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Though it does not finish as strong as it started, FFX nonetheless delivers an epic adventure with a distinctly human touch to the story.
In some ways, the ending felt very real and very heavy. Though the world of Spira wins, most of the heroes lose. Auron completes his mission and can rest, but he is still dead. The love story of Titus and Yuna is tragic because Titus goes the way of Zanarkand. And finally, the player loses because the party is broken up and all the Aeons are gone. This loss can be particularly heart-breaking if you spend time getting any of the extra Aeons (Anima!) or improving their skills or doing the necessary tasks to allow some of them to break the 9999 damage barrier. Unlike most RPGs, this ending was bittersweet, and that made it very moving.
Though the ending was good, some aspects of the final levels and areas were somewhat odd. After entering Sin, it seems like many of the mechanics were either experimental or put in as an effort to try and make something unique stick. Walking around in the tower before the final boss fight, trying to grab glowing eggs (?) while dodging stalagmites seemed out of place and had no context. I was horrified, though not surprised, when I realized that I would have to fight my own Aeons. This was troubling because I spent my own strength, not the Aeons' power, against the Ject aeon. However, I was inexplicably given auto-life on every one of my characters, which made the fight completely pointless. The same goes for fighting Yu Yevon. Speaking of Yu Yevon, why was he some kind of purple spider-looking thing again?
I completed the main story in 75 hours, which means I left quite a few things unfinished. I did not play as much Blitz as I would have liked. I only got the Ultima spell when I returned to the game after finishing the story and getting one more L4 key sphere, so I never even used it. I did not get any of the super weapons. I never ran into a super-powerful enemy that I needed to return to, like I did with some of the hunts in FF XII (Fafnir!).
All in all, FFX was worth every penny, even though it took me EIGHT YEARS to get around to beating it. The mechanics are solid, though conventional. Aesthetically the game looks good even today. The story is by far the most moving and powerful part. The technology, though dated, provides a smooth-running game with good visuals, effects, sounds, and animations which produce a fun and enjoyable experience from the opening scene to the closing credits.
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