[Review] Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster

While Final Fantasy X is clearly the highlight of this collection, it’s not the only game you get in the bundle. Also included is its direct sequel, appropriately titled Final Fantasy X-2, and to call it a tonal shift from the original would be an understatement. Where Final Fantasy X opens with a somber look at a post-apocalyptic landscape, Final Fantasy X-2 sequel starts out with a bubbly J-pop concert and dance routine. This emotional 180 permeates throughout the entire game, especially in the story. Final Fantasy X-2 catches up with Yuna and follows her adventures about two years after the events of the first game. So much has changed in this short amount of time: gone is her serious demeanor and gravely religious devotion, and in their place she has become a free-spirited adventurer roaming Spira in search of treasure, fashion, and adventure with her friends Rikku and Paine (collectively dubbed “YRP”). By its very nature, it’s a story that doesn’t hit the same emotional highs of its predecessor. However, when judging it in its own right, it provides a refreshingly lighthearted take on the world of Final Fantasy X, full of likable characters and charming dialogue.

Gameplay-wise, Final Fantasy X-2 continues to diverge from its forerunner. Whereas the original game had a straight turn-based system, Final Fantasy X-2 returns to the tried-and-true active time battle mechanics of previous Final Fantasies. Although battles are still divided into turns, Final Fantasy X-2 provides a blisteringly quick battle system. Before a party member is able to execute an action, you’ll have to wait for their attack meter to fill up, and once it’s full, then you can select your action. Meters fill up in real time for all your party members simultaneously, so that even though battles are divided up into turns, they all feel lively, vibrant, and action-packed. Combat can get quite chaotic at times, to the point where it’s difficult to keep track of who’s attacking who, but for the most part, Final Fantasy X-2’s combat excels where many other RPGs have failed: it provides a snappy, fun, and fast take on turn-based battles.

The differences don’t stop there. Final Fantasy X-2 maintains the original game’s linearity (you’ll often revisit many of the same locations from the first game) but adds an entirely new dimension to exploration through the new abilities of jumping and climbing. You can now climb certain surfaces and jump across select chasms, making environments that much more versatile and dynamic. Unfortunately, while these new mechanics do make exploration more interesting, they also add new frustrations since the fixed camera and dated environmental visuals often make it difficult to tell which environments can or can’t be climbed.

One last mechanic that further exemplifies the split between the two games is how Final Fantasy X-2 handles progression. It returns to the traditional level-up system and foregoes the Sphere Grid in favor of something more suitably stylish: the dressphere system. Each character can freely change into different dresses, which not only affect their appearance, but their abilities as well. Dresses basically function the same way that classes do in previous Final Fantasy games, with the exception that you can switch between them at any point, even in the midst of battle. While it’s a bit of a disappointment to lose the deep strategy and player control that the sphere grid lent to character progression in the previous title, the dresspheres help add to the fast pace and easygoing tone of the sequel as a whole. Final Fantasy X-2 never really reaches the same heights as its predecessor in any respect, but it’s still a nice bonus in the collection and a worthwhile game in its own right.

In terms of their presentation, both games still bear heavy evidence of their origins on the PS2, with plenty of stiff character animations and blocky environments over their prerendered backgrounds. The HD coat of paint provided in this remaster does do a good job smoothing out some of these rough edges, polishing up character models and making many of the colors really pop. Everything looks sharp on Switch between both the TV and handheld screens, with no noticeable visual downgrades from its previous releases. A handful of quality of life improvements have also been made, such as the ability to heal the whole party using the minimum quantities of items or magic and the option to speed up some battle animations. Strangely, these improvements seem to only be accessible in handheld mode, so if you’re playing on the TV then you may be out of luck. Likewise, a few of the greatest improvements from the PC version, like the ability to fast-forward or turn off random encounters entirely, still haven’t made it over to the console versions, which is puzzling and disappointing to say the least. Still, as it is now, the Switch version of these classics still holds up just as well as the previous versions, even with those few bizarre caveats.

Lastly, you can’t talk about a Final Fantasy game without mentioning the soundtrack. Final Fantasy X’s music was primarily written by the legendary Nobuo Uematsu, who broke series tradition with this tenth installment by enlisting a team of other composers to help him write the rest of the OST. This group worked together fantastically to create an absolutely unforgettable soundtrack for the game, one that highlights all its emotion and excitement. From the poignant opening notes of “To Zanarkand” to the blasting horns of the main battle theme all the way to the emotional impact of “A Fleeting Dream,” Final Fantasy X’s music is an absolute standout, even in a series known for its musical excellence. On the other hand, Uematsu did not return to compose for the sequel, and unfortunately, that shows. Final Fantasy X-2’s music is definitely serviceable, but in no way is it as memorable as its predecessor. It’s packed with poppy and jazzy tunes to match with the game’s easygoing vibes, but it rarely provides any truly standout pieces. With this remaster, many of the original tracks have been fully remade with modern instruments and new arrangements. Most of these new versions really hit the mark, providing an update that brings the music up to modern standards with a new lease on life while remaining respectful of the original tracks. Not all the remixes fare so well with some truly bizarre rearrangements, but at least you can switch between the new music and the original versions at any time in the menu options.

So many years after they defined a generation, Final Fantasy X and its sequel still hold up as incredible RPGs on Switch. They’re an electrifying mixture of fast-paced combat, deep player-driven strategy, and beautifully presented world building and storytelling. This remaster does an admirable job polishing up these already-great games for HD consoles, even though there’s a few missing quality of life improvements that would have helped improve the games further. Whether you’re one of the Final Fantasy faithful returning to experience these masterpieces on an HD handheld or you’re diving into the fantastical world of Spira for the very first time, this collection gets a hearty recommendation.

Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster review copy provided by Square Enix for the purposes of this review.