Final Fantasy X-2 review: not your usual Final Fantasy game

Final Fantasy fans have long been clamoring for sequels to their favorite installments of the JRPG franchise, but when Square Enix finally caved and made the first one, it was met with a great deal of confusion. Yuna in short shorts? Lots of dancing? Team made up entirely of girls? Final Fantasy X-2 (FF X-2) looked nothing like the other epics in the series. Definitely not your typical Final Fantasy game that’s for sure.

FF X-2 had traded in the serious tone of previous Final Fantasy titles for a more fun-loving, happy-go-lucky feel that didn’t resonate well with its core fans. That being said, FF X-2 was by no means a bad game.

Ten years after its original release on the Playstation 2 (PS2), Square Enix has released a new version of FF X-2, remastered in high-definition for the Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita. But do the remastered visuals warrant the purchase? Before we get into that, let’s first talk about the game.

This is Yuna’s story

FF X-2 takes place two years after the events of Final Fantasy X. During these past two years, Yuna has gone through a metamorphosis of sorts, trading in her high summoner’s get up for a pair of daisy dukes and a couple of guns.

Our once-demure high summoner has given up the life of duty, and decided to make her own story instead. In doing so, she joined a crew of sphere hunters to travel the world and hopefully unravel the mystery behind Tidus, the main character and love interest of FF X who disappeared at the end of the game.

Yuna’s team of sphere hunters is made up of her cousin and former guardian Rikku, along with a mysterious tough girl named Pain. Together they form Y.R.P., and while hunting rare spheres they get wrapped up in the middle of feuding factions and a plot to destroy the world. Yuna and the gang make it their sole mission to then bring peace to the world and prevent its destruction.

If you haven’t played through the previous game, don’t worry. FF X-2 does a great job of setting up the characters and story without spoiling too much of what happened in FF X.

The big change

Spira may look just like it did in FF X, but this sequel doesn’t play anything like its predecessor. In FF X-2, you will have the choice between an active time based fighting system and a waiting system. The active time-based system will have you waiting for your meters to fill before you can attack, whereas the waiting system has you taking turns. Both of these fighting systems work out great, but they are pretty basic and unoriginal.

What is different about FF X-2 is the inclusion of dresspheres. As you explore Spira, you will uncover different spheres that can be used to drastically change your fighting abilities. The Singer sphere affects your enemies’ conditions by blinding, poisoning, or muting them, while the Samurai sphere allows you to slash through the enemies with strong physical attacks. Including the new dresspheres in this new version of FF X-2, there are 20 different dresspheres to collect and use in battle.