Final Fantasy X

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Final Fantasy X
Studio Square
Publisher JapanJapanSquare Square EA Square ( International ) SCE Europe
United StatesUnited States
JapanJapan
EuropeEurope
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 JapanJapanJuly 19, 2001 December 20, 2001 January 31, 2002 ( International ) May 17, 2002 May 24, 2002
United StatesUnited States
JapanJapan
AustraliaAustralia
EuropeEurope
platform PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation Vita , PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , Nintendo Switch , Windows
genre role playing game
Game mode Single player
control Gamepad
medium DVD-ROM
language JapanJapanjapanese, subtitles: japanese english, subtitles: english, japanese english english, subtitles: german
JapanJapan
United StatesUnited States
GermanyGermany
Age rating
USK released from 12
PEGI recommended for ages 12 and up
PEGI content
rating
Game contains violence

Final Fantasy X ( Japanese フ ァ イ ナ ル フ ァ ン タ ジ ー X, Fainaru Fantajī Ten ) is a computer role-playing game that was developed and published by Square . It is the tenth installment in the Final Fantasy series and the first game in the series to be released for the PlayStation 2 console. Final Fantasy X was released in Japan in 2001 and sold 8.05 million copies worldwide. The game won both the PlayStation Grand Prix and Sony's double platinum PlayStation Award in Japan in 2002 (awarded for 2 million to 3 million units sold in Japan between May 2001 and May 2002). Because of this success, Square announced that it would be releasing a remake of the game. This was published in Europe in March 2014 under the title Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster for PlayStation 3 and for PlayStation Vita , in May 2015 also for PlayStation 4 and in April 2019 for the first time for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch .

Set in the fantasy world of Spira , the game follows a group of adventurers on their journey to defeat a creature named Sin . The game represents a turning point in the Final Fantasy series, as for the first time in the history of the series, no pre-rendered backgrounds were used, but completely three-dimensional areas were created. Even if pre-rendered backgrounds have not disappeared entirely, they are limited to less interesting areas, such as the interior of buildings. For the first time, a wide range of realistic facial expressions was used to represent further technical developments in graphic effects, for example the deviation of light and shadow between different parts of a character's clothing. Final Fantasy X is the first game in the series that was set to music with speakers and was given a direct sequel ( Final Fantasy X-2 ).

Final Fantasy X brought other important advances to the Final Fantasy franchise. The scenes were timed according to the spoken dialog , while previous games in the series still had scrollable subtitles. Further changes have been made to the design of the game world, which this time focuses on realism. In addition, well-known elements were discarded in the game principles and new ones were introduced.

Gameplay

General

As in previous games in the series, Final Fantasy X is played from a third-person perspective . The player mainly controls the character Tidus and thus interacts with objects and people. In contrast to previous games in the series, the world and city maps have been completely integrated and the areas outside of cities have been implemented true to scale according to the characters. In order to fight a fight, the character and opponent are placed in a turn-based "battle arena".

As with previous Final Fantasy titles, players can develop and improve their characters by defeating opponents and collecting items. Instead of the traditional experience point system , a system called a spherical board was introduced.

The game was originally supposed to have online elements, but these were dropped during the production phase and multiplayer online elements only found their way into the Final Fantasy series with Final Fantasy XI .

terrain

Unlike previous Final Fantasy games has Final Fantasy X does not have an interactive overworld map in bird's eye view for navigation. Previous games used a scaled-down representation of the vast areas between cities and other important locations for travel between distant destinations. In Final Fantasy X, on the other hand, almost all of the game locations are directly connected to each other. The regional connections largely form a continuous path through all areas of the game, but later in the game the player can use an airship and navigate through the game world in a matter of seconds .

Site Director Takayoshi Nakazato stated that with Final Fantasy X he wanted to introduce a more realistic concept for the world map than that of the traditional Final Fantasy games. This was done primarily in accordance with the realism created by the 3D backgrounds in contrast to pre-rendered backgrounds, which he calls "pseudo-3D environments".

Combat system

Final Fantasy X replaces the Active-Time-Battle- System (ATB) with the Conditional-Turn-based-Battle- System (CTB). While the ATB concept has elements in real time, the CTB system is turn-based and pauses the fight with every move the player makes. This gives the player any amount of time to choose an action. In the CTB system, the status values ​​of characters and opponents as well as actions taken influence the number and order of the available moves. In the game, the timeline, when it is a character's turn and what effects his actions have on the timeline are graphically displayed.

Character-specific special capabilities (known as AC-Limit in Final Fantasy VII , special equipment in Final Fantasy VIII and trance in Final Fantasy IX ) are in Final Fantasy X as ecstasy designated. Most of these ecstasies (with the exception of those of the characters Rikku, Yuna and Kimahri) require a little skill on the controller : For example, the player has to quickly type in a key sequence for Auron's Ecstasy, for Lulu's Ecstasy the analog stick has to be turned and for Wakka three raffle wheels are stopped at the right moment. When this succeeds, the ecstasies are more powerful. Furthermore, the game introduces various learnable types of ecstasy, allowing the player to determine the conditions under which the ecstasy bar fills. In the case of “asceticism”, for example, the bar is filled with the damage suffered in combat, with “fighting spirit” with the damage inflicted on the opponents or with “anger” with the damage suffered by fellow combatants.

Final Fantasy X allows the player to control up to three characters in combat, but it is possible to replace any of these characters with a character from the reserve at any time. As soon as all seven normal playable characters are available, three characters are active and four are on the "substitution bench". The player is motivated by two factors to change the active characters frequently. For one thing, characters who have not participated in the fight do not receive experience points to improve stats and skills. On the other hand, every character has certain strengths and weaknesses over long stretches of the game, for example Yuna is particularly good at healing and can only use summoning spells, Rikku is particularly good at stealing and using objects, whereas Tidus is especially good at fighting fast opponents. Specialized opponents are generally particularly difficult to defeat without the appropriate character.

With Final Fantasy X there was a fundamental renewal of the calling spells from the previous games in the series. While in previous games the called creature led by only one action and then disappeared again that remain Bestia call creatures called the struggle for the entire duration or until recalled or the opponents were defeated. The bestia have their own developable stats, spells, abilities, commands and ecstasies. They not only support the player with strong attacks, but can also be used as protection against particularly difficult opponents, since the opponent must first defeat the beast before he can damage the group. The player receives five Bestia in the course of the game, three more can optionally be obtained via side quests .

The original plan was to let the opponents wander around freely visible on the playing area, to create a seamless transition to the fights and to give the player the opportunity to move around the area during the fight. Fighting Director Shintaro Takai has stated that his intention was to present the fights in Final Fantasy X as a natural part of the story rather than as an independent element. Due to the hardware and limitations in the system, these ideas, later called the Active Dimension Battle System (ADB), were only used in Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII . Instead of the ADB, there was a compromise, so that in some fights, mainly in boss fights, a relatively seamless transition from game area to battlefield was created using a motion blur effect. The desire for a seamless transition also led to the implementation of the new calling system in the game.

Spheroidal board

Final Fantasy X's character development system, the spherical board , is unique in the role-playing game genre. The characters do not receive, as usual, predetermined status and ability bonuses after a certain number of levels , but rather achieve so-called spherical levels by collecting enough Ability Points (AP) after defeating opponents. These spherical levels, in turn, allow the player to move the character on the spherical board, which is a predetermined grid of several connected fields that grant various status and skill bonuses. Items called spheroids (obtained by defeating opponents, from treasure chests and during certain events) are used on these spaces and thus release their function for the selected character. In this way, the development of the playable characters is similar to a board game .

Producer Yoshinori Kitase explained that the spheroidal board should give the player an interactive way to increase the character traits and at the same time allow the player to experience the change in these traits immediately. The spherical board also allows the player to customize the characters in contrast to their intended combat roles, so that the white magician Yuna can become a strong fighter or the swordsman Auron can become a healer. In the international and in the PAL version of the game there is an optional professional version of the spherical board. In this variant, all characters start in the middle of the spherical board and the player can immediately take any path with them, but the spherical board has slightly fewer fields, which means that overall fewer increases in status values ​​are possible.

Blitzball

Lightning Ball is a minigame in Final Fantasy X . It is a fictional sport that is played underwater and is similar to the real sport underwater rugby . Two teams with six players each (5 controllable field players and 1 computer-controlled goalkeeper) face each other and try tactical decisions to sink the ball into the opposing goal. You give your players orders, for example dribble , pass or shoot . There is a cup and a league mode in which the player can play for several seasons and win prize money or items . In the course of the game you meet other blitzball players who can be signed for your own team. At the beginning of the game a Blitzball game must be played, after which the player is free to play more.

Plot and scenario

The world of Final Fantasy X is called Spira and consists of a large land mass that is divided into three subcontinent and surrounded by several islands. Spira has different climate zones, there are the tropical islands of Besaid and Kilika and the moderate Mi'hen region, but also the arctic regions of Macalania and Mount Gagazet .

Although predominantly human, there are other races in Spira. Among them are the Al Bhed , a technologically advanced but disenfranchised subspecies of humans with green, spiral-shaped pupils and a language of their own (the letters are swapped for other letters ). The Guado appear less human with their extended fingers and other subtle differences, they also have a natural propensity for magic and to summon monsters. The large, lion-like and one-horned Ronso and the frog-like Hypello appear even less human .

Spira's flora and fauna are not only based on real animals, such as dogs, cats, birds and butterflies, but are also populated by some fictional species, such as the gigantic amphibious snus , which resemble elephants, or those in the final fantasy -Series often used as a means of transport, quaint chocobos with yellow plumage.

Spira is very different from the mainly European worlds of earlier Final Fantasy games and is more like Southeast Asia , especially in terms of vegetation, topography, architecture and names. Character designer Tetsuya Nomura cites the South Pacific , Thailand and Japan as the most important influences on the cultural and geographical design of Spira and in particular of Besaid and Kilika. He also said that Spira differs most strikingly from the worlds of previous Final Fantasy games in the degree of details introduced, which he consciously tried to keep high during development. Even if Southeast Asia is thematically very pronounced, like other games in the series, Final Fantasy X borrows from other cultures and refers to demonology , Hindu , Arabic , Nordic and other mythologies .

Spirituality and metaphysics

An outstanding and fundamental character trait of the Final Fantasy X universe are the Illumina , wandering swarms of life energy from the recently deceased. If, after some time, they are not blessed by a medium, Illumina are able to become jealous of the living and manifest as monsters. In most cases, these are the opposing creatures in play. However, if there are no negative feelings in the foreground, it can happen that the deceased have the will to practically remain alive as "bodiless" and continue to exist physically. One of the tasks of the media in Final Fantasy X is to guide the wandering Illumina to their final resting place, a mystical Guado-guarded area called the Abyssum . This is done through a ritual known as a blessing . The other great job of the Media is calling the Bestia , wild magical creatures that arose when humans sacrificed their lives to lock their souls in stone statues and turn them into Asthra . Asthra grant the media the ability to summon their corresponding beasts, known as Asthra's dreams . The third important task of the media is defeating Sin , a gigantic monster that has haunted Spira for 1000 years and can wipe out entire cities and armies with ease.

Spira's human population is very religious and follows the Church of Yevon , a thousand year old organization with great influence. The believers of Yevon regard Sin as a sacred punishment imposed on them for their high-handed use of machines ( called Maschina in the game ) and forbid any advanced technology. Eventually, however, it is revealed that not only Yevon himself, but above all three of the four high priests have become corrupt, with great interest in forbidden technology.

Media go on pilgrimage to attain Bestia and increase their own strength. You are accompanied by a life guard; The job of these seasoned fighters is to protect and support the media on their way. The end of the journey lies in the ruins of the city of Zanarkand , where the Media receive the High Conjuration , the only known force that can destroy Sin. Towards the end of Final Fantasy X one learns that the bestia for the High Incantation is created from someone close to the medium: So it is necessary that a bodyguard of every medium that Sin defeats his or her own life. Using the High Incantation against Sin also kills the medium itself. However, even this measure does not last, after ten years of peace, called the silent time , Sin is reborn and terrorizes Spira again.

Characters

Tidus

Tidus, the young star of the Blitzball team Zanarkand Abes , is apparently hurled a thousand years into the future by the mysterious power of Sin . He can no longer find a way out of this world, but initially hopes to find further clues in Zanarkand, the destination of Yuna's pilgrimage. However, he is often depressed and feels out of place. He also takes an increasing liking to Yuna, accompanies her to Luca and eventually becomes part of her bodyguard.

Yuna

A cosplayer as Yuna

Yuna is the daughter of the High Medium Braska, who lost his life fighting Sin. In the temple of Besaid she attains her first summons Valfaris and thus becomes a medium. As the game progresses, she gains the power to summon more Bestia ( Ifrit , Ixion , Shiva and Bahamut ). In order to obtain the high incantation in Zanarkand with which she can destroy Sin, she must become a more powerful medium by obtaining further incantations. She also reciprocated Tidus' affection early on.

Wakka

Wakka is coach and captain of the Blitzball team Besaid Aurochs , with whom he has never won a game in 10 years. With Tidu's moral support, the team in Luca makes it into the final, which is then controlled by the player himself. Depending on the skill of the player, the team can win the championship. After that, Wakka is fully dedicated to Yuna's pilgrimage. He regards Yuna like a little sister and would protect her with his life.

Lulu

Lulu is also a member of Yuna's bodyguard. Just like for Wakka, Yuna is like a little sister to her. She is a black magician and has mastered many elemental spells. Lulu has a very closed and controlled manner, which often makes her appear a little cool and callous. Later it turns out that she has already accompanied two Media on their pilgrimages, but both of them ended prematurely in the silent plane . That's why she blames herself.

Kimahri Ronso

Kimahri is a silent Ronso warrior who dedicated his life to Yuna's protection from early childhood. He speaks to Tidus very late in the game for the first time and then appears as a thoughtful Ronso. His reputation among his people has sunk because another Ronso broke his horn off.

Auron

Auron is a former, world-famous bodyguard who accompanied Braska on his pilgrimage. He swore to Jekkt - also Braska 's bodyguard - and Braska to look after their children. He goes to the "dream Zanarkand" and saves Tidus from Sins attack. There he gives Tidus a sword and teaches him to fight. At the end you learn that he is a disembodied man who initially did not accept that Jekkt and Braska sacrificed themselves and died after the fight against Lady Yunalesca. With the fulfillment of his promise he returns to the Abyss.

A cosplayer as Rikku (outfit from Final Fantasy X-2 )

Rikku

Rikku is a lively, extroverted girl from the Al-Bhed people. She is the first person Tidus meets in Spira, where she explains to him that Zanarkand was destroyed by Sin a thousand years earlier and that Maschina is forbidden. After Tidus learns during the attack on the Al-Bhed home in Bikanel that Yuna will die after the High Incantation, she tries to find a way with him to save her cousin Yuna.

More characters

The antagonists in the game are Seymor Guado and the other primates of the Yevon religion, while the marauding Sin serves as the main source of conflict. In addition, there is a wide range of named characters for support, who are not only recruited from the characters traditionally found in other Final Fantasy games.

Character design

Character designer Tetsuya Nomura paid special attention to the individual character designs. So he based Yuna's overall appearance on the traditional clothing in Okinawa . When he learned that this character was going to perform the blessing dance, he gave her clothes something that would flow. For this reason, he chose a special, long-sleeved version of the kimono , the Furisode . In addition, he used flowers called Yuna ( Hibiscus tiliaceus ) for her dress and necklace , and her name means “night” in the Okinawa dialect. In direct contrast to this, Tidus' Japanese name, "Tida", means "sun" in the Okinawa dialect. Nomura said that these subtle details may be redundant, but he doesn't want his designs to go without explanation.

For the supporting characters, the main designer for supporting characters, Fumi Nakashima , concentrated particularly on ensuring that the characters are easily recognized as belonging to their respective groups thanks to the clothing styles that are characteristic of certain nations and cultures. For example, in their opinion, the Al Bhed's masks and goggles give the group a "strange and eccentric" look, while the Ronso's clothing allows them to easily get into a fight.

history

Final Fantasy X starts late in the story. Main character Tidus waits with Yuna and the other bodyguards outside the destroyed city of Zanarkand. From this in-medias-res beginning, Tidus tells the series of events that have brought him into his current situation, this long-lasting flashback encompasses a large part of the game's history. The flashback begins in the non-destroyed Zanarkand, a high-tech metropolis and Tidus' hometown, where he became a well-known star of Underwater Sports Blitzball is. When Sin attacks Zanarkand during a blitzball game, Tidus - together with his longtime guardian Auron - is sucked into the creature and after his awakening finds himself alone in the ruins of an abandoned temple.

Tidus is saved by some Al-Bhed divers; one of them, Rikku, tells him that his city was destroyed a thousand years ago. Before he has time to process this news, Sin attacks again and Tidus is separated from the others. Eventually he washes up on the tropical island of Besaid. Here he meets Wakka, captain and coach of the local Blitzball team, the Besaid Aurochs. Impressed by Tidus' skills, Wakka asked Tidus to support his team at the upcoming tournament in Luca.

Tidus is introduced to Yuna, a young medium who follows in the footsteps of her late father, Sir Braska. Braska was also a medium and gave his life fighting Sin ten years earlier. His bodyguards were Auron and Jekkt, Tidus 'father, who is believed to have been lost in Tidus' Zanarkand. In Besaid, Tidus also meets Lulu and Kimahri, who, together with Wakka, form Yuna's bodyguard and accompany her on the way to Zanarkand, so that Yuna can receive the High Incantation and defeat Sin.

Cosplay : Yuna conjures up the Bestia Shiva

The group travels by ship to Kilika, where they meet Sin again, who is devastating the city. After Yuna blesses the deceased and learns to rule a new beast in the local temple, the group travels to Luca. At the end of the Blitzball tournament there, Auron joins the group.

Not long after another encounter with Sin, who has destroyed an entire vigilante army, Rikku joins them.

The group also meets Seymor Guado, leader of the Guado and a primate of Yevon. Although he initially presents himself as an ally and even supports the group in a fight under the control of the player, it later becomes apparent that he is a madman who wants to merge with Sin in order to "gift" the people of Spira with death. Because of this, he tries to force Yuna to marry him so that he can become her final incantation and thus Sin. Even if the group kills him in the first fight, he remains unblessed and returns in further fights.

Throughout the game, Yuna and Tidus grow closer, but to his horror, Tidus learns that Yuna will die as soon as she uses the High Incantation on Sin. Yuna is aware of her fate and would like with her life to give the people of Spiras the quiet time, the short peace after Sin's destruction. Things get complicated when Auron Tidus revealed in Luca that his father Jekkt is still alive, but has become Sin. Tidus resolves to find a way to free his estranged father and finally defeat Sin without sacrificing Yuna's life.

Shortly before the group reaches Zanarkand, Tidus learns that his father, he, and the Zanarkand they come from are "dreams", conjured beings similar to the Bestia. Their city, the "Dream Zanarkand," was created a thousand years earlier when, during the conflict known as the Maschina War, Zanarkand's leader and powerful medium, Yevon, took desperate measures to preserve the memory of Zanarkand. He turned the survivors of the city into Asthra in order to conjure from their memories a new city in the image of Zanarkand, far removed from the struggle on Spira's mainland. Sin was created by Yevon at the same time to serve as protection for him and the Asthra. During the ongoing evocation of the Dream Zanarkand, Yevon lost his humanity and became known as Yu-Yevon ("The Curse of Yevon"), a being that only exists to ensure the existence of Dream Zanarkand. Over the course of the next thousand years, Sin repeatedly attacked the people of Spira to prevent them from technological advancement enough to find the dream Zanarkand.

As soon as the player finishes Yuna's pilgrimage to Zanarkand - and thus concludes Tidus' extensive flashback of events so far - Yuna and her companions learn of the unblessed spirit of Yunalesca - daughter of Yevon and first medium to defeat Sin - that the High Incantation comes from someone's spirit is created that is very close to the medium. She further explains that after Sin dies, Yu-Yevon will take possession of the High Incantation and make it the new Sin. In addition, the player learns that Auron was also killed when he attacked Yunalesca ten years ago after Jekkt and Braska's deaths, but was never blessed. Yuna and her bodyguards decide to look for a new way to defeat Sin: one that will destroy Sin forever and will not demand any further sacrifices. Yunalesca cannot accept this decision and a fight ensues in which Yunalesca mutates several times and is finally defeated. Without having received the High Incantation, the group attacks Sin directly with the help of an Al-Bhed airship and penetrates his body.

Inside Sins, the group fights with Seymor, Jekkt's trapped spirit and finally with Yu-Yevon himself, they manage to defeat everyone and send them to the Abyss. With this they end the cycle of Sin's death and rebirth forever. Auron also enters the Abyss after fulfilling his promises to Jekkt and Braska to look after their children. Finally the spirits of the Asthra are released from their prison and with that the Bestia, Traum-Zanarkand and also Tidus dissolve. Although Yuna mourns the loss of Tidus, she encourages the people of Spira to break new ground now that Sin no longer exists. However, it also reminds them not to forget the people who fell victim to the conflict.

development

Executive producer Hironobu Sakaguchi

With a crew of over 100, Final Fantasy X was developed from 1999 to 2001 and cost around 4 billion yen (about 27 million euros) to produce.

As in most other Final Fantasy parts, the characters and story of Final Fantasy X are very different from those of its predecessors. Executive producer Hironobu Sakaguchi stated that this is being done to make every game look completely new and to demonstrate the full potential of his team. Despite concerns about switching from 2D to 3D backgrounds, voice acting, and telling the story in real time, Sakaguchi believed that the success of Final Fantasy lies in the constant challenge of the development team to try new things. Scenario writer Kazushige Nojima said he took extra care on this part of the series to create a connection between the player and the main character. He has therefore designed the story in such a way that the player gets to know the world and gain knowledge through Tidus' own development and narration to the same extent as Tidus himself.

In Final Fantasy X there were also innovations in the representation of the facial expressions of the characters: These were generated , among other things, by motion capture . This technology allowed the animators to create realistic lip movements and to match them to the voice output.

volume

Speech output

Final Fantasy X is the first part of the series that not only uses texts, but also has voice output. Nojima revealed that the use of screen readers had a profound impact on how the game's story was written. He explained that the voice acting enabled him to find an easier way to tell the story, as it allowed a wider range of emotions to be expressed through it than could have been possible with text alone. Nojima further explained that the presence of speakers meant that he made a number of changes to the story and to the characters themselves in order to adapt the characters to the personalities of their speakers.

The use of speech output also led to problems. Since the cut scenes of the game Japanese language edition was programmed, the English saw Final Fantasy X - localization team the difficult task over to create not only an appropriate English translation, but this also the rhythm and timing requirements of the lip movements of the characters adjust accordingly. Alexander O. Smith described this process as extremely problematic. Therefore, the speakers were informed about the motivation and feelings of their character in each scene and were shown several scenes from the game itself.

Although Tidus is the main character in the game, he is the only character whose name is never pronounced. This came about because Final Fantasy X followed the Final Fantasy tradition of letting the player choose the name of the main character. In this game and in Final Fantasy X-2, the other characters only talk about Tidus as "him", "he" or "you". In the Square Enix games Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II , in which he also appears as a character, his name is pronounced, however.

music

With Final Fantasy X , Nobuo Uematsu had the first support in composing the music for a Final Fantasy game. The music for Final Fantasy X was composed by Junya Nakano , Masashi Hamauzu and Nobuo Uematsu.

The game contains three sung pieces: it uses the one hand, the J-Pop - Ballad Suteki Da Ne (.素敵だね, dt "Is not it wonderful?") Made by the Japanese Shima-uta - and pop singer RIKKI is sung, to reflect the Okinawa atmosphere in the game. The original Japanese version of the song was used in all versions of Final Fantasy X. The lyrics were written by Kazushige Nojima, while Uematsu was responsible for the background music. As with the ballads from Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX, there is also an orchestral version by Suteki Da Ne in addition to the version used in the game, which is used during the credits. The other two songs sung are the English heavy metal song Otherworld with a text by Alexander O. Smith and the song of Asthra , which is a kind of anagram in Japanese syllables.

reception

Final Fantasy X was largely well received; it sold very well and received mostly positive reviews from the games industry. Within the first four days after publication, 90% of the first delivery had already sold, this corresponds to 1.9 million out of 2.1 million units, of which approximately 1.4 to 1.5 million copies are made up of pre-orders. With these numbers, Final Fantasy X surpassed its predecessors Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy VII in a comparable period of time and was the first PlayStation 2 game to sell 2 million and 4 million units.

Once in the top twenty best-selling console games, continued sales make it the second-best-selling Final Fantasy game, with over 8.05 million units sold worldwide. As of July 2006, it has been ranked 11th best-selling game of the 21st century in the US and was nominated for the sixth annual Interactive Achievement Awards in animation and console role-playing in 2003.

Reviews

reviews
publication rating source
4Players .de 90% ?
Bravo Screenfun 1 06/2002
Computer picture games 2.28 ?
Edge 6 of 10
Famitsu 39 of 40
Gamereactor 9 of 10 ?
Games current 1-
GameSpot 9.3 out of 10 ?
OPM 88% OPM2 06/2002
PlayZone 89% ?

Both Japanese and Western critics generally gave Final Fantasy X very good marks ; according to Metacritic , the game achieved a "universal total score" of 92%. The leading Japanese video game magazine , Famitsu , gave the game the near-perfect score of 39/40, while Famitsu readers voted it the best game of all time in 2006. The Play Station , another leading Japanese video game magazine, gave the game 29 out of 30 points.

Like the Famitsu and The Play Station , the British Edge was particularly impressed by the game's story and graphics. However, this magazine only awarded 6 out of 10 points and described it as a sequel that poses as the next generation without this being reflected in the experience of the game. As an example, the Edge cited the combat system and character development, the former being "barely more complex" than earlier variants in the series and the latter "not more flexible than the straightforward leveling of previous games". The magazine also harshly criticized the English script and speech output, calling them "despicable". The magazine went on to say that they turned pathos into comedy, hunted down humor and destroyed the entire game.

The Edge weren't the only ones to find flaws in Final Fantasy X. In its 7/10 review, the Norwegian gaming site Gamer.no expressed displeasure with the “too simple” combat system and the linear game structure, thanks to both of which the game was “too short for true RPG enthusiasts”. The multimedia website IGN stated that the character animations used in cutscenes could come from the last generation and were worse than those in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty . While they described Metal Gear Solid 2's animations as near-perfect, they described the body language used in Final Fantasy X as "exaggerated gestures, repetitive movements, stiff transitions, and very questionable lip-synchronicity." Although the Metal Gear Solid 2 website gave Metal Gear Solid 2 "a higher level of visual subtleties," the scenario would be "limited to shades of gray and brown most of the time," while Final Fantasy X artists were able to use any color imaginable and had a "wonderful" 3D engine to do this.

Like Gamer.no, the employees of IGN also found the course of the story to be too linear and poorly timed, so the few puzzles were poorly integrated into the game. Despite these negative reviews, the site was full of praise for the innovations in the game principle, especially in connection with the new call system, the ability to change group members during the fight, which in their opinion was a more efficient system of character development and easier handling of the inventory. They gave the graphics of the game further laurels, which is "in every imaginable way better than its predecessor". They stated that this game as a whole was "the best looking of the entire series and the best playable" at the time of publication.

In Europe, on the one hand, the poor PAL adaptation and the accompanying very large black bars on the upper and lower edge of the screen, the compressed characters and the noticeable loss of speed were criticized, on the other hand, especially in Germany, the sometimes striking differences between the English language output and the German subtitles fell which have been translated from Japanese.

legacy

Due to its commercial success and great popularity, Square Enix released the direct sequel Final Fantasy X-2 in 2003 - the first direct sequel to the entire Final Fantasy series. The sequel begins two years after the conclusion of the original story, presents new conflicts and problems, but also includes some open ends of Final Fantasy X . Due to the popularity of this game, the producer and scenario writer decided to create a plot-related connection between Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy VII , another very popular Final Fantasy title.

The advances in the realistic representation of emotions through voice output and detailed facial expressions have since become an integral part of the series, not only in games from the main series, such as Final Fantasy XII , but also in other offshoots such as Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII . Additionally, the journey in a real-time 3D environment instead of the world map became part of the series standard, as Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII show.

Versions and merchandise

An "international" version of the game was released in Japan as "Final Fantasy X: International" and in the PAL territories as "Final Fantasy X". This has content that was not in the original game, such as the fight against the Black Bestia and the judge, as well as some additional sequences. The Japanese release of "Final Fantasy X: International" was also accompanied by a fourteen-minute video ( Eternal Calm ), which made the transition from "Final Fantasy X" to "Final Fantasy X-2", this video was later in a slightly modified form included in the European publication of " Unlimited SaGa ".

Both the Japanese and European releases came with the bonus DVD “Beyond Final Fantasy”, which contains interviews with the game's developers and the voice actors (in Europe only the English voices of Tidus and Yuna). There are also various trailers for “Final Fantasy X” and other Square products, two picture galleries and the music video for “Suteki Da Ne”. This DVD was no longer included in the following Platinum or Mega Hits editions.

On March 22, 2013, an HD remake of Final Fantasy X and X-2 for the PS3 and PS Vita was announced. For the PS3, both titles are offered together on a Blu-Ray, the PS Vita versions are offered separately. In addition to the visual improvements, the so-called "Creature Create" feature should also be included, which was previously only available in the Japanese version.

Square Enix also produced action figures , different versions of the soundtrack, and various books related to the game including "The Art of Final Fantasy X" and three "Ultimania" game guides, a series of art books published by Square Enix in Japan becomes. In addition to a complete solution for the game, they contain various images about the games, interviews with the developers and additional information about the history of the game. Some of the action figures were also sold in Europe, but the solution book published by Piggyback in Europe does not contain any additional information besides the complete solution .

literature

  • BentStuff: Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω . DigiCube / Square Enix, 2001, ISBN 4-88787-021-3 .
  • Meaning and Emotion in Squaresoft's Final Fantasy X - Thesis by Glen R. Spoors, Edith Cowan University - Australia

Web links

Commons : Final Fantasy X  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Broshnat and Tadj: Videogame Sales Charts (in English) on VGCHARTS.ORG . 2013. (Last checked November 3, 2013)
  2. ↑ SCEI: PlayStation Awards 2002 ( Memento of the original from August 13, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in Japanese; PDF; 35 kB). June 2002. (Last checked August 12, 2006.) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.scei.co.jp
  3. ↑ GamesAktuell: Final Fantasy 10 / 10-2 HD: German launch trailer for today's release
  4. ↑ PC Games: Final Fantasy 10 / 10-2 HD - PS4 versus PS3 in the interactive graphics comparison
  5. ↑ a b c IGN: Final Fantasy X Review (in English). 2001. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Square Enix North America: Behind The Game The Creators ( Memento of the original from April 3, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English). 2001. (Last checked August 12, 2006.) The interviews are available in German on the German Final Fantasy X bonus DVD Beyond Final Fantasy . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.square-enix-usa.com
  7. ↑ Bill Johnson: Square Looks Ahead ( Memento of the original from November 6, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rpgamer.com archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English) on RPGamer . 2000. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  8. ↑ Jimmy Avistetto: Final Fantasy X Not Online Capable ( Memento of the original from February 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rpgamer.com archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English) on RPGamer . 2000. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  9. ↑ a b Dan Birlew: Final Fantasy X Official Strategy Guide (in English). BradyGAMES Publishing, 2001, p. 268, ISBN 0-7440-0140-4 .
  10. ↑ Dan Birlew: Final Fantasy X Official Strategy Guide (in English). BradyGAMES Publishing, 2001, p. 266, ISBN 0-7440-0140-4 .
  11. ↑ Studio BentStuff: Final Fantasy X Scenario Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube / Square Enix, 2001, p. 59, ISBN 4-88787-010-8 .
  12. ↑ Sheila: Tetsuya Nomura 20s (in English) on FLAREgamer . 2003. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  13. ↑ Studio BentStuff: Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). DigiCube / Square Enix, 2001, p. 84, ISBN 4-88787-021-3 .
  14. ↑ Studio BentStuff: Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). DigiCube / Square Enix, 2001, p. 82, ISBN 4-88787-021-3 .
  15. ↑ Studio BentStuff: Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). DigiCube / Square Enix, 2001, p. 82, ISBN 4-88787-021-3 .
  16. ↑ Studio BentStuff: Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). DigiCube / Square Enix, 2001, p. 82, ISBN 4-88787-021-3 .
  17. ↑ Andrew Long: Financial Fantasy X ( Memento of the original from February 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rpgamer.com archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English) on RPGamer . 2001. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  18. ↑ a b Metacritic: Final Fantasy X (ps2: 2001) (in English) on Metacritic . 2001. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  19. ↑ GameSpot: Final Fantasy X - PlayStation 2 News at GameSpot (in English) on GameSpot . 2001. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  20. ↑ Final Fantasy X OST. In: RPGFan. Accessed December 27, 2015 .
  21. ↑ IGN: Final Fantasy X Sells Like Crazy; World Not Shocked ( Memento of the original from August 2, 2011 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ps2.ign.com(in English) on IGN . 2001. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  22. ↑ IGN: Final Fantasy X Approaches 2 Million Copies Sold (in English) on IGN . 2001. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  23. ↑ IGN: FFX Tops Sales Charts (in English) on IGN . 2001. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  24. ↑ Giancarlo Varanini: Final Fantasy X sales meet expectations (in English) on GameSpot . 2002. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  25. ↑ Colin Campbell, Joe Keizer: THE TOP 100 GAMES OF THE 21st CENTURY ( Memento from February 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (English), July 29, 2006. (Last checked on August 23, 2013.)
  26. ↑ Gamecubicle: Interactive Achievement Awards (in English) on Gamecubicle . 2003. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  27. ↑ a b IGN: Final Fantasy X Gets Rated in Japan (in English) on IGN . 2001. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  28. ↑ Colin Campbell: Japan Votes on All Time Top 100 ( Memento from June 29, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (English) 2006. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  29. ↑ a b c Edge Magazine: Edge . February 2002, Issue 107. Future Publishing, 2002. pp. 76-77.
  30. ↑ Bjørn Terje Erlandsen: Final Fantasy X omtale ( Memento from August 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (in Norwegian), 2002. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  31. ↑ Ralph Taube: Final Fantasy X Review on Gameswelt.de . 2002. (Last checked on February 20, 2009.)
  32. ↑ a b BentStuff: Final Fantasy X Ultimania Ω . DigiCube / Square Enix, 2001, p. 191, ISBN 4-88787-021-3 .
  33. ↑ Jeremy Dunham: Final Fantasy X-2 Developer Interview ( Memento of the original from December 26, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ps2.ign.com archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English) on IGN . 2003. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  34. ↑ Joseph Witham: Final Fantasy X International Europe Bound ( Memento of the original from January 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rpgamer.com archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English) on RPGamer . 2002. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  35. ↑ MAT: Game Trivia for Final Fantasy X (in English) on MobyGames . 2002. (Last checked on August 12, 2006.)
  36. ↑ Play3: Final Fantasy X HD & X-2 HD including first screenshots officially announced , March 22, 2013, accessed June 15, 2013
  37. ↑ Playfront: Square Enix: Numerous details about Final Fantasy X HD, new “Creature Create” feature addressed , June 15, 2013, accessed June 16, 2013