Final Fantasy Quest - Time for Dress-Up!

After 80-90ish hours in total, I finally 100% completed Final Fantasy X-2 a few days ago.

Whew, what an experience.

Final Fantasy X: Charlie's Angels Edition?

I think I had heard ABOUT the game previously, such as it being silly or not that great. I didn't realize what I'd be getting myself into. I can't give an award for the story, as much as I may have liked bits and pieces of it. Coming out of the relatively serious tone of Final Fantasy X, X-2 felt a bit like going from the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie to the third one. There are familiar faces, and there seem to be high stakes, but the tone is too lighthearted to take it seriously for very long.

"I guess I have no choice" -Dark Knight Paine

Where FF X-2 succeeds very well is the "job system" in the form of the dresspheres (DSP). Different Garment Grids can equip the DSPs, and provide differing benefits, like stat boosts, passive and active abilities, and new menu commands. Clearly, the coolest DSP is the Dark Knight, and the best ability to spam is their massively effective Darkness. And I suppose the Chemist's ability to pull healing potions out of nowhere is nice too.

Still, bits were odd or off. The "blocking" or certain characters, like Brother and Rikku, features them constantly flailing about or being awkward. I did find enjoyment in the story and characters overall. I suppose I have a weakness for getting into a game and just wanting to find out the mysterious backstories of all the characters.

Mini-games were hit-or-miss, and mostly miss. The "Gunner's Gauntlet" to finish one episode was annoying, and the Cactuar ones relied on reflexes that I didn't have (thankfully, losing them doesn't count against % completion). Sphere Break was fun once I understood it a bit, and I even beat the "harder" version of the match played against Shinra.

For completing it to get the true happy ending, I'd recommend using a guide and exhausting all story options before moving to side quests. I took a painstakingly long time to complete a particular side quest (that involved losing at certain mini-games in a certain location) only to discover three new story bits on the ship that I could probably have done instead.

I don't regret playing the game. My advice is similar to what I said for Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. The best bet is to either get it cheap or get it together with FF X in an HD collection. I'm still playing at it, many hours in, 80+ floors into the 100 floor optional dungeon.

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Image source: finalfantasy.wikia.com

Final Fantasy Quest - Gauntlet of the Past

I thought Final Fantasy IV: The After Years would break free from repetition at some point?

Ha! Wrong.

Now that I'm in the final dungeon(s), I've already seen major bosses and archfiends from FF IV (slightly excusable if the dungeon was different or new - it wasn't) and the elemental fiends from the original Final Fantasy. With the exception of Tiamat, the latter inter-game refights were pushovers.

Reading a little ahead in a walkthrough, I see that there are bosses from subsequent entries in the franchise. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing Gilgamesh, but having to slog through a bunch of others before and after him won't be fun.

Gilgamesh was not a pushover, but I still managed to triumph. After each of the fights, the party muses on who or what they just faced - for Gilgamesh, there is a more sympathetic tone to their thoughts of him. Thankfully, a few of the returning (super)bosses were optional, so I decided to skip them.

I wasn't really stuck on anything until Bahamut showed up. I took grinding a bit too far, maybe, and got 6 of my characters (since Rydia was required for the fight) up to level 99. Even then, the fight was no picnic. After this major hurdle, there were a few more uneventful floors until the final boss.

Taking a page out of Final Fantasy Legend's book, the final boss is "the Creator." However, following SNES FF standards, the fourth (final) form is a Gigeresque mass reminiscent of FF IV's Zeromus and FF V's Exdeath. He too wasn't a pushover, but fell within a few attempts. One escape sequence later, and I was finally finished.

Overall, it was a mixed experience. On the one hand, there were so many repeated story elements, bosses and locations. On the other hand, there were a few interesting story points and amusing moments. The band system was pretty cool, once I got a few to use. (My theory will be that sequel games' redeeming factor is the battle system. I've just beaten Final Fantasy X-2, so corroborating data is coming soon!)

As a standalone game, it's not entirely worth spending the full asking price. However, as part of the PSP collection of Final Fantasy IV, I'd say it's worth it.

Besides, it's the only official FF IV release that lets one play as Golbez!

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Image source: finalfantasy.wikia.com