Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: PC, PS4, PS3, Vita
Tested on: PC
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster – Review
We may have already reviewed the PS3 & PS4 version of this HD remaster, but now it’s time for the master race to get in on the action. Let’s see how the PC port of one of the greatest stories ever told, measures up. Prepare yourself for the rush of nostalgia and most importantly try not to cry. Or laugh… AH-HA-HA-HA-HA
Story
For those that have never played the original, FFX tells the story of a young sports-star named Tidus who sees his city get annihilated by a monstrous sea creature and wakes up 1000 years into the future, lost within the ruins of civilization. Humanity struggles to survive, as this creature, named Sin, repeatedly attacks and destroys every major settlement that it can find, as it has for the last 1000 years. Here he makes an unlikely group of friends, namely a beautiful young summoner named Yuna and her guardians.
Tidus must learn all about this new world, and upon discovering that summoners have the power to temporarily defeat Sin and bring peace to the world, he decides to help Yuna fulfil this goal at any cost. Yet not all is as it seems within the world of Spira, nothing can been achieved without sacrifice, and a mountain of secrets and lies must be uncovered before the world can finally find true peace.
FFX-2 continues on two years after the events of FFX and follows the adventures of Yuna and two of her friends as “sphere hunters”; collectors of rare remnants of advanced technology. The world of Spira is coming to grips with the idea of a world without Sin, but the conflict is not over as new factions have risen up to take control. Both major factions seek the public approval of Yuna, but she has so far chosen to remain neutral, instead opting to relentlessly search for information about the man she loves. You must follow her story and help her find the truth whilst preventing the new factions of Spira from devolving into anarchy.
As previously stated in our PS4 review, the story is somewhat long winded and might take a while to really grab you due to the long build up. But if you can stick with it, you might just discover what makes the game so special that people are still talking about it, nearly 15 years after first release.
Graphics
The updated graphics look fantastic and have given another lease of life to this childhood classic. The remake has provided a much needed facelift across the board, with even the UI looking fresh and clean. The central characters have definitely had much more attention than others though, with many of the background NPC’s retaining much of their clunky appearance from their PS2 days, albeit with a dash of fresh paint. The cut-scenes remain as impressive as ever, although it can be a little jarring to jump from the game engine to cut-scenes and back again.
The game runs wonderfully, always being fast and responsive. Some people complained about the loading times for the PS3 remake in particular, but this version has almost no loading times at all. The launcher also allows plenty of customization, which is nice, such as changing the resolution and altering quality, so you can dial down the graphics if your rig isn’t quite up to scratch.
Sound
You can choose between the original or the new, more modern, arranged soundtrack, and whilst many people seem to swear by the original, it’s nice to have the option to experience the game again in a new light. Not only that but you can actually swap back and forth very easily whilst playing, so you don’t have to be tied into using either one exclusively.
The soundtrack is of course famously powerful and epic, and “To Zanarkand” can still give me chills, even after all these years. If you’ve ever played FFX before, the launcher music alone should get your spine tingling for the upcoming explosion of nostalgia.
The voice acting hasn’t changed and is still pretty terrible in places, but actually gets a worse rap than it really is, the laughing scene in particular. An improvement upon the PS4 version is that you can actually choose to play the game with the original Japanese voice acting, although you’ll need to download a mod to get English subtitles showing instead of Japanese ones.
Gameplay
Ports of console games are often a sore point for PC gamers as they have a habit of falling short of the mark. In this case however, the port is surprisingly excellent. The game actually works rather nicely with a keyboard but should still really be enjoyed with a controller where possible. It worked immediately when I plugged in my controller, no problems whatsoever.
This remake also has some lovely little additional options like a turbo speed option, the ability to make encounters more/less frequent, and even a cheat mode where you can give your characters max stats. All of these will come in handy if you decide to complete the wealth of secrets and collect all of the secret weapons and bosses in the game. They are a godsend when you’re trying to farm fiends for the monster arena, no more running in circles for hours to get into fights.
As for the games themselves; in FFX you will find yourself following a rather linear path to follow the story. There are plenty of little hidden nooks and crannies but you cannot actually leave the main path until late in the game when you gain some freedom via the airship. Once you have total control, you can visit past areas and even secret locations to discover hidden items, weapons or powerful summons. There are also a number of mini-games to play, some are fun but most get very annoying rather quickly.
The battle system in FFX is turn based, allowing you to plan and strategise your moves before you make them and see how this affects the turn order. You can only field 3 characters at a time but are able to switch between others instantly and at no cost. So if you need a healer, or the ability to summon a powerful and destructive Aeon, you can swing Yuna into the fray at a moments notice.
Another area worth mentioning is Blitzball, the national sport of Spira. Blitzball is similar to football except played entirely underwater, inside a giant floating sphere within a stadium. During the story you are put in charge of your own Blitzball team and can complete in tournaments to win rare items and worldwide acclaim. You can also recruit new players whilst out in the world, or steal other teams players when their contract runs out. It’s almost another game within itself
FFX-2 differs significantly from the first title as you are given access to most of the locations in the world, and an airship, immediately and can basically go wherever you please. This is in stark contrast from X’s very linear storyline, but also comes as a welcome change.
The battle system too is completely different. Gone is the large team of characters to choose from, instead we have only 3 characters and you must utilize the classic dress-sphere system to transform them into whatever role you need them to play. Final Fantasy fans should recognise this system immediately from earlier Final Fantasy titles such as III and V.
Whilst it is a nice change from the original system, which by now would have been boring, X-2 fails to pull off the dress-sphere system in the way that its predecessors did. In fact the battle system is the main complaint for this title, and one of the main reasons that X-2 doesn’t quite live up to X. However, having said this, the game is still definitely well worth playing in order to get the full FFX experience, and most importantly, experience the whole story.
Conclusion
Both titles have been wonderfully remastered with excellent new graphics and the same old amazing story, as well as tons of new tricks and options. Despite the flaws, the brilliant story and wild characters shine through. If you played the original, then this is a must buy for the nostalgia alone. If you’ve never played, then now is your chance to experience one of the great Final Fantasy’s and lose yourself completely in the incredible world of Spira.
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