They released a sequel to a Final Fantasy.
Did they do a good job? In my opinion, I'd say it was a pretty decent shot.
Final Fantasy X-2 picks up where X left off. The ending for X left a lot more questions for its fans than answers. Therefore, Squaresoft decided to put those questions to rest by doing its first ever sequel of a Final Fantasy.
Obviously, as the many reviews have shown, Yuna ends up being your main character. No longer is she the timid and quiet summoner/white magic user. She's packin' bullets and a bit of an attitude with her friends Rikku and Paine to help her out. She's now a sphere hunter, which is more or less like a real life archaelogist, except she does it for spheres (and the occasional adventure).
The game starts off with Yuna seeing a familiar figure in a movie sphere. Haunted by this image of the past, she begins her adventure to find just who this person is, and ends up running into more than she bargained for.
The story for this game is actually pretty standard - you might even say somewhat predictable. But it ain't too bad - it's nothing that makes it stand out, but it's good to know what Square believes is to be what happens to Yuna after the events of X.
Gameplay has been revamped. No longer do you have to deal with the (rather annoying) Sphere Grid system. In this game, you end up using Dress Spheres to transform your character into different classes. Their stats and skills change depending on what class they turn into, and these skills can be earned through repeated use in combat. In other words, this game becomes a throwback to the FF5 system, which allowed your characters to be any class they wanted to be. You can even switch classes in-battle, and the transformation sequences are way too reminiscent of many mahou-shoujo (magical girl) anime... cheesy poses and all. Of course, after seeing them for the first time, you have the option of cutting them short.
Battles are at a much faster pace. Instead of the relatively simple turn-based combat of FFX, X-2 has gone back to the ATB system, except it's MUCH more defined. You can actually see how long it takes for a character to "power up" for a move, and your characters can also attack your enemy in the MIDDLE of your other character's moves. i.e. Yuna can use her Gunplay move that allows her to hit her opponent multiple times. Meanwhile, in the middle of it, Rikku can combo an attack while Yuna's hitting them. Successive hits results in chains and big damage. Almost gives the system a "fighting game" kind of approach. Time your hits well and you can amplify the amount of pain you inflict. The relatively chaotic nature of your battles often causes your characters to end up all over the battlefield. Sometimes they'll be clumped together, while some other moves may end up spreading them out. Their location actually affects how some of their attacks hit. The farther they are, the longer it will take for a melee-based attack to hit.
The game isn't a continuous trek like it was in X. You already start off in an airship (the same one from X) and almost every area in the land is already available for you to visit. This gives the game a relatively freeform feeling, as you can do whatever you want in whatever order. However, only certain areas will progress the story forward, but you are almost always free to visit the other areas for items, quests, etc.
Graphics-wise, it's basically a cut and paste job from X with a few new areas thrown in. They used the same CG rendering style as they did in X for the FMVs, so the characters look beautiful as always. If you're expecting something new and spectacular when it comes to the graphics department, you're going to be disappointed. At the very least, however, they didn't make anything worse, but for a project that lasted a couple years, you would've expected them to add more.
Controls? Well, it's an RPG. If you have problems with controls in an RPG, you're gonna have problems playing a *lot* of games.
Sound... in terms of sound effects, everything sounds just about right for what they do. Cure makes the same noise as it always does, and nothing is more satisfying than watching one of your girls in a Samurai dress sphere hit your enemy with a satisfying clunk. Interface sounds the same and generally nothing really makes you go "why the heck did they do that?" when it comes to the sound department.
Voice acting however, is where it's a bit tricky. Of the three in your main cast, I will actually say Rikku is the best acted - she sounds perky and cute in the JP version, and the VA for this girl doesn't fail to disappoint. Yuna still sounds somewhat boring, but her VA has improved somewhat. Paine sounds relatively flat... the VA for her seems to have tried *too* hard to make her sound sarcastic. I would still prefer they'd allow you to listen to the JP VAs, but that's more or less a sub vs. dub debate that's best left alone.
Music for this game is decent. Old tunes from X have been preserved, with real Emotion being the theme song and A Thousand Words being the image song (both sung by Jade, originally done by Koda Kumi). They're not too bad, but they may make the game feel too much like a wannabe pop game. If you haven't seen the X-2 intro yet, you'll know what I mean once you do.
The atmosphere for this game is actually relatively light-hearted compared to the past FFs, which were much too angsty for my tastes (Squall deserves a kick in the rear for his attitude). It's almost like the game *knows* it's different, with the whole pop thing going on and the many comical scenes. If you dislike the fact that the game doesn't takes itself seriously, you may come to hate it.
I, however, thoroughly enjoyed this game. It brought new life into an old world, and did a pretty good job of telling the story of Yuna's life after X. The dress sphere and revamped ATB systems makes for a more interactive battle. The mission system may be a bit annoying for some people (who hate having to be "forced" to do something), but again it adds a new element to the FF series that hasn't been introduced before. Music and sound are pretty good - nothing awe-inspiring, but nothing that will really make you grit your teeth. The VAing has been improved, save for the new VA for Paine. The light-hearted nature of the game may drive away some players, but it is the one thing that actually makes it different from many of the previous FFs.
If you're lookin' to have a little bit of fun in an RPG, and be told a story in the process, play X-2. If you're looking for an FF that is incredibly deep, revolutionary and thought-provoking, keep yourself away from this game.
Overall: 8.5