Final Fantasy X is a very good game. I started off thinking it might be a great game, but it missed the mark as far as dethroning FFIV, Torment, or Fallout in my RPG favorites list. I would recommend it to anyone, because it's still far and away better than 90% of the detritus out there, and the story really is excellent. I just have trouble giving it the status as Cat's Meow that many people want to assign to it.
***SPOILER IN THIS PASSAGE*** First of all, the voice-acting is only passable. This is the first FF game that features voice-acting, and with so much of it, it can be distracting when the acting doesn't work out. In particular, Jecht, Tidus, and the bad guy are weak. The lead female, Yuna, as well as another princple character, Wakka, are inconsistent. Auron, Rikku, and Lulu were spot-on, whole Kimahri was good ol' fashioned bad. Sega CD bad. With such a broad range of talent, especially in the main character, the emotional gravity of the story can miss its mark in the hands of an unskilled actor. Kimahri is silent for a large part of the game's beginning. His first words are supposed to have all this gravity, but since the actor really wasn't up to the task, the moment fell flat. (that was the spoiler.)
The storyline is convoluted, as befits a 60+ hour roleplaying epic. It is also well-written, and some of the twists are truly unexpected. This is the first game that truly moved me since Planescape: Torment. The structure and presentation of the story were outstanding in that regard.
If you feel like taking a break from the storyline, FFX has many diversions, some of which are even necessary to unlock the game's more powerful artifacts. There's nothing as immediately compelling as FFVIII's Triple Triad, but the mini-games are fun nonetheless, and worth your time if you want to max out your characters.
The graphics were, as we have come to expect from Square products, outstanding. It might not happen with this iteration of console hardware or even the next, but FFX is a signal that video game graphics are fast approaching the bar set by Final Fantasy: Spirits Within. My only real complaint is with the costume design. I think the designers of Liederhausen-- Tidus' outfit which, in the real world, is of German origin-- probably smacked themselves around after they put it out on the market. Yet the Japanese designer of this game-- and I only know it's not Amano-- thought they would be a GREAT idea. Yeah. Okay. This must be the same guy who thought Kuja would be threatening in FFIX. Yes, I think it is. When you see Seymore, you will know he's evil, you just won't care. With drag queen lingerie up top and M.C. Hammer's wardrobe on bottom, he looks like his only viable threat state could be when you collapse from laughter. The worst part is that since the actor doesn't even know how to spell "subtlety," and because he looks like a member of the Kuja fan club, you know he's evil within two seconds of his appearance. Watch Trigun; it's not like the Japanese don't know what subtlety is. It's just that the casting director and costume designer for this game didn't. A pox on both of them.
The game is still enjoyable, and it tells a heart-warming tale through a voice almost as annoying as Annakin in Episode II. The action sequences are gripping and full of nuance and strategy. The flaws of the game only sting because the majority of it is so well done. I recommend this game as one of the best role-playing experiences on a console since FFVI. Too bad no one wants to remember what made the series great anymore. A little hint: it wasn't chocobos and moogles.
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