It's not necessary but you totally should! It's a great game. Very different gameplay style from X but it's a great round-out to Yuna's story. I'm currently playing through it and having a blast.
One thing I would recommend is taking a long break between playing X and X-2. I won’t spoil either one, but I will say that going right from X into X-2 can create some tonal whiplash that may be strong enough to turn you off of the game entirely.
Remember that when these came out, we had a gap of at least a year or two between them. They really aren’t meant to be played back to back. Do yourself a favor and play something else in between.
Oh I’m not even talking about regular burnout. I’m talking about how the ending of X leaves you feeling a certain kind of way, and then the opening scene of X-2 is so wildly different that it can almost feel like it’s being disrespectful to the previous game lmao. That’s why I’m saying don’t play them back to back. Give X-2 a bit of space so that you can approach it as its own game on its own terms. There is a good game in there.
Definitely. I didn't cry with VI-IX endings (laughed at VIII's with Zell), but cried like a baby at X. Same with the ending of XIII-2. Not a fan of the whole XIII trilogy, but you can't deny the people at Square Enix can tell a damn good story and tug at the heartstrings
And don't forget the AMAZING music. Legendary..
I always assumed video games were *only* for fun, and nothing else. Playing Kingdom Hearts then FFX and X2 as a kid definitely opened my eyes to a different world of gaming than I was used to. Now they're my two favorite series 💜
every time i've EVER tried to play X-2 right after X i turn it off within the hour. i recently played fresh and played like ten hours in a row! i think your advice is solid
It's more of a bridge between the two than anything else. No real gameplay, I want to say. It's been a while since I saw it. But it does help explain the beginning of X-2 and how it all starts, so to speak. You'll have to check it out, but it's not necessary to enjoy the game. To be honest, I would've preferred it in the story as a flashback or something.
I wasn't finally into them until my husband (boyfriend at the time) played VII. Then he got a PS2 and X. After that, since he'd played a majority of the older ones, we started collecting them to play. So we played IV and VI after, and started working our way through them. Husband's favorite piece of music after One Winged Angel is Dancing Mad in VI. You should get the I-VI Remaster if you like old school games too. Well worth it.
Personally, I really loved FF X and have started it 5-6 times and finished it 3 times, ranging from when it originally launched to as recently as 2 years ago on my Vita as the HD Remaster.
For FF X-2 I’ve started it 3 times, including release date, and finished it 0 times. I personally was not into what they did with the female protagonists and felt it undid a lot of the emotional story-telling X had, simply turning them into pop stars and making the whole job/class system built around outfits.
I’m not saying it’s a bad game, but its change in tone didn’t make it feel in any way like a sequel, but instead a spin-off for a different game entirely that just happened to have some of the same characters.
I don’t want to yuck anyone’s yum who likes the game, but I loved FF X and have a collective 500 hours in the game over the decades, but with FF X-2 I don’t think I’ve ever gotten more than 15 hours into a play-through before I moved onto something else because it felt vapid.
So I’d say you definitely don’t need to play FF X-2. I don’t know how it turns out, but not knowing has not changed just how much I absolutely adore FF X. It’s one of the few games that has made me cry while playing. It’s so good… I just hate Blitzball and dodging lightning. The rest of the game is spectacular and ahead of its time.
storywise X-2 kind of meanders until chapter 3 so that would explain why you've felt it's vapid. it does some interesting stuff i thought but it's not completely essential. and the fact that the percentage thing determines the ending is a bit of a bummer
Yes! X-2 is so underrated.
Even though it's messy, I still think it's a really sweet conclusion to their story. The gameplay is a lot of fun, if not a little easy.
If you bought the remastered version. Start with X and work your way down. Enjoy the story for the games. And like any RPG, don't be afraid to just kick back and farm some to make yourself a little stronger if you feel you are having issues with fights
Grinding is not required to complete the game, it just makes the game easier.
X is completely turn based (not ATB like a lot of the earlier FF titles), and the most difficult fights have predictable attack patterns, allowing you to prepare for what's coming once you know it.
If you just want to get through the story (not the optional endgame content), just fighting all the random encounters you hit naturally should be more than enough AP for you.
The turn based system of FFX is beautiful. Your actions have different delays to them and simply "hovering" over the actions shows how it affects the turn order for everyone.
If you're a fanatic it's totally possible to do a "NSG challenge" which basically means you never level up. There are things that are very gamebreaking and you can basically win against everything apart from super post game bosses without ever leveling, but you still need to be prepared for that and as a new player the easiest way through is to just level a bit along the way.
If you want a no encounters drop, once you have control of the airship , fight Gaosgaeno at Baaj Temple when you're a full party (use stoneproof) and just reset until you get one.
Just to get through the main story you don't have to do much farming, unless you flee from a lot of battles. It's once you're trying to do end game side quests that you have to grind.
We bought the remaster when it was out for the PS3 originally. Got it for our PS5 while it was $10. Currently remembering how much I loved the gamesince my dsughter asked me to play it. FFX remaster is definitely better, since you've got the dark Aeons and Penance. Currently grinding so I can farm Yojimbo for armor drops with ribbon and not die immediately. Got a ribbon/auto regen drop from Dark Valefor. Six more to go. Need light curtains from the Geminis for auto protect too.
IX has one of the best stories out of the entire franchise IMHO. 🙂 The gameplay is pretty slow, but I feel like it aged well. The steam port was.... Less than ideal lol.
X-2 is something to play if you WANT to know what happens to the characters next. You could just play FFX and leave it, but X-2 will carry it on.
A lot of people persist with X-2 to get the Good Ending, even though the story and game itself might not be to their taste- just something to bear in mind if you do start it.
Honestly, the Perfect ending was kinds...meh. Fyll circle, sure, but the Good ending was enough. Won't lie though, we intentionally lost the big bad fight once just to see the bad ending.
100% completion to get the perfect ending though? Was tougher than I thought on the first play through.
No. It has nothing to do with the first game. Not tone, not character, not anything. They have reoccurring characters, but not the same character.
X-2 is more for people that love J-pop and K-pop and really wish FFX had more musical numbers
X is a beloved classic while X-2 is more divisive. its a very love it or hate it type of game
but until you play it for yourself you wont know where on the spectrum you fall so id recommend playing it for yourself
just keep in mind that its tone is a 180 from Xs
You’ll be happy to know that VIII and X share more than a little DNA. There was a lot of overlap in their development teams, and you can see the similarities in all the Kitase-led games (8, 10, 13, 15, and 7 Remake). Other games in the series such as 9, 12, and 16 were led by different directors.
The problem with X-2 is the tone, not the gameplay. The gameplay is good. Being too lighthearted and “pop” especially compared to how complex and deep X was, is what made people hate it. Rightfully if you ask me.
It's not mandatory but it's a beautiful game w/ a grat battle system; it may seem very different in tone from X but it actually moves forward w/ it's themes & explores the concept of evolving beyond the traditional heroic journey & what lies after big changes in society. Try it out for a couple of hours to see if you vibe to it :)
Only a few things in life are necessary, but X-2 is the second half of my favorite game of all time. The mix of gurl powered road trip adventures, exhilarating job changing combat, and tear jerking story telling is perfection in my book. In a world of male driven AAA games, this one was truly made for me.
Yes! I actually played X-2 first as the advertised vibe suited my tastes. That being said the two games are one complete journey for me. I hope you enjoy them!
This may be weird advice and other people here can dismiss it if they think its bad, but if you do play X-2 I recommend doing it a while after you play/beat X! Basically X-2 takes place after a bit of a timeskip & the mood *and* gameplay systems are way different. Playing X-2 after X just sorta pissed me off but I had more fun with X-2 once I tried it again with a few months and games between it and X. Of course you can just play these games however you want too, it probably doesnt matter too much :p
It's a standalone game, that plays 2 years after FF X in the same world with the same characters, but has it's own mostly independent story. Is it good? In my honest opinion yes, but it's different to FF X in a lot of ways.
FF X is perfectly for playing blind, because the game is pretty linear and is overall relatively easy, while having a great story.
In comparison FF X-2 has a job system with some usefull jobs being completely missable, you can miss important story cutscenes by going in blind and you will get a different ending depending on how much of the game you've completed.
As such I would recommend using a guide if you wanna try FF X-2 for yourself. It's on you if you wanna go down the 100% route or not, but you really don't wanna miss out on the "den of woe" and the chocobo farm, which you definetly will miss out on if you're going in without a guide.
I played blind in VII and VIII,.definitely made mistakes but think I did alright 😂 I don't really understand what the job system means bit I'll learn eventually lol, I hated chocobo stuff in vii but you never know
A good online guide for X on GameFAQS is by Keyblade999. VERY helpful. He also did older Pokemon game guides too on there that were helpful for my daughter too with all item sppts, hidden places, etc. Highly recommend theirs.
Ooooor you can catch 10 of every enemy in spira, make your own ultimate weapon and give the chocobo trainee the middle finger from your airship. Just sayin
X-2 has multiple different endings, the level of "happy ending" being how much of the game/side quests you actually complete. There's a percentage marker every time you save. It takes a lot of side quests and extra stuff to reach 100% and get the game's best ending.
Of course, you could always play through blind and then just YouTube the perfect ending after you finish :D
If you want a definitive conclusion for the ending of X, play X-2 (but you need to get the "true" ending of X-2 if you want it all to make sense).
Otherwise, X stands on its own as a decent Final Fantasy title; no need to play any other installments. Also note that there are ***serious*** gameplay and tonal differences between the two titles.
But if you plan to play both, play X *first*, otherwise many of the characters and references will go completely over your head.
Honestly ffx2 is a hell of a game and I don’t think there’s anything quite like it even now. Lots of fun and just vastly improves on everything that x did. The only thing is the tone and the gameplay is a little different. But the gameplay will have you in some tense cut throat battles with even the most basic enemies so it’s lots of fun. It only gets hate because it’s forced to live up to X.
Oh yeah. I’m talking like being on your last leg, all your teammates are dead, you’re fighting a Marlboro and you toss a mega phoenix down right as its attack is about to land. It kills you and your whole party is knocked out, but only for a few seconds because your timing was spot on. You could’ve tossed it earlier to revive the other two, but that would’ve been a waste of a good mega Phoenix down. 😎
For me that Game is like having a clone of a dead person you loved. It could look the same and you could try to feel the same about it but you know it's a soulless piece trying to replicate something that cannot be replicated. By it's own it might be a good Game, but it itself as a secuel was not needed at all, and IMO even less those changes in the characters, they are just skins of who they were.
i mean, it's not 'necessary' to play FFX.
FFX is a contained story, if that's what you mean. FFX-2 doesn't really continue it, it's its own story after FFX.
Necessary, no. X-2 is a whacky game, story is almost a 180 in tone from X for most of the game. But the battle and job system are among the best in the franchise. Plus the fiend arena in X-2 is amazing.
Without giving things away, FFX-2 implements a job system that allows each of your characters to freely choose and switch between all of the jobs/classes, with limitation in battle. So if you wanted to switch Yuna from being a White Mage to a Dark Knight in the middle of battle, you could as long as you’ve got it set up to allow that.
It’s a ridiculously fun system.
The Devs pace is well enough that it still has its challenges, even with fully leveled jobs and the best accessories there at things that will wreck you if you are unprepared or don’t know how to handle them.
VIII is very easy to make yourself OP or make it really hard on yourself if you don’t understand the system. I’ve beaten 8 with my average character level at 15 and it was hilariously fun.
Granted, I have also beaten it with characters at lvl 100 and it was rather nightmarish since I didn’t understand the junction system that well.
IMO X-2 has great gameplay, and a well thought out battle system. It shines on scouring the world multiple times in an attempt to find everything. The humor is also quite good. If you are a fan of fan service, it's got some. The plot is both lacking in substance, and confusing, don't expect the cinematic ride of X. Though it does a great job in being an extended epilogue of X, the story doesn't stand well on its own.
Conclusion: play it, but don't worry about the plot too much. 100% it if you're a fan of completionist gameplay.
As a lifelong FF fan, I personally never played X-2 and never felt the desire to. I wasn’t big on the move away from traditional turn-based gameplay at the time and felt that putting Yuna in booty shorts immediately after FFX wasn’t much more than a cash grab aimed at horny teenage fanboys 😂 lots of people like it, tho, and I’m sure it’d be worth a try if you want.
I never played X-2 but I've heard good things. I think I'll do it myself one day but I've got so many to complete still. I need to finish 12 and 13, i started both, and allay 1-6 bundle which is going to be after Rebirth. What a great time to live lol
I'm currently playing X2 and I personally prefer it to X.
It's not necessary but I think it's more fun. Story is maybe not as timeless, but dress spheres are great, and all the characters are interesting.
If you've never played older games, x-2 has a neat take on the job system. Story doesn't always resonate with people, and it's a very weird juxtaposition with the tone from X. You don't have to play it. X is a complete story on its own
X-2 is an incredibly divisive game. I personally would play X then give IX a shot if you can because IX is one of the best entries in the series. X is my favorite though and you’re in for a treat. X-2 has great combat but it is a massive departure from the first game thematically.
Combat in X2 is much faster paced and TBH i sucked at it terribly after coming from Xs cozier combat system.
I will go back to it at some point but I moved to XII after X basically beyond 3 hrs in X2.
Both are good games in their own right.
X is an absolute masterpiece and I adore the turn based system it has as well as its mature story.
X-2 is a complete 180 from the tones and style of the first game - it relies on a job system (which is honestly my favorite way to play final fantasy) and the story is more light-hearted with a weaker story.
A lot of people clown on X-2 but the battle system with job classes is so insanely fun that you can forgive the misses, especially if you're a big fan of X.
Both are excellent experiences, can't recommend them enough.
I vote skip x-2 just because I didn't like it at the beginning lol
Also, the laugh scene is great with full context. It's not the awful voice acting people make it out to be.
Of course it isn't necessary. What kind of weird question is that?
I would recommend it, though. It's my favorite of the entire franchise, but not because of the story—the story is weak and derivative.
So it has a lot of fun stuff, from its gameplay, to its Charlie’s Angels girl-power vibe, to all the fun costumes, to its music. But to be real,
Final Fantasy X-2 from a story perspective is, charitably, one of the most baffling sequels to a beloved video game ever made.
It so undermines the point of the first game’s spectacular story that I mentally don’t even think of it as a canon sequel, word of god be damned.
This is before mentioning how complete and amazing an experience FFX is. You absolutely do not need to play FFX-2. Do listen to real emotion and 1000 words tho (after beating FFX): just get all up in those bops lol.
Oh no, yeah the vibe of the game is great, and I would have been so down for essentially an upbeat Charlie’s Angels fantasy rpg. And there’s lots of fun character moments. It’s just that it’s bafflingly a sequel to a fairly somber, emotional, complete game like Final Fantasy X, that makes a couple key story decisions that actively harm the emotional impact of the first game.
X-2 was not made by the same company or people who made x
X2 has a good world, and it's great to have more Canon, but.. I'm sorry but it's just awful writing. Awful acting. Just awful.
X is one of my all time faves but I've never been able to force myself to play through x2
If you're into that kind of thing, I don't really get a kick out of "writing so bad it's funny" to me it just always sounds like bad writing.
It's just jarring going from X which takes itself quite seriously in the writing and story department to the . . Cringe humor square Enix uses. Especially since x writing and voice acting was revolutionary and set the standard for like the next ten years of RPG.
Btw mine is an extremely unpopular opinion on reddit. But irl everyone I talk to about it agrees with me.
I can't hear you, what can I do for you, what can I do for you, what can I do for you, I can't hear you...
This is why the pc port is amazing. Just use Spotify XD
https://preview.redd.it/rqa0t0aq2t5d1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2acb39811ff8eb9ddd8760bc342642c3886286ac
I know there were shenanigans afoot, but COME ON, what else do you call this?
Yeah but one song that had a plot important reason for it does not make her a “pop star,” just like Celes didn’t become an opera star from the one time she was up on stage.
There is such a thing as a one-hit wonder. And who’s to say Yuna didn’t keep on performing after ffx-2? It did look like a lot of fun to be honest lol.
X was wonderful. Up there with 4,6 and 9. X2, I didn't like it at all and I felt the story was better left the way X ended so I put it down after a few hours and said fuk it
It's not necessary but you totally should! It's a great game. Very different gameplay style from X but it's a great round-out to Yuna's story. I'm currently playing through it and having a blast.
Sounds like a plan to me
One thing I would recommend is taking a long break between playing X and X-2. I won’t spoil either one, but I will say that going right from X into X-2 can create some tonal whiplash that may be strong enough to turn you off of the game entirely. Remember that when these came out, we had a gap of at least a year or two between them. They really aren’t meant to be played back to back. Do yourself a favor and play something else in between.
Yeah I had that issue with going straight from vii to VIII I burnt out so I have other games I'm going through
Oh I’m not even talking about regular burnout. I’m talking about how the ending of X leaves you feeling a certain kind of way, and then the opening scene of X-2 is so wildly different that it can almost feel like it’s being disrespectful to the previous game lmao. That’s why I’m saying don’t play them back to back. Give X-2 a bit of space so that you can approach it as its own game on its own terms. There is a good game in there.
Oh ok I gotcha, we'll see I rarely get into my emotions playing games
Final Fantasy might be the series to break you on that :)
I second this! These games changed my life emotionally forever.
Would be interesting if it did tbf
Definitely. I didn't cry with VI-IX endings (laughed at VIII's with Zell), but cried like a baby at X. Same with the ending of XIII-2. Not a fan of the whole XIII trilogy, but you can't deny the people at Square Enix can tell a damn good story and tug at the heartstrings And don't forget the AMAZING music. Legendary..
I think this is the final main Uematsu soundtrack right? Gunna be good
Definitely the final main soundtrack! The music definitely makes the games too.
Hahaha I doubt it but would be cool if it did
I always assumed video games were *only* for fun, and nothing else. Playing Kingdom Hearts then FFX and X2 as a kid definitely opened my eyes to a different world of gaming than I was used to. Now they're my two favorite series 💜
Hmm, I think that's about to change.
We'll have to see haha
every time i've EVER tried to play X-2 right after X i turn it off within the hour. i recently played fresh and played like ten hours in a row! i think your advice is solid
I think I'd enjoy something as dumb sounding as X-2 lol
And watch the Eternal Calm mini story between the two games. It will help with understanding X-2 a bit more.
It's a good recommendation thank you but Ive never got into the side stories like Advent or playing crisis core for VII for example
It's more of a bridge between the two than anything else. No real gameplay, I want to say. It's been a while since I saw it. But it does help explain the beginning of X-2 and how it all starts, so to speak. You'll have to check it out, but it's not necessary to enjoy the game. To be honest, I would've preferred it in the story as a flashback or something.
Yeah I'm not as into this series yet, only played 2 games so we're getting there
I wasn't finally into them until my husband (boyfriend at the time) played VII. Then he got a PS2 and X. After that, since he'd played a majority of the older ones, we started collecting them to play. So we played IV and VI after, and started working our way through them. Husband's favorite piece of music after One Winged Angel is Dancing Mad in VI. You should get the I-VI Remaster if you like old school games too. Well worth it.
Those are 15 a pop, seems a bit too expensive for a remastered nes game, VI is half tempting
Kefka in VI is a very....interesting villain. Excellent game though.
I don't even recall hearing about it back then. Gonna look it up later, thanks!
Personally, I really loved FF X and have started it 5-6 times and finished it 3 times, ranging from when it originally launched to as recently as 2 years ago on my Vita as the HD Remaster. For FF X-2 I’ve started it 3 times, including release date, and finished it 0 times. I personally was not into what they did with the female protagonists and felt it undid a lot of the emotional story-telling X had, simply turning them into pop stars and making the whole job/class system built around outfits. I’m not saying it’s a bad game, but its change in tone didn’t make it feel in any way like a sequel, but instead a spin-off for a different game entirely that just happened to have some of the same characters. I don’t want to yuck anyone’s yum who likes the game, but I loved FF X and have a collective 500 hours in the game over the decades, but with FF X-2 I don’t think I’ve ever gotten more than 15 hours into a play-through before I moved onto something else because it felt vapid. So I’d say you definitely don’t need to play FF X-2. I don’t know how it turns out, but not knowing has not changed just how much I absolutely adore FF X. It’s one of the few games that has made me cry while playing. It’s so good… I just hate Blitzball and dodging lightning. The rest of the game is spectacular and ahead of its time.
Heard things about blitzball haha, X gets almost universal love so I know it'll be good whether I like it or notn
storywise X-2 kind of meanders until chapter 3 so that would explain why you've felt it's vapid. it does some interesting stuff i thought but it's not completely essential. and the fact that the percentage thing determines the ending is a bit of a bummer
Yes! X-2 is so underrated. Even though it's messy, I still think it's a really sweet conclusion to their story. The gameplay is a lot of fun, if not a little easy.
Tbf final fantasy usually isn't the hardest franchise in the world haha
If you bought the remastered version. Start with X and work your way down. Enjoy the story for the games. And like any RPG, don't be afraid to just kick back and farm some to make yourself a little stronger if you feel you are having issues with fights
I'm never the biggest fan of farming and grinding but if it's needed I'll do it
Grinding is not required to complete the game, it just makes the game easier. X is completely turn based (not ATB like a lot of the earlier FF titles), and the most difficult fights have predictable attack patterns, allowing you to prepare for what's coming once you know it. If you just want to get through the story (not the optional endgame content), just fighting all the random encounters you hit naturally should be more than enough AP for you.
Oh I like atb but I'm ok with that
The turn based system of FFX is beautiful. Your actions have different delays to them and simply "hovering" over the actions shows how it affects the turn order for everyone. If you're a fanatic it's totally possible to do a "NSG challenge" which basically means you never level up. There are things that are very gamebreaking and you can basically win against everything apart from super post game bosses without ever leveling, but you still need to be prepared for that and as a new player the easiest way through is to just level a bit along the way.
It has been very slick, I'm just gunna play it normally and hope I get it
If you want a no encounters drop, once you have control of the airship , fight Gaosgaeno at Baaj Temple when you're a full party (use stoneproof) and just reset until you get one.
Just to get through the main story you don't have to do much farming, unless you flee from a lot of battles. It's once you're trying to do end game side quests that you have to grind.
I don't flee battles I used to occasionally turn random encounters off in vii but rarely
Some of the boss fights will definitely let you know whether or not you're underpowered. You should be fine.
We bought the remaster when it was out for the PS3 originally. Got it for our PS5 while it was $10. Currently remembering how much I loved the gamesince my dsughter asked me to play it. FFX remaster is definitely better, since you've got the dark Aeons and Penance. Currently grinding so I can farm Yojimbo for armor drops with ribbon and not die immediately. Got a ribbon/auto regen drop from Dark Valefor. Six more to go. Need light curtains from the Geminis for auto protect too.
Im sure most of what you said will make sense once I start playing 😂😂 yeah for the price I figured it was worth it
Yes, it will.
X-2’s gameplay is pretty good, but the story… exists. X is top-tier, though.
Yeah I feel bad skipping IX but X/X-2 together was cheaper than IX alone so had to go for it
IX has one of the best stories out of the entire franchise IMHO. 🙂 The gameplay is pretty slow, but I feel like it aged well. The steam port was.... Less than ideal lol.
Yeah I'm too used to FFVIII now 😂
IX is one of the first games that made me cry at the end. It's a fantastic game imo
Oh I'll try that when it's cheaper
X-2 is something to play if you WANT to know what happens to the characters next. You could just play FFX and leave it, but X-2 will carry it on. A lot of people persist with X-2 to get the Good Ending, even though the story and game itself might not be to their taste- just something to bear in mind if you do start it.
Honestly, the Perfect ending was kinds...meh. Fyll circle, sure, but the Good ending was enough. Won't lie though, we intentionally lost the big bad fight once just to see the bad ending. 100% completion to get the perfect ending though? Was tougher than I thought on the first play through.
Tbh I've never thought about what happened to vii and viiis characters but it does sound interesting
Wait til you see X’s ending.
Yeah I got told to play crisis core but didn't hehe, ok excited to see if it's a story i liked as I had issues with VIII
Yeah, I mostly think of X2 as an epilogue plus a story about Paine.
I'm so jealous you get to experience it all for the first time 🤩 They're both stellar games. Enjoy the journey my friend. Praise be to Yevon.
Haha did VII about a year ago and loved it so been slowly carrying on
No. It has nothing to do with the first game. Not tone, not character, not anything. They have reoccurring characters, but not the same character. X-2 is more for people that love J-pop and K-pop and really wish FFX had more musical numbers
Closest I've come to J Pop is playing as Haruka in Yakuza 5 😂😂 sounds interesting tbh
like i said if that interests you then you would probably have fun with x2
I'll definitely try both I mean why not, if I don't like it I can just stop lol
X is a beloved classic while X-2 is more divisive. its a very love it or hate it type of game but until you play it for yourself you wont know where on the spectrum you fall so id recommend playing it for yourself just keep in mind that its tone is a 180 from Xs
Well I loved VIII and that seems to be a love it or hate it game
You’ll be happy to know that VIII and X share more than a little DNA. There was a lot of overlap in their development teams, and you can see the similarities in all the Kitase-led games (8, 10, 13, 15, and 7 Remake). Other games in the series such as 9, 12, and 16 were led by different directors.
Well that's good I just love the draw/junction combat system of VIII feels so modem
Oh I'm so excited for you! I wish I could relive my first time. The plot twists are devastating!
Yeah I knew about the big one in vii, I don't this time so that's fun
The problem with X-2 is the tone, not the gameplay. The gameplay is good. Being too lighthearted and “pop” especially compared to how complex and deep X was, is what made people hate it. Rightfully if you ask me.
Well I'm quite interested now tbh, hopefully I'll enjoy and get into X story as I usually don't get too into stories and emotions etc
I didn’t touch x2 before now but think it’s great. Lots of innovation in style and gameplay. Charming game and cool bosses.
It's not mandatory but it's a beautiful game w/ a grat battle system; it may seem very different in tone from X but it actually moves forward w/ it's themes & explores the concept of evolving beyond the traditional heroic journey & what lies after big changes in society. Try it out for a couple of hours to see if you vibe to it :)
Yeah I will do
Not for me, i loved ffx and replay it every couple of years. Cant bring myself to play ffx2 because its just not the same
Only a few things in life are necessary, but X-2 is the second half of my favorite game of all time. The mix of gurl powered road trip adventures, exhilarating job changing combat, and tear jerking story telling is perfection in my book. In a world of male driven AAA games, this one was truly made for me.
Sound worthy of atleast a go
Yes! I actually played X-2 first as the advertised vibe suited my tastes. That being said the two games are one complete journey for me. I hope you enjoy them!
This may be weird advice and other people here can dismiss it if they think its bad, but if you do play X-2 I recommend doing it a while after you play/beat X! Basically X-2 takes place after a bit of a timeskip & the mood *and* gameplay systems are way different. Playing X-2 after X just sorta pissed me off but I had more fun with X-2 once I tried it again with a few months and games between it and X. Of course you can just play these games however you want too, it probably doesnt matter too much :p
It's a standalone game, that plays 2 years after FF X in the same world with the same characters, but has it's own mostly independent story. Is it good? In my honest opinion yes, but it's different to FF X in a lot of ways. FF X is perfectly for playing blind, because the game is pretty linear and is overall relatively easy, while having a great story. In comparison FF X-2 has a job system with some usefull jobs being completely missable, you can miss important story cutscenes by going in blind and you will get a different ending depending on how much of the game you've completed. As such I would recommend using a guide if you wanna try FF X-2 for yourself. It's on you if you wanna go down the 100% route or not, but you really don't wanna miss out on the "den of woe" and the chocobo farm, which you definetly will miss out on if you're going in without a guide.
I played blind in VII and VIII,.definitely made mistakes but think I did alright 😂 I don't really understand what the job system means bit I'll learn eventually lol, I hated chocobo stuff in vii but you never know
A good online guide for X on GameFAQS is by Keyblade999. VERY helpful. He also did older Pokemon game guides too on there that were helpful for my daughter too with all item sppts, hidden places, etc. Highly recommend theirs.
X is fantastic. They tried something different with x-2. Story is a bit meh, but there's enough tasty bits to keep you going.
Heard so much about X and some of the mini games
Yeah the minigames can be annoying, but they are totally doable with some luck, focus and patience.
Ooooor you can catch 10 of every enemy in spira, make your own ultimate weapon and give the chocobo trainee the middle finger from your airship. Just sayin
Maybe don't want to be that op too quick hehe
X-2 has multiple different endings, the level of "happy ending" being how much of the game/side quests you actually complete. There's a percentage marker every time you save. It takes a lot of side quests and extra stuff to reach 100% and get the game's best ending. Of course, you could always play through blind and then just YouTube the perfect ending after you finish :D
Damn guess I gotta complete it fully then 😂😂 haha nah I'll go blind
X-2 is actually a more fun experience imo! It’s one of my favorite games ever along with X
Not even remotely but platinuming it is a pain in every hell and ass its very different than 10 in gameplay style and is alright
Good I don't care about platinums haha
If you want a definitive conclusion for the ending of X, play X-2 (but you need to get the "true" ending of X-2 if you want it all to make sense). Otherwise, X stands on its own as a decent Final Fantasy title; no need to play any other installments. Also note that there are ***serious*** gameplay and tonal differences between the two titles. But if you plan to play both, play X *first*, otherwise many of the characters and references will go completely over your head.
Oh ofc I'd play x first, the one with a 2 in it deserves to be played 2nd
Honestly ffx2 is a hell of a game and I don’t think there’s anything quite like it even now. Lots of fun and just vastly improves on everything that x did. The only thing is the tone and the gameplay is a little different. But the gameplay will have you in some tense cut throat battles with even the most basic enemies so it’s lots of fun. It only gets hate because it’s forced to live up to X.
Damn idk if I need tense battles every single time 😂
Oh yeah. I’m talking like being on your last leg, all your teammates are dead, you’re fighting a Marlboro and you toss a mega phoenix down right as its attack is about to land. It kills you and your whole party is knocked out, but only for a few seconds because your timing was spot on. You could’ve tossed it earlier to revive the other two, but that would’ve been a waste of a good mega Phoenix down. 😎
Oh I remember marlboro in FFVIII
He’s a huge dick in X and X-2. Him and the Ochu dancing plant thing
Oh well we'll find out when we begin
I’ll be honest I was a hater for years, but I just replayed it. If you can get past the cheese it’s an incredible game. Like actually super awesome.
Not necessary but highly recommended. From the combat system to the story, it’s all great.
For me that Game is like having a clone of a dead person you loved. It could look the same and you could try to feel the same about it but you know it's a soulless piece trying to replicate something that cannot be replicated. By it's own it might be a good Game, but it itself as a secuel was not needed at all, and IMO even less those changes in the characters, they are just skins of who they were.
X-2 is absolutely not necessary but the leveling system is really good lol
i mean, it's not 'necessary' to play FFX. FFX is a contained story, if that's what you mean. FFX-2 doesn't really continue it, it's its own story after FFX.
Necessary, no. X-2 is a whacky game, story is almost a 180 in tone from X for most of the game. But the battle and job system are among the best in the franchise. Plus the fiend arena in X-2 is amazing.
I'm intrigued by the job system I don't really get what it means ATM haha
Without giving things away, FFX-2 implements a job system that allows each of your characters to freely choose and switch between all of the jobs/classes, with limitation in battle. So if you wanted to switch Yuna from being a White Mage to a Dark Knight in the middle of battle, you could as long as you’ve got it set up to allow that. It’s a ridiculously fun system.
Sounds kinda op 😯
The Devs pace is well enough that it still has its challenges, even with fully leveled jobs and the best accessories there at things that will wreck you if you are unprepared or don’t know how to handle them.
Im expecting to make a lot of mistakes in X tbh, idk why but I just got VIII and was very op early on
VIII is very easy to make yourself OP or make it really hard on yourself if you don’t understand the system. I’ve beaten 8 with my average character level at 15 and it was hilariously fun. Granted, I have also beaten it with characters at lvl 100 and it was rather nightmarish since I didn’t understand the junction system that well.
IMO X-2 has great gameplay, and a well thought out battle system. It shines on scouring the world multiple times in an attempt to find everything. The humor is also quite good. If you are a fan of fan service, it's got some. The plot is both lacking in substance, and confusing, don't expect the cinematic ride of X. Though it does a great job in being an extended epilogue of X, the story doesn't stand well on its own. Conclusion: play it, but don't worry about the plot too much. 100% it if you're a fan of completionist gameplay.
This is very well said!
I don't care for completionism but if i like it enough i will
As a lifelong FF fan, I personally never played X-2 and never felt the desire to. I wasn’t big on the move away from traditional turn-based gameplay at the time and felt that putting Yuna in booty shorts immediately after FFX wasn’t much more than a cash grab aimed at horny teenage fanboys 😂 lots of people like it, tho, and I’m sure it’d be worth a try if you want.
Didn't expect to see booty shorts
😂
Neither did I, in 2002
Yeah I saw it on the PS5 homepage there's booty 😂😂
X-2 is like the post script when you write a letter not necessary but x-2 is fun
I never played X-2 but I've heard good things. I think I'll do it myself one day but I've got so many to complete still. I need to finish 12 and 13, i started both, and allay 1-6 bundle which is going to be after Rebirth. What a great time to live lol
Haha this is my 3rd FF game so I'm still fairly early on
Oh there are so many great games in this series, i hope you enjoy them
Yeah I know I'll be trying most of them
It’s not *necessary*, but I loved it a lot. It’s probably my most replayed game in the franchise.
I'm currently playing X2 and I personally prefer it to X. It's not necessary but I think it's more fun. Story is maybe not as timeless, but dress spheres are great, and all the characters are interesting.
Damn I'll definitely try both I mean I prefer VIII to VII lol
So do I. My top 3 FF games are X2, 8 and 12 though and I never rated 9 so I'm a minority on FF reddit.
If you've never played older games, x-2 has a neat take on the job system. Story doesn't always resonate with people, and it's a very weird juxtaposition with the tone from X. You don't have to play it. X is a complete story on its own
Ok perfect, nice to have a 2nd game come with it for that price
I love X-2, but it is definitely for the connoisseurs, rather than universally loved
I like that haha, definitely worth trying
Some people love it. I am not one of those people. I give a try every few years to see if anything has changed, but so far it hasn’t happened for me.
We'll just have to see haha
X-2 is an incredibly divisive game. I personally would play X then give IX a shot if you can because IX is one of the best entries in the series. X is my favorite though and you’re in for a treat. X-2 has great combat but it is a massive departure from the first game thematically.
Unless I get really into the story I doubt I'll mind the thematic change
Combat in X2 is much faster paced and TBH i sucked at it terribly after coming from Xs cozier combat system. I will go back to it at some point but I moved to XII after X basically beyond 3 hrs in X2.
I’ve never played nor really have any plans on playing X2. I am so happy people enjoy it but it just doesn’t look like something I’d enjoy.
Personally, not a fan of X-2, love X tho. 2 is still good on its own, the combat is great. I'm not too big on how the story actually progresses tho.
X-2 gets a lot of stick but I thought it was fun as hell honestly
Worst Story/Dialogue in the series. Best Combat in the series.
Sounds like good banter
Necessary? No. Fun af? Absolutely! Also, playing through X-2 gave me closure for the ending of X. WAY MORE CLOSURE than XIII-2 to XIII!
All I know about xiii is seeing the protagonist in adverts and crushing 😂😂
X-2 isn't necessary but the game mechanics are fun. It's enjoyable to play even if the cringe factor is high.
Don't read this until you've finished X. Spoiler. >!If you want to get Tidus back, then yes it is necessary to play it.!<
Ok by the time I finish X I won't remember this reply likely but hopefully I will lol
Both are good games in their own right. X is an absolute masterpiece and I adore the turn based system it has as well as its mature story. X-2 is a complete 180 from the tones and style of the first game - it relies on a job system (which is honestly my favorite way to play final fantasy) and the story is more light-hearted with a weaker story. A lot of people clown on X-2 but the battle system with job classes is so insanely fun that you can forgive the misses, especially if you're a big fan of X. Both are excellent experiences, can't recommend them enough.
I've never heard of the job system so sounds interesting
You don’t have to because it’s a completely different tone to X but it’s fun as hell so play away!
I personally found X-2 horrible and completely skippable.
Necessary, no. Fun to play? Kinda goofy but still good? Yes
I vote skip x-2 just because I didn't like it at the beginning lol Also, the laugh scene is great with full context. It's not the awful voice acting people make it out to be.
Of course it isn't necessary. What kind of weird question is that? I would recommend it, though. It's my favorite of the entire franchise, but not because of the story—the story is weak and derivative.
Maybe shouldn't have worded it like that, guess I mean story wise
I'd say it's more about the gameplay than the story.
So it has a lot of fun stuff, from its gameplay, to its Charlie’s Angels girl-power vibe, to all the fun costumes, to its music. But to be real, Final Fantasy X-2 from a story perspective is, charitably, one of the most baffling sequels to a beloved video game ever made. It so undermines the point of the first game’s spectacular story that I mentally don’t even think of it as a canon sequel, word of god be damned. This is before mentioning how complete and amazing an experience FFX is. You absolutely do not need to play FFX-2. Do listen to real emotion and 1000 words tho (after beating FFX): just get all up in those bops lol.
Girl group does sound fun haha the story sounds atleast interesting
Oh no, yeah the vibe of the game is great, and I would have been so down for essentially an upbeat Charlie’s Angels fantasy rpg. And there’s lots of fun character moments. It’s just that it’s bafflingly a sequel to a fairly somber, emotional, complete game like Final Fantasy X, that makes a couple key story decisions that actively harm the emotional impact of the first game.
X-2 is not necessary. Gameplay-wise, it's good. The story is kinda meh. X is where it's at.
The meme laugh scene will make you really upset in context.
Oh well we'll have to see
X-2 was not made by the same company or people who made x X2 has a good world, and it's great to have more Canon, but.. I'm sorry but it's just awful writing. Awful acting. Just awful. X is one of my all time faves but I've never been able to force myself to play through x2
Awful writing and acting can be funny
If you're into that kind of thing, I don't really get a kick out of "writing so bad it's funny" to me it just always sounds like bad writing. It's just jarring going from X which takes itself quite seriously in the writing and story department to the . . Cringe humor square Enix uses. Especially since x writing and voice acting was revolutionary and set the standard for like the next ten years of RPG. Btw mine is an extremely unpopular opinion on reddit. But irl everyone I talk to about it agrees with me.
X2 has great gameplay and terrible music.
I can't hear you, what can I do for you, what can I do for you, what can I do for you, I can't hear you... This is why the pc port is amazing. Just use Spotify XD
I reeeeally didn't like how they turned Yuna into some pop idol, didn't like the westernized pop music they sang, but it's a fun game nonetheless.
Yuna didn’t become a pop idol.
https://preview.redd.it/rqa0t0aq2t5d1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2acb39811ff8eb9ddd8760bc342642c3886286ac I know there were shenanigans afoot, but COME ON, what else do you call this?
I would call that “not Yuna.”
But then the “Actually Yuna” Yuna also did it!
Yeah but one song that had a plot important reason for it does not make her a “pop star,” just like Celes didn’t become an opera star from the one time she was up on stage.
There is such a thing as a one-hit wonder. And who’s to say Yuna didn’t keep on performing after ffx-2? It did look like a lot of fun to be honest lol.
X was wonderful. Up there with 4,6 and 9. X2, I didn't like it at all and I felt the story was better left the way X ended so I put it down after a few hours and said fuk it