Final Fantasy X-2 is the first-ever direct sequel to appear in Square's legendary Final Fantasy series of role-playing adventure games. Here the emphasis is placed squarely on the all-female trio of adventurers who make up the player's role-playing team. At the forefront is Yuna, of Final Fantasy X,...

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5253 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2005-02-04
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platform: PlayStation2

Amazon.co.uk Review
Final Fantasy X-2 is the first-ever direct sequel to appear in Square's legendary Final Fantasy series of role-playing adventure games. Here the emphasis is placed squarely on the all-female trio of adventurers who make up the player's role-playing team. At the forefront is Yuna, of Final Fantasy X, who makes a heroic return just in time for another wild adventure. What's more, these girls have more about them than most all-girl manufactured pop groups; then, too, they remain at the cutting edge of fashion throughout the game, thanks to a system of costume changes.

The game itself is classically typical of the series, sending players on epic missions in a fantastical world of monsters and spectacular otherworldly scenery. This is not a game you'll play for a couple of hours and then forget: Final Fantasy X-2 demands attention--tens of hours' worth.

X-2 is a most interesting experiment: the series' feminine side has never been played on as strongly as it has here, and twee features such as Japanese pop music and sporting events feature more prominently than ever before. But it's more than a mere tangent--at its core, Final Fantasy X-2 is a cracking RPG. --Jonti Davies

Manufacturer's Description
Final Fantasy X-2 is the first sequel in the long-respected series. This sequel keeps the familiar environment fresh with the inclusion of a newly created battle system. The first female-led Final Fantasy, it combines an experience that is both light-hearted and melancholy with a tragic story of unrequited love and dark secrets. Two years after Yuna's fateful journey to defeat Sin in Final Fantasy X, the once chaotic world of Spira has gone through a massive transformation, entering a period of "Eternal Calm". Despite the Calm, Yuna's heart is empty and longs for her lost friends. When she obtains a mystical sphere that contains imagery of what might be the Blitzball player she thought was gone forever, Yuna is driven to seek the truth behind what she has seen. Incorporating a completely revamped battle system, new job classes, diverse looks for the leading female characters, renovated maps and enhanced character development systems, Final Fantasy X-2 delivers a fresh new look.

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Customer Reviews

Depends how you look at it...
Ok. If you are a serious ff fan, this WILL disappoint you. If you have never played ff before you MAY like this (although you should play ffx first to understand whats going on, but try not to compare it to x, because it is nowhere near as good)The thing is, it is completely different to every other final fantasy game in terms of gameplay it is mission-based. It does follow on from final fantasy x, the world is the same, the characters are the same, the fiends are the same. I didn't like how they've TRIED to modernise it, however, the music, the clothes, the missions, the singing and dancing... they were trying to make it appeal to a different audience, and in doing so, pushed away the regular audience. When they made it were they trying to promote girl power? They can't have because it is so far off the mark. Also i wish they hadn't changed the battle system back to bars filling up before you could attack. I liked having time to plan and knowing whose turn it was next. Despite all this, it is a good game, it has tons of stuff to do and the bosses are a lot easier than x's. I played through it solely to see the end, which does complete the story, but only if you get 100% or trigger the special ending. So. If you want a game to play, play this and ignore the faults. If you want to finish off final fantasy 10, play this, but be sure to get the special ending (a decent guide will tell you how to do this) or complete it 100%. If you want to play a game in keeping with the final fantasy series DO NOT play this game.

Therapeutic return to Spira
Final Fantasy X-2 is a confused game, this much is clear from the two opening sequences to the game. The usual, sombre opening credits are intact, and from this beginning you could be forgiven for thinking you were about to embark on the usual Final Fantasy adventure, with accompanying heavy plots and emotional scenes aplenty.
This is shattered once you start the game, however. Our heroes are introduced in colourful cut-away freeze frame, in moments which very correctly remind many people of 'Charlie's Angels.' Yuna sings J-Pop, Rikku tries to subdue a guard using her cuteness, and Paine jumps straight into action. A few moments later, the girls all join up for a group freeze-frame, and the unsuspecting gamer is left not knowing what to think.

It establishes itself quickly as light-hearted, yet also throws you quickly into the thick of battle, and the unitiated may be taken aback by the speedy nature of the turn-based battles. This is a tremendous change for the series, though: the clunky, pause-ridden battles which have typified FF games thusfar is emphatically thrown out of the window, and replaced with something much more condusive to real action.

Side-quests are a large feature of this game, and it is pleasing to discover that if you should ever bore of the main story, you can take day-trips to other areas and indulge yourself in a mini game or two. I once visited Luca, intending only to level up a few times before I continued, but was drawn into a beuatifully detailed reconstruction of some of Yuna's backstory: a most pleasing diversion.

Production values in this game are consistently high, and the amount of speech, especially in battles, is hugely impressive. The characters are thus fleshed out fantastically, and the player is drawn into the experience with great intensity.

The one drawback is that this is still Final Fantasy: seemingly a curious criticism. You still go from A to B and battle a boss before you get the item you want. You still have to level up and get money to beat these bosses, and you still have to use trial and error on too many occassions.
The saving grace of FFX-2 is the inventive nature of the in-game experience, and the diverse society which makes up Spira.

Rikku, Yuna and Paine do succeed in making this a successful sequel to FFX, and hopefully Square-Enix can learn from what they've done here to make FFXII a fantastic experience.

First impressions, etc.
Considering I've been playing FFX-2 for a couple of days ONLY, it should be a tad presumptuous to write a review. It should, but rules are made to be broken, right?

So from the outset, the game seems light & fluffy, as opposed to the rather sombre opening to FFX (come on, it starts with Yuna - pop star!), and you will think there's something dodgy about a game that is, in essence, playing dress-up with some CGI dolls.

OK, that's what you get from looking at pictures on the 'net. Now, play the game for a while, and this isn't an issue. It's similar to switching Lulu for Auron on FFX, but with better graphics. Yes, it's a tad annoying when you get the animation for the 700th time, just as you're getting massacrered by a boss and need a White Mage ASAP, admittedly, but it's still miles away from the dogy junctioning system of FFVIII.

Naturally, the world looks as stunning (if not more so) than before, although I did miss some of the music they used, such as Besaid and Gagazet, as it has all been overhauled. However, there is a pleasant familiarity to proceedings as you run through Luca or Guadosalam, while you have new areas like Bevelle and the updated Kilika to get used to, so contempt is kept at bay. Meanwhile, the ability to jump and climb in areas also adds an edge to proceedings, as you search for chests and so forth.

And now there's the big change: the structure of the story. Rather than an elongated story from start to finish, it is broken up into Missions. Not only this, but there are more than the ones pinpointed at the mission screen. You have to explore every place to get bonus missions to receive new Garment Grids, Dress Spheres, and other goodies that help your progress. And since the story is broken into "chapters", you can't leave them and come back - so you may need a guide of some description in order to achieve the elusive 100% completion (yes, that's on offer).

Also, along with the costumes, combat has been changed. You can learn abilities during fights, rather than waiting for their conclusion when you needed 1 AP, and the combat is much faster than before, to the extent you can get combos when all three characters attack one enemy at the same time. However, there costumes have reverted back to the times of FFV - Mages can't use physical attacks, for example - Warriors, Gunners and Thieves can. So remember this if you're playing, and setting up a grid.

So, with a more complex structure and more satisfying combat than ever, why isn't this a fiv star game? Honestly, I can't say - but it doesn't feel like a Five Star Final Fantasy that parts VII and X were, yet at the same times isn't as half-baked as VIII was. Perhaps I'm going for a review too early, considering all that's on offer here, or maybe it's just spite that I can't use Wakka, Auron or Lulu again. And, yes, many characters from part X do appear, alongside new characters. In many ways, FFX-2 is like an old friend with a new look - you may recognise them, but won't be too sure at first glance.