“THIS IS MY STORY”

In 2003, Final Fantasy X-2 (FFX-2) was released as the first direct sequel to a main entry in the series. It was met with critical praise and fan disdain, due in part to the vast differences between it and its predecessor, Final Fantasy X (FFX). Also in 2003, I was twelve years old and finding vast differences between elementary
and middle school, between the “cool” kids and the “geeks,” and between girls and boys. Feeling  uncomfortable in my own skin with the different identities I was forming, I played video games frequently, as I enjoyed losing myself for awhile in big, unique, beautiful, sorrowful worlds. Whereas my experiences of FFX
have been shared with my brother, father, and friends, FFX-2 has been mostly mine alone. Any additional moments in my weekends were devoted to it, and I loved all 230 hours I spent with my original save file (still the highest hour count I’ve logged in a single file). The game resonated with me in ways I would not be able to name until much later, until around the game’s rerelease in March of 2014, which I have been playing as an adult who has chosen games as a career path. Now I am grateful that I found FFX-2 when I did, as it is exactly what I needed at the time and perhaps made it possible for me to be where I am now.