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Final Fantasy X
Anime Video Game Review
First of all, we'd like to state here and now that Final Fantasy IX was the best game we ever played on the Playstation. When someone asked us what it was about, we replied through tear-filled eyes "it's about ... friendship." You just won't understand unless you've experienced it yourself. At anime.com we’ve never been so moved by a videogame.
 Leave it Squaresoft to improve upon perfection. Final Fantasy X may be the best game ever made, with an amazing story and utilizing the full power of the PS2 to allow game sequences that look as good as the cinematic scenes. Overall gameplay has been improved, as has the battle system (one cool feature worth mentioning w you can now switch the battling "team" during a battle). And ah, oh, how good it looks. Next to Pixar, Square may be the strongest 3D house on the planet, with innovative and majestic design, rendered to the point that it feels as though you're playing a Hollywood feature film.
 Of course, like every version of Final Fantasy, this game has an amazing amount of depth (you'll never see it all), extremely strong characterization and lots and lots of hidden "stuff" for you to find as you go through the adventure. There's also the usual assortment of puzzles to solve, strategies to form, resource management, skills to acquire, experience points, boss monsters, and all the other niceties of a solidly-constructed, skillfully-executed RPG. And we’re not going to tell you what it's about. You just won't understand unless you experience it yourself.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, April 2002
Final Fantasy:
The Spirits Within
Anime DVD Review
This movie turned out to be much better than we thought. Ignore the critics, this flick is way cool. If you've got even an inkling of the Final Fantasy series of videogames, you'll catch enough of the jokes to make the viewing more than worthwhile (is there a 'Cid' in every FF Universe?). Nevertheless, the voice-acting is dead-on, the characters are good, and the computer animation simply rocks.
We've never seen CGI this good. Square goes as far as to animate a chase sequence with hand-held camera style action. As a result, there are many times where you'll swear you're watching live people, but nope, this is all computer generated. Yeah, the Gaia stuff gets a little heavy handed in the last half of the film, but the action and overall plot is as good as any Hollywood blockbuster and certainly a gigantic plus for the art of CGI films. Prove that CGI isn't just Pixar putting out the latest kid-flick and get your hands on this adult-level and very well-made animated movie that will suck you into the action and not let go until the credits roll.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, January 2003
Final Fantasy IX:
Original Soundtrack
Anime Soundtrack Review
Excellent, amazing and astounding are some words we could use to describe this music. But if you've played the game, you know that mere words fail to do justice to the melodies you'll carry in your heart forever. There's just no way to express the raw emotion and power contained in these tracks. FF9, was to us, one of the greatest games ever made, and the incredible music is one of the prime reasons the game meant so much to those who have experienced it.
You'll find so many styles represented here, you'll be hard pressed to believe it is from the work of a single composer, so be prepared — not only will you find tracks that appeal to your style, you'll discover pieces that will melt your soul and change your life. If you can't dig deep to afford the entire soundtrack, there's a "Best Selection" soundtrack as well that picks some of the more popular tracks.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, June 2003
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