Developers: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: PS3, PS Vita, PS4
Tested on: PS4
Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster (PlayStation 4) – Review
We’ve already reviewed the Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster for PS3 and PS Vita about a year ago and now it’s time for the PS4 version to get the same treatment. How good can another version of an already remastered game look you wonder? Well, you might be surprised at the result. For those among us who haven’t been able to play either the original game or the edition which came out on the last-gen consoles, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster is the perfect place to start.
Story
Main protagonist Tidus (well, I named him Icenas because I thought he looked more like an Icenas than a Tidus to me but moving on…) tells us the story of what he encountered in the past. The way he sounds in the beginning is pretty dramatic compared to the joyful boy he seems to be in the actual game. Anyways, it doesn’t take long to see why. Tidus met Sin, a weird creature that likes to terrorize the world of Spira and which apparently destroyed Tidus’ hometown Zanarkand. Later down the road, he meets Yuna, a young and talented Summoner, Wakka, an energetic blizball player, Lulu, a rather creepy and gruff mage and the cat man Kimahri (yeah, you read that right!). Soon enough, the group goes on a quest of defeating Sin and this is basically what’ll keep you busy most of the time. Of course, that’s not all what there is to the story (Tidus’ relationship with his presumed dead father is another important theme and of course, there’s some romance between Yuna and Tidus) but this is the main plot line in Final Fantasy X.
Final Fantasy X-2 sets off two years after the events of Final Fantasy X. Obviously (as this is still a sequel), the effects of the previous game still linger here but life went on eventually. The game resolves mostly around Yuna, who has now become a High Summoner. Apparently, Yuna, together with her friends Paine and Rikku, is part of some kind of hunter group in search of valuable spheres. Alas though, they are not the only ones in Spira with that occupation and soon enough, rival gangs are going up against one another.
The two stories are alright to follow but as both are pretty lengthy games, the plot might fail a bit to impress at times because of the slow build-up. Still, if you stick with it, both games might surprise you in a very positive way.
Graphics
For a game (and with game, I mean both games, unless otherwise stated) that came out originally in 2001 (2003 for FF X-2), the Remaster is certainly a breath-taking sight. Although the game is of course not anywhere close to modern games like Dragon Age: Inquisition or the recent Witcher 3, it does it’s very best to bring about the finest graphics you can expect. The cut-scenes are baffling and stand in high contrast with the rest of the game (most noticable in FF X) as the ingame graphics feel a lot older than those you see in the clips. Still, not once will you hesitate to continue playing because of lacking graphical details or fine-tuning.
The only thing less likeable in the graphical department is when the game awkwardly shifts from cut-scenes to ingame clips and back. As both kind of scenes are very different from each other (meaning that the cutscenes are just so much more detailed and beautiful to look at), this might break immersion for some. Applying this technique proves to be very disctracting when all you want to do is watch the story unfold without shifting back and forth from ingame shots to real cut-scenes.
Sound
Music is certainly one of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD strongest suits. Even when you just start to game, a beautiful, soft and heart-warming piano song will greet and welcome you to your Final Fantasy adventure. The song immediately sets the standards pretty high for the rest of the journey and the Remaster succeeds fantastically in bringing the finest and most suiting songs throughout the two games. Another great feature is that you can choose to play with the original music in the background or you can choose to opt for a more modern and smoother version of the soundtrack.
On the negative side, the voice acting is only available in English and isn’t always as good. Tidus’ reactions for instance can be quite awkward as the lip sync is way off and his high pitched voice makes a scene pretty goofy all around. Some voice acting is okay like the speech for Lulu and Yuna but at times, you might wince at the sound of some of the personages. It’s a bit of a shame that the original Japanese are not included as some fans really love to play their games in the original language (including myself).
Gameplay
As with most RPG’s, you can move around the character with the analog stick and explore the area at your heart’s content. As you walk around, the screen might ‘shatter’ and BOOM you’re in fighting mode. Final Fantasy X knows a turn based fighting system where each participant may choose an attack and opponent to strike it with. If you feel that the health meter could use some attention, press the item option and drink a potion. Think it through though as this will skip a change to attack the monsters before you.
Progressing the story will give the player the opportunity to meet more people and some of them can join your party. As obviously not every single one of them can stand at the ready in a battle, the switching system provides you with enough flexibility to perform some strategic moves. You need a healer? Just call Yuna and she’ll come running (if she isn’t already on the battlefield of course, that would look rather silly) and replace the character you control at that moment. Like this, choosing party members and switching them around becomes child’s play and make your chances of survival a lot more likely.
Defeating foes will result in you earning points which you can spend in the Sphere Grid. Here, all kinds of upgrades and extra abilities are up for grabs but you must look closely at which you wish to unlock as turning around in the Grid might cost you quite a lot of valuable points. Thanks to the Sphere Grid system, the player is free to shape the characters to their liking and make the most useful team yet.
Final Fantasy X-2 uses another sort of fighting system. Whilst FF X used a turn-based system, FF X-2 surprises with a more real-time version of battling enemies. Now, you don’t want to linger too long while deciding what to do or who to attack as the opponents won’t wait around indefinitely. As of now, there’s a meter at the right side of your screen which tells you how long you need to wait to attack again. This meter is separate from other characters in your team so if you use the system wisely, you can chain some moves from multiple characters together.
Furthermore, switching characters is a thing of the past as you’ll never have more than three party members at once. This makes the game a bit smoother in gameplay while the player can still think about strategy although it’s not so prominent as in FF X. While the Sphere Grid has been dropped, it’s been replaced by something called ‘Dresspheres’. Basically, they give a character certain abilities if the Dressphere is equipped. There are numerous spheres to choose from like Alchemist, Full Throttle and Lady Luck to name a few. After having played FF X, FF X-2 feels like a rather refreshing experience and certainly doesn’t make you feel like you’re playing F X 2.0.
Conclusion
If you think about the age of these games, it’s quite remarkable that the Remaster did such a good number on them in terms of graphical upgrades and cramming a lot of content in one package. For the fans and veterans of the series, there’s the choice to opt for the original music which is of course great for nostalgic reasons. On the other hand, the voice acting is quite bad at times, the lip sync doesn’t always match and the switching between cutscenes and gameplay shots can get quite annoying at times. Still, this is certainly a remaster worth purchasing for newcomers and veterans alike.
Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster (PlayStation 4) – Review,
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