While many have become jaded with the cinematic atmosphere expressed in each title since the 16-bit era, one can't blame Square for exercising a greater emphasis on the story. Admittedly, I became worried when I saw the first in-game screens and artwork. It triggered a similar feeling which I experienced with Final Fantasy VIII - a title which I liked the least among the entire series. But as a familiar adage advises - don't judge a book by its cover.

The story features such an amazing conglomeration of ideas, that it's literally bursting at the seems with life. You play the role of Tidus, a teenage star of the Blitzball team "The Zanarkand Abes." Tidus, like many rising stars, feels pressure from the fans because he lives in the shadow of his Father, Jecht - a legendary Blitzball player. Mere moments into the game itself, Zanarkand is attacked by an unknown force, and soon finds himself in a strange world filled with danger. Soon, Tidus learns (through periodic engagements) of a powerful entity known as "Sin", a huge beast which has terrorized the world for decades.

The story also centers on a second leading character - Yuna, a young summoner who has pledged to embark on a pilgrimage to gain strength and inevitably, defeat Sin. As her protection, Yuna is accompanied Guardians - a group which Tidus will soon find himself in the company of, and embark on one of the greatest adventures ever told.

It would be difficult to delve further into this story without running the risk of presenting spoiler material. Simply put, the story itself is without a doubt, among the best in RPG history. The reason can be attributed to the diverse, radiant cast of characters. As a first to compliment the Final Fantasy theme, Squaresoft opted to incorporate voice acting, a remarkable element that adds a new dimension. Though skeptical at first, I must admit that the voice actors did an astounding job. Unlike most domestic voice acting, Final Fantasy X exhibits a surreal cast that sounds natural, in contrast to forced, exaggerative expressions. While Spira, the world which the characters inhabit is perhaps one of the best conceived worlds featured in an RPG to date. Compared to other RPGs, very few can truly lay claim to giving you a immersive feeling, as if - you were actually there. And that's what makes playing Final Fantasy X such a marvel, as it does just that. Everything is fleshed out in extensive detail, spanning from Spira's religious right down to the traditional pastime - Blitzball.

Graphically, the world of Final Fantasy X carries an equal degree of depth and vividness (if not more) then its inhabitants. I can't stress the point enough - Squaresoft has really outdone themselves. The art direction in this game is light years beyond most RPGs. Nearly every item features a organic look, which is furthered by the absolute theme of the game - water. On the whole, all of the architecture has a natural, polished look. Along the way, you'll encounter a multitude of areas, filled with beauty that incites you to sit in awe and admire the handiwork. To enhance the game's visual Final Fantasy X uses a plethora of bright colors, something that's rarely seen in modern-day PS/PS2 titles.

The controls are basically the same as the past three installments, only this time, the camera moves along with you in the third-person view. This creates a cinematic view throughout, but you often find yourself wishing you could access an alternative perspective, or manually alter the camera to your personal tastes. But presented as is, it works pretty well, and everything is kept nicely in order via a nice auto-map feature in the right-hand corner. (Editor's Note: For a more challenging experience, turn this feature off!)

Unlike, previous editions, Final Fantasy X exhibits a lower ratio of FMV sequences in accord with the action, thanks to the rich detail of the game's graphic engine. Using a new graphic architecture known as the "Facial Animation Engine", allows the characters to come to life and convey emotions in a manner as never demonstrated in an RPG before. There are instances where you could almost swear the characters were real, due to the level of realism expressed.

Though perhaps the biggest overhaul of the series lies in the realm of the battle and experience. The ATB (Active Time Battle) system in particular, has grown to be incredibly stale. Thankfully, this quip was remedied by assigning the director of the Front Mission series to address the battle sequences. The result is the dismissal of the ATB gauge, replaced by a new system known as the"Conditional Turn-based System (CTB). In similar fashion to Grandia 2, the battle system gauges the order of the characters and designates their actions. Hasty decisions are now a thing of the past, which allows players to carefully plan out their attacks. Complimented by another addition, in which party members can be swapped at any given time to access other characters on standby characters. Need to attack an airborne enemy? Simply swap out Auron for Wakka, who's most suitable for dealing with flying enemies using his Blitzball weapon. Or should you need to heal, but Yuna is not present? Swap out Lulu for Yuna and initiate the command. Simple, and efficient, this function is a godsend.

When the battle concludes, players will no longer receive experience points, as in previous editions. Instead, you will receive sphere points, which you can distribute freely on the Sphere Grid - a new system for building up your party members' attributes. It's best described as a grid, composed of well…spheres, with various attributes. Some spheres when unlocked will empower your characters with abilities for hit points, attack and healing spells, to name a few. Initially, each character has a specific path to follow, but you can deviate from this path as you progress further in the game. Doing so may hider your progress, thus it's recommended that you stay on target until you complete the specific regime. This whole system is a breath of fresh air, and simply allows you to customize your characters in just about any way you would like. You can even build your own super soldier, by covering the entire sphere grid. For example, one could create a character with 50,000 + hit points, and would deal 99,999 damage every hit, thus making them virtually unstoppable. Players can take the customization one step further by also embedding abilities into respective armor and weapons acquired. This is due to the fact that neither your weapons or armor increase in defense or strength on their own as your characters level up, but is solely based on their default attributes. Moreover, some items have many slots for adding onto them, with attributes like "Strength +5%" and "HP +30%." This is a nice change of pace, but I still would like more kinds of armor, such as helmets and boots.

The Summon system has also been reworked. The Aeons (as they're called in this installment), hold a greater role within the game this time around. When summoned, the Aeons temporarily take the place of your party in battle. In addition, each Aeon character features their own "limit break" - a super attack called an "Overdrive". Much like the "Trance" featured in FFIX, Aeons, as well as your party members gain access to this attack after incurring substantial damage and the meter reaches its limit. All of the main characters have this ability as well. Unfortunately, these super attacks can be much too powerful at times, and waters down Final Fantasy X's difficulty quite a bit, as players can easily deal with most boss characters simply by filling up each Aeon's overdrive gauge and unleash their attacks one after another.

The music truly enriches the entire RPG experience, consisting of the talents of three composers, each providing a unique experience in accord with the varied tones throughout the game. The themes enhance the respective areas, ranging from mild, crystalline sounds to the dynamic orchestration of the final battle theme. Perhaps the only disappointing aspect I found was the butchered job applied to the "Prelude" Final Fantasy theme.

The quest is sad to say, slightly short in comparison to previous adventures. On average, players can complete the game in just under 35 hours and remains rather linear up until the last act. Fortunately there's an abundance of side-quests to engage on (notably towars the end of the game) which marginally increases the game's longevity. Among them include the BlitzBall, a rather intricate game on its own, which unfortunately failed to sparke any personal excitement, save for the one game you are forced to play - I never found myself going back to it. Blitzball can best be described as a a sport derived from hockey (but without all the excitement you'd come to expect). Although players have the option to control the players freely (recommended for the highly savvy Blitzball types), the game still feels very confined, and thus not an element that many will feel inclined to explore.

Overall, Final Fantasy X is a remarkable product, full of excitement and excellence. A nod of fondness goes out to Squaresoft, for delivering an epic RPG experience - perhaps the greatest of all time. It gives me a good feeling as this installment truly stands as one of best adventures to date under the Final Fantasy brand label.

· · · Mezz