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Final Fantasy X

2004

When I have been unemployed or had some extended time off, a role-playing game is the perfect ticket.  It's hard to get into games that might take 50+ hours if you just want to play it for an hour or two per day; you really need to have the time to work through it, and "Final Fantasy X" was perfect for that period in San Francisco where I didn't have any work.

That doesn't mean that the game was perfect, mind you...I'm just saying that it was perfect given my situation.  I loved "Final Fantasy VII" much more than this game, mostly because the cut scenes in "FFX" are just painfully long sometimes.  Don't make the mistake of not saving immediately after some of these scenes are over; while well done, you only need to see most of them once, and after that, a five-minute scene that you can't skip through can be a real pain in the ass.  But, I love the addition of a real-time battle technique where you can shift party members in and out of each battle; if you are good, you will be able to level up all of your players quickly and have them progress through necessary progressions (especially in terms of your magic abilities) fairly quickly.

The story for this game is once again epic in scope.  It's rare for a game to possess real drama, but this game does it thanks to an incredible score and those cut scenes (great, but just too long!) and characters that all have interesting elements to follow from start to finish.  The side quests in "FFX" didn't interest me at all, especially the soccer-hybrid game that is played occasionally to open up additional weapons, items, etc.  But, for a one-time gaming experience, you'll get your money's worth with this game. 

Rating:  $40

 

Feedback?  Comments?  Hot doughnut tip?  justin@bellviewmovies.com

 

Bellview Rating System:

"Opening Weekend":  Buy this game right away, and don't ask me any questions as to why that's a good move.  A game experience that will almost guarantee repeated controller abuse, lots of ManScreaming and high resale value, you will assuredly play this bad boy for months on end. 

"$40":  Usually after games have been out for a while, they drop in price slightly, or can be bought for slightly cheaper in combination with other new games.  Usually, that's about $40.  You'll feel good getting the game for this price, since it isn't quite run-out-and-get-it-right-now good, but it has enough game in the box for a few weeks' worth of enjoyment.

"eBay":  This game is not too bad, but you'd be better off buying it used from either half.com or eBay.  You also might let a friend buy this game, let s/he beat it, and then try to buy it from them to make them feel better.  Yes, this does tend to feel like "Sloppy Seconds."

"Rental":  Like my cousin Ron, you should always rent games that you aren't sure about first, to make sure that your $50 is going towards something worthwhile.  For games in this category, this is the maximum amount of money ($5) and/or time (3-5 days) you'll need to either gain satisfaction from the game, or beat the game in its entirety.  Rental-rated games are also sometimes perfect for a weekend when you are going to be at home on your ass, with some time to kill.

"Dogshit":  Games like this should have never been released.  If you play this game for any reason, you will regret every second of the experience.  Further, if you can get this game for free, don't do it, because even for FREE, it will still be a negative experience for you!