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Source : Gameforms.com
Eleven games, zero direct sequels. Final Fantasy has always been unique for that trait alone. Each game in the main series boasts a new cast of characters and world to explore, with spin-offs having been few and far between, often gaining the series name only in English in hopes of better sales.
That all comes to an end with Final Fantasy X-2. The heroine from FFX, Yuna, returns here with a game that reuses many of the original locations but takes a startling new approach with the main character.
At the 2002 Tokyo Game Show, a promotional poster of Yuna in tight shorts and wielding dual pistols was displayed at the Square booth. Two silhouettes flanked her as she posed with her back to the camera, a gun in each hand. People wondered: Was this a joke? A jab at her innocent FFX persona? A preview of the sequel starring her that Square had already promised?
It may be a jab, but it definitely isn't a joke. The art may exaggerate the in-game models, but Yuna now boasts a wardrobe that would make Daisy Duke proud. Besides her cheek-baring pants, she wears a shirt with the symbol for Tidus and Jecht sewn in the middle. Her traditional clothes from FFX have been replaced by a mix of modern fashion and Al Bhed wear.
Having already saved the world once, Yuna is now searching for "that guy" (presumably Tidus) whom she saw in a movie sphere. She does so with Rikku, who is no longer set to receive her own sequel, and a new female character named Paine. As they travel through a Spira enjoying the Eternal Calm, a new evil is brewing, and signs are beginning to show that the calm is in danger.
The land of Spira is now inhabited by numerous clans of Sphere Hunters who scour the land for valuable spheres. In her search, Yuna has joined up with the Kamome Clan (Kamome means seagull in Japanese). The clan's members travel in a huge red airship called the Celcius, and is the only clan lucky enough to own one.
Yuna's new ally, Paine, has been a member of the Kamome Clan for a long time. Wearing dark clothing and fighting with a sword, Paine is detached and self-reliant, much like Squall from FFVIII. She can speak Al Bhed, and like any self-respecting RPG character with an attitude, Square has hinted at an important secret in her past. In the game's new job system, Paine's default class is Fighter.
Several other members of the Kamome Clan will also be playing a part in the story:
Brother: Rikku's brother from the previous game. He has learned to speak the normal tongue to communicate with Yuna, but he still talks in Al Bhed when excited or flustered.
Buddy: A childhood friend of Brother, and also an Al Bhed from the previous game. When asking if Yuna remembers him, she says no and he feels disappointed.
Shinra: A genius Al Bhed child who is helping to locate spheres for the Kamome Clan.
Master: A Hypero-Tribe member, he was saved by Brother and now apparently works in the Celcius as a bartender.
The main cast of FFX returns in force, most notably Rikku, who is one of the three playable characters and boasts her own new and more revealing outfit. Kimahri is now Tribe Master of the Ronso, and his tribe vows vengeance on the Guados. This conflict displeases a Ronso named Garik who blames Kimahri for the problem. Wakka and Lulu have married since the previous game, and Lulu is now pregnant, causing Wakka to wonder if he's cut out to be a fatherly figure.
The Le Branc Clan rivals the Kamome Clan and frequently shows up to interfere or steal spheres. The clan is led by Le Branc herself, a flashy woman who fights with a fan. Her two main henchmen are Sanno, a tall thin man who fights with dual long pistols, and Unno, a stout but muscular fighter who attacks with brute strength.
If many of these characters are new, the setting should be instantly familiar. Many towns and locations from the original will be visitable again, playing a significant role in the new story and showing some significant changes since the defeat of Sin. Kilika, Macalania, and the Mi'ihen Highroad have all been shown so far, and tension between the Al Bhed and the rest of Spira appears as high as ever.
The biggest change is the expanded use of machina, considered evil under the first game's rule of Yevon. Temples and shrines are now open to scrutiny and use the once-forbidden machinery, while chobocos on the Highroad have seemingly been replaced by more machina. Whether they will be used for evil again remains unseen, but many foes from the first game will appear again, proving video game enemies do learn slowly.
Progress through the game is accomplished by selecting and completing missions and acquiring spheres, which gradually unlocks new missions. In one such mission, the heroines explore a large base underneath Bevelle's shrine, which may be the home to an acient and extremely powerful military weapon called the Vegnagun. Rikku believes that the base is also where a certain blonde Blitzball player was last recorded on a movie sphere.
The battle system will be quite different from FFX's, returning to the semi-realtime ATB system used in most recent Final Fantasy games. Different battle commands consume varying amounts of ATB guage, so using an item only takes a character a short time, while Unique Commands take siginficantly longer. The game also sports a chain combo system that lets you do greater damage by attacking with several characters in sequence. Characters with the Gunner job have a Quick Trigger command that makes it very easy to start these combos.
Replacing FFX's Sphere Grid system is a new Dress Up system. Reminiscent of the job system from FFV, it requires players to collect Dress Spheres for different jobs. By bringing up the Dress Sphere menu in battle, one can instantly change a character's class, altering her appearance and abilities. The currently known classes are Fighter, Gunner, Thief, and Bard.
The newest abilities are available on the field map, allowing Yuna to "climb," "jump," and "run," all pulled straight from the action/adventure style of gaming. The field abilities seem fairly simple, but the gameplay overall promises to be something more than FFX with different heroes.
The gameplay changes are mirrored by a major staff change - Nobuo Uematsu will not be handling composing duties for the game. Presumably occupied with FFXII, Uemtasu gives way here for composer Noriko Matsueda and arranger Takahito Eguchi, both longtime Square employees. Matsueda has worked on the Front Mission series, Racing Lagoon and The Bouncer, almost always teaming with Eguchi.
Now that Square is finally making a direct sequel to a Final Fantasy, they don't seem to be holding back. One of the most quiet heroines in RPG history in skimpy short shorts and wielding guns as big as her head? This could get very, very interesting. FFX-2 is set for a March 2003 release in Japan.
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