Review by: Mike Laidlaw
Published: January 10, 2002

By now, the Final Fantasy series seems to have fallen into a formula. Starting with the much hyped Final Fantasy VII, the series has kept several constants, including the winding plots, fairly linear gameplay that finally frees the player right around disc three, and a cast of unique and individual characters. Somehow, despite rarely deviating from this formula, the wizards at Square manage to spin a new tale and revamp their mechanics with each new installment. Most impressively, though, some sort of nameless grace surrounds this series, such that as gamers who’ve enjoyed any Final Fantasy, we can rest assured that we will enjoy all the others. Some titles, of course, strike a stronger chord with players than others — Final Fantasy VII was more warmly received than either of its sequels — though none can really fault their technical excellence. Leaving the PlayStation behind meant new expectations for Square, and fans were excited to hear that combat would be changed, character voices would be introduced and the graphics would astound. How well does this Fantasy stack up against the others? Read on to find out.

Like all games in this series, the tenth installment has nothing to do with the plots or characters of its predecessors. Aside from the staples, like the airship, Cid and chocobos, the other characters show up only as cameo appearances, if at all. This time out, our normally taciturn hero has been replaced with the outgoing and personable Tidus, who opens the story before a championship Blitzball game in his home city of Zanarkand. As the young athlete leads his team to victory, his city is suddenly attacked by a monstrous figure known as Sin. Protected by his mentor, Auron, Tidus is drawn into Sin and finds himself trapped in a mysterious land known as Spira. As Tidus will learn, Spira and Zanarkand are joined together in some way, and as is always the case, the player will be taken through a revelatory rollercoaster of a plot.

Most of the action in Final Fantasy X centers around the journey of Yuna, a young summoner, and her guardians who are sworn to protect her on a long pilgrimage to defeat Sin. Tidus joins their number and over time a party is formed. As a summoner, Yuna plays double role as white mage and the only character who can call forth the massive creatures who are a Final Fantasy trademark. This time around, they’re known as Aeons, and long-time favorites like Bahamut, Shiva and Ifrit have survived the transition to the PS2. Joining her are Kimhari, the strong silent member of a race known as the Ronso, Lulu, a black mage, and Wakka, a blitzball player who gives up the game but still uses the ball as his weapon. Later, the group is joined by Auron, who mysteriously appears after Tidus’ escape from Zanarkand, and Rikku, a thief character who belongs to an outcast race known as the Al-Behd.

Each character starts with certain aptitudes: Auron’s strong blows make him the best melee fighter in the group, but he is neither as fast, nimble or accurate as Tidus. Lulu’s strong magical spells are offset by her weak constitution, and Wakka’s high hit points and ranged attack are balanced by relatively weak offensive powers. Using these strengths and weaknesses, becomes a matter of course, since the new combat system drops the Active Turn Battle system we’ve become used to. Instead, players can leisurely choose their characters’ actions, and any available character may be substituted for the current member. This means that you can make careful decisions about which members of your party are on-screen and active at any one time, and thanks to new commands, you can even switch weapons and armor mid-battle to offset certain enemy attacks or take advantages of weaknesses. In addition to being able to swap characters in and out of battle, strategists can examine a bar on the side of the combat display to see the combat turn order, allowing you to anticipate which enemies to target, and when particularly powerful attacks might land. Obviously, this makes for a more thoughtful and careful combat than before, but the developers have also taken it upon themselves to make combat more intricate than ever, and few and far between are the fights you can simply waltz through during the course of this adventure.