What makes you enjoy FFX?

[Shademp]

Obviously directed towards those who tend to enjoy the game more-so than they dislike it. Also, SPOILERS AHEAD.

I played FFX for my first time last year (so my memory isn't fresh right now). The first 11 hours was a pain because no part of the story or the gameplay enticed me. Only when Rikku joined the party did I start to actually enjoy myself, because her abilities made items matter so much, both inside battle and when preparing for new ones. So refreshing. Much kudos to the battle system that did a lot I wished previous FFs had done.

This still left me with story sequences that felt awkward and stilted. The fairly detailed character models was such a mismatch with the repeated, stiff animations that I never stopped feeling like I was watching dolls being controlled by a puppet master. This only hurt in the process of me trying to connect with the characters or even care about them. None of the main characters felt alive. I don't know if this problem is less present in the NTSC versions, which are 1.2 times faster than the PAL release.



My enjoyment of the battles increased for every hour, but sadly everything else fluctuated between boredom and annoyance. When the ending sequences rolled, I was struck by my own indifference. The Aeons fading away wasn't the slightest bit melancholic or sad, like I was expecting, instead it was more like a "blink and you'll miss it" moment. As for the main playable characters, with the exception of Yuna and Tidus they all seemed to stand there like cardboard cut-outs. Why wasn't Wakka showing more emotion about Tidus fading away? Weren't they buddies? Am I alone in thinking that the characters were just uninterestingly standing there at the end, doing almost nothing?


I don't mean to offend with my post. But I keep feeling like a stranger from a far off solar system when some people refer to the FFX ending as the "most emotional one", when to me it was the least emotional Final Fantasy ending I have ever seen

Spoiler

(Note that I've only played through FFVI-FFX)

. I felt NOTHING. What is it that makes other people so positive about this game? Is it nostalgia? Is it because the game stood out better when it was initially released and just hasn't aged well? Did me playing the PAL version ruin the experience more than I am assuming?

Please tell me. I want to understand, even if not experience, the great love gamers have for FFX.

 

[Lex]

It may well be nostalgia for me, I'm not sure. It's also entirely possible that I was more engaged with the story when I was younger because I was younger, and that my enjoyment of the game lingers from then.

I still find that ending super emotional though. To this day my eyes tear up when the piano kicks in and the music swells during the ending. Everything from the ending to Yuna's speech to the orchestral version of Suteki Da Ne just gets me every time.

Honestly, when that game came out it was the best thing graphically to hit the system. Things like the awkward animation were noticed but weren't really a consideration. When you compare it to XII... well, there is no comparison really. XII is miles ahead in terms of animation and expression, and interesting tidbit: the characters in XII have HALF the polygon count of those in X. And they manage to look far better.

It's just the clunky PS2 one really. The same way VII is the clunky PS1... one . There was a huge step up and for the first time they had to do fully rendered 3D environments with characters that had to move far more realistically than those in VIII or IX, and the result just wasn't perfect. The reason we don't see clunkiness like that in XIII is because they'd nailed down how to do proper animation in XII, and other than better graphics they didn't have to do anything entirely new with the way the characters move.

So that covers the clunky animation thing; allowances were made for it because it was kind of the best thing at the time. Then there was the fact that it was the first voice acted FF, which was a Big Deal. Again, there's clunkiness but nothing that a young person would find off-putting if they're engaged in the story.

Also, the battle system is my favourite in the series. Because for the first time in mainlline FF, it's actually properly strategic, and there are no time constraints on your actions. It's all about planning, rather than hopping into a menu in "wait" mode then going oh shit I meant to go into the summon menu instead, what if they get an attack in?

As for the story, I just love it. Some people find it a bit in your face, but I think it's complex enough without going overboard. I especially love the way it was told. The in medias res and then catching up to the current point of narration in itself was a twist, followed by another twist, etc. I mean the whole Yunalesca sequence is just phenomenal.

I understand what you mean about the ending, but the characters are all sad and express it. I would have liked to have seen more interaction from them, but then it was kind of Tidus and Yuna's moment so it would have been a bit awkward for any of them to pop in with a gesture or whatever.

 

[JBedford]

Well we clearly had two totally different experiences. The animations didn't effect my ability to play or follow the game. I'm sure if I play the NTSC or the upcoming HD version and then go back to the PAL version I'm sure I'll feel like it is really slow, but otherwise I don't think so.

The battle system was fun. CTB is my favourite battle system for strategy. The Sphere Grid is my favourite development system (though the Expert Sphere Grid having less nodes is annoying), and the weapon system is my favourite. Rather than going through the game switching out each weapon because it has a higher Attack stat it involves considering the different abilities each weapon has.

I cared about the characters, and I got really into the story. I don't really understand Tidus hate, and I never felt Yuna's voice acting was a problem. And even though the game is largely linear, something which I slated XIII for, somehow I didn't get annoyed with X doing it (I barely even realised until someone once pointed it out when someone was saying FFX was the last good FF game, and criticised future FFs (including XII) for being linear (yeah, dafuq?).) Though I suspect X having random encounters vs. XIII having fixed encounters and choked progression has something to do with it.

I'm not sure I can really explain /why/ I enjoyed X. We just had two different experiences. The storyline, storytelling, and battle system just drew me in. Blitzball was good too I guess, until suddenly it bored the hell out of me.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Also, the battle system is my favourite in the series. Because for the first time in mainlline FF, it's actually properly strategic, and there are no time constraints on your actions. It's all about planning, rather than hopping into a menu in "wait" mode then going oh shit I meant to go into the summon menu instead, what if they get an attack in?

I, uh, sort of. It fades in and out of this, I think. Some battles really ARE challenging exercises in mindful preparation and strategy; Mt. Gagazet Seymour, Yunalesca, and Evrae come to mind. On the other end of the spectrum however, a lot of battles devolve into the rock/paper/scissors dynamic where certain characters are extremely effective or ineffective vs. a certain enemy type. This is compounded by the fact that enemy types were VERY reused, FFX has the most palette/design swaps out of any game in the series.

 

[Fangu]

I'm glad you posted this, Demps. I like reading people's thoughts on why the like the game. I'm one of those people who don't understand the extreme love FFX gets - to me, it's my least favourite FF and I barely got through it - actually I'm still not 100% done with it. The battle system is fair enough (except for being extremely repetitive (like, manually repetitive, and not delightfully completely braindead such as, say, XII)) and I did enjoy working on Kimahri's Sphere grid - but besides that, the characters and story - smeh. As you all know I found Yuna to be terribly annoying - had I played this game at the age of 14, I would have found nothing in common with her. But I feel like I'm repeating myself now, so I'm not gonna say anything else. I didn't like the look of X, didn't find the battle system to be anything special, and the story was only so-so.

So yeah, um, carry on

 

[ForceStealer]

I really like X. I enjoyed the story, ESPECIALLY as it was the first FF that really put time into building the world. It has a fully realized mythology and culture. The culture isn't terribly varied across the world I guess, but I guess if the entire world is affected by this scourge and there's little population as a result anyway, it makes some sense.

While the characters don't occupy places for me that Vivi, Cloud, or Celes do, I still cared about their situation. Auron is incredibly badass in his own right, but I like the whole prior heroes still being around thing - similar to how the Warriors of Dawn are still around in FFV - Auron's backstory is very interesting to me and finding the recordings of he and Braska was fun. I always liked Lulu a lot as well for her down-to-earth-ness. And even though Tidus and Yuna aren't my favorite characters, it's still, to me, the best example of FF telling a 'traditional' love story and that it succeeded where FF8 failed on that front.
When Tidus learns what the others did not tell him, and he realizes how idiotic he must have sounded to her every time he talked about what they would do after beating Sin, I'm with him.

The ending affects me very effectively, the music crescendos are all at just the right moments. It was rough the first time...haha. And, like Lex said, "One more thing. The friends we have lost... and the dreams that have faded ...never forget them." gives me goosebumps every time.

The CTB isn't my favorite battle system in the series, but it is still very good, and it amuses me how much faster it can be than the "active" time battle of the prir 6 games. Others have said what they lke about the battles and that all applies, but I really like the Aeon system. Firstly, it finally justified the long summoning animation. And Yuna showing her affection for them and vice versa really went a long way to making them seem more important than they were in any others.

 

[Kuja9001]

FFX was second FF game, I love it for 3 things, Seymour, Auron, and the music.

Seymour was amazing I know people hate him because of his voice but its effective in delivering a creepy villain. I pretty much have memorized his speech inside Sin and on Mt. Gagazet and I can understand his twisted motives.

Auron was badass but all he has going for him.

The music was amazing.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I find it so hard to understand not liking X that I don't even know how to explain my love for it. For me, it's like, "You like Final Fantasy. This one has the best of almost everything any of them ever had. What's the conundrum? Does not compute!"

I mean, I've always understood why not everyone loves VIII the way I do, but for the longest time I thought X stood as the pinnacle of the series and that all FF fans knew it and believed it.

I guess it's like all of the rest in that respect, though. It either draws you in or it doesn't. IX is one of my least favorites in the series, and I still don't get all the people flicking its bean.

Why wasn't Wakka showing more emotion about Tidus fading away? Weren't they buddies? Am I alone in thinking that the characters were just uninterestingly standing there at the end, doing almost nothing?

As Tidus is leaving, I think you see Wakka put his face in his hand.

This is compounded by the fact that enemy types were VERY reused, FFX has the most palette/design swaps out of any game in the series.

You sure that isn't XIII?

 

[Octo]

Cant help yu shad.

Too linear, I know choice is but an illusion but at least let me feel that.

Didnt like the characters, they all looked related. Couldnt care about the plot. I think it took the teenage wank thing started in 8 and ran with it.

Blitzball is tedious.

Tidus was tedious.

Riiiiiiide zeeee shooopuffff?! That was the best bit.

Yep.

I'm a bit drink.

 

[Super Mario]

I dont know, despite its shortcomings, it remains a favourite in my heart. It introduced me to Final Fantasy in a proper manner (ironically, I encountered VII before but I was so shit in the game). Other than Kingdom Hearts, this one made me explore the other stories of FF and got me to know the game even further.

Aside from linearity, I enjoyed Spira and all its wonders and made me wish there was an MMORPG actually set in this era and state rather than Ivalice or whatever XI and XIV has going. I am accustomed to the culture and aesthetic look of Spira post and pre Sin eras. And the islands of Wakka's sort of reminds me of my home, hence why I feel attached to X than any other title in FF.

 

[Jason Tandro]

I find Final Fantasy X great for a lot of reasons. It has the storyline appeal of a road trip movie: amazing locations, fun characters, clear geographic endpoint established early on, etc.

Music has never been an issue with Final fantasy and, for the time, the visuals are amazing. The combat was one of the strongest aspects of the game, as it forced you to use all characters (except perhaps Kimahri but as he's the most cersatile you lose a lot by leaving him in reserve.)

The story was pretty unique even for Final Fantasy and on a personal note, I foubd Blitzball embarrasingly fun and immersive to the point where I made stats spreasheets on my computer for my team each season.

 

[Shademp]

Here's a quick question:

HOW do you find a way to enjoy the Sphere Grid system? To me, it stands as a definition of tedium. Every other battle somebody goes up in Sphere Level and I can't help myself from moving somebody across the grid for that small stat upgrade. This is one of the main reasons I do not want to replay FFX, because that Sphere Grid process was tedious enough the first time, even when it was new to me.

I should note that I didn't play Blitzball, so I didn't gain any items early on that gave more freedom when moving across the Sphere Grid.

 

[Lex]

Well it's about choice isn't it? Maybe try using the other sphere grid next time, or I think you might want to do the extra-curricular stuff. The sphere grid becomes really fun when you're playing around with it later, deleting nodes and re-doing it for the crazy stat boosts

 

[Lord Kesharq]

well for me, this one and x-2 are my second and 3rd fave FF games to date, behind 7, matter of fact these two where my most enjoyed since 7 (not helped by the fact i somehow broke my copy of FF 9 and never replaced it...unfinished!).

everything in these two games was amazing, the details, the story, the grapihcs...it defo got me hooked, much like ff7 did. Am also defo looking forward to the HD remakes...my only problem there is i DONT own a ps3.....

(xbox port please or ps4!)

 

[ForceStealer]

I NEVER use the Sphere Grid after every level. And I'm shocked every time I learn of people that do. At most, I open it at save points.

 

[Shademp]

I NEVER use the Sphere Grid after every level. And I'm shocked every time I learn of people that do. At most, I open it at save points.

That's because you're the guy who doesn't care to over-level or take every possible chance to get stronger, as evidenced from your testimonies in earlier J-RPG related threads

I can't relate to the low-level approach. Because of that, the Sphere Grid is a pain that I will not suffer through again.

 

[ForceStealer]

But every area/dungeon has the same encounters the whole way through. So if you can defeat them in the beginning, there is literally no reason to level until the save point before the boss.

It's not FFX's fault you have OCD

 

[Tetsujin]

No, it's just because people realize it'd be tedious to go to the sphere menu everytime a character goes up a level.

You're not suddenly underleveled just because you didn't improve your stats right away.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I liked the Sphere Grid. Almost always used new Sphere Levels as I gained them and never found it tedious. It takes like four seconds.

 

[Fangu]

I used it when I had between 5-10 (exp levels?) to go. Would usually open up 2-4 new grids cells.

 

[Knuxson]

I don't have time to write much right now, but I wanted to say that FFX, IMO, is a fantastic game. All the characters are interesting and there are a lot of emotional moments and twists. The game got a lot of hate I think for the main character not being a badass in the vein of Cloud or Squall, but I think it made his character very interesting.

 

[Novus]

It's just okay, I have a funny story how I first played the demo.

Someone gave it to me and told me that their dad worked with square soft. I played it and was totally amazed at the aesthetics and that I was playing this uber 1337 game.
Turns out it came free with the FF6 PS release, which I didn't find out until the weekend. So he must have rushed to town after school bought it and handed out the demo to look cool.

Overall it looks a generic title now. I like it but I'm not going to compare its quality to the earlier titles.

FFX-2 did however kill final fantasy for me until about two years ago.

 

[Super Mario]

As many as others hate X-2 it made me actually want to see other titles, ironically. Without Kingdom Hearts and X-2, I won't be as enthusiastic as FF as I would be today. Originally, after playing FFVII as a young boy, I though FF was a mock play of horror games for Resident Evil until clarity hit me hard with X. X was very influential for me. <3

 

[Keveh Kins]

Living outside of my home county has given me a greater appreciation for the game. Now, when I hear Wakka speak, I can comfort myself with the knowledge that guttural as my manner of speech is, even to Dubs, my accent does not sound as bizarre as his. Every time he says 'ya' my day is brightened.

FFX does hold a certain sort of nostalgic appeal to me though, as, discounting spin-off games with remixed tracks like Dissidia and such, I thought that FFX had the last great Final Fantasy soundtrack. I enjoyed XIII and XIII-2's tracks, but both lack the overall emotional depth of X's.

 

[Novus]

FFX does hold a certain sort of nostalgic appeal to me though, as, discounting spin-off games with remixed tracks like Dissidia and such, I thought that FFX had the last great Final Fantasy soundtrack. I enjoyed XIII and XIII-2's tracks, but both lack the overall emotional depth of X's.

I forgot all other titles after lacked Nabou Uematsu. He's definitely a defining feature in an FF Game, not chocobos or moogles. He is as much an auteur of the games as the scenario writer or director.

Well that clears something up for me. Until there is a reunion between the creative powers which made the earlier titles. Every game past X isn't a canon part of the FF collection.