I can see where the "edgy" comes from, but honestly it's more of a character trait for the main cast than the game as a whole. They're grown-up misfits who can't quite keep up with the world. (What I mean more specifically is, I don't get the feeling that we're supposed to like or celebrate the main cast, but just relate to them and try to understand where they're coming from.) The story delivers more varied interactions and takes a relatively more serious tone in later scenes. The cadence of the writing is just how it is though, that's just something you have to live with.
Godspeed, ZP. I tried playing X and X-2 earlier last year, and could not stand them anymore! They have not really aged well.
The observation that it's like a travelogue is spot on. They go visit the hot tourist spots of Spira, one by one. Honestly, it almost feels like Tidus is just on an adventurous vacation there, while Yuna and the rest of the crew are the ones actually on the world-saving job.
And also, I don't quite remember the fanservice much anymore, but I vaguely recall there being a lot of weirdly angled butt shots of Tidus throughout the game...
Thanks for reminding me of the PS1 Xena game, which I liked a lot. I hope you've found out with your insider knowledge that they're making an HD remaster of it in 2017.
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