around. Apparently, Rikku and Yuna have gotten vastly weaker since X. During the story you run into many old friends from ten and some new ones as there are different parties forming in the wake of the final destruction of Sin. So you have your intrigue plus quite a bit of comedy for your enjoyment as well. Still, this is not a true Final Fantasy game and it doesn't feel like one...the problem with going back to a world is you don't see all that much new stuff. There are not all that many new areas to explore much of it looks exactly the same so lets just say it does have a familiar ring to it. Still it is fun and the ending was good too. Though I have yet to see the 100% completion ending.

Had big shoes to fill.

[Ultradeth · 7/10 · 13 June 2022]

It has to be said even by fans of the game, it doesn't hold up to its predecessor and some would say it doesn't have to.

While the previous instalment was an emotional and reflective journey, this sequel/spin off takes a more upbeat direction, albeit with new problems.

The gameplay sees a return of the Active Time Battle system of older games rather than the turn-based of X, which I preferred. The minigames are a bit duff, Blitzball is even less manageable than it was last time for one. Many assets are reused, there are drab interior environments and the soundtrack is repetitive and full of short loops.

In spite of this, I don't despise it. But rather it had the unobtainable task of filling large shoes, if the minigames were better and the combat was turn-based, maybe people would be nicer to it.

The two returning leads also, the development they underwent in the previous story has been overruled in favour of turning them into faux-action girls and all the newcomers, whom were never so much as alluded to last time, have become crucial.

X was deep and X-2 is, well, shallow. If X was a Minnesota lake, X-2 is a backyard swimming pool at most. It does have the decency to introduce new, plausible plot points, that a world without Sin would still be imperfect. And providing an unlockable happy ending and sense of closure for Yuna makes it seem worth it.

Not for everyone, but nothing ever is.

CGI Charlie's Angels is what this should have been called instead

[soloriamagic08 · 2/10 · 21 January 2007]

A friend of my sister let her borrow this game,and I watched her play a while and I decided to play out of boredom and a detached curiosity. Note: I HATED Final Fantasy X(It's predecessor)so I had NO expectations that it's sequel was going to be anything but garbage and I was right.

Plot: 2 years have passed and Summoner Yuna(High Summoner now)from X and her very annoying ADD-induced cousin Rikku and a girl named Paine try to find her 5 minutes I'm in love with you DEAD lover Tidus and also try to reunite another insane DEAD boy (Shuyin) and his DEAD lover(Lenne). All the while they search for little glowing balls called spheres that 99 percent of the time hold NOTHING of importance. Oh you are laughing now. You probably think okay jokes over now review the REAL plot. Well sadly this is the REAL plot. Ohh and throw in MUSIC CONCERTS that some how quell the fighting between two political factions,getting NUDE in the heat of battle to try ON CLOTHES, fighting another scantily clad dim-bulb sphere-hunter and her cronies,and some childish stereotypical girl dialog and you have the *plot* of X-2.

Characters: Submissive, damsel in distress Yuna from X is gone (which is a very good thing),but what's in her place is not good at all. Yuna of X is replaced with Rikku 2. What's a Rikku 2 you ask. Well if you remember from X Rikku was this 15 year old hyper active stereotypical dumb blond with a capital on the hyper part. Well now on X-2 you have that same Rikku just two years older and MORE hyper like SPEED mixed with RITLAN hyper. So in essence Yuna on X-2 acts like Rikku from X and Rikku on here acts like herself from X times a MILLION.Paine acts like Lulu,Kamari and Auron. She looks like Lulu,is silent like Kamari and when she does talk it's like Auron. The little plot that was in here was about her and her friends.Very little was about Shuyin,Lenne,or Yuna. Characters from X have cameo appearances. Lulu who I hated from X is back,but her personality does a 180. She's SUBMISSIVE now with a baby from her dead boyfriend's brother. Wakka is the same dumb,disgusting ya beefcake.Just with his dead brother's girlfriend. Kamari is now elder of his people,and is as silent and useless as ever. A lot of DEAD people make cameos as well. DEAD Tidus makes a appearance at the end,but ONLY if you do certain things in the game. This whole DUMB as HELL game is about Yuna getting Tidus back,but you only do so in one of THREE endings, and again only if you do certain things EXACTLY right in the game. OKKKAY. DEAD Braska, Auron,and Jecht also make appearances as Yuna's cheering squad when she's fighting the VERY easy boss at the end of the game. It strikes me as odd that Yuna asks the Fayth to bring her five minutes I'm in love with you boyfriend back,but not her MOTHER and FATHER who she only got to see the first SEVEN years of her life.

Battle System: Made CLEARLY by sexist men at SquareEnix for horny teenage boys. The girls get literally NUDE in the HEAT of BATTLE to change into dresspheres. You put the dresspheres on GARMENT GRIDS. Out of the I think 19 or so dresspheres you can collect you only need to use TWO. The berserker dressphere,and for the final boss the dark knight dressphere. ALL the others are completely and utterly USELESS. The *Story* is mission based . As in you can go anywhere you want,but you have to complete missions. And guess what the missions have ZERO to do with the story,buy hay there really ISN'T a story so I guess it evens out.

Music: When you pop the disc into the PlayStation a concert starts with Yuna(an impostor but whatever) singing a well you guessed it a POP song. Yes, sadly I'm serious. The music in this game goes from POPPY,to 70's sounding. Again I'm serious. She has another concert in the middle of the game to quell the fighting of Spira. OKKKAY. I admit that song(1000 words) and the song in the intro of the game of very beautiful,but that's about it. The rest is ear-grating.

Visuals: Rehashed locations from X with one or two differences. It's like you are playing X all over again just with Yuna as the main character.This game has only NINE cut-scenes as well.

Bottom-line: Was made strictly BY sexist pigs FOR sexist pigs who think females act like this and want this kind of trash in a game.How else can you explain rationally the stupid dialog, garment grids, the dresspheres,the only thing that makes the world worth living in is if I have a boyfriend on my arm theme, the slut-induced clothes, the Britney Spears/Happy Days music,the concerts, and the ridiculous amount of ease battles are won (this includes the final boss as well) *plot*. To further that this game was made for sexist boys there is a hot spring scene staring the 3 main characters in bathing suits. They have a playful cat-fight in the water. Not only was this scene the most pointless B.S. I have ever seen in a game, but what GIRL would want to see that? This game is also just plain out EXTREMELY BORING as well.

Utter Garbage Sequel

[cmayle-27244 · 1/10 · 13 November 2019]

Wow, I didn't think it was possible for a game to be this bad! 7/10 is way too high of a rating. This is NOT a good game even if it was standalone. Nothing other than the graphics were good. This is when Final Fantasy started to go downhill. The characters were so lame, unbelievably lame, & the opening to this game instantly made me angry. The battle system is the worst I've ever played. (It somehow is worse than FF9 & Persona 4) The story is abysmal & tries to be way too upbeat & happy. The soundtrack is forgettable or awful. I could go on & on all day, the point is, it's pure garbage & you should avoid it at all costs!

May not be to everyones taste, but amazing none the less!

[Razzzor · 25 February 2004]

I played Final Fantasy VII many years ago, i loved it i thought it was the best in the series so far. Then this year i played Final Fantasy X i thought it was the best game ever made, and i am hard to sway. I got very emotionally involved in FFX and stupid as it might seem, i was very sad after i completed it because i had invested so much time in it. The characters and storyline were very powerful and hearing the prospect that "Tidus" the main character in FFX would be part of the plot in FFX-2, i had to buy to see if him and Yuna the summoner ever got reunited. Regaurdless of what other people think the Three main characters in FFX-2 work very well together:

Yuna-The quiet but ever strengthening Lead character Rikku-The Sassy Al-Bhed Thief Paine-The Daughter of "Auron" the warrior gaurdian from FFX

These Sexy ladies are what make the game great! And you just want to get that 100% completion to see the "Full Perfect Ending". While FFX was better, this isn't far behind.

Note: To fully apreciate FFX-2 you will have to buy/rent FFX to find out about the world of Spira and its characters.

A beautiful game just like its Predecessors

8/10!

One of the the worst entries in the series

[nkulstad · 2/10 · 18 August 2022]

Final Fantasy X was brilliant and deserves the praise it gets. It had a great battle system, great music, the perfect tone for a game in the series, great pacing, great summons, good use of comedic relief in places, the plot was compelling, it had great world building and lore and the characters were all important in some way or another. Final Fantasy X-2 is about the opposite. It has an unsatisfying battle system that's extremely easy and exploitable and the dress sphere/garment grid system is simply embarrassing. The summons were replaced by special dress spheres which are worthless. It was a novel idea to bring back the job system but the execution is simply appalling as the female characters are put into extremely revealing outfits for fan service. The tone is completely off, the plot is dumb and uninteresting, the pacing is all wrong, many characters seem unimportant and don't really add anything like they did in X. The new dungeons are dull and seem like they were made with cheap dungeon generating software and awkwardly stitched into levels from X. X-2 is about as garbage as the XIII trilogy and XV. Just skip this one!

Not that great

[PimpSkaterStar · 22 January 2004]

I was surprised that I didn't like this game too much. I mean it's alright, but nothing more then that. This game you shouldn't buy rent it and then the next day you will have beat it so you'll take it back. There is no value to this game that's one of the problems. I am not a FF fan, but I liked X so I said what the hell I'll try this game out. Yuna is cool, but I don't really care for the other two girls. I think they just made this game to make money and go on to the next one. My advice go get FFX if you are a FF fan all though you probably all ready have it. Final Score: 5.1 out of 10

Hmmmmm.

[bubs1 · 5/10 · 21 February 2004]

Final Fantasy 7. Absolutely Fantastic. What an epic. Final Fantasy 8. A definate step down, but still OK for me. The card game was a good addition. Final Fantasy 9. Ok another step down. Graphics excellent as you would expect, but a step down none the less. Final Fantasy X. A step in the right direction. Blitzball got kind of repetetive however. Excellent graphics and music. Storyline just below FF7.

FFX2. Hmmmmm. I have just started this game, and I am hoping it will improve quickly. Graphics of course superb, but considering this is meant to be a sequel, it just makes no sense to me that a person who has been training all her life to be a high summoner changes to become a pop singer/ sphere hunter.

I can only assume Square has done market research into it's games and found females buying the games less than males. And I am afraid this seems to be the result. A CHICK FLICK aka Charlies Angels where the girls kick butt, and all the boys play second fiddle. This seems to be an attempt to increase sales in the 13-18yr old female section of the consumer market.

NEXT please Square. We need another top notch storyline like FF7 with the PS2's graphics.

A genuine waste of your time

[bashizzle · 3/10 · 19 January 2007]

The second I heard that a Final Fantasy X-2 was coming out, I beat it to the store, bought it, and started playing.

I was disappointed beyond belief. Every girl seemed to be wearing nothing more than underwear. In Rikku's starter "dressphere" she wasn't wearing much more than a bra. This game would appeal to horny teenage guys everywhere, but not to much else. This story has no plot whatsoever, just a bunch of giggling girls at every corner. If you ever had a stereotype that girls were all giggly and self-absorbed, this game will only enforce that idea. I especially disliked this story because in FFX Rikku and Yuna came off as really annoying and dependent on the bigger guys to take care of them. I actually like Lulu, who could handle conflict and battle and was a total kick-butt girl.

The scenery is exactly the same as FFX. I was incredibly disappointed (yet again) to see that all the sights were the exact same, minus a few places. I'll admit that the places WERE beautiful, but so were they in FFX! What also bothers me is that you have no apparent storyline. You pick where you go, complete a few mini-missions, and that's it. There is no real bigger plot line.

I have to say, what??? to the whole "sphere hunter" thing. Okay, what exactly is a life as a sphere hunter? Sounds superficial and stupid to me. And it is. Again, what??? to the whole "dressphere" thing. Basically the girls strip (another point for you teenage boys) in the heat of battle and change outfits to get different abilities. I have to say, that not only sounds ridiculous, it IS ridiculous. Like what you wear can actually affect how much HP you have or your strength.

Yuna used to be a very quiet girl, but now she's turned into a Rikku. And Rikku's turned into a....... well, a bigger Rikku. I don't like the way Yuna's not Yuna anymore. All right, Paine is not quite as giggly, but she kinda reminds me of Lulu in the beginning of FFX. A little grouchy, looks depressed, etc. So not exactly a new character.

The battle system is tough to understand at first, and unlike FFX because if you are in the Active Mode, enemies will attack you while you are planning out your strategies for battle. So when I began, I just frantically tapped attack for everybody as fast as I could.

The music made me want to crack my head open. It was tittery and annoying at best. I won't go further.

The voiceovers were quite good. Yuna's voice matured, which bugged me, but I guess it should in a span of 2 years. Rikku's was just about the same.

The game can (and will) get annoying at times, because of all the extra things you can (and feel compelled) to do. You can always either go exploring, or just blast through the game to advance the story. I always chose to explore, but I seriously wasted my time. The honest-to-goodness only reason I saw this game through was because I wanted to see the special ending with Tidus. I think Square banked too much on people buying FFX-2 because they wanted an continuation of FFX, not because they actually liked it, because I sure didn't (an opinion I hoped you picked up on already).

I have got to say, the thing that positively bothered me the most about FFX-2 was the whole "sing/dance" thing. Ummm, wtf is that all about? You can dance your enemies into oblivion? Oooh, how clever and plausible. Not. And shy Yuna dancing and singing? I couldn't believe it.

In FFX you had characters with special strengths (Auron took care of armored fiends, Lulu took out elemental fiends, Wakka hit fliers with his ball, etc.) in FFX-2 your strength and your specialties rely on your current dressphere. Again, wtf? As long as you're wearing the right clothes, you can be a singer, dancer, gunman, warrior, or others. There is no development of a character's strength and abilities. Or very minimal development.

A summary of FFX-2: Giggling, slutty girls run around the world at will to find little spheres and battle other petty sphere hunters. That's about it.

I beg you not to waste your money (or time) buying this game. If you want to try it out yourself, at least borrow it from a friend or something. See how you like it before you go rush, rush, rushing out to buy it.

Oh, and if you're just gonna play this to see the special endings with Tidus and Yuna, well, I say watch it online.

A WASTE OF YOUR TIME.

Yuna, Rikku and Paine... Charlie's Angels?

[Kilik-Sama · 3 December 2003]

I was pretty dissapointed in the game. I am not a major Final Fantasy fan; but it never hurts to try new things.

The three female cast reminds me of Charlie's angels too much. The only thing that was cute was the dresshsperes.

Not worthy of the title Final Fantasy

[coolfreshair-1 · 3/10 · 15 August 2007]

Wow what a waste of time playing this game was. It is not worthy of the title Final Fantasy. Even my least favourite Final Fantasy game had some redeeming features, but this had NOTHING. The background music, which should have at least lent something to the atmosphere, was a type of inane and unmemorable synth-pop which just bubbled endlessly throughout most of the game; this immediately had me worried.

The character continuity it appears was not carried over from Final Fantasy 10. I mean, what the heck happened to Yuna? Yuna, the formerly serene, slightly naieve Summoner, seemed to have had a personality bypass and was replaced by a moronic cutesy hyper-kid you'd imagine would be into boys, cheer-leading, make-up, Spice Girls, pink fluffy things, and bubblegum – or in this case Spheres.

And whilst we're talking of character continuity the fact that Wakka and Lulu were having a baby together had me totally baffled. For one, he was her dead ex's brother. Two, there was never any real spark/connection between them in Final Fantasy 10 So hearing him say "Yah, I'm gonna be a daddy!" (or whatever dialogue it was he used), just made me go "Huh?!" It was almost as though someone just threw the idea in at the last minute. And the irony is that even though this 'couple' were having a baby together there was STILL no connection between them, they barely spoke to each other let alone anything else.

I felt that the plot from from Final Fantasy 10 wasn't carried over successfully and this resulted in a mess of ideas flung together to produce hours of disappointing gameplay.

The Leblanc syndicate 'villains' were an extremely irritating addition to the game; they were the kind of villain you'd expect to find in a wacky 'cartoon caper' and this just didn't fit the whole genre of Final Fantasy.

I found the gimmicky dress sphere/garment grid system childish – it reminded me of something you'd aim at girls into Bratz dolls – you just couldn't take it seriously.

For me FFX-2 was seriously flawed. I feel had this been a standalone game with 3 random female characters which had nothing to do with Final Fantasy, it could've been marketed at a genre who would've appreciated it more. However, to label it Final Fantasy 10-number-TWO and then turn into a Charlie's Angels venture was a big mistake, and left a number of die hard Final Fantasy fans feeling short-changed.

What this game could have been.....

[shadowangel91 · 4/10 · 9 June 2006]

(These are my personal opinions, so if you feel differently, don't be compelled to change your own opinion.) This game could have been spectacular. It could have been just as breathtaking and amazing as Final Fantasy X. But it wasn't.

I have no idea what Square was thinking when they gave one of the most popular Final Fantasy characters super-mini shorts and another a super-mini skirt and bikini top. Oh please. Too often was the story just ripped between Vegnagun, finding Tidus, and helping Lenne and Shuyin. I was very surprised to find out that Lenne and Shuyin's storyline had anything to do with Vegnagun. Tidus was entirely something different.

As for the Youth League and New Yevon squabble, what was with the sphere? I mean, Yuna saves their lives from Sin, but doesn't give them a flipping sphere to support their cause? That makes perfect sense. Let's all hate the woman who saved our lives, sound good? I'm also afraid that the dialouge was a little...well, childish. Phrases like "Oh poopie" were common and silly, unrelated conversations took place often. When Yuna uttered the words "It sucks," that about did it for me.

The graphics and audio/visual synchronizing were good, just everything else was a little...off. This game could have been a legacy, just like FFX, but it wasn't.

Almost the weakest of the series

[PlayerSS · 25 December 2003]

First off let me say that Final Fantasy X is my favorite game out of the series, so naturally I had high hopes for X-2. Those hopes were shot down once I started playing the game. Once I'd seen the opening cut scene I knew this game wasn't going to be good.

I'm not a fan of JPOP or any other kind of pop. Which means the music sucked. Most of the area background music sounded like 70's porn music or just some 70's sitcom show. Either way the music part of the game went back in time. The 70's sound to the game did not fit at all.

I loved the battle system in 10. The sphere grid was one of my favorite things in the FF series. This dress sphere thing was crap. It was more or less the job class system from the past FF games just retooled a little. I hated the job class system and I hate the dress spheres.

None of the character were likeable in this one. What little characters that returned from 10 were given different stories or just dumbed down a lot. One instance is Wakka and Lulu having a baby. Wakka and Lulu having a baby? Come on. The game designers could have thought of a better way to have them back.

Most of the Final Fantasies I've played have been really linear. Which worked for them. X-2 is the first game to take away the linear gameplay and add a non-linear game style. The non linear part almost killed the game by itself. This game could be called Final Fantasy: Sidequest. What seems like 85% of the game is sidequest and mini games. Mini games are ok, but this game goes overboard with them.

There are hotspots you can go through to progress the story. That way you can avoid all the boring pointless sidequest, but if you do ignore them it takes away from your completed percentage. This game is almost one big mini game with a little story thrown in here and there.

The character of Paine is a pointless attempt to have a bad ass character in the game. Most of the time the bad ass character are great. She is not. The little things that are good about the game are the jump function. I thought that was put in nicely. Also when fighting you can move around any where on the screen. Thats cool.

If you're looking for a good hardcore Final Fantasy this overly cute game is not for you.

Awful Charlie's Angels clone

[nickkulstadis · 3/10 · 2 January 2022]

This is a disgrace to the Final Fantasy name. This game reeks of being a purely cynical cash grab. It basically reuses the already explored maps of 10 and any new dungeons are so lazy looking and badly designed. Rather than having the ability to explore the areas you weren't able to explore in 10 they decided to just reuse almost all the areas with any new ones being lazily designed. A shame as there was a good 40% of the map at least to explore and areas in existing ones that were ripe for exploration. The soundtrack is aggravating, the characters are annoying, the tone is extremely unsure and the plot is entirely contrived and pointless. All in all, a pointless cash grab sequel to 10. Just play 10 and then move on. 10-2 isn't worth your time. Play any of the other numbered titles and skip any with a -2 or any other continuation of a Final Fantasy numbered game. These games are supposed to stand alone and this game and the 13 sequels are the proof as to why this is.

Tried to push my boundaries but just gave up out of Apathy.

[thevacinstaller · 5/10 · 26 May 2020]

Well, after surviving the mid/end game of FFX I decided to give this game a shot.

I enjoyed the chance of pace with the battle system and low stakes battle system but ultimately the story of hunting spheres and Yuna seeking out her insufferable dork boyfriend named Tidus is simply not enough of a hook to push me forward past 5-6 hours of gameplay.

I have been following the story and participating in battles as they appear but after Killika the difficulty meter has been ramped up to frustrating levels ---- I am now left with the option of going somewhere else to 'grind' for a few hours to allow me to play the rest of the game .....

I just don't care. I didn't like Tidus and I am definitely not invested in Yuna's journey to resurrect him from magic space land ethereal plane.

What the hell happened after 1999 squaresoft?

You have been getting your ass kicked by FAR superior western RPG offerings ----- Hell, Persona is a far more rewarding and engaging experience.

In the words of the FFX2 wordsmiths ---- This is seriously poopie.

A worthy sequel for a Final Fantasy game.

[DeadFromForum · 11 March 2004]

If you are really into RPGs that only lets you play as only female characters, then this is your only choice. The storyline may be non-linear, but that really doesn't matter. In battle, you have the ability to change into different costumes which makes this game interesting. This game also has a Charlie's Angel feeling to it since the main characters are three female characters. The most interesting sub-characters are Brother, Buddy, Shinra, Wakka, Lulu, Beclem, Lucil, Elma, Clasko, and many more. Once again, select this game for your collection. If this game would be your favorite, Yuna might make you excited thanks to her singing performance. Paine may not be the talkative type, but later in the game, she'll talk more.

a decent sequel hardly a Disappointment

[zainfazal3000 · 28 December 2003]

I liked this game, I have always wanted a real sequel to a Final fantasy game I think this was a good sequel it brings back all the charm and fun the original Final Fantasy X had. I liked the battle system in X-2 alot better and how you can actually level up traditionally (I thought the whole Sphere Grid in the first one was just rediculus) The graphics are a slight improvement but not really they pretty much look the same as they did in the first one the storyline is pretty good and gets interesting as you progress of course the game isn't perfect, I admit the whole Charlie's Angels deal with Rikku Yuna and Paine is a bit cheesy and Brother is the most annoying Final Fantasy character in existence. I also don't like how they're aren't any overdrives or limit breaks even with these flaws I hardly call ths game a "disapointment" Final Fantasy 8 Now that game was a disappointment.