Final Fantasy X-2

The sequel that might ruin your great memories of Final Fantasy X.

 

 As promised, I will follow up on Final Fantasy X with its sequel, X-2.  I know this isn't a "favorite" game for most people, but I do think its critical reception warrants inclusion on my hate list.  I mean, 85% on Metacritic for this load of crap?  Proof that a game can get great scores just based on its title.  There is no real point in buying this game unless you want to see Yuna and Rikku in skimpy outfits.  

The first problem is, quite obviously, with the characters.  Square Enix knew their game was going to suck, so they put the three heroines in gaudy costumes, once again showing the universal belief that women can't succeed without good looks and sexual appeal.  I guess they're kinda right, but it's still annoying because Yuna was such a good character in Final Fantasy X without a revealing getup.  Rikku... do I even have to say anything?  You find out she's had a past intimate relationship with one of the men in the game.  Considering that she's 17 years old, you can safely assume that she was screwing this guy when she was 13 or 14, which is hilarious.  Then we've got Paine, who is a dyke.  Don't know where the hell she came from, but she should've been left out.

 

 The only good part of the game: some girl-on-girl action.

The story sucks.  Its linear progression is incredibly boring, and you pretty much have to play through it twice, doing absolutely everything right, to get the full ending.  Hell, you have to use a walkthroughs just to get the real ending your first time through because there's stuff you've gotta do without any clue at all.  Not to mention the backstory does very little to complement Final Fantasy X and is mostly pulled out of thin air.  A lot of people complain that Tidus comes back at the end and say the "bad" ending in which Tidus stays dead should be the true one.  I say Tidus should've never been seen in the water at the end of Final Fantasy X and that this game should've NEVER EXISTED.  There's your true ending.

 

 Sit down, LOSER.

The battle system is kinda cool, I guess.  It's similar to the old class-based Final Fantasy games, and it leads in to Final Fantasy XIII in a way.  My main issue is that the bosses aren't very tough, and I found Final Fantasy X-2 to be even more of a cakewalk than its predecessor.  The music is mediocre too, there are some good tunes, but the entire soundtrack pales in comparison to Final Fantasy X.  Also got to give a shout-out to this game's atmosphere.  It sucks.  If you remember the awesome lightning place from X, then you'll hate what Square has done to it this time around.  The frickin music doesn't even match!  Why were they so lazy with this game?!

5/10