Square has once again proved that they are the masters in RPG making. Final Fantasy X is simply breathtaking! Every aspect of the game is as good as each and every installment of the FF series. First of all let me start off with the main outline of the story. This time around, the plot revolves around religious affairs. A widely accepted form of religion in the world of Spira, called Yevon, absolutely forbids the use of machinery, (Or as it is called in the game, "machina") due to the horrible appearance of a being only known as "Sin".

After Sin's debut, it starts to spread chaos all over the planet by destroying villages, cities, and towns. The only hope of defeating it: a summoner has to summon the "Final Aeon". That's where the game's main protagonist, Tidus, comes into play. Without giving too much info away, let me just say that along with the rest of the characters, Yuna and Tidus go on a pilgrimage to defeat Sin once and for all. With that said, let's get down to the gameplay.

As you all should know by now, FFX's gameplay has been completely revamped from previous FF games. The ATB (Active Time Battle) system, over head World Map, leveling up, all gone to be replace with new and better features. Possibly the one of the most noticeable is the absence of the overhead Map. Now the environment will all be in real-time, meaning you actually travel through the forest, town, etc., instead of searching for it on a map. Don't worry about getting loss though. There is also an inclusion of a small blue map on the top left corner of the screen which has a red arrow that points to where you should be going.

The second biggest change in the game is definitely the new battle system. Instead of the traditional ATB system used in past FFs, a new one called CTB (Conditional Turn-based Battle) is now in place. As told by the name, you don't have to worry about enemies attacking you while you are thinking of what to do next. Both ally and enemy alike only act in turns, therefore one doesn't act until another is done. At times, certain actions may change the turn order, such as Haste and executing powerful attacks (which take longer recovery time). For your convience, a CTB window is displayed during the battle at the right-hand side of the screen.

One of the most unique features about the CTB is the ability to switch characters in and out of battle at will. All you have to do is just press the L1 button during any of the character's turn. You can switch an unlimited amount of times just as long as the character doesn't perform any kind of action. Thus eliminating the preparation for boss battles. This is also in handy if you face monsters that certain characters are good at defeating that are not in your current party.

Ever since FF7, characters have always had a chance to perform a special attack originally called "Limit Breaks", then it came to "Trance" in FF9. Well, in FFX it is called "Overdrives". Whenever the proper conditions to the set Overdrive mode (Stoic, Warrior, Healer, etc.) are met, the Overdrive gauge charges up. Once it is full, the character is given a list of Overdrive moves to execute once pressing Left on the Attack Window. To get more Overdrive modes, characters must perform certain actions to learn them.

Next comes the new leveling up system called "The Sphere Grid". The levels that you earn from battle no longer automatically increase an attribute of a character. Now you move across the Sphere Grid with the amount of Sphere Levels (S.Lv) you have. The determined number of spaces you can move is dependent on your level. Once you reach "nodes" on the Grid, you can activate them with special spheres that you earn after battle. (E.g. Power Spheres can activate HP, Strength, and Defense nodes) Each character starts in their own little niche on the Grid, which contains nodes and abilities that reflects the job of the character. Eventually, characters will intersect with each other, allowing them to travel to another character's assigned place on the Grid and therefore learn their abilities too. After each character activates a node, they leave a color signifying their activated spheres. Here's the full list: Tidus- aqua, Yuna- white, Auron- red, Kimahri- blue, Wakka- yellow, Lulu- purple, and Rikku-green.

Now that the basic gameplay has been covered up, let's talk about mini-games. Remember that deep card game (Triple Triad) in FF8? Well, that's nothing compared to the underwater sport Blitzball! While some may find it boring, I personally find this very addicting. In fact, it just so happens that Tidus is actually the best Blitzball player in Zanarkand (hometown), following the footsteps of his father. I won't go into detail of how Blitzball works because of the extensive tutorial that is explained during the game, but it should be noted that in order to win rare and special items (including Overdrives for Wakka) you got to have the best Blitz team around!

Other than Blitzball is training Chocobos. While not as fun as chocobo breeding in FF7, it is still interesting enough to keep you busy for a few hours. In it, you train a chocobo through numerous obstacles to gain valuable items, including a part of Tidus' ultimate weapon. But bear in mind that this is no easy task! Some require a lot of skill, especially the last one, to beat your best time.

We now come to music and sound. Like always, the FF series has always contained A+ quality music, having unforgettable classics and vocal songs, thanks to famed composer Nobou Uematsu. And FFX is no exception! This time though, Uematsu collaborated with other composers who had previously worked on other RPGs such as Chrono Cross: Junya Nakano and Masashi Hamauzu. The result: an excellent mix of funk and other rock elements with the traditional themes of Final Fantasy. Even the Prelude isn't at first unrecognizable! The theme song, Suteki Da Ne ("Isn't it Wonderful?") although containing no English lyrics, is beautifully sung by fame Japanese recording artist Rikki. If you have the chance (and the money) I highly suggest you buy the Original Soundtrack (4 disc set). As for character vocals, I think Square has chosen really good voice actors. Most of them fit perfectly well with their character.

Although it is not really important to comment on, something really must be said about the graphics. I mean, they're simply amazing! The new 3-D environments are nicely detailed and have really smooth textures. The character models are the same: the best yet (IMO) on the PS2. The facial expressions have unparalleled realism. The lip movement, although off at times due to the translation from Japanese pronunciation of words to English, are very well done. And what is there to say about the FMVs? They're simply magnificent! The colors are very vibrant and bright, and the characters are as close as you can get to the graphics of the FF: TSW movie till the next installment!

Overall, I think this is the best FF yet! Each and every new feature perfectly fits the game's theme. Here's the basic lowdown (based on a scale from 1-10 with 10 being the highest):

Sound/Music: 10.0

Well, there you have it, my complete review on FFX. As you can see, I thought the game was a masterpiece, filled with many surprises and a very creative story. I hope you think so too. I now bid you adieu till next time!