The Japanese company has made its name on its Final Fantasy series, and diehard fans of the genre will not be disappointed, nor will newcomers wonder what the fuss is about. It's the type of title that makes people buy the PS2 console-a flagship performer you can't get anywhere else.

Fans will see familiar supporting character types like the gruff mentor (a fierce swordsman named Auron), the jock (a surfer-type named Wakka), the mysterious black mage (voluptuous Lulu, in a costume fanboys are drooling over across the globe), the sassy thief (Rikku, who sports spiraled irises to go with her hot pants), and the heavy (a leonine figure named Kimahri). And following form, the two leads are a sweetly naοve yet powerful summoner, Yuna, and the hero of the journey, the bleached blonde Tidus.

The graphical renderings range from the normal gameplay, which is to say pretty damn good, up through a few more levels of detail — most dialogue takes place on this level — to the cinema quality animation that echoes the not-so-blockbuster Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within realism. The character rendering, done by Tetsuya Nomura, is similar in feel to Final Fantasy VIII, with normal proportions and less of a cartoonish feel than IX or VII. But the color palette is much richer for X: It's as if the animators were inspired by the Pacific Islands this time around. And thanks to the more powerful graphical engine in the PS2, the sunlight really does dapple the lapping waves like you see on the box. It doesn't just look pretty either — this is the first FF installment to use voice actors to supplement the onscreen text. Each character is made more real this way, the game more cinematic, and the characters even joke around in battle. The only weak spot is the voice synching. Since the game was developed and released in Japan first, many timesthe lips are out of synch with what you hear. Most of the voice actors are stellar, with the exception of the one that plays Yuna. I found her sighs and breathy voice a trifle irritating, but everyone has their preferences.

I won't spoil the plot for you — believe me, the English major inside me could write an entire essay on the themes — but I will say that it's powerful and full of twists and turns. The main character, Tidus (I named him Splash because I am a goof), is on a search for his identity after his world gets shaken up by an evil force named Sin (the name's a bit heavy-handed, but put to good use). He falls in with a ragtag group on a pilgrimage, which turns it into more of a quest narrative. The plot tackles the heavy stuff: loyalty, the meaning of family, the difference between dream and waking life, the truth behind traditions, racism, the war machine, and the healing power of music. Seriously. But the main thread is how the characters come to claim their own narrative and reject fate. It's very empowering and thrilling to play.

But enough about the story. What's the playability like? I have to say that I enjoyed both the battle system and the leveling system far more than any other RPG I've played from Square. My favorite feature? The ability to switch out party members during battle. Running low on HP? Just pick another player from your stable of warriors, thieves and mages. The battle system is also more turn-based, to the point where you can get up and use the loo during a boss fight if you please. That evil robot (don't worry, no spoilers there) will just sit in suspended animation until you return to zap it.

The leveling system is complicated to explain, but easy to use. Players collect different types of spheres after battles, and can later insert them on a giant sphere grid. The way the system is laid out, any character can acquire the same spells, skills and characteristics of any other. Not pleased with Rikku's ability as a thief? Give the Steal and Mug commands to Kimahri. Of course, it pays to follow the abilities of a particular character. Your summoner Yuna may be powerful in some ways, but she'll never have a very high attack rating.

Which brings me to another aspect of battle. If you're familiar with FFIX, you know that a summoner is a special character who is endowed with the power to, well, summon powerful spirits in battle. In FFX, the spirits are called Aeons and they function as characters of their own during battle. The old favorites Ifrit, Shiva and Bahamut are still around, but this time you can give them special skills, spells and attack powers in addition to their overdrive attacks. It makes boss fights easier to handle-instead of leaving your entire party vulnerable to a difficult boss, you can "hide" behind an Aeon and let/him/her/it (a sparkly horse? You tell me) do the dirty work for you.

Character's overdrives function the same way limit breaks did in previous FF games, but this time around, you have more control over how they're acquired. Instead of solely rising from being attacked, you have the power to make the overdrive meter increase in response to a number of battle actions. My favorite mode is probably Slayer, which means you get a boost for beating the hell out of your foes.

One thing that's missing from the game is the World Map. This makes the game extremely linear — there's little time for sidequests (such as acquiring secret Aeons or ultimate weapons) or minigames (the Chocobos return.and then there's blitzball, an underwater sport that slightly resembles soccer and water polo) until the very end of the game. For those who enjoy the roller-coaster plot ride, this may not seem like a big deal, but the change is definitely noticeable.