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| An ad for the HD remaster limited edition. I think I got this... but the packaging was white instead of black, it doesn't look quite as cool. |
2001/ 2014
Developer and Publisher: Squaresoft/ Square Enix
Exec. Producer: Hironobu Sakaguchi (The creator of the Final Fantasy series)
Director: Yoshinori Kitase
I honestly don't want to list all of the staff involved... it's on wikipedia. However, I do plan to reference names in future games that relate to old games. I believe most of the staff was the same for Final Fantasy X and X-2, which makes sense, doesn't it?
The biggest shake-up staff-wise is that this is the first main series Final Fantasy game where the music was not entirely composed by Nobuo Uematsu. I'm quite curious how much music was written by him for the game. My gut tells me not much, as it lacks his style to my ear.
X is the first Final Fantasy game for the PS2, and as was the case with the first PS game, some major changes were made. In the case of FF7 for the PS, it was moving from 2D sprites to 3D polygons. In the case of FF10, it was the addition of voice acting and the loss of the traditional "overland map" of the previous games. Despite some apprehension by fans over the addition of voice acting, the game was well received.
BAM! Summary... I may add more to this later, I don't know.
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| Hey look! Here is the cover I have. |
Final Fantasy X-2/ HD Remaster
2003/ 2014
Developer: Square
Publisher: Square Enix (I believe the original game was released after Square merged with its rival Enix, the publishers of the Dragon Quest [Dragon Warrior in the US] games.)
Exec. Producer: Hironobu Sakaguch Director: Motomu Toriyama
Producer: Yoshinori Kitase
As I probably mentioned earlier, making this game was a massive departure for the series, as until this point Final Fantasy had had no direct sequels using the same characters and world as a previous installment. It turned out to be a shrewd move though, I assume as a way to counteract the rising costs and lengthening development times as games became more complex. Basically, by re-using the world, characters, and art, this game could be completed much faster than a full new installment in the series. I'm sure fans were skeptical as this turned the previous design philosophy on its head, but once again, even despite a huge change in tone for the series, the game was generally well received.
The biggest staff shake-up is again in the music department. This time series vet Nobuo Uematsu is entirely absent, "replaced by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi of The Bouncer fame" (From Wikipedia). The Bouncer being another Square title for the PS2.
I read somewhere that one of the design goals of 10-2 was to have enough content that it could be the last game you'd ever need to buy. Which is funny, because that doesn't seem good for business, but it is an admirable goal, none-the-less. However, as you might expect, jamming so much content (including tons of mini-games) into a title means the quality of these little features ranges from great to down right awful. In the end, I think they would have been better off leaving the worst stuff out, as the core of the game is good.
Okay, on to the good stuff! The rankings...
Mechanics - Honestly, both games are solid here, but I prefer turn-based combat so much more that 10 easily has the edge.
1. Final Fantasy 10
2. Final Fantasy 10-2
Storyline - 10-2's story of Shuyin and the tragedy of his love is decent, but can't hold a candle to 10's with its epic tale of a religion gone horribly wrong over 1,000 years.
1. Final Fantasy 10
2. Final Fantasy 10-2
Atmosphere - Let's see, both game's take place in a world with a rich and mysterious history, but 10 reveals it, while 10-2 turns it into a Charlie's Angels, J-pop, magical girl power fest. I think you can see where this is going.
1. Final Fantasy 10
2. Final Fantasy 10-2
End Game - I mentioned in my posts that both times I've played through 10 it let me down at the final boss, and the whole auto-life thing in the battle with Yu Yevon is just a fiasco in my opinion. 10-2 Has some nice battles with Vegnagun leading up to a refreshing battle with a sword-wielding Shuyin.
1. Final Fantasy 10-2
2. Final Fantasy 10
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| This dude means business! |
Difficulty - More options means more complexity, which can lead to higher difficulty. Mix in some non-linearity and you've got 10-2. I appreciated the "job" system for sure, but the openendedness did lead to some frustrations as I encountered foes that whooped my ass without notice, or mercy.
1. Final Fantasy 10-2
2. Final Fantasy 10
Balance - Not surprisingly since I gave 10-2 the nod for being more difficult, 10 is on top here. I found the game to be quite pleasant in it's level of difficulty. It was just challenging enough to be rewarding, the way I like it.
1. Final Fantasy 10
2. Final Fantasy 10-2
Music - I listened to both soundtracks while writing and preparing these last two posts. 10's is a good, fitting mix, however, 10-2 has a lot of groove, style, and is more cohesive, and that puts it on top.
1. Final Fantasy 10-2
2. Final Fantasy 10
Art - Both games unsurprisingly have a similar look, as they were developed close to eachother at the same company. However, due to 10-2's whimsical visuals and ubiquitous fashion faux-pas exposed underwear, I have to give the nod to 10.
1. Final Fantasy 10
2. Final Fantasy 10-2
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Let me see that tho-o-ong! Actually... I'd really rather not.
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Best Villain - Final Fantasy 10's representive to me is definitely Yunalesca, it blew my mind a bit having the ultimate icon of good and righteousness end up being an adversary and being killed by the party! 10-2 has much less in the way of exciting villains, so Shuyin gets the nod somewhat by default. (Leblanc anyone? I don't think so...) Yunalesca is a much more interesting foe.
1. Yunalesca (FF10)
2. Shuyin (FF10-2)
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| Part of the fight with Yunalesca. |
Worst Villain - Yu Yevon will work for 10. He has a very interesting back story and is the source of Sin, but turning out to be a tiny floating bug thing was pretty anti-climactic. Leblanc fits for 10-2. I don't think her over-the-top character is out of place for the tone of the game, but she's just... a little much. I'm putting Yu Yevon on top because I can't overstate how disappointed I was with that battle!
1. Yu Yevon (FF10)
2. Leblanc (FF10-2)
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| The in game Yu Yevon only looks marginally more fearsome than this. |
Best Ally - 10: Auron, he's a super-badass, but not afraid to be vulnerable at times. : ) 10-2: This is tougher... Gippal is kinda cool, but even though she probably annoyed some people, I found Rikku pretty entertaining, and her voice acting was done quite well.
1. Auron (FF10)
2. Rikku (FF10-2)
Worst Ally - 10-2 is Shinra, he's kind of funny occasionally, but I think I have a thing against know-it-all arrogant kids... no, wait... on second thought it's Beclam, he's just such an asshole. 10 is harder... I can't think of a "Beclam" off the top of my head. Nevermind, I've got it, Dona... why didn't I think of that earlier? I think Dona's bitchiness outperforms Beclam's assholeness, so Dona get's the nod.
1. Dona (FF10)
2. Beclam (FF10-2)
1. Dona (FF10)
2. Beclam (FF10-2)
Best Enemy - I'm going to go with Yojimbo for 10. Granted he has the advantage of also being designed as an Aeon, but his intro and attacks are just too cool. For 10-2 I was going to go with jumbo cactuar, but he lost out due to not having the awesome mustache I identify with big cactuars (ala FF8). So, I give it to Angra Mainyu for being an interesting boss that can be fought at different times in the game, with varying abilities and a hp total that is affected by multiple battles. Mostly it's just for looking cool though, really. Yojimbo wins.
1. Yojimbo (FF10)
2. Angra Mainyu (FF10-2)
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| Yojimbo... not to be confused with Usagi or Kurosawa. |
Worst Enemy - Thankfully neither of these games had an enemy that I dreaded fighting every time it popped on the screen. In earlier play throughs of 10 I remember finding certain enemies, like the mimics, very annoying because they had armor and so many hit points. This time around I had Auron's Masamune before fighting them, which has piercing and break damage limit, so I didn't find them to be nearly as annoying. Therefore, I'm going with the guado, who in the middle of the game have that annoying auto-potion ability, and cause an inordinate amount of trouble in the storyline!
10-2 had some somewhat obnoxious foes, but generally speaking I came up with reasonable strategies after a couple of battles. I'm going with the claret dragon for having the gall to show up and absorb all elements when I had two characters with the tetra-elemental ability! Meaning I couldn't attack without healing it, for the most part. Besides this absorption, its no pushover either.
The claret dragon is much tougher, but the guado are much more annoying, which is the important part of this category!
1. Guado (FF10)
2. Claret Dragon (FF10-2)
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| The dragon has to be named after Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett. Am I right or am I right? |
Best Mini-Game - Blitzball is a no-brainer for 10, the mini-game isn't quite deep enough to stand on it's own, but to be honest, it's close. I've happily sunk 10s of hours in on blitzball alone. 10-2 has a glut of mini-games and side quests. I think my favorite is a rather simple one though, leading the people out of the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, and having to figure out how to manage their "eccentricities." Blitzball, with its breadth and depth, takes this category.
1. Blitzball (FF10)
2. Cavern of the Stolen Fayth (FF10-2)
Worst Mini-Game - These categories are unfortunately easier to pick than one would hope. 10 is a close race between the sanity destroying chocobo trainer and the lightning dodging. Seriously, f' these "mini-games", the're more like exercises in masochism. Lightning dodging takes the cake because while it's probably equally frustrating, it takes longer and is more tedious.
FF10-2 has plenty of crappy mini-games, but I have to give the nod to Spherebreak because it seems like it's supposed to be the next big thing, like Blitzball, but it plays like mediocre educational software.
Lightning dodging wins because... well hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it stays on top forever.
1. Lightning Dodging (FF10)
2. Spherebreak (FF10-2)
Side Quests - Both of these games have good extra content. I'll give 10-2 the nod because it has SOOO much going on. You could play this game a long time and still find new stuff, if you so desired.
1. FF10-2
2. FF10
Overall - And here it is, the grand-daddy of all categories. As I've said, both of these games are great, but it probably won't surprise anyone that FF10 is on top. The mechanics, story, and atmosphere are all vastly superior in FF10, making it the clear winner here.
1. FF10
2. FF10-2
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| Congratulations, Final Fantasy X... a winner is you! |
First ranking done! Phew, that was a lot more work than I anticipated actually, but granted I was coming up with rankings for two games at once, so not a problem. Hopefully, you, dear reader, find it as interesting and entertaining to read as it was to write! Stay tuned for more... here at This Bard's Tales.
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