We finished our 2025 challenge in good time. Completing Final Fantasy VII Remake. Thus achieving the singular goal of the year, in completing a JRPG. In doing so, it’s unlocked an urge to tie-up some other Final Fantasy loose ends, and we’re now aiming to finish Final Fantasy X, too.
The initial aim to just finish this by the end of 2026. So a really long runway and a lot of time to get there.
Having said that, we’re already 10+ hours in and wanted to get some of our thoughts down as a apart of our review process. Also, it’s an opportunity to talk about or previous relationship with the game and how we’re coming into in in 2025.
Final Fantasy X
When Final Fantasy X came out in 2001 on the PlayStation 2, it was an instant buy. Coming off the back of Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX we were fully on the bandwagon (despite only ever finishing VII…).
This was the first PS2 Final Fantasy and it promised to be a significant change to the series. Think of all that extra console power!
Suffice it to say, we dived in and got so far and just dropped off. No rhyme or reason, and being over 20 years ago, there’s very little we can remember.
Going into it this time expectations are all over the place. Final Fantasy X is critically acclaimed, a lot of people say it’s the best in the series (before Squaresoft became Square Enix). Skeptical isn’t quite the right word, but if we dropped off it when we had all the time in the world to play games. How good could it actually be?
Let’s see.
Getting started
We’re over 10 hours in, have encountered Sin a few times and just tried to take him on with Machina, which is a big no-no.
Combat feels great. Traditional, but still modern with the overdrive system and the literal visible queue of who’s turn is next. Linear spaces and random encounters are all here too, and whilst we try to explore (and get regularly rewarded with chests), it’s not super-broad.
We’re learning about the present day, 1000 years after the game started and Tidus was taken-in by Sin. The catalyst for the destruction and re-building of civilisation and the implementation of religion over technology.
It’s deep, and dealing with religion and the impact on society isn’t exactly common in gaming, even 20 years later. Yet it’s nicely balanced with a varied cast. All voice-acted, too. No silent protagonists and just text boxes in Final Fantasy X, which has been a surprise.
The world of Spira
The entire aesthetic of Final Fantasy X is arguably one of the best in the entire series. In the HD remaster that we’re playing, it still looks dated, for sure. But the use of bright colour, sticking around beaches and oceans.
It currently feels bright, and whilst hopeless against the attacks of Sin. People feel positive and up-beat. The world feels lived-in and impacted by what’s going on around it.
Seeing the variants of of GFs/Summons (now Aeons) is great, too. Ifrit currently being the best variant across all games, in our humble opinion.
The music of the world is wonderful. Classic Nobuo Uematsu. Themes for every road, village, temple, battle etc. With the HD Remaster, you can choose the fully orchestrated variants, too, which is exceptional.
Blitzball is just an amazing-looking sport and we wish that we could be good at it and engage with it. It feels like a significant part of the identity of Final Fantasy X. But it’s not easy and likely not something we’ll focus on, during the playthrough.
So far, so good
10 hours in a Final Fantasy game isn’t exactly a massive chunk of the game. But it does feel like we’re approaching the game in a very different way to when we were teenagers. Understanding systems, kind of seeing behind the curtains as a lot of these things have vastly improved in the 20 years since release.
One stand-out feature is the almost excessive save points. One of the big concerns for a game as old as Final Fantasy X was very much that save opportunities would be few and far between. A bane in modern gaming, as we all like to play in short bursts.
Certainly with other priorities and responsibilities these days, having to site for hours and hour in between saves just isn’t viable, and it’s been a really pleasant surprise. It’s the biggest factor in helping us see it through, because losing hours of progress is the most demoralising and off-putting thing in gaming.
Onwards
Final Fantasy X has actually become our main focus at the moment. But as other games get new content and we try to cover as much as we can. There’s a real chance we drop off for a while.
For now, though, we’re taking the Tidus, Yuna, Wakka and crew, and we’re visiting those temples and preparing to take on Jecht/Sin!
It’s 2025 and Final Fantasy X is shaping-up to be an all-time classic that we’re sad we’ve missed.
To be clear, we’re reviewing the game as a whole. Not the elements of the HD remaster, but the game itself. The story, the combat, the world. So whilst playing and likely benefitting from the remaster and some quality of life stuff. That is ultimately superfluous to the main experience.
Let’s see if that carries on.