Final Fantasy X Veterans Recount 25-Year-Old PS2 Shift as Lord of the Rings Steered Fantasy Turn
Updated
Updated · Kotaku · Jul 19
Final Fantasy X Veterans Recount 25-Year-Old PS2 Shift as Lord of the Rings Steered Fantasy Turn
3 articles · Updated · Kotaku · Jul 19
Summary
25 years after Final Fantasy X launched, director Yoshinori Kitase said the team abandoned an early sci-fi lean and pushed toward fantasy after seeing Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings coming to market.
PS2 hardware forced one of the game’s hardest calls: Square first favored richer color output, then switched toward higher resolution when rival PlayStation 2 titles began emphasizing sharper visuals.
Water became another defining technical challenge, with the team using new CG capabilities for realistic rendering and limiting underwater battles because separate movement and animation sets were required.
Voice acting also lacked an established production pipeline, Kitase said, leaving Square to run in-house auditions and recording in what he called a very amateurish process.
The 2001 release ultimately became a template for later Final Fantasy games, shaping the series’ visual style, storytelling and fully voiced presentation.