Final Fantasy X-2 (PS2)

It establishes itself quickly as light-hearted, yet also throws you quickly into the thick of battle, and the unitiated may be taken aback by the speedy nature of the turn-based battles. This is a tremendous change for the series, though: the clunky, pause-ridden battles which have typified FF games thusfar is emphatically thrown out of the window, and replaced with something much more condusive to real action.

Side-quests are a large feature of this game, and it is pleasing to discover that if you should ever bore of the main story, you can take day-trips to other areas and indulge yourself in a mini game or two. I once visited Luca, intending only to level up a few times before I continued, but was drawn into a beuatifully detailed reconstruction of some of Yuna's backstory: a most pleasing diversion.

Production values in this game are consistently high, and the amount of speech, especially in battles, is hugely impressive. The characters are thus fleshed out fantastically, and the player is drawn into the experience with great intensity.

The one drawback is that this is still Final Fantasy: seemingly a curious criticism. You still go from A to B and battle a boss before you get the item you want. You still have to level up and get money to beat these bosses, and you still have to use trial and error on too many occassions.
The saving grace of FFX-2 is the inventive nature of the in-game experience, and the diverse society which makes up Spira.

Rikku, Yuna and Paine do succeed in making this a successful sequel to FFX, and hopefully Square-Enix can learn from what they've done here to make FFXII a fantastic experience.

So from the outset, the game seems light & fluffy, as opposed to the rather sombre opening to FFX (come on, it starts with Yuna - pop star!), and you will think there's something dodgy about a game that is, in essence, playing dress-up with some CGI dolls.

OK, that's what you get from looking at pictures on the 'net. Now, play the game for a while, and this isn't an issue. It's similar to switching Lulu for Auron on FFX, but with better graphics. Yes, it's a tad annoying when you get the animation for the 700th time, just as you're getting massacrered by a boss and need a White Mage ASAP, admittedly, but it's still miles away from the dogy junctioning system of FFVIII.

Naturally, the world looks as stunning (if not more so) than before, although I did miss some of the music they used, such as Besaid and Gagazet, as it has all been overhauled. However, there is a pleasant familiarity to proceedings as you run through Luca or Guadosalam, while you have new areas like Bevelle and the updated Kilika to get used to, so contempt is kept at bay. Meanwhile, the ability to jump and climb in areas also adds an edge to proceedings, as you search for chests and so forth.

And now there's the big change: the structure of the story. Rather than an elongated story from start to finish, it is broken up into Missions. Not only this, but there are more than the ones pinpointed at the mission screen. You have to explore every place to get bonus missions to receive new Garment Grids, Dress Spheres, and other goodies that help your progress. And since the story is broken into "chapters", you can't leave them and come back - so you may need a guide of some description in order to achieve the elusive 100% completion (yes, that's on offer).

Also, along with the costumes, combat has been changed. You can learn abilities during fights, rather than waiting for their conclusion when you needed 1 AP, and the combat is much faster than before, to the extent you can get combos when all three characters attack one enemy at the same time. However, there costumes have reverted back to the times of FFV - Mages can't use physical attacks, for example - Warriors, Gunners and Thieves can. So remember this if you're playing, and setting up a grid.

So, with a more complex structure and more satisfying combat than ever, why isn't this a fiv star game? Honestly, I can't say - but it doesn't feel like a Five Star Final Fantasy that parts VII and X were, yet at the same times isn't as half-baked as VIII was. Perhaps I'm going for a review too early, considering all that's on offer here, or maybe it's just spite that I can't use Wakka, Auron or Lulu again. And, yes, many characters from part X do appear, alongside new characters. In many ways, FFX-2 is like an old friend with a new look - you may recognise them, but won't be too sure at first glance.