Please explain to me why FFX is so great *spoilers*

[The Twilight Mexican]

Yeah, Seymour was more into giving up on existence altogether. Even if most people wouldn't have become fiends, their pyreflies/spirits could still be sucked up by Sin.


Omega: I forget what you can do in Macalania to affect the affection values. I just remember that the snowmobile scene happens there as result of them.

 

[Ⓐaron]

FFV was nothing special; it was still ATB =/

But it was also the Job system, which adds a ton of strategy to the game even if it's ordinary otherwise. It's one of the few games where I felt challenged by the actual design of the system rather than just feeling like the developers made the enemies hard for the sake of being hard (like, say, FFIV). There were several boss fights where I had to experiment with several strategies before finding one that worked. That to me is a sign of a well-designed system.

Tactics was pretty good, yes, but its battle system was horrendously easy to abuse. You could farm JP with zero effort in basically any battle, and you could get to LV99 long before the end of the first chapter of the game. Additionally, stuff like Math Skill breaks the game in half, and so do Reis and Orlandu. The most balanced part of it is the actual turn charging for abilities.

I haven't played Tactics that much, so you're probably right.

FFX's battle system was extremely well done and very deep, particularly when it came to higher levels tactics that were necessary to kill the arena bosses. Tactics is one of my favorite games ever, but so is FFX, and I honestly think X's battles were just...tighter (in that "tight handling" way). It was just so polished and fucking perfect and hnnnngh.

Not to mention that the Sphere Grid is possibly the best leveling and ability system ever (with the only others coming close being Materia, which was fucking pro, and the Job Class system).

Yeah I definitely agree that when it came to strategy it's one of the best. But so is FFV's. There were a lot of battles in both games where I had to experiment a lot with strategy before I was able to beat one of the bosses. I kind of wish FFV had had something like FFX's arena as well.

Note that I'm not saying FFV's system is necessarily better than FFX's, just that it's as good.

 

[Joker]

I dunno. The Job Class system just doesn't seem suited to ATB, IN MY OPINION. Not that FFV was bad by any means - I fucking LOOOOOVE that game. I'm all about the Sharpshoot (SShoot) ability >:3 which, btw, once you learn that and liek, Gil Toss, the game is broken wiiiide open.

Tres: I thought the snowmobile thing was a choice, and it let you choose who to ride with? I could be wrong, though...it's been a long while since I played that far into the game (grumble).

God damn I wish I had a better framerate.

NO

NO

YOU KNOW WHAT FUCK THIS SHIT

I'm going to buy a goddamn video capture card, or an AV converter so I can play the shit on my laptop screen, and I'm importing another fucking PS2. FUCK THIS MOTHERFUCKER HRRRRRRRRRGH I WANT MY FFX INTERNATIONAL

btw FFX is probably my favorite FF in case it wasn't obvious

 

[ForceStealer]

No the Snowmobile ride is effectively the equivalent of FF7's date.

 

[Tifabelle]

No the Snowmobile ride is effectively the equivalent of FF7's date.

I always get Lulu I've never gotten anyone else. I know he can ride with Rikku too. Does he ride with anyone else?

 

[Wiegraf]

Yes, Witz, I did in fact have more fun with FFXII, FFV, and almost every FF game. Sue me. FFX's battle system wasn't bad, it just seemed kind of typical. It wasn't all that different from FFI and II to be honest (outside of the Sphere Grid). Sue me.

Also, FFT is only gamebreakingly easy if you go out of your way to make it that.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I always get Lulu I've never gotten anyone else. I know he can ride with Rikku too. Does he ride with anyone else?

You can also get him to ride alongside Auron or Kimahri.

Lulu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukvd4-TNctY
Rikku: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgZ5TFXs2sU
Kimahri: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmfsnsFpoNk
Auron: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPN0yuLg5xk

All of them are good and do good things with the characters. I can't pick a favorite.


EDIT: By the way, I meant to mention earlier, Aki, that much like FFVII's date mechanics, FFX's have more to do with the other characters' affection toward the leading man than his toward them.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Lulu's is definitely the easiest to get. She's around the longest of the four by that point, and the first character who you speak to during moments where everybody's just standing around gets points. For most people this will be Lulu since the player has probably gotten used to her explaining things to Tidus and expects her to say something informative.

 

[ForceStealer]

I always get Lulu because I rike her But I thought Wakka was the other option, not Auron, interesting.

 

[Joker]

Yes, Witz, I did in fact have more fun with FFXII, FFV, and almost every FF game. Sue me. FFX's battle system wasn't bad, it just seemed kind of typical. It wasn't all that different from FFI and II to be honest (outside of the Sphere Grid). Sue me.

Also, FFT is only gamebreakingly easy if you go out of your way to make it that.

Lol.

Comparing the battle system of FFX to that of the first two is utterly ridiculous. Just because it's turn-based doesn't mean it's the same as the first two games. If anything, it's comparable to FFT, which you love so very much.

And no, it's gamebreakingly easy without any real effort. Learning Math Skill isn't hard.

 

[Ite]

It was also the first game to have voices and for the first game to have voices it was relatively well done.

I hope you mean first Final Fantasy to have voices... because voice acting was completely nothing new in 2001. I just re-played Starcraft and after sixteen years the voice acting still completely blows me away. It's nuanced and tight and great. Six years after that, Final Fantasy X was just bloody offensive to my ears. Even the guy who plays Bender did horribly. Chalk it up to bad directing, because it's consistently bad across the board. Auron sounded great in FFX, but in any other game would his performance really hold up? In Mass Effect, for instance? The Starcraft VOs would. I'm a voice actor and I know that direction is almost always what makes or breaks a performance. The actors aren't to blame, it's a problem with the way the game was developed for Western audiences.

 

[Tennyo]

No the Snowmobile ride is effectively the equivalent of FF7's date.

I always get Lulu I've never gotten anyone else. I know he can ride with Rikku too. Does he ride with anyone else?

Lulu is the easiest to get because you have two chances to get her: If Yuna's values are highest you get Lulu since Yuna isn't there in this scene, and then also if Lulu's are highest, well, that's obvious.

I always get Lulu because I rike her But I thought Wakka was the other option, not Auron, interesting.

Wakka refused to ride the snowmobiles since they were machina, silly. He walked all the way to Macalania Temple (and somehow still manages to beat you there).

 

[Kobato]

Wakka refused to ride the snowmobiles since they were machina, silly.

That was the most disappointing part of the game. We should of had a Tidus x Wakka moment, dammit.

 

[Alex]

Also, FFT is only gamebreakingly easy if you go out of your way to make it that.

Erm, chief. This isn't a quality exclusive to FFT. The same can be applied to just about every video game. they all have exploitative loopholes that can be used to break the game. if you choose to play that way.

 

[Jocalyn]

I'd like to know if anyone actually succeeded in getting everyone's ultimate weapons and gear in the end. I can definitely say that I had the hardest time trying to do all the quests for those out of any FF (especially the chocobo riding sidequest, I had to quit after almost ripping my hair out *_*). I think I only managed to get 2 final weapons in the end, did anyone else have difficulty like me? The cool thing about that though is the huge sense of satisfaction you get after finally accomplishing it.

 

[Ⓐaron]

I couldn't be bothered with most of them. I did the cactuar quest and a couple of others, but fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck that butterfly and lightning bolt shit. I couldn't be arsed with blitzball or whatever you needed to do for Tidus's weapon either. I think I got the ones for Auron's, Lulu's and Rikku's, although it's been so long since I played that I can't remember for sure. I synthesised weapons for most of the other characters.

 

[Tetsujin]

The only one I'm missing is Wakka's weapon but I got all the others.

The lightning-dodge minigame...after completing it, I now share Rikku's fear.

 

[Jocalyn]

I may have gotten Auron's and Yuna's, but the rest of them were soul-killingly hard. Ugh, the lightning-dodging game...

 

[Joker]

I've gotten all of them in all of my playthroughs, with the exception of my very very FIRST, where I just could not be fucking bothered to do the chocobo race or the lightning bolts. Surprisingly, the butterfly one takes a lot less time and effort than you'd think. The cactuar game for Rikku's at Bikanel takes longer. It's just about memory - remembering where to turn in the bends, stuff like that.

The lightning bolts are just a matter of finding the right pace and the right tempo, and relaxing your mind. The chocobo race is mostly luck, however... 8[

 

[Jocalyn]

I've gotten all of them in all of my playthroughs, with the exception of my very very FIRST, where I just could not be fucking bothered to do the chocobo race or the lightning bolts. Surprisingly, the butterfly one takes a lot less time and effort than you'd think. The cactuar game for Rikku's at Bikanel takes longer. It's just about memory - remembering where to turn in the bends, stuff like that.

The lightning bolts are just a matter of finding the right pace and the right tempo, and relaxing your mind. The chocobo race is mostly luck, however... 8[

You definitely have a lot more patience and motivation than I do. I usually end up turning off the game before I throw the controller through the TV.

At least they're not completely impossible to beat like I once thought.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I've actually gotten all of the ultimate weapons on three separate playthroughs (twice by myself, and once with my fiancee), as well as done the stupid chocobo crap two other times (once for my brother, and once for a friend). While they can be infuriating, they're definitely not impossible.

The lightning one is probably the worst for me. Like Omega said, it's all about finding the right tempo and relaxing your mind (it helps to talk to someone while doing it, I found), but it's the most frustrating one when you mess up. And like he also said, the butterfly game is actually extremely easy with just a little practice.

The chocobo crap can be made a lot easier by using the d-pad instead of the analog stick. The controls respond much better that way. On my most recent conquest of the last round of chocobo training (Catcher Chocobo, where you have to finish with a time of 0:00:00 to get the Sun Sigil), I actually pulled it off on just my third try.

 

[Joker]

Ah, but that's just it. You have to finish with a time that's *better* than 0:00:00

And the best place to get the lightning bolts is this little area just to the north of the travel center. The Thunder Plains has an algorithm in play which causes lightning to strike some places more frequently, with a rate of 1-3 per "burst". As in ONE BOLT one two three ONE BOLT one two three ONE BOLT one two three four five six seven eight ONE BOLT, etc. Each burst is separated by several seconds of total peace, and there are three-five seconds between each bolt of a burst.

I'm crap at explaining, but if you go north of the travel center, and head toward the left side, where the two paths join back up (literally JUST north), there's a little place that's kind of sunken, and that's your money shot.

 

[Username]

In response to the OP, I don't know what it is with many of the posters in this thread, but they seem very much against the support of the thread queston. Mabey this is because of earlier games that I myself have yet to play, but seriously...

FFX was to me by far a greater game than FF8, FF9 and FF12, and thats making a huge statement, both 8 and 9 and 12 were somewhat underrated but still magnificent games for Square to develope within such short periods of time (excluding 12). FFX was the first ever FF PS2 game, and to me it blew me away as far as graphics and actual voice acting goes.

To fully appreciate the beauty of FFX you need to put yourself back to 2001/2, to when it was released, and for that time like most FF that came beforehand, it was such a triumph, it had aspects of old skool, but also new twists and turns.

The sphere system was new, but easy and additive to the newbie player, the battle system was old fashioned but still had that great sophisticated feeling about it, and the characters and storyline weren't too bad considering the modern day equivalent. I myself even enjoyed the Blitzball games, it was like an extra mini game included.

I won't go on and on, but my main concern here is, to me, at that time (2001/2) considering the earliest game I had played in the series was FF7, FFX was in a new generation, a different league, as far as modern day games went. At that time it really was the grand daddy And remains my 2nd place game in the series that I've played.

 

[Wiegraf]

It was also the first Final Fantasy game to have voices and for the first game to have voices it was relatively well done.

Fixed. And being one of the first isn't a really good excuse. Just look at Kingdom Hearts 1, it came out like what? A year or two after Final Fantasy X and yet it has some excellent voice acting (Billy Zane as Ansem is to this day one of the most excellent villain voices of all time).

 

[Flowing Ice]

I'm not sure what else I can say that anyone else hasn't said, but, I really enjoeyd FFX. Even to this day I do, and it's among my 3rd place tie.

Oh, and the whole Sending Seymour thing..guards shouldn't been an excuse even back in the Macalania temple. Those guards weren't all that tough to be honest, and all of her Guardians were right there, so given all of that? There's no excuse.

The only necessity would of been having one of them holding back the Tromell(sp?) guy. That's it.