Final Fantasy X
Square's first Final Fantasy for the PS2 is now available on Japanese shores. Find out more about the game's story and presentation in our in-depth preview.
Final Fantasy X is Square's PlayStation 2 follow-up to Final Fantasy VIII. That's eight, not nine--it seems that Square's brief flirtation with the old school began and ended with the ninth and final PS series game. Final Fantasy X, even more so than Final Fantasy VIII, challenges gamers' expectations of what a console RPG can be. Much of the staff--Director Yoshinori Kitase, Writer Kazushige Nojima, Art Director Yusuke Naora, and Character Designer Tetsuya Nomura--from the previous genre-defying title has returned for Square's first PS2 RPG venture. The latest installment of Square's flagship franchise has both feet planted firmly in the future--to quote another Final Fantasy game, "There ain't no gettin' offa this train we on!" Final Fantasy X makes no apologies for its changes to accepted genre conventions.
The changes are apparent from the opening sequence. A camera slowly pans over the party--with its weapons in a pile to one side--gathered around a campfire. Tidus, the main character, stands and walks away from the rest of the group. "This could be the end," he says, "so I want to tell you everything." The game then flashes back in time to the beginning of Tidus' adventure. This narrative device is used throughout the story; as the story unfolds for the player, the "future" Tidus will frequently interject comments about how he felt at the time or what this event meant to him in light of future understanding. This narrative device appears to be well implemented.
The main narrative itself, however, is compelling in its own right. The game begins with Tidus, world-famous athlete, signing autographs before a big blitzball game. On the way to the stadium, he sees a video screen of his father, Jecto, a famous former blitzball player. The game itself is an intense affair; blitzball is an extreme, zero-gravity sport played in a sphere of gravitationally suspended water. As the city watches the game, a giant sphere of energy called "Sin" moves toward the stadium. Sin is many things: an immense gravitational well, a tidal wave of floodwater, a streak of fireballs, and a source of strange, unseemly creatures. Regardless of the form that Sin takes, however, it is still a malignant and ineffable force. Unlike many antagonists of previous series, Sin is almost completely unknowable, like a force of nature. The quest to understand Sin's nature, origin, and purpose drives much of the early narrative.
Sin destroys the blitzball stadium and the city of Zanarkand, wiping out most of the population. After a few close calls, Tidus manages to escape with the help of his mysterious friend, Auron. Before taking him into an unseen portal, the aloof Auron boldly proclaims, "Your fate is sealed--no one's but yours. This is your story!" Though this enigmatic comment is meant for Tidus, one can't help but feel he is addressing you, the player, as well. Final Fantasy X, like other series titles before it, puts you in the middle of an epic saga in which the fate of the world is in the balance. Through the portal, Tidus awakens in a strange, underwater world...
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