Despite being ‘side content’, these normal quests are where, in my opinion, the best writing of the entire game is. There are a lot of scenarios, and it seems like they tapped into just as much as you could get out of this kind of sci-fi premise. Almost all of these additions sand down the rough edges of Xenoblade X, but crucially don’t remove the game’s friction and focus on exploration. It’s still an experience that demands a lot of the player themselves, but has eased almost all of the needless frustration present in the original game. It’s maybe the truest sense of “Definitive Edition” that I’ve ever seen in a video game.
Perhaps the biggest adjustment is that you can now conveniently change out your party members at any time, anywhere, from a separate menu. While this is a basic feature of many RPGs, the original version instead asked you to memorize where every single character was within New LA and go talk to them in order to swap them in. Sure, maybe that process was more tied to the world around you, but it was also painstaking and incredibly annoying – especially if you were out exploring, since you’d have to return to New LA to change your lineup.
Even now having come around to adore X, it’s still pretty important to set expectations to what kind of game this is. It doesn’t have the kind of guided story a lot of RPGs do, and its dense systems can be a lot to digest. But it’s a game with a wholly unique vision, and only gets better the more time you put into it. In terms of story, new party members add more complexity to the narrative, on top of a robust brand-new epilogue that provides some vital closure the original game didn’t have — and some tantalizing hints for a potential future.
Battles in your Skell play out similarly to ones on foot, except the Skell weapons you equip determine what kind of Arts you have. It’s another added layer of depth and tinkering that pleased the min-maxing part of my brain. Towards the end of the story, your Skell even gets the ability to fly, letting you reach higher altitudes and providing access to mountains you couldn’t explore at the beginning. This brings exploration to new heights, making Mira really feel like humanity’s new home as you gain the ability to go pretty much anywhere unrestricted. After spending nearly half a dozen hours with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the game has easily become my most anticipated release of 2024. Smartly evolving the rock-solid foundation of its predecessor while significantly expanding its scope, it’s a mesmerizing experience with a vast world that begs to be explored.
What to Play Next
One of the main hub’s themes, for example, sounds like someone wrote half a dozen bars of a rap song, forgot to finish it, and decided to just loop them instead. After the bright colors and generally improved lighting in Chronicles 3 and Chronicles Definitive Edition, it would’ve been nice to see a similar touch-up for Chronicles X. Her spirit greets summoners at the end of their journey, where they must now sacrifice one of their guardians so that she can begin the cycle again. When Yuna refuses to sacrifice a guardian, Yunalesca attacks the party and is ultimately defeated.
This four-legged fiend was incredibly final fantasy aggressive and preferred to scurry along the ceiling, flinging volatile projectiles. However, after roasting his hulking hands with a few fireballs, he’d tumble to the ground, allowing Cloud and Sephiroth to unleash the fury of their Synergy ability to cut him down to size. Released in 1997, Final Fantasy 7 tells what many believe to be the best story in the whole series. The game follows Cloud Strife, a former SOLDIER, as he attempts to make a life for himself in the city of Midgar. Unfortunately for him, however, a dark presence known as Sephiroth has returned and is hellbent on using Cloud to take revenge on humanity.
Tips and Tricks for Your Playthrough
Despite the confusion he faces in a new world, Tidus is initially very childish and carefree. He rushes to rescue the summoner from the temple, disregarding the traditions and cultural ramifications that may come with it. Why do we keep seeing them, can they be harmful, and what other games do we expect to …
Add to this a job board that will have you scouring seemingly every inch of the map to please the locals, and you have an overabundance of content to explore in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. While my preview session lasted five hours, I could easily imagine it taking twice as long or more to tackle everything the Grasslands had to offer, judging from the number of areas of interest still dotting my map by the time the demo ended. Previously just a bite-sized portion of Final Fantasy VII’s story, this region is now a sprawling, verdant expanse to explore. You can scour the countryside for materials to craft items, armor, and armor upgrades with your new Item Transmuter.
Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster
As nice as the upgrades are, my favorite thing about this remastered version is all the extra goodies it comes with. Not only does it feature trophy support and the ability to cross-save between the PS3 and Vita versions, but North American fans are finally treated to extra gameplay content from the International Editions. Standout moments include taking on challenging new Super Bosses in X and capturing and training fiends with the Creature Creator in X-2. They made my playthroughs even more enjoyable– so much so that although it only takes 40 to 50 hours to complete each game, I easily spent twice as long exploring new areas, taking on new enemies, and acquiring rare items.
Yuna is the chosen summoner, the one who must go on a pilgrimage to stop the deadly beast known as Sin from wiping out the world. On top of the immense graphical upgrades, the X/X-2 Remaster also sports a completely remastered soundtrack. However, if you’re more of a traditionalist, you can swap between the original and remastered soundtracks on the fly, choosing whichever you like the best. Final Fantasy X was a visual treat when it released on the PS2, but obviously, things haven’t aged quite as well since then.
I’ve never minded RPG quests doing this as long as I enjoy the main gameplay loop, and it’s fantastic here. What elevates these quests to being special is the writing and their effect on the world around you. There are some specific aspects of this battle system that elude me to this day, but I think it all comes together wonderfully. Soul Voices, additional abilities, to name a few I dabbled in but didn’t feel were crucial to beat the game. In terms of gamefeel though, being able to sprint and jump around the battlefield to change positioning on the fly adds a lot of frantic energy to the core Xenoblade combat. Definitive Edition cleans up the battle UI substantially, and with a redesigned tutorial system that doesn’t obscure the specifics of how the game works under the hood, the play experience has only improved.
You are not inherently special, and there are a lot of people in this world simply trying to live their lives. They might all be not be going out there and doing extraordinary things like fighting large monsters or leaping off massive cliffs without taking fall damage, but they’re going through their own struggles. Their issues are important to them, just as the main story might be important to you. Getting a chance to make an effort to connect to regular people and help them through their problems is a brilliantly compelling story told directly through gameplay.
Minor additions to say the least, but I do appreciate the ability to play on any PlayStation platform and listen to new remixed music. In terms of the latter though, you cannot play the remixed music on the PS3 or PS Vita version of the game. About a year ago, I had the opportunity to review Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster on the PS3 and thought that it was pretty great. The game brought back not only FFX, but also FFX-2 with content from the international versions coupled with an admirable upgrade for the very first time. Being assigned the review duties for Final Fantasy X