Final Fantasy X-2 (2003) (VG)

Director:

Motomu Toriyama

Writers:

Kazushige Nojima (scenario)
Daisuke Watanabe (scenario)

Release Date:

18 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Music | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Convinced that Tidus is still alive, Yuna embarks on a quest to find him.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Loss Of Lover | Final Fantasy | Sequel | Video Game

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Hedy Burress	...	Yuna (voice: English version)
Tara Strong	...	Rikku (voice: English version)
Gwendoline Yeo	...	Paine (voice: English version)
George Newbern	...	Meyvn Nooj (voice: English version)
Joshua Gomez	...	Baralai (voice: English version) (as Josh Gomez)
Rick Gomez	...	Gippal (voice: English version)
David Rasner	...	Brother / Trema (voice: English version)
Ogie Banks	...	Buddy (voice: English version) (as Ogie Banks III)
Pamela Adlon	...	Shinra (voice: English version)
John DeMita	...	Barkeep / Hypello / Barthello (voice: English version)
Masasa Moyo	...	Leblanc (voice: English version) (as Masasa)
Sarge	...	Ormi (voice: English version)
S. Scott Bullock	...	Logos (voice: English version) (as Scott Bullock)
John Di Maggio	...	Wakka / Kimahri Ronso (voice: English version) (as John DiMaggio)
Paula Tiso	...	Lulu (voice: English version)
Jack Fletcher	...	Garik Ronso (voice: English version)
Dwight Schultz	...	O'aka XXIII / Maechen (voice: English version)
Rob Paulsen	...	Tobli / Lian Ronso (voice: English version)
Corey Burton	...	Tromell Guado (voice: English version) (as Cory Burton)
Candi Milo	...	Dona / Lucil / Pacce (voice: English version)
Julia Fletcher	...	Elma (voice: English version)
Matt K. Miller	...	Clasko (voice: English version) (as Matt Miller)
Adam Paul	...	Beclem (voice: English version)
Scott Menville	...	Yaibal (voice: English version)
Sherry Lynn	...	Shelinda (voice: English version)
Tom Kenny	...	Rin / Wantz (voice: English version)
Daisy Tormé	...	Nhadala (voice: English version)
Quinton Flynn	...	Isaaru (voice: English version)
Robbie Rist	...	Maroda (voice: English version)
Olivia Hack	...	Hana (voice: English version)
Kath Soucie	...	Taro (voice: English version)
Phil Proctor	...	Bayra / Donga (voice: English version)
Grey DeLisle	...	Pukutak (voice: English version)
Debi Derryberry	...	Fayth (voice: English version) (as Debby Derryberry)
Michael McShane	...	Cid (voice: English version)
Alex Fernandez	...	Maester Seymour Guado (Flashback) (voice: English version)
Matt McKenzie	...	Auron (voice: English version)
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Lord Braska / Benzo / Ayde Ronso (voice: English version)
Gregg Berger	...	Jecht (voice: English version)
Jill Talley	...	Incidental Characters (voice: English version)
Scott Mosenson	...	Incidental Characters (voice: English version)
Roger Jackson	...	Incidental Characters / Maester Wen Kinoc - Flashback (voice: English version)
Cree Summer	...	Lenne / Calli (voice: English version)
James Arnold Taylor	...	Tidus / Shuyin (voice: English version)
Mayuko Aoki	...	Yuna (voice: Japanese version)
Marika Matsumoto	...	Rikku (voice: Japanese version)
Megumi Toyoguchi	...	Paine (voice: Japanese version)
Kumi Koda	...	Lenne (voice: Japanese version)
Masakazu Morita	...	Tidus / Shuyin (voice: Japanese version)
Nobutoshi Kanna	...	Nooj (voice: Japanese version)
Kenichi Suzumura	...	Gippal (voice: Japanese version)
Sobu Kenji	...	Baralai (voice: Japanese version)
Takayuki Yamaguchi	...	Brother / Clasko / Wantz (voice: Japanese version)
Kazuya Nakai	...	Wakka (voice: Japanese version)
Rio Natsuki	...	Lulu (voice: Japanese version)
Katsumi Chô	...	Kimahri Ronso (voice: Japanese version)
Kôichi Sakaguchi	...	Cid (voice: Japanese version)
Takuma Suzuki	...	Maechen (voice: Japanese version)
Nanaho Katsuragi	...	Dona (voice: Japanese version)
Jun Ishimaru	...	Barthello (voice: Japanese version)
Sumomo Momomori	...	Elma (voice: Japanese version)
Sayaka Oohara	...	Lucil (voice: Japanese version)
Shunsuke Sakuya	...	Rin (voice: Japanese version)
Miki Nagasawa	...	Shelinda (voice: Japanese version)
Ryûzô Ishino	...	Tromell Guado (voice: Japanese version)
Hidenari Ugaki	...	O'aka XXIII (voice: Japanese version)
Akio Suyama	...	Isaaru (voice: Japanese version)
Masataka Nakai	...	Maroda (voice: Japanese version)
Motoko Kumai	...	Pacce (voice: Japanese version)

Directed by
Motomu Toriyama

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kazushige Nojima		scenario
Daisuke Watanabe		scenario

Produced by
Yasuhiro Fukushima	....	general producer
Michael Hack	....	line producer: English voices
Hideki Imaizumi	....	associate producer
Yoshinori Kitase	....	producer
Hironobu Sakaguchi	....	executive producer
Alexander O. Smith	....	producer: English voices (as Alex O. Smith)
Satoshi Tsukamoto	....	movie producer: movies

Art Direction by
Shintaro Takai

Production Management
Chiaki Ikejima	....	post-production manager: Sony PCL Inc.
Norimichi Kurosawa	....	production manager: movies
Masayuki Tanaka	....	production manager: sound

Art Department
Yoshito Abe	....	texture artist
Yoshitaka Amano	....	image illustrator
Yusuke Asano	....	texture artist
Tomohiro Hasegawa	....	character art designer
Mihoko Ishii	....	character art designer
Rinnosuke Kawai	....	texture artist
Yoichi Machida	....	chief menu designer
Toshitaka Matsuda	....	conceptual art director
Seiji Nanase	....	texture artist
Takeshi Shiba	....	texture artist
Daigo Watanabe	....	texture artist
Naomi Yakushijin	....	texture artist

Sound Department
Masami Abe	....	game sound editor
Satoshi Akamatsu	....	sound tool programmer
Minoru Akao	....	sound programmer
Elliot Anders	....	adr editor
Elliot Anders	....	dialogue editor
Kazuyuki Doki	....	recording coordinator: Legato Music Inc.
Kazuhiro Hosoe	....	dialogue editor
Ryo Inakura	....	sound editor
Yuka Kitazawa	....	assistant mixing engineer: Sony PCL Inc.
Eric Lewis	....	assistant dialogue recording engineer
Chiharu Minekawa	....	supervising sound editor
Alyson Dee Moore	....	foley artist: Sony PCL Inc.
Scott Morgan	....	sound recordist
Eiji Nakamura	....	sound editor: movies
Terry Reiff	....	dialogue editor
John Roesch	....	foley artist: Sony PCL Inc.
Masayuki Sato	....	game sound editor
Ernie Sheesley	....	adr editor
Ernie Sheesley	....	sound recording engineer
Kazutaka Someya	....	sound mixing engineer: Sony PCL Inc.
Gordon Suffield	....	sound recording engineer
Asako Suga	....	dialogue editor
Teruaki Sugawara	....	supervising dialogue editor

Visual Effects by
Eiji Fujii	....	lead visual designer: movies
Hiroshi Fujiwara	....	visual designer: movies
Takuya Hada	....	visual designer: movies
Hiroyuki Honda	....	visual designer: movies
Naotaka Horiguchi	....	CG engineer: movies
Fred T.Y. Hui	....	CG engineer: movies
Tadachika Iima	....	visual effects designer: visual effects & composites
Kenichi Isaka	....	visual designer: movies
Takumi Kimura	....	visual designer: movies
Koji Kobayashi	....	visual designer: movies
Yoichi Kubo	....	3D map director
Yoichi Kubo	....	real time graphics
Keiichi Kurita	....	visual designer: movies
Keisuke Miyazaki	....	CG engineer: movies
Hideki Mizoguchi	....	visual designer: movies
Yoshinori Moriizumi	....	visual designer: movies
Masakazu Morita	....	motion actor: Tidus/Shuyin
Mariko Nakamura	....	visual effects designer: visual effects & composites
Masashi Nakata	....	CG engineer: movies
Yasunari Ohnishi	....	chief visual effects programmer
Masao Ôkubo	....	assistant visual effects designer: VFX & composites (as Masao Ohkubo)
Koji Ono	....	visual effects programmer: battle planning (as Koji Ohno)
Tomohiko Osugi	....	visual designer: movies
Ryusuke Sasaki	....	CG engineer: movies
Hiroyuki Seshita	....	visual effects designer: movies
Yumi Takamatsu	....	visual effects designer: movies
Takahiko Takekawa	....	visual effects programmer: battle planning
Koji Tanaka	....	VFX supervisor: movies
Masayuki Tanaka	....	visual designer: movies
Takeshi Tateishi	....	visual designer: movies
Taku Wakisaka	....	CG engineer: movies
Kunio Yamaguchi	....	visual effects programmer: battle planning
Rika Yamashita	....	visual effects designer: visual effects & composites
Takuji Yasuda	....	visual effects designer: movies
Yasuharu Yoshizawa	....	VFX supervisor: movies

Animation Department
Tatsuo Heianzan	....	real-time polygon designer: modeling
Yoshiko Hiyama	....	background designer: 3D maps
Koji Ida	....	real-time polygon designer: modeling
Masami Imamura	....	real-time polygon designer: modeling
Tadahiro Inoue	....	character model designer: movies
Yasushi Iwasaka	....	background designer: 3D maps
Akira Iwata	....	character model designer: movies
Yoshihiro Kitano	....	animation designer: movies
Daisuke Komatsu	....	real-time polygon designer: modeling
Yoshimitsu Maruo	....	real-time polygon designer: modeling
Hiroyuki Mashita	....	real-time polygon designer: modeling
Jun Masuda	....	character model designer: movies
Keiko Matsuda	....	real-time polygon designer: modeling
Toshiaki Matsumura	....	lead character model designer: movies
Takako Miyake	....	background designer: 3D maps
Kei Miyamoto	....	character supervisor
Motohiro Murakami	....	assistant background designer: 3D maps
Satoshi Naito	....	animation designer: movies
Daisaku Nakamura	....	background designer: 3D maps
Sadahisa Namiki	....	animation designer: movies
Koki Nara	....	animation designer: movies
Tetsuya Nomura	....	character designer: main characters
Takeshi Nozue	....	animation designer: movies
Taiji Okusawa	....	character supervisor: movies
Shinya Senzaki	....	character model designer: movies
Kohichiro Shiratori	....	animation supervisor: movies
Yusuke Suzuki	....	character model designer: movies
Mamoru Tagata	....	character model designer: movies
Arata Takahashi	....	background designer: 3D maps
Masayo Tateishi	....	animation designer: movies
Hisato Tokumaru	....	animation designer: movies
Kimitoshi Tsumura	....	character model designer: movies
Yuji Yamazaki	....	character model designer: movies

Casting Department
Jack Fletcher	....	voice casting: English voices

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Tetsu Tsukamoto	....	alternate costume designer

Editorial Department
Jennifer L. Mukai	....	editorial specialist

Music Department
Lisa Carlon	....	assistant recording engineer
Shoko Chigusa	....	theme song coordinator: Avex inc.
Shig Fujita	....	A&R coordinator: theme song coordination, Avex inc.
Eric Lewis	....	assistant recording engineer
Daisuke Ogi	....	tie-ups coordinator: theme song, Avex inc.
Yoshihisa Tokuda	....	director: theme song coordination, Avex inc.
Masa Tsujiguchi	....	theme song coordinator: Avex inc.

Other crew
Yoko Abe	....	motion capture designer: movies
Mayuko Aoki	....	motion actor: Yuna
Andy Bellinger	....	product analyst
Ken Berry	....	business development
Fernando Bustamante	....	marketing
David Carrillo	....	quality assurance manager (as David 'Ribs' Carrillo)
Patrick Cervantes	....	marketing (as Patrick H. Cervantes)
Joel G. Clift	....	product analyst
Mathew Clift	....	lead product analyst (as Mathew A. Clift)
Alaine DeLeon	....	sales (as Alaine C. Deleon)
Denny Densmore	....	technical supervisor
Jack Fletcher	....	voice director: English
Johnny L. Fournier	....	product analyst
Hisashi Fujii	....	staff: quality management division
Hazuki Fujimoto	....	production coordinator: movies
Emiko Funahashi	....	A&R coordinator
Shuntaro Furukawa	....	motion capture designer: movies
Brian Gray	....	localization specialist
Brad Guevarra	....	product analyst
Yuichi Haga	....	product analyst
Rie Hagihara	....	product analyst
Hiroko Hamada	....	rating advisor
Frederick K. Hashi	....	quality assurance translator
Atsuko Hashimoto	....	production coordinator: movies
Shinji Hashimoto	....	sales and marketing producer
John Hattenhauer	....	product analyst
Ellen Higajo	....	sales
Matt Hilton	....	assistant lead analyst
Ayako Hino	....	legal affairs coordinator
Tetsuya Hiraoka	....	quality assurance coordinator
Hiroaki Hishinuma	....	event planner
Seikou Hokama	....	localization assistant
Alfred Holz	....	product analyst
Daiki Honda	....	assistant coordinator: quality management division
Keiji Honda	....	production executive
Shinya Ichida	....	battle motion designer
Yoji Iio	....	battle background designer: 3D maps
Yoshiaki Iizuka	....	event motion designer
Yosuke Ikeda	....	production coordinator
Yuko Ikeda	....	battle motion designer
Keiko Imamura	....	motion capture designer: movies
Sonia Im	....	marketing communications
Yukio Ishii	....	main programmer: field
Jun Ishi	....	motion actor: Nooj (as Jun Ishii)
Hitoshi Isosu	....	sales and marketing manager
Takeshi Iwabuchi	....	event planner
Jun Iwasaki	....	president and ceo: Square Enix, USA
Hisato Iwatsuki	....	assistant coordinator: quality management division
Traci Jones	....	sales
Kenji Kadonishi	....	battle motion designer
Nobuko Kanaya	....	localization director
Yuko Karube	....	facial motion designer
Nobuyuki Kashihara	....	line coordinator
Akira Kashiwagi	....	localization general manager
Keiko Kato	....	marketing: Square Enix U.S.A. Inc.
Keiji Kawamori	....	synthesizer programmer
Nghia Khuu	....	product analyst (as Nghia Hoang)
Akihiko Kikuma	....	motion actor: Baralai
Alicia Kim	....	product analyst
Akihiko Kishi	....	character & motion coordinator: D3D Co. Ltd.
Masashi Kitagawa	....	production assistant
Masaki Kobayashi	....	main programmer: battle
Kumi Koda	....	motion actor: Lenne
Takayuki Komine	....	network system administrator
Reiko Kondo	....	rating advisor
Satoko Kondo	....	localization assistant
Tomoko Kondô	....	localization assistant (as Tomoko Kondo)
Hideo Kubota	....	modeling director
Seiko Kubota	....	localization assistant
Junya Kuroda	....	network system administrator
Hiroshi Kuwabara	....	movie supervisor
Eric Y. Kwan	....	product analyst
Dana J. Kwon	....	quality assurance translator
Michael V. Liu	....	product analyst
Laura Lopez	....	studio manager: English voices
Matthew L. Martinez	....	product analyst
Natsuho Matsuda	....	motion actor: Rikku
Yusuke Matsuda	....	event planner
Keisuke Matsuhara	....	battle system planner
Kazuhiko Matsuyama	....	network system administrator
Kenji Mimura	....	marketing
Kanako Miyamoto	....	staff: quality management division
Kei Miyamoto	....	setup supervisor: movies
Miyuki Miyazaki	....	production coordinator
Iwao Mochizuki	....	staff: quality management division
David M. Molinar	....	product analyst
Shusuke Momoi	....	battle motion designer
Anthony Montana	....	customer support
Sean Montgomery	....	sales
Misa Murohashi	....	sales & marketing staff: Square Enix Co. Ltd.
Yoshito Nabeshima	....	staff: quality management division
Tomohiro Naka	....	event motion designer
Takayoshi Nakazato	....	field planning director
Takatsugu Nakazawa	....	battle planning director
Matthew Newman	....	product analyst
Christian Nieto	....	product analyst
Yuki Nishimura	....	line coordinator
Kenzo Nogimura	....	senior vice president and cfo: Square Enix, USA
Etsuko Noma	....	production coordinator: movies
Ichiro Nonaka	....	localization supervisor
Akira Ohkouchi	....	staff: quality management division
Tomonari Ohnishi	....	programmer: menu
Yoshiyuki Ohta	....	staff: quality management division
Kiminori Ohya	....	quality assurance coordinator
Takashi Ota	....	battle motion designer (as Takashi Ohta)
Joseph Reeder	....	localization specialist
Ryan Riley	....	customer support
Ryô	....	motion actor: Back Dances
Rei Sakata	....	staff: quality management division
Yutaka Sano	....	localization manager
Ryuji Sasaki	....	staff: quality management division
Kengo Sasaoka	....	movie programmer
Chikako Sato	....	line coordinator
Juzo Sato	....	battle motion designer
Mitsuki Sato	....	event motion designer
Yasuhiro Sato	....	battle system planner
Kenichi Shida	....	event motion designer
Konomi Shimano	....	network system administrator
Jae Shin	....	product analyst
Akihito Shoji	....	general manager: quality management division
Masayuki Soga	....	assistant coordinator: quality management division
Yoshiyuki Soma	....	motion director
Koji Suga	....	sales & marketing staff: Square Enix Co. Ltd.
Koji Sugimoto	....	real-time programmer
Yohei Sunamura	....	event motion designer
Koichi Takahashi	....	production coordinator: movies (as Kohichi Takahashi)
Yasuhiro Takahashi	....	assistant coordinator: quality management division
Yusuke Tanaka	....	battle motion designer
Fujitaka Tani	....	character & motion coordinator: D3D Co. Ltd.
Kazuyoshi Tashiro	....	localization director
Masaya Tateoka	....	network system administrator
Shintaro Tawara	....	facial motion designer
Tetsunobu Tsunoda	....	assistant event planner: field planning
Yoichi Wada	....	production executive
Mohammed A.C. Wright	....	senior lead product analyst
Masami Yaginuma	....	staff: quality management division
Kayoko Yajima	....	facial motion designer
Naoya Yamagami	....	legal affairs coordinator
Kazuhiko Yamaguchi	....	staff: quality management division
Hideki Yamashita	....	assistant coordinator: quality management division
Kyoko Yamashita	....	marketing communications
Takako Yamashita	....	line coordinator
Kunikazu Yanagisawa	....	event motion designer
Yas.	....	motion actor: Back Dances
Yoko Yoshida	....	motion actor: Paine
Naoko Yoshiyama	....	event motion designer

Thanks
Patrick Chen	....	special thanks
Hiroshi Harada	....	special thanks
Ichiro Hazama	....	special thanks
Tomokazu Hirakawa	....	special thanks: theme song coordination, rhythm zone
Akiko Ihara	....	special thanks: theme song coordination, avex inc.
Koichi Ise	....	special thanks (as Kohichi Ise)
Hitoshi Itagaki	....	special thanks: theme song coordination, avex inc.
Tomoe Iwagami	....	special thanks
Akihiko Kasuga	....	special thanks
Keiko Kato	....	special thanks
Hidetoshi Kezuka	....	special thanks
Miyako Kibe	....	special thanks
Shigeharu Kobayashi	....	special thanks
Yukihiko Kono	....	special thanks: Lansdale (as Yukihiro Kohno)
Hidemi Matsuzuka	....	special thanks
Katsumi Miyazaki	....	special thanks
Ryoichi Murakawa	....	special thanks
Isao Nakajima	....	special thanks: Slack Key Inc.
Masahiro Nishimuta	....	special thanks: Prime Direction Inc.
Hitoshi Nishio	....	special thanks
Hiroko Ôba	....	special thanks (as Hiroko Ohba)
Kakuko Obinata	....	special thanks
Michihiro Sasaki	....	special thanks
Yoshihiro Seki	....	special thanks: theme song coordination
Yuki Someya	....	special thanks: Yoshitaka Amano Office
Mariko Suzuki	....	special thanks: Yoshitaka Amano Office
Takeo Suzuki	....	special thanks
Shinji Takehara	....	special thanks: D3D Co. Ltd.
Shinobu Terashima	....	special thanks
Izumi Tsukushi	....	special thanks
Risa Uchima	....	special thanks
Naoki Uchiumi	....	special thanks: D3D Co. Ltd.
Tokuyuki Wararesu	....	special thanks: theme song coordination, avex inc.
Shinji Watanabe	....	special thanks: D3D Co. Ltd.
Kayo Yamamoto	....	special thanks
Koji Yamashita	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Square Enix Company

Distributors

• Electronic Arts (EA) (2004) (UK) (all media) (PlayStation 2)
• Square Enix Company (2003) (Japan) (all media) (PlayStation 2)
• Square Enix (2003) (USA) (all media) (PlayStation 2)

Other Companies

• 81 Produce  global voice acting (as 81 Produce Jr. Voice Actors)
• Avex  dance motion coordination
• Avex  score album released by
• Avex  special thanks: theme song coordination
• Brady Games  special thanks (as BradyGAMES)
• D3D  character and motion coordinator
• D3D  special thanks (as D3D Co. Ltd.)
• Lansdale  special thanks
• Legato Music  sound production
• Prime Direction  special thanks: theme song coordination
• Rhythm Zone  special thanks: theme song coordination
• Ruder-Finn  special thanks (as Ruder Finn Los Angeles)
• Saatchi & Saatchi, Los Angeles  special thanks (as Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles)
• Seinenza Film Production Co.  motion actors' production management
• Slack Key  special thanks
• Sony PCL  AC-3 encoding studio: sound (as 405 Audio Mastering at Sony PCL Inc.)
• Sony PCL  mixing studio: sound (as 408 THX suite at Sony PCL Inc.)
• Sony PCL  sound production
• Studio E Productions (The Annex)  English voice recording
• Studio E Productions (The Annex)  US recording: English voices dialogue editorial
• Studio E Productions (The Annex)  US recording: English voices
• Studio QED Inc.  special thanks
• Studiopolis  sound post-production
• The Kenwood Group  special thanks
• Theatre 'du Poche  motion actors' production management
• Virtual InterActive Inc.  special thanks
• Warner Hollywood Studios  foley production
• Yaegaki Office  motion actors' production management
• Yoshitaka Amano Office  special thanks

Also Known As:

Fainaru fantajii X-2 (Japan)
Final Fantasy X: Another Story (Japan: English title) (working title)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (cutscenes) | Dolby (gameplay scenes)

Certification:

Australia:M | South Korea:12 | USA:T

Company:

Square Enix Company

Trivia:

Squaresoft originally planned to make two spin off titles to 'Final Fantasy X (2001) (VG)'. One was to be focused on Yuna, and the other on Rikku. However, that idea was scrapped, and both characters play a central role in this game.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Rikku: Y... R... P... in position. It's showtime, girls.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kingdom Hearts II (2005) (VG)

Soundtrack:

1000 Words

Absolutely breathtaking

Like Final Fantasy VIII, the focus of Final Fantasy X-2 isn't on the worldsaving-- though worldsaving does, of course, appear. Instead, it's on the characterizations of the protagonists and her allies, and it does an amazing job of it. I clocked in at 77 hours, gaining the Normal Ending; a replay is definitely in order and I'm glad they've included New Game Plus in order to make it easier to get the story again.

X-2 is a game where you definitely have to explore and poke around everywhere in order to squeeze every bit possible from the story; if you only follow the big clue hammer plot points, you will indeed only get the barest sketchings of a story and maybe even finish it in 15 hours. However, I feel that the Square-Enix team has used the previously created world of Spira very well, taking advantage of players' familiarity and interest in the world to weave engrossing stories about not just the protagonists but many of the characters encountered in the previous game.

It's not only a game where you have to explore in order to find more story, it's a game where you can't see and get everything on a single playthrough. It's also a game where you repeatedly run across signs that Yuna and company aren't the only adventurers and explorers in Spira.

I really enjoyed the development of the inhabitants of Spira-- what retired summoners do, the fact that the fiends of Spira encourage even grandmothers to be competent-- the game starts out extremely easy, although it does get harder later, and this is clearly meant to reflect not only Yuna's experience in Final Fantasy X but also the world's experience with wandering monsters.

Finally, the music and voice acting in FFX-2 is just fantastic. Yes, the music is peppy and jazzy. It's also quietly desolate in places, and some of the repeated themes are just beautiful. As for the voice acting-- Yuna, Rikku and Paine's voice actresses all deserve medals, as do several of the other more minor characters. They bring a richness, subtlety and depth to the story that older games could only reach for. Yuna's voice actress in particular once again does a stellar job, conveying a nervous, self-conscious, but determined Yuna who can't help wanting to save people but wants to learn to have fun, dammit. And who misses her boy a lot, underneath it all.