The visuals in this game are astounding from head to toe. The emotions of the characters are evident through facial expressions and body language alone. The FMVs are second-to-none, portraying the actions of the party flawlessly while showing off the luscious environments the player encounters in Spira. Since it is a motif in X, water is especially well done: the reflections off it and its constant motion are accurately represented. Even outside of the FMV, the standard battle screen and world mode offer some of the best graphics encountered on the PS2.
Square Enix has demonstrated the power of the PS2 with the astounding graphics of Final Fantasy X. My only complaint stems from the fact that they were perhaps overused: did the graphics encourage so many cutscenes or did the cutscenes require such graphics? In any case, believe the hype on the graphics in real-time and in FMVs.
Die-hard fans of Final Fantasy will undoubtedly place much importance on the soundtrack of X. The stellar musical accompaniments found in all of the series are here also. Like its predecessors, it features a variation of the standard battle theme, victory music, and a few other well-known pieces. In addition, it has its own theme, a sorrowful and moving piano composition. The music aside, sound effects are blended in well with the game and never distract the player but always add to the experience. The voice-overs are somewhat shaky, but after playing many games where I must read the text of the game and imagine the characters' voices, it is a relief to hear the characters as the director intended them to sound. It plays more like a movie when the characters speak for themselves and you feel more connections to a character. On the other hand, this makes skipping through large amounts of dialog impossible, as the characters must say every line first. While the mechanics of the dubbing don't quite fit perfectly, the voice actors do their job remarkably well, a tribute to the continuing excellence of audio in an installment of the Final Fantasy series.
Once you've beaten Final Fantasy X you'll have played for roughly 40 hours. The game is huge and expansive, with most of these hours coming from the main quest. The side-quests, while rewarding, only add a little to this already monstrous amount of gameplay. The ending leaves you wishing you could play some more and discover the final fates of each character, but rest assured, there is enough substance that you'll be glad to have finally beaten this game. Hardcore fans might play through this game again, but the average player will experience a new adventure in almost every sitting. This alone encourages players to come back and even attempt vital sections of the game until happy with the outcome.
