Part 73: The Calm Lands And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Level

I casually mentioned this during my discussion of the Evrae boss battle, but Final Fantasy X gets HARD! Everything before the game's conclusion isn't a pushover, but at no point did I feel compelled to punch out my computer monitor. Whether it be bullshit minigames or wantonly brutal boss battles, Final Fantasy X becomes a royal pain in the ass. This grousing provides a fantastic segue to "The Calm Lands."

This level is ponderous, dull, and no fun to play. The Calm Lands also feature one of my least favorite Final Fantasy tropes. The Final Fantasy franchise is terrible in extrapolating your mission objectives in new locations. After Yuna does her spiel about her destiny, the game leaves you to your own devices on what to do next. The massive nature of the level exacerbates your sense of helplessness. Navigating yourself from one corner to the next could take as much as seven to ten minutes. This problem is due in large part to the high encounter rate, which sports scads of troublesome monsters.

I cannot preface how much of a slog the Calm Lands are. The game's Byzantine line of logic does the level no favors. Trudging the plains by foot is untenable. Luckily for all involved, there is a rest stop which has remained in business despite the many Malboros which populate the Calm Lands. The player is expected to locate a Chocobo Trainer tucked away in the far left-hand corner of the map. How do I know this? I consulted a guide after I got my ass handed to myself by a duo of Chimera.

This level’s poor design is doubly disappointing when you consider how the Calm Lands contribute to the game’s greater narrative. Summoners fight Sin in the Calm Lands as the location is far from civilization. This simple act underscores how cataclysmic the Final Summoning can be. The Calm Lands also reinforce several interesting character moments. I enjoy the developing dynamic between Tidus and Rikku. Both work together to devise a way to defeat Sin without Yuna sacrificing herself. The two of them work together earnestly as they try to protect someone they dearly love.

There's another developing story element the Calm Lands hit home. Throughout Spira’s history, there have been countless summoners who have prematurely given up on their pilgrimages. When we encounter “Father Zuke” at the rest stop, Lulu and Wakka divulge he was a summoner they formerly swore to protect. Maybe I sound naïve in saying this, but I hadn't connected the dots that being a “Guardian” was a career. I always understood it to be a religious duty, but finding out Yuna is Wakka's second summoner, and Lulu's third clarified how invested the world of Spira is in granting itself a respite from Sin's terror. Likewise, I can't help but question if this diminishes the relationship between Yuna, Wakka, and Lulu. If this is a job for both Wakka and Lulu, what makes Yuna "special?"

There are several character moments during the initial phases of the Calm Lands I enjoyed. Zuke explains Yevon branded our motley crew "traitors," and there's a growing sense of Yuna's wavering faith. Rikku's pleas to Tidus feel especially frenetic. At this stage of the game, she's practically begging Tidus to think of anything to spare Yuna from an untimely demise. Lulu and Wakka both seem disquieted by Yuna's progress in her pilgrimage. It's all great character development I feel the previous three hours desperately needed.

Part 74: Chocobos, Why Did It Have To Be Chocobos?

Beyond Blitzball, Final Fantasy X doesn't waste your time with silly minigames. That is until you reach the Calm Lands. Before I tear into how much I hated Chocobo Racing, there's one positive takeaway I wish to concede. The developers deserve credit for including a mechanic which allows you to circumnavigate the random encounters at the Calm Lands. Yes, training the Chocobo is bullshit, and I will talk about the training minigames shortly my children, but at least the Chocobo is here. Let's celebrate the small victories in life before starting a riot!

Before you ask, no, I did not train my Chocobo all the way. I got to the "Hyper Dodger" stage of the training, and just gave up. Each of the Chocobo training sequences is a slice of Hell. What I find especially egregious is how the controls are made deliberately terrible for the first stage of training. Having to press the controls in a direction because my Chocobo wants to go in the opposite direction isn't "fun." It's torture. I would rank training your Chocobo as being comparable to getting your fingernails removed with a pair of pliers.

I want each of you to know I attempted to complete the Chocobo training minigames. But when I saw the "Hyper Dodger" stage was the same as the previous one, but with more bullshit to dodge, I was done. If the only way you can create difficulty is to put more crap on the screen, then you need to pack your shit up and go back to game design school. The controls for riding Chocobos sucks shit. What were they thinking when designing the temple level for the Chocobo Racing? If their plan was to develop one of the most frustrating side quests outside of dodging lightning bolts, then great work chaps, MISSION FUCKING ACCOMPLISHED!

It's not just that controlling the Chocobo isn't fun. Getting the rewards at the temple is Chinese water torture. Yanked from a rejected M.C. Escher sketch, the temple's pathways snake around in obtuse directions. At this temple, there are dozens of treasure chests you can open. The more chests you touch, the better the prize. However, you can only pocket those rewards if you beat an opposing Chocobo in a race to the bottom of the temple. The reverse-slalom poles are without a doubt the biggest "FUCK YOU" in the level. Brushing against a pole subtracts from the number of treasure chests you have opened. That is what I call a "DICK MOVE!"

Part 75: The Game Suddenly Remembers Lulu Is A Character

I’m taking a slight detour from the main story to discuss the "Cavern of the Stolen Fayth." The game does an excellent job of using the summoners to highlight Spira's desperate state of affairs. In-between Lord Braska and Yuna, countless numbers of summoners have attempted and failed to defeat Sin. Whether it be our fight against Lady Ginnem or the many tombstones which litter Mount Gagazet, the story has multiple reminders of the sacrifices summoners are expected to make. These reminders segue nicely into what is ostensibly Lulu's character moment.

Without a doubt, Final Fantasy X misses the mark on Lulu. Much of what we see and experience in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth feels flat. This problem was easily avoidable had the game spent a few minutes developing Lulu. When we enter the cavern, Lulu relays there is a stolen fayth tucked somewhere in the caves. Lulu’s first summoner, Lady Ginnem, died trying to find this aeon.

Regrettably, it's a case of too little, too late. All the game does is provide a dungeon where Lulu tells a sad story and eventually a battle against the unsent Lady Ginnem. There's no pomp, and the writing tragically fails to motivate its audience to feel invested in what we are seeing. At no point do we have a clear understanding why Lulu feels personally responsible for Lady Ginnem's death, nor are we keyed-in on how Lady Ginnem died. What I find to be especially egregious is how Lulu devolves to her original character arc after our time here is over. For the rest of the game, Lulu is stuck playing the role of the jaded side-kick, and the game never references Lady Ginnem again.

For all my moaning and groaning, I still appreciated what the writers tried. Lulu spent the entire game virtually sitting in the background sulking. What little characterization she gets puts a face on her stoic attitude. But this leads to a troubling question: why is this a side quest? Each character gets "their moment" in the proper story except for Lulu. Worst of all, the only foreshadowing related to this part of Lulu's past is easily missable. Unless you take the time to revisit the Farplane, you could completely miss this:

Then there's Yojimbo. I think Yojimbo's character model is AWESOME! He is the most visually exciting Aeon in the game. I just wish Yojimbo wasn't a royal pain in the ass to use. You can't give him a bunch of money and hope he'll use his Zanmato ability, which instantly kills any boss or enemy. An unknown algorithm determines your “compatibility” with Yojimbo. This compatibility improves by paying him money after summoning him. Unless you have an infinite supply of patience and gil, there are few situations where you should use Yojimbo.

Part 76: Mount Gagazet Is Cool!

As our gang trudges to the entrance of Mount Gagazet, a party of Guado Guardians springs a trap. They unleash a massive machine called "Defender X." Talk about having a boss fight for the sake of having a boss fight! Defeating Defender X is easier said than done because this fucker can punch your party to death! I am fed up with bosses having attacks which can instantly halve your HP. Combine this with "Haymaker," which inflicts enough damage to just outright kill any party member, and I think you can understand my distaste for this contemptible contraption.

Now it’s time for a brief disclaimer. I am using two substantial sections of this blog to belittle Mount Gagazet. There are two parts of this level I found excruciating. Had it not been for those two scenes, I would have regarded Mount Gagazet as one of the best set pieces in the game. The ominous music and harsh art design perfectly convey summiting the mountain as a test of your party's might. Plus, the opening scene at Mount Gagazet is FUCKING COOL! It is the most empowering moment Yuna gets in the entire game, bar none.

Yuna reaches the gate of Mount Gagazet, and the Ronso arrive to block her passage. The Ronso hold their faith in high regard despite their disillusionment with Yevon's leadership. They block Yuna from entering Mount Gagazet because they have determined she is not "worthy." Yuna is not taking any of this lightly. She independently stands up for herself in an emotional plea. After affirming her willingness to sacrifice her life for Spira's sake, the Ronso welcome her with open arms.

The Ronso are a unique race in Spira, and Mount Gagazet shows this. There is no level which looks or feels like Mount Gagazet. Every interaction you have with the Ronso encourages you to discover more about their culture and history. Our final moment with the Ronso is equally impressive. Biran apologizes for breaking Kimahri's horn and swears to protect Yuna's party. As our gang begins to summit the mountain, the Ronso honor them with their rendition of the "Hymn of the Fayth." The Ronso respect strength, so they honor Yuna and Kimahri for their exhibitions of vigor. It's a breathtaking and oddly poetic scene.

Part 77: Everything You Do At Mount Gagazet Is TRASH!

Let's talk about the Biran and Yenke boss fight! That battle is HOT GARBAGE! There are plenty of scenes where Kimhari suggests he has unfinished business at Mount Gagazet. What I have a hard time accepting is how Kimhari is the only character who has a boss fight by himself. There is no precedent for a boss battle like this. Not only that, but Kimhari's isolated boss fight is a legitimate confrontation with two enemy combatants. This situation is decidedly NOT COOL!

Isolated boss battles are a Final Fantasy "tradition." In previous Final Fantasy games, they were more or less cinematic set pieces rather than legitimate tussles. Case and point, Final Fantasy IX. Final Fantasy IX has about ten one-on-one boss battles. Now I actively dislike these confrontations, but Final Fantasy IX's one-on-one battles always applied to the main character (i.e. Zidane). The Kimhari boss battle comes out of nowhere, and if you are not prepared, YOU ARE FUCKED!

This scenario would have been more palatable had the game done a better job of establishing Kimhari as a character. Sure he's cool to look at thanks to his thong and Thundercats cosplay, but what honestly is his appeal? For much of the game, he's a background character who occasionally acts as the party's philosophe. He's indisputably a member of the party, but one who doesn't serve with distinction. Nor is there a clear sense of progression with his arc. We reach Mount Gagazet, and that's his moment to shine. Once over, so is the game's investment with Kimhari.

Let's transition to my biggest issue with Mount Gagazet. It is an excruciating headache which sabotages the story's momentum. Mount Gagazet is a prefabricated slog where the worst design decisions from the previous levels all get recycled. Much like the Calm Lands, the encounter rate is ridiculously high, and the enemies are none the easier. The caverns of Mount Gagazet are even worse. Not only are there miserable monsters to deal with, but we also have to solve two minigames!

When I think of a “fun time” my thought immediately goes to Final Fantasy minigames. The “Trials of Mount Gagazet” are throwaway experiences. The first involves Wakka throwing his Blitzball in sync with a spinning orb. Because you can brute force the solution, nothing is being “tested.” The second assessment involves matching our characters with the correct color of their sphere grid. I wish I were lying.

Moments like these sour an otherwise pleasurable level. It's almost as if the developers ran out of ideas by the time their game reaches its coda. None of this busy-work builds the characters or develops our understanding of the world. Around this point, I honestly disliked playing Final Fantasy X. It doesn't help the mountain includes the WORST BOSS BATTLE IN THE GAME!

Part 78: THE MOTHERFUCKING SEYMOUR FLUX BOSS BATTLE!

FUCK THIS BOSS! I mean, seriously, FUCK THIS BOSS! EVERYTHING ABOUT SEYMOUR FLUX SUCKS! Seymour turns into a stone statue and pilots a hovering robotic suit called "Mortiorchis." What were they thinking when making Seymour Flux's character model? It is a dumb looking character design, but far from the stupidest in the game. Which reminds me of an issue I have meant to address. Something feels lost in translation when you compare boss designs from the 8 and 16-bit era Final Fantasy games to the 3D era. The three-dimensional bosses always come across as dopey and ridiculous, whereas the two-dimensional sprites feel more intimidating or nasty.

What defines the battle against Seymour Flux is its nefarious artificial intelligence. Seymour Flux uses buffs, status effects, and magic spells in quick succession of one another. An infuriating similarity Seymour Flux has to Seymour Natus is it can banish Aeons in one attack, meaning your Aeons are useless unless they are in Overdrive. Then there's Seymour's signature attack, "Total Annihilation." THIS ATTACK IS THE WORST!THE... WORST! Total Annihilation requires three turns to power up, but because it inflicts a massive amount of damage, it always results in a game over.

Can we talk about how Yuna could've sent Seymour while he was doing his elongated Bond-villain speech? Seymour spends what is ostensibly ten minutes droning about his plan to become the next Sin, and everyone just listens to him. Seymour is such an asshole! One of his favorite strategies is to use "Lance of Atrophy." After using this attack to spread the Zombie status effect, he uses healing spells like "Full-Life" to kill zombified party members instantly. And he pokes you with a ridiculously long spear while he floats in the air! He's like a child saying "I'm poking you! I'm poking you! I'm poking you!"

What frustrates me most of all is how the writers cannot be asked to use this event to build Seymour as a budding villain. All we know is Seymour murdered countless Ronso to catch up to our party, but their deaths occur off-screen. I have asked before, but where's the murder in Final Fantasy X? If the game takes the time to design Seymour to kick the player's ass, for the love of God, have that tie into his characterization! We instead get one long-winded affectation after another. Seymour is the walking epitome of "all bark, and no bite!"

Now I guess it is time for another full-disclosure. I ended up using an abounding of exploits to get through some of Final Fantasy X's harder bosses. Mostly, I used Rikku’s “Mix” Overdrive. As you may recall from the Chocobo section, I gained thirty "Wings to Discovery." When you mix two of these together, the result is "Trio of 9999." This Mix allows all party members to deal 9,999 damage in one hit. If you use multi-hit items like Fire Gems, this absolves all difficulty in the game as each hit registers as 9,999 damage. I am a man without honor, but I get the job done.

Part 79: The Dumbest Fucking Plot Twist In The Game

A slight kerfuffle erupts between Tidus and Yuna. Flummoxed why Seymour is confident she can transform him into the next Sin, Yuna searches her surroundings for answers. Noticing Tidus is in anguish, she demands he spill the beans. Tidus obliges and painfully remarks Sin is his father. While largely in disbelief, the cast notices how dolor Tidus is when he speaks. When Yuna reminds him that her mission is to dispatch Sin, he heartbreakingly shrugs this news off. This moment is the last good scene on Mount Gagazet. Everything afterward is an absolute trash fire.

As our party traverses through the final leg of Mount Gagazet, they see something astounding. There appears to be a mountain of frozen people with a large pillar of energy arising from it. Yuna declares the individuals in the mountain to be "fayth," and the pillar is evidence of someone drawing power from them. I find it hard to believe five high summoners have seen this EXACT sight, on top of the previous temples (i.e. Bevelle), and remained committed to their pilgrimages. Were they willfully blind to Yevon's hypocrisy?How are Yuna and her guardians the first to realize Yevon is a load of bullshit? This quibble pales compared to the shit show we are about to witness.

For the sake of brevity, I'll annotate the game's penultimate plot twist. Tidus shoves his hand into the blue pillar after declaring "This is my story." Tidus awakens in Zanarkand after being knocked out. Upon entering his home, Tidus encounters a ghost child who has been following him since the game's introduction. The phantom child speaks and irreparably ruins Final Fantasy X's story.

I spent a fair share of time pontificating about this specific plot twist. You would think after playing Final Fantasy VII and VIII, I would have an easier time conveying my thoughts about another Final Fantasy story pivot. Neither of those game's twists felt like a betrayal of their audience's goodwill. AND GODDAMN, IS THAT HOW I FEEL ABOUT FINAL FANTASY X! The revelation Tidus is a dream, and the Zanarkand he lived in is imaginary, is a betrayal. It's a superfluous gut-punch which feels entirely unearned. I hated it with every fiber of my being and had the game not pieced itself together by its conclusion; I would have declared Final Fantasy X to be "damaged goods."

My largest objection is how convoluted the story gets. The concept of "Dream Zanarkand" is headache-inducing. It hurts the presentation of this revelatory information is daft. The ghost child opines about a war between Bevelle and Zanarkand. A war we never see. Zanarkand lost the war, and its remaining citizens became fayth thanks to Yu Yevon. Yu Yevon used their dreaming to create a mirror of their home to preserve their culture. Somewhere down the road, Yu Yevon summoned Sin to protect Dream Zanarkand.

If you read the previous paragraph without your head getting dizzy, you are a liar. Yes, the game prominently augured the ghost child being a fayth. When Yuna "unlocked" Bahamut, the phantom child was hovering above her shoulders. What the game didn't scaffold is how Tidus connected with the fayth. Lacking any form of characterization or past use means this revelation comes out of nowhere. It's the narrative inverse of "doing your homework."

Final Fantasy X plays up the horrid RPG tradition of "Chekhov's Plot Hole." Some bullshit from the beginning of the game comes around to bite the protagonist in the ass. It happened in Persona 4, Mass Effect, Fallout 3, and now Final Fantasy X. What Final Fantasy X messes up is communicating it had a narrative "loaded gun." Chekhov's Gun works best when there's a clear sense of mystery stemming from a story's introduction. If the audience notices a "loaded weapon" in the foreground, they can piece together why it’s there.

And that gives grounds for a mystery: if something makes little sense in a story's waking hours, I'll fight through Hell and high waters to figure it out. Final Fantasy X steadfastly refuses to build upon the notion Tidus is a dream at any point. None of our interactions with the cast or NPCs queued us into this possibility. If there were "hints" they were not placed on a schedule to create a sense of progression with Tidus's character arc. This revelation just happens. I find this to be a shame because the game's depiction of Tidus was finally coming around. His interpersonal relationships were a continual treat, and the subplot regarding Jecht is the best storyline in the game.

Part 80: I'm All Out Of Love, I'm So Lost Without You

Final Fantasy X had plenty of other concepts to use if it wanted to have its cake and eat it. It's not as if the story lacks in-game examples of living ghosts acting on unfulfilled wishes or desires. Having Tidus be an unsent, time-traveler, or fayth not only makes more sense, but it doesn't eliminate the game's ending. I do not understand why the writers developed a new scaffold for the ending they wanted, rather than using resources they already had at their disposal. Tidus's plot twist adds "shock value," but not in a good way.

The one aspect of this plot twist I enjoyed is how it sets the stage for Tidus sacrificing himself for Yuna's sake. As the ghost child explains, Tidus is committing seppuku if he defeats Sin. Stopping the fayth from dreaming will bring an "eternal calm," but the dreaming is what wills Tidus into existence. The world of Spira may live in tranquility but without Tidus. Here’s the kicker. The story presents this exposition diarrhea and then transitions to the next scene. The story doesn’t reference Tidus being a dream for a solid FOUR HOURS! Tidus even gleefully carries on with Yuna's pilgrimage as if nothing happened.

You mean to tell me Tidus discovered everything in his life, including himself, is a dream, and he carries on with Yuna's pilgrimage as if nothing happened? Fuck you Final Fantasy X. Get fucked. Go fuck yourself. I have consistently praised Final Fantasy X’s ability to craft emotionally honest character moments. These character moments feature a smattering of technical flaws but convey raw emotions without a smug sense of cynicism. Then it tears apart everything you know about its most earnest character and cannot be fucked to communicate said character’s metacognition. Fuck that!

I don't want to hear anyone rationalizing this nonsense. You can be a fan of something; that's fine in my books. But when you try to tell me this is par for the course in a Final Fantasy game, all I can say is "FUCK THAT!" What about this meets the definition of "normal?" I think Final Fantasy VII's story is a convoluted mess, but I love Cloud's moments of self-discovery. I hate 90% of Final Fantasy VIII's story, but appreciate how it's a deviation from previous entries in the franchise. I try to see the silver-lining in everything I play. That's what happens when you try to be impartial. Saying Tidus's plot twist is "normal," isn't an opinion, that's just wrong. THAT'S A LIE! YOU'RE A LIAR!

I have so many questions for the game to answer. If the fayth are tired of dreaming, why don't they wake up, or die? Zaon was a fayth, and he's dead. So what's preventing the fayth from dying? Why did Sin destroy Dream Zanarkand if its primary aim is to protect it from invaders? Why did Yu Yevon allow Sin to destroy Dream Zanarkand? Are the people of Dream Zanarkand reliving a limited time frame, or are they living entire lifetimes culminating in Sin's destruction of Dream Zanarkand? Where is Dream Zanarkand? If Yu Yevon was so concerned about Dream Zanarkand why didn't he summon it on a different planet? Who created the temples and distributed the most powerful fayth across Spira? Why do the fayth allow themselves to be used by the people who destroyed their city? How did Jecht end up outside of Dream Zanarkand? Why is any of this happening?

Part 81: HOLY SHIT! The Story Gets Good Again!

After attempting to melt your brain with story based insanity, Final Fantasy X tries to shut down your cerebral cortex with mindless grinding. It's inane nonsense not worth going over in great detail. The "Trials of Mount Gagazet" are a smattering of shitty minigames not fit for the likes of Final Fantasy VII, and that's saying something. I fought a ton of Dark Flans, and those guys suck. What commentary is the game trying to convey when the random encounters in a cave are a larger worry than most boss battles?

I suspect the creators of Final Fantasy X may have realized how exhausting the events leading up to Zanarkand may have been. Having the story re-center itself on the campfire at the Zanarkand ruins isn't just a great callback. The set piece provides some of the best character and story moments in the game. Whether it be the anxious worrying of Rikku or Yuna's chilling farewell sphere, the game poignantly hits every one of its targets. Everyone looks physically and emotionally drained. The instrumental version of Final Fantasy X's main theme works wonders. It’s a sight to behold.

Tidus's narration conveys a sense of desperation on his part. There is a sense of helplessness in his voice as Yuna’s ultimate sacrifice draws nigh. Rikku's emotional plea to turn around hits a similar note. She is on the verge of breaking down as she begs Yuna to reconsider her pilgrimage. Say what you will about the voice acting, but the scene demands histrionics. Then we listen to Yuna's farewell sphere to her various party members, and this is one of Yuna's best moments.

Yuna's dry line reading oddly adds to the scene. She's saying goodbye to the people she loves and doesn't know how to say farewell. I enjoyed discovering more about Yuna’s past. We learn how Kimhari raised Yuna, and what inspired her to become a summoner. Every sentence Yuna speaks adds to the inherent tragedy the game has been building toward. She has tried desperately to keep spirits high during her pilgrimage, and now she no longer can. It's an emotionally taut and well-crafted scene.

This precise moment gets to the heart of why I enjoy exploring the Final Fantasy franchise. It's not about the tiny nitpicking of things and vulgar joshing around. It's about characters expressing powerful emotions while experiencing drama and tragedy. The locations painted by Final Fantasy X are far from "realistic," but they work best when grounded in reality. When Final Fantasy X devolves into phony cartoony ridiculousness, which always happens, you brush away the games' missteps knowing there are greener pastures ahead.

Part 82: HOLD THE PRESSES! I Didn't Hate A Cloister Level!

Zanarkand is a breathtaking level. Yuna's pilgrimage has built to this moment, and our first impressions of the wasteland do not disappoint. The scarred landscape harkens back to Tidus's recollections of Zanarkand. You see the "dream" of what Zanarkand should be as you explore the ruins. The wistful music swells and crescendos as you inch closer to the arena. Pyreflies loom in the background highlighting how dead the city is.

I'll be damned; Final Fantasy X finally justifies its use of flashbacks! I err toward the school of thought which argues flashbacks are a warning sign of deeper and greater storytelling problems. I'm all for symbolism and character development but lay too heavy on flashbacks, and your narrative becomes an irritating lecture or sermon. Flashbacks are like Deus ex machina. Sure they are both legitimate literary devices, but there are indisputably better ways to tell a story. But hey, for all I know, you could be David Lynch, Werner Herzog, David Cronenberg, or Terry Gilliam!

At Zanarkand, Final Fantasy X justifies its use of flashbacks on three accounts. One, they build the greater mythos of the "Final Summoning." At the arena, we learn more about previous attempts to use the Final Summoning, and its high price. Two, the flashbacks are used sparingly. Only five summoners have reached Zanarkand before Yuna, so the flashbacks are limited. Three, most of the flashbacks pertain to background or secondary characters. I cite this as a forward-looking attribute rather than a demerit because the flashbacks provide context the greater narrative hasn't already provided.

The structure of the storytelling is far from perfect. Seymour's brief flashback reveals the reason for his villainous angst. As a “half-breed” in a xenophobic society, he was a victim of repeated racism. His mother sacrificed herself to become Anima in hopes Seymour would use it to defeat Sin. He instead became a spiteful and wretched soul hell-bent on destroying the world. My summary gives the game too much credit. The game's efforts to contextualize Seymour's actions are another case of too little, too late. It's a cheap and shoddy attempt to humanize Seymour. Seymour himself never references his mother in the fights we have with him, nor does he talk about the difficulties of his childhood during his many affectations.

I can forgive this stumbling block considering everything the game does with Auron is GREAT! Auron’s flashbacks surface the final layer to his character arc. We see a vulnerable and sensitive side to Auron. In Auron's flashbacks, he attempts to convince Jecht and Braska to not follow through with the Final Summoning. Auron's anguish shows there is no happy ending to what Yuna is about to do. Auron is haunted by his inability to stop Braska and Jecht, and we can safely assume the same will happen to Tidus.

Part 83: Will The "Real" Villain Of Final Fantasy X Please Stand Up?

Meeting Yunalesca is a spectacular moment in isolation, but it highlights one of Final Fantasy X's greatest weaknesses. Who is the ultimate villain? If you were to prompt any Final Fantasy X fan who they think the main antagonist is, they would likely respond with Sin. I do not entirely buy this answer. Can we honestly call Sin the “ultimate" antagonist when he/it acts as a pawn to at least three villainous "master plans?" When you stop and think about it, there are two forces exerting control or influence on Sin. Those two forces being Yu Yevon and the Church of Yevon. Yu Yevon doesn't deserve the moniker either. He's barely a character and plays an insignificant role in shaping the course of Yuna's pilgrimage.

Don't get me started about the various factions and perspectives of the Church of Yevon. The game lost its sense of a unified message regarding the religion of Yevon since we first visited Luca. Yo Mika, Seymour, and Kinoc are all religious figureheads, but each expresses a different perspective on how to shape Spira's future. Yo Mika and Kinoc wish to maintain the status quo whereas Seymour wants to blow up the world. These objectives are presented as being complementary when they are not.

Finally, we have Yunalesca who expresses a "reformed" version of the Church of Yevon's perspective. She holds the Final Summoning to be relatively pointless, but necessary in providing the people of Spira with hope. The one point of confusion I have is her perspective is distinct enough from Yevon's that I question if she is acting independently. And given her immense fear of Yu Yevon, is Yunalesca beholden to Yu Yevon or is she attempting to defeat him? AND WHO MADE THE CLOISTERS?! Who created all the temples, crafted their puzzles, and placed aeons in each of them? WHY IS ANY OF THIS HAPPENING?!

In between Jecht’s alcohol abuse and Seymour's experiences with racism, I feel as if the writers bit off more than they could chew. Final Fantasy X's metaphorical punches get muddied by the game’s final act. I am okay with a corrupt religious organization or alcoholic parent as the primary antagonist of Final Fantasy X. But having both and then a homicidal maniac on top of two amorphous religious figures is too much to process. These glaring problems are unfortunate because they distract from our impactful moment with Yunalesca.

Part 84: The Yunalesca Boss Battle Is NEGATIVE FUN!

The Yevonites in our party have an intense series of character moments before our fight against Yunalesca. Multiple guardians volunteer to become the Final Summoning for Yuna. Sacrifice has defined their careers, so any of them making the “ultimate” sacrifice isn't a large leap of logic. Tidus resigns himself to fate as everyone commits to this morbid future. Yuna and the other Yevonites rather poignantly call out Tidus when he attempts to share his objections. Yuna goes a step further and reminds him this is her pilgrimage and "her story."

I have no issues with Yunalesca’s perspective. According to Yunalesca, the Final Summoning sacrifices a guardian. As you might predict, Yuna and company are largely okay with this. Wakka, Kimhari, and Lulu happily volunteer to be Yuna’s final summon. What Yuna and company are less enthused by is discovering the Final Summoning plays no role in permanently removing Sin, nor does strictly adhering to Yevon's teachings. Yevon’s rigamarole is unsurprisingly all for naught.

Somehow this is the straw that broke the camel's back. After traversing many temples with machina, being excommunicated, and discovering Yevon is run by zombies; THIS convinces our Yevonites their religion is bullshit. There is something to Yunalesca being an authority figure to the Yevonites. Yunalesca not only is Yuna's namesake, but she's Yevon's version of Jesus. Unfortunately, everything leading up to our fight against Yunalesca feels cheap. Lulu and Wakka gasp rather comedically, and Auron has a catastrophically terrible speech about how "Your fate is in your hands." After a rather interesting twist, it amazes me to see this game play it safe. Moments like these are something you would expect out of a B-tier anime rather than the culminating event to a Final Fantasy game.

THE YUNALESCA BOSS FIGHT SUCKS! IT SUCKS SO MUCH! The battle against Yunalesca's three forms is without a doubt one of the most painful boss fights I have ever experienced. Say what will about Seymour Flux, and there’s a lot to say, but at least it only had one form. Yunalesca has three, and two are HORRIBLE! The second form pulls a move from Seymour's playbook. Using a move called "Hellbiter," Yunalesca gives the Zombie status effect to every possible party member. She then uses curative spells to KO your afflicted player characters. Yunalesca will even use Regen to screw you over in the long run. But this pales when compared to Yunalesca's third form. Her third form features the biggest "dick move" I have ever seen in a video game.

Yunalesca's third form starts with an attack called "Mega Death" which instantly kills everyone who is NOT afflicted with the Zombie status effect. Trying to cure each of your characters of Zombie will spell instant defeat. Essentially the game demands one of your party members have the Zombie status effect at all times. Having to manage a status effect which blocks you from healing, is beyond fucked. Monitoring your conditions while fighting a strenuous boss is a tiresome chore I suspect the developers would be hard-pressed to defend.

For me, the Yunalesca boss fight is a painful reminder of how you cannot skip story critical cutscenes in Final Fantasy X. Each time Yunalesca KO-ed my gang, I was forced to watch the same cutscenes. The developers couldn't be fucked to place one save point moments before the fight against Yunalesca. I mention this because there are two long cutscenes when you meet and greet Yunalesca. After my third “Game Over” I got up to take the trash out, and poetically the second cutscene hadn't finished.

But somehow, through the mist and madness, I defeated Yunalesca. The moments after Yunalesca’s defeat are cleverly done. Everyone turns to each other and has the same shocked look on their face. They do not regret doing what they have done, but dread overtakes our party during their moment of glory. They quickly realize they have no idea what to do next. We have completed Yuna's pilgrimage, but are none the closer to defeating Sin. It’s a rare moment where the characters are introspective regarding their place in the greater world. It is on that troubling note we will call it. Next week, I will complete Final Fantasy X, once and for all.

I feel like we need a wiki page for the concept of "Ghost Children Who Ruin Games." There's FFX, ME3, and probably several others if I think hard enough.

I also must tip my hat to you, sir, if you got to Mount Gagazet and only then fell off the FFX bandwagon. This game is so much hot bullshit on so many levels. Bad characters, bad world, bad plot, bad mini-games. Bad, bad, bad, bad. The only redeeming part of it is the turn-based combat system, which sadly the series has not returned to.

For whatever reason, people seemed to absolutely love X, but personally I think it's the point where the series really started to go off the rails. It had a brief revival in XII, and then we got XIII (which has all of the problems of X but multiplied by x1000), not one, but two sequels to XIII, and then a near eight year wait for FFXV, which is only seen as an improvement because XIII was so terrible.

@therealturk: I sincerely think the only reason FFX is so beloved is because it was the first, and for the longest time only, PS2 FF. If they'd had something with a more traditional plot, like XII, at any point in that console's relevance (instead of for the last year of it's life cycle) it would've been much less popular with the fandom. The only reason I think 12 got hate at the time was the MMO-inspired real time combat system.

That's not to say 10 is bad, but if it had had any competition like 8 did with 7 and 9, it would have been much lower down in the Final Fantasy pantheon.

Man I hate Yunalesca. I'm glad they didn't add skippable cutscenes to the HD remaster, so you had to suffer like the rest of us when we played it. The pre-fight scene here, and one in Kingdom Hearts are burned into my brain forever because of that.

(I'm pretty sure Yunalesca is the thing that made me say "fuck it" and just watch the ending on youtube my first time through. Oh, I beat Yunalesca, made it all the way to the final dungeon, but then I just thought "do I really want to go through all that again for a story I don't even like?" and the answer was "no".)

I think I personally gave up on FFX upon entering the Calm Lands. I say "think" because I vaguely remember Cat Mountain, but I don't remember the dream explanation at all.

Why did Sin destroy Dream Zanarkand if its primary aim is to protect it from invaders? Why did Yu Yevon allow Sin to destroy Dream Zanarkand?

My understanding, although I don't know if the game actually supports this in-game, is that this is because Jecht is the first Final Summoning sacrificed guardian to be from Dream Zanarkand. He knew it existed and that Tidus was there, he wanted to go back there, and he still had some control over Sin. So he went there, somehow he communicated to Auron that he was coming (remember the line "Are you sure?" that Auron says during the Zanarkand destruction cutscene?), and like a bull in a china shop ended up destroying a lot of the city.

In no previous incarnations did Sin have any desire to go to Dream Zanarkand and probably didn't know that it existed or where it was (far off the coast of Spira, out in the ocean).

Hey everyone, @zombiepie and I recently got some feedback from one of y'all with a bunch of Yojimbo facts. I thought I should share my bounty with all of you.

Behold the spreadsheet:

You people are the best.

So many emotions in one blog post. Not sure what to say about that plot twist since it makes no sense. Plus it seems like no matter which Final Fantasy your playing you'll always be tortured by bad mini games and annoying bosses. At least you still generally like the character development and some of the good parts of the story. Good job on the blog Zombiepie. I can always tell you put a lot of effort into these blog posts.

I don't believe this to be true. I can't say I "love" 10, but I have fonder memories of it than 7 or 8, and the PS2 era had at least as many high quality JRPGs as the PS1 era, even if they weren't specifically "Final Fantasy". Plus it was the follow up to 9, which is far and away my favorite FF, so the fact that I still enjoyed it overall at the time says something.

Besides, this viewpoint really reeks of trying to rationalize and downplay other peoples subjective opinions around your own subjective opinion. I don't necessarily believe it's your intention, but you should never dismiss anothers opinion as invalid or false just because you feel differently. If people say they love FFX you have no reason to deny that as fact.

You think Yojimbo's more visually interesting than Anima? Huh. Dug the shit out of the latter and I don't remember a thing about hte former other than it's sure a Yojimbo.

Anyways, your assessment of the plot elements aligns pretty much with mine through and through this blog. Some great moments interspersed with some lackluster villains and villainous acts. Like I've said before, I think if the religious aspects been a bit more fleshed out or been a bigger focus (maybe even in a different game, ideally), it could have gone to some interesting places. As it is, I think it's one of the more interesting world-building choices for a Final Fantasy, but still kind of sub-par in terms of storytelling.

I'm still in the middle of catching up on the blog (currently reading the end of the last one) but I saw that @thatpinguino posted my Yojimbo Table which I made as a counter to @zombiepie claim on the Deep Listens podcast (which he reiterates here) that Yojimbo's Zanmato takes too much gil up front due to the "compatibility" system.

I took statistics for the default compatibility (112) and the formula for the PAL/International version (as it is the one in the HD version). It sort of took a lot of time/effort to do (and I know they were recording the podcast soon) so I didn't do it for the original PS2 Japanese/NTSC versions (but I can if anyone wants). Effectively, I wanted to show how likely Zanmato was given the amount of Gil you give him having summoned him for the first time. I really think the HD version is very forgiving . with only 2048 gil required to reach a 50% chance (with overdrive).

Here is a slightly better image of my table where you can read all the numbers. Glad you were okay with it, @thatpinguino . I was worried you might take it as an overreacted nitpicking - which wasn't my intention (I just think Yojimbo has an interesting mechanic and more people should try him out).

The link at the bottom was my most useful source (although not the only one I used) which is fantastic at explaining how Yojimbo works in all versions. I just simplified it for the scenario you were first summoning him and wanted to use Zanmato on a boss. This is also why I specify Option 3 "To defeat the most powerful enemies" as the choice taken when negotiating with Yojimbo to join your party (because this favours and simplifies the formula for bosses). For more info check out this amazing FAQ.

Anyway, I'm going to get back to catching up on the blog (in an odd turn of events I'm behind because I made this table).

@zombiepie: "Can Someone Explain What This Game Does With Tidus?" - I can, but I wont. Because I want to see what it does to you when you find out what the game does with him.

Side note - I loved and spent hours in The Calm Lands. Probably because they put so much stuff in there to do between Yojimbo, the chocobo racing thing to get weapons and the monster arena.

The mountain is indeed trash.

@zeik: Uhh, what? I'm not trying to rationalize, downplay, or dismiss anything... sounds to me like you're projecting. The long time where FFX was the latest (single-player) Final Fantasy meant that it got more time in the limelight. If we'd had more regular releases during the PS2 era, I think 10 would be generally remembered more like 5 or 8; quirky and experimental, but less popular.

Gawd that Biran and Yenke sing-along was sooooooooooo fucking duuuuumb. First time I ran into that scene I could not stop laughing. Not only because the set up is awkward as fuck but because they literally just sing the Hymn of the Fayth while trying to still do the gruff Ronso voice. It's too fucking funny!

Oh no! I was so with you in this post until I got to the Yunalesca section... I loved that fight in this game!

I will say that I used to unabashedly love this game, but the HD remaster really shows its many (many) flaws. I admit, I did not get as far as you in the remaster.

Somehow, FFXII aged a lot better in my opinion. Adding the fast forward to that game was a... game-changer (sigh).

I have platinum for this game. I feel your pain, haha, what a great read!

I'm back from a weeklong vacation, and happy to report both my laptop battery, and my own, are charged and ready to process the comments on this blog, and tackle your many burning questions/comments. AWAY WE GO!

I like the characters largely because I found a great deal of charm with their brimming enthusiasm in dire circumstances. From Mount Gagazet forward the game loses sight of this in favor of brooding drama, which doesn't define most of Final Fantasy X. I think the game manages to tie everything together by its conclusion, but I can't shake away the horrible feeling I was conned. It's fine if you didn't enjoy Tidus's brimming eagerness, but I did. And it is crazy the game loses sight of that being its greatest appeal. It worked best when the game was a happy travelogue.

Secondly, I think a lot of your issues with the current direction of Final Fantasy can't entirely be levied against X. If you dislike the franchise becoming more about technical excellence, rather than strategic and in-depth gameplay, your culprit is Final Fantasy VII. If you hate the sappy melodrama and romance subplots, your culprit is Final Fantasy VIII. If you hate terrible story pivots... well, that's just something I feel like every game has.

I feel the same exact way about Final Fantasy VII. The reason why it is hoisted on its high perch is that it was the big system seller everyone bought because of name recognition. Final Fantasy VII gets a pass on its stumbling blocks because it was an introduction to the JRPG genre for an entire generation. I have even met multiple people who have told me they "liked" the snowboarding in Final Fantasy VII! Now that's what I call nostalgia!

The issue about Square relying heavily on reboots and rehashes is less Final Fantasy X's fault, and a reflection of how Square's PlayStation One-era production cycle is an unsustainable business model. They made Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and IX all within a four to five year window. You cannot do that in 2017, and Square realized that ten years ago. And let's give them some credit, they have managed to avoid bankruptcy thus far.

It's a bad battle, and without a doubt one of the worst I have ever seen. What drove me absolutely insane was having to juggle the zombie status effect between the second and third phase of the battle. During the second phase she can one-shot your characters using healing magic, but lo' and behold, she also one-shots anyone who DOESN'T have the status on the opening move of her third form! SHE EVEN DOES MEGA DEATH THE MOMENT YOU SUB OUT YOUR ZOMBIFIED PARTY MEMBERS! That's just evil! And the fact you watch the same cutscenes just adds insult to injury. I had to listen to the same shitty speech from Auron four or five times. IT WASN' GOOD THE FIRST TIME AROUND!

I briefly touched upon on the blog, but the Calm Lands are when I stopped enjoying playing Final Fantasy X. Everything after the Calm Lands is just an assault against the player's patience. The bosses are arbitrarily difficult, the number of status effects doubles, and the enemy encounter rate spikes. This is on top of the game gating off a number of locations with a batch of superbosses which are ZERO FUN to fight! I joke about it on the next episode, but I'm pretty sure there are more "Superbosses" than actual bosses in Final Fantasy X.

And keep me updated when all these jokes about adding Blitzball to Final Fantasy XIV come true. When it happens I'll sign up to play nothing but Blitzball.

That's an interesting theory, but it raises another batch of questions. If Auron has the ability to communicate with Sin Jecht, then why doesn't he continue doing so throughout the game? Does Auron know Jecht and Tidus are dream people? Why does Yu Yevon allow Sin to destroy the dream version of Zanarkand? Isn't Yu Yevon the master puppeteer everyone is afraid of?

This is all ignoring the fact that in order for this to "work," we have to accept the all powerful Yu Yevon decided to stand idly back while the events of the game were set into motion. If he's an omnipotent being the leaders of Yevon and Yunalesca are afraid of, then why doesn't he do anything to stop Tidus from ending his cycle of power?

@thatpinguino said:

Hey everyone, @zombiepie and I recently got some feedback from one of y'all with a bunch of Yojimbo facts. I thought I should share my bounty with all of you.

Behold the spreadsheet:

You people are the best.

@dixavd is the hero we deserve. I included the unedited version of my Yojimbo section after learning about this because I felt changing my misinformation wouldn't do this spreadsheet justice. I spent ten minutes looking at it convinced it wasn't real. Then I booted up an older save in an attempt to "test" it, and was gobsmacked when it worked. What wonderful thing.

No thanks to their utterly failed movie, Spirits Within, or their revolving door of Western devs. I do think they need to speed up their production process, just so they can power past the flops and get another game out sooner. Two games a decade can't be sustainable, either. If you look at the Tales guys, they've been maintaining that kinda-annual pace this entire time, though to increasingly lukewarm reception. Where that may not work for Square is that they want to completely overhaul the combat systems every time, and they focus too much on upping graphical spectacle. Japanese games haven't been known for looking good for awhile now.

@zombiepie: So this is the part where I can't remember what I learned in-game that first time I played it, when I got near 100% (other than most of the optional bosses and a few celestial weapons), and I what "learned" from gamefaqs message board theorizing 15 years ago.

It is confirmed in the game though is that by the time X's story starts, Yu Yevon is a mindless force that lacks sentience. That's why Jecht still had some control over Sin for a while and why Tidus and the gang are never stopped.

I don't remember if the game ever actually mentions you should do this, but if you back to the Fayth at each Temple after beating Yunalesca, talking to each one reveals more of the backstory to the game. Bevelle giving the most, the others a few lines each.

It may actually be good in FF14!

(Seriously, the redone minigames in FF14 ain't half-bad. Triple Triad is a quick way to pass the time, and Chocobo Racing is a mediocre MMO Mario Kart-esque horse race instead of... whatever trip you went through in FF7. Plus no ultimate weapons are tied to any of the minigames, so you don't have to play them except for fun and cosmetics.)

Oh man, i remember spending so much time in the calm lands. Also remember trying many times to kill Yunalesca, very tough battle indeed. I'm also very bad at using items because of that feeling that you might need it for another boss. So better keep it! Sad to hear that they don't let you skip cutscenes in a remaster. That would be a nice QOL improvement.

I guess it is safe to say most Final Fantasy games do a good job about being emotionally honest. Not every game is great about crafting compelling characters or narratives, but each game in the mainline franchise tries to impress its audience with a sense of honesty and sincerity. I don't think Final Fantasy X is as sincere and eager to please as Final Fantasy IX, but it rarely offends and is eager to try new ideas not yet tried by previous games.

In regards to minigames... I just do not understand why Square continues to do this. It's just like Jeff's rant about Blitzball from two years back, who keeps saying "Hey roleplaying game developers, why don't you make a sports game in your RPG?" Who keeps asking for this?

I don't cover this on the blog, but it is incredibly important to note how Final Fantasy X is a significant "changing of the guard" at Square. Many of the men and women in charge of Final Fantasy X's were new to their positions of leadership. This, in turn, adds to the distinctiveness of Final Fantasy X, as well as its divisiveness. This new direction is a double edge sword. Millions became invested in the franchise because of the memories they developed from the new direction. Others, not so much. Because many of the tropes and idioms of past entries were ushered into the past I think it gets into the skin of a lot of people. The voice acting is just a scapegoat for bigger quibbles with the current state of the franchise. Voice acting was an inevitability. Had Hironobu Sakaguchi been the one to develop the first game with voice acting, I think half of this game's critics would drop the issue entirely, even if the script and performances were unchanged.

Anima is great because she has an interesting backstory, and you don;t have to waste millions of gil using it. But in the end, there's nothing quite like a neon colored samurai carrying a big sword accompanied by a demon dog. In terms of your other points, I think we can both agree Final Fantasy X does a great job in creating a sense of place and developing its cast. In terms of providing those cast members with a call to action, or purpose; Final Fantasy thinks it is capable of operating at a higher taxonomy level than is feasible. Its also a victim of too many cooks in the kitchen. The religious themes could have worked if that was the game's modus operandi, and the same could be said about parental abuse. But Final Fantasy X just can't help to try a hundred different ideas within the scope of a single game. This reminds me of a funny story an Israeli minister once said about an old defense minister:

He would wake up with a hundred ideas. Of them ninety-five were dangerous; three more had to be rejected; the remaining two, however, were brilliant.

I think this perfectly describes Final Fantasy X, albeit, X has more than two brilliant ideas.

I gave him like $250,000 gil just to add him to my party! That jackass fleeced me! Hence why I re-named him Tm Nook! Yojimbo get's his, just like Tom Nook! Anyway, when I use an Aeon, I really do not want to leave things to chance, hence why I elected to use Anima far more than Yojimbo. Anima hits HARD! She's really good at murdering fools, and her Overdrive is BADASS!

JEEZ... the ending to Final Fantasy X may well be one of my all-time favorite scripted endings. Most of my favorite games allow for player choice (i.e. Mass Effect 2, Fallout, or Knights of the Old Republic), so I have always been fickle about resolute endings scripted by the developer. BUT HOT DAMN DOES FINAL FANTASY X PULL ITS SHIT TOGETHER! It's not entirely successful, and well talk about many of the game's stumbling blocks during its conclusion, but for the most part, it sticks its landing.

I don't know about The Calm Lands. I have had plenty of people tell me they liked the Chocobo racing in the game, and I just don't see what the appeal is. It's the same temple, with the same obstacles, and with the same Chocobo. They managed to remove much of the player agency from previous Chocobo minigames, and boiled it down to its worst parts: training and timed racing. And teh training levels are just no fun.

On that note, you could argue that had Final Fantasy VII not been the first Final Fantasy game on the PlayStation One, it probably would not have been venerated and held in such a high regard as it is today. I was always under the same impression zeik was in, the PlayStation 2 was the console to get if you loved Japanese styled RPGs. The platform was inundated with solid releases before, during, and after the release of Final Fantasy X. The fact it was able to persevere past this enormous amount of competition is a testament there's something to Final Fantasy X beyond it having been released during the PlayStation 2's launch window. @thatpinguino once admitted he used X to rebuke early supporters of the Xbox 360 who claimed it was paving the way to a new era of HD graphics.

It's a point @thatpinguino made on the podcast, but one I feel is worth echoing, I think it is commendable how the various attempts to sing the Hymn of the Fayth aren't always great. These are people who want to sing because they need to, not because they are good at it, or it is their profession. Plus, if every use of the song was a highly budgeted professional performance of the musical track, I think that would be even more tiresome than having regular actors attempt to sing it. This in turn adds to the scene and the pragmatic uses of the hymn.

Seymour and Yunalesca are bad 'villains' because of all the reasons you stated, but I disagree that they are bad boss battles. They actually make you look at the turn order, so you make sure that you will survive the next turn. And they use tactics (petrification, zombie) in a clever way to actually kill you, instead of using it as a scare tactic without following it up like in so many games.

Unskippable cutscenes, now that is something I cannot defend.

Yu-yevon is still a big question mark for me even after all these years. I just accept it as fact, but will never understand that...'being'. The name Yevon probably throws me off, is it a God? Parasite? Or is it all just a dream?

@sjaak said:

I always assumed parasite because it looks like a tick. But knowing Final Fantasy, it's probably supposed to be some obtuse representation of the societal fear of universal entropy or some damn thing.

There's too much to respond to so I will just say that I love Yojimbo. Used him a lot just because of how he looks. Hell of a design!

I always liked FFXs actual ending, though it's a bit of a mess getting there. I'll say more about that when you get there, but, yeah - as much as there are problems to it, when absorbed as myth (which is how I absorb all FFs) it's rather nice.

I, too, watched the cutscenes prior to the Yunalesca battle many, many times. It's one of the things that's kept me from plunging in on the remasters.

The character design for Yunalesca is great! Each of her three forms adds to the growing sense of drama as the battle against her draws out. Her final Medusa head form reminded me of Ultimecia from Final Fantasy VIII. She's also one of the few big named bosses who has good music. Micromanaging the Zombie status effect in order to avoid instantly dying is a pain, and her A.I. is surprisingly nefarious. Both she and Seymour are able to use buffs and status effects to a near robotic perfection. This leaves little room for player experimentation and error. One mistake essentially will lead to an expeditious game over.

The HD Remaster is fine if you have never played the game before, but @thatpinguino informed me he did not always enjoy the HD character textures. The faces to him were less expressive, and their new facial geometry is constantly clipping during cutscenes. This leads to a ton of the game's more dramatic moments falling even more into the "Uncanny Valley" than the original PS2 game.

Did you platinum Final Fantasy X AND X-2? YOU ARE MY HERO! Is there some sort of glitch or exploit regarding the lightning dodges? Because when I tried it waiting from the lightning was just a massive time sink I simply did not want to invest my time doing. And not only that, HOW THE HELL DO YOU BEAT THE DARK AEONS?! I tried Dark Valefor and it one-shotted my entire party!

"Powering past flops" is an equally dangerous business model as well. At some point, you risk franchise and fan exhaustion. Just look at the current state of the Assassin's Creed franchise. Also, there are two aspects to the Final Fantasy franchise which all but prevents this model from ever being put into place. Two distinct aspects of the 3D era which makes your proposition impossible is 1) The Final Fantasy franchise has since VII valued technical excellence over mechanical depth, and 2) Each game attempts to "reinvent the wheel" in terms of its gameplay. Either these two attributes get compromised, or churning out new games every two years is not possible, and I don't know, I kind of like how each game is a complete revelation from the previous game.

Though it is important to note that Square-Enix's mobile game division is all that is keeping the company afloat.

WHERE IS THIS STORY CONTEXT! Was it in the game manual? THAT'S WAY MORE INTERESTING THAN ANY OF THE "TIDUS IS A DREAM" STUFF! The issue I have about returning to the temples is how each temple is guarded by one of those asshole Dark Aeons. Even with Yojimbo at my disposal, defeating them requires a lot of preperation and "luck."

Here's my bulleted response to your bullet points, in order:

• The Monster Arena is a waste of time, and it can go die in a fiery pit for all I care.
• It doesn't help Kimahri is the least interesting member of your party, and his sphere grid is the most intimidating to process.
• The final Seymour boss battle is way easier than the one on Mt. Gagazet. Who thought that was a good idea? Also, Seymour's final form is DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMB, and his final battle music is dogshit!

• I did my grinding on Mt. Gagazet, because 1) Kimhari was decently leveled so I could slop through his stupid business with Biran and Yanke, and 2) the baddies in the Calm Lands are WAY HARDER! Malboros are no fun!
• Yup, that is a thing they should have better spelled out to the audience.
• Final Fantasy X is the Bad Boys II of video games. It has a proper ending... and then keeps on going for another hour!
• Why do the Thundercats people wear thongs? Why does Rikku show off her thong in X-2? This franchise is pro-thong. Sisqo approves of this game!

OH SHIT! Did you hear that @thatpinguino! Final Fantasy 14 has Triple Triad! And you enjoyed Chocobo Racing! We should create accounts and journal our thirty day trials, which would ammount to both of us playing the minigames for 99% of the time!

The Calm Lands are a giant time sink. I know I have complained about this before, but Final Fantasy X has so many mindless time sinks. The Monster Arena alone is just the worst. I spent an hour collecting one of each monster from Mt. Gagazet, only to find out you need ten to complete a monster. That is GARBAGE! Using items with Rikku's Overdrive is clutch in the late game. Using Trio of 9999 with multi-hit items all but removes any form of difficulty in the game.

A nice quality of life improvement would have been for them to have never made Final Fantasy X-2

I agree regarding the difficulty of the Yunalesca fight, I guess that's why I enjoyed it.

It reminds me a bit of when I played FFXII for the first time and stumbled upon the King Bomb boss fight far earlier than you usually would. I spent almost an hour fighting it and finally ended up defeating it but it was absolutely grueling. Had a few similar experiences in FFXIII with Barthandelus and Orphan in a speed run. I suppose I do kind of like that type of boss fight from time to time in these games.

@zombiepie: That's the benefit of having played the original North American PS2 version way back when; there were no dark aeons in the game (that was International version only) so going back to the temples was a breeze (I think you maybe had to redo the puzzles, which haven't changed; but I can't remember for sure).

One of the things the Bevelle fayth says if you make your way through the temple again is: "Yu Yevon was once a summoner, long ago. He was peerless. Yet now he lives for one purpose: only to summon. He is neither good, nor evil. He is awake, yet he dreams. But maybe not forever.”

Besaid fayth: "Sin is cursed. Sin prays. It curses its form, it prays for dissolution. Sin sees dreams of its own destruction. Sin is looking at us. We live in a fading echo of time left us by the destroyer. Free him from Yu Yevon. Free him -- the fayth that has become Sin."

Kilika fayth: "Sin swam in the sea near Zanarkand. Perhaps the waking dream eased its suffering. Your father touched Sin and became real that night, foundering in the seas of Spira. How sad now, that he is caught in the tragic spiral. He is Sin. He is lost."

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Fayth/Dialogue

@mikelemmer: @zeik: @dixavd: @dixavd: @mezmero: @sjaak: @onemanarmyy: @sjaak: @therealturk: @geraltitude: @nodima: @drm2thej: @fezrock: @freedom4556: @therealturk: @mento@dudeglove #@jesus_phish

I'm probably going to do a "Blind Run" of Chapter Two of Final Fantasy X-2 this Sunday, and have no idea what I am getting myself into. Either Sparky or Mento told me to stream my first reaction to a scene at Mount Gagazet in Chapter Two, but I have no idea if they were joking or not. Is there anything in Chapter Two worth sharing with the entire internet, or is it largely just a boring exercise of Final Fantasy X-2's rigmarole?

Will I come to regret my life choices AGAIN?!

@zombiepie: There's a missable scene in chapter 2 Mount Gagazet which will most likely seriously annoy you by how out of place it is and the content of it. Plus the entire premise of the chapter is nonsense and culminates in a mission in Guadosalam with a minigame that may make you furious.

It's a good time <3

I genuinely like the minigame in Besaid though: It's tough but I enjoy it.

I'll be streaming Final Fantasy X-2 12:30 p.m. PST. @thatpinguino is streaming Final Fantasy VIIIRIGHT NOW!

https://www.twitch.tv/thatpinguino

So I got to a certain point the first time I tried to play this game on ps2 and stopped. I picked up the remaster on vita when it came out and got a bit past where I was originally. I was thinking about this game after your blog post and decided to redownload it. Apparently my save didn't remain. I don't think I'll try and get back up to that point again. I may just have to live vicariously through your blog posts.

@zombiepie: Hopefully this got/gets archived at some point. I was away this weekend but would like to check it out.

"The phantom child speaks and irreparably ruins Final Fantasy X's story."

It could have been a lot worse!

Heh Megadeath is pretty bad.

I was tired of the Zombie status and didn't know it blocked megadeath. So I marched all the way back to the calm lands and did the capture quest to make Zombieproof armour to nullify the fight basically....didn't work out too well.