Post by Bytor on Jun 26, 2009 15:22:34 GMT -5
-Visuals- 9.7/10
This game makes me wonder why all PS2 games aren't this good. The backgrounds are breath taking. The outfits move and flow with the characters and even their hair blows in the wind. And, as good as the regular game looks the cut scenes are even better, you will be convinced you are watching a true movie and not a video game. The only real flaws are the fact that it looks so good, when there are slight issues it makes them more glaring, when in reality at it's worst the game looks better than pretty much everything out there.
-Sound- 9.5/10
The voices are excellent, they actually add so much to making you not only get to know the characters but you become even more attached to them and more concerned with their cares and desires. The only issues are that sometimes the vocals don't quite match up with the characters body language and sometimes it is obvious that the vocals don't quite match up with their lips, but with everything going on this is forgivable, remember as well this is PS2. Now, on to make some might not care for, the sound track. Unlike the previous versions of FF this one strays away from some of the classical tones. There are actually many more pop/rock sounding songs and I for one welcome it. I believe the songs actually add to the feel of the different regions and people and give the game much more complexity than it might otherwise have had.
-Gameplay- 9.8/10
I loved the game play! It is set up basically as a turn based RPG but how you get powers is set it in a different way than the norm. For one thing, everyone can learn the same skills using the Sphere Grid, which at first view looks extremely over whelming, and certainly takes some strategic planning as you are able to advance your individual characters only so many grids at a time. But once you get into the game and start to develop each of your allies skills it actually becomes extremely fun to continue and try to get more skills for your allies. One great thing this allows is it makes your allies more equal in strength (although at least until toward the end of the game they will probably have different skills depending upon the paths you took in completing the grids) and because you can substitute your allies during the battles it simply makes the battles much more fun, no worrying about going into a battle with two allies who are useless against certain attacks for instance, if you see this is the case simply sub them out. Don't assume the game is all fighting though, far from it, their are puzzles to be figured out and for the most part while being challenging they are far from impossible. Now..here's my biggest complaint with the game, there are certain items/relics to be found throughout the game which will help you on your quest, not all are necessary for finishing the game however, and to be honest I would be very surprised if anyone found anywhere close to all of them without either playing the game extremely slow or reading someone else guide who did so themselves. It doesn't necessarily detract from the game but I felt it did at times seem to bog the game down bit.
-Story- 9.7/10
In a nutshell you are someone who is transported into a future(?) where the city you grew up in has been destroyed by an evil entity which also periodically attacks other regions of the world. The story progresses by giving you tidbits and hints as to how this world developed. I'm not going to ruin the story by telling you exactly what happens but I promise you that by the end of the game you will be entranced and fully immersed in your characters and their travails, tribulations and triumphs!
-Overall- 9.7/10
Expect to easily spend 40+ hours, and if you find yourself really immersed you can easily spend 60+ hours fully exploring the world. I'm not really sure of re playability to be honest, when I finished it I felt both tired and elated, a great game, but such a consuming and emotional one that I really wasn't ready to step back into the world of Spira! Square got this one absolutely right, we all can only hope their next full blown release is as good