The characters are often annoying and make dumb decisions because the script says so.
I don’t expect games to be Shakesphere but considering Square took a real risk prioritizing the story over the gameplay this is a huge fault of the game and often makes it difficult to get through. The story is all over the place and often fails to be comprehensible. The main problems with this game that seriously drag it down are it’s story, characters, English voice acting, character design, level design, skill tree, mini gamesĪnd the combat for the first 60% of the game. The combat is great toward the end when the enemies go beyond the typical Pokemon rock, paper scissors combat and you’re required to make strategic decisions. The themes are often quite solid despite often not being presented well. The soundtrack, graphics, CGI cutscenes, most levels and enemy design are really quite good. It's a gorgeous game-no doubt about it-and the water motifs definitely help to convey some of the game's central themes: the freedom, the pressure, the destruction, the calm, the sense of breathlessness (even though the characters seem to have gills). I think what I'll remember most fondly is the imagery. Because of all this, it just ends up feeling kind of gimmicky. The expert grid gives the player greater freedom to expand, but the breadth and complexity of the grid means it really is only suitable for experienced players. Instead of a typical "level-up" that instantly boosts a handful of stats, you have to manually slot each boost one by one. With the standard grid you use in a casual playthrough, the game doesn't want the player to accidentally create unwinnable situations by taking characters down sub-optimal grid paths-but what this means is that you're largely railroaded down a single path with a few branches here and there. It's a great concept and it gives you an impressive degree of control over party members' growth, but it is something of a double-edged sword. The sphere grid is a very unique way to reimagine traditional RPG level-ups. Still, even with all my gripes, I did find the majority of the bosses to be fun puzzles. It's hard to stay invested when almost every new area you visit uses the exact same random encounter pattern of "flying enemy, agile wolf-like enemy, and shielded armadillo-like enemy." They just swap the color palettes. Part of me does have to wonder what a masterpiece this could have been if there was a bit less emphasis on the overly elaborate blitzball minigame and more emphasis on making the progression feel exciting and rewarding.
And don't even get me started on the lootable chests during battles-there was a whole tutorial about them and then they never appeared again. However, it seems like the developers either ran out of ideas or budget to implement this mechanic, because eventually the trigger commands are reduced to quick chats with the boss that do little more than give you a small stat boost. A few fights hint at a really cool system for utilizing the environment during combat, such as flanking an enemy in a circular room or forcing a monster off a cliff before it forces you off the opposite cliff. There's also the matter of the underutilized "trigger actions" in battle. It's hard to feel threatened by them when you give them a thorough drubbing every time they pop up. Occasionally the villains will pop up to say a few smarmy things and then fight you, but they're incompetent antagonists with an incomprehensible plan. It's so strictly linear that the world tends to feel like it's not entirely put together. My issue with the midgame is that the plot doesn't really go anywhere, so it sort of leaves the impression that you're in the back seat of a long, long road trip. The father-son relationship also ends on a meaningful note, but it did feel a little underdeveloped. Despite the memes, it's actually a pretty touching story overall: most of the characters feel well-rounded and the central dynamic between Tidus and Yuna feels genuine. The game starts super strong, flags in the midgame, and somehow sticks the landing at the end.