Gamespot score:9.3(editor's choice)
my score:8.5
(+)pros:-Incredible story that sucks you in,- commendable graphics even for such an old game,- top notch voice acting,- many cool characters,- sphere grid system is really good and creative,-not much grinding required,-well designed bosses
(-)cons:-trials before obtaining aeons are boring and slow,- game bosses may be abit too easy at times
gameplay time:30-40 hours(above average)
Time for the re-do review of final fantasy 10. This is one of the oldest games for the PS2, and here I am reviewing it! Oh by the way, final fantasy 13 had its review done at gamespot. 8.5,not too shabby, but I expected a 9. Damn. Anyway I was rather reluctant to do this as I wanted to review something new, but I realised many of my previously reviewed games required re-dos. Zzzz. Well cant complain. Many say this is one of the best final fantasies ever released, beside 7 and 8, I very well agree to that, well lets get started.
Final fantasy 10 has a phenominal story, one of the best I have heard and seen. It talks about a young man named tidus who lives in a city called zanarkand. One day a huge whale-ish monster known as sin attacks the damn city, and for some reason when tidus is absorbed by sin, he is transported to the world 1000 years ago. There he faces many trials and makes new friends. He goes on an epic journey with his comrades to guide a summoner known as yuna to complete her journey and defeat sin. The story is wide and fairly huge in terms of content, but its suprisingly not too hard to understand at all! Too many epic stuff happens in between for me to state so I shall stop here.
Final fantasy 10 is different from many of its 3D predussecors, in terms of battle. In previous games like final fantasy 7,8 and 9, battle consists of usage of the ATB system(active time bar). In this game they removed it, and instead a turn by turn system is used, like that of final fantasy 1. Its pretty god if you ask me. While I was playing 7 or 8, everytime the bar fills up I have to frantically choose a command in quick speed, since every second counts. In this game you have all the time to relax and choose whatever command you want to use to defeat the boss. I like this, its so much better, since to rushing is required. For battles you have your basic commands, attack, items, skills etc. But you get for this game, overdrive(AKA limit break in FF7). Overdrives are great with flashy animations and almost all of them have great effects or damage, this is pleasing to see.
Like many other final fantasy games, this game has summons as well. But in this game, summons are MORE than welcome. In previous games, summons just involve your character calling forth a monster who just uses its special attack to blast the entire zone of enemies, then they disappear after that. That isnt bad, its a good way to dish out great deals of damage. In this game however, summons stay on the field when summoned! Cool right? A summoned bahamut(above picture),ifrit, or shiva will stay on the field and have thier own HP,MP,skills and such. This makes using a summon in battle really fun, since they have awesome attacks,great damage, above average HP, and their own awesome overdrives.Using a summon during boss fights can get really interesting, watching your own gigantic summon battle against an equally huge boss rarely gets old.
There is the usual "level up" in this game too. I mean it wouldnt be a JRPG game without leveling. In this game you get levels too. But levels dont directly make you stronger in terms of power. S.levels are spent in moving steps in your sphere grids, and as expected, each step you move grants you the bonuses in the next step you are in. If the next node you are about to move to grants you +200 hp, it means if you spend one S.level to move to that node and activate it, you get 200hp. Impresive and innovate system, I pretty much like it more than endless grinding to level up. Also, gaining S.levels aint hard, it takes usually a battle or 2 to go up a few S.levels.
Final fantasy 10 is an incredible game, a touching tale and a half movie all in one. It has top notch voice acting, combining it with the beautiful CG cutscenes makes it like a movie at time. With its few flaws, such as the boring and lame trials before obtaining an aeon, or the many a times simple bosses, this game isnt perfect. Overall, a game that deserves to be called a classic.
OVERKILL. Sorry I couldnt resist.
Happy gaming.
