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Grand Theft Auto 3 | Final Fantasy X | ATV Off Road Fury
Final Fantasy X
Overview
Adolescent Tidus is a champion Blitzball player (ellaboration a little later) who, through the unlucky incident of an evil entity called Sin, is blasted 1000 years forward in time. Yuna, is a summoner in this future world where she has been called upon to do the dubious task of collecting all of the Aeons (Aeons are powerful spirits locked in holy sanctuaries throughout the land) of the land of Spira in order to momentarily destroy Sin. Auron is the mighty swordsman who travels back and forth through these two times by the power of Sin believing that Sin can only be defeated by uniting Tidus and Yuna.Final Fantasy X is another epic game in the same pool as the previous nine. But unlike FFIX, FFX goes back to those strange worlds where both technology and alchemy coexist. Huge expansive cities that are overflowing with mythical devices are united with the fact that you are traveling with a woman (Lulu) clutching a doll capable of launching lightning attacks from the heavens. And, as is the tradition, this game has nothing to do with the previous nine. The only constant is the names of Aeons like Shiva, Ifrit, and Bahamut, and the chocobos that seem to breed everywhere in the universe that is Final Fantasy.
Together with Yuna’s guardians (individuals who guard her on her quest, most honorable role), Lulu (the black magic caster), Wakka (the captain of the local Blitzball team Besaid Aurochs) Kimahri (the stoic, deadly Man-Beast, also known as Ramzas), and Tidus, become engaged in an adventure that they never believed possible. Meeting up with the strange organization called the Al Bhed and the "hot as a pistol" Rikku, Tidus’ days as a spoiled professional athlete are over.
Together with Yuna’s guardians (individuals who guard her on her quest, most honorable role), Lulu (the black magic caster), Wakka (the captain of the local Blitzball team Besaid Aurochs) Kimahri (the stoic, deadly Man-Beast, also known as Ramzas), and Tidus, become engaged in an adventure that they never believed possible. Meeting up with the strange organization called the Al Bhed and the "hot as a pistol" Rikku, Tidus’ days as a spoiled professional athlete are over.Gameplay, Controls, Interface
Alright, let’s get down to the meat of it. Prior to putting this game into my PS2, I was a little taken back. But this is the mother of mother of all RPG franchises AND the game that all other RPGs aspire to be on the console systems, so I was a little surprised to see this minor flaw immediately after starting to play. As I began to play the game more several things became apparent to me. One, our primary hero Tidus, is over friendly, outgoing, professional athlete who, for some reason, looks like he belongs in a staring boy-band. I guess I’m used to these lone-wolf, solemn characters who are haunted by some past tragedy. And, although it was nice to see a lead character without the same repeating characteristics, in the beginning I had hoped for a different direction for him. Well, the next thing I found a bit strange is the character Wakka. Wakka is a blitzball player in the future and carries a blitzball as his initial weapon. The part that confused me was whether this is the same blitzball that’s used in the actual sport, since in this sport, players kick, throw, and catch this particular ball, without any sort of damage occurring. So why would you carry an object like this into battle? I second this to carrying a football into combat. Yes, you could throw it at someone and even hurt them if they weren’t looking (especially if it hit them in the nose) but can you honestly say that you could kill an animal the size of an antelope with one? NO IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!
Something I wasn’t expecting was how the game flows. Typical Final Fantasy RPGs have a free range type discovery mode, such as "We need to go to the city of Misgasha." You and your party would then leave whatever location you were at and be allowed to roam some massive countryside looking for the city of Misgasha. But in FFX, the game completely removes this feature. When you find out you will be traveling to Luca, a small cut-scene pops up where it shows the line being drawn from one city to the next. Well, after that you then most likely will watch some more of the game's numerous cut-scenes and, once the cut-scene is finished, you have arrived at your location. It is impossible to get lost in this game since you are always being led around by your feet where to go once you reach the city or another location. It’s up to you, if you want to open a door you might see that isn’t indicated by the arrow, but for the most part the room will probably just contain a treasure chest and you will have to exit it and continue on your path. I honestly say that I missed the old style of traveling.
Finally, on a tart note, there are an absolute ton of cut-scenes in this game. I actually believe I have played the game a lot less than I have watched it. And although the deep story-line needs to be transferred, I almost wondered if they couldn’t have done it in another way. I remember a time when you played and beat a game like FFX to see the cut-scene ending in all its animated glory. Now, we have cut-scenes after cut-scenes throughout the entire 40 hour game.
Graphics
The first thing I noticed were the unstable graphics of Tidus’ hand in the intro.Final Fantasy features some of the finest graphics ever to crown the PlayStation 2. The water effects are spectacular, as are the bright colors of combat. The massive "Sin" is as impressive a monster as you will ever see in a video game. My breath was taken away on more than one occasion. Characters are too pretty, if you know what I mean (no acne or scars). Fiends, as they are called, look appropriately wretched and somewhat evil. Boss battles are nothing short of glorious and the attention to detail on the monsters' skins was fabulous. I wish the game didn't have the same cut-scene over and over every time Yuna called forth a Aeon, as the lack of a "skip" button started to wear on my nerves. But, all and all, the cities look awesome, the 3D rendering is nothing short of miraculous, and the luxurious territorial all prove that the PS2 can be part of the new systems.
Audio
HOLY CRAP! These characters actually have voices! And pretty good ones too. The accents of Wakka and his fellow islanders is a reflection of real life Hawaiians. It sounds really good. But my favorite voice was that of Lulu -- she comes off as ignorant and says some really mean things, but damn she does sound awesome (plus she's good-looking). Combat noises all sound crisp and clear and the music that chimes in after winning a battle will sound real familiar to those who play Final Fantasy a lot. The orchestral accompaniments that pop up throughout the game are all sad sounding and are given really well.
Rating System (scale of 1-5):
Graphics: 4 (Little shaky, but acceptable for PS2)
Sound: 5 (Amazing, Like Lulu's voice)
Controls: 4 (really easy to learn, but like old travel set up)
Fun Factor: 5 (Very Fun, Keeps the FF series alive)
Total Rating Points Earned: 18/20 (Game of the Year Candidate)