Final Fantasy is one of the biggest game franchises ever. Its games are beloved by fans and critics alike, each creating stories that fit into their own universes and bringing new mechanics for players to master. The series is considered one of the greatest RPG franchises of all time, and one of its most beloved entries is Final Fantasy X. The first FF game of the PS2 era, it took what came before and added to it, creating an entry that fans love.
While it is often considered a classic game, there are some reasons that some would find it overrated.
10 Final Fantasy X Is A Classic: It Was The First Fully Voice Acted Final Fantasy Game
The technological advances the PS2 brought to the video game industry changed the ways games were made forever after. One of the biggest advancements was voice acting. While games had some voice acting in the previous console generation, it was never as extensive as it would become and Final Fantasy X would take advantage of that.
The voice acting brought a new dimension to storytelling and gave the game's emotional moments that much more oomph. It also allowed the game to create some of the series' funniest characters and changed the way the series approached humor.
9 Final Fantasy X Is Overrated: The Voice Acting Can Be Pretty Cringe
Pioneers often have problems in their trailblazing endeavors, and that happened with Final Fantasy X. The voice acting was certainly revolutionary but Square Enix's VA directors at the time weren't exactly experienced. While the VA talent was quite good, sometimes the VA didn't exactly hit the way it should have.
The infamous Yuna-Tidus laughing scene comes immediately to mind, although that one has been overblown. Throughout the game, there are moments when the VA wasn't the most polished and it hurts the story.
8 Final Fantasy X Is A Classic: It Changed The Way Series Approached Ultimate Weapons
Final Fantasy games are known for their challenges outside of the story, allowing players to test their mastery of the games' systems for rewards that make things easier. Ultimate weapons are one of the rewards for the diligence of gamers, and Final Fantasy X took a unique approach to them. While players found the ultimate weapons rather easily, they were nerfed until players could find items to unlock them.
Players had to search for Sigils and Crests for each weapon. Once unlocked they became truly ultimate weapons, vastly outshining the game's other weapons. The challenges were difficult but the rewards were worth it.
7 Final Fantasy X Is Overrated: Some Of The Game's Challenges Were More Annoying Than Fun
While the quest for Crests and Sigils added something to the game, Square Enix's devs made them ridiculously hard. While gamers love a challenge, the Crest and Sigil challenges got more annoying than fun, with many gamers basically rage quitting instead of finishing the challenges. This happened with many of the extra challenges in Final Fantasy X.
Later FF games would follow in the footsteps of FFX's challenges but they made them way less frustrating. Devs learned their lessons from the game and changed things but it doesn't help the game as it exists.
6 Final Fantasy X Is A Classic: The Villains Are Top Notch
Final Fantasy games often live and die by their villains. This is readily apparent in FFX, as the game's villains remain some of the franchise's best. The kaiju Sin is played perfectly, a frightening presence when gamers first encounter it that gets more fleshed out as to what it means to the world of Spira. Seymour Guado is the perfect nihilistic villain, molded by the systemic inequalities of Spira.
Sin and Seymour are the twin poles of evil on Spira and they make the game so much better. Each one represents a different part of Spira and allows players to better understand the game's setting while also giving them entertaining foes to fight.
5 Final Fantasy X Is Overrated: It's The First FF Game That Feels Like It's On Rails
FFX was the first FF game to do away with the world map. In previous installments of the franchise, fans were used to exploring the world to their heart's content, finding secret dungeons, or the best areas to grind. FFX's story put gamers on a path throughout the story, a journey from the south of Spira to the north.
While there was still places to explore, Spira felt smaller than any other FF game up to that point, even though it was still quite large. The game felt like it was on rails and this hurts it in the estimation of many FF fans and modern players picking up the HD remasters who are used to more free world games.
4 Final Fantasy X Is A Classic: Spira Is An Amazing Setting
Spira was a very different FF setting than any other. The game devs and writers took cues from Asian cultures in the real world to create Spira while also bringing a futuristic feel to Spira's cities. FFX also went in-depth into the culture of Spira, using co-lead character Yuna and her life as a way to talk about the world's religion and the relations between the different races of Spira.
FFX was a buffet for gamers who loved immersive worlds. There was so much history and culture that players learned in the course of the story that they'd have otherwise only learned from exploring outside of the story or not gotten at all. Spira is still one of the most fleshed-out worlds in FF history and set the standard for what was to come.
3 Final Fantasy X Is Overrated: The Combat System Makes Things A Little Easy
FFX changed the way the game's party system worked. Instead of only having access to a set number of characters, gamers could switch between every character in the party as needed. If they needed a magic user, they could sub in Lulu. If they needed healing, Yuna. If they needed long-range attacks, Wakka.
While this fits the story of a group of people walking through a country together, it also made the game much easier. Instead of having to tailor one's party for multiple threats, gamers had access to everything they needed for the vast majority of the game. It made things easier and took away the party customization that fans loved from the series.
2 Final Fantasy X Is A Classic: Its Characters Are Some Of The Franchise's Best
FF games need characters that players love and Final Fantasy X has them in spades. The main character Tidus works perfectly as a player insert, thrown into the world of Spira with no foreknowledge and learning the ways of the world. Yuna is a wonderful co-lead; the tragedies and triumphs of her life inform the game's story. Lulu and Wakka are the perfect comedic pair but bring so much more than that.
Rikku is the game's most fun character and Auron's mystery plays well into the party dynamic and story. Kimahri is the strong silent type and with more going on than meets the eye. These characters make the game a wonderful experience.
1 Final Fantasy X Is Overrated: The Sphere Grid Hurts Character Customization
The Sphere Grid was a revolutionary character progression system. It was unlike any that came before and while gamers were mystified by it at first, it's pretty straightforward. It's a really good system but it also takes away the character customization that defined many FF games. Characters had a path they followed and while there were ways to move them onto other paths, it took items that were rare and hard to find in the early game.
Previous FF games like VI, VII, and VIII allowed players to customize characters to their heart's content but X took that away. The Sphere Grid works very well for the game but it took away options from players.