It was my passionate, despondent, and crying-after-sex affair with Final Fantasy X that lead me to further entanglements in the RPG, and more specifically JRPG world. Never since have I encountered such a lover. Ahhhh, she was complex, gorgeous, relaxing, and the vision of the elegant romance of her bodice burned deep into my mind has still not worn off. Yet no other could fulfill like she could. That's how she keeps me coming back for more after almost eight years. (It's ok, I won't do the entire piece like this) Like all Final Fantasies since the first, FFX is both a continuation in the tradition of and a departure from past installments in the series. It's CTB (conditional turn-based battle) system is similar to the ATB system seen in many FF's, but it bears most resemblance to the (some would say archaic) traditional gameplay found very first installments of the series. The only adjustment to this was the ability to swap characters in and out during battle. I loved this, because it allowed for so much more strategic thought and allowed you to get to know and make the most out of all of the playable characters. In other words, the CTB system forced the player to keep all of the characters in mind and not forget half of them during combat. In addition to being more relaxing, the CTB system made the player <i>feel</i> like they were the arbiter of the game and story, and not a victim of time. Somehow the fact that the game only progesses when you do creates a more intense symbiosis of game player and game. YOU are responsible for the continuation of the game, and are not compelled by passage of time within the game. I loved this, and to this day I still appreciate wait-style gameplay in RPGs. It emphasizes strategy in the vein of chess, not the knee-jerk action which has recently infected RPGs and is a bastardization of their true nature. <br /> <br /><img src="http://www.lithiumstate.nl/images/RogueGalaxy/logo.gif" border="0" /> <br />You call <i>this</i> an RPG?! <br /> <br />I also loved the sphere-grid. Instead of auto-leveling characteristics, the player got to actively participate in the evolution of their characters through a visible course, connecting them with the playable characters and making the entire game feel like more of a bona fide journey. <br /> <br />The Aeons were one of the most beautiful and felicitous character and story integrations into gameplay I've ever seen. And their implementation in FFX is still my favorite use of summons to this day. The best narrative-based games are those that integrate gameplay into the narrative. We've seen this with ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, Okami, etc. This effect was done to near perfection with the Aeons in FFX. Because the player could control the Aeon's, they were no longer the distant, indiscernable and uncontrollable characters they were before. They had a life, character, and purpose both inside and outside of gameplay. All said, their implementation in this way created a much closer link to the summons, and by extension, a much closer connection to the story, of which the Aeon's play a central part. <br /> <br />The most functionally beautiful aspect of the story as combined with the gameplay is the way that the summons form an essential crux of the story and prove crucial in gameplay, especially boss battles. Eventually, it is made known that the summons are intrinsically linked with the suffering of Spira and Sin. And the ultimate tragedy of the story is that in order to undo Sin and the suffering of Spira, the majestic and honorable summons, the life-force of Tidus, and the love of Yuna, must disappear. <br /> <br />As this was the first FF I had played, I did not know other player's woe at the loss of the world-map, but even after I played FFVII, FFVIII, and FFIX, I didn't miss the world-map and actually preferred not having it, as it seemed to only take away from the focus of the environments and the path of the story. <br /> <br />Aesthetically, FFX is truly awesome having left both my mouth agape and my soul awed. Of course the graphics were amazing for the time and, despite coming out soon after the release of the PS2, still has some of the best graphics on the system. Also, the environments were extremely varied and ingenuous. I still think the music is the best that Nobuo Uematsu has composed, probably because he had the input of two other fellow composers Masashi Hamazu and Junya Nakano. The music is so emblematic of the situations and environments and story, and some of the music is just heartbreakingly beautful. Even now, I still hum it from time to time when I'm in a melancholy mood. And it has metal, <i>metal</i>! *puts up horns* <br /> <br />Although the in-game engine cut-scene animations are a little rough, I still to this day enjoy them immensely. It doesn't purport to be realistic or of an impeccable quality, but this is what's so great about it. It has the meta quality of slyly overdone indicative acting theorized most notably by Bertolt Brecht. Of course the FMVs are far more realistic, but the in-game cutscenes still carry the campy artistry of <a href="http://www.machinima.org/" target="_blank">Machinima</a>. The same can be said of the voice acting which was so criticized in the game. The actors are acting in a way that is emblematic of the characters, story and the ideas and emotions they are aiming to express. It is not washed down in order to sound more realisitic. If you really wanted realism, why are you playing a fantasy game with the name <i>fantasy</i> in it? Of course it's going to be a little weird, it should be. Actually Tidus' inital whininess <i>is</i> realistic if you consider his nature as a character and his growth throughout the story. So, the character design, modeling and acting in FFX was bold and unrestrained by common notions of quality or dull realism, which is the true path to creating something unique and interesting.Final Fantasy X succeeded in making me feel like I was both inside the game and story participating and outside of it watching and thinking about it. This is the most extraordinary quality of video games, that they allow you to actually watch your, and by extension the protagonist's, actions as you carry them out. This is truly thought-provoking and I felt that FFX succeeded in the involvement of the player in this liminal space in a wonderful way. This is really what turned me on to video games, that they could involve me in such a complex way, I was no longer simply the reader of a story full of characters. But, in a sense, I became a character participating in the story, or at least, that's how it felt.
Final Fantasy X was my virginal experience with RPGs, but what a first experience. I'm glad I started with a benchmark series in the genre, but nothing has affected me as deeply or as lastingly as the art, music, story, characters, and integrated gameplay in FFX. This was the game that truly opened me up to the possibilities of RPG's as an almost completely inclusive art-form, integrating all of the things I have just mentioned. It opened up my eyes to genre formed of entire distinct universes that I could lose myself in. I learned it as a genre that was like experiencing a giant tapestry of paintings, film, symphony, and game with the potential depth and length of a novel. Amazing.