11 out of 13: The only thing you can count on is your dreams~
It's funny, Yuna used to be one of my very least favorite Final Fantasy characters. But replaying FFX made me remember her good moments -- such as recording her will to her guardians -- and replaying FFX-2 immediately afterward just solidified to me that she's a cool and likable character.
I really dislike that people brush off X-2 and X-2 Yuna's character as "fanservice." To me, I think X-2 Yuna is a very natural progression from X Yuna. In X-2, Yuna is still caring and selfless to a fault, she still puts Spira's needs above her own, and she still has to carry the barrage of life lost due to Yevon's traditions. Things are also complicated because she wants to live a normal life despite Spira viewing her as a celebrity, but she also can't stand by and watch the factions in X-2 actively undermining the Calm that she brought at a great price to herself. Still, she has a stronger personality that's more confident and carefree than before, and I think she earned the right to have some fun and crack some jokes after FFX.
Replaying X-2 also confirmed what I figured was true: Hedy Burress was purposely being directed to voice Yuna the way she did in FFX. Because in X-2 she is really, really good. There's no awkward pauses, there's no flat emoting, there's no moments where tries to sound forceful but doesn't. She really brought Yuna alive in X-2 and it's why I prefer X-2 Yuna over the prequel version. I think FFX Yuna's acting was a stylistic decision -- she was an introvert who had trouble standing up for herself, and when she did try to, it didn't have the same punch coming from her that it would from the others. And that's fine. Thankfully, the improved voice acting reflects the improved Yuna.
So I was 100% in Yuna's corner throughout X-2. As for Rikku and Paine? Well, I was a little more mixed with them, but still more positive than negative. The problem with X-2 Rikku is that she's pretty much in a holding pattern from FFX. She's still cute and chirpy, she's still devoted to Yuna and she's still the comic relief. Nothing really happens to push her out of this comfort zone throughout the storyline, unfortunately, but I enjoyed her in FFX so I still enjoyed her here, but a bit less. Although, she does seem a bit more immature in X-2 since she doesn't have Yuna's impending doom weighing over her head to ground her in reality, and she certainly never said things as dumb as "Oh, poopie!" in X, but eh. I can forgive it.
Paine was my favorite character back in the day, and I was surprised at how much she turned me off at the start. I was fearing that she was going to be a female Squall -- a broody emo character whom I adored when I was 16, but not so much now that I'm 23 and not so emo myself. It didn't help that Paine seemed like a humorless bitch for much of the early game, and all of her lines were delivered in the same emotionless deadpan. Thankfully, around the point when she teases Rikku about "respect points," Paine starts to lighten up, as her voice acting becomes warmer and more of her story is revealed to humanize her. She started out like a bootleg, downgraded Lulu, but she does eventually grow into something almost as good as the original.
Beyond that, X-2 is a good game. I think it's very underrated by the FF fandom since so many people hate it for stupid reasons like "it stars three girls" or "it has J-Pop" or "the Dressphere system is too girly." Yeah, parts drag, like the entirety of the CommSphere bullshit on Chapter 4, but I think there's far more good than bad. The graphics are even nicer than FFX's in some spots (like the facial animations) and the job-based system is fun and full of variety. Granted, the return of the turn-based ATB system feels jarring after X's system, and the percentage system kind of makes the game's overlying plot a bit disjointed, but I think even the story is a lot better than the haters would make one believe. And, hey, at least nobody can complain about X-2 being too linear like some did for FFX.
So, overall, X-2 is solid FF, but not the best. Glad I replayed it.
Now then! As much as I would love to start FF12 immediately, I have too much going on for the next few days to humor that thought... not the least of which is getting some sleep after pulling an all-nighter to finish this damn game. And I swear I'm telling the truth this time, so if I make an entry in two/three weeks about how I just finished FF12, please stab me in the face.
*collapses asleep*