Comments | owlmoose: In Defense of X-2

owlmoose

In Defense of X-2

Feb 13, 2011 01:38

Author's Note: The following entry is a discussion of Final Fantasy X-2 from a feminist perspective. Although I've attempted to make it accessible to general audiences, it does contain spoilers for FFX-2 as well as Final Fantasy X, and assumes a passing familiarity with both games. Open and honest discussion is more than welcome, including ( Read more... )

tl;dr?, ffx, feminism; fandom, ffx-2

Comments 6

muggy_mountain February 13 2011, 15:15:56 UTC

I had a few things to say as I read this -- about how skimpy, unpractical outfits hardly started with FFX-2 (I mean, look at Jecht and Lulu, for two easy examples), and how Yuna was more the driving character than Tidus in FFX, but by the time I got to the end, you'd covered them all. I think this is a good analysis. I agree with pretty much everything you've said here and don't have much to add ( ... )

owlmoose February 13 2011, 15:51:28 UTC

Over the years, I've seen many of my friends move from being haters to... if not lovers, at least appreciators, and I have enjoyed seeing fandom make that progression. At least within my circle, there's a lot less FFX-2 hate than there used to be. (Whether that's mostly people seeing the game in a new light, or just being polite, I can't say. ;) But either way I can't complain, although I wish I'd had the courage to make this post four years ago.)

I still have trouble accepting 60's Batman/Power Rangers-esque moments like uh, everything LeBlanc and her syndicates give us.Although I don't mind that aspect so much myself, I totally understand this and agree that it's one of the areas where the game can come in for critique, the portrayal of Leblanc in particular. What gets to me, though, is when people reduce the whole game to nothing but this, which is the shallow reading I mentioned at the beginning. I don't think it takes particularly deep analysis to see that most of the women and aspects of the action are much more complex than ( ... )

stardust808 February 13 2011, 20:48:25 UTC

You've said everything I wanted to say all in this one essay. Marvelous job. I love this. I enjoy this. It speaks for reason and open-mindedness ( ... )

owlmoose February 13 2011, 23:18:34 UTC

Thanks! :) I'm glad you liked it.

I thought it was appropriate.... because it symbolized freedom of character, comfort of body, an undeniable willingness to have fun.

I think this is a fair point. It's also not really a departure from the rest of Spiran society -- the Crusader uniforms, both male and female, are similarly non-traditional and bare a fair bit of skin. Of course, it's still fair to ask why the game designers made that choice in the first place.

(The comment has been removed)

owlmoose February 14 2011, 08:18:55 UTC

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it.

The massage game was probably the most cringe-inducing moment in FFX-2 for me, too -- it was the most over-the-top fanservice I've maybe ever seen. And it wasn't even optional; of all the things to *require* to advance the plot...

I know a number of people who find the difficulty of getting a complete game frustrating, and I agree to a certain extent, although I almost never mind replaying a game I like, and New Game Plus sure makes that a lot easier.

This is relevant to my interests pingback_bot February 14 2011, 06:14:10 UTC

User dreamsofthings referenced to your post from This is relevant to my interests saying: [...] I'll put this here, too, so I don't lose it. Final Fantasy X-2 meta is sweet. In Defense of X-2 [...]