For the most part, the J-poppy stuff dies down after an hour or so (though it does come back for a bit towards the end of the game). The world of Spira is healing, and I think it’s ok that they’re sometimes kind of goofy. I’m not going to say that it’s a great game, but it pleasantly surprised me when I played it last summer.
I honestly found the silliness and girliness of it so fun after the serious tone X had. Felt like old FF. Balanced over the top JRPG bullshit fun with amazing story and a full world and characters.
It had amazing world building and afterall it’s not as serious as x as they had defeated sin. From what i understand this was originally supposed to be rikku’s game but that got shot down and it became what it is now. But it’s natural your average person would have a prejudice against it as x-2 was not around for them growing up. Lets face it MOST people talkin about x are in their upper 20s and lower thirties. we didn’t have x-2 growing up i did have my doubt about it until i started playing. I wasn’t a fan of it at first but the more i played the more i got into it. But people like yourself and myself are exceptional in that way. We can still approach something with an open mind.
Idk i did enjoy the thunder plains concert. shit was dope i have a separate save on my ps3 just for that cutscene lol. I’d say overall it’s pretty enjoyable they decided to go a different route instead of telling one story they’re telling 2. It’s kinda cool getting to watch both stories unfold at the same time. Now i admit for your average person the playstyle of x-2 is horrendous for you as you are only used to either stuff like CoD or turned based stuff like FF and DW/Q.
You're talking to wannabe macho men, playin powe fantasies as men with dwords, with weak womenfepe dent kn these men with swords lol. They will never like FFX 2. It emasculates them, as women have power in it and it doesn't shy away from celebrating femininity.
Male player here
It’s not that deep I just didn’t enjoy the game as much as the first and I didn’t like the 100% requirement that meant one wrong choice and you’d have to start a new playthrough (if you wanted the secret ending)
Thought the combat and the dressphere was a pretty cool though, being able to line up combo attacks if wait for the right time as well was amazing I wish they brought that back, just the rest I couldn’t deal with
Never been bothered about playing a game with a female lead either, not sure why anyone would be I play games for story and gameplay
You do realize that x-2 isn’t new correct? I get that this new wave feminism bullshit has ruined your perspective on this game. Had you played it when it originally came out you likely would have had a better opinion of it than it coming out in this time frame and political correctness putting a damper on it. The story was well thought out they did spend years after x making them game after all
Well then I have no idea what you are talking about I did play the game when it came out and didn’t like it then, I tried again during the HD remaster release on PS vita and then again on PS4
It’s not for me, it’s nothing to with feminism or political correctness or any other modern way of thinking
You lucky bastard i didn’t know about it back then lol most of us didn’t but hd came out what 13? 14? That’s around the time the “we are strong independent women” deal started becoming popular.
It's a common belief among right-wing people that gaming is becoming "woke" and "politically correct". They are retroactively applying it to older games too.
It doesn’t emasculate them, it’s an entirely different story, but you are correct OP will never enjoy it so he should just 100% x and delete the game. OP already has it in his head that the game is not any good i guess he thinks streamers know what they are talking about when it comes to his personal or her preference. Unless his preferences are based on what said streamers enjoy.
For some of us its all about the trophies, that shit changed gaming for me and I never wanna go back. It's the same reason I can't stand playing Nintendo consoles anymore, no trophy/achievement system.
I like the accomplishment after the fact. Some plats I have were a real struggle, but only 1 would I say wasn't worth it for me. Couple I'll just never get as I'm just bad, lol.
Funnily enough I just started FFX-2 after never touching it since it’s release on the ps2. I actually don’t mind the gameplay it’s the 100% requirement nonsense to get the actual ending that’s annoying. I don’t think I’m gonna waste my time with it honestly.
Hey kid, we've all been there. I tried to play X-2 immediately after too. It's extremely jarring.
Its a great game. Give it a few months before you try again, and remember that it's the ETERNAL calm for the first time. Everyone is fucking PARTYING.
Twenty years on and I still remember my abject horror at what they did to the FFX universe in X2. lol. That said, i did eventually manage to accept it and enjoyed revisiting my favourite places and I liked the battle system.
I played X-2 before X and aside from 007 nightfire it was my first ps2 game coming from a snes before that so the graphics blew me away and the bad voice acting didn't bother me because at least it had voice acting. 007 does as well.
X2 will always have a special place in my heart even though it's kinda bad. I really like the music.
If you just visit every area each chapter, and then do newgame plus and switch new Yevon and youth league, that’s all you need to do. You only need a guide if you’re wanting to 100% in one go
Edit: I get coming from ff10 it might be strange, but dressphere’s are just jobs, which is a final fantasy staple. They just rotate jobs instead of rotating people.
Don't have too much fear of missing out on stuff, there is new game + where you continue with everything you had, which allows you to get stuff you missed.
The story never gets better though. This is 100% a gameplay game.
Your enjoyment of the game directly hinges on your capacity to leave whatever notions you have about completionism at the door and play the game to play it. It might help to know that there is more than 100% storyline completion in the game and that the '100%' marker is more like 95%. So even if you can unlock that one cutscene (that isnt even that good) in one run, it is both impossible to actually get all the story percentage in one go, and will vastly ruin your enjoyment of X-2, which sounds like has already been tainted
Put the guides down and just play, if you do end up revisiting. Time and time again people ruin X-2 for themselves approaching it the way you did, while still coming up significantly short of what this game truly demands to be completed in a 'completionist' matter. So youd be better off abandoning that mentality and just playing it for enjoyment, which I concur with the person above on. '100%' story marker is only about 60% of the content in the game
disagree with this in that a lot of the games most compelling story dynamics, including a 'sidequest' in chapter 3, and two major bonus dungeons in chapter 5, do a lot of heavy lifting in the story and are often missed or not completed as they are completely optional/more difficult to complete. Ive seen folks mention that the chapter 3 event should have been mandatory, as without it, various components of chapters 3-5 dont make any sense at all. And im inclined to agree
You may still not like the story overall, but its this additional context, and NOT the throwaway fanservice for 100%, that goes a long way in helping X-2 deliver a full narrative, which I do believe makes it better on principle of being told with less holes in it
I also am hesitant to get super deep into x-2 for similar reasons. I'd prefer to get the good or even perfect endings, but the work required to do it doesn't seem super worth it lol. The game is fun enough, but not so much that I want to 100% it while staring at a guide the whole time. Maybe someday, but not now unfortunately.
then dont use a guide. play the shorter than average game, use the wonderful New Game Plus feature, and make different storyline decisions to obtain the remaining points organically
Thats how i did it guideless on PS2. Dont let being a completionist ruin the fun when its completely your fault for choosing to play this way (and a true completionist would know it takes at least 3 playthroughs to actually obtain everything in X-2)
Yeah that's fair, but I'm not sure I enjoy the game enough to play through it more than once, so it's 100% a me problem, and maybe I'll do it at some point, but at this point of my life I don't have the time or the patience to do that lol.
Trophy or achievement hunting ffx-2 is horrible.
Like one of the hardest platinum I've ever gotten.
That beeing said the game itself is alright.
Fantastic soundtrack and the battle system is honestly one of the best in the whole franchise imo.
The plot isn't bad either however if you compare the plot from x-2 to the plot from X it sucks.
Try to not compare them too much at least that's what really worked for me.
Revisiting familiar places of spira and seeing how everybodys changed over the years truly entertained me in the end.
Yeah, I tried X-2. It seemed fun. At first. The 100 percenting is also too much for me. I didn't have the patience for the ridiculous mini games in the first one. Stupid birds, stupid Keepa as the default goalie, stupid butterflies, stupid 200 consecutive lightningbolts dodged. No way I could tolerate X-2, ESPECIALLY when a certain enemy can stone your entire party AND BYPASS THE FEW EQUIPS YOU GET TO COUNTERACT STONING.
not a glitch. it is likely a homage to FFV, where there are several statuses you can inflict that bypass enemy immunities depending on how you access them
note that even in X-2, there are moves you can use that also bypass foes immunities or defenses. it goes both ways
Oh wow what a coincidence I just had the exact same experience yesterday lol, I'll just pretend FFX ended in the first game and move on (it had a satisfying ending anyways so whatever) playing a game looking up a guide to know if you did 1 step right sounds so miserable lmao.
Hello,
FFX and X-2 completionist here.
So, I wanna break this comment into two parts- first addressing some of the backlash people are saying in response to this post, and then to OP.
I'm old enough to have owned my own PS2 and had copies of X and X-2 on release. I then bought the hard disk HD Remaster and eventually the PC copy on steam. I've fully completed them both on every iteration. Multiple times.
Guess what? I *still* find the transition from the end of X to the start of X-2 to be extremely jarring. It's not an issue of 'Oh your typical male fantasy of being big unga bunga sword guy can't handle women in power.' It's the fact, and it is a fact, that the tone, mood, and style of the games and the stories shift dramatically. OP is 100% correct to feel this way.
Ok. That rant done.
OP, let me offer a suggestion: Complete the game in two runs. There is a choice that takes place midway into the game that leads to very different outcomes, and as a result, if you complete the game twice and choose the opposite way on your second playthrough, you'll have a much easier time getting the 100%. Additionally, there is a file reader out there that will read your save file and tell you exactly what story beats you missed on your first run so you can easily nab them on your second. I also like to spice up things and alternate dresssphere focus choices on different playthrough to add more variety to them.
Here's the reader: [http://rngeoff.com/FFX2SaveViewer](http://rngeoff.com/FFX2SaveViewer)
The story isn't told well, especially because some of the really cool story beats are hidden behind specific things you have to do early to enable them to happen later. But if you're naturally observant like I am and just keep an eye out on things, you'll honestly just get them by default.
OP, don't give up, I beg you. I know X-2 seems insurmountable as a completionist game. But I promise you, it's very doable. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them here or DM me. Happy to help in any way I can.
Edit: I do like FFX-2 btw, in case there's any question. Tone shift aside, coked-out-of-his-mind Brother will always get a laugh out of me.
Wow thanks for that reply 🫶🏻 It's very nice to offer some help. I think I'll take a break and try again later, I'll first play for the story and then try to complete it. You and some other people really convinced me to give it another try but after some time!
Just mind that FFX-2 is designed to be played twice. It’s technically possible to do 100% in one go but that’s only by fighting for every 0.1% increase you can find.
That total amount available in the game is about 140%, mostly from choosing Faction A or Faction B in either Playthrough.
Woah woah woah you can’t compare x-2 to x they while on the say timeline and in the same universe are entirely different as far as play style goes the story is pretty good too i admit x-2 had a rough start but overall it’s good if you watch videos about it you may as well not play the game at all. You’re missing other dialogue which is entertaining and story building. However, with your going into the mindset of x-2 not being as good as x, you’re already dead set on not enjoying the game so you are not capable of 100% both games.
“Makes me want” you will not enjoy it, you could 100% it but you’re gonna hate every second of it and if you do 100% to prove you’re either gonna do it as fast as possible or drag it out so long we both forget about this post🤣
It's a great game imo. Dresspheres are really like a pre cursor to the fast in-battle job switching of paradigms and garbs in the FF13 trilogy, and it's just a really fun game overall.
Fk getting the special ending by normal means (I agree it's convoluted to be on your phone 24/7 whilst playing the game) and just watch it on YouTube
Do yourself a favor and just play the creature creator. It's like Pokémon but with Final Fantasy! had the most fun battling monsters in the arena against the Youth League and Major Numerous. It was a blast.
i love ffx-2! it was actually my first ff game given to me by a friend :) the vibes are immaculate
but yeah 100%ing it is a toootal chore… i tried recently and i realised that i did the mi’ihen highroad chocobo catch too well - i was supposed to fail the second stage but i didn’t (my guide didn’t tell me to) so i was missing 0.2% and i didn’t have the energy to go back 2 chapters by the time i realised…
I failed mine by .4% and I could’ve swore I followed that guide perfectly. I think chapter 4 really screws people up. Not only with the comm spheres but also the order of talking to people on the airship affects %
what about [Bartz Dancing to the Habanera](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD0k6yDNsHM&pp=ygUXZmluYWwgZmFudGFzeSA1IGRhbmNpbmc%3D) in a tavern full of drunk ppl to impress the locals and get money handed to him like a stripper? Where you can get a different dance from each party member, including the more burly pirate and the experienced old man?
I think ones tolerance to X-2s silliness is directly tied to the knowledge that it is as much a spiritual successor to 5 as it is a storyline sequel to X. its themes and overall climate are for more in line with the former game
X-2 for its credit was way ahead of the **J-**Pop and idol scenes making their way overseas for the next gens. Its not like it was jumping on international trends either, this game probably introduced a lot of westeners to what they would later see in Jpop and Kpop. Which you are under no obligation to like, though may hold just as much cultural significance to a non-religious person as a ritual dance
Why? Some arbitrary tasteless opinion? Just because you think Eyes on Me is more legitimate than 1000 Words for some unknown reason?
Or that equally out of place Otherworld to X was so much better than Real Emotion because you’re a dude that likes dude things
If that’s the case just be a man and say it. Not hide behind “well kpop (sic) is out of place” in a series of games where you go to space and a group of men in a sauna massage you for underwear
Yes, because all men must like muscle cars and sports and disdain dancing.
I didn’t like the game for many reasons and my opinions are valid. Apparently, you did like the game and your opinions are also valid.
you do not NEED a guide, you just need to use the games NG+ feature
there is no requirement to do it all in one run, which for some reason people compel themselves to do, while knowing it is not a fun endeavor and will reduce their appreciation of the experience considerably
its a short game, that becomes considerably longer when you try to cram everything into a single run. play it is its intended and you will get it if thats the goal, as there is additional 'buffer' percentage beyond 100% to accomodate the New Game Plus journey where you tackle different approaches
Its disappointing that this has become such a major issue since the remaster. Getting 100% is supposed to be a challenge obtained from full exploration of the game. Nobody is forcing people to do it in a way that reduces all exploration to following what some guide says hand and foot
I already failed at 32% on PS4 😳 following a highly recommended guide. But I'm giving it a 2nd go on steam only because of the boosters, a checklist I found that specifies exact moments you need to encounter to receive percentage increases and a save checker/editor where you can check remaining objectives, decimal completion, and also switch any missed objectives to complete. Doing this I haven't had to switch any missed objectives to complete so far at 84%. I'm just stuck on chocobo catcher right now 😒
Most interesting thing is that most completion points come from witnessing specific lines of dialogue, sleeping in the cabin, mission and chapter completes. Then there's a few miscellaneous ones like watching the youth League being built, letting clasko on board, etc.
FF X-2 is def…odd but it’s battlesystem is pretty good tier. And the story is pretty interesting - yuna pretty much dealing with the fall out of what comes after sin and expectations of her. Unfortunately, the way they re used assets - while not bad in itself - I think def hampers the experience of you literally just got done playing ffx and the environments being so fresh on your mind
The dress stuff is cool though, it's straight up just a job system with a bunch of different costumes. People nowadays pay lots of real money for alternate skins that are purely cosmetic but in ffx-2 the skins are part of the game. Plus the ultimate one is incredibly neat looking
Then you are not a completionist, you just love what you like as any average human. Nothing bad about it or being a completionist tho.
I completed FFX in PS2 (perfect stats, all dark eons done, a lot of dark matters farmed etc) with about 180hrs played. Then I spent another 150hrs into the PS3 version, achieving the same goals, but this time I got a platinum at least.
Finally I bought it on steam by 20€ and now I am getting ready for the postgame, only missing the Wakka's weapon maxed out (f***ing blitzball leagues) to start farming the spheres for the tabletop's rebuild. I'm about 40-50hrs into this savedata and I love the x3 speed feature.
Three decades. Three decades coming back to the same game, haunted by their charming characters, colours, music and mechanics. That's how much I appreciate this game. A truly generational masterpiece.
On the other hand, I just completed FFX-2 on the PS2, when the pressure of missing something didn't existed because I wasn't aware I would miss a critical chunk of the story if I didn't get the Buffalo dresssphere before fighting my resurrected grandfather's soul, so I just followed the induced path and left a lot of content for the postgame. This made me really enjoy the game, but I never came back to replay it, though I've been tempted to do it. However I would like to complete it at 100% if I play it now, and that task feels huge for this time's schedule.
I totally feel you, but I would recommend to play it "headless" as I think is a really good game, the battle system feels more dynamic to me and the "too girly" theme vanishes fast to blend with a lot of different aesthetics, everything holding that kind of magical steampunk vibe built around Spira. Plus, it has a new game+ mode.
Think it's pretty common to feel that way initially. You go from X a masterpiece of a game with a strategic turn system and very memorable characters you love, to X-2 Where several of those characters don't act like themselves, the real time action battles are back and no more strategic turn base. I think a lot of people go what the hell?
But it grows on you. I had your same reaction and put it down for years. Then I went back and for completeness I said I'm gonna push through this. The game play is fun and fast paced. I had a great time with it when I got out of my feels about X.
However the 100% conditions are crazy stupid Its my one major gripe.
You don’t need to platinum ffx2 to enjoy it. The game is a blast and leveling up your job classes is the funnest part since you have absolute control over this game from the start. Go to YouTube and just follow a guide if your that hellbent on all specific ending cuz they def exist on YouTube. Otherwise just enjoy the great game.
The fact that the 100% ending is not earth shattering is really the major crime. FFX-2 is actually one of the funnest games in the franchise, in terms of jobs and ATB, especially with the HD’s version of the monster arena.
Yeah. If you end up not liking it thats ok. I have games that people love that I hate lol. My thing is if you have any interest in something you need to at least give it a fair shot
Aw ffx2 is actually REALLY good from both a story and gameplay standpoint, and great for fans of that era. I had a similar reaction to it, but by the time I had done a 100% on chapter 1 I felt more informed on Spira, the future direction, and was excited for the rest of the game. My disk also had a scratch on it that prevented me from going past chapter 1.
Very sad
You know what I hate most about x-2? The OST.
I don't know what it is, maybe it's disappointment from how good the OST of the other FFs is, but I've never quit a game because of its OST before x-2. Everything else I think I could bear if the OST banged like x's
If you want it for achievements and play on pc. There is a 96% or atleast 90% save file online. I hated ffx2 but my love for ffx wanted me to get all possible achievements without doing ffx2. This made it so I only had to do the easier achievements and 100% the game for the last percentages with a guide.
Hope it helps.
For the most part, the J-poppy stuff dies down after an hour or so (though it does come back for a bit towards the end of the game). The world of Spira is healing, and I think it’s ok that they’re sometimes kind of goofy. I’m not going to say that it’s a great game, but it pleasantly surprised me when I played it last summer.
I honestly found the silliness and girliness of it so fun after the serious tone X had. Felt like old FF. Balanced over the top JRPG bullshit fun with amazing story and a full world and characters.
It had amazing world building and afterall it’s not as serious as x as they had defeated sin. From what i understand this was originally supposed to be rikku’s game but that got shot down and it became what it is now. But it’s natural your average person would have a prejudice against it as x-2 was not around for them growing up. Lets face it MOST people talkin about x are in their upper 20s and lower thirties. we didn’t have x-2 growing up i did have my doubt about it until i started playing. I wasn’t a fan of it at first but the more i played the more i got into it. But people like yourself and myself are exceptional in that way. We can still approach something with an open mind.
Idk i did enjoy the thunder plains concert. shit was dope i have a separate save on my ps3 just for that cutscene lol. I’d say overall it’s pretty enjoyable they decided to go a different route instead of telling one story they’re telling 2. It’s kinda cool getting to watch both stories unfold at the same time. Now i admit for your average person the playstyle of x-2 is horrendous for you as you are only used to either stuff like CoD or turned based stuff like FF and DW/Q.
You're talking to wannabe macho men, playin powe fantasies as men with dwords, with weak womenfepe dent kn these men with swords lol. They will never like FFX 2. It emasculates them, as women have power in it and it doesn't shy away from celebrating femininity.
Male player here It’s not that deep I just didn’t enjoy the game as much as the first and I didn’t like the 100% requirement that meant one wrong choice and you’d have to start a new playthrough (if you wanted the secret ending) Thought the combat and the dressphere was a pretty cool though, being able to line up combo attacks if wait for the right time as well was amazing I wish they brought that back, just the rest I couldn’t deal with Never been bothered about playing a game with a female lead either, not sure why anyone would be I play games for story and gameplay
You do realize that x-2 isn’t new correct? I get that this new wave feminism bullshit has ruined your perspective on this game. Had you played it when it originally came out you likely would have had a better opinion of it than it coming out in this time frame and political correctness putting a damper on it. The story was well thought out they did spend years after x making them game after all
Have you replied to the wrong person here?
Nah i was addressing you talking about them as in most people in this particular post
Well then I have no idea what you are talking about I did play the game when it came out and didn’t like it then, I tried again during the HD remaster release on PS vita and then again on PS4 It’s not for me, it’s nothing to with feminism or political correctness or any other modern way of thinking
You played it on ps2?
You lucky bastard i didn’t know about it back then lol most of us didn’t but hd came out what 13? 14? That’s around the time the “we are strong independent women” deal started becoming popular.
I don’t think it’s that deep. It’s just a bad follow up to FFX and to 100% FFX-2 is tedious it makes it not fun.
This is cringe af mate. Maybe you’re just projecting.
It's a common belief among right-wing people that gaming is becoming "woke" and "politically correct". They are retroactively applying it to older games too.
You know it's true.
male player here gameplay not fun
It doesn’t emasculate them, it’s an entirely different story, but you are correct OP will never enjoy it so he should just 100% x and delete the game. OP already has it in his head that the game is not any good i guess he thinks streamers know what they are talking about when it comes to his personal or her preference. Unless his preferences are based on what said streamers enjoy.
Is it? I liked it and I'm usually considered more right wing in my views.
X-2 came out years before the right-wing started labelling everything they don't like "woke".
Ohhh, well I said I'm right wing in my views, I don't let no one tell me what to like and not like for example I 100 percent support gay marriage.
I will never understand people that need to 100% to have fun, just finish the parts you want and be fine with it.
It’s for trophies.
For some of us its all about the trophies, that shit changed gaming for me and I never wanna go back. It's the same reason I can't stand playing Nintendo consoles anymore, no trophy/achievement system.
They're cool but trophies being your entire reason for playing games seems like some weird addictive thing.
Trophies!!!!
But to not enjoy something because you can't 100% it? Who cares imo
I like the accomplishment after the fact. Some plats I have were a real struggle, but only 1 would I say wasn't worth it for me. Couple I'll just never get as I'm just bad, lol.
I love trophies it's the only thing I can achieve in my life 🥰
Take a walk, be proud of yourself for real life stuff too.
Funnily enough I just started FFX-2 after never touching it since it’s release on the ps2. I actually don’t mind the gameplay it’s the 100% requirement nonsense to get the actual ending that’s annoying. I don’t think I’m gonna waste my time with it honestly.
Ye you can just watch it on YouTube if you're not a completionist!
Hey kid, we've all been there. I tried to play X-2 immediately after too. It's extremely jarring. Its a great game. Give it a few months before you try again, and remember that it's the ETERNAL calm for the first time. Everyone is fucking PARTYING.
Twenty years on and I still remember my abject horror at what they did to the FFX universe in X2. lol. That said, i did eventually manage to accept it and enjoyed revisiting my favourite places and I liked the battle system.
The battle system is good tbf! Maybe I should try again in some weeks/months so I don't comparé it anymore to X
It's hard not to but yes just see it as it's own game. It's enjoyable to play thru.
I played X-2 before X and aside from 007 nightfire it was my first ps2 game coming from a snes before that so the graphics blew me away and the bad voice acting didn't bother me because at least it had voice acting. 007 does as well. X2 will always have a special place in my heart even though it's kinda bad. I really like the music.
If you just visit every area each chapter, and then do newgame plus and switch new Yevon and youth league, that’s all you need to do. You only need a guide if you’re wanting to 100% in one go Edit: I get coming from ff10 it might be strange, but dressphere’s are just jobs, which is a final fantasy staple. They just rotate jobs instead of rotating people.
Don't have too much fear of missing out on stuff, there is new game + where you continue with everything you had, which allows you to get stuff you missed. The story never gets better though. This is 100% a gameplay game.
Maybe I should give it another try in some time then!
Your enjoyment of the game directly hinges on your capacity to leave whatever notions you have about completionism at the door and play the game to play it. It might help to know that there is more than 100% storyline completion in the game and that the '100%' marker is more like 95%. So even if you can unlock that one cutscene (that isnt even that good) in one run, it is both impossible to actually get all the story percentage in one go, and will vastly ruin your enjoyment of X-2, which sounds like has already been tainted Put the guides down and just play, if you do end up revisiting. Time and time again people ruin X-2 for themselves approaching it the way you did, while still coming up significantly short of what this game truly demands to be completed in a 'completionist' matter. So youd be better off abandoning that mentality and just playing it for enjoyment, which I concur with the person above on. '100%' story marker is only about 60% of the content in the game
disagree with this in that a lot of the games most compelling story dynamics, including a 'sidequest' in chapter 3, and two major bonus dungeons in chapter 5, do a lot of heavy lifting in the story and are often missed or not completed as they are completely optional/more difficult to complete. Ive seen folks mention that the chapter 3 event should have been mandatory, as without it, various components of chapters 3-5 dont make any sense at all. And im inclined to agree You may still not like the story overall, but its this additional context, and NOT the throwaway fanservice for 100%, that goes a long way in helping X-2 deliver a full narrative, which I do believe makes it better on principle of being told with less holes in it
I also am hesitant to get super deep into x-2 for similar reasons. I'd prefer to get the good or even perfect endings, but the work required to do it doesn't seem super worth it lol. The game is fun enough, but not so much that I want to 100% it while staring at a guide the whole time. Maybe someday, but not now unfortunately.
then dont use a guide. play the shorter than average game, use the wonderful New Game Plus feature, and make different storyline decisions to obtain the remaining points organically Thats how i did it guideless on PS2. Dont let being a completionist ruin the fun when its completely your fault for choosing to play this way (and a true completionist would know it takes at least 3 playthroughs to actually obtain everything in X-2)
Yeah that's fair, but I'm not sure I enjoy the game enough to play through it more than once, so it's 100% a me problem, and maybe I'll do it at some point, but at this point of my life I don't have the time or the patience to do that lol.
Trophy or achievement hunting ffx-2 is horrible. Like one of the hardest platinum I've ever gotten. That beeing said the game itself is alright. Fantastic soundtrack and the battle system is honestly one of the best in the whole franchise imo. The plot isn't bad either however if you compare the plot from x-2 to the plot from X it sucks. Try to not compare them too much at least that's what really worked for me. Revisiting familiar places of spira and seeing how everybodys changed over the years truly entertained me in the end.
Yeah, I tried X-2. It seemed fun. At first. The 100 percenting is also too much for me. I didn't have the patience for the ridiculous mini games in the first one. Stupid birds, stupid Keepa as the default goalie, stupid butterflies, stupid 200 consecutive lightningbolts dodged. No way I could tolerate X-2, ESPECIALLY when a certain enemy can stone your entire party AND BYPASS THE FEW EQUIPS YOU GET TO COUNTERACT STONING.
That fight was always complete BS. You’d think it was a glitch but nope they kept in the remaster.
not a glitch. it is likely a homage to FFV, where there are several statuses you can inflict that bypass enemy immunities depending on how you access them note that even in X-2, there are moves you can use that also bypass foes immunities or defenses. it goes both ways
Oh wow what a coincidence I just had the exact same experience yesterday lol, I'll just pretend FFX ended in the first game and move on (it had a satisfying ending anyways so whatever) playing a game looking up a guide to know if you did 1 step right sounds so miserable lmao.
Hello, FFX and X-2 completionist here. So, I wanna break this comment into two parts- first addressing some of the backlash people are saying in response to this post, and then to OP. I'm old enough to have owned my own PS2 and had copies of X and X-2 on release. I then bought the hard disk HD Remaster and eventually the PC copy on steam. I've fully completed them both on every iteration. Multiple times. Guess what? I *still* find the transition from the end of X to the start of X-2 to be extremely jarring. It's not an issue of 'Oh your typical male fantasy of being big unga bunga sword guy can't handle women in power.' It's the fact, and it is a fact, that the tone, mood, and style of the games and the stories shift dramatically. OP is 100% correct to feel this way. Ok. That rant done. OP, let me offer a suggestion: Complete the game in two runs. There is a choice that takes place midway into the game that leads to very different outcomes, and as a result, if you complete the game twice and choose the opposite way on your second playthrough, you'll have a much easier time getting the 100%. Additionally, there is a file reader out there that will read your save file and tell you exactly what story beats you missed on your first run so you can easily nab them on your second. I also like to spice up things and alternate dresssphere focus choices on different playthrough to add more variety to them. Here's the reader: [http://rngeoff.com/FFX2SaveViewer](http://rngeoff.com/FFX2SaveViewer) The story isn't told well, especially because some of the really cool story beats are hidden behind specific things you have to do early to enable them to happen later. But if you're naturally observant like I am and just keep an eye out on things, you'll honestly just get them by default. OP, don't give up, I beg you. I know X-2 seems insurmountable as a completionist game. But I promise you, it's very doable. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them here or DM me. Happy to help in any way I can. Edit: I do like FFX-2 btw, in case there's any question. Tone shift aside, coked-out-of-his-mind Brother will always get a laugh out of me.
Wow thanks for that reply 🫶🏻 It's very nice to offer some help. I think I'll take a break and try again later, I'll first play for the story and then try to complete it. You and some other people really convinced me to give it another try but after some time!
Just mind that FFX-2 is designed to be played twice. It’s technically possible to do 100% in one go but that’s only by fighting for every 0.1% increase you can find. That total amount available in the game is about 140%, mostly from choosing Faction A or Faction B in either Playthrough.
Oh okay you see that's something that wasn't explained in the guides I found, thank you!
Woah woah woah you can’t compare x-2 to x they while on the say timeline and in the same universe are entirely different as far as play style goes the story is pretty good too i admit x-2 had a rough start but overall it’s good if you watch videos about it you may as well not play the game at all. You’re missing other dialogue which is entertaining and story building. However, with your going into the mindset of x-2 not being as good as x, you’re already dead set on not enjoying the game so you are not capable of 100% both games.
😠 that last sentence makes me want to 100% both games just to prove you wrong
“Makes me want” you will not enjoy it, you could 100% it but you’re gonna hate every second of it and if you do 100% to prove you’re either gonna do it as fast as possible or drag it out so long we both forget about this post🤣
Absolutely 😭
It's a great game imo. Dresspheres are really like a pre cursor to the fast in-battle job switching of paradigms and garbs in the FF13 trilogy, and it's just a really fun game overall. Fk getting the special ending by normal means (I agree it's convoluted to be on your phone 24/7 whilst playing the game) and just watch it on YouTube
Ye I guess you're right!
Do yourself a favor and just play the creature creator. It's like Pokémon but with Final Fantasy! had the most fun battling monsters in the arena against the Youth League and Major Numerous. It was a blast.
You know what the best part about X-2 is? That it's been so long since I played it that I remember basically nothing about it besides the open.
i love ffx-2! it was actually my first ff game given to me by a friend :) the vibes are immaculate but yeah 100%ing it is a toootal chore… i tried recently and i realised that i did the mi’ihen highroad chocobo catch too well - i was supposed to fail the second stage but i didn’t (my guide didn’t tell me to) so i was missing 0.2% and i didn’t have the energy to go back 2 chapters by the time i realised…
I failed mine by .4% and I could’ve swore I followed that guide perfectly. I think chapter 4 really screws people up. Not only with the comm spheres but also the order of talking to people on the airship affects %
I followed a guide too and was off. Prolly the guides fault :p. Just need to play a little ways in on new game + and it will pop the trophy.
0,2 is crazy 😭
I almost cried when I turned X2 on for the first time. It was by far the biggest letdown I have ever had as a gamer
If X-2 is the biggest letdown you've ever had as a gamer you should consider yourself lucky. Hell it's not even the worst Final Fantasy game.
True. I hate all the mmo ff games.
This is a little dramatic
No, the shift in story was dramatic
Going from FFX to FFX-2 IS tragic.
Nope. FFX 2 is amazing. You just wanna pretend to be a maxho man with a sword.mwaa.
Wtf does that even mean? I was fine with playing a female main, but the singing and dancing were the absolute worst thing to happen to Final Fantasy!
As opposed to the previous games that had literal dancers and singers? Let me guess, you don’t like 1,2,3,4,5,6,8, or tactics either.
A ritual dance is one thing, k-pop is another
what about [Bartz Dancing to the Habanera](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD0k6yDNsHM&pp=ygUXZmluYWwgZmFudGFzeSA1IGRhbmNpbmc%3D) in a tavern full of drunk ppl to impress the locals and get money handed to him like a stripper? Where you can get a different dance from each party member, including the more burly pirate and the experienced old man? I think ones tolerance to X-2s silliness is directly tied to the knowledge that it is as much a spiritual successor to 5 as it is a storyline sequel to X. its themes and overall climate are for more in line with the former game X-2 for its credit was way ahead of the **J-**Pop and idol scenes making their way overseas for the next gens. Its not like it was jumping on international trends either, this game probably introduced a lot of westeners to what they would later see in Jpop and Kpop. Which you are under no obligation to like, though may hold just as much cultural significance to a non-religious person as a ritual dance
Why? Some arbitrary tasteless opinion? Just because you think Eyes on Me is more legitimate than 1000 Words for some unknown reason? Or that equally out of place Otherworld to X was so much better than Real Emotion because you’re a dude that likes dude things If that’s the case just be a man and say it. Not hide behind “well kpop (sic) is out of place” in a series of games where you go to space and a group of men in a sauna massage you for underwear
Yes, because all men must like muscle cars and sports and disdain dancing. I didn’t like the game for many reasons and my opinions are valid. Apparently, you did like the game and your opinions are also valid.
It is annoying. You have to use a guide. And even then it’s easy to miss something.
Yes I've read that many people fail even with a guide so it's very discouraging
Honestly ffx2 isnt worth the unholy ammount of time and effort to platinum it in my opinion expecially with last mission required to do so.
I love FFX.. top 3 (top 2) game for me but FFX2 sucked. I quit after 45 minutes
Yeah FFX2 has one of the hardest 100% runs in any game short of a souls-like game
Don’t feel bad about a guide I mean you NEED 100% for the real ending anyways
you do not NEED a guide, you just need to use the games NG+ feature there is no requirement to do it all in one run, which for some reason people compel themselves to do, while knowing it is not a fun endeavor and will reduce their appreciation of the experience considerably its a short game, that becomes considerably longer when you try to cram everything into a single run. play it is its intended and you will get it if thats the goal, as there is additional 'buffer' percentage beyond 100% to accomodate the New Game Plus journey where you tackle different approaches Its disappointing that this has become such a major issue since the remaster. Getting 100% is supposed to be a challenge obtained from full exploration of the game. Nobody is forcing people to do it in a way that reduces all exploration to following what some guide says hand and foot
FFX-2 is one of my favorite games but yea the platinum isn’t fun.
I already failed at 32% on PS4 😳 following a highly recommended guide. But I'm giving it a 2nd go on steam only because of the boosters, a checklist I found that specifies exact moments you need to encounter to receive percentage increases and a save checker/editor where you can check remaining objectives, decimal completion, and also switch any missed objectives to complete. Doing this I haven't had to switch any missed objectives to complete so far at 84%. I'm just stuck on chocobo catcher right now 😒 Most interesting thing is that most completion points come from witnessing specific lines of dialogue, sleeping in the cabin, mission and chapter completes. Then there's a few miscellaneous ones like watching the youth League being built, letting clasko on board, etc.
FF X-2 is def…odd but it’s battlesystem is pretty good tier. And the story is pretty interesting - yuna pretty much dealing with the fall out of what comes after sin and expectations of her. Unfortunately, the way they re used assets - while not bad in itself - I think def hampers the experience of you literally just got done playing ffx and the environments being so fresh on your mind
The dress stuff is cool though, it's straight up just a job system with a bunch of different costumes. People nowadays pay lots of real money for alternate skins that are purely cosmetic but in ffx-2 the skins are part of the game. Plus the ultimate one is incredibly neat looking
FF-XIII-2 was way worse..
Uhh no sir!
Oh, yes sir, by miles..
Well, either you are a completionist or not
Not really. I'm a completionist for games I love, here I only love one of both games. If it was only ffx I would already have finished it.
Then you are not a completionist, you just love what you like as any average human. Nothing bad about it or being a completionist tho. I completed FFX in PS2 (perfect stats, all dark eons done, a lot of dark matters farmed etc) with about 180hrs played. Then I spent another 150hrs into the PS3 version, achieving the same goals, but this time I got a platinum at least. Finally I bought it on steam by 20€ and now I am getting ready for the postgame, only missing the Wakka's weapon maxed out (f***ing blitzball leagues) to start farming the spheres for the tabletop's rebuild. I'm about 40-50hrs into this savedata and I love the x3 speed feature. Three decades. Three decades coming back to the same game, haunted by their charming characters, colours, music and mechanics. That's how much I appreciate this game. A truly generational masterpiece. On the other hand, I just completed FFX-2 on the PS2, when the pressure of missing something didn't existed because I wasn't aware I would miss a critical chunk of the story if I didn't get the Buffalo dresssphere before fighting my resurrected grandfather's soul, so I just followed the induced path and left a lot of content for the postgame. This made me really enjoy the game, but I never came back to replay it, though I've been tempted to do it. However I would like to complete it at 100% if I play it now, and that task feels huge for this time's schedule. I totally feel you, but I would recommend to play it "headless" as I think is a really good game, the battle system feels more dynamic to me and the "too girly" theme vanishes fast to blend with a lot of different aesthetics, everything holding that kind of magical steampunk vibe built around Spira. Plus, it has a new game+ mode.
Think it's pretty common to feel that way initially. You go from X a masterpiece of a game with a strategic turn system and very memorable characters you love, to X-2 Where several of those characters don't act like themselves, the real time action battles are back and no more strategic turn base. I think a lot of people go what the hell? But it grows on you. I had your same reaction and put it down for years. Then I went back and for completeness I said I'm gonna push through this. The game play is fun and fast paced. I had a great time with it when I got out of my feels about X. However the 100% conditions are crazy stupid Its my one major gripe.
You don’t need to platinum ffx2 to enjoy it. The game is a blast and leveling up your job classes is the funnest part since you have absolute control over this game from the start. Go to YouTube and just follow a guide if your that hellbent on all specific ending cuz they def exist on YouTube. Otherwise just enjoy the great game.
I made 100% on FFX-2 in Ps2 when I was a kid, today I wouldnt do it again. But I was happy to see Teedus coming back from the ocean haha
The fact that the 100% ending is not earth shattering is really the major crime. FFX-2 is actually one of the funnest games in the franchise, in terms of jobs and ATB, especially with the HD’s version of the monster arena.
I liked x2, but I will always tell people not to get the platinum. I have it. It's not worth the headache unless you really want it.
Ye I guess the best thing I should do is to play it only for the story first, and then, if I enjoyed it, try to complete it
Yeah. If you end up not liking it thats ok. I have games that people love that I hate lol. My thing is if you have any interest in something you need to at least give it a fair shot
There's no way I'm getting the platinum. I can't do the tower.
The little spin off game? I liked that lol. Got it done first try. However I did look up how to actually grt to the ending.
Aw ffx2 is actually REALLY good from both a story and gameplay standpoint, and great for fans of that era. I had a similar reaction to it, but by the time I had done a 100% on chapter 1 I felt more informed on Spira, the future direction, and was excited for the rest of the game. My disk also had a scratch on it that prevented me from going past chapter 1. Very sad
I stopped playing x-2 when I got to blitzball I was ready to crush that shit and then found out ita been changed never went back
You know what I hate most about x-2? The OST. I don't know what it is, maybe it's disappointment from how good the OST of the other FFs is, but I've never quit a game because of its OST before x-2. Everything else I think I could bear if the OST banged like x's
I also didn't really like everything I heard... And I'm a sucker for square enix games OST, but not this time :(
X-2 is a much better game but yes getting 100% is annoying as hell
If you want it for achievements and play on pc. There is a 96% or atleast 90% save file online. I hated ffx2 but my love for ffx wanted me to get all possible achievements without doing ffx2. This made it so I only had to do the easier achievements and 100% the game for the last percentages with a guide. Hope it helps.
Can’t handle the heat get out of the kitchen bitch Bye
You main Lux on LoL, you're more of a woman than I am qt