If there is something I’ve learned throughout the years as a Final Fantasy fan, is that part of the fun comes with the endless debates for which game is the best game in the entire franchise. Considering the constant reinvention that’s followed the series, that’s a debate I love revisiting as time goes on, especially when opportunities arrive to reassess specific entries thanks to well timed re-releases. And what better timing for a reassessment than Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster making its way natively to the Nintendo Switch 2 on the eve of its 25th anniversary!
Originally released after the first full calendar year of the PlayStation 2’s lifecycle in 2001, Final Fantasy X was positioned similarly to Final Fantasy VII in being many people’s first Final Fantasy available at the beginning of a newly available PlayStation. Final Fantasy X was also notable in delivering a generational quantum leap in visual quality and presentation compared to the relatively primitive look of the PS1 entries, establishing a new identity for Final Fantasy as the marquee franchise for top of the line production value. Final Fantasy X is also bittersweet both as the last mainline Final Fantasy game published by SquareSoft before its merger with Enix and the last one with any involvement by the creator of the series, Hironobu Sakaguchi. Add other smaller things like the first fully voice acted Final Fantasy, and there is a lot that defines this entry as an important inflection point in the franchise.
The HD Remaster packages this notable entry alongside its less liked direct sequel, 2003’s Final Fantasy X-2, and its the latest in a litany of re-releases that started in 2014 on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. As these games have now been released on every subsequent modern platform available at the time, I wanted to use the opportunity for this Switch 2 Edition to both access the quality of the port, and how I feel about these games, specially with Final Fantasy X being so highly regarded in the community.
Switch 2 Thoughts
Lets start with this Nintendo Switch 2 edition. Considering there was already a Switch 1 edition you could play in backwards compatibility, if you already owned that version you’re probably wondering what makes this worthy of the upgrade especially since, once again, there is no upgrade path alongside no save transfer option for this version, a common practice for many Switch 2 ports from Square-Enix nowadays.
For one, this is a much cleaner looking version of the game than the one on the normal Switch, with a less aliased image and cleaner aesthetic that works beautifully on the Switch 2’s handheld screen. If anything, I’d say this version is a tad cleaner than the PlayStation 4 version that capped off at 1080p, but not as sharp as the version released on Xbox One which got a full 4K treatment there on the Xbox One X. If what you are looking for is the absolute best looking version, the Switch 2 port is probably not for you.
With that said, I’d still say the Switch 2 version still holds well visually against that Xbox version considering this is at its core a 25-year-old game. Just on quality of life alone, I’d still give the edge to this version just on that. Exclusive to just this version of the game, the Switch 2 edition of Final Fantasy X/X2 HD Remaster is the only one that includes the quality of life enhancements that you see in so many of the recent Final Fantasy remasters and re-releases like auto battle, 2x/4x speed, disabling random enemy encounters, an Supercharge Mode (basically the closest analogy to a God mode), the option to change parameters to max out items, Gil, and unlocking all abilities, along with a quick menu for the portable mode for quicker heals with a screen swipe.
While I know Supercharge Mode can be seen as a way to just skip over the challenge of actually playing the game, I’m actually grateful how, similar to how it worked in the Final Fantasy VII port, it won’t overstep you potentially getting one shot from enemies way above your current level, so its not an immediate easy win; you still gotta grind up and level up your party. Considering the pace at which some of the battles play out, being able to speed up the process as you grind up through the rank and file and even automize the process is a godsend that helps with the flow of the game. Now, the changing parameters options is where I feel the help goes too far, but that’s something that Square-Enix even added to the Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth ports. Ignore those at your own leisure if you don’t want to make the game a total cakewalk.
These features are the reason why the Switch 2 edition is the definitive way to play this game, and barring me wanting to go trophy hunt, I can’t see myself playing the PS4 version I owned ever again in comparison. Whether these quality of life features are worth the $50 price tag if you already owned any other versions is totally up to you. But if this is your first time diving into this entry, I can’t think of a better version to do it with.
But how about the games? Lets dive in!
Sin-Eater
Final Fantasy X is set in the fictional world of Spira and tells the story of Tidus, a celebrated blitzball star from the high tech city of Zanarkand whose life gets upended when his entire home gets destroyed by Sin, a giant creature that has plagued Spira for centures. Transported some 1,000 years into the future, Tidus finds himself in a world where Sin is treated as an inevitable, repeatable calamity. Tidus eventually joins Yuna, a young summoner who’s about to take a pilgrimage across Spira to try to defeat Sin. Alongside other companions including Wakka, Kimahri, Lulu, Rikku and Auron, Tidus and the crew travel from temple to temple, learning about Spira’s different religious traditions, the history of Sin, and the immense sacrifice that’s expected of summoners who complete their pilgrimage. Final Fantasy X is ultimately a story about love, loss, faith, sacrifice and finding the courage to challenge a future that seems inevitable.
The direct sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, takes place two years later as Spira enters a new era after both the destruction of Sin and the end of the religious order that shaped its world through generations. Now putting you fully in the shoes of Yuna as the main protagonist, she alongside her cousin Rikku and the mysterious warrior Paine travel between Spira’s various regions as they get caught up in the political and societal upheaval left after the Sin incident. Yuna has to walk a tightrope between all the rising factions in Spira, hoping to deescalate a potential war all while she’s trying to find the whereabouts of the one she loves the most.
Even 25 years later, the story of Final Fantasy X is a peculiar one in the pantheon of the series. It’s certainly an entry that stretches the emotional gamut of the series with moments of extreme wackiness, while also dealing with a level of spiritual solemness and fatalism that’s not seen in other Final Fantasy games. That level of spirituality at times gets away from the game’s grasp, as it reframes parts of the game that dangerously gets close to undermining the ultimate stakes of it all. But Final Fantasy’s panache for wearing its heart on its sleeve shines specially bright amidst some of the heavy subject matter, and the ultimate resolution of the Sin conflict alongside the journey it takes you with Tidus, Yuna and the crew still has emotive power that most other Final Fantasy entries seldom can’t match. If anything, you can tell which entry the most recent big turn based sensation, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, took major narrative inspirations from.
Final Fantasy X-2, on the other hand, takes a bit to get accustomed to. It’s such a tonal opposite to the spirituality permeating the main Final Fantasy X game that I find incredibly ballsy. Yuna trading her solemn summoner role and starting the game as a K-Pop sensation is something to see to believe, and the tone of the freeform journey the three ladies take is this close to Final Fantasy‘s version of Charlie’s Angels, which can sometimes make a stark contrast to the escalating threat of war surrounding it. Overall, I don’t think Final Fantasy X-2 handles the tonal contradictions as deftly as the main game, but I certainly appreciate its big swing and ambitions, specially as it leads to the chance of multiple endings thanks to its more open structure.
Sphere Hunters
The most interesting thing of getting to experience Final Fantasy X and X-2 back to back is just how much of a polar opposite they were in many different areas, and that went beyond how tonally different they felt story wise. X is a structured, story driven linear experience with a true turn-based combat system. While X-2 is a more open-ended experience built around flexibility and player choice where you can tackle locations at your leisure, all while going back to the active time battle command based combat that defined the FF4 to FF9 era of the franchise. X has a rotating party of 7 members where X-2 only has the three permanent playable characters. X has a very in-depth upgrade system in the Sphere Grid that helps level up your party members in more minute ways in a defined path compared to previous Final Fantasy games, whereas X-2 takes that system to the shredder and spits out the Dresspheres & Garment Grids system, which allows you to change the job classes of your party on the fly and fully customize them with different roles. If you thought the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Revelations was introducing a novel idea for a jobs system, its really interesting to see the bones of that system existed all these years ago in X-2.
Playing through both of these games, I also kept having opposite reactions. I definitely enjoyed the story of Final Fantasy X more than its direct sequel, especially on its solemness. But I actually think X-2 was actually more fun on its moment to moment gameplay and the freedom it gave me. X takes a while before all its strengths become apparent, whereas the gameplay strengths in X-2 are more immediate. Maybe its the modern gamer in me, but I felt like I was more in line with the design choices of the sequel, even though X is as traditional as old school Final Fantasy can get in 2026.
If anything, this re-emphasized why its a good idea both these games are paired up with these re-releases. Its an interesting look at the series as it departed from its defined past, and a glimpse into some of the ideas that would come define it into the future as the series would then go into its wild experimentation era from Final Fantasy XI onward. Both these games complement each other in a way that one’s strengths is the other’s weakness, and together they become whole. Even with the unnecessary additions of the 30 minute epilogue Eternal Calm and the annoying minigame Last Mission, Final Fantasy X and X-2 by themselves makes the package worth it on its own.
25 years after its original release, Final Fantasy X/X2 HD Remaster is still a worthy compilation of what could really be considered the end of a particular era for Final Fantasy, an interesting crossroads of seeing what the series used to be before moving unto its current modern, experimental era. And now they exist in probably its best form with the Nintendo Switch 2 port, where with its slew of excellent quality of life updates, is the best way to experience this interesting inflection point in the series. It may not be my personal set of Final Fantasy games, but there is no denying the emotional heft these entries command.
Thank you to Square-Enix and our PR partners for review access to Final Fantasy X / X-2. You can find Seasoned Gaming’s review policy here.
