[COLUMN] Notes From My First Final Fantasy X Replay in 24 Years | by Marty Sliva

In the lead-up to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, I wanted to do a full replay/rewatch of everything in the FF7-sphere to prepare for the new game. That somehow morphed into me starting with Final Fantasy I, and making my way through every game in the franchise chronologically, culminating in the whole swath of FF7-related media like Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus, Advent Children, and the YouTube video of the 2004 mobile game Before Crisis.

To be honest, I loved this project. Seeing how the series evolved from the NES, to the SNES, and into the PS1/PS2 felt like experiencing a microcosm of video game history itself. I gained a newfound appreciation for the franchise’s trends, themes, and stumbles as it evolved into the powerhouse it would be by the late-’90s. 

In February of 2024, VII Rebirth arrived. I devoured the game and loved it, but then was left with a sinking feeling of “what now?” So, I decided to just keep going. Every few months, I’d start the next game in the series, which I’ve been slowly making my way through on my Twitch channel. Final Fantasy VIII delivered incredible music, characters, and vibes, but sadly that was wrapped in a battle system that I just absolutely did not gel with. And then replaying the endless charm of Final Fantasy IX reaffirmed why it’s one of my favorites in the franchise, and a game that I’m eagerly awaiting to see if Square Enix is actually doing the oft-rumored remake/remaster of.

But then July 2025 rolled around, and it was time for me to dip into Final Fantasy X. For me, this would be the first time I had played the game since my Christmas break of 2001, shortly after it was released. I really enjoyed it at the time, but if I’m being honest, it didn’t leave the same lasting impression on me that many of the other 2001 PS2 bangers did – namely Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid 2, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, Ico, Jak and Daxter, and Grand Theft Auto 3 (holy smokes, what a goddamn holiday season that was, not even mentioning the launch of the GameCube and the original Xbox).

Obviously I feel like I’m in the minority there, as it seems like so many folks across the internet hold FFX in the highest regard when it comes to not only the franchise, but JRPGs as a whole. I chalk up my relatively modest reaction to the game as a possible age thing – my formative years for the genre were the mid-to-late ‘90s, stretching from SNES gems like EarthBound and Chrono Trigger, on through Square’s unparalleled run through the PS1 that I delved into during my episode of The Archive on Parasite Eve.

But all that aside, I was genuinely curious to see how the FFX would hold up on a revisit after all these decades. What would withstand the test of time? What would feel dated? Where would it fall in my personal ongoing ranking of the series?

First off, the game is an absolute stunner in both visuals and music. From the futuristic grandeur of Zanarkand in its prime, to the serene beaches of Besaid, the places your party travels through all make the most of the (at the time) new PS2 hardware. It proudly joins other games in this brief window of 1999-2003 like Chrono Cross, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic Adventure, Super Mario Sunshine, and Wind Waker in my completely made up genre of “damn, video game beaches hit differently back then.”

Alongside this, I’d put Nobuo Uematsu’s score for FFX right near the top of the series, which is saying something. Right from the start, “To Zanarkand” provides just a somber and melancholy base for the crew’s pilgrimage, which is fitting for the narrative revelations that accompany it.

Aesthetics aside, the battle system is every bit as fun and frantic as I remember, delivering a speed of combat which would clearly go on to inspire developers for decades to come, as was evidenced a few months ago by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Likewise, the Sphere Grid is a rewarding, if slightly cumbersome, way of having the us play an active role in how our characters grow throughout the adventure. 

It also helps that the modest party of seven main party members means that everyone plays an important role, both narratively as well as mechanically in battle. Yes, even you, Kimahri. That said, I do wish that we’d get a bit more backstory or insight into some of them separate from the main quest – I always go back to Chrono Trigger as a game that expertly uses separate late-game sidequests tied to each of the party members as a way of fleshing out their character and providing a bit of narrative closure before the final battle. 

Which leads me into one of my big sticking points with FFX – it's extremely linear for a bulk of its runtime, unless you’re a sicko who wants to spend time engaging in the hell that is Blitzball. I’m a bit torn on it, to be honest – on one hand, there’s a distinct lack of freedom right up until the endgame where you acquire the airship and can choose to either proceed on to the final stretch or go putter around the rest of the areas. That railroading feels like it goes against so many of the franchise’s core principles that have been in place since the NES.

However, it also makes sense of this specific story. It all revolves around Yuna and crew’s pilgrimage along the well-trodden path of those who came before them. Their mission to summon the final Aeon and rid the world of Sin is one of constant forward momentum, so it makes narrative sense that we wouldn’t be wandering off the beaten path to go bet on chocobos at the Gold Saucer.

Aside from this, there are also some technical annoyances that were fine for 2001, but stick out like a sore thumb in modern remasters and collections. The fact that you can’t skip cutscenes is borderline blasphemous – not that I want to skip any of them the first time through, but the game will often drop a beefy one right before a boss fight, and if you happen to lose to to said boss, then I hope you enjoy rewatching that short film again. Also, whoever designed the puzzles in the various Cloisters needs to answer for their crimes. I love a good dungeon, but holy shit were these things tedious, cumbersome, and so wildly opaque in their design. 

The modern remasters also lack some of the basic QoL features that exist in the modern versions of 1-9 + 12. You can’t toggle combat on or off (which would be nice, considering how the encounter rate here is a smidge too high for my liking), and only the Steam version contains the ability to play at either x2 or x4 speed. No idea why that is, but it’s not ideal.

Even with those complaints, I’m excited to jump back into the game tonight and roll credits on Final Fantasy X. This replay has made me appreciate and admire the hell out of the game, and while it still doesn’t reach my own personal top shelf of the franchise, it’s an immensely important entry with a great story and wonderful music, so that gets a hell yeah from me. I’m looking forward to taking a short break, and then jumping right into Final Fantasy X-2 – a game I only played a few hours of at release, but one I feel like I’m really going to dig this time around.