Is Final Fantasy X any good?

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roflmao

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Ok, I've been a long time CAG, but am relatively new to the forums section, so excuse me if something similar has been posted.

I've always tended to like Square's non-ff rpgs more than their ff ones. Up until recently, my favorite Final Fantasy game was II (US) on the snes. I've started III (US) a few times, but it has never held my interest for more than 10 hours or so. Final Fantasy 7 and Xenogers couldn't hold my interest for more than 40 hrs. Yet I've completed Chrono Trigger and Super Mario Brothers RPG multiple times and really dig Kingdom Hearts (but I'm taking a break from it right now). I recently started playing Final Fantasy IX and am totally hooked on it. Most of the people I know who are rpg nuts loved FF7 and hated FF9.

If any of you are in the same boat as me (didn't like FF7 but really liked FF9) and played FFX on the PS2, was it any good?
 
At the current price you aren't taking any great risk. FF X is a bit different in certain ways than it's 2D and 3D predecessors but I think it is a worthy experience on its own merits.

Personally, I can't recall hearing anyone say they loved VII but hated IX. It's usually the eighth game that receives the most derision.
 
Damn you guys are quick to respond!

I'll probably be picking it up this weekend then. I, too, have heard a lot of nasty things about FFVIII (enough to keep me from trying it). I know FF opinions can get kind of heated, and it's not my intention to start another flame war, but why od people dislike FFVIII so much?

I haven't played it at all, but one of the guys I work with told me he hated it because you had to pull your magic from enemies (or something like that).

While I'm only on disc two right now, what I really like about FFIX is that the story is relatively simple (not a whole lot of crazy plot twists), the magic/equipment stuff is straight forward (I didn't like having to use different gems in weapons and such in FFVII), there are a lot of short FMV cutscenes, and I really like the characters (except what's with Zidane having a tail!?).

I look forward to playing FFX!
 
Ah, FFIX. IMO, it's the greatest of the Final Fantasy games. FF7 would be a close second though. FFX is a great game, really, except for one major shortcoming- the sidequests. The main game is absolutely amazing though, with awesome characters and a great plot. But if you want the ultimate weapons, get prepared to be pissed off. I would suggest you beat FFIX before starting on X, though.
 
Eh I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I really disliked FFX. I thought the plot and storyline were absolutely horrible, the characters were lame too. The battle system and game play weren't too bad though.
 
[quote name='rvdrock']FFX will consume your life in ways you cant imagine...[/quote]

I spent 150+ hours on FFX. I plan to start FFX International soon.
 
I too loved FFIX...it is by far my fav. FF...I tried VIII...I think it was alot better than it got credit for...You should try it out...As for X...I played about 20 hrs. in and couldnt get hooked...I didnt feel the drive to continue...Random battles seemed like they never stoped coming...I felt they uped the random battles...Maybe it was just me...I LOVED FFIX but I couldnt get into FFX...There is my 2 cents...

~Karma

*edit*...I thought Voice acting was HORRIBLE...Text is what I really liked about FF games...I felt I was reading a book instead of watching a cheesy movie...and thats what the voice acting made me feel it was...And Titus's voice was by far the worst male voice ive heard...
 
Well... here is a rule of thumb that I've discovered works pretty well.

Older FF fan (who like IV and VI)... you will have gripes about the game, but kind of like it.

Newer FF Fan (VII+)... you'll love it and find few complaints.

It's a good game.. but by now, random battles should be a thing of the past. That and the main character shouldn't be a whiney Meg Ryan lookalike. But for the price, it'd be kind of foolish not to give it a shot.
 
[quote name='jimbodan']Eh I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I really disliked FFX. I thought the plot and storyline were absolutely horrible, the characters were lame too. The battle system and game play weren't too bad though.[/quote]

Wow... just wow. The plot and storyline in FFX is simply one of the best RPG storylines ever. And I have yet to play another RPG (and I've played about every RPG out there), or any other game for that matter, with the amazing characterization of FFX. That's like hating Ninja Gaiden for its SNES quality graphics, or REZ for its terrible soundtrack.
 
I hated part VIII because the battle system absolutely destroyed the game for me. As you know, the majority of Final Fantasys (and most rpgs for that matter) are spent fighting random enemies to level up. This is already tedious, boring, annoying, etc. as it is but FFVIII makes it worst by having the random enemies increase their levels as you increase yours. So instead of just being able to kill weaker enemies to speed up random battles you're often fighting it for a good while because they got stronger. While this gets better when you get the Diablo gf which can lower random encounters, it takes WAY to long to get there.
Also I hated the way that the magic system worked. No mp points here. You had to draw each and every spell from one monster or another. Want a lot of thundara spells? Get ready to make those random battles even longer as you sit there and just draw magic from enemies...and draw some more...and again...and again....you get the point. There are some ways to alleviate this problem (like getting spells from certain items) but the spells are mainly taken from battles.
Some people enjoyed this system but i felt that it really took the fun away from the game by making it longer and less interesting than it needed to be. You may still wanna try it out for yourself to see how you like it.
 
I would have to agree that it is definately a go play. I honestly can say I loved all of the FF games for their own individual reasons. I thought the VIII gameplay was definately the worst of all of the games, but I thought it was worth playing.

I definately agree that X is awesome and really worth playing. I really got lost in the story, I played it almost straight through, and I really don't do that with most games. I even believe I played hooky from work to play one day :wink:

*Edit* Basketkass - you reminded me what I hated the most about VIII. I completely forgot about the upgraded random encounters, that was definately the worse part, it slowed the whole game down a lot.
 
[quote name='Skylander7']Well... here is a rule of thumb that I've discovered works pretty well.

Older FF fan (who like IV and VI)... you will have gripes about the game, but kind of like it.

Newer FF Fan (VII+)... you'll love it and find few complaints.

It's a good game.. but by now, random battles should be a thing of the past. That and the main character shouldn't be a whiney Meg Ryan lookalike. But for the price, it'd be kind of foolish not to give it a shot.[/quote]

You're right... I had a lot of gripes myself, but it was pretty good overall I guess.
 
It's probably the best RPG ever. Go and get it now. It has good graphics, great story, and a great battle system. If you like this get FFX-2
 
People praise FF VIII's battle system because it is "unique and original"...

So if I eat a bunch of crayons, and take a multicolored dump.. will people praise it for being "Unique and original"???

Square has definately lost the quality it once had in its games. To anyone who says that FF X has the best storyline ever.. please try Panzer Dragoon Saga, Chrono Trigger, FF VI, the Suikoden series, the Dragon Warrior series... I'm not blasting the new FF's, nor am I flaming anybody. I'm just saying.. if people would try these other and IMO greater games, you wouldn't be spending a hundred bucks plus for them on Ebay later down the road. I'm actually insulted by some of the crap Square has slung our way in the past few years, and how they get away with it.
 
I didn't read any of the other posts, but I just picked it up last night and from what I've seen so far t's a great game. if you beat that then pick up X-2 as well :roll:
 
[quote name='basketkase543']I hated part VIII because the battle system absolutely destroyed the game for me. As you know, the majority of Final Fantasys (and most rpgs for that matter) are spent fighting random enemies to level up. This is already tedious, boring, annoying, etc. as it is but FFVIII makes it worst by having the random enemies increase their levels as you increase yours. So instead of just being able to kill weaker enemies to speed up random battles you're often fighting it for a good while because they got stronger. While this gets better when you get the Diablo gf which can lower random encounters, it takes WAY to long to get there.
Also I hated the way that the magic system worked. No mp points here. You had to draw each and every spell from one monster or another. Want a lot of thundara spells? Get ready to make those random battles even longer as you sit there and just draw magic from enemies...and draw some more...and again...and again....you get the point. There are some ways to alleviate this problem (like getting spells from certain items) but the spells are mainly taken from battles.
Some people enjoyed this system but i felt that it really took the fun away from the game by making it longer and less interesting than it needed to be. You may still wanna try it out for yourself to see how you like it.[/quote]

Yikes - I'll probably avoid VIII for the time being. I've gotten really tired of random battles. Has anyone here played Cosmic Fantasy 2 on the Turbografx-16? That game had the worst random battles. By the end of the game, you couldn't go 2 seconds without experiencing one. And there was very little variety of monsters...

What are a few good rpg's that don't have random battles? The ones that come to mind for me are: Ys Book I & II, Chrono Trigger, and Super Mario RPG. Those are all pretty old. Are there any newer RPGs that dont use random battles. I just thought of KOTOR. Any others?

Thanks again for the good news about FFX. I'm about 20 hrs into FFIX right now so will pick up FFX shortly.
 
FF X is easily worth a 20.00 buy, you can get it cheap used as well, it's such an awesome RPG the story is great, the characters suck you right in, it's one of the best games ever made.
 
[quote name='Skylander7']People praise FF VIII's battle system because it is "unique and original"...

So if I eat a bunch of crayons, and take a multicolored dump.. will people praise it for being "Unique and original"???

Square has definately lost the quality it once had in its games. To anyone who says that FF X has the best storyline ever.. please try Panzer Dragoon Saga, Chrono Trigger, FF VI, the Suikoden series, the Dragon Warrior series... I'm not blasting the new FF's, nor am I flaming anybody. I'm just saying.. if people would try these other and IMO greater games, you wouldn't be spending a hundred bucks plus for them on Ebay later down the road. I'm actually insulted by some of the crap Square has slung our way in the past few years, and how they get away with it.[/quote]


Argh, I'm so sick of this Square bashing. Ever since Final Fantasy became popular (with 7), all of the "old school" people have turned against FF, if not Square completely. Go replay some of your precious old ones. Are they good games? Yes. Are they as great as you remember them? Definitely not. Everyone only remembers the great parts, but not the bad. I'm not saying that every game post-6 is great, either. I'm replaying FF7 right now, and it's definitely got some pretty big issues (the dialogue is horrendous, and the minigames are really annoying) and 8 is so bad that I don't even want to think about playing it again. But face it- the stuff coming out of Square-Enix, especially the Final Fantasy games, is a billion times more original and more fun than most of the crap that comes out these days.

This may surprise a lot of people, but it's completely fine to love your old games and still warmly embrace all of the new stuff that's coming out. You don't have to be a complete n00b or completely old school. Enjoy gaming for the great entertainment it is and stop bitching about how everything was better in the old days.
 
[quote name='Stargun007'][quote name='Skylander7']People praise FF VIII's battle system because it is "unique and original"...

So if I eat a bunch of crayons, and take a multicolored dump.. will people praise it for being "Unique and original"???

Square has definately lost the quality it once had in its games. To anyone who says that FF X has the best storyline ever.. please try Panzer Dragoon Saga, Chrono Trigger, FF VI, the Suikoden series, the Dragon Warrior series... I'm not blasting the new FF's, nor am I flaming anybody. I'm just saying.. if people would try these other and IMO greater games, you wouldn't be spending a hundred bucks plus for them on Ebay later down the road. I'm actually insulted by some of the crap Square has slung our way in the past few years, and how they get away with it.[/quote]


Argh, I'm so sick of this Square bashing. Ever since Final Fantasy became popular (with 7), all of the "old school" people have turned against FF, if not Square completely. Go replay some of your precious old ones. Are they good games? Yes. Are they as great as you remember them? Definitely not. Everyone only remembers the great parts, but not the bad. I'm not saying that every game post-6 is great, either. I'm replaying FF7 right now, and it's definitely got some pretty big issues (the dialogue is horrendous, and the minigames are really annoying) and 8 is so bad that I don't even want to think about playing it again. But face it- the stuff coming out of Square-Enix, especially the Final Fantasy games, is a billion times more original and more fun than most of the crap that comes out these days.

This may surprise a lot of people, but it's completely fine to love your old games and still warmly embrace all of the new stuff that's coming out. You don't have to be a complete n00b or completely old school. Enjoy gaming for the great entertainment it is and stop bitching about how everything was better in the old days.[/quote]

Absolutely. The "old-school" gamers (and I'm one of them) tend to view all old games through the rose-colored glasses of timeless nostalgia. Panzer Dragoon was downright horrible, IMO, but I will agree with the Suikoden series as having quite possibly the best storylines ever. As far as FF goes, it is UNTRUE to even bother saying that the old FFs are "better" than the new. You can LIKE them better, which is your opinion, but as far as the overall quality goes? Well, let's see:

Before FF VII, the script and story were written by the PROGRAMMERS because Square couldn't afford to have real writers on staff. And it showed, seeing as how the dialogue was so laughable, it could easily have been written by a precocious 10-year-old. For the time, when WE were kids, it was pretty darn great. But look at it now. It sounds like a monkey wrote the script.

Just about the most complex system before FF VII was maybe the Esper system, which was extremely simplistic, or the Job system found in FF V (and that was a poor, archaic version of the genius found in FF Tactics). Materia, Junction, Sphere Grid...it all allowed for a level of customization and freedom that wasn't even close to being APPROACHED in the old FFs, or Chrono Trigger, or PDS, or anything else in the old days.

We need to wake up and face reality. Games back then were made with extremely limited budgets, staff, and hardware. I love the old gems too, and always will, but if we wish to be LOGICAL, it's obvious that they've long since been eclipsed. FF X's storyline is a million times deeper and more insightful than ANYTHING found in FF I - VI, which, I reiterate, consisted of stories that could've been devised by a semi-intelligent parrot.

When we look back in time, the games we loved start to sit atop loftier and loftier plateaus. Before we know it, subconsciously, not a single game that is released in the future could ever top them...even though several already have, obviously. Is every new game better than every old game? Of course not. But especially when it comes to the RPG genre, most of the time, the answer is a resounding "YES."

Let's just sit back and view things as objectively as possible, shall we? FF X is well worth playing and one of the best RPG's of this generation.
 
[quote name='fathoms']

Just about the most complex system before FF VII was maybe the Esper system, which was extremely simplistic, or the Job system found in FF V (and that was a poor, archaic version of the genius found in FF Tactics). Materia, Junction, Sphere Grid...it all allowed for a level of customization and freedom that wasn't even close to being APPROACHED in the old FFs, or Chrono Trigger, or PDS, or anything else in the old days.

We need to wake up and face reality. Games back then were made with extremely limited budgets, staff, and hardware. I love the old gems too, and always will, but if we wish to be LOGICAL, it's obvious that they've long since been eclipsed. FF X's storyline is a million times deeper and more insightful than ANYTHING found in FF I - VI, which, I reiterate, consisted of stories that could've been devised by a semi-intelligent parrot.
[/quote]

I agree with some of your post, but disagree with a lot of it. Making a system more complex certainly doesn't make the game better, as you seemed to imply above (forgive me if I read that wrong). I never got anywhere in FF8 because of the horrible gaurdian system, or whatever they were called. I feel like I spent more time trying to conifgure those things in menus than I did playing the game or enjoying the plot. I do think the Sphere Grid is great though.

I am not finished with FFX, but I don't think the plot is all that great. The characters aren't nearly as engaging even though the dialogue is written slightly better. In FF7 you really cared about the characters - who didn't feel extremely sad (some ppl cried) when Aeris died? I could really care less what happens to Yuna when the final aeon is called.

Also, I feel more like I'm watching a movie than playing a game. Often, I will play it for like 10 minutes, then set the controller down and watch cut scenes for 15 minutes or more. The first 20-30 hours are also so linear that even playing it isn't that great. Thanksfully, it does get much better as you get farther into it.

I think FF6 really is one of the best games ever made (second to FF7), though a remake with better dialogue and graphics and orchestrated music would be nice. Maybe if some of the older games were a bit more polished younger gamers would like them more. The sophistication is not there, but the fun factor is.
 
FFX is incredibly easy up until Gagazet. Then I think the difficulty spikes up a lot, and afterwards the difficulty goes from battles to annoying minigames. Dodge 200 lightning bolts? FARK YOU! If you're well prepared, the final boss (not the fake final boss, but the real final boss) isn't too hard, but he's also not a pushover.
 
In FFX a few bosses near the beginning were hard for me maybe because my level was too low but the bosses toward the end of the game were easy. But the battle arena was still very challenging for me.
 
I *hated* FFX. It has one of the most insipid stories I've ever read, the voice acting is awful, the gameplay is traditional, straightforward Japanese RPG (the kind that hasn't seen "innovation" in years), and I hated every single character save Lulu and Wakka. Awful, awful game.

seppo
 
[quote name='jimbodan']Eh I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I really disliked FFX. I thought the plot and storyline were absolutely horrible, the characters were lame too. The battle system and game play weren't too bad though.[/quote]

Yeah i agree only I think FFX is total garbage, however FF7= best game I've ever played
 
[quote name='roflmao']What are a few good rpg's that don't have random battles? The ones that come to mind for me are: Ys Book I & II, Chrono Trigger, and Super Mario RPG. Those are all pretty old. Are there any newer RPGs that dont use random battles. I just thought of KOTOR. Any others?[/quote]

Try Grandia. I've just started playing it for PS1, and it has a battle system that's really different from the FF series w/o random battles. I'm almost certain Grandia II has a similar battle system, and you can pretty easily get it for fairly cheap.
 
[quote name='tdphillips'][quote name='roflmao']What are a few good rpg's that don't have random battles? The ones that come to mind for me are: Ys Book I & II, Chrono Trigger, and Super Mario RPG. Those are all pretty old. Are there any newer RPGs that dont use random battles. I just thought of KOTOR. Any others?[/quote]

Try Grandia. I've just started playing it for PS1, and it has a battle system that's really different from the FF series w/o random battles. I'm almost certain Grandia II has a similar battle system, and you can pretty easily get it for fairly cheap.[/quote]

Grandia 2's battle system rocks. The plot is not all that great but the battles make the game fun. It doesn't have random battles (you see your enemies on the map) and the battles themselves are not turn-based.

For good (IMO) non-random battle RPGs, you can check out:

Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Dark Cloud 2
Disgaea
La Pucelle Tactics
Alundra (PS1)
Kingdom Hearts

I'm sure there are many more worth mentioning, but these are a few that I have played that come to mind.
 
Secret of Mana for SNES was a good non-random battle RPG. I think it was even multi-player, though I never tried that. It had some intersting innovations (like those cirular menus)
 
[quote name='lebowsky'][quote name='tdphillips'][quote name='roflmao']What are a few good rpg's that don't have random battles? The ones that come to mind for me are: Ys Book I & II, Chrono Trigger, and Super Mario RPG. Those are all pretty old. Are there any newer RPGs that dont use random battles. I just thought of KOTOR. Any others?[/quote]

Try Grandia. I've just started playing it for PS1, and it has a battle system that's really different from the FF series w/o random battles. I'm almost certain Grandia II has a similar battle system, and you can pretty easily get it for fairly cheap.[/quote]

Grandia 2's battle system rocks. The plot is not all that great but the battles make the game fun. It doesn't have random battles (you see your enemies on the map) and the battles themselves are not turn-based.

For good (IMO) non-random battle RPGs, you can check out:

Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Dark Cloud 2
Disgaea
La Pucelle Tactics
Alundra (PS1)
Kingdom Hearts

I'm sure there are many more worth mentioning, but these are a few that I have played that come to mind.[/quote]

I wouldn't quite call any of those you listed straight RPGs. You listed a bunch of action RPGs and strategy RPGs, and it's kinda hard then to get random battles. If you want to go with an actual RPG that doesn't have random battles and is awesome, do yourself a favor and play Tales of Symphonia. May not have the best storyline in the world, but the amazing graphics and the truly awesome battle system, plus there are no random battles.
 
I think Final Fantasy X was great. there is a lot to do and you could spend at least 100 hours trying to complete the game 100%.

My least favorite of the Series is Final Fantasy 8.

I just picked up IX and will be playing this as soon as I finish Tales of Symphonia. If you have a Gamecube I highly recommend this game. I know off topic but we are talking RPGs.
 
I am actually pretty disappointed with most of the music in FFX. What happened to Uematsu here? I guess he was just trying to fit the mood, but the songs just aren't nearly as nice to listen to as past FF, notably 7 and 8 (though I didn't really like 8 for other reasons). I can't imagine buying the soundtrack to 10, unlike other ones.
 
I thought 10 had a decent soundtrack. Not as good as 6, 7, or 9, but better than 8. If you want to talk about crappy soundtracks, go play FFX-2. The only half-decent song there is the opening piano theme. The rest is crap.
 
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