I agree with Zelshaded39 on many aspects, but I have to give credit to FFX for having the best method for gaining new abilities. It was a happy medium between being locked by a job for each character and having all characters instantly be able to do any move. That's one of the things I hated about FF7, and one point I agree with you on. It was just stupid that any character could use about any move just as long as they had the Materia and a slot. You're right, Barrett should not have been able to summon.

I really like FFX's system. Initially, you're locked into a class for each character (Lulu-Black Mage; Yuna-White Mage; Auron-Warrior; Wakka-Archer; Rikku-Thief/Alchemist; etc.), but you can access different areas of the grid later to learn some new moves outside of your class. I can't tell you how much I loved this system. Strike that--I can. I can even give an example.

While moving Tidus on the grid, I accidentally had him enter Rikku's area. I really didn't mean to do it and I was worried I had lost some ground on his progress. While I was in this area, I taught him "Use" and "Steal." Once I got a Return Sphere, I took him back on track. Much to my surprise, Tidus's ability to use "Use" helped me more than I ever could have imagined, mainly because it allowed him to use Al Bhed potions in addition to Rikku. I had two characters how could use not only Al Bhed potions, but Grenades, Elemental Gems, and many other useful items that originally only Rikku could use.

That's why FFX had an awesome levelling up system, in my opinion. And yes, a character can hypothetically learn every single move, but man oh man, that's about unfathomable to me. Seeing as though it gets progressively harder to gain levels on the grid (by the end of the game, I was only getting one sphere level each for beating a major boss), I can't imagine how long it would take to achieve such a feat. Anyone who has managed to do that has wasted an incredibly large amount of time doing so.

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THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES