The first time I played this game was the original PS2 American release when I was 6 or 7 years old. I got right up to the last boss, but was underleveled and gave up, then we sold our PS2 before I could try again. So it could be argued that a large part of the appeal for me is those warm fuzzy childhood memories I associate with it, and the lingering grudge I've held with that boss. However I do think Final Fantasy X has a lot of objectively strong points.
First, the presentation of this game was just two steps above anything else in early PS2 era. Hell, sometimes it feels more put together than XII. Now that I have an eye for such things, it's really interesting seeing how they mixed the use of the newer style full-3D environements and the classic style pre-rendered backgrounds. Even with the HD facelift making the difference in visual detail easier to see, the transistions are still very understated and natural.
Narratively as well, I feel like this is a much more cohesive experience than 6-9 and 12. Final Fantasy games tend to have a point in the plot where it kind of... scatters for a bit, or things will happen without any explicit context. I was a bit surprised to find that X was a lot more focused than my memory and experience with the series led me to believe it would be.
For instance, this is the only Final Fantasy I can think of where the driving motivation of the plot stays consistent and clear from after the short prologue to the end of the story — Tidus must escort Yuna on her quest to destroy Sin. Everything else revolves around that and never fully distracts from it. The context of what that objective means and what it'll take to accomplish it evolves, but the story stays well anchored in that core premise.
I even managed to get over my aversion to the main character's weird ass getup long enough to realize that he's actually a more compelling character than I remembered. Not the best of the series, but now that I'm older I better understand the nuance of his arc and the tumultuous relationship with his father that underpins his journey's motivation.
For whatever world-building and technical nitpicks you can levy at the plot, I at least argue that it's a very solidly presented one. Just don't go in expecting consistent technical details. The dreamlike qualities of the art and presentation are very much intentional.
It's unfortunate then that the translation and more specifically the english voice acting can be so inconsistent. Most people know the memes, of course. I don't find it actually to be as consistently goofy as its repuation has garnered, but having compared it to the original VO I think there were some fundamental directional issues with how it was recorded.
The English actors often seem to be replicating the cadence of the Japanese lines even though the structure of the sentences are very different, leading to many lines coming out very stilted and unnatural. It's possible that technical limitations either were the cause for this direction or exasperated it. However, I actually am rather positive on the castings themselves. I think the English voices match the personalities of the characters quite well. And the audio mixing is very solid, too.
Gameplay then is where I'm the most mixed on this title. Compared to other turn-based JRPGs, this is the best core system the series has presented: it's got the most tactical depth; it did away with ATB and geared the fights towards fewer but more impactful actions making them feel tighter paced; and in the early game, the stat scaling and progression mechanics promise to be more focused on smaller differences with bigger impacts....
But then you get to the last 20% of the game and the numbers start going haywire and the fights start relying more on obscure gimicks. It's not so bad that it feels fundamentally broken, it's just that the combat experience starts to swing around wildly. You'll find standard encounters that take more effort than bosses; bosses will become nigh-impossibly difficult without trial and erroring to sus-out the gimick; weapons you found at the start of the game will be the most cost effecient ones to continue using; and suddenly your White Magic healer will have the highest magic stat in the party and will double the damage output anyone else could hope to achieve despite the fact that you exclusively built her down the healing skill routes.
It can be really experience destroying... but there's also a weird satisfaction to it if you push through.
I can't recommend this game to general audiences because of this, but anyone with experience with older JRPGs and relish the kind of esoteric strategizing required should be able to get a lot out of the game.
First, the presentation of this game was just two steps above anything else in early PS2 era. Hell, sometimes it feels more put together than XII. Now that I have an eye for such things, it's really interesting seeing how they mixed the use of the newer style full-3D environements and the classic style pre-rendered backgrounds. Even with the HD facelift making the difference in visual detail easier to see, the transistions are still very understated and natural.
Narratively as well, I feel like this is a much more cohesive experience than 6-9 and 12. Final Fantasy games tend to have a point in the plot where it kind of... scatters for a bit, or things will happen without any explicit context. I was a bit surprised to find that X was a lot more focused than my memory and experience with the series led me to believe it would be.
For instance, this is the only Final Fantasy I can think of where the driving motivation of the plot stays consistent and clear from after the short prologue to the end of the story — Tidus must escort Yuna on her quest to destroy Sin. Everything else revolves around that and never fully distracts from it. The context of what that objective means and what it'll take to accomplish it evolves, but the story stays well anchored in that core premise.
I even managed to get over my aversion to the main character's weird ass getup long enough to realize that he's actually a more compelling character than I remembered. Not the best of the series, but now that I'm older I better understand the nuance of his arc and the tumultuous relationship with his father that underpins his journey's motivation.
For whatever world-building and technical nitpicks you can levy at the plot, I at least argue that it's a very solidly presented one. Just don't go in expecting consistent technical details. The dreamlike qualities of the art and presentation are very much intentional.
It's unfortunate then that the translation and more specifically the english voice acting can be so inconsistent. Most people know the memes, of course. I don't find it actually to be as consistently goofy as its repuation has garnered, but having compared it to the original VO I think there were some fundamental directional issues with how it was recorded.
The English actors often seem to be replicating the cadence of the Japanese lines even though the structure of the sentences are very different, leading to many lines coming out very stilted and unnatural. It's possible that technical limitations either were the cause for this direction or exasperated it. However, I actually am rather positive on the castings themselves. I think the English voices match the personalities of the characters quite well. And the audio mixing is very solid, too.
Gameplay then is where I'm the most mixed on this title. Compared to other turn-based JRPGs, this is the best core system the series has presented: it's got the most tactical depth; it did away with ATB and geared the fights towards fewer but more impactful actions making them feel tighter paced; and in the early game, the stat scaling and progression mechanics promise to be more focused on smaller differences with bigger impacts....
But then you get to the last 20% of the game and the numbers start going haywire and the fights start relying more on obscure gimicks. It's not so bad that it feels fundamentally broken, it's just that the combat experience starts to swing around wildly. You'll find standard encounters that take more effort than bosses; bosses will become nigh-impossibly difficult without trial and erroring to sus-out the gimick; weapons you found at the start of the game will be the most cost effecient ones to continue using; and suddenly your White Magic healer will have the highest magic stat in the party and will double the damage output anyone else could hope to achieve despite the fact that you exclusively built her down the healing skill routes.
It can be really experience destroying... but there's also a weird satisfaction to it if you push through.
I can't recommend this game to general audiences because of this, but anyone with experience with older JRPGs and relish the kind of esoteric strategizing required should be able to get a lot out of the game.