Ok, I admit it... After playing every Final Fantasy game made by humankind and finishing them all with the exception of Final Fantasy XI, I admit that I'm a Final Fantasy freak. I have however seen the ups and downs of the series over the years as a result of my experiences. Focusing primarily on the main heroine of Final Fantasy X, Yuna, new female character Paine and returning character Rikku, the three girls who have joined up with a group known as the Gullwings to hunt video spheres to uncover spira's past. There is unrest however as new factions have since surfaced all over Spira in a bid to shape the future of the world. Some of these factions are independent, some are in direct conflict with another.

FFX-2 is the first sequel to a Final Fantasy game ever, but does that mean that it can live up to it's bigger brothers? Can Paine, Yuna and Rikku keep the franchise afloat by themselves?

Gameplay: 8.5/10
-Final Fantasy games have always been in the past jRPG's (Or Japanese Role Playing Games) meaning that the player is given a set of playable characters and is required to navigate through some usually linear plot while fighting lots of random enemies through the use of menus in order to gain in strength. FFX-2 is really no different from the rest in that case with the exception of the linearity.

One of the first things that the gamer will notice is that FFX-2, unlike earlier installments in the series, is completely open ended as to which tasks that the player wishes to finish. These are split up into different "Mission Time's" which go so far as to fleshing the plot out a bit more, to selling tickets to a concert. While the player only needs to complete certain "Hotspot" missions in order to finish the game, doing these side quests are pretty integral to getting the overall plot of the story and many missions are not available if you didn't complete an earlier one. While this turns some people off, I personally rather enjoyed the change of pace from the older Final Fantasy games. Variety is the spice of life, and FFX-2 definitely is different as to the way the game is shaped according to the player. You want to blaze through the game in 10 hours? Go ahead. You want to find everything and explore Spira a bit more in a time span of more like 50 hours, that's there too.

While the missions make up the basic structure of the gameplay, many other new bits, mostly borrowed from older Final Fantasy games, make appearances. For instance, unlike its prequel, Final Fantasy X, FFX-2 uses the active time battle system from FF games such as VII, VIII, IX. However, the battle system is very fast paced and is reliant on such things as attack chains where one, two, or all three of the characters can chain well timed attacks to either stop enemy turns all together or slow them down long enough to get off a cure spell or something. While you can change your options to a wait mode where things are slowed down a bit, most of the fun of battles comes from frantically trying to throw together a strategy while trying to halt enemy attack. The battle system is so fast in fact, that most battles last under 30 seconds if done properly. The only complaints here is that in some areas random battles seem to happen way too frequently, whereas other areas it seems like you're barely attacked at all. A bit more spacing things out would have been nice.

Another mainstay of the Final Fantasy series is represented in FFX-2 through the use of multiple mini-games which are spread throughout the course of the game. Some of these mini-games are even deep enough that you can spend hours alone on one mini-game, and there's plenty to choose from. Some required if you want to get a higher completion percentage, some not. I had a problem with some of these mini-games seeming far too tedious requiring sometimes inane amounts of time to do something as simple as getting an al-bhed primer. *Cough*Comsphere*Cough*

The last major part of the gameplay comes from the introduction of the dressphere grid. Utilizing these grids that are collected throughout the game, Yuna, Paine and Rikku can change into different job classes depending on which one they currently have equipped. Finding different Garment Grids that are scattered everywhere around Spira, you can create different combinations of these dresspheres that can be activated during a battle. Later on, the player is even given the opportunity to mix and match job abilities with the current dressphere to make a lot of different combinations for the player to use according to tastes. Abilities are learned primarily on the basis of which dressphere is currently equipped on the character and the more you use them, the more abilities you learn. Unless you spend a lot of time leveling up the girls though, you likely will only see one or two of these jobs maxed out in abilities by the end of the game which can be good for replay, bad if you wanted to see most if not all the abilities.

Story: 8/10
- Unfortunately, I can't say much about the story seeing as how that's the biggest factor of the game other than the fact that it's average to pretty good depending on where you are in the game. Things started out a bit slow for me, but things really picked up closer to the end of the game. There was perhaps a bit too much of an emphasis on a girl power sentiment at times which seemed silly given the characters who were acting them out, but overall it seemed forgivable and in some cases quite funny. The thing that really shines here is how wide a spread of emotion is represented. You have anywhere from anger, disappointment, awe, sadness, and humor all in one game, which is rare seen these days.

The other thing that I liked about the story though (without ruining the plot) is how it focuses more on how Spira has changed since FFX and how the events from the previous game have shaped this world. Square smartly decided NOT to just ignore previous actions in Final Fantasy X and even reminds you of a few minor plot details from the first game that you may have overlooked or simply shoved into the back corner of your mind the first time through.

The one thing that was the most troubling for me however had to do the with participation of some of the old characters from Final Fantasy X. While on one hand I was happy to see many of these characters return, some of them with pretty good roles if you partake in side events (Personally, I go for the Wakka side stories the most. Absolutely hilarious!), some just seemed shallow and disapointing or just plain unexistant. I would have liked being able to team up for one battle or perhaps have some of the older characters play a larger part in the overall plot, but sadly, this is mostly not existant. However, it's still nice to see how some of these characters have changed since Final Fantasy X and it's also kind of nice to see a different side of their characters as they pursue their own individual lives.

Graphics: 8/10
- There's really not much to say here. If you want to know how the graphics for the game look, go check out any review of FFX. They pretty much reuse the graphics system from the past game with only minor tweaks here and there. In fact, most of the games environments are taken exactly from Final Fantasy X with very few changes. Understandable I guess seeing as how the overall geography of a planet doesn't just change in two years, but it seemed a shame that more new locations weren't added.

The CG movie sequences are absolutely stunning however, though the fact that they're few and far between. The new abilities in battle look pretty good too, but it's still using a 2 year old graphics system.

Audio: 8/10
- This is really a mixed bag. While some of the tracks are very pleasing to the ear such as the opening song, some of the tracks really kind of let me down by being too all over the place or too repetitious. Overall, I enjoyed many of the musical pieces offered. The voice acting seems to have improved since FFX, however it seems that it still could have had a bit more emotion at times. Sound effects are basic fare here, but they get the job done and all sound pretty crisp.

Replay Value: 9/10
-Being that there's a completion point system offered, this can go one of two ways. If you really want to, you can finish the game 100% your first time through if you follow a good guide and it'll take you at least 40-50 hours to do so as average RPG fare, but there's also the opportunity to blow through the game with a low completion percentage and then go back and play it over and over again using the featured New Game+ system that carries over your items, learned abilities and completion points (not your levels though). I personally finished it 100% and don't really feel like I'm going to be going back to play the game again any time soon because of the effort required to do so, but I can see many playing through the game over and over again trying to find all the missing pieces to the story and maxing out abilities. If anything, there's all those mini-games that I was talking about.

Buy or Rent?
-Well, unlike most RPG's, you could probably beat this game in a rental period if you really try, but to get the full worth of the game, I highly recommend buying. While not the best FF game ever released, it certainly isn't one of the worst. I personally spent a good 60 hours playing through the game including the included 99 floor dungeon that really requires a lot of time to finish completely. While I personally recommend that the player should play through to the total 100% completion, it's definately not required. Just be warned that it takes a lot of time and a lot of backtracking to get that final completion.

Overall, an enjoyable game that ranks in at a little better than good, but not really spectacular
Ok, I admit it... After playing every Final Fantasy game made by humankind and finishing them all with the exception of Final Fantasy XI, I admit that I'm a Final Fantasy freak. I have however seen the ups and downs of the series over the years as a result of my experiences. Focusing primarily on the main heroine of Final Fantasy X, Yuna, new female character Paine and returning character Rikku, the three girls who have joined up with a group known as the Gullwings to hunt video spheres to uncover spira's past. There is unrest however as new factions have since surfaced all over Spira in a bid to shape the future of the world. Some of these factions are independent, some are in direct conflict with another. FFX-2 is the first sequel to a Final Fantasy game ever, but does that mean that it can live up to it's bigger brothers? Can Paine, Yuna and Rikku keep the franchise afloat by themselves? Gameplay: 8. 5/10
-Final Fantasy games have always been in the past jRPG's (Or Japanese Role Playing Games) meaning that the player is given a set of playable characters and is required to navigate through some usually linear plot while fighting lots of random enemies through the use of menus in order to gain in strength. FFX-2 is really no different from the rest in that case with the exception of the linearity. One of the first things that the gamer will notice is that FFX-2, unlike earlier installments in the series, is completely open ended as to which tasks that the player wishes to finish. These are split up into different "Mission Time's" which go so far as to fleshing the plot out a bit more, to selling tickets to a concert. While the player only needs to complete certain "Hotspot" missions in order to finish the game, doing these side quests are pretty integral to getting the overall plot of the story and many missions are not available if you didn't complete an earlier one. While this turns some people off, I personally rather enjoyed the change of pace from the older Final Fantasy games. Variety is the spice of life, and FFX-2 definitely is different as to the way the game is shaped according to the player. You want to blaze through the game in 10 hours? Go ahead. You want to find everything and explore Spira a bit more in a time span of more like 50 hours, that's there too. While the missions make up the basic structure of the gameplay, many other new bits, mostly borrowed from older Final Fantasy games, make appearances. For instance, unlike its prequel, Final Fantasy X, FFX-2 uses the active time battle system from FF games such as VII, VIII, IX. However, the battle system is very fast paced and is reliant on such things as attack chains where one, two, or all three of the characters can chain well timed attacks to either stop enemy turns all together or slow them down long enough to get off a cure spell or something. While you can change your options to a wait mode where things are slowed down a bit, most of the fun of battles comes from frantically trying to throw together a strategy while trying to halt enemy attack. The battle system is so fast in fact, that most battles last under 30 seconds if done properly. The only complaints here is that in some areas random battles seem to happen way too frequently, whereas other areas it seems like you're barely attacked at all. A bit more spacing things out would have been nice. Another mainstay of the Final Fantasy series is represented in FFX-2 through the use of multiple mini-games which are spread throughout the course of the game. Some of these mini-games are even deep enough that you can spend hours alone on one mini-game, and there's plenty to choose from. Some required if you want to get a higher completion percentage, some not. I had a problem with some of these mini-games seeming far too tedious requiring sometimes inane amounts of time to do something as simple as getting an al-bhed primer. *Cough*Comsphere*Cough*

The last major part of the gameplay comes from the introduction of the dressphere grid. Utilizing these grids that are collected throughout the game, Yuna, Paine and Rikku can change into different job classes depending on which one they currently have equipped. Finding different Garment Grids that are scattered everywhere around Spira, you can create different combinations of these dresspheres that can be activated during a battle. Later on, the player is even given the opportunity to mix and match job abilities with the current dressphere to make a lot of different combinations for the player to use according to tastes. Abilities are learned primarily on the basis of which dressphere is currently equipped on the character and the more you use them, the more abilities you learn. Unless you spend a lot of time leveling up the girls though, you likely will only see one or two of these jobs maxed out in abilities by the end of the game which can be good for replay, bad if you wanted to see most if not all the abilities. Story: 8/10
- Unfortunately, I can't say much about the story seeing as how that's the biggest factor of the game other than the fact that it's average to pretty good depending on where you are in the game. Things started out a bit slow for me, but things really picked up closer to the end of the game. There was perhaps a bit too much of an emphasis on a girl power sentiment at times which seemed silly given the characters who were acting them out, but overall it seemed forgivable and in some cases quite funny. The thing that really shines here is how wide a spread of emotion is represented. You have anywhere from anger, disappointment, awe, sadness, and humor all in one game, which is rare seen these days. The other thing that I liked about the story though (without ruining the plot) is how it focuses more on how Spira has changed since FFX and how the events from the previous game have shaped this world. Square smartly decided NOT to just ignore previous actions in Final Fantasy X and even reminds you of a few minor plot details from the first game that you may have overlooked or simply shoved into the back corner of your mind the first time through. The one thing that was the most troubling for me however had to do the with participation of some of the old characters from Final Fantasy X. While on one hand I was happy to see many of these characters return, some of them with pretty good roles if you partake in side events (Personally, I go for the Wakka side stories the most. Absolutely hilarious! ), some just seemed shallow and disapointing or just plain unexistant. I would have liked being able to team up for one battle or perhaps have some of the older characters play a larger part in the overall plot, but sadly, this is mostly not existant. However, it's still nice to see how some of these characters have changed since Final Fantasy X and it's also kind of nice to see a different side of their characters as they pursue their own individual lives. Graphics: 8/10
- There's really not much to say here. If you want to know how the graphics for the game look, go check out any review of FFX. They pretty much reuse the graphics system from the past game with only minor tweaks here and there. In fact, most of the games environments are taken exactly from Final Fantasy X with very few changes. Understandable I guess seeing as how the overall geography of a planet doesn't just change in two years, but it seemed a shame that more new locations weren't added. The CG movie sequences are absolutely stunning however, though the fact that they're few and far between. The new abilities in battle look pretty good too, but it's still using a 2 year old graphics system. Audio: 8/10
- This is really a mixed bag. While some of the tracks are very pleasing to the ear such as the opening song, some of the tracks really kind of let me down by being too all over the place or too repetitious. Overall, I enjoyed many of the musical pieces offered. The voice acting seems to have improved since FFX, however it seems that it still could have had a bit more emotion at times. Sound effects are basic fare here, but they get the job done and all sound pretty crisp. Replay Value: 9/10
-Being that there's a completion point system offered, this can go one of two ways. If you really want to, you can finish the game 100% your first time through if you follow a good guide and it'll take you at least 40-50 hours to do so as average RPG fare, but there's also the opportunity to blow through the game with a low completion percentage and then go back and play it over and over again using the featured New Game+ system that carries over your items, learned abilities and completion points (not your levels though). I personally finished it 100% and don't really feel like I'm going to be going back to play the game again any time soon because of the effort required to do so, but I can see many playing through the game over and over again trying to find all the missing pieces to the story and maxing out abilities. If anything, there's all those mini-games that I was talking about. Buy or Rent? -Well, unlike most RPG's, you could probably beat this game in a rental period if you really try, but to get the full worth of the game, I highly recommend buying. While not the best FF game ever released, it certainly isn't one of the worst. I personally spent a good 60 hours playing through the game including the included 99 floor dungeon that really requires a lot of time to finish completely. While I personally recommend that the player should play through to the total 100% completion, it's definately not required. Just be warned that it takes a lot of time and a lot of backtracking to get that final completion. Overall, an enjoyable game that ranks in at a little better than good, but not really spectacular