"Listen to my story. This may be our last chance."

Final Fantasy X is quite possibly my favorite game ever. Nothing beats the feeling of completing this game for the first time. No other game has even come close to invoking emotions in me like FFX did. FFX-2 continues the story giving fans more of the world of Spira and the wonderful characters Squenix created. Let me explain to you why FFX might be the best JRPG ever made and why the HD Collection is a must have for new players and fans of the series.

DISCLAIMER:
I played both of these games upon release on the PS2. I have hundreds of hours in each game and have comlpeted both games 100%.

Story:
FFX - The story of FFX is not overly complicated like some JRPGs. This allows for the real focus of the game to shine: The characters. Squenix made the great choice of creating characters the player actually likes and cares about and letting the story develop through them. This was the first game FF game to feature Voice Acting and although it can be cringey at times (HAHAHAHA), it really helps the characters come to life. This game is a textbook example of how to write a character driven story and (imo) is the best of ANY FF game.
FFX-2 - X-2 is a continuation of the FFX story, 2 years after the conclusion of FFX. At it's best, the story is your generic "Defeat the bad guy trying to destroy the world". At it's worst (100% perfect ending), it's a bad fan fiction that's a slap in the face to original story. For some reason, Squenix forgot what made the original game good: the characters.

Gameplay:
FFX - This is the classic, turn based battle system that you'd expect from a FF game. The Sphere Grid (Leveling system) provides enough variety to build build and progress your characters how you like. My only issues with the battle system is that in the post game there is not much variety on how you tackle the games superbosses.
FFX-2 - The battle system of FFX-2 might be the tightest Active Time Battle (ATB) system in ANY game, not just Final Fantasy. This game uses a job system disguised as a Dress-up game, but don't be fooled; this is the shining gem of an otherwise mediocre game. Tons of interesting jobs and equipment let you tackle enemies in many different ways allowing for the gameplay variety that was missing in FFX.

Graphics and Audio:
FFX - When FFX was released the full voice acting was impressive. Now, it's a bit dated and even cringey at times. The remaster of this game polishes the rough edges of the PS2 era graphics and gives it a nice new shine. The soundtrack is THE best out of any FF: Nobou Uematsu at his finest. The music in this game does an incredible job at invoking emotions in the player and adds to the atmosphere of Spira. The addition of 2x and 4x speed really help in the post game grind for those trying to 100%
FFX-2 - Graphically, this game is about the same as FFX. In fact, most of the assets are re used for this game. There are very few "new" areas in this game. You just go back and explore the same ares as the previous game, some with even more restricted access than before. The only "new" areas in this game are the dungeons. The music is also done by a new composer and, while it's not as good by a long shot, it's not bad. Definitely on the weaker side of the FF series. The 2x and 4x speed are back but unfortunately, due to the nature of the ATB system, I was never able to successfully utilize the 4x speed. On 4x speed, you physically cannot press the X button faster than the computer can, leaving you at a big disadvantage.

Completionist (100%):
FFX - This game is one of the more difficult games to 100% for a few reasons. The end game grind and completing every characters sphere grid is pretty tiresome, especially since the end game super bossess don't offer much variety in how to tackle them. The real reason this game is difficult to 100% is because of the mini games. The main mini game Blitzball is a love it or hate it type of game. Personally I think it is a fun and interesting take on modern football but I can see where some people might not like it. The lightening bolt dodging and chocobo race, however, are pretty resoundly hated by the community. 2 of the main characters ultimate weapons are tied to these mini games and you'll be pulling your hair out trying to complete them. Expect this game to take ~80 hours to complete 100%.
FFX-2 - This game is much easier to 100% than the original but it still has the typical grind that most rpgs have. The biggest step to overcome is completing the beastiary. Not only do you have to encounter every enemy, but you also need to defeat their "Oversoul"'d version as well. This is a more difficult version of the monster that can only be encountered after defeating X amount of the creature first. The mini games in this game are not nearly as bad as the Original. Blitzball is now a team management game and the few other mini games are not difficult to complete and decently fun to play! This game will take ~60-80 hours to 100%.

FFX-2 Last Mission:
Last mission is a tactics style dungeon crawler. This feels more like mini game and not a stand alone game. It's decently fun but not my cup of tea. You can cheese this game with the Dark Knight dressphere. If you decide to cheese it like I did, expect another 8-10 hours to complete.

Closing Thoughts:
Final Fantasy X is a phenomenal game. Truly a land mark game for the series and RPGs in general. The music and characters set this game apart from other Final Fantasy games. This is a great starting place for new players and a must play for fans of RPGs.

Final Fantasy X-2 is pretty bland when it comes to story as it doesn't even come close to the quality of the original. Still, this has what might be the tightest battle system of any Final Fantasy. After you complete X, you'll definitely want to dive back into the world of Spira. Just don't expect anything more than fan service as far as the story goes.

The Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster collection is a MUST BUY. FFX alone is worth the full price and the sequel and extras are just icing on the cake!

***************************************************

NOTE: In the 200+ hours I have spent in these games I did not once experience any crashing. During my play through, I was constantly tabbing in and out of the game and running numerous other applications and not once did it crash. The Steam version is a solid build of this game.

"Listen to my story. This may be our last chance." Final Fantasy X is quite possibly my favorite game ever. Nothing beats the feeling of completing this game for the first time. No other game has even come close to invoking emotions in me like FFX did. FFX-2 continues the story giving fans more of the world of Spira and the wonderful characters Squenix created. Let me explain to you why FFX might be the best JRPG ever made and why the HD Collection is a must have for new players and fans of the series. DISCLAIMER: I played both of these games upon release on the PS2. I have hundreds of hours in each game and have comlpeted both games 100%. Story: FFX - The story of FFX is not overly complicated like some JRPGs. This allows for the real focus of the game to shine: The characters. Squenix made the great choice of creating characters the player actually likes and cares about and letting the story develop through them. This was the first game FF game to feature Voice Acting and although it can be cringey at times (HAHAHAHA), it really helps the characters come to life. This game is a textbook example of how to write a character driven story and (imo) is the best of ANY FF game. FFX-2 - X-2 is a continuation of the FFX story, 2 years after the conclusion of FFX. At it's best, the story is your generic "Defeat the bad guy trying to destroy the world". At it's worst (100% perfect ending), it's a bad fan fiction that's a slap in the face to original story. For some reason, Squenix forgot what made the original game good: the characters. Gameplay: FFX - This is the classic, turn based battle system that you'd expect from a FF game. The Sphere Grid (Leveling system) provides enough variety to build build and progress your characters how you like. My only issues with the battle system is that in the post game there is not much variety on how you tackle the games superbosses. FFX-2 - The battle system of FFX-2 might be the tightest Active Time Battle (ATB) system in ANY game, not just Final Fantasy. This game uses a job system disguised as a Dress-up game, but don't be fooled; this is the shining gem of an otherwise mediocre game. Tons of interesting jobs and equipment let you tackle enemies in many different ways allowing for the gameplay variety that was missing in FFX. Graphics and Audio: FFX - When FFX was released the full voice acting was impressive. Now, it's a bit dated and even cringey at times. The remaster of this game polishes the rough edges of the PS2 era graphics and gives it a nice new shine. The soundtrack is THE best out of any FF: Nobou Uematsu at his finest. The music in this game does an incredible job at invoking emotions in the player and adds to the atmosphere of Spira. The addition of 2x and 4x speed really help in the post game grind for those trying to 100% FFX-2 - Graphically, this game is about the same as FFX. In fact, most of the assets are re used for this game. There are very few "new" areas in this game. You just go back and explore the same ares as the previous game, some with even more restricted access than before. The only "new" areas in this game are the dungeons. The music is also done by a new composer and, while it's not as good by a long shot, it's not bad. Definitely on the weaker side of the FF series. The 2x and 4x speed are back but unfortunately, due to the nature of the ATB system, I was never able to successfully utilize the 4x speed. On 4x speed, you physically cannot press the X button faster than the computer can, leaving you at a big disadvantage. Completionist (100%): FFX - This game is one of the more difficult games to 100% for a few reasons. The end game grind and completing every characters sphere grid is pretty tiresome, especially since the end game super bossess don't offer much variety in how to tackle them. The real reason this game is difficult to 100% is because of the mini games. The main mini game Blitzball is a love it or hate it type of game. Personally I think it is a fun and interesting take on modern football but I can see where some people might not like it. The lightening bolt dodging and chocobo race, however, are pretty resoundly hated by the community. 2 of the main characters ultimate weapons are tied to these mini games and you'll be pulling your hair out trying to complete them. Expect this game to take ~80 hours to complete 100%. FFX-2 - This game is much easier to 100% than the original but it still has the typical grind that most rpgs have. The biggest step to overcome is completing the beastiary. Not only do you have to encounter every enemy, but you also need to defeat their "Oversoul"'d version as well. This is a more difficult version of the monster that can only be encountered after defeating X amount of the creature first. The mini games in this game are not nearly as bad as the Original. Blitzball is now a team management game and the few other mini games are not difficult to complete and decently fun to play! This game will take ~60-80 hours to 100%. FFX-2 Last Mission: Last mission is a tactics style dungeon crawler. This feels more like mini game and not a stand alone game. It's decently fun but not my cup of tea. You can cheese this game with the Dark Knight dressphere. If you decide to cheese it like I did, expect another 8-10 hours to complete. Closing Thoughts: Final Fantasy X is a phenomenal game. Truly a land mark game for the series and RPGs in general. The music and characters set this game apart from other Final Fantasy games. This is a great starting place for new players and a must play for fans of RPGs. Final Fantasy X-2 is pretty bland when it comes to story as it doesn't even come close to the quality of the original. Still, this has what might be the tightest battle system of any Final Fantasy. After you complete X, you'll definitely want to dive back into the world of Spira. Just don't expect anything more than fan service as far as the story goes. The Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster collection is a MUST BUY. FFX alone is worth the full price and the sequel and extras are just icing on the cake! *************************************************** NOTE: In the 200+ hours I have spent in these games I did not once experience any crashing. During my play through, I was constantly tabbing in and out of the game and running numerous other applications and not once did it crash. The Steam version is a solid build of this game.