Things Overheard: "Final Fantasy X Is Just A Kiddie Game"

The author overhears this phrase and is about to launch into a rebuttal, but then tries to think objectively.

[Pozzle]

I think the author of the article is mistaking "aimed at children" with "appropriate for all ages". Just because FFX can be played by anybody, that doesn't mean it's a "kiddie" game. Heck, Jurassic Park is a PG film but that doesn't mean it's aimed at children.

And it's silly to imply that FFX's romance and pretty visuals are reminiscent of an animated Disney film. Stories of romance aren't just for children, and the romance between Tidus and Yuna is only a small aspect of the overarching story about corrupt religion, eastern mythology, the meaning of life in a world filled with death, whether sacrificing one life is worth rescuing many lives, the meaning of one's self, etc. There are so many concepts and themes in FFX that a small child might not be able to fully understand. Just because it's presented in a child-friendly "colorful" way, that doesn't mean that kids will fully "get" it.

Also...Tidus does not look 13. At all.

[SirBradders]

Exactly I am learning new things about the whole concepts of the game than I did 12 years ago when i was 11 when it originally released.

[levian]

I played this game when I was 12, but it is by no means a kid's game. It is appropriate for all ages like you said. Don't you love the stigma attached to RPGs?

[WeAreLegion]

I overheard something horrible today.

"Man, I'm gettin' ready for that Skyrim to come out! I got my Prestige Edition already paid off!"

He was not joking. He was just a bro. He was obviously taking about the Collector's Edition of The Elder Scrolls: Online though. It's so cringeworthy to hear that stuff. $10 says he sells it within a week.

[Hellsvacancy]

I'm 29 and I STILL can't master Blitzball, trying to beat The Luca Goers is not fun

It certainly isn't a kids game, it may look like one but it doesn't play like one

I can't imagine a child beating completing FFX, I can't imagine many adults finishing it

[cr33ping_death]

It takes some luck.... It took me 3 tries of resetting to beat them.... I couldnt let the Aurochs not win the cup :-)

[BigPappaPump]

The story based game against the Goers is more luck than skill. You won't use Tidus special move until it unlocks in the second half. Add insult to injury, you have a limited time to use him before the plot subs him for wack (as a blitzer) Wakka.

[ceedubya9]

Man I was so happy that I was able to keep it to a 1-0 game in the first half. Then Jecht Shot got me tied, and Wakka got the thrilling win in overtime!

[Hellsvacancy]

I'm probably going to give up on it, I read you only get a strength sphere, I thought I would get something rarer

I've tried 5 times, i'll have to do it atleast once more, if I can't do it i'll just continue

I will play Blitzball again, later in the game

[The Great Melon]

Jecht Shot was a must for that first game! It was almost impossible to win without that when you first come to Luca.

[Hellsvacancy]

I did it :D 2.1

I can't say it was really worth restarting 5-6 times for a strength sphere and a very minor cutscene of Wakka holding the cup talking to his teammates about retiring

When I played it on the PS2 I never payed Blitzball again, I have been this time, it's pretty easy now I know, my players are leveling up, it's actually quite fun, I will continue to play it

I also found a movie theatre that I didn't know existed, haven't got much gil

[rainslacker]

Get the Jecht Shot(or sphere shot early), try to score early, then swim between Keepa and your own goal for the rest of the game. All the other players will just swim around in circles when you do. Otherwise it relies on extreme luck.

[jambola]

You think that's bad?
have you tried x-2 blitzball ever?

[rextraordinaire]

... Still, it's a tale set in a fantasy world with more deus ex machina than one can shake a fist at. I wouldn't put it in the mature storyline group neither.

I'd say it's a family game, like family movies (Harry Potter, Narnia, Alice in wonderland, Willow etc).

Doesn't mean it's a bad game, but people saying it's the most mature thing ever and that it has a deep, mature story are as naive as those saying it's for kids.

[Hicken]

But who's saying it's the most mature thing ever? Nobody here, certainly.

[rextraordinaire]

Probably no one here, but I find it fascinating that people say games like FFX have excellent stories, when honestly, such stories come to me as clichéd and full of easy character development.

Not saying that final fantasy games are bad, just not what they're made out to be in some fans eyes.

[Hicken]

Let's not take the opinion of a few to be the voice of the majority. That's no different than assuming a fanboy speaks for everybody who perfers a given console.

The quality of a story isn't in whether or not it falls prey to cliches, but rather how well executed the story is. Not in how easy or predictable character development is, but in how believable the characters and their growth are.

Although some games have misses in some spots, the FF series overall is pretty good at maintaining a high level.

Don't get me wrong; there isn't an FF that I think holds a candle to Persona 3 or 4 as far as story OR characters is concerned, even as much as I love VIII and X. In that respect, they're not THE best.

But they're certainly among the better games in those respects. And let's keep that in perspective of just how many titles there are out there, just how many franchises that only tell passable stories with generic characters.

[Nerdmaster]

Seing most of Tidus' acting (not the voice acting per se), like when he learns that "pray movement" and he keeps goofily staring at his hands as if holding a ball, or when they're in the first ship and he jumps around and steals the binoculars from a random guy, I cringe and would understand if somebody said it's a kiddie game. If it was the first time I played, I surely would think that Tidus' "acting" was aimed at kids.

It's one of the many reasons why I think this game deserved a true remake. As much as I don't really like FFXIII, character movement and animation (not counting Vanille's, her "acting" is worse than Tidus') in that game would make FFX so much better.

[Pozzle]

I think a big reason the characters have really exaggerated movements is because FFX was an early PS2 game, so Square were experimenting with the higher-polygon character models and what they could do with them.

It might look odd by today's standards, but back when fully 3D environments and detailed character models were a brand new thing, it was pretty awesome to see the characters moving around and interacting with the world around them.

[Nerdmaster]

FFX's animation and whatnot was truly remarkable when it was first released. But it was 12 years ago. People that didn't play it then, will hardly say "the animation is bad, but that's OK because at the time it was considered good". As I always say, I think FFX is the best RPG ever made, and exactly because of this, I think it deserved a true remake.

I don't know, maybe it's because I'm from an era where game companies actually took the time to do proper remakes and update them to modern times, but I think that this "HD remaster" trend is horrible. In the past, whenever a game company said it was going to release an older game again, we got Resident Evil REmake, Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes, Pokémon HeartGold... Even Final Fantasy III and IV for DS (before Square went to the lazy route with FFIV "Complete" for PSP). Nowadays, we only get higher resolution and a few touches in the graphics department. Aside from slightly improved visuals, we get the exact same game.

[SegaGamer]

When you see articles like this it makes you realise how retarded some gamers have become.

[shammgod]

+1
and it is also sad that we are seeing more and more articles like this

[fathoms]

Or how retarded it is that people write comments to articles they never actually read.

[SegaGamer]

I did read it. Somebody says to him that it is a kiddy game and he writes why he thinks that may be the case. Basically he agrees by the end that it is a kiddy game. He is wrong, it's suitable for all ages.

I'm an adult and i would much rather play something like this than just another mindless FPS.

[DCfan]

Ugh, why do i even bother??
I guess it isn't some western bug infested rpg with sex and gore.