Final Fantasy X (PlayStation 2, 2001)

For any perennial Final Fantasy purchaser this game may come as somewhat of a shock. It's the first Final Fantasy to incorporate vocals from each character and more importantly fail to provide players with the infamous world map. There is a map present where you can travel from town to town, but a series of lines and arrows guides you to your destination, in rather prompt fashion. There is no roaming around on a large world map and leveling up your party crew, which a typical RPG gamer might be used to. This game has far more animations than the previous games in the series. It seems like Square's idea here was to take advantage of the PS2's capabilities while still making a wonderful game simultaneously.

The first two hours into this game I was skeptical. The adjustment was too much for me after playing RPGs on the earlier consoles. Just as Final Fantasy VII was an adjustment for RPG gamers on the PS1, the same stands true for Final Fantasy X on PS2.

You will hear people love and hate on this game. It's true, you either love it or hate it. Many people I've talked to over the years who liked FF8, loved this game. I actually didn't play through it until my second time giving it a shot, some two years after owning it. After being adapted to PS1 and SNES RPGs my whole life I couldn't make the adjustment at first, but surely gave it another attempt. I completed through the whole game and thought it was amazing. The story is great, the battle system and sphere grid is a creative idea, and the animations were well constructed. Not to mention the absolutely wonderful soundtrack this game features.

I rate it as excellent, though it is more than far from the best RPG in the Final Fantasy series.

I will end it with this which should determine your decision, assuming you're a previous player of the Final Fatnasy games. If you're a SNES gamer who didn't like FF7, then this game is certainly not for you. For anyone willing to make the necessary adjustment from their previous RPG play then I would definitely recommend buying Final Fantasy X.

If you can't make the compromise you will not enjoy FFX.

If you're new to the whole RPG scene and have never played a FF game before then I would not recommend starting with this RPG. FF3, FF7, and FF9 should be played before this game.