Final Fantasy X-2 (2003)

Where to begin. The music, the combat, the story... Everything is downgraded so far and it appears you need a guide to get the true ending. My goodness, I just, can't. I can say anything I like about Final Fantasy X but X-2 massacred what would have been a perfect ending. And it's also too damned easy.

It's a decent game, a competent Final Fantasy game, but a horrible Final Fantasy X sequel. Just don't start on it, unless you want a game where even the enemies are ashamed of. 4/10.

Going from turn based to ATB between this and FFX did give my brain a bit of the nope factor but that was cancelled out by the unexpected campness and slay that was the opening scene alone!

While I didn't vibe with the ATB system (and that's not specific to this game for me) I did eventually start to get the hang of it, even if not using combos to their fullest in interests of not breaking my brain! The story is fun, the characters amused me, a serious FF game this is not but a good one nonetheless!

EDIT 2026 Actually got back to this again and played for a good few hours more, but eventually ran into being way too underleveled to manage a boss, losing hours in the process of reloading my file... Maybe I'll get back to this in a couple of years again.

Platform: SWITCH

Language: French/English VOD

Finish Status: Not For Me (DNF)

Playtime: 4h

Really tried my best to once and for all finish this game, but I realize it's gonna take me years to do it. I'm 4 hours in and already stuck. I haven't leveled up my guys, I suck, I have no strats. Honestly, I vividly remember getting pretty far into this game as a kid...

But as a kid I had more time, and would happily grind away. These days that's not the same case. I do kind of want to see where it goes. For FFX enjoyers it's simply a must play. It's incredibly nostalgic to replay. The music bops. The combat is fun, I enjoy the dresspheres and the level up system. It's just not for me right now, maybe at some point in the future it will be, but not right now.

Final Fantasy X-2 is a frustrating slog that is only partially saved by the combat. Each chapter feels like a bullet-point checklist, where you have to pick a different area from a list and find missions to complete. Unfortunately, most of these missions are fetch quests or poorly designed mini-games. The combat has the potential to be good, but it is hindered by the slow dress-changing mechanic. Furthermore, the combat becomes unbalanced later on when you level up Yuna's special dress sphere, making her invincible in battles. This strategy makes the final boss trivial. All of this is done for a story that awkwardly forces Yuna to sing and dance, and for the antagonist to resemble Tidus.

I cannot recommend this game, but it is fascinating and worth playing to experience the peculiar sequel to one of the best Final Fantasy games.

This game has a very playful j-pop vibe and colorful aesthetics in comparison to its predecessor, which I did not mind at all. What really impressed me was the character designs with all the different battle styles. It was a cool combat system in the overall final fantasy series, I did not 100% love it, but it was sure fun to mix and match. Outside of battle, the game was extremely limited, which was a huge negative. Everything felt small and like you were revisiting the same locations you know from the original, a shame. Storywise I liked the three protagonists enough to stay sort of invested. Yuna especially had a lot of time to shine and show off, the other two could have used more character development, but it is what it is. All in all, this is definitely a cheesy action game with cool-looking characters and a solid battle system, but there is not much more to it other than that.

76% in 49 hours. Got the “normal” ending without pressing x on the farplane because who would ever think to do this, so no Tidus appearance at all.

I’ll keep this one short.

Pros:

• The new job system is nice and it’s easy enough to build a serviceable party pretty much any way you want. I ended up with Yuna as gunner, white mage, and trainer; Rikku as thief and alchemist; Paine as warrior, dark knight, and samurai. Levels all around 58.
• Decent voice acting. At least better than the first.
• Some ok new dungeons.
• I’m here for the magical girl vibes.
• Final boss gauntlet was pretty challenging.

Cons:

• Little direction and lots to do and lots of missables makes it tough to have a fulfilling play through.
• I couldn’t have been less invested in the threadbare story.
• Exclusively unlikeable characters.
• On the one hand, you feel like there could be even more dresspheres, but on the other, it takes so long to master one it also feels like too many.
• Special dresspheres are a totally wasted opportunity.
• This is basically palette swap: the game. Even bosses. And you fight a few of the bosses what, six times?
• Speaking of bosses, what the hell is up with the aeons? Why were they here? How are they here if the fayth are gone!?
• Awful music. It’s even worse in light of the fact 10’s music was so wonderful and integral to the story.
• Tedious/unfun/stupid side quests and mini games.
• Too much missable shit.
• The Spira of this game, even if two years after the last, is just so radically different from the world presented in X, and not at all for the better. The citizens act so out of character even though just a short time has passed. There’s nothing special anymore. I guess that’s what happens when you make a game with 95% recycled content, a stupid story that took five minutes to put together, and a bunch of annoying characters.

Skip this one unless you’re REALLY invested in seeing what Yuna as a selfish asshole is like.