Sho-kun, you bastard! (Final Fantasy X)

[zigguratbuilder]

Originally published at A to the K. You can comment here or there.

So, Orie’s been making lots of Japanese friends lately, friends who are going to stick around the area indefinitely. She’s met up with Sayaka, Kazue and Akira a number of times and became fast friends with them. So, this kid of about 24 years old named Sho is staying with Akira and

Comments

[chgriffen]

I put over 85 hours into FFX. It came along at a time when I could still make that kind of investment. I definitely think it wins over FFXII, which I can't be arsed to play much anymore after about 5 hours or so.

I even did the butterflies. And the lightning dodges. Caught most of the critters. Etc.

Personally, I much preferred FFX's beginning. It was so dramatic! And then you get railroaded, but man, the encounters are set up so well. Fight in the dying city, battle a beast in a dark cave until the door gets blown wide open by Rikku (who is totally not as hot as Lulu), then underwater, then the ship alongside Sin... and on and on. Like a total cinematic interactive roller coaster. Then later you get more freedom, with collecting beasts and so on.

And the ending? Best FF ending of them all. Tragic yet spiritual, meaningful, and counter to what I was expecting. Great stuff.

[zigguratbuilder]

Yeah, agree on all parts. I think I completed it in about the same time as well, though I didn't get the bufferflies/Khimari's weapon, nor any of Wakka's overdrives/weapons ("Play a distracting side-game over and over again!").

But man, I'm having a hard time remembering a better overall gaming experience.

Odin Sphere was pretty good, I must admit. And not nearly the time commitment.

-Andy

[chgriffen]

Yeah, I liked Blitzball, but not enough to play it that much.

I do think that the cross-integration of BB, with items won usable and players for BB being recruited in the main game was one of the best implementations of a minigame ever. You could find good players while exploring the main game, and play the minigame to beef up your inventory a bit.

[severefun]

You know, it's weird, but I never really sat down and invested any serious time in any Final Fantasy past the first (if we don't count Tactics, which stole several months of my life and is set to do so again now that that it's been properly translated). Chrono Trigger was the only SNES RPG I actually played at the time, and I didn't buy another console until the PS2 hit, so I missed out on FF7 madness. I expected to really get into FF12, since I loved the director's other games, but somehow it just didn't happen. I did like what I've played of 6-8 and 10, but just never got into it enough to do more than mess around with friends' copies.

I think I'm the last person on Earth to finish Persona 3... I'm in mid-Dec now, so the end's in sight at least. Shadow Hearts 2 and 3 have been on my hit list for a while, but who knows when I'll get around to it. P3 really hammered home the point that you sort of have to devote your life to these games to actually finish, and man, who has that kinda time besides students?

[semioticity]

180 hours played. All ultimate weapons. All summons.

You remind me that I must play FFX-2 and FFXII, which sit languishing due to Warcraft.

Good times.

[zigguratbuilder]

FFX-2: YES. Oh YES. If you do it the Matthew Gandy way, there is actually a way to get Perfect on the first time through (it's not absolutely a two-time-through as previously suspected).

FFXII? Honestly... not so much. I can't help but to compare the two: X wins hands down, thrice.

-Andy

[sad_genius]

I never got into a Final Fantasy at all until XII, which is, in my contrary opinion, by far the best in the series and a video game on the level of Ocarina of Time or Mario 64; possibly for the exact reasons you didn't - FFXII was *my* story, about my characters, and what I did in the game, where as FFX felt to me like reading a book in which I had to defeat monsters to turn the page ... That being said, I would instantly purchase Final Fantasy X: Adventures of Wakka and Lulu if it came out.