I announce that getting 100% in one PT is imposshible.
Long time no see, DW-World. I guess you could say it's been busy over here. I've been working my way through X-2 slowly yet surely, and reached the ending a few days ago at 50 hours. My time to play games is a bit shorter now, as the only time I’m truly ‘alone’ is certain late evenings, and even then there are so many other things (housework, writing) that tend to also need some attention from me. Even so, getting through X-2 has been an interesting experience. Honestly, back when I first played it near when it originally came out I just did not care for it. Yuna’s change in personality (and attire), the gameplay, the tone change from the previous game (and the somewhat wonky tone within the game itself) and the music all turned me off. I also didn’t care for how little of a main plot there was, while most of the game was side stories and the like.
This replay, my third in all, something changed. Maybe it’s a maturization on my part, but I no longer minded the way the plot was handled. In fact, some of the sidequests that focus on the other characters and world building were interesting and fun. (I especially like the new focus on Dona and Lucil). The change in Yuna’s personality is actually very fitting and understandable. I love seeing her try to figure out just who she is without being a Summoner, or the ‘Daughter of Braska’. She has many Tidus-isms, down to her dress and hair, to the way she speaks and even tries to live her life, which is an interesting turn that starts to degrade towards the end of the story while she begins to find her own place in the world and not be a replacement of someone else (Braska, Tidus, etc) and feels feels feels tl;dr I came to respect and love Yuna more this time through this series than I ever had previously.
The battle system did grow on me, though I will continue to stand by my position that I prefer FFV’s version of the job system. I love the idea of a Freelancer class haha.
The biggest problem with X-2 is the really snippy requirements to get 100%. Even using a guide I ended up far too short, so I ended up just flinging my hands up in the air in Chapter Five and just doing what I felt like doing. My final stats were:
Story Completed: 93%
Creature Completed: 2%
Times Played: 1
Yuna Lv. 53
(Gunner, Songstress, Festivalist, White Mage, Dark Knight, Samurai)
Rikku Lv.54
(Thief, White Mage, Alchemist, Psychic, Berserker, Black Mage)
Paine Lv. 55
(Warrior, White Mage, Black Mage, Gun Mage, Dark Knight, Trainer)
I also stated up the Last Mission segment, which is actually all kinds of fun! It’s kind of hard to get the hang of though, as I got my Dark Knight Dress broken and now I feel like I’m kinda screwed. I managed to defeat the boss of floor 20 with careful use of Demi and Curaga, as well as bashing it’s face with the Mascot Moogle costume. (Playing through as Yuna, actually). So, yeah.
Oh, one thing I should note. I managed to get the ending where Yuna greets Tidus on Besaid Island at the end of the game, that I had never been able to get before. And at 93%! It’s possible the requirements for that scene have changed in this HD Version (or even the International before it) but I am very happy I got to see it, as it feels like a more complete story that way.
Once I’ve finished Last Mission and listened to the Audio drama I’ll be sure to post my thoughts on both.