In this game, the player controls a character named Tidus through a series of events in a kingdom. This game was said to have been the last to be set in the role of a traditional Final Fantasy game.

In this game, the story takes Tidus through many different perspectives including a world map, battle scenes, and close up in major points of interest.

In this game, characters use abilities they gain from the equipment they use in battle. AP determines when they can use an ability without the equipment. Characters use magic stones to set which abilities they want to use. After taking a certain amount of damage, characters go into "Overdrive" mode, where they have heightened strengths and abilities. Characters gain levels and get new strengths with experience points (XP) won in battles.