2003-me would have despised the tone and style of this game. 2023-me absolutely adored it...which is why it kind of pains me to find myself abandoning it. Its structure, which essentially amounts to a selection of side quests that you can pick and choose from, wears exceedingly thin, and without a compelling enough hook for the narrative to push me forward, I found myself burning out extremely fast. This is compounded by the fact that many of those quests amount to little more than a collection of uninspired minigames, and the daunting task of doing all of this to see 100% completion weighed too heavily on my motivation to keep going.
Had Final Fantasy X-2 stuck with the same combat system as its predecessor, I might have been able to find enough enjoyment in the game to justify finishing it. However, the switch back to an ATB system kind of doomed the whole experience for me in retrospect. ATB isn't a bad system by any means, but it's always been a weird middle-ground between action and turn-based. Even when done well, as it was here, I still find myself longing for either of the other two options. As a result, my journey with the Final Fantasy X universe ends here. I wish I enjoyed my time in Spira more than I ultimately did.
Had Final Fantasy X-2 stuck with the same combat system as its predecessor, I might have been able to find enough enjoyment in the game to justify finishing it. However, the switch back to an ATB system kind of doomed the whole experience for me in retrospect. ATB isn't a bad system by any means, but it's always been a weird middle-ground between action and turn-based. Even when done well, as it was here, I still find myself longing for either of the other two options. As a result, my journey with the Final Fantasy X universe ends here. I wish I enjoyed my time in Spira more than I ultimately did.