Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster – Review
Listen to my story.. this may be our last chance.
This quote still resonates in my mind after all these years after my playthrough of Final Fantasy X. This game, together with its little brother, was something refreshing. Now, several years later, the HD Remaster is released. Read on to find out all the juicy details.
Story
Final Fantasy X begins somewhere in the ‘middlish’ part of the game. The main protagonist, Tidus, starts to tell his story at his point of view. You get a flashback to the fabulous Zanarkand. This high-technologic metropolis is the place to be, with Blitzball tournaments being held. Tidus is a famous Blitzball player and very popular amongst girls. The evening is going superb, until Zanarkand is suddenly attacked by a big blob. Lucky as you are, you seem to survive some attacks and you team up with Auron. He’ll guide you to ‘safety’ into the world of Spira. Several more events take place afterwards, leading you to meet Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri and the lovely summoner Yuna. As the story continues, you’ll get to witness a majority of funny and even sad moments (yes, I still cried during the playthrough). I’m not going to spoil anything more, play the game yourself if you’re intrigued ;).
Final Fantasy X-2 takes place 2 years after the end of Final Fantasy X. Yuna has found her spot on Rikku’s side as a member of ‘the Gullwings’, a sphere hunter organisation. Together with Paine, the three form quite a good team. You get to witness the rivalry between 3 factions, although your goal is to find special spheres and reveal some ancient history about Spira. Giving you more details would ruin the gameplay, but the game is worth playing.
Graphics
The most important part of this review: what about the HD graphics. It is clear that the developers have put a lot of time and effort in remaking the game, boosting the graphics. The game looks very nice, stunning even. The cutscenes were absolutely magnificent back then and they can still cope with the generation nowadays.
In game, the environment feels more natural and the characters are far more detailed. The contours are nicely done and the facial structures had an update as well. All I can add is that the HD Remaster is like candy for the eye, compared to the older version.
Sound
Square Enix didn’t change anything about the sounds or music in the game, and frankly, it wasn’t necessary. The first few tones of ‘To Zanarkand’ (The music you hear when you start a new game) still moves me, taking me back to the days when I played the game for the first time. The sound effects are still nicely done, giving a nice extra effect to the game.
Gameplay
Final Fantasy X works with a ‘Conditional Turn-Based Battle System’ (CTB). In contrary to the Active Time Battle System, the CTB system pauses the battle during each of the player’s turns. In other words, there is no more time pressure. You can think about your strategy at your own pace. You can control 3 characters during a battle, when you’re venturing, you can only control Tidus. The battles also have something neat for you, namely the ‘Overdrive’. Each character has its own Overdrive state, dealing massive damage IF you do press the right buttons or you can combine the right ones in time. Yuna has her own neat trick. As a summoner, she can summon Aeons. These magical, might creatures will stay and fight until it’s defeated or dismissed.
You get experience points for every battle, levelling up your character. This will give you ‘Sphere Levels’. These levels can be used in the ‘Sphere Grid’. This gives you the opportunity to level your character to your liking, because the Sphere Grid is one big map with stats and abilities. You choice will determine the ‘build’ of your character.
Final Fantasy X-2 works totally different. The CTB has been replaced by a faster-paced variation of the Active Time Battle System. No more thinking about a strategy, although things are a bit easier as well. Since you only have 3 characters to control, you don’t need to switch around. That’s why they added the dresspheres. These special spheres gives our girls the chance to change their role. Each dress has its own characteristics and stats. This lead to the removal of the normal levelling up, but levelling par dressphere.
Every character has the same dresspheres, but the level on them will be specific. Gaining new abilities is possible due to use of Ability Points (AP). Your girls can access a maximum of six dresspheres during battle, depending on the specific properties of the Garment Grid they are wearing. The Garment Grid is a grid with a geometric shape. These are connected by slots. These slots can be filled with dresspheres, giving you the chance to access these ones during battle.
Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster has something else for you as well. Next to the normal games, you get 2 bonus levels as well. These were only available for the Japanese version, but are now ready for you to play.
Conclusion
Square Enix was right to make a HD Remaster of these gems. The story is the same, but the graphics are waaaaay better than the original ones. In my opinion, they can make a HD Remaster of every Final Fantasy game ;).
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[…] 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 […]