Final Fantasy X-2

"Divine Secrets of the Yu-Ri-Pa Sisterhood... REVEALED!"

The signs of the Apocalypse are here: Square Enix creates an official sequel to their disjointed but critically acclaimed Final Fantasy series. Not only that, it features an all-female cast - without the main subject of princess-making, dating, or cheap hentai.

At the same time, the best rapper is white (Eminem), the best golfer is black (Tiger Woods), and the XBox is succeeding and has some of the better RPGs (Morrowind, Star Wars: KotOR). Too bad the Cubs and the Red Sox each fell a game short in their quest for the World Series - or we would have gone full circle.

The actual series? Final Fantasy has a tendency to be either overrated (FF7 anyone?) or underrated (FF5 and FF6). After I played Final Fantasy X (FFX), I thought it was the most underrated of the ten games in the series. Then comes Final Fantasy X-2 (FFX-2), which, based on the lukewarm reviews that I have read, is the most underrated Final Fantasy game I have ever played.

Instead of Charlie's Angels, we have, more or less, Yuna and the Odd Couple (er, Rikku and Paine). Along with Rikku's eponymous Brother, Brother's eponymous Buddy, and whiz kid Shinra, they are out, quite simply, for adventure, for spheres... and, for Yuna, this time, it's personal. And no, it has nothing to do with a crappy Jaws sequel.

Many kudos to originality. When was the last time there was a story, much less a game, about a woman out to find the man she loves - all without turning it to the latest romance hack? And when was the last time a woman saved the world more than once (disregarding Samus from the Metroid series)?

The trio of Y-R-P (or Yu-Ri-Pa, depending on your game) stands out even better when all three are involved. What makes it so is that they actually have feelings, motivations, and connections to various characters of all Spira. It breaks from the tradition of female protagonists that discreetly think, ''I have to show those male misogynist schlubs'', and in the end, fails to assert any ideological accomplishment to the reader/viewer/gamer to which she is displaying her prowess.

We all know Yuna, and we’ll inevitably know more – this is her story - but Rikku and Paine start to really stand out - from Paine's detailed past to Rikku's tribe - all without having to deal with ridiculous continuity glitches that other true sequels might possess. A gold star to the writers for that one.

People complain about the freeform style of the game, with various optional and required quests of each of the five chapters. Theoretically, they make the game either too short or too long - more of the latter, because perfectionists like myself want to get everything in the game (and there's a LOT, trust me), and the battles can get very hard if you don't have the correct dressphere.

After all, the people that play Japanese RPGs are so used to one thing: Linearity. With, perhaps a couple side-quests that usually makes things only more confusing. I don't blame them - linearity usually makes a game's story much stronger and allows you to actually feel for the characters. But nevertheless, FFX still does the job quite well. We have a balance between optional quests and the “hotspots”, the quests du jour that (usually) need to be completed to advance the main story.

Which brings us to the acting. Like FFX, it's top-notch and I don't think any change is necessary. The voice-overs are done by professional actresses and actors, and they do their job well, natch. Yuna is played by Hedy Burress, from the TV series Boston Common and co-starred with Angelina Jolie in the movie Foxfire. Burress plays the part a lot better this time around, staying humble and reserved and feminine, yet possessing an iron will, all with little to no annoyance to the gamer. Rikku is voiced by Tara Strong (nee Tara Charendoff), who is in so many cartoons and games (including Bubbles in Powerpuff Girls and Dil Pickles in the Rugrats cartoon series and movies) it would take a whole chapter to list 'em all. Maybe that's why Rikku's so darn funny, cute, and sexy and a hit by so many of the FFX/X-2 series' fans. The only real newcomer to acting is Gwendoline Yeo (who voiced Paine, but did little beforehand), but her matter-of-fact worldview and her stoicism is top-notch. Same goes for the chemistry as Yuna's protector-friend and Rikku's foil.

There are many others (including one uncredited in the game manual for spoiler reasons) with excellent track records, but one final one of note: John DiMaggio (who voiced both Wakka and Kimahri) is better known as the voice of Bender in the hit TV series Futurama. Bite my shiny metal robot... oh, never mind. :) Hey, Square Enix do it all to push quality, ya?

The music is more or less just generic elevator shtick compared to the good stuff in previous Final Fantasy games. But, still, I found myself enjoying the tunes, especially in Zanarkand, the Celsius, and the boss battles against the Leblanc Syndicate. Jade from Sweetbox’s singing in “Real Emotion” and “1000 Words” is a real highlight.

The graphics are the other leg dealing with the aesthetics of the game. Unfortunately, much of it is rehash with recycled graphics and there are too few new locales that could have made exploring much more fun. The new dungeons are poorly made as if they came out of an amateur Quake mod. New characters? Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal are okay… but Leblanc’s dress hurts my eyes! MY EYES! Even those goggles commonly worn by the Al Bhed do nothing!

Luckily, the main focus is on the dresspheres and the entire wardrobe – and the mad skills – that go with them. Most are good, a couple really stand out (like the Lady Luck dressphere; or Dark Knight or Alchemist Yuna; or Berserker or Black Mage Paine, or anything with Rikku), but some characters look just plain wrong: Songstress Paine or Berserker Yuna want me to say ick, to put it cleanly. But then again, I saved a lot of their dressphere images on my computer because, yes, they are that good. As with everything else, there are a LOT of movies – home movies on spheres, more or less – with drama and mystery, and even a couple funny ones that would make Bob Sagat proud. Watch, listen, and enjoy.

Okay, finally, to the actual gameplay. Unlike FFX, the game harkens back to the days of the Active Time Battle (ATB) system that so many FFX fans felt that had to return post-haste.

And once it came - it conquered.

The ATB in FFX-2 feels very fluid and forces certain dilemmas on your party. For example, you could make a normal attack, deal your damage, and have a brief wait; or, cast a spell or fire your gun like a semi-automatic to deal more damage, but have a delay of time before your next action, allowing the enemies to possibly get extra attacks - if they survive your wrath. I've dealt with ATB in quite a few games and enjoyed the twists some designers instilled within the system (i.e. in Septerra Core, where you can wait longer and cast better spells or deal more damage), but FFX-2, so far, is easily the best.

Then there are the dresspheres. They allow you to change from one “job” to another if you think the situation calls for it. For example, if a character is injured and you need healing magic pronto, one of the girls can use the White Mage dressphere, transform to White Mage, and use its curative magic. Not surprisingly, the more you use a certain dressphere, the more skills you learn to send the fiends back to the Farplane.

The strengths of the dresspheres are a mixed bag. Many are good, but due to the limits of the Garment Grid (the actual setup that allows the girls to change outfits), players are most likely going to stick with only a couple of them apiece at most. For example, I stuck with the Warrior, Dark Knight and Berserker dresspheres for much of the game, with the White Mage for healing. And the “special dresspheres” (like Yuna’s Floral Fallal) remain all but unused in favor of flexibility. But it’s just me.

Then there are the many, many sidequests, many focusing on mini-games. Some mini-games are good, others bad, and others that feel just plain ridiculous. My favorites are blitzball (coaching more players is much more fun) and Sphere Break (fun, though there isn’t a major incentive in playing). But I didn’t care too much about chocobos. And there’s gambling in the Calm Lands – but when were games of chance ever fun? There are others, including the dig in Bikanel and a zany mystery game. Look out for them!

Well, that’s it… so now what? Rent or buy, it doesn’t matter, and prepare yourself the divine secrets of the Yu-Ri-Pa Sisterhood… er, the Gullwings.

The Good:
Many excellent graphics of dresspheres
Well-done ATB and challenging battles
Funny opening
Voices and acting just plain rock
Yu-Ri-Pa! And Brother is hilarious as heck.

The Bad:
Square Enix reused too many graphics.
You mean there aren't any new towns to explore - and the new dungeons are in the old cities? Bummer!
Leblanc: WORST DRESSED EVER.

The Most Ridiculous:
Paine's Songstress dressphere just looks... wrong.
Ever notice that the standard battle theme is a ten-second loop?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/14/03