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Final Fantasy X-2 breaks many Final Fantasy traditions, these include the Victory Fanfare - the overall music in general, and the fact that this is the only direct sequel in the entire franchise. But with these broken traditions, does it still provide a good Final Fantasy experience? In short, the answer is yes. The game picks up two years after Final Fantasy X left off, Yuna, Rikku and some new friends form the sphere hunting group called the Gullwings. Now in terms of story, you will not enjoy this as much if you didn't beat Final Fantasy X. In fact, I do not recommend this to anyone who hasn't beat Final Fantasy X because a lot of the story talks about things that happened before. If you do not know what they are talking about, you'll be very confused. The gameplay is no longer the turn based system we got in FFX, it goes back to the active time battle system, however it seems a little more disorganized with turns being taken all the time, regardless if someone else is going. In some boss battles, this system can be cheap and flawed and may ruin the game for some. Dress spheres are the jobs and there are many to choose from. You can place each of them on the Garment Grid and in one battle, when you change to each dress sphere on your grid, you will come across a Special Dress Sphere, it is pretty much a limit break. There are three parts to them, meaning that while in this state, each part of you will be able to have its own turn. Each part has its own advantages. The problem with the jobs system is that it encourages that you use all the jobs with all the characters, so that each character can learn the abilities that come with each job. However, I always find myself using just one job. There are items that can give you abilities, guard against a specific attack, or eliminate all enemy encounters. The graphics are nothing special, average for PS2. For the returning characters, beside Yuna and Rikku, the same graphics that were used for FFX have been brought back for them. The enemies still look great, but some of them were taken from FFX as well. All of the voice actors return to their roles. However, as I states before, all of the music has been changed from FFX. Most of it doesn't even fit in with the rest of the series. I personally, never cared that much about the changed music, but long time fans probably will not be satisfied with it. Final Fantasy X-2 has some replay value, a new game plus feature has been added. This means that you keep all your stuff from your last play through, but you put down to level one. There are also side quests and secret missions you can do, however you will want to do as much as you can within each of the game's five chapters. If you miss a mission and advance to the next chapter, you will never be allowed to go back and do it. Also, the Ultima Weapon has been taken out. In fact, you can not buy any weapons in the game, only items. Final Fantasy X-2 is a good game, but does not come close to surpassing Final Fantasy X. And if you have not beaten FFX, do not buy this. There is a summery of the events of FFX in the manual, but it is better if you play through FFX first. The gameplay has been completely changed from FFX with a new battle system and jobs. The graphics and sound are average and it has a little replay value. It is a good game, but it is not for everyone.-Brandon

BSG Breakdown

Gameplay - 9, Active Time Battle Returns, but it is slightly flawed. Jobs makes a return
Story - 8.9, Continues the story from Final Fantasy X, it's good but slightly lacking
Replay Value - 8, Finish missions, New Game Plus
Overall Score - 8.5

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