4. Final Fantasy X
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPMFXfNk1IM To many Final Fantasy fans, the tenth game - and the first on the PS2 - was a considerable disappointment, posting outstanding technical plaudits, but some extremely wearisome elements too, namely the irritating Sphere Grid mechanic, and its distinct non-ending. So vague and frustrating was its finale, given that it spent so long building up the central romance between Tidus and Yuna, that it was the first Final Fantasy game to get a direct sequel, in Final Fantasy X-2. Tidus appears to be spirited away at the end, but the ambiguity of it all is so ridiculously convoluted that it left fans in an awkward void, unsure of quite what they had seen. What could have been a poignant ending is ruined, as these games so often are, by sloppy writing; it has become a staple of the newer games, which increasingly have come to resemble maudlin anime shows. At least they did make a sequel to rectify it, problematic though it was...
Shaun Munro
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Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
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