Final Fantasy X Vs. Final Fantasy X-2 Continued
Exploration
Final Fantasy is synonymous with exploration. No matter which title, the series has always provided beautifully massive landscapes to traverse with each blade of grass you step on somehow managing to further the plot. True to form, it can take quite a while in FF X before you can finally go where you please, being instead led from place to place until you are firmly cemented in the plot and forced to either continue on with the story or stop and grind a few spheres out of the local monsters. FF X-2, however, takes an immediately different approach and instead gives you the Al Bhed airship right from the start, which is used as a central hub for scavenging missions across Spira. While Final Fantasy titles have classically made you earn your freedom, it’s this up front immediate freedom that won me over.
Winner: Final Fantasy X-2
Character Animation
Given that these same characters first appeared in FF X, you might think that, by default, it should be the title to earn this distinction. However, in the two years between the release of these titles, FF X-2 had some phenomenal improvements on the animation of main characters. Gone are the days of mouth flapping. Yuna and Rikku are able to show their emotions through realistic facial expressions and are become more convincing characters for it. I almost didn’t give this point to FF X-2 because of the travesty that is Yuna’s running animation, but the details in their smiling faces were still too much.
Winner: Final Fantasy X-2
Plot:
I finish this list with the most significant part of any and all Final Fantasy titles: The plot. The FF series has never strayed away from the bigger issues: deforestation, globalization, excessive mining of resources, etc. Whatever individual stories the characters have, they band together to take on (mostly) exaggerated real world issues. So I had mixed feelings seeing the overarching theological plot to FF X. It’s hard not to: the enemy is named Sin, the spirits are called Fayth, Yuna is essentially a priest. The game may be fifteen years old but I don’t want to get into spoiler territory, just know that there are a lot more references that fit into this theme. Despite all that, the plot just works. Everyone fills the necessary niche of the story and you come out in the end satisfied with the experience. FF X-2 however seems to build off of its predecessors successful characters and completely shift the tone of the game. Don’t get me wrong, it deals with a lot of important content on its own, but it doesn’t have that same impact of the other titles in the series. FF X-2 feels like a more relaxed experience compared to the commonly somber plots of Final Fantasy and for that the winner is…
Winner: Final Fantasy X
Overall
Final Fantasy X-2 provides a fun, light hearted and fast paced experience not generally seen in the Final Fantasy series. It boldly explores new avenues in the franchise but in the end, this sequel was not enough of a payoff to overcome it’s predecessor. Final Fantasy X has the right blend of innovation and classic FF experience with dramatic character development and an emotional twist ending that makes it the superior experience of the two.
Overall Winner: Final Fantasy X
So what do you think of the list? Do you think the opinions are sound or unfair? What other categories would you of liked to see hit this list? Let us know in the comment section below.