As I write this review, the original PlayStation 2 release of Final Fantasy X just rang in its 25th anniversary in Japan. This Nintendo Switch 2 version of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster has obviously been timed to coincide with this momentous milestone, offering an opportunity to help it stand out from other recent Square Enix Switch 2 ports of a similar nature. Still, it’s as good an opportunity as any to talk a little about these games and what they meant for a franchise that had been flying high but would soon find itself stalling out. Final Fantasy X, in a lot of ways, is the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end, if you’ll allow me to be a little poetic.
Before that, however, let’s talk about the specific subject of this review: the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster. The original Switch played host to its own version of this collected duology, and given some hard technical limits we know are in place thanks to releases on more powerful hardware, whether or not this is worth the upgrade. Especially since this is the kind where there’s no upgrade path or discount for owners of the existing version, and no save transfer. If you want this, you’re paying the full asking price and playing from scratch.
I’ll be frank: the technical gains here are quite modest, particularly if you’re comparing it to playing the Switch release docked or in handheld Boosted Mode on your Switch 2. Playing them side-by-side, the only thing my eyes caught was a slightly crisper image. The big additions here are a selection of cheats, allowing you to play the games at a faster speed, decrease or increase the random encounter rate, engage auto-battle, or supercharge your characters via button commands. You can also straight-up give yourself all the items, unlock all the skills, or max out your gil. These options were available in the PC port of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, but they’re missing from the original Switch version. Weirdly, the autosave feature found in that PC release is not included here. Don’t forget to save often!
That’s it, unfortunately. Somewhat crisper image, new cheats. I’m not going to tell you what those things are worth to you personally, but I will say that I’m a little disappointed that this is all that a fully separate new purchase amounts to. It’s clear this is the route Square Enix plans to take with Switch 2 versions, given recent behavior, but it stings in this case more than most, given how little is different. Not a problem if you didn’t already buy the Switch version, I suppose, but if you already own it, then I think this is all a bit dear for what you get. That’s for you to decide, however.
Pulling back a bit, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster is what it says on the tin. The 2001 PlayStation 2 release and its 2003 direct sequel are included, along with the non-playable short movie that bridges the two stories, Eternal Calm, and Final Fantasy X-2’s playable epilogue, Last Mission. There’s an additional option on the menu that displays the credits and includes something called Bonus Audio. That’s actually an audio play from the writer of Final Fantasy X and X-2, also known as Final Fantasy X: Will, serving as the last word in the Final Fantasy X story thus far. It’s somewhat awkward as it’s clear it was meant to tee up some kind of future sequel that never manifested, but if you take it the way it’s labeled, I suppose it’s fine.
As for the new versions of the games, the HD Remaster makes quite a lot of changes to the original PlayStation 2 visuals. It also adds an option to choose between the original and arranged soundtracks, so you can have it both ways. I’m somewhat mixed on the HD graphics. While the visuals generally look sharper and more detailed, some of the character models can be off-putting in certain scenes. Since the HD Remaster uses the International editions as a base, there’s a fair amount here that wasn’t in the original English PlayStation 2 releases. In Final Fantasy X, you can choose to use the Expert Sphere Grid instead of the standard one. There are also some new optional bosses. Final Fantasy X-2 features the Pokémon-lite Creature Creator system, some additional Dresspheres, and a handful of new minigames.
I don’t think the remakes better the originals in every way, but I can’t imagine recommending the original PlayStation 2 English releases over them at this stage either. They largely get the point across, and I recognize not everyone has a similar affection to mine for the distinctive look of PlayStation 2 graphics running in their rawest form. The arranged soundtrack has some wins and some losses over the original, but it’s at least worth listening to if you haven’t heard it before. With that all said, these are still very much games of their time and place, no matter how they’ve been dressed up.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing? That’s going to come down to taste, but there’s something curiously nostalgic about it all for me. Cameras that are almost there but not quite. Fixed angles. Environments that are in a weird zone between abstract and fully-realized. Invisible walls and artificial barriers abound. Slightly awkward voice acting performances that don’t match the characters’ lip flaps. Surprisingly good models for main characters and surprisingly low-detail models for NPCs. A lot of slightly crusty systems and UI choices you probably wouldn’t see in modern games. It’s all here, and I love it.
This was an interesting time in video game history. After clumsy steps into proper 3D in the previous generation, the PlayStation 2 had enough oomph to actually cash some imagination cheques. It did not, however, have quite enough oomph to fully pay them out. That’s not even touching the notion of whether development teams were ready to take those big steps, with some genres dealing with more problems than others as a result of raised expectations. Final Fantasy had been scorching hot for the previous several years, finally breaking out globally alongside the Japanese-style RPG genre itself. Square had become the darlings of the console space, noted for pushing the boundaries of production values beyond most previous standards with its PlayStation output.
Things were happening for Square in 2001, and if nothing else, it was a decisive year for the company. Final Fantasy X saw the series make its debut on the next-generation PlayStation 2 hardware. Despite some compromises and a huge shake-up to the franchise formula, it was a big success. Unfortunately, not all Final Fantasy ventures that year yielded similar results. Square bet big on a lavish CG-rendered theatrical Final Fantasy film, and the gamble did not pay off. Within a couple of years, Square would end up merging with its rival Enix, and the debt incurred by Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was a big part of why that happened.
Basically, a lot changed after Final Fantasy X was released. Final Fantasy ventured into the online space with Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XII ran into serious development issues that resulted in the biggest gap between mainline releases up to that date, and that, in turn, pushed Final Fantasy XIII back and into production issues of its own. Final Fantasy went from something that came every couple of years to once or twice a decade. The brand seemed confused and, to a great extent, still does. All of this would have seemed so bizarre back in 2001 when Final Fantasy X hit.
That’s not to say Final Fantasy X wasn’t a little rulebreaker itself, though. The ATB battle system that had been a staple of the series since its fourth installment a decade earlier was swapped out for a strictly turn-based system. Characters could be easily swapped in and out, and battles were a lot more about targeting weaknesses with the right character than anything else. The world map was gone, replaced with a list of locations. The characters had full voice acting, pushing Square’s cinematic ambitions even further. Also on the audio front, series composer Nobuo Uematsu shared duties with other composers for the first time ever in the mainline series. This would indeed be his last Final Fantasy game as lead composer.
The other barrier Final Fantasy X broke? It received a direct sequel. Even Final Fantasy VII hadn’t mustered that at this point. Final Fantasy X-2 brought back the ATB battle system and a variation on the popular Job System via its Dresspheres, but leaned heavily into a pop aesthetic right down to licensing a track from then-up-and-coming star Koda Kumi. With only three characters, all women, and a tone that frequently shifted between absurdly playful and surprisingly somber, Final Fantasy X-2 split fans. Don’t worry, it rules. It also had multiple endings, and if you wanted the best one, you probably needed to either buy the official guide or wait for someone to do their thing at GameFAQs. Its Japanese release was published by Square alone, but by the time it hit North America, it had that fresh new Square Enix logo on the box. The end, and the beginning.
Naturally, little of this history matters when it’s time to sit down and play. Fortunately, both games are still great experiences. Final Fantasy X has a powerful melancholy running through it, and by the time it reaches its climax, it’s hard not to be incredibly invested in the story it’s laying out. The battle system is strategic but easy to understand, and the setting is truly unforgettable. There are some very annoying minigames to deal with if you want to do everything in the game, but you control the buttons you press. You don’t have to dodge those lightning bolts tonight, Roxanne. The lack of a world map actually works in the game’s favor in some ways, as the way the journey is presented really sells the idea of being on a pilgrimage.
Final Fantasy X-2 might feel perplexing initially with its poppy vibes and corny characters, but it too has a rather interesting story to tell about a world trying to deal with its collective grief. Some ways healthy, some not so much. The combat system is a lively throwback with a fun twist in the form of mid-battle Job changes via the Dressphere grid. There are tons of little secrets to uncover here, which is cool in the sense that it gives you a lot to do, but not so cool in the sense that the best ending is locked behind stumbling across just about all of it. Someone seriously needs to dump a bucket of ice water on Brother, though. Come on, dude. Even an Olympic swimming pool full of Sprite could not quench this man’s thirst.
I love both of these games deeply when it comes down to it. But it’s also hard not to look at this period as a turning point for Final Fantasy as a franchise, for better or worse. There was no going back after Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, and that was a problem in that Square Enix didn’t seem to know which way it wanted to go forward with the series. That doesn’t mean we haven’t received good or even great games carrying the Final Fantasy name since, because we definitely have. They’ve just been incredibly inconsistent about what they want to be apart from big, expensive RPGs. It’s been a seriously bumpy road in the quarter of a century since Final Fantasy X released.
Whether you revisit that more optimistic past via this Nintendo Switch 2 version of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster or not is up to you, but it’s assuredly worth returning to in whatever form you choose. All this new version really has to offer is a slightly crisper image and a handful of new cheats, so it’s probably a better choice for people who passed on the original Switch release than those who already own it. I really wonder how many people who would be interested in this Switch 2 release fall into that category, though. If that’s you, this is well-worth the asking price.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review Copy Provided by Square Enix
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