11-18-2003		3-13-2003
	2-20-2004		-

It all began with this sphere of you

High summoner Yuna defeated the threat of Sin once and for all. With the aid of her guardians, she was able to bring the eternal calm to Spira...but with a price. She had to let go of the man she fell in love with.
Two years pass since the day, there is a great measure of peace, and yet there is little guidance for the people of Spira. Groups have formed to bring certain order to the world, while Yevon tries desperately to keep ahold of the people. Unknown to the world, a new threat is about to emerge, one even greater than Sin. One who's secret has been kept for centuries.
Yuna, with the aid of her friends, and strange visions of the past, must now confront this threat, and prevent it from destroying the future of Spira.

Final Fantasy X-2 was released in late 2003 to very mixed reviews. It was definitely a title either you loved or hated. There was very little in-between.
The story takes place two years after the events in Final Fantasy X. Though this is not the first sequel in the series, (The first was Final Fantasy V, and then Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals) it is the first game sequel of the series.
Final fantasy X-2 was also the first title in the series to be released under the newly formed Square-Enix. There was great improvements in the game from previous titles. Things such as a new battle system, that was completely active at all times. There was no longer a wait for another character to perform an attack. You now selected your commands and performed your functions, while the battle is going on. This is perhaps the most innovative system they have done, and is very simple to navigate. This made battles go 20x faster than normal, enabling to move through to the story line faster.
The game unfolded into chapters, with sections inside of them. Though you could rush right to the end of the game, it was suggested to visit every section of each chapter first. This gave you new dressphere's, and allowed you to level up your characters. For each section there were certain scenario's you needed to complete. When the section was completed, you were given a score depending on the actions you took within the section. When you completed the game, your total was tallied, and you would then be able to see two alternate endings to the game
The re-introduction of the Job Classes not seen since V, were given a massive update as well. Now, you were able to change your job class at will, in or out of battle. This made it easy to switch jobs on the fly if the strategy called for it.
The use of the CG animation was well thought, and placed perfectly into the storyline itself. The opening sequence as well as the stunning performance of "1000 Words" were breath taking, with the later causing more tears than not. The smaller sequences were also powerful in their visual performances, and created the rich story relation seldom seen anywhere other than Final Fantasy.
The story itself, was cause for a lot of the critical bad. Where Final fantasy X was a more dark, and devastating story line, X-2 is very upbeat, and almost down right silly. John Daquila from the Jaded Gamer said this: "Final Fantasy X opens with the destruction of an entire city, whereas Final Fantasy X-2 begins with...a pop concert". The evidence of the extreme difference in story between the two can be seen most of all with the character of Yuna. This was the most displeasing change for fans who loved the quiet, intelligent persona of X. Now Yuna is not only strong minded, & intelligent...she is also loud, rambunctious, and often times overly silly. Whereas this would be ok for Rikku, who was outspoken in the first, it was not fitting for Yuna. Even with the two years time from one story to the next.
There was also a bit of backlash on the costumes of the classes, as well as some of the points in the story. The costumes were far more skimpier than any other costume made for the series, and was cited as aiming the "quite feminine" game at their predominantly "Male" audience. There was also a hidden scene in Mt. Gagazet, where the three girls take a dip in the hot spring there. The way the scene is played out, and the character dialog, made it seem more like a crack at Lesbianism, which upset a few parents around the country.
The graphics, surprisingly are no different from that of X. There are small changes in color, as well as a few new locations, but otherwise it is basically the same world. This was surely done to keep within the faith of X, but when people want improved graphics with each new game, this one falls drastically short. And it is saddening, considering Square is usually at the forefront of improving the look of their games, with each new release.
The music of X-2 is the first in the series that did not involve Nobuo Uematsu, who composed the music for the other titles in the main series. Some people have stated that it is definitely recognizable that he is not present, due to the lack of familiar music in X-2. It is considered to be far to Bubble Gummy, to be classified with Final fantasy. Even if this is the case, the music fit perfectly into the game, and did the story backdrop great justice. And the hit songs "Real Emotion", and "1000 Words" are perhaps two of the best game singles out there. Truly works of art in their own rights.
Overall, X-2 is a great game to play. It is a bit more difficult to get into, for those who are into the dark foreboding epics traditionally found in the series. With a few faults against it, the great way it was done, will surely outweigh the bad. If you have never played this title, I would suggest giving it a shot. It really is a wonderful, underrated game to play.