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I didn't really see a topic for any basic FFX-2 talk, so I decided to make one now that I'm playing the game. A couple of things:

How many chapters are there? I think I'm around 20% on chapter 1. I hope it's a long game (seems that way so far), because I need a time-occupier.

So I was digging around in the Western Expanse in Bikanel or whatever, and all of the sudden this Angra Mainyu shows up. 333,444 hp and 9999 mp. He sat there doing nothing until i just escaped with all my characters. Did I happen to come across one of the super bosses of the game?

Is anyone else dissapointed with it being only a 3 character game? I do like the dress sphere system though, very customizable.

This post has been edited by Tidu-who on 4th January 2004 08:34

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

There are 5 chapters in all, and if you do all the missions, it does take a lot of time. ^-^

That uber-boss in the Bikanel desert, for now, will just stand there, taking your puny attacks, until he gets tired of you (7 rounds or so), and uses Unnatural Selection to blow your party out of the battle screen and back into the desert. Don't worry about him just yet; you get to fight him in Chapter 4 or 5, and he is HARD.

I'm not dissapointed by it being just Yuna, Paine and Rikku, there's enough different job classes anyway to keep it interesting.

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I had an old signature. Now I've changed it.

Only 3 playable characters in FFX-II? That's kinda messed up. I mean, look at FFVI. It had 14. Chrono Cross had 44, for cryin' out loud!
I suppose the job system my redeem it... If it's good enough...

I haven't actually played FFX-II yet, and probably won't for a while, so you can whack me if I gotta be whacked...

This post has been edited by Elena99 on 4th January 2004 05:42

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Wow. 1,000 posts.

I miss you all now that I'm in boarding school! ;_;

One thing I'll say is I really enjoy the voice acting. Yuna's voice has improved for one. But a lot of the key characters voices fit perfectly. I especially like Yaibal's (i swear i've heard that voice before, from a cartoon or something. i just cant pinpoint it) and Baralai's.

So what did everyone do when you had the choice of

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handing over the sphere to either the Youth League or New YevonI would assume most would lean towards the former. Both aren't very trustworthy and seem corruptible, but the Youth League is much more charismatic. I really like Baralai though, he's the ONLY thing that'd make me want to side with the Baldies. The rest of them can have a heart attack or something.

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

I just started playing X-2 last week. So far, I'm not sure what to think of it. It definetly doesn't have the ambiance of FF X, which isn't necessarilly a bad thing (for my part, the ambiance was the only thing that got me finishing the game, apart from its great realisation).
I'm at the same point as you, Tidu : just the beggining of chapter 2. I hope that the story get started real soon, because so far, it isn't really exciting. The battle system is on the other hand very good, imo.
About the choice

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I chose the Youth League too, mainly because I didn't want New Yevon to have it. I don't know if it has a great importance in the latter part of the game though...

The first time through, I gave it to the Youth League, but this time through I'll give it to New Yevon. I'll let you guys know what the difference is, though I can only see it changing one thing.

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I had an old signature. Now I've changed it.

i did the opposite of elena -- yevon the first time thru, and youth league the second. it makes a kind of big difference in chapter 5. -.-

I chose the Youth League.

The game overall, I don't think I like it as much as FFX, but I'll think about it some more. By the time I finished the game I only had 68% complete, and I'm thinking of finishing that off in my second round (I've already added one more percent).

The whole YRP team is great and dresspheres are cool too. Does anyone know if I have to choose New Yevon this time to get 100%?

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Get me off this Disciplinary Committee so I can play any FF except for FF8!!!

you do not have to choose new yevon. it is in fact possible to complete 100% in one go-thru of the game, but you can only do that if you choose the league. i personally suggest that you choose the league again for your next game thru.

hey, just wanted to say to tidu-who that yaibal's voice was played by max in dark cloud 2, if that helps at all.....when i heard i recognized it too...

Hypellos are cool. I love those voices. Anyways, what's the deal with Mt. Gagazet? For one, I'm guessing whatever you say to Garik and all the Ronsos has some impact on the game. Where are the Guado anyways? Haven't seen them all game. Also, it's pretty annoying at Faith Scar when you have mountains that just decide to move on you when you get close. I spent a half hour trying to get to them, but no dice.

Logos and Ormi are annoying. Why don't they just die already? Anyways, what's your highest score on Gunner's Gauntlet? I've only played it once, and got 595.

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

1296, without using the cheat-spot

edit-- 1295 is what i eamnt to type

This post has been edited by gozaru~ on 10th January 2004 19:54

Tidu-who, go to Macalania Woods. And don't forget to speak to Tremel. He's through the woods, then up and to the right.

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I had an old signature. Now I've changed it.

Can anyone help me with this problem? I am on my second way through the game and after I got an episode complete in every area I didn't get the Mascot dressphere. I got it the first time around which pisses me off since that is the only thing holding me back from getting a 100% completion in one game. Any ideas?

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War is for the participants a test of character; it makes bad men worse and good men better. - Joshua Chamberlain

U sir R a n00b >:-( - Cactuar

BGrugby, if you have mission complete everywhere, then go talk to Shinra and watch all of the Crimson Spheres.

Tidu-who, get involved with the Ronso conflict and take Kimahri's side so that you'll eventually fight Garik, all so you can get a Mission Complete on Mt. Gag-your-pet. I too don't know what's up with those rocks with chests on them which move away when you walk toward them.

Gozaru, thanks for the advice but I already chose New Yevon though I hate those bastards. I'm at 85% in Chapter 3 right now and hope I get up to 100% this time through.

Everyone, am I the only one a bit PO-ed about how this game has the Enterprise Accessory (break HP limit) and Double Hp accessory but even at level 85 you'll still only have about 5,000 HP even if you're a Beserker or Dark Knight? I was wishing I could make my characters have like 15,000 HP or something so I could easily beat all of the insane bad guys like the Elder Drake and stuff.

This post has been edited by Ejoty on 12th January 2004 21:24

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Get me off this Disciplinary Committee so I can play any FF except for FF8!!!

Speeking of elder drakes anyone know how to defeat those or the

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the concherer monster (big devil turtle) on cloister 60 that hits for 30,000 or so

and ejoty, on Paine I have here as either master dark night, master samurai, master swordsmen and with the accsessory "key to success" she has 7300 HP at lvl 64 and with it 112 luck

This post has been edited by Fidelity101 on 12th January 2004 21:49

The game tends to resemble a "normal" Final Fantasy game in Chapter 3.

Also, how can you NOT like Logos and Ormi? Logos has some of the more classic (Funny)moments in the game. I won't spoil any for you though.


My problem is getting Lady Luck. =\ I decided to wait until the final chapter but now his Quota is 100 and everytime I start to get a good Echo bonus going he draws a 1. =(

I got FFX-2 for Christmas. I didn't really want it or have much desire to play it, but I absolutely can't stand those people who hate Harry Potter without having ever even read it, so I'm giving it a try just to stay informed. So far, I'm on chapter 5 with somewhere in the 60s% complete.

I'm as pissed at some of it as I thought I'd be. Even Peter, my boyfriend, laughs at the way Rikku wiggles her derriere constantly, and at how it's tempting to just lock her in the White Mage outfit so at least she's covered for battles, and at how Paine looks like a dominatrix. I also don't like some of the "cute" girly mannerisms that all of the female characters evince, i.e.,

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

"Noojie" and similar forms of address; complete and utter lack of ability to take most things seriously. Compare this with Nooj, Baralai, and especially Gippal, who manages to crack jokes and be a comic character and still be cool while they're running around in the Farplane and refusing to tell anyone what's going on.

The guys are serious and still manage to have fun without coming off like preteens on a sugar high. Why can't the girls? This isn't just about sexism--it's about the main characters of the game being the stupidest people in it, with the exception of Shelinda. Rikku was destined to be this way, but it wasn't nearly as irritating in FFX, where she had Lulu and Yuna to offset her bubbly cheerfulness. Yuna managed to be sweet and optimistic without being stupid in FFX--why couldn't she still be the serious girl on a mission who I actually had to grudgingly like?

Other than that, I like the system. "Dress spheres" seem pretty silly, but when you ignore the explanation in favor of the underlying form, they're fun. I couldn't handle FFT's job class system (and I didn't play enough of FF5), but this one is both simple and functional. The battles move way too fast for me (even on wait and the slowest battle speed), but, then, FFX's turn-based system remains my favorite to date. I miss being able to steal multiple items, and things like status ailments and the various breaks are far less useful than they were in FFX, but the battles are kinda fun, and that's major bonus points to any game with random encounters. I do agree that it's annoying to have such a low max-HP, but the characters seem very powered-down in general compared to FFX. It's a little hard to take, and I wish they would have kept some of the battle strategies/functions and character abilities on about the same level.

I'm having a hard time finding Dark Knight and I doubt I'll get Mascot, but hey, that's what gamefaqs.com is for, right? (I'm not serious. I intend to play without cheating, even if I had to cave and find a list of possible dress spheres to figure out which two I was missing. So I don't want any answers to this question, or, if you want to reply for general knowledge, spoiler brackets, please.)

Anyway, Tidu-who, if you approach the places on the mountains from which you want to jump slowly, the chests won't move away. If that doesn't seem to do it, try a few various angles of approach, and make sure you walk, not run. (I haven't seen a way to set the controller to "walk", so you have to kinda tap it to get the speed you want.)

This post has been edited by karasuman on 15th January 2004 17:52

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

If anyone wants to know about the Dark Knight dressphere, it's

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

underneath Bevelle, in a chest that's hard to get to. I haven't found it yet, but a friend of my roomate told me about it. There is a 60 level dungeon under Bevelle that I somehow missed the first time through.

.

I have to say, I disagree with you on a few points. Yes, Rikku is mostly a walking sex symbol, however, I feel differently about Paine and Yuna.

Paine is a strong female character, who is mostly serious, and has trouble being relaxed. It even mentions this a few times. I don't think she looks at all like a dominatrix, and I think people have a tendency to link anything that's black and looks leathery with being Dominatrix-ish.

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If you want to cover up Rikku and have her kick some butt, put her in the Samurai outfit, or do her final dressphere. Actually, a lot of her outfits cover her up.

Yuna is clearly still trying to get over her incredibly long

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suicide mission

from the last game. She's learning how to have fun again, and to live for herself, not for the sake of the world. It seems logical to me at least that she'd be less serious, but maybe that's just me. She's trying to relax like Rikku (yes, not the best role model, but the girl knows how to have fun).

As for Leblanc....ehh. Yeah. I can't decide with her :-) It's like she knows she's a walking sex symbol, and is damn proud of it. She uses her sexuality to her advantage.

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Lenne is also a strong character, from what's shown of her.

But then again, maybe I'm just not looking at this the same way you are. Seeing women in not very much clothing in a game is not something that makes me think "sexism!" unless the women behave in certain ways. Like if they're always weak, and always need protecting, and are only healers. A woman who is showing her legs near completely and has bare arms, but can knock out enemies just as well, if not better then, the guys, is a symbol of female strength to me.

This post has been edited by Elena99 on 15th January 2004 18:19

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I had an old signature. Now I've changed it.

Women who wear ridiculous, impractical outfits for no obvious reason other than to look hawt may not be all that rare in real life, but they're also generally exploiting themselves. You'd think that Yuna and Paine would have the sense to at least grab a jacket when climbing Mt. Gagazet, even if Rikku can't be expected to know to come in out of the rain.

The point that everyone who sees my website seems to miss is that I'm not saying that women shouldn't be allowed to wear sexy clothing. I don't think that there's anything wrong with sexy clothing in and of itself--but, given the society in which we live, it's worth questioning why women are portrayed as sex symbols.

Yuna and Rikku both went from being covered to being half-naked at the same time as they went from being two of nine(?) characters to being two of three all-female main characters. Whether or not it's stupid for Yuna to run around with her ass hanging out of her pants in general, the fact that the only reason she's dressed that way is that Square didn't think she would be interesting enough without the sexy outfit really disturbs me. We're not talking about being handed someone in hotpants--we're talking about a change made because Square didn't think that anyone would play the game unless the girls in it were scantily-clad, and that's wrong.

That being said, I disagree with your assessment of Paine's outfit, but I do still like the character. Paine, Gippal, and the Aurochs are the primary sources of amusement, as far as I'm concerned. And as for Leblanc,

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

why is this in spoilers, anyway? ahem. Leblanc doesn't come across as someone who uses her sexuality to get her what she wants; compare her antics to Charlie's Angels, who actually do that. She comes off as a spoiled princess with just enough intelligence to cause trouble and get what she wants, without realizing how much more she'd have if she stopped being a moron. That assessment is in no way impacted by the stupid outfit she wears.

I am glad that the women in this game aren't remakes of Aeris and Rosa. I'm thrilled to death that there's a game about girls who actually do something instead of just needing to be saved all the time, and that Yuna is pretty much the saviour of the world and she takes her responsibilities as such seriously, and that even Rikku gets her act together most of the time. It's not that I don't like games with male main characters, but it's nice to see girls once in a while. I'm just not happy enough with all of that to overlook the problem that still remains--namely, the reasons they're in the clothes they're in. It's not that I don't think strong women should be allowed to be sexy--I just don't think that it should be necessary. Apparently, Square disagrees.

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

i'm going to assume that you had a personal talk with hironobu sakaguchi and that is why you are so certain *exactly* why square threw in a few scanty outfits for the girls. perhaps you missed the fact that x-2, unlike the rest of the games in the series, is much more lighthearted and nowhere near as epic a story. how do you know they didn't just tell nomura to be creative and have fun with the dressspheres? -- in all, he made *45* dress designs (and if you bothered to notice, more often than not, they are actually *less* revealing than you like to make it seem). the game is really about empowering the girls than it is about objectifying them.

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for example, the GIRLS kill vegnagun and save the earth, because the guys (gippal & co) couldn't do it alone.

i don't understand the difficulty in enjoying the game at face value instead of making ridiculous statements like "i can't BELIEVE they didn't add a jacket to yuna's outfit for mt gagazet!" it's just a fun, shallow game to play to hold you over till ff12, because square knew a lot of people would not be getting ff11. stop making conclusions like "square dressed them like that because they thought it wouldn't be interesting otherwise," because you have no idea whether or not that it the situation -- and it probably isn't. nomura was most likely just letting loose and being creative, and the designs are excellent. it seems like the people who DON'T like the dresses are obsessing over their outfits way more than, say, the people who one would assume wouldn't buy ffx-2 without the skimpy dresses -- all of my guy friends who like the game don't even mention the dresses as a reason for liking it (except for the occasional joke).

This post has been edited by Elena99 on 15th January 2004 19:45

Right, that's a good point kara. I think it would have been better if they had chosen different default dresspheres; maybe Yuna in her animal trainer outfit, Paine in samurai, and Rikku in white mage. That would actually make a very well-balanced party, too, I spent a good chunk of the game like that.

I wonder, though, how many people did actually buy this game because of the scantilly clad girls? Did anyone buy it that didn't already play FFX, or any other FF games? That would be interesting to know.

Although I still love FFX-2, I'll agree with you, kara, that having the girls not be scantilly clad as default would be a nice change if they did something like this again. Or bring out a game with Auron, Tidus and Wakka wearing next to nothing ;-)

Wakka does show a bit of skin, now that I think of it.

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I had an old signature. Now I've changed it.

Quote (Elena99 @ 15th January 2004 14:52)

Right, that's a good point kara. I think it would have been better if they had chosen different default dresspheres; maybe Yuna in her animal trainer outfit, Paine in samurai, and Rikku in white mage. That would actually make a very well-balanced party, too, I spent a good chunk of the game like that.

I wonder, though, how many people did actually buy this game because of the scantilly clad girls? Did anyone buy it that didn't already play FFX, or any other FF games? That would be interesting to know.

Although I still love FFX-2, I'll agree with you, kara, that having the girls not be scantilly clad as default would be a nice change if they did something like this again. Or bring out a game with Auron, Tidus and Wakka wearing next to nothing ;-)

Wakka does show a bit of skin, now that I think of it.

I'd be happy if they'd even let you change what their "default" outfits were. They pull that off in some other games, and then you could choose your level of offensiveness. Personally, I'd probably have Yuna run around as a Songstress, because I think it's a really pretty outfit, even if I never use the skills. ;-)

None of the guys I regularly talk to here in Pittsburgh played the game because of the girls; in fact, three of my male friends read my webpage and informed me that they were equally disgusted, and they didn't buy it. My friend Sergio, from Miami, bought it because, in his words, "he can't pass up a game with cute girls", and on that basis, three or four of his male friends (who never played Final Fantasy before) also play it. And then there are the people who own it, kinda shrug at the outfits, and play it because it's the sequel to FFX. I think it's a pretty even mix, at least, from where I'm standing.

I'd like to see Auron in next to nothing. Hubba hubba.

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

Quote

Even Peter, my boyfriend, laughs at the way Rikku wiggles her derriere constantly

Women who wear ridiculous, impractical outfits for no obvious reason other than to look hawt may not be all that rare in real life, but they're also generally exploiting themselves.

The point that everyone who sees my website seems to miss is that I'm not saying that women shouldn't be allowed to wear sexy clothing. I don't think that there's anything wrong with sexy clothing in and of itself

Yuna and Rikku both went from being covered to being half-naked at the same time as they went from being two of nine(?) characters to being two of three all-female main characters.

Quote

perhaps you missed the fact that x-2, unlike the rest of the games in the series, is much more lighthearted and nowhere near as epic a story. how do you know they didn't just tell nomura to be creative and have fun with the dressspheres? -- in all, he made *45* dress designs (and if you bothered to notice, more often than not, they are actually *less* revealing than you like to make it seem). the game is really about empowering the girls than it is about objectifying them.

it's just a fun, shallow game to play to hold you over till ff12, because square knew a lot of people would not be getting ff11.

it seems like the people who DON'T like the dresses are obsessing over their outfits

All very good points here, I agree with all of them. I feel that square tried to appeal to the different sexes to make up for the fact the storyline could be better. I feel they tried to lure men in with the promise of foxy chics wearling half the required clothing for church. I think they draw women with the ideal of a femme trio saving the world, having an unlimited wardrobe and doing jobs that a ton of men can't. I think this was an attempt to bide those over who can't play FF11. While I feel the thought was good, I just don't like the game that was produced in the end. Nice try Square. I also feel that the lady crowd here shouldn't bash the game for having scantly clad women, then turn around and talk about seeing half-dressed men. Sounds a bit like they're falling right into that crowd. We should value people's physical attractivness without objectifying them.

That's really all I have to say on it till I find something interesting enough to say. You see, when you take away the racy clothing subject, and the idea that the game is shallow, there really isn't anything I'm interested to comment on in the game itself.

Moderator Edit

Uh, didn't you say you hadn't played it when the subject came up in chat 12 hours ago or so? -R51

This post has been edited by Rangers51 on 16th January 2004 13:05

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At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

Quote (AnarchistDream @ 16th January 2004 05:30)

I also feel that the lady crowd here shouldn't bash the game for having scantly clad women, then turn around and talk about seeing half-dressed men. Sounds a bit like they're falling right into that crowd. We should value people's physical attractivness without objectifying them.

AD, you're confusing the two very different things of thinking someone's hot and only caring about that. I'm not saying that no one's allowed to think that the characters are hot--I'm saying that that shouldn't be the primary purpose for playing the game. There's nothing wrong with half-dressed women, but there's something wrong with a mentality that implies that women are only interesting or worthwhile if they're also eye-candy.

There's also that really big thing you missed where Denise and I were joking around. You said the right thing about valuing attractiveness without objectifying attractive people, but think about things a little more before trying to apply it.

On a completely unrelated note, I really like FFX-2's music. What do you guys think about the main theme? It's a little odd as such, because instead of the traditional homophony with a melody and harmony (like "To Zanarkand" from FFX or the Prelude), it's a lot more like layered polyphony. When I first heard it, I didn't think it was very good, but once it started popping up in the game, it kinda grew on me.

Is this another game in which Nobuo Uematsu did the music?

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

while i absolutely loved uematsu's work for ffx after the flop that was ff9, i couldn't STAND x-2 and my first thoughts were, "Geez, the man fell off AGAIN? this makes like 5 bad games." but then i realised that the fft team did x-2's music and i was like, "oh, that's why every song sounds the same. just like in tactics. -.-"

So you're telling me I can't talk about what I've read and know about the game? I mean the topic is FFX-2 in game, I can't talk about things in the game I've seen? If I'm just so wrong here lemme know because I'm sure I will be on some level.

This post has been edited by AnarchistDream on 16th January 2004 17:36

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At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

Anyways....


Okay, so I'm underneath Bevelle and I've been stuck here for HOURS! I've fought the stupid Fish and Bird boss monsters more times than I can count, but i still can't get down to the bottom. Will someone please tell me the trick to moving those platforms? The bird monster tower seemed to move the very bottom one, the no monster just moves its platform straight across, and the fish monster tower has no rhyme or reason to it, that I can figure out anyways. It just flips the platforms wherever it wants to go. Blah, I've made 40,000 gil and advanced 6 levels in exp, all unintentionally. This is tedious central here.

Edit

nm, I finally figured it out. Poor Bahamut.

This post has been edited by Tidu-who on 20th January 2004 03:09

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

I didn't enjoy FFX-2 as much as other FFs...probably because the most important thing to me in an RPG is the story.

Hey because people mentioned it, the Dark Knight Dressphere is

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close to the bottom of Bevelle (not in the Via Infinito). When you see a chest below to your left that you can't get to, then back-track and take the elevator thing up to this place where you have to stand atop a series of platfroms and take a series of elevator things back and forth until a path to that chest has been raised.

... and hey, I don't see any point calling the game sexist. Considering Yuna's past, it makes perfect sense for her to feel like running around in next to nothing having fun. Sexy and sexist are too different things (like in Spinal Tap). ...and it you want to see Auron in next to nothing than I wish you the best... but now that I think of it...

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he's a corpes... gross!

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Get me off this Disciplinary Committee so I can play any FF except for FF8!!!