Day X: Final Fantasy X-2

The Dressphere System

Despite how absolutely goofy a job system based on spheres that, when selected allow for costume and job changes, sounds, it is actually my favorite battle/job system of all Final Fantasy games.

I’m dead serious, this entire system was complete genius and it is a damn shame it was surrounded by an awful, awful story.

The overall concept of the system was that, as the player progresses through the game, they receive different Dresspheres which allow YRP to change into whatever job each sphere represented via a Spherechange.  These changes were not restricted to the world map, save points, or time in between random encounters; instead, changes could be done at any time, including the middle of battle, making for one of the most flexible and adaptive battle systems I’ve ever seen.

Now, these Dresspheres did not just exist simply exist in your inventory for free use, they had to be equipped in order to be used.  In order to do this, the player receives various Garment Grids during the game.  Each Garment Grid had a different shape, different amount of slots in which to place Dresspheres, and even unique abilities attached to some.

An in-game shot (above) and diagram (below) of a Garment Grid

Now as can be seen from the picture above, each Garment Grid has a unique path in which the Dressphere slots are connected.  This ends up being very important because the player can only select the Dresspheres that are directly adjacent and connected to the current Dressphere that they are on.  So while being able to change jobs mid-battle allows for great flexibility, a large part of success is also determined by the strategy in how Garment Grids and Dresspheres are set up as a job change will take up an entire turn in battle.  So if your party desperately needs a White Mage to save the day, it probably won’t be wise if the entire party must waste additional turns in order to get to that needed job.

As previously mentioned, Garment Grids can have innate powers.  These could be passive abilities, that allow for certain stat bonuses or abilities to be obtained simply by equipping them.  Some grids contain gates that the player can pass through during an in-battle Spherechange, which can further unlock more bonuses (and some of the larger bonuses, such as casting destructive spells like Flare, come from passing multiple gates).  Finally, if a player manages to hit each Dressphere on their individual grid, they can then select their secret and unique Dressphere that serves as the Overdrive/Summon system on this game.

As far as leveling goes, it is quite similar to Final Fantasy III in a way.  Characters are able to gain experience points to increase their base stats/levels and they are able to level up their jobs through ability points (AP).  Much like Final Fantasy III, AP is obtained by simply taking actions in battle; however, this time around AP is also earned for defeating enemies as well.  As AP is accumulated, abilities are unlocked for the job that earns them (in lieu of job levels being gained as in Final Fantasy III).

The jobs available in this system range from the usual Final Fantasy jobs such as Warrior, Theif, Dark Knight, and Samurai, but Final Fantasy X-2 tosses in some unique jobs such as Gunner, Mascot, and Gun Mage.  As far as equipping characters, this is done automatically via the Dressphere, leaving the only additional accessories as the only equipment that needs to be equipped and directly affects stats.

Finally, it should be noted that Final Fantasy X-2 returns to the Active Battle System (ATB).  Characters must wait for their ATB gauge to fill before taking action and then, after an action is selected, the ATB gauge be used again as a timer for either the time needed for an ability to be cast (like magic) or as a time limit for certain abilities like Gunplay to be used.

Next Page: Why This Game Ended Up Here

Published by NDtex

Texan by birth, Irish by choice.

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