For me to say that Final Fantasy X-2 doesn't target a female audience would be to deny every gender distinguishing instinct I have, and believe me, I can spot a woman in a crowd. After all, a prevalent dynamic of this title is running around the world of Spira collecting dresses, though this is far from being the only quality that would appeal significantly more to the fairer sex. The storyline itself is wrought with embellishments as masculine as spending a day shopping for five pairs of high-heeled shoes and a foundation that compliments your lip gloss without turning your "autumn" look into a "winter." Unsuspecting male gamers are indeed in for an alarming surprise. Not that focusing on a female audience is at all inherently bad; far from it. Rather, I should hope for an increase in high-profile offerings like this to attract more women as deeply into video games as myself. However, it's not as if past Final Fantasy's have been particularly unappealing to a female audience, making this offering an extreme, unnecessary departure from the original which only isolates it from many of the fans it should be appealing to. In any event, it is unfortunate that the first Final Fantasy to target women gamers has to have one of the most simplistic storylines of the series with a small cast and weak characters.