I’ve been a huge Final Fantasy fan ever since I rented Final Fantasy VI on the SNES as a kid, though I fell off during the PlayStation 2 era. I still played Final Fantasy X and X-2, but unfortunately, a tough boss fight and a friend stealing them put a damper on things. Thanks to Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster coming out for the Nintendo Switch 2, I finally have an excuse to try again.
This isn’t the first time Final Fantasy X/X-2 has graced a Nintendo platform; it first released as a dual pack on the Nintendo Switch in 2019, alongside several other Final Fantasy games making their Nintendo debut. The two play the same as they did in their original PlayStation 2 releases, so if you’ve played them already, there’s nothing surprising here.
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster holds up well and still feels fresh and interesting. Final Fantasy X stands out thanks largely to its turn-based gameplay and the Sphere Grid. While the series has used the Active Time Battle (ATB) system ever since Final Fantasy IV on the Super NES, Final Fantasy X breaks tradition by giving what producer Yoshinori Kitase felt was a more strategic take on turn-based gameplay. I personally prefer a purely turn-based system over the filling meters system Final Fantasy usually uses (it’s why I like Dragon Quest so much), so it was a welcome change at the time!
Final Fantasy X‘s Sphere Grid creates a unique take on character growth, allowing players to more freely direct a character’s trajectory via a nonlinear system. Rather than experience points, characters earn Ability Points to progress along the grid, upgrade a character’s stats, and learn new techniques. If there’s one thing I’ve always appreciated about the series, it’s that each entry feels like an attempt to be a whole new experience from the last. The same is true even with Final Fantasy X-2, with differences that genuinely shocked me when I first played it!
I expected Final Fantasy X-2 would be an expansion on its predecessor’s systems, something like Super Mario Galaxy 2 or The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Color me surprised to find that was not the case; while Final Fantasy X bucked tradition, X-2 returned to using the ATB system, which I think was a great decision—not simply to differentiate the game, but because it matched the vibe better. Final Fantasy X-2 feels much more frenetic, both in gameplay and in story.
The other major change was the Dressphere system, which I absolutely adored. It brought me back to Final Fantasy V‘s job system, and it was a lot of fun customizing Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, both mechanically and stylistically! Like the use of ATB, the Dressphere system emphasizes the game’s themes, particularly becoming your true self.
If you’ve never experienced the story of Final Fantasy X/X-2, this is a great way to experience it. It’s not my favorite in the series (that award goes to Final Fantasy IX!), but its plot, writing, characters, and setting are all strong. I’m particularly fond of Yuna (hot take, I know!), but characters like Auron, Rikku, and Wakka also proved to bolster the story. I’m not the biggest fan of Tidus, but he is a great fish out of water to have things explained to, and the mystery of his role in this world is fantastic.
I can’t deny that I was incredibly confused when Final Fantasy X-2 was first announced. I’d been spoiled on much of the story of the first game before playing X-2, but the shift from a more traditional fantasy setting to a pop star Charlie’s Angels vibe had me taken aback (not an uncommon opinion back in the day either). Nowadays, however, I think it works quite well!
Yuna, the true protagonist of the world of Final Fantasy X/X-2, spent her life being told what her role is, and everything about her character in Final Fantasy X-2 feels like an intentional rejection of a life dictated by others. I think a lot of people thought this was an attempt to chase trends, but in my opinion, they just used the rising pop industry in Japan to tell a great story.
While Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster is largely unchanged mechanically, two noticeable features included in this version are touchscreen support and boost features. The touchscreen features, originally featured in the Vita and Switch releases of Final Fantasy X/X-2, allow players to change certain settings on the fly (like Aeon and Dressphere cutscene length) or quick healing. As someone who loves anything that saves me precious seconds in games, especially a long one like Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, I am so thankful to have these!
The boosts are also a nice feature for Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, but none of them really vibe with me except perhaps the encounter control when I’m annoyed by random battles. Features like the ability to make yourself essentially invincible, speed the game up, and unlock all the skills and abilities take away from the fun of an RPG for me. I can understand why people might want to use them, and I don’t begrudge them being there, but it wouldn’t get me to double dip on Final Fantasy X/X-2.
One annoying part I experienced in Final Fantasy X-2 was getting stuck on a tutorial for the touchscreen controls. I have no idea what went wrong (or if anything actually went wrong), but for whatever reason, the tutorial lasted an inordinately long time. I don’t know if I did anything to cause progress or if there was a glitch that made it get stuck, but I only got through it after a few resets, which definitely was not a fun way to start my game! At least it was the only issue of that magnitude I found in Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster.
Whenever I mess with remakes and remasters, I’m usually cautious about new music arrangements. Not that they aren’t good—they usually are!—but at least when it’s a game I’ve already played before, I find that it’s easy for the new version to stray a bit too far away from what I liked about its music.
I remember liking the Final Fantasy X/X-2 music quite a lot, so at first I was sure I would stick with the original. To be thorough, I switched soundtrack versions to get a grasp of how they differ. And color me surprised, the soundtrack rearrangement was quite well done! In many cases, you might not even register that the music differs unless you know the song by heart. It’s only in the more significant pieces, like Tidus’ theme or the battle track, that the differences become obvious.
These were two themes I picked because I have opposing feelings on them. While I felt that “Tidus’s Theme” works best in the new version, the “Battle Theme” is a lot stronger in the original. Not that the new battle track is weak, but it feels less punchy, and I think that’s a big mistake for a battle theme. It’s part of why I find Chrono Cross‘ regular battle theme so weak. Overall, I preferred the original soundtrack mainly because the new soundtrack can overpower the dialogue in cutscenes. Yet, I still find myself switching back to the new music at times.
Unfortunately, problems that plagued the other remasters of Final Fantasy X/X-2 plague this one, too. Square Enix has not said specifically what caused the issues (though Yoshinori Kitase noted a loss of data from the original development), but let me tell you, the faces in the remasters are noticeably worse. The game overall has a strong visual presentation, but the faces and expressions, especially in cutscenes, feel very wooden. It’s downright tragic how stiff Yuna’s face looks!
When you compare the faces, it’s hard to ignore the lack of emotive expression in Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster. If they took the opportunity to try to improve facial expressions with this version, I think I would feel more comfortable recommending double-dipping. Faces aside, the games still look rather beautiful, though that’s been an opinion of mine from the beginning.
While this is a solid release, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster struggles on value. On one hand, I appreciate that the Switch 2 version is the same price as the Switch version (59.99 USD), though I think both are a bit overpriced. What makes it such a bother is Square Enix’s reticence to offer an upgrade option for 10 or even 20 dollars! I get that they have to think about their bottom line, but I feel more people would cop the Switch 2 edition if they could upgrade from the first Switch. The lack of a save data transfer doesn’t help things much, either.
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster looks quite nice, but it doesn’t look noticeably different from the Switch version. If you sat me down and told me this was the Switch edition, I probably would not think twice. There are improvements, sure, and maybe I’m just not that invested in visual fidelity to actively notice, but the upgrades to other games, like Xenoblade Chronicles 2, feel a lot more obvious.
If you’re in the market for Final Fantasy X/X-2, this is as good an option as any, especially if you are interested in playing it handheld. The duology has a story and gameplay mechanics that are among the best in the series, but if you already have it on the Nintendo Switch, there’s little reason to bother. It’s still an all-around great package, but the lack of an upgrade option and no major visual improvements make Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster a hard sell for returning fans.
