Part 14: Exposition Done Right... Well, Mostly

In the previous episode, I spent much of my time discussing how Besaid introduces the game's two major thematics. These thematics are sports culture and religion, and Final Fantasy X does them justice. Wakka serves as a cautionary tale on the dangers of sports culture as he cannot finish a scene without name dropping Blitzball. Regarding religion, the game hints at a darker subtext whilst using the “theory of omission.” The game’s gaps of information are an appreciated change from the heavy-handed exposition dumps from earlier games.

Interacting with two "Crusaders" reveals several things about the dominant religion in Spira. Yevon has a religious order with the support to fund and train an army of believers. Likewise, this religious institution has sunk its teeth deep into the remnants of human society. Humanity blindly follows the customs stipulated by Yevon. Plenty of people trust this institution so much, they feel it is worth sacrificing their lives. This is communicated BEFORE the formal introduction of the theocracy’s hierarchy and is one of the game’s more successful examples of front-loading.

There's a distinct feeling of syncretism regarding the faith of Yevon. When Tidus finally enters the Besaid Temple, it is decorated with anachronistic religious iconography. The practices and uniforms of the summoners are distinctly Shinto, but the icons and customs are Buddhist. The hierarchical nature of Yevon adds in an unmistakable Abrahamic feel. Comparisons to the Catholic Church, or Islam, are unshakeable. All this means the game's use of Yevon resonates with a larger audience.

The only issue is the game's effective world building is complemented with Tidus acting like a goober. We are only two episodes in, and I have resigned myself to Tidus ruining emotionally poignant moments. Tidus's brazenly moronic behavior is cringeworthy. As the game is attempting to introduce the player to the customs and practices of Spira, Tidus sees to it to violate every possible religious tenet of Yevon. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he acts as if the people and places of Spira are impediments to his efforts to go “home.” This makes it difficult to understand Tidus’s perspective for the first three hours of Final Fantasy X.

What is more of an insult is when Tidus expresses bewilderment with concepts he has JUST BEEN INFORMED ABOUT! How many more times am I going to be forced to tolerate Tidus introducing himself as a member of the "Zanarkand Abes?" HE WAS TOLD TO NOT DO THIS TWO HOURS AGO! I understand the purpose is to have Tidus act as a cipher, but his behavior is insufferable. Instead of acting inquisitively about his surroundings he treats the world of Spira as a playground for heroics. Give me a goddamned break Tidus!

Part 15: THE CLOISTER OF TRIALS PUZZLES ARE FUCKING BULLSHIT!

Once Tidus and Wakka are done repudiating Satan, they return home and get some much-needed rest. What ensues next is an odd torment of a scene. A soliloquy between a priest and Wakka tailspins into another God-awful dream sequence. The dialogue between Wakka and the priest serves to foreshadow Yuna’s dire predicament in the temple. That's noble enough, but the scene becomes muddled when we witness a young Tidus wishing his father dead.

Final Fantasy X’s narrative repetition is a growing annoyance. The dream sequences repeat Tidus's surface level angst against his father. Rather than build my sympathy for Tidus, they showcase him as a sniveling brat. While I contemplated my disgust for Tidus, he poisons the well yet again when we re-enter the temple. Upon discovering there is a summoner locked deep within the catacombs, Tidus sees to it to rescue the “damsel in distress.”

There are two points of contention to be made. One, Tidus disrespects the customs and practices of Yevon without retribution. By not allowing Tidus to experience a comeuppance the rules and customs of Yevon feel without merit. The second issue stems from the mixed messages the game sends to its audience. If you are going to feature the protagonist violating the core beliefs of a religious institution, for goodness' sake, have it mean something. When it is all said and done Tidus's blasphemous act is all for naught. As he reaches the inner chamber Yuna magically exits the cloister barely scathed. His attempt to prove the necessity of humanism over theocracy fails. This deprives the sequence of a raison d’être.

Should Final Fantasy X be inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame, it will be despite several black marks on its record. The most prominent of those black marks are the Cloister puzzles. What the fuck was the design team even thinking? If you were to remove them, nothing of consequence would be lost.

The cloister puzzles are a bad thing. They are byzantine in design and require the player to think like an MIT graduate. With no pomp or circumstance, the game plops you deep within a temple with ominous glyphs hovering over a nearby door. You discover there are several glyphs and spheres you need to interact with if you wish to progress further into the temple. You are then subjected to a glorified pixel hunt as you look for obscured orifices to place spheres into. Benign cracks now become small details you furiously mash the action button on. The previously tolerable fixed camera angles now become a major handicap. It’s a kludgy mess that does not improve.

Let's double back to those "Destruction Spheres." In the game's tutorial, it playfully suggests locating and using the Destruction Spheres will unlock helpful "treasure." Under normal circumstances, the word "TREASURE" coincides with the word "OPTIONAL." The Destruction Spheres are ANYTHING BUT "OPTIONAL!" Some would even argue the first Destruction Sphere is THE MOST CRITICAL TO COMPLETE! WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?! YOU CANNOT DO THIS! Nothing in the game articulates the unqualified importance of the Destruction Spheres, and lacking the ability to revisit previous locations compounds this problem.

What is especially disappointing is how wasteful the puzzles are. We enter temples with thousands of years of history and learn nothing about that history. Progressing from one chamber to the next doesn't shed new light on how the practices of Yevon developed. There are large gaps in Final Fantasy X's fossil record, but it refuses to clue us in on what those gaps may be. Nor do the puzzles provide context on what you are doing. You are moving destruction orbs to the correct place purely for the sake of it.

Part 16: This Game Is JAPANESE AS FUCK!

After the pointless puzzling about is complete, Tidus finds his way to the inner chamber where the distressed summoner is apparently trapped. As suggested earlier, Tidus's tantrum proves pointless as Yuna exits the temple's inner chamber without his help. Tidus's ill-conceived folly draws the ire of Yuna's Guardians, Lulu and Kimahri. What rubs me the wrong way is how the game depicts Tidus as being in the right, despite the opposite being true. Imagine reading about a maniac running into the Vatican City whilst shouting "I HAVE TO SAVE THE PRINCESS!" Now if that news report ended with the Swiss Guard shooting that person dead, would you be surprised?

Things are not entirely terrible. I appreciated how the game takes the time to showcase Tidus as an outsider looking in. When Yuna announces she has become a summoner, the entirety of Besaid is jubilant, whereas Tidus looks bewildered and overwhelmed. Yuna's announcement and the celebration which befalls the city underscore how different Spira is to Zanarkand. Yuna has a social network and its occupants consistently express justifiable skepticism regarding Tidus. Lulu's initially cold demeanor, and Kimahri's stoicism, all come across as understandable reactions to Tidus.

Yuna's summoning of Valefor is another example of genius storytelling. The scene does well to remind us that Yuna is a junior summoner brimming with potential and newfound power. She’s also the nurturing type given her loving embrace of Valefor. It is worth mentioning the cinematic attempts to incentivize the player to explore the cloisters as they may contain extra summons. I would like to preface I wrote that sentence whilst gritting my teeth and holding back screams of terror.

Remember how I bowed out of skewering the game's technical limitations by claiming its "heart is in the right place?" The midnight celebration for Yuna fits that definition perfectly. For all intents and purposes, the literal presentation of the set piece is a feverish nightmare. Characters behave like automatons, and the voice acting is questionable. BUT it somehow works for me. Wakka's joshing around seems honest, Tidus's speech to the Besaid Aurochs appears sincere, and you know EXACTLY WHAT THE GAME IS TRYING TO DO WITH YUNA!

Each character expresses a distinct and entirely transparent emotional state to the audience. Likewise, there's something "different" about Tidus during the nighttime celebration. His motivational speech with the Besaid Aurochs is a cheesy but touching aside. Tidus is becoming more comfortable with his surroundings and developing a sense of sincerity whilst doing so. The game does a nice job of showing its protagonist pursuing interpersonal relationships outside of the primary cast. What is less successful is when Tidus turns to Yuna.

Part 17: The Scenes Between Tidus and Yuna are ROUGH!

For a story predicated on two characters being in a relationship, you’d think more effort would have gone into the interactions between Tidus and Yuna. The script calls for a sense of teenage awkwardness, but the execution is a DISASTER! What should be an endearing flirtation between the two characters becomes a soul-wrenchingly painful exercise. The two ask each other terribly "awkward" questions, because hey, that's what you do when you have belligerent sexual tension! It's typical for a Final Fantasy game, but the addition of voice acting means the script's faults are placed under a more prominent spotlight.

I wish to express a disclaimer. What I am about to say may be the most controversial opinion I express on this series. I know many of you will react violently to what I am about to say. Before I say it, I want to preface I appreciate you taking the time to read these horribly long-winded diatribes. You are all beautiful people and I wish you all the best. So here we go….

I think the voice acting for Yuna is worse than the voice acting for Tidus.

A majority of her responses are single-word replies, like "yes" or "uh-huh." When she speaks more than one syllable, she speaks with a hushed monotone voice that puts me to sleep. Tone-deaf would be a great way to describe my impression of Yuna. During moments where she's expected to express anger or excitement, she instead speaks using the same monotonous droning from before. The result is a torment of unconvincing performances, one after another.

I would like to mention my criticism is not directed at Yuna's voice actor. She did her best with what she was given. Let's not joke around, Yuna's script is appalling. Compared to the rest of the cast, Yuna utters the greatest number of proper nouns and technical terms. This results in large swaths of her dialogue sounding like technobabble worthy of an episode of Star Trek. When Yuna lectures about her upbringing, despite my interest in the topic, her dialogue sounds like a child wrote it.

There's another issue I would like to address. When Yuna expresses a feeling of infatuation towards Tidus, it results in the stiffest line reading in the game. If this game wants me to believe these two will fall in love, it had better get its shit together ASAP! It is nakedly transparent the game is trying to sow the seeds of this relationship early. The problem is nothing feels genuine or believable. Even if you muted the game, I don't think their relationship comes across as less forced. We go from "Look at the summoner!" to "Oh hey, it's love at first site," in record time.

Part 18: Tidus's Dream Sequences Continue To Be Terrible

Oh, GOD! This fucking scene is BAD! HOLY SHIT, I DO NOT KNOW WHERE TO START! It bears mentioning how the earlier performance with Wakka is awfully cute, and that's an honest compliment. Wakka playfully teasing Tidus helps craft those positive interpersonal relationships I always harp about. This serves as an interesting segue to Final Fantasy X's dialogue choices. Once in a blue moon, you can decide how Tidus responds to a situation. These moments are best described as “innocuous.” They are innocent and have little impact on the greater machinations in the game.

I am between-two-worlds on whether I find the game's dialogue choices to be liberating or wasteful. I find it liberating as it allows me to role-play as the Tidus I want, rather than the Tidus I feel obligated to be. On the other hand, the choices feel unnecessary and their purpose is too obfuscated from the player. I do not understand if my choices will lead to anything, and yet again I do not know if this is a good or bad thing. As it stands, I'm role-playing as a Casanova wannabe whenever given the opportunity.

Then the dream sequence happens. So here's the deal. I do not understand what the purpose of this scene was! I have NO CLUE why this was included in the game! Without words to describe my feelings, I'll just chronicle every part of the scene and hope it makes more sense to you.

The scene starts with Tidus sitting on a nondescript pier. Eventually, Yuna approaches Tidus to inform him their plan may have been "discovered" by an unknown force. Who is she talking about? I HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA!

It turns out Yuna has asked Tidus to take the two of them to Zanarkand. Then Rikku pops out of nowhere to remind Tidus he promised to take her to Zanarkand... despite this never happening. WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO GO TO ZANARKAND?

Tidus tries to make sense of the chaos, but then he hears his father billowing in the distance. After chastising him once, Tidus transforms into a small child. The camera then pans to Jecht who is now accompanied by Rikku and Yuna. WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING?

Rikku and Yuna try to empower Tidus to stand up to his father. They beckon Tidus to share his true feelings. So he shouts "I hate you," and then he wakes up. The game transitions to the next scene as if this dream NEVER HAPPENED!

Part 19: Wakka Is My Favorite Character In The Game

You might wonder how someone who tore Steiner from Final Fantasy IX a new fucking asshole can admit to liking Wakka. Well, my lovelies, the devil is in the details, and I'm all about the Devil. Before you call me "crazy" let me defend my outrageous declaration, because the scene after Tidus wakes up is part of the reason I feel adamant about Wakka. Tidus overhears Lulu and Wakka talking behind his back, and this conversation is important for a couple reasons. It introduces Wakka's character arc and propensity for Tidus. We discover Tidus looks alarmingly like Wakka's recently deceased brother, Chappu.

This premise works for me for several reasons. The main reason is the game has established Wakka to be a man who is dedicated to his faith. This suggests he has an affinity for miracles or the unbelievable. What is to say Wakka doesn't view the miraculous appearance of Tidus to be a blessing for his religious devotion? As superficial as it may seem, the story arc regarding Chappu adds some much-needed depth to what could have been just another Final Fantasy comic relief character.

I appreciate Wakka's emotional transparency whenever he interacts with the other characters. When Tidus asks Wakka about Chappu, he does not hesitate to reveal the truth. He is a character who wears his emotions on his sleeves and makes no qualms about it. The ease of which you understand his emotions is complimented by his story arc. The death of a relative is something we can all relate to. This means you better understand his grief and actions within the game.

I enjoy the character dynamic between Tidus and Wakka. I find their playful joshing about to be complimentary to their characterization, and a compelling way to welcome the player to the world of Spira. Wakka welcomes Tidus, and therefore the player, with open arms and radiant enthusiasm. It is a relationship the game fully realizes and the fact it has "teeth" makes it all the more compelling. There's no denying there's something infectious about Wakka. I cannot entirely place my finger on it, but he's a character I think the writers wanted you to gravitate towards, and they accomplished this.

There's one final aspect of Wakka I feel obligated to address. On the previous episode, I mentioned how over the moon I was regarding Final Fantasy X's depiction of interpersonal relationships. Wakka is the initial force which gets this ball rolling. Wakka is the first character we witness pursuing relationships beyond Tidus. The dynamic between him and Lulu is one of the more compelling relationships in the game. What is more important is how Wakka pursues his relationships on his own prerogative. Every supporting character in the previous games either did not pursue interpersonal relationships beyond the protagonist (i.e. FFVII), or they required the protagonist to support them (i.e. FFIX). Wakka breaks that trend in the first three hours, and this is a monumental accomplishment.

Part 20: The Game Is Still Tutorializing... Three Hours Deep

Previously I praised Final Fantasy X for chunking up its gameplay tutorials, and now I must eat humble pie. As Lulu and Yuna accompany us, we are subjected to TWO major gameplay tutorials. The first introduces Final Fantasy X's elemental weakness system. Either the game is stretching its mechanics to the breaking point, or the developers thought lowly of their audience.

As someone who grew up memorizing Pokemon's elemental system, I have always had difficulties wrapping my mind around Final Fantasy’s elemental system. It is like skiers and snowboarders having to "unlearn" certain habits if they wish to practice the other sport. It is simple enough, but I question why the game waited until NOW to explain this to the player. We have fought countless baddies and bosses, and it was clear most had an elemental alignment of some sort. Following some faffing about, Tidus finds himself pitted in a battle against a mysterious lion.

I don't hate this confrontation, but it has its fair share of issues. It persuasively introduces Kimahri as a protective guardian of Yuna. Kimahri is a man of action when it comes to ensuring Yuna's safety, and it doesn't hurt he looks cool while doing so. Our battle also serves as a reminder of the skepticism Tidus is facing. Whether it be Lulu's cold demeanor or Kimahri's bloodlust the game does a good job in emphasizing the supporting cast are NOT ENTHUSED by his presence.

Now if only Kimahri wasn't a complete waste of a character. The design of Kimahri is interesting enough, unfortunately, his execution sabotages everything about him. Being the mute stoic type means there are no opportunities to interact proactively with Kimahri. Lulu mentions Kimahri's race and tribe, and these measly factoids hold us over for an undisclosed amount of time. It's the "Red XIII Syndrome" all over again ladies and gentlemen! I suspect the design team added him into the game for the sake of it and didn't have a "master plan" regarding his place in the story.

Once the hostilities have subsided, we are introduced to ANOTHER gameplay mechanic! This time the game turns the spotlight on Yuna and her ability to summon Aeons. Besides being a healer, Yuna can summon numerous beasts you unlock as part of the temple missions. These beasts have several elemental attacks which can be useful when paired against the correct opponent. Her Overdrive causes the Aeon she summons to use its special attack right away.

It is time for ANOTHER disclosure on my part. I dislike using Yuna and Kimahri in combat. For Yuna, she doesn’t add much to the party you can’t get elsewhere. It's not as if I am bereft of potions, elixirs, and phoenix downs. Yuna's damage output, as is usually the case for white mages, is shit. So I have been swapping her into combat when needed and swapping her back out as soon as possible. Plus, the Aeons themselves aren’t that great right now. I’m open-minded to them becoming useful later, but right now they are not worth the time you have to wait until their summoning animation is complete.

For Kimahri... my active dislike of Blue Mages applies. I refuse to do busy work to make a character “usable” when there are superior alternatives. What I find especially insulting is how you can only use Kimahri’s Blue Magic when his Overdrive is available. If I put the time into teaching Kimahri a smattering of powerful spells, they would only be accessible under certain circumstances. What compounds this problem is how fucking weak he is when not in Overdrive. That is GRADE-A BULLSHIT!

Part 21: The Boat Ride To Kilika Is A Mixed MOTHERFUCKING Bag

It's not just a mixed bag. The boat trip to Kilika subjects you to the highest of highs, and lowest of lows. The scene starts off innocently enough. As the citizens of Besaid bid Yuna an emotional farewell you are left with a positive impression of what your party accomplished there. This moment is paired with Tidus stealing a pair of binoculars and peeping at Lulu's breasts. I AM NOT JOKING! THIS HAPPENS!

Holy narrative dissonance Batman, who thought this was a good idea? The game is working earnestly to build my sympathy for Tidus, and then it pulls off this shit! To distract us from the dire implications, the game attempts to please our neural synapses with a different type of “fan service.” As we explore the ferry, we discover a flamboyant merchant named “O'aka,” and the boat is powered by Chocobos.

Eventually, the game provides much-needed characterization for Yuna. By overhearing a few conversations we discover Yuna is of royal heritage. In our quest to discover more we discern Yuna's father is "Lord Braska," a summoner credited with defeating Sin a decade ago. I understand perfectly what the writing is attempting. Providing Yuna and Tidus with a similarity regarding their upbringing adds legitimacy to their budding relationship. Living in the shadows of a parent provides the two with a discussion point they can relate to in their conversations.

But GOOD GOD, the dialogue between Yuna and Tidus is ghastly! The writing attempts to convey simple teenage flirtations, but it ends up falling square on its ass. What happens in execution is a perfect example of adults writing what they think teenagers sound like. There are quaint ideas to be had in their dialogue. But those quaint ideas stop off to spend six hours in a bar, and then they die of alcohol poisoning. At some point, I expected to see the two uncomfortably mouthing about the weather.

The major revelation is Tidus's father, Jecht, is alive and well. Jecht is revealed to be Lord Braska's guardian and assisted in raising Yuna. What ensues next is an exhausting example of Yuna waxing Tidus's ego. She affirms her confidence in Tidus's claims of being from Zanarkand without question. For what reason, we will not know for some time, and this is what I object to the most. Tidus's tall tales of being a star Blitzball player from Zanarkand are always met with a nod of approval from Yuna. Not being clued in why this is the case makes much of what follows an annoying lesson on "plot by convenience." Yuna agrees with Tidus because the script demands it, and all other machinations are beyond our comprehension.

It's not all doom and gloom my lovelies! The boat battle against Sin is FUCKING AWESOME! This confrontation serves as an amazing segue to one of the game's most emotionally evocative set pieces. This ensures the action serves a greater purpose beyond providing us with visual eye candy. The deckhands inform us their willingness to sacrifice their lives if it means they can protect their families in Kilika. There's a sense of desperation which drives us to defeat Sin post-haste. The dynamic camera angles during the battle stunned me. Each blow we inflict upon Sin drives it in a different direction. This changes the perspective of the camera and provides the battle with a distinctly cinematic feel.

I am less enthused with the game’s immediate follow through. Upon inflicting enough damage to Sin, the monstrosity breaks away from the boat's harpoon. This causes a rogue wave to hit the deck, knocking Tidus into the ocean depths. Wakka dives to his rescue, but upon doing so they encounter a massive jellyfish. How is this an appropriate follow-up to the battle with Sin? This is a clear cut case of the game not knowing when to reign things in. Not realizing that "less is more," the game subjects us to a pointless battle without clear connections to the previous events.

Part 22: Empowerment In Death

My previous nitpick is forgiven thanks to the stunning scene when we first enter Kilika. We witness a tsunami engulfing the township of Kilika within minutes. This works to underscore the preeminent threat Sin poses to humanity, and how fragile life is in the world of Spira. Likewise, the ensuing destruction works to remind the audience not to celebrate their battle against Sin as a true "victory." Sin is still a threat, and capable of further wanton devastation at the drop of a hat.

Witnessing this causes Tidus to experience a slight existential crisis. Tidus recognizes he is "stuck" in Spira, and what the consequences of this are. It is a rare moment of maturity from Tidus which works. Instead of expressing his Casanova tendencies, Tidus depicts emotional vulnerabilities which we can relate to. Then there's the scene with Yuna. This is without a doubt my favorite scene in the game. Upon entering Kilika, Yuna is greeted by several villagers asking if she can perform a "ceremony" for the recently deceased. We are finally provided a much-needed opportunity to learn more about Yevon.

It is a marriage between cinematics and music which craft the game's most poignant moment. As the villagers audibly sob in the background, we are subjected to several stunning visuals. It is a magnificently melancholic masterpiece. When Yuna dances the water around her swells to lift her into the air. This blesses the spirits and prevents them from becoming the dead fiends we have fought throughout our journey. Keen-eyed players will notice upon defeating enemies they normally burst into wisps of colorful smoke. It turns out these wisps of smoke are human souls. This context now places all battles under a different, and more affecting light. Then Tidus says his best line yet:

For as beautiful as the ceremony was, in a perfect world, it is unnecessary. Its beauty could be better appreciated if it was never performed, and the only way for this to be the case is if Sin is totally defeated. Tidus's commentary is apt for other reasons. In a succeeding scene, we discover Yuna is easily swayed by her emotions and is self-conscious about this. This necessitates her close relationship with her guardians as she requires their support to perform her duties. Among the tragedy, the game works to make the case that there is something worth fighting for.

I have avoided bringing up this topic, but now is a good enough time to correct this: Final Fantasy X feels distinctly Japanese. The characters emote much like your typical anime fare, but there are other cultural influences worth mentioning. Yuna is a shrine maiden, and many of her practices are steeped in Shinto traditions. She's decked with a bow on her back, and her staffs have a distinctly Shinto look and feel. The necessity of blessing the dead is unmistakably Buddhist, but this is an example of syncretism working in a story's favor. By pulling different but similar cultural references, Final Fantasy X crafts a religion which pays homage without being insensitive. The religion in Final Fantasy X works thanks to its folk feel, and not despite it.

Part 23: Then The Pacing Just Dies

It wouldn't be a Final Fantasy game if it didn’t follow up powerful story moments with asinine bullshitery. Our introduction to Kilika starts off on good enough footing. Controlling Tidus, we explore the recently destroyed streets of the village. Our brief time here contextualizes the destructive power of Sin and the resiliency of humanity. We watch dozens of NPCs toiling away at rebuilding their homes, and our interactions with them reveal the routine nature of this sort of event.

Had the game spent more time on world building, I could have forgiven the game's later faults. Learning more of how the citizenry practices their religion, or mourn the dead would have been greatly appreciated. Doing so would have built up a scaffold regarding why everyone adopted the religious practices of Yevon. Unfortunately for all involved, the game decides it would be more appropriate to further front-load Yuna's relationship arc with Tidus.

Maybe the relationship between Tidus and Yuna pays off dividends as an emotional keystone to Final Fantasy X's narrative. I am open-minded to this idea. What I am less enthused about is how the story shoves the inklings of this relationship down our throats within the game's waking hours. I understand what the story is attempting. Yuna sees a part of Jecht in Tidus, and for whatever reason, is drawn towards him. Not enough time is spent extrapolating why this is the case. Was Jecht a parental figure for Yuna? Did Jecht teach Yuna something important during her upbringing? What part of Jecht does Yuna see in Tidus? This may come across as needless nitpicking, but considering we have had TWO WHOLE SCENES dedicated to Yuna fawning over Tidus, I strongly believe I deserve clarity.

There is one aspect of this character dynamic I enjoy. There is something oddly novel of having the most important character be Yuna, but the game is from the perspective of an outsider (i.e. Tidus). For all the moaning people like to direct at Tidus, he is just a cipher. Tidus is NOT the main character! The dynamic between Tidus and Yuna's guardians is similarly well done. They view Tidus as a disruptive force with good reason. He has disrespected the customs and practices of their religion without delicacy. Then he is awarded a place in Yuna's court which took them years to earn. Whenever Lulu puts Tidus in his place, I love how palpable the animosity feels. So why does the game temporarily put the kibosh on these emerging dynamics so we can fight a giant plant monster?

This is why I violently rejected the relationship arc two paragraphs ago. Final Fantasy X is painfully guilty of "Start — Stop" storytelling. It cannot remain committed to a handful of story beats for over thirty minutes before proposing a new one. Moments ago the game provided a recent development for Yuna's budding feelings towards Tidus. This will not be addressed for another hour, but in the meantime let’s get curious about Chappu, the Luca Goers, and Dona! Tidus's fractious relationship with Yuna's guardians? FUCK THAT! How about we learn more about the Blitzball tournament in Luca instead! This is not pacing, this is cramming whatever you feel like it for the sake of forced sentimentality.

If there is one facet of Final Fantasy VII's narrative I respected, it was its structured outline for character moments. Levels addressed singular story beats and completed those beats entirely. With Final Fantasy X I feel like I'm champing at the bit for more substance. Final Fantasy X's travelogue arrangement is becoming its own undoing. The environments are not reinforcing the characters, it's placing them into stasis.

Part 24: [Almost] Everything At The Kilika Temple Is Atrocious

Everything that occurs before, during, and after the Kilika Temple is an unmitigated nightmare. Not only are the scenes at the temple painfully played for laughs, but the handful of poignant moments backfire spectacularly. It is a clear cut case of the game throwing mud at the wall and seeing what sticks. And it's bad... it's so fucking bad. I mean, just look at the Luca Goers:

Somehow these assholes survive the MASSIVE tsunami which destroyed the rest of Kilika. On top of that, they seek pleasure in putting people down in the post-Apocalypse. SAY WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT? The Luca Goers are villains from a bygone era that secretly never existed. Their cheesy dialogue would make the Cobra Kai blush. It is clear the game wants us to feel motivated to defeat the Luca Goers during the Blitzball tournament, but it did so using the cheapest possible tropes and idioms. Does this game need a villain ripped from an 80’s sports movie? I sure do not think so! Outside of the context of Blitzball, they feel out of place and in conflict with the game's overall tone.

Making a villain out of Dona makes no fucking sense. Let me get this straight, Dona is a summoner like Yuna, right? Why is Dona putting down Yuna and attacking her integrity? Why is there a scene where Dona actively seeks to ruin Yuna's standing as a summoner? Shouldn’t they be working together to defeat Sin? Don’t they have to obey religious precepts which prohibit lying, back stabbing, vanity, and/or egotism? Can someone honestly tell me why Dona is evil?

So the world is on fire, and somehow people still feel the need to be vainglorious jackasses. I... what, why? What benefit does the story get out of having a smattering of minor villains irrelevant to the progression of the plot? And what is this act of arbitrary villainy in the name of? Why another temple puzzle that's what!

Seeing an opportunity to ruin Yuna's career, Dona has her squeeze toss Tidus into the lower depths of the temple. As Tidus is not a fully fledged member of Yuna's court, his entrance violates an unknown religious custom. To the game's credit, the Kilika Cloister of Trials is not as obtuse as the one at Besaid. It is still a COLOSSAL WASTE OF MY TIME MIND YOU! As mentioned previously, there's a lot to the religious practices of Yevon we do not know about. Exploring these ancient temples and uncovering secrets about Spira's mythos would have at the least added some much-needed substance to the temple puzzles. Lacking this, the puzzles are an impediment to the player's progress, and nothing else.

The puzzles also feel as if they were designed in isolation from the rest of the game. The trick this time around is using orbs to light walls on fire. Doing so allows Tidus to uncover new secrets and rooms to explore. Will we ever see such orbs in the rest of Spira? FAT CHANCE BUCKO! Mechanically the controls for the puzzles are clunky as fuck. Moving a pedestal to fit into a recess is easier said than done. The parts and pieces you move feel swimmy and lack snappy and reactive controls.

Part 25: But Hey, At Least The Game's Heart Is In The Right Place

Through the mist and the madness Final Fantasy X elevates its superficial mechanics into something emotionally resonate. The rest of the party are not happy to see Tidus in the antechamber of the temple. Interacting with Lulu and Wakka reveals Tidus's presence could cause Yuna’s excommunication. The game establishing consequences to Tidus's actions is fine so long as we see them in action. Tidus could practically be hanged, drawn, and quartered for the myriad of cultural faux pas he has committed up to this point. If we do not see Tidus receiving his comeuppance, then we as the audience can no longer take the words of the supporting cast seriously.

Despite these concerns, working our way back to the temple's entrance provides several pleasurable moments. Lulu keys us in on what the "fayth" are, and by doing so we have a better understanding of what it means to be a summoner. The sacrifices of the past have since become an inevitability for the people of Spira. Plus, when Yuna exits the catacombs of the temple, Tidus provides an astute observation which piques our interest.

I am between two worlds for moments like these. I appreciate the game working to foreshadow the nefarious nature of Yevon. There was a similar moment earlier when Tidus mentioned Yevon's prayer "borrowed" the Blitzball victory signal from his time. This lays the groundwork for a dramatic reveal regarding Yevon. Likewise, the game doesn't go far enough with any of these attempts of foreshadowing. The tune we hear here isn't something I recall from our brief time in Zanarkand. Had this short tune been a leitmotif introduced when we first took control of Tidus I think the gravity of Tidus's observation would have been magnified. Such a strong connection between the past and present would have inspired us to become inquisitive detectives on this visually stunning travelogue. BUT the game is trying without falling flat on its face, and I have to give it credit for that.

Then out of nowhere, the game makes Tidus as a character "work." We learn of Tidus's growing anxiety about never returning to Zanarkand. While many of you continue to decry Tidus as being whiny or annoying, moments like these attempt to contextualize his childish behavior. Being in an unfamiliar setting, and not knowing what to do, is something we can all relate to. Whether this is enough to justify Tidus's earlier tomfoolery is up to the individual player. For me, understanding a character’s pathos, logos, and ethos permits me to better tolerate their nonsense. The scene where Tidus allows his emotions to boil over after exiting the Kilika Temple is just one example of this.

I LOVE this scene. Yes, the voice acting and animation diminish the impact of the scene, but at least you understand its intent. Tidus is one of the most emotionally honest characters in video game history. Tidus is EXACTLY the sum of his parts. He's a social butterfly who realizes everything he worked to gain is gone forever. He now finds himself in an alien world and surrounded by people who actively dislike him. His attempts to gain entry into the social networks he has been exposed to have only been partially successful. You can sense that he's becoming increasingly frustrated from this. It's clear and cohesive storytelling if I have ever seen it. It's not great, but it gets the job done.

Tidus ISN’Tan abomination. He does exactly what he was designed to do. Tidus is a walking trope who manages to just get by in every scene he has in Final Fantasy X. Yet somehow the writing strings him along on a visually interesting journey. The interactions he has with his surroundings are often better than the actual role he plays in the story. Even when Tidus acts like a goober, he elicits an emotional response. Whether this desired or not is irrelevant as this is an accomplishment in and of itself.

I love this game. I like how the cast is easy to understand, and how the story sets them up for adventures. I enjoy the cinematic feel to the set pieces. The worlds we explore are amazing to look at, and I enjoy the game's world building. No really, I think I'm in love. Well with that, I guess we will call it. Next time we meet we will talk about Luca.

I'll give this a proper read tomorrow because it's late, but holy shit, I can't get over how bad the new character models look in the remaster in these screenshots.

FFX is easily the best Final Fantasy. Yeah the laughing scene sucks and the dub is rough at places, but what it does for a 2001 game is amazing and the story has stuck with me ever since. The world building is just so damn good.

I can't verify its accuracy, but what I heard once was that Yuna's voice actor was given really bad direction/no direction. She thought that she needed to match her line readings to the character model's lip syncing, which had been set to the Japanese voice actor's line readings. And that's why her delivery is sometimes so strangely paced.

The best use of Aeons is to summon one right before a boss unleashes a likely party-wipe attack. The Aeon absorbs the damage and your party remains unharmed. Some of the later ones you get also have quite powerful overdrive attacks (and unless you really grind, will likely be the only things that can break the 9,999 damage barrier for you).

Glad you're enjoying it as much as you are. The tonal dissonance (following up an emotional scene with something lighthearted or absurd) never really bothered me in any of these games, but that's probably because most JRPGs do it to some degree. (That said, two of my favorite ones -- Final Fantasy VI and Suikoden II -- both have multiple instances where a heavy scene is allowed to resonate without immediately lightening up the tone, and it works to their favor.)

I hope you get Jeff to write a foreword about Blitzball for your next entry.

With regards to Yuna and Kimahri's abilities in combat. In the early game they do similar jobs to the other party members but their real power shines late in the game. I believe Holy can only be obtained by Yuna and it's possibly the most powerful you can cast in combat. Her ability to absorb party wipes or big hits with Aeons is too good to pass up and is somewhat essential for some of the end game fights. I never particularly cared for Kimarhi but you'd be wise to level him up. There is a section of the game you are required to have in your party so not having him leveled by that point can slow the pace of the game down even more. I found him to be the least used in all of my battles but he does offer some unique abilities late game.

Yevon was definitely the point in the game I was sold on the characters in this game. I never minded the voice acting back then but I appreciated how the storyteller's presented Sin as this world threat and how it's interacted with the world. You didn't get that a lot in games back. hell you don't get that a lot in games now.

I like this blog a lot, and don't think I ever expressed any gratitude. I have yet to play any mainline FF games, and X is the one I actually want to try the most.

So glad that you are mostly enjoying it! BTW, a couple times in this you say "my favourite _ in the game", though later clarify "yet" which got me wondering: how far in are you currently? Feel free to spoiler block it if you want, but I am curious both for where you are, but also to find out how far behind/later you write these pieces.

As for comments: I definitely agree with you on Yuna being weaker: while I think she improves as time goes on (and I actually really like the portrayal in X-2 despite the events that happen in it), she definitely starts out the weakest. Still, I find the scenes with Yuna and Tidus awkwardly sweet and relatable. It genuinely reminds me of conversations with my friends when I was young (albeit younger than they are meant to be - so maybe it's unrealistic in terms of being too awkward). I always thought it effectively showed how, despite both being some form of celebrities, they actually lived very sheltered lives with limited sincere interactions outside of their immediate family and friends. I took it as around everyone else, there is an expectation on them because of their status (and outsiders wouldn't listen to them outside of projections of them being Braska's Daughter and Jecht's Son) whereas together they could let their guard down and actually try normal conversations for the first time. As someone who spent a lot of time ill and in hospitals as a kid, my relationships were very superficial and broken-up: so this level of uncertain awkwardness around those I felt able to be sincere with resonates with me. Probably just me though.

Despite earlier enemies having elemental weaknesses, you can't really take advantage of them until Lulu shows up. Prior to this, the only default way (outside of grinding for hours to teach Tidus, Rikku or Wakka elemental magic) to use elemental attacks prior to Lulu turning up is through Wakka's Overdrive, so there's little incentive for a tutorial about it before you could actually take advantage of it.

The giant jellyfish monster is one of the Sinspawn in the game. The first boss in the game, the tentacle-like boss that casts Demi in Zanarkand, was also Sinspawn. I think the game addresses their importance at a specific story event so I'll spoiler block what they do: They spread further carnage and Sin's Toxin after Sin has left, and they call out to Sin to return for them later. It's disappointing that the game doesn't explain their significance earlier (the boss before Kilika Temple that you didn't mention is also Sinspawn... as well as the sinscales you died to at the start).

Dona's pettiness and rivalry with Yuna comes from a sense that Yuna is undeserving and just gifted the position of Summoner with little effort due to people giving her a free pass because of Braska being her father. Remember how Tidus keeps screwing up the Yevon rules and technically the punishment would fall unto Yuna (excommunication being the ultimate price)? The reason this doesn't happen is no one wants to punish Braska's daughter, a positive symbol to the people of Yevon (this becomes a bigger plot point later). Dona is just inherently sceptical of her.

Also, technically summoners are working against each other. They all may aim to take down Sin, but only one can face Sin at a time. Any summoner that isn't cut out for it is ultimately just blocking the progress of others. You'll later meet other Summoners and see them be called upon by the conglomerate of Yevon to do work outside of facing Sin: there's an unsaid implication that those that will never be up to the task of taking down Sin should stop their Pilgrimage early and help the church in other ways instead.

Khimari's story definitely pays off. His place as a Ronso outside the main tribe (the circumstances with which he left) and his ultimate return is well done in my opinion. Don't forget to level him up (remember he is the only member outside of Auron to have Piercing on almost all his weapons).

Edit - Last thing, your choices for what Tidus says affects (outside the couple lines in the moment) a hidden affection stat between Tidus and the other party members (certain actions in battle also affect this, such as using Tidus to heal another party member increasing it). This stat determines the occurrence of certain optional scenes at scripted points. None of them are that huge, but they usually give an interesting conversation between Tidus and said character, often along the lines of them breaking the ice between each other.

So the thing with Kimhari is that he starts pretty much smack in the middle of the sphere grid, which means positionally he's super close to a lot of good low-level abilities of other characters (Use, Steal, Flee, Cheer, the Nul spells, etc.) as well as a lot of junctions that let you "shortcut" to other high-level areas. It just requires access to Key Spheres which you probably haven't seen a lot of yet. I know if you start taking him down Rikku's grid there's a junction to Yuna's path at some point. It allows you to learn high level white magic like Curaga and Holy relatively early. Like almost twice as fast as Yuna would.

As others have mentioned, your conversation choices do matter in the sense of the affection stat. Because every Final Fantasy needs an obtuse hidden system they never actually tell the player about.

Final Fantasy 10 is my second favourite FF. I played the remastered version on Vita and I much prefer the non-active time battle system that allows me to relax and strategize.

I never found a good use for Kimahri. He starts right in the middle of the grid, a handful of nodes away from several characters' starting positions. An early lack of key spheres all but forces him into taking one of the other characters' paths. I steered him, I think, into Tidus's hood, but that meant he was always just behind Tidus in stat growth, and therefore a marginally shittier version of a character I already had. Maybe I've just been misunderstanding his niche all these years, but I really don't think so. (Word of caution: there's a Kimahri-only boss fight later in the story, so try to keep him decently leveled, whether you use him or not.)

As for Yuna, she eventually can become the most versatile caster in the game. Once you get some black magic spheres after fighting Seymour v.2, you can give Yuna all the -aga spells, start steering her toward Flare and Ultima, and wave goodbye to Lulu for good. Yuna's magic stat so far outstrips hers at that point that she sort of makes Lulu obsolete. Sidestepping the Sisyphean torment of completing Lulu's ultimate weapon is also a big motivator here.

Honestly, my goal every time I play this game is to consolidate all the necessary roles onto as few characters as possible. Eventually, it's possible to just roll with Yuna, Tidus and Auron, with the occasional guest appearance by Wakka to nail a flying dude. I'm sure that sounds awful to some people, but that's the thing I like so much about the sphere grid: it gives you the breadth to really do what you want. It's regimented enough at the start to avoid the "paradox of choice", then it blows wide open in the back third of the game, once you're ready to get wild. I don't think they've really nailed that balance in any of their character leveling systems since.

I've never agreed with you more, Zombie!

Wait, have I ever agreed with you? |:

I guess we've reached the point in Final Fantasy history where my adult mind has memories, rather than just the child mind.

The one thing I'll get out of grinding where I am (33 hours into shit creek), is never having to play those Cloister of Trials again.

Yep, the faces are messed up in the HD version. The original looks far better, IMO.

And yep, as much as people make fun of other characters voices more, I agree that Yuna's lines are the most stilted and wooden.

I know a lot of people feel that X is the best final fantasy, and while I'm definitely not one of those people, the first few hours of the game are super strong in spite of the issues. All of the characters make strong first impressions when you see what the core ideas behind their personalities are. Personally I don't feel like they really go... anywhere. With anyone. Especially Kimahri.

@encephalon: Last time I played, I used Kimhari as a second black mage. Yeah he becomes useless once Yuna also starts dealing damage, but better to become useless later in the game than right from the get go. And there's some bosses earlier on that go down easy with two black mages, even though he's never as good as Lulu.

As for Yuna, I teleported her over to learn the -aga black magic spells after finishing her section of the grid, but she never cast them. She was all about that Holy spell all the time. Way things ended up, Yuna was primary damage dealer, Rikku was my healer/status caster, and I rotated between Tidus and Wakka as needed.

I never got into the crazy optional bosses, but that set-up made the last few story bosses a breeze.

Reading and watching some of this has reminded me that I have forgotten quite a bit about some of FFX's early areas and events.

I actually don't think your thought is that controversial, in that I'd probably agree that Yuna is the most poorly voiced character in the game (though I am also not blaming the VO actress).

I think the reason that Yuna is so open to all of Tidus's comments about being from Zanarkand is because of his father, Jecht. As you brought up, he was one of the guardians for Yuna's dad so she had quite a bit of interaction with him. It is natural to believe that Jecht's initial reaction to arriving in Spira would bear some resemblance to Tidus's, and he would've likely brought up the fact that he was from Zanarkand as well.

Being that she was already exposed to this once through the father, going through the exact same thing with the son would probably result in her believing what he is saying to be the truth. Or I could be reading entirely too much into that. (Full disclosure: I did beat the game back on PS2 a LONG time ago and I also own the remastered version on Vita, though I didn't get that far before getting distracted by other games. That said, I'm fairly certain the above theory is my own and not something I'm pulling from the game...)

Wait holy shit, you kind of like this one? I have a certain amount of fondness for 7 and 9, but 10 is easily my favorite. It's nice to read someone as critical as you see some positivity in the game when I'm used to the critical people I know just blatantly disliking it. T.T

EDIT: BTW. Just like the underwater section after the Sin fight, there are a few more like that in the game. And only Tidus, Wakka and Rikku know how to swim. Sooooo, yeah you wanna keep those guys leveled. Aeons do get stronger as the game progressess in a few ways, but they do also level together with Yuna, so if you don't use her they probably won't be that great ever. I don't like using Kimahri either, but try to keep his sphere grid somewhat in pace with the rest of the crew if you can. Having that extra body to do anything pays off, even if it's just to swap in, pop a potion and not instantly die.

Yeaaaahh, finally FFX gets its due from Zombiepie. The narrative picks up after Luca, and I'm pretty sure you'll see that Tidus is largely intended to be portrayed as a moron at the outset.

Zombie, keep this in mind for the future: http://www.usgamer.net/articles/true-tales-from-localization-hell

The voice actors HAD to match the japanese because the code would literally break if they didn't match the exact length of the audio files. Yuna did not have a choice in why she had to shortcut all her speech, because the game would literally not run otherwise.

Thanks for the really detailed analysis! As a lover of FFX (one of my favorite games, I play it every couple of years), it's very refreshing to see someone approach it with more thought than "Tidus sucks! Voice acting sucks!"

That said, I do have a comment:

Over the years, I've really never understood the hatred for Tidus' character. Yes, he's whiny and a brat, but that's the point! He's just a kid. He's a young prodigy in his world's' most popular event, but he grew up in the shadow of his father who's better than him at everything. His father didn't show him any affection, and his relationship with his mother (seemingly the only loving one he had as a child) was cut short. Not only that, but he's literally had his whole life ripped away from him and thrust into a new, foreign world. Not only not only that, but one of the only benefits of being thrown into this foreign world (the fact that he can be free of his father's influence) isn't possible! His father's a hero in this world too! Tidus is frustrated, he's lost, and he lets it show.

Your comment about how Tidus should shut up about being from Zanarkand may be valid from the perspective of a mature and outside audience member, but it totally fits with his character. Blitzball is his life, it's part of his identity, and he's proud of being part of the best team in the world. That's his go to answer when someone asks him "so who are you?" and he probably can't wait for people to ask him about it. In Spira, he naturally messes up when people ask him who he is; his brain goes into autopilot, and it's a few moments before he consciously realizes that not only do people not really know what he's talking about, he's actually tiptoeing on a taboo subject. I'm also not too sure why you're so hung up on the dream sequence; I think it's just another reinforcement of Tidus struggling to break out of his father's shadow.

No complaints on the Cloister of Trials criticism =) They suck, and whenever I replay I always have a guide handy.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your playthrough!

I have not been keeping up with the comments for this episode as I normally do. Well better late than never, right?

As mentioned in the blog I have no idea how the original characters looked when animating, but there's something distinctly "off" when it comes to the HD Remaster. The worst part about the new HD textures are the eyes. There are multiple scenes where Yuna, and more commonly, Tidus appear as if they are cross-eyed. Yuna has this odd tendency to look like she's narrowing her eyes and scowling at Tidus when very clearly that is NOT WHAT THE SCENE WANTS YOU TO THINK! And everyone already has "dead eyes" so these issues just make the emotive side of things worse.

The world of Final Fantasy X is absolutely the best part of the game. If it weren't for the temples and highroads I could honestly say I love eery level in the game. Each level works to share a distinct world which is similar, but different from the previous one. Different locations also share a distinct culture or society you honestly want to discover more about.

It's just curious why the game waits as long as it does to open up. And the fact you don't have a world map is BULLSHIT! Whoever thought the world map should be a consumable item should never be allowed near video games again.

• That was an incredibly common technique in B-tier anime back in the day. If this was the case then it would not surprise me. Again, my criticism of the voice acting is largely technical. As long as the emotional tone of the scenes which are attempted are honest, then I can forgive the game as being a product of its time. It's when I have no idea why a given scene is in the game that causes me to question my humanity.
• I just use the Aeons as damage sponges. If there is a big boss I'll have Yuna summon an Aeon and have them deal the first batch of attacks and stomach the boss's first salvo of damage before moving to the next Aeon. There really isn't a point to using them during normal battles so I just use them during bosses.
• And is there a way to disable the full summoning animation for the Aeons? This is driving me crazy!

To be honest, tonal consistency is somethinG I like to harp about with every Final Fantasy game. Doing so allows me to "roleplay" as the hyper-analytical jerk that I normally am during these blogs. To Final fantasy X's credit, I think it does provide some of its heavier scenes time to ferment with the audience. The first real example I can think of is "Operation Mi’ihen." The allows the gravity of that scene to stick with the characters and audience for a solid level after it happens, and I think it really does the game a favor in doing so.

I have an AMAZING Blitzball story. I do not know if I can tell you this story, but it is AMAZING. It's VERY VERY HILARIOUS, but also VERY VERY CLOSE TO BEING CUT FROM THE BLOG because it is incredibly unbecoming of my profession.

I really want to tell you all what happened.

I gave Kimahri Steal and Use, because everyone told me to move him towards Rikku's sphere grid. My problem is no one told me what to do with him after I got him these two abilities. @thatpinguino seems to think Kimahri plays a role in fundamentally breaking Final Fantasy X, along with Rikku, and I don't know if I believe him. So far I found him to be incredibly weak. Oh and let me guess, Kimahri has to return to his Ronso tribe to regain his lost honor in combat? It's not like the game hints at this within the first five hours. This better not be some bullshit tower boss rush level like Yuffie in Wutai.

Yuna's supposed to get Holy? That's on the opposite side of the Sphere Grid! Wait a minute... what is the penalty for moving backward on the grid and through spheres you have already walked on? Will moving one space take an entire sphere point?

Jesus... I do not even know the proper terminology for any of this shit.

Thank you so much for the kind words, and rest assured, my swearing may be harsh but I do it in jest. I kid because I love, and I do honestly love this game. You should definitely give it try. I think the combat is far more accessible than the ATB system from game's past, and the story is one of the more accessible Final Fantasy stories from what I have seen.

Of the games from the franchise I have played, Final Fantasy X has been the most consistent in bringing a smile to my face.

Here's a question I have been meaning to ask. When you use an orb to activate a part of the Sphere Grid, do you need to walk on it to make it active? So let's say there's a fork on the Sphere Grid and I'm at the middle of the fork. I active the first orbs of the left and right forks, but I elect to go down the right fork. If I still put an orb into the left sphere, but did not walk on it at any point, is it still active?

And is there any REAL PENALTY to going back to an old spot on your Sphere Grid and unlocking old gates? There are a couple I can unlock now, but I'm afraid moving backwards will somehow the leveling to my characters.

@dixavd: Wow, thank you so much for the reply. Here are a few questions I have I hope you can take the time to answer:

• I think Yuna gets better when she starts to enjoy the scenery more and the characters play off her as a friend more, and less a summoner. When Yuna is given the opportunity to act like a normal human being... her lines are still stiff, but her scenes here are endearing. It's just the game is so heavy-handed in what it wants you to get out of Yuna.
• I have an embarrassing story to say about the elemental system. As I mentioned to @sparky_buzzsaw and @thatpinguinoI didn't figure out what the different colored orbs meant when you have the scan/sensor ability active until hour number fifteen. Oh but here's the kicker, three hours into the game I went back to my bad habits and thought the Final Fantasy franchise used the Pokemon elemental weakness system. So I want to say for about ten hours I thought it was fire <-> water; thunder <-> ice. I have never seen penguin that angry at me.
• My complaint is structural rather than narrative. It is not narratively beneficial to have a non-critical boss fight right after a confrontation with the game's ultimate antagonist. I feel as if that is a waste of time, and isn't the best way to frame the previous battle in a better light.
• It's just weird to see an aspect of sports combined with religion. I guess it makes sense in Final Fantasy X, but I mean... they are all living in the post-apocalypse, right?

Ffx is one of 2 ff games I've actually finished, and I've touched most of the series. I agree with most of your points, and would add one of the best things it does is it knows when to end. Unlike a lot of jrpgs, especially of the era, the campaign took a relatively short time to finish, and relegated most of the stuff I hated (blitz ball) to optional mini games. The length was just about perfect for me, as it ended when I started to get tired of the gameplay, and the story/world was intriguing enough to keep me going.

Edit - an of answer to your questions from the comments, you can just unlock the spheres, you don't need to move over them iirc

I don't think you should feel bad about unlocking old spheres either, but tbh I kinda just did whatever with leveling up without thinking about it too much and didn't really have issues with the difficulty of combat at all throughout the game, though I didn't really touch a lot of the optional stuff.

@zombiepie: Somewhere in the Settings there's definitely an option that cuts the shortens the summon animation to just the last couple settings. I don't remember where it is, but I believe in you!

IIRC you can move through spheres you already unlocked at 4x speed, so every sphere point moves you up to 4 spaces. There are also some special spheres that you probably haven't gotten any of yet; one of them lets you transport a character to where another character is located on the grid. So its easier to jump around later on.

Yuna is supposed to get Holy near the end of the game (sooner than that if you grind), and then get Lulu's top-level black magic spells. Yuna has far and away the highest magic stat in the game and will be the strongest character you have once she gets the right offensive spells.

@zombiepie: You can move backwards 4 spaces for the cost of one sphere level.

In terms of breaking the game, Rikku's mix overdrives is broken and here's how: there is a mix combination that causes all three of your main party members to deal 9999 damage per hit regardless of how they hit an enemy. This overdrive is created by mixing two Wings to Discovery, which you can get 30 of from a chocobo race thing later in the game. with that overdrive active, the most efficient way to get multi-hit attacks is by using the use ability to throw elemental gems that you can also get easily later in the game. With that combo, Rikku and Kimari can deal 9999 damage five times per turn until all enemies are dead. That damage output is so high that it will melt every story boss in the game.

@zombiepie:

1) On the spheregrid, you can activate the node you are currently on plus any node immediately adjacent to that node. So:

A - - - - X - - - - B. If you are on node "X," you can activate X, plus nodes A and B. As long as you activate a node with a sphere, it has an effect, even if you didn't physically tag it. It isn't hugely important, but it can save you a couple of levels on the little side-paths or a terminus of a portion of the gird, since you don't need to land on every single node you want to activate.

In terms of moving backwards being a penalty, it kinda depends on how much you are doing it. As an occasional thing where maybe you bypassed a side-path that you now have a key for and want to go back, it's probably cool. Doing it a ton will be something of a waste of levels. Generally, I think the game doesn't do the greatest job of explaining things up front and it creates unnecessary anxiety. Like others have said, there are special kinds of spheres that let you hop around the grid later in the game, but you are never told that those will exist until you get them.

I would also be careful about what side-paths you unlock early. I seem to remember a lot of the early ones have the Luck stat on them (the node has a star on it), but you probably don't even have the necessary stat sphere to unlock them. Which is another thing I dislike about the game - the million different kinds of spheres you need to actually activate nodes. If you've done the work to get the level, it should just let you activate nodes. At worst, there should be like 2 kinds of spheres max, not the tons and tons they've got in there.

2) The map isn't a consumable, it's a reusable item. That said, it's utterly worthless since the game is almost entirely linear. There is never a point in my recollection where the map will help you find a hidden side-path (most of which are obvious anyway. They aren't hidden as much as a "you clearly cannot enter here yet" kind of thing) or help you navigate the world.

3) For the summon animations, I believe the setting is in the options and is a choice between "full" and "short." If I recall though, you always get the "full" animation if you use Yuna to summon during her Overdrive.

Wound up playing through FFX with my partner over the last...well, few years I guess. We've done it in dribs and drabs, and stopped along the way to poke at other games. I have been very surprised at how well it has held up, though I'll parrot your gripes about the shitty Zelda dungeon-like cloister trials. Free pro-tip: you want to finish all of these the first time through, destruction spheres and all. You will save a lot of time.

Thanks for the entertaining post. There's an option so that the summoning animations are shortened after the first time you see the full animation. You can also revisit each of the cloisters of trials later in the game so you can get all of the extras from them.

@zombiepie: Yes you should be moving Yuna towards Holy especially once you get the ability to break the 9999 limit it's basically the best single target spell in the game. There is some debate about Holy vs Flare since Flare has the ability to be doublecast and theoretically could do more damage . The advantage to flare is that it is more mana efficient but doesn't come close to the single damage holy does. It becomes a moot point if you get a One MP cost weapon for either Lulu or Yuna. I believe both of their Ultimate Weapons include it but for the life of me can't think of how you obtain either. I definitely know it's some bullshit though and definitely not worth the pain of going through.

I also recommend getting Hastega even though it's way at the fucking end of Tidus'(????) sphere grid.

Animations for summoning can indeed be shortened but I believe you'll randomly get a long one thrown in from time to time. It might be like @lawgamer suggested and be related to Overdrive but it definitely takes some of the annoyance out of summoning though.

Final Fantasy X may just be able to "crack" my top ten "favorite video games of all time list." It is a candidate to take the tenth position from Mario Party 3/Mario Party 4. But my love for the Mario Party franchise may be able to strong-arm its way to keep that position.

It is a SHAME every one of you have told me Final Fantasy X is the only game which uses this combat system. It is the most fun I have had playing a Final Fantasy game, and I kind of wished the franchise stuck with this reform of turn-based combat.

@thatpinguino is absolutely confident Kimahri is one of the better characters in the game. Based on my current experiences I am NOT BUYING IT! His stats are always behind another character, plus, getting the Blue Magic is a pain. In terms of

In terms of general leveling and whatnot I have been taking advantage of swapping characters in and out of combat. I have made it a common practice to guarantee each character has one move in every encounter I have in Final Fantasy X. Now in terms of understand how to level the characters on the sphere grid... that is a different issue entirely.

You all have different theories on how to level each and every character on the Sphere Grid. This is without a doubt the best aspect of the Sphere Grid as it rewards user experimentation. Actually trying to find the freaking spells and parts of the grid you all have recommend I direct the characters towards is a nightmare. It is an unmitigated nightmare. The grid is dark and moving on it using the arrow keys is terrible. I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to NOT allow for mouse controls on the sphere grid, but they are a bad person who should not be allowed to make video games ever again.

Give me credit, I came around to Final Fantasy IX in a way I had not anticipated. Most people think that entire series was me telling off Final Fantasy IX every episode, but read the last two or three episodes again and see how dramatic my change of opinion regarding the game is to the first episode. I just wish the ending to that game was better, and then maybe I would have loved it more.

I'm kind of shocked no one remembers how the game depicts Rikku. Her ass is literally in front of the screen four times. It's the worst. But, at least she's fine as a character and one of the best in combat.

That said, it is BULLCRAP the game introduces her in the middle of the game with virtually no experience points. That's a bunch of crap.

YO! WHEN DO YOU GRIND IN FINAL FANTASY X?! Not having an actual level associated with the characters means I never really know when I should be grinding the characters. Plus, I have yet to locate a real good place to grind. I'm not saying I have had issues playing Final Fantasy X, well for the most part, but I have not spent a ton of time getting characters leveled. And what is the best metric to use in figuring out if I am underleveled? The last thing I want to do is get stuck on a boss and have to backtrack to a different part of the game to level my party up.

The first five hours of Final fantasy X are among the strongest I have ever seen. Each level manages to evoke a strong emotional response, and it goes without saying it consistently manages to squeeze a smile out of me. Yeah, the faces are messed up, but at least the game is being honest about what it wants out of its characters.

In terms of the characters, I have noticed the game enjoys proposing character arcs in quick succession rather than spending the proper amount of time with each individually. I understand having each character evolve over time feels more "organic," but there's something to Final Fantasy VII providing each character its own level to grown and evolve completely. Like seriously, give me an entire level about Lulu's past or Wakka's religious zealotry. It is incredibly frustrating when the game develops these character stories ever so slightly in a couple of minutes, and then waits to give you the next development to these stories two hours later.

Wait, Yuna can deal damage in the game? MY MIND HAS BEEN BLOWN! One more thing, how do you teleport on the sphere grid? I don't remember the tutorial explaining how to do this. Instead it mentioned it would go over this in due time or something

I had Kimhari get Steal and Use from Rikku's grid so I was able to steal a bunch of items before Rikku's introduction. Which let's talk about that. THAT'S A BUNCH OF CRAP! She has no levels or points, and starts the game with ~350HP? Why would you do that?

I read over the older entries of this blog series, and even I do not recall some of the events I have wrote about. It has already gotten to the point where I do not recall the events of Final Fantasy VIII as well as I should, and that was just two years ago. With Final Fantasy X, at least the areas look distinct enough to where you can use the color palettes to guide your memories.

Personally, I think your theory is close to what the writers wanted you to get out Yuna, but there's a problem with their intent. I do not think the game does enough to explain the relationship between Yuna and Jecht in the initial phases of the game. If Yuna is meant to feel some sort of emotional compatibility with Tidus, then why doesn't she explain everything she knows about Jecht to him? Like her whole mantra is upholding the virtues of truth, and bringing happiness to people, but in this one case she's manipulative and withholding information from Tidus. WHY?

Oh wait, it's because the script needs her to so she can comfort him over multiple scenes over his hatred of his father.

@zombiepie: That's the beauty of the sphere grid! Any character can end up doing anything, it just takes more time to get there than something like FFVIII's system, where you just switch the junctions.

You can teleport characters to another characters location on the grid with a special sphere, called 'Teleport,' you almost certainly don't have any yet. IIRC, they are pretty rare, so think carefully before you use one. With Yuna in particular you're gonna want to wait a while. The reason she becomes so powerful is because of all the stat boosting spheres in her section of the grid that she gets. If you move her to Lulu's section before she gets all those stats, she's just a weaker Lulu.

Also, Holy is better. Especially if you get a weapon that reduces all spells' MP cost to 1. I'm fairly certain you can even get that without doing all the work to get Yuna's celestial (aka ultimate) weapon. Although, her's was one of the few that I did get since it didn't require any of the insanity that some of the others do.

@zombiepie You don't really have a chance to backtrack, from what I've seen. Which means grinding at the point where you're stuck.

@tobbrobb: @purpleoddity: @wchigo: @brendan: @zirilius: @dixavd: @dudeglove: @cloudymusic: @takayamasama: @adequatelyprepared: @m2thek: @dystopiax: @lawgamer: @jeffrud: @chairbender: @zirilius: @fezrock: @shindig:

I am going to get back to responding to every original comment in a little bit, but one of the most amazing things happened while I was playing Final Fantasy X. I accomplished what no moron like myself should eve be able to accomplish. I kid you not, I beat the first Blitzball match on my first try. Now here's what I want you to tell me, what are the legitimate odds of this happening? Let me give you a run down on what exactly I did.

• I consumed multiple "adult fizzy lifting drinks."
• I never used the Jecht Shot at any point.
• I never used Wakka's special shot.
• I accidentally changed the positions of the Besaid Aurochs to where the worst player was the goalie.
• I never turtled the ball by the goal entrance.
• I legitimately played the entire match by passing the ball around and shooting whenever possible.
• The Luca Goers fumbled the ball a dozen times.
• I won in overtime on the second play of the game using a normal shot from half court.

This section might just get cut but it may be the most hilarious thing which happened during my entire playthrough of Final Fantasy X. Nothing else will top this.

OH WAIT A MINUTE... YOU CAN'T SAVE YOUR GAME WHILE DOING THE LIGHTNING DODGES?

I DID ABOUT FIFTY! SO NOW I'M BACK TO ZERO?! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

@zombiepie: I consider myself to be a prominent Blitzball expert and I have no idea how you managed that. You were supremely lucky. There's sort of a hidden 'crit' system, where even if the stats ought to be a success or failure you end up with the opposite result. You essentially experienced the equivalent of critting 100 times in a row.

Edit: I swear the lightning dodging minigame is not as time-consuming or difficult as most people make it out to be. There are a few 'pro strats' that manipulate the RNG if you're having trouble. Check these out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkRJZn3q-FA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te-ihMHRtJ8

@zombiepie: Nicely done regarding the Blitzball match. I have a bit of a shameful secret to admit in that... I actually kinda like Blitzball? It's not a great mini game per se, but it struck a chord with me for some reason or another.

And that's not all too bad. I once was doing the Lightning Strike thing and thought I got to 200 by my count. I was going to go over by a bit but my mom or sister called out to me and I got slightly distracted, so I got hit. Turns out I only had 19x instead of 200, so I had to do it ALL OVER AGAIN.

@zombiepie: Without using any of the special shots? That's damn near impossible. I beat it on my first try too, but I hit both Tidus and Wakka's special shots. I actually thought it was supposed to be a set plot point that you win. Then I played it a second time and realized that you kind of aren't supposed to win. Do the newer versions at least give you a trophy for it?

I would ask like to state for the record that Blitzball sucks. Don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise. It's got broken exploits and trying to build up a team to the point where you can win legitimately is one of the single most tedious things I remember doing in any video game ever.

Also - HOW DO THEY BREATHE? This is supposed to be a technologically backward civilization reduced to medieval times by Sin. Rebreathers of any sort should clearly be beyond them and yet they've got players swimming under water - playing a contact sport no less! - for ten minutes at a go? And what sort of super-material is that ball made out of that it can essentially ignore any water resistance and move like a soccer ball?

I mean come on - you have a society that produces mega-atheletes apparently capable of breathing water and advanced materials that defy the laws of physics - so how have they not figured out how to beat what amounts to a floating whale yet?

oh boy, not liking these faces.

I remember being very reliant on the Jecht Shot for the first Blitzball game to be a success. Never did the cheesy thing with the goalposts, that's how you ruin the fun.

@lawgamer: Well, the halves are only 5 minutes. And the top free-divers here in the real world can hold their breath for 10 minutes or more (the world record is over 22 minutes). So I assume they're just holding their breath.

@zombiepie: Congratulations! I think the first time I played the game I lost and the second time I won. I almost guarantee that I used special shots in both games. I have a love/hate relationship with Blitzball. I think the core mechanics of the game are actually kind of cool but the actual implementation of the game, like 90% of Square's Minigames, are just clunky messes. The biggest issue I have with Blitzball is exactly what @purpleoddity said. There are some behind the scenes calculations that can work with or against you while playing Blitzball. This typically doesn't show itself until you start doing League Play though. You'll make what is seemingly a guaranteed pass only to have your receiver fumble it or have the ball intercepted.

I feel your pain on the lightning dodges. I had a similar experience with that and never went back to it after I found that out.

@fezrock: I'm pretty sure freedivers aren't getting the shit kicked out of them the whole time though. I suppose the closest real-world analogue is underwater hockey, which I just discovered is - somehow - a thing. One of the top players says he can hold his breath for about 50 meters underwater without needing to take a breath. Which seems like a really long ways to someone like me who's a terrible swimmer, but it isn't close to five minutes.

Plus, what do they do when they need to leave the playing area? They've clearly got some sort of anti-gravity thing going on to make a perfect sphere of water that hangs in midair. If your foot accidentally goes out of the bottom of the pool, does gravity cause you to just fall out of the arena?

Even by Final Fantasy standards that shit makes no sense.

@zombiepie: You for real dude? I hate Blitzball so much. I restart that match at least 3-4 times per playthrough and cheese it behind the goal to get it over with. First time I played the game I think I beat it legitimately just on account on not knowing how to gamefaqs, but it sure as fuck wasn't on the first try. Did you use magic? Blitzball is 100% a numbers game and the numbers in that match are overbiased buuuuulllshit, so I legit have no idea how you managed. That said, switching out the goalie is a known worthwile tactic, because Keepa is actually fucking terrible at his job and at least one person on the team is better at it. Though that point loses a little merit if you put someone with an even worse catch stat on there. :P

If Tom Cruise can learn to do it for 6.5 minutes then I'm sure athletes training to do nothing but that would allow them to do it for longer.

There are parts of this game I straight up think are terrible. For example, 90% of the side quests in this game are BULLSHIT! Acquiring the ultimate weapons... is a bunch of garbage. BUT, in the end, the game does well enough to share a beautiful and interesting world you feel implored to explore. Plus, I think it's important to note that my criticism of any entry in the Final Fantasy franchise is grounded with an honest desire to learn from the mistakes of the past. I do not go out of my way to spew venom at the franchise. It has been a deeply rewarding experience to play each and every one of the games which feature the Final Fantasy name. Well except,Mobius Final Fantasy

If the game can continue this momentum it could possibly take the number ten position on my "Favorite Games of All Time" list. The number ten position is jointly occupied by Mario Party 2/Mario Party 3. Which is tough, because Mario Party is one of my all-time favorite video game franchises.

YO DAWG! YOU WERE NOT LYING! The scene with Sin after Luca is LEGIT! Holy crap, that scene is GREAT! I even liked the scene between Kimahri and Tidus. The game even provides the characters with the opportunity to breath and let the events of the game resonate with them. It is as if someone responsible for writing this game learned from the past mistakes of the franchise.

The highroads are terrible though. Those levels are boring, slow, and no fucking fun to play.

Thank you so much for providing me with this article. After reading over it I still feel justified in levying my criticism of the voice acting. The execution removes much which normally would be left to the imagination of the player, and set the franchise up for further technical difficulties for a decade. Also, much of what was described in the article is a depressing product of its time. Having to match the Japanese animation was a major issue plaguing dubbed anime, and one could even argue to this day. If anything, good on Square for learning and imporving from the past.

You could say that about practically every main character. It is driving me crazy that the NPCs in any given location have a uniformity of their dress, but the main characters do not. Why does Wakka look and talk like a weird Hawaiian, and no one else in the game has that accent or style of dress? Why is Yuna a Japanese Miko/shrine maiden, but none of the other Summoners look like that? Sure one can argue Tidus has an excuse because he's from a different era, but why does his hoodie only go down to his man nips? That's the most useless hoodie I have ever seen. Every character looks as if it was designed in complete isolation from the other characters. I would not put it past Square that they basically just wanted to create this cast of characters they thought looked cool, but without any regard to creating this sense of uniformity in Spira.

I enjoy most of Tidus' character. What I dislike is his inability to act inquisitive about his surroundings in a way where he slowly but surely adopts the social customs of Spira. I'm not asking him to become a supporter of Yevon, I'm asking him to learn from the advice of his partners, and put that learning to good use. And I do not think enough time is spent on developing a sense of anxiety in Tidus, and releasing him of that anxiety. Yes... there's THAT SCENE, and we will talk about THAT SCENE shortly, but coming to terms with losing everything you know and love? Laughing once with a bunch of your friends isn't the panacea for that type of anxiety.

To your second point, the scene you are describing was wonderful... once. The issue with what you are describing, at least to me, is that the game repeats this exact scenario three or four times.

I would echo that the game does indeed hold up better than anticipated. Each of the set pieces is distinct enough from each other it assists in the game crafting this wildly interesting world. The events of the story occur at a breezy and quick enough pace it rarely loses your attention. You can moan and complain about the voice acting all you want, but that does not detract from the fact this game is simply stunning to look at. Everything feels epic, and the attention to detail the developers put into this game is something you can see as you play it.

Final Fantasy X is a game which is eager to please, and I have to respect that. Even when the game falls on its face, it gets right back up and tries again.

Found the option to shorten the summoning animations, but thank you for the input. I... I will defeat these cloister puzzles. It will kill me slowly from the inside, but rest assured I am going to complete every one of these wretched temple puzzles.

I played Myst and Riven! I should be able to handle this!

Here's another thing I noticed looking back at my images. The faces have been retextured and remodeled, but whoever did so did not change the geometry when the faces animate. So when the faces move they use the same geometry of animation as the original faces. This means some part of the faces clip when they move even the slightest.

And everyone has dead eyes. This, more than anything else, is driving me insane.

@zombiepie: For the longest time, FFX was one of my Favorite Final Fantasy games. For the love of god, though, don't do any of the final weapon quests. They're all terrible. Especially the lightning strike one.

That said, if you continue on, skip FFXI. I say this as someone who played FFXI for years starting since it's north american launch on PS2. Skip it. It is a product of it's time and even then it was not...friendly to it's players.

FFXII is decent. FFXIII is...well....let's say divisive. Not to speak of it's sequels.

FFXIV, however, is possibly the best "Classic" Final Fantasy stories in the whole series. (Classic as in not meant to be futuristic/alternative such as FFXIII/FF7/FF8/FFXV).

You can play it as a solo experience, but the GB guild on Ultros (VinCo) is full of of awesome people who would probably be happy to help you through the group content (I know I would be happy to offer my assistance).

That's also a game with actually good side quests, too. Luckily, you never have to experience 1.0 of FFXIV, too.

@silver-streak: XII is getting a remaster later this year and I highly recommend it. I'm stoked to replay that this summer.

I recommend if you want to experience XI just watch the cutscenes on YouTube. The game portion of XI does not hold up particulRly compared to modern MMOs nd it would literally take you MONTHS to see it all.

Also @zombiepie you are slowly making me want to get the remaster if.this again. It's one of the few Final Fantasies I have lasted multiple times. Granted I ain't got time for that but still I'm a sucker for the series.

I forgot to mention that I too thought this was one of the better combat systems of the series. It was like they took the turn order system of the Tactics series and merged it with the ATB system of past. There is a whole depth of strategy that previous and future games never quite attain.

Have you been playing the definitive version of this game?