are any of the sequels worth playing?
No.
>>3944190there's only 1 sequel to X-2 and it's a book, so good luck playing it
>>3944190X-2 is the most underrated Final Fantasy game. Just don't expect the story to be that serious and you'll have a good time.
>>3944332FFX-2's tone is pretty jarring compared to X, but even if you never played X the story of X-2 is just complete garbage. Complete, insincere, contrived, garbage.You go to Mt. Gagazet because it's a "hotspot." You have to beat Leblanc before she gets the sphere first. You enter this magnificent and elaborate shrine that's being guarded by a giant spider fiend. Yuna and Co. defeat it, get into the inner sanctum, get the sphere, Leblanc is a salty bitch.You bring the sphere back only for Shinra to reveal the sphere is "junk" and the playback is just about some rando getting all excited they got a random ticket to see some random thing.... why would something so worthless by enshrined like that? The writing just moves along like it's not important, but in any other half-decent work of fiction there would be a character who'd at the very least ask that reasonable question when Shinra and Yuna make the discovery of the poor quality of the sphere. And any work of fiction that was baked just a little bit past half would have a 2nd character chime in with an excuse--like maybe there have been sphere hunters throughout the ages and perhaps the original sphere was taken and replaced or some shit. A fully baked narrative would have a discrepancy like elaborate shine and junk plot reward be part of at least a mini-twist with a payoff later.The fact none of that happens is a hallmark of the shoddy writing on offer.
>>3944501>FFX-2's tone is pretty jarring compared to XIt's the "Eternal Calm" now, of course it is. >Complete, insincere, contrived, garbage.It's just a fun romp, bro. It's Charlie's Angels, but with some of the best gameplay systems in Final Fantasy.
>>3944509>It's the "Eternal Calm" now, of course it is.No, there is no "of course." Doesn't matter how many bad guys Batman takes in, the next adventure can carry a similar tone. That said, I'm not even opposed to a sequel with a different tone. I even wrote my post with the idea we'd set X aside as if we didn't play it to judge the quality of the writing on it's own, and without X to compare it to? There's no tonal whiplash in the first instance.>It's Charlie's Angels-Who cares? I'm not saying X-2 is bad because it borrows from Charlie's Angels just like I'm not indicting it because it took inspiration from Time Bokan's Time Skeletons, and basically has Whalter, Grocky, and Marjo running around.>It's just a fun romp, bro. - but with some of the best gameplay systems in Final Fantasy.... eh. It's not the worst. Unfortunately I do like the narrative stakes that go along with the Final Fantasy combat and so the dressphere system doesn't save the game for me.
X-2 is like Kingdom Hearts. I can’t believe that anyone played it and I can’t take them seriously if they did
>>3944190Ask not of your sequels "are they worth it for me" but rather "what can they do for me":https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQac53qqyvo
>>3944585Same, but with japanese games in general.
>>3944578>No, there is no "of course."Except there is. What happens after the heroine saves the world and now there's the eternal peace that comes after? And then the gang goes back to the locations except this time it's for fun and there isn't a looming dread with each location that Yuna is getting closer to sacrificing herself to save the world. I'm not saying it's the best story, because it isn't, but it there is an "of course".
>>3944623NTA but that doesn't mean the tone has to be jarring compared to X. X was a very depressing game where everything got torn down. X-2 could have very easily been a depressing game about how difficult it is to build back up. Instead it's a much more poppy high energy giggly affair.
>>3944634>NTA but that doesn't mean the tone has to be jarring compared to XI'm not saying it HAS to be, I'm just saying it is and it makes sense. >X-2 could have very easily been a depressing game about how difficult it is to build back upIt could have, but instead people are just happy that Sin is gone. I think it makes sense and is something that hasn't been done in the series before. On that note though, Last Mission is sad/bittersweet.
>>3944190X-2 is a fine, 7/10 game. By that I mean it runs. My main issue with the game has always been how lazy it was with reusing every asset possible from X. Which was the point of making FF sequels, but out of all FF sequels it is the most lazy with asset reuse. There were some interesting ideas, like what do all these people do now that Yevon has been proven as a false religion, there isn't a looming apocalyptic threat. Seeing Zanarkand become a tourist location was funny. I wish it didn't have "FINAL FANTASY" branding, because its just not, but it they needed to sell copies somehow.
>>3944634>Instead it's a much more poppy high energy giggly affair.The dev team received instructions from higher ups to make a game that targeted teen girls. They believed it was an untapped market. TBF, they weren't wrong JRPGs are very popular with women nowadays. IMO they went a tad overboard.
>>3944623Okay I think I see the disconnect here. Let's try this again:So in creative fiction anything is possible. Tidus dies in X but is resurrected in X-2 (assuming you met all the requirements), right? You see how with the power of fiction a dead character can come back to life, right? But at the same time we can also keep a dead character dead, because it's not like Seymour comes back in X-2, right? It is that principle of fiction being allowed to go wherever it damn well pleases that there is no "of course."HOWEVER!!You're not wrong. If the writing team for X-2 decided not to do something like resurrect Sin (and in X-2 Sin does indeed stay dead)? Well then that means Yuna would have to be involved in something else, some other source of conflict, and **OF COURSE** that something else wouldn't be a re-defeat of an already defeated Sin that we're not bringing back, right? So, given, that X-2 is a sequel of X it would be reasonable to explore what Yuna did after becoming the greatest High Summoner and follow up on a way to bring Tidus back, which is what the creative team behind X-2 pursued. **OF COURSE** there's nothing inherently wrong or particularly bad about following those threads to make into the premise of a game.My criticism is of the writing quality of X-2. That's really it.I'm not saying you have to agree with me, but do you at least understand what I'm saying here?
>>3944644>Okay I think I see the disconnect here. Let's try this again:It does seem like there is to you, doesn't it? >**OF COURSE**Yup, "of course". Like I said. >My criticism is of the writing quality of X-2. That's really it.I don't think anyone would defend the writing quality of X-2, except maybe Last Mission. It's just a fun little romp, its tone is very not serious, I don't think it's supposed to be taken seriously. Just look at Brother. The story is just a vehicle to deliver the gameplay, and I guess a little something extra for people who loved X and wanted more. And with regards to Tidus being alive, considering that a normal human being is not going to get 100% and that it's notoriously bullshit to get even while following a guide, I choose to believe that Tidus does not come back to life. And if you wanna talk about poor writing quality, how about the fact that in X-2.5 or whatever it's called, Yuna cucks Tidus and then Tidus kicks a bomb that is made to look like a Blitzball and gets his head blown off. I don't think it can be made any clearer, it's just a "fuck you" at that point. >I'm not saying you have to agree with me, but do you at least understand what I'm saying here?I do understand that you're upset.
>>3944665>how about the fact that in X-2.5 or whatever it's called, Yuna cucks Tidus and then Tidus kicks a bomb that is made to look like a Blitzball and gets his head blown offYou're mixing things up. In Will Yuna gets jealous that Tidus has some hot chick he's friends with and says "Actually I've totally got a different boyfriend and you don't know him and he's hot and goes to a different summoning school" during a petty fight. Tidus is an idiot and believes her until Lulu calls him a retard. In 2.5 Tidus does in fact die from one of those blitzball bombs, and immediately gets resurrected. There's a bunch of really really stupid shit in 2.5, but it's not a "fuck you" like you think it is.
>>3944665Cool, cool.I guess you don't see why I was so confused, and it's because it's kind of difficult to read what you say in some places (not that my text is perfect either, but I digress).>>3944623>What happens after the heroine saves the world and now there's the eternal peace that comes after?So there is "eternal peace" and there is the "Eternal Calm" and they're two separate things. X-2 doesn't have eternal peace because the beating heart of any story is conflict and there is no conflict in peace which is why you have rising tensions between the Youth League and New Yevon and Yuna is still stuck on Tidus after 2 years, having dreams about him, and having difficulty finding clues about him. None of that is peace. Sinless? Yes. Eternal peace? No.The "Eternal Calm" is the result of Sin being permanently defeated, and maybe that's what you're talking about, but you didn't capitalize "Eternal Peace," now did you? So maybe not? I mean who knows? I know you're not playing X-2 for the story, perhaps you're just mashing the buttons trying to hurry the dialogue along as fast as possible, and who could blame you?Moreover, you make "eternal peace" juxtaposed with "heroine has saved the world"... when in X-2 Yuna saves the world a 2nd time as if that didn't happen. Again... it's confusing.And of course we had the "of course" business where we're talking past each other.I was beginning to wonder if I was even understanding what you were saying. Like I thought I did at first, but I was beginning to wonder.But anywho, I think I spent enough time talking around this circle, unless there's anything you wanted to add?
>>3944684>There's a bunch of really really stupid shit in 2.5, but it's not a "fuck you" like you think it is.My mistake then. >>3944685>I guess you don't see why I was so confusedI don't, no. >and it's because it's kind of difficult to read what you say in some places It's not. I went back and reread my posts. The only typo I made was this one: >>3944623>>>because it isn't, but it there is an "of course".It's really not that difficult to read at all, but it is an error. I believe my brain went between "it is an of 'course'" and "there is an 'of course'". I believe that most people would be able to correct this error in their brains, but maybe not. It's also not really a fundamental statement to need to be able to interpret in order to understand my stance on this "conversation".I didn't read the rest of your post, for obvious reasons. If you are continuing to be belligerent and combative and smarmy, while saying that my posts are difficult to read when they're not, then you've proven that there is no use engaging with you further, not that there ever was. X-2 is the most underrated Final Fantasy game, just don't expect the story to be that serious and you'll have a good time. It has some of the best gameplay systems in Final Fantasy, and it has the single best minigame in Final Fantasy as well. You've said you dislike the tone of X-2, and that's a personal preference, but exploring the concept of the Eternal Calm makes sense and that's what they did. I already said I don't think anyone would defend the writing of X-2, because it's not good and I don't even think its meant to be taken seriously in the first place considering much of what happens during it as well as the existence of things like Brother or the fact that Yuna eventually cucks Tidus and then he blows himself up on a bomb that looks like a Blitzball. It's impossible to discern what issues you could even continue to be having that would require you to be acting the way that you are.
>>3944691>If you are continuing to be belligerent and combative and smarmyHuh. Well thanks for that feedback, that wasn't my intent.>while saying that my posts are difficult to read when they're notNo, I'm not trying to gaslight you.Well. I think that'll do it.Sorry.
>>3944332>X-2 is the most underrated Final Fantasy gameI'll say XIII-2 is the most underrated Final Fantasy game.It's a good game that gets overlooked because.... Well... XIII.
>>3945707It and lightning returns seriously suffered from being associated with XIII.
>>3944190Lightning Returns is better than og FF13, but it's a hard sell for anyone to continue that series if you don't already enjoy the first one.I played ff13 pretty late, thought people were right about their critique pretty much.Skipped XIII-2, but watched someone else play it and it addressed a lot of my complaints about og 13 so I gave Lightning Returns a chance and really liked it.
>>3944190If you can survive the plot and that the game is the side quests, X-2 has the best ATB gameplay and job system in the series.
>>3947620I played FF13 and 13-2 last year and I liked them enough to finish themlightning returns was just weird though, I dropped it after a few hours>>3953048>X-2 has the best ATB gameplay and job system in the series.it's a bit overrated. the balance between jobs is poor and it takes so long to switch jobs in a fight that you're often better off not doing it at all
>>3953620Lightning Returns was not so secretly just a Valkyrie Profile game.
