Final Fantasy X-2

Journey back to Spira two years later to rescue the missing Tidus in this first direct sequel to a Final Fantasy title.

Overview

Final Fantasy X-2 starts off two years after the events of Final Fantasy X, the Eternal Calm had just been established permanently, and Tidus had vanished from Yuna's life, apparently forever. Yet just as Yuna begins to believe that Tidus is gone from her life forever, Rikku brings Yuna a sphere (a device that is basically a camera) that shows an image of someone who bears a striking resemblance to Tidus. Once Yuna sees the sphere she is determined to find all the others in the area in the hopes that they will reveal more clues to the whereabouts of this person who looks exactly like Tidus. Once they arrive at the area where Rikku initially found the sphere a group of sphere-hunters (they find spheres with historic information on them and sell them to the highest bidder) challenge them to a fight to see who will earn the right to look for spheres. Ironically, these same sphere-hunters had had a run in with Yuna and her gang before, one of the sphere-hunters had found a sphere that let her look like Yuna and she impersonated the young summoner. After Yuna finds more spheres she learns that the Aeons are starting to become corrupted and she must travel to old temples to exorcise the spirits that once let her summon their might.

Characters

Yuna-"After defeating Sin, Yuna returned to her home on Besaid. The days passed without incident, but still she sensed something missing in her quiet existence. A movie sphere that Rikku shows her gives her a reason to journey once more."

"For now, life as a sphere hunter affords Yuna the chance to live on the wild side. Old habits die hard, though. Yuna still can't walk away from people in need."

Rikku-"In the two years since she helped Yuna defeat Sin,Rikku has travelled with other Al Bhed around Spira, teaching people all there is to know about machina. During the so-called "search for truth" that overtook Spira after Sin's defeat, a group of Al Bhed joined the ranks of sphere hunters. With their airship, the Celsius, as a base, Rikku and Brother founded the Gullwings. Rikku invited Yuna to join the Gullwings, and they have been travelling together ever since. As always, Rikku's endless supply of energy keeps the team on their toes."

Paine-"Paine is armed with a one-handed sword and a lukewram attitude. It seems she joined the Gullwings because of something that happend in her past. However, none of the Gullwings know excactly what that might be. The often ridiculous antics of the Gullwings tend to prompt sarcastic remarks from Paine, but the others don't seem to worry about it much."

Gameplay

Final Fantasy X-2 is divided up in 5 chapters, and is largely mission based as opposed to the linear structure of Final Fantasy X. Missions are typically accessed aboard the Celsius, the Gullwing's airship, and are accompanied by a star rating to indicate their respective difficulty.

Battle System

Battles in Final Fantasy X-2 are turn-based and commands can be issued upon a character filling her Active Time Battle (ATB) gauge. The speed with which the ATB gauge fills depends on a character's agility and the battle speed selected by the player.

The battle system also features two settings: Active and Wait modes. Active mode means the player must makes all commands in real time and enemies will attack if no command is made. Wait mode allows players more breathing space by allowing time to choose targets and select items as the battle pauses when these choices are being made.

As with Final Fantasy battle systems of the past, there are various elemental attacks and status ailments to contend with. Chain attacks can also be used to multiply damage against enemies.

Dresspheres

Perhaps the most significant addition to Final Fantasy X-2 is the inclusion of "Dresspheres", which each of the main characters may equip in order to change their class. Each dressphere alters it's wearer's attributes and abilities and allows for a large variety of party configurations. Dresspheres can also be changed during battle as to what the situation dictates. Aside from each of the main character's default dressphere, they must be acquired during the game.

Dresspheres must also be assigned to a Garment Grid upon acquisition in order for them to be used. Each Garment Grid has a particular shape and links the dresspheres assigned to it in a unique way. When changing dressphere, which does not stop the battle until the new sphere is chosen, the player can only change to a dressphere which is linked on the Garment Grid to that which is currently equipped.

In addition to the 14 standard dresspheres, Yuna, Rikku and Paine all have their own special dressphere. These can only be activated if every dressphere on their currently equipped Garment Grid has been used in the battle. The table below shows how each dressphere breaks down in terms of it's effect on the attributes of the wearer.

Dressphere	Hit Points	Strength	Defence	Agility	Evasion	Magic Points	Magic	Magic Defence	Accuracy	Luck
Warrior	Average	High	High	Average	Low	Lowest	Lowest	Lowest	Low	Average
Thief	Low	Low	Low	Highest	Highest	Low	Low	Average	Average	Highest
Songstress	Lowest	Lowest	Lowest	High	Average	Average	Average	Average	Lowest	Low
Gunner	Low	Low	Low	Average	Low	Lowest	Lowest	Low	Highest	High
Black Mage	Lowest	Lowest	Lowest	Average	Low	High	Highest	Highest	Lowest	Low
White Mage	Lowest	Lowest	Lowest	Average	Low	Average	High	Highest	Lowest	Low
Gun Mage	Lowest	Average	Low	High	Lowest	Average	High	High	High	Low
Alchemist	Lowest	Low	Low	Average	Lowest	Lowest	Lowest	Lowest	High	Average
Dark Knight	High	Highest	Highest	Lowest	Lowest	High	Average	High	Low	Low
Berserker	High	Highest	Lowest	Highest	High	Lowest	Lowest	Lowest	Low	Average
Lady Luck	Lowest	Low	Lowest	High	Average	Average	Low	Average	Highest	Highest
Samurai	Lowest	High	Average	High	High	Low	Low	Average	Low	Average
Trainer	Average	Average	Average	Average	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low
Mascot (Yuna)	Highest	High	Highest	Highest	High	Highest	Highest	Highest	Highest	High
Mascot (Rikku)	Highest	Average	Highest	Highest	High	Highest	Highest	Highest	High	High
Mascot (Paine)	Highest	High	Highest	High	Average	Highest	Average	Highest	Highest	High

In addition to these attribute changes, the dresspheres have their own set of abilities and skills which can be unlocked via Ability Points (AP). Yuna's special dressphere is Floral Fallal, Rikku's is Machima Maw and Paine's Full Throttle. Each of these special dresspheres is made up of 3 sections which each have their own unique attacks and abilities.

Side Missions & Mini-Games

Together with a selection of side missions, including a 101 floor dungeon with the game's toughest monsters, Final Fantasy X-2 features a number of mini games to break up the main game and allow players to gain extra items. A slightly altered Blitzball returns from FFX, and players have the opportunity to raise Chocobos, do some desert excavation and even give a massage to one of the game's early bosses.

International + Last Mission

This re-release of FFX-2 in Japan with English voiceovers that contains a lot of new changes exclusive to this version.

Major Changes and Additions

New Last Mission campaign
3 New Dresspheres
New Garment Grids
A new Creature Create system
Support for save data from the original Final Fantasy X-2 (including changing minor sections of the story and getting different endings if players have completed original Final Fantasy X-2 save data.)

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to Final Fantasy X-2 was composed by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi and published by avex trax in Japan on March 23rd, 2003. Two J-Pop songs were written for the game "1000 no Kotaba" and "Real Emotion", both composed by Kazuhiro Hara and performed by famous J-Pop singer Koda Kumi. The English versions of these tracks were performed by Jade Villalon.