Summary: Final thoughts on Final Fantasy X.
Protagonists
Tidus: Another positive, upbeat protagonist. Trusting, supportive, (usually) open and honest. Reminds me a bit of Zack from FFVII in his puppy-like nature.
Yuna: THE BEEEEEST. For all of Tidus’s “this is my story” professions, I see Yuna as the true hero of the story. She’s the one who has walked the summoner’s path her whole life, knowing it’d be her death in the end. Who maintained such a positive outlook despite this and fostered loving relationships with her guardians. Grew into a true leader by the end. Adhered to her own.
(Also a mechanically fascinating blend of white mage and summoner.)
Auron: Not my favorite character of the group. A bit too stony for me to truly love. The stoic and wise mentor. Cool in spades. Strangely enough, the times I most grew to appreciate him were when I got to see his old Braska’s-pilgrimage self contrasted with him in the present. Not sure why.
Wakka: Speaking of happy puppies! Wakka is ADORABLE. Bro-ish, but so much more than that too. Friendly and protective, and devout as hell. Loved seeing his ongoing internal conflict between his devotion to Yevon and the increasing evidence that shit was fucked up.
Kimahri: A big ol’ kitty cat. Protective (more loyal than any cat I know irl tbh), and in his own gruff way, loving. Cool mechanical combo of the dragoon and blue mage classes from past games.
Lulu: Quiet, but – much like all the other guardians – loving and protective in her own way. This goes for all the other guardians too: the game benefits greatly from Tidus coming deep the Besaiders relationship.
Lulu art by christinaisdrawing, posted by djinn87.
Lulu, Wakka, Kimahri, and Yuna (and to a lesser extent Auron) do not just meet each other and become friends. It’s a quieter set of relationships that are solid, built over years. This is wonderful, and a change from many FF games.
Rikku: Somewhat mixed feelings about Rikku. I like her as a passionate representative of the Al Bhed perspective, fighting for each individual life – and specifically for Yuna’s life. Other parts of her seem a bit…hm… it’s hard for me to pin down, but parts of her seemed like a retread of Yuffie.
I’m not set in this, so I’ll be curious if any of y’all felt the same way or are more versed with the character type to help pin this feeling down.
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Antagonists
Seymour: His voice actor did some major heavy lifting. Suave and slimy and at times persuasive. I think his villainous stature was hurt a bit by both impact and contrast. He wasn’t THAT much worse than some of the other maesters, despite aspiring to be. He also got thwarted so often and died before the end. We just kept swatting him aside. (I hold up Kefka as the gold standard in this way.)
I don’t see him as the real Big Bad in the game.
Protagonists
Tidus: Another positive, upbeat protagonist. Trusting, supportive, (usually) open and honest. Reminds me a bit of Zack from FFVII in his puppy-like nature.
Yuna: THE BEEEEEST. For all of Tidus’s “this is my story” professions, I see Yuna as the true hero of the story. She’s the one who has walked the summoner’s path her whole life, knowing it’d be her death in the end. Who maintained such a positive outlook despite this and fostered loving relationships with her guardians. Grew into a true leader by the end. Adhered to her own.
(Also a mechanically fascinating blend of white mage and summoner.)
Auron: Not my favorite character of the group. A bit too stony for me to truly love. The stoic and wise mentor. Cool in spades. Strangely enough, the times I most grew to appreciate him were when I got to see his old Braska’s-pilgrimage self contrasted with him in the present. Not sure why.
Wakka: Speaking of happy puppies! Wakka is ADORABLE. Bro-ish, but so much more than that too. Friendly and protective, and devout as hell. Loved seeing his ongoing internal conflict between his devotion to Yevon and the increasing evidence that shit was fucked up.
Kimahri: A big ol’ kitty cat. Protective (more loyal than any cat I know irl tbh), and in his own gruff way, loving. Cool mechanical combo of the dragoon and blue mage classes from past games.
Lulu: Quiet, but – much like all the other guardians – loving and protective in her own way. This goes for all the other guardians too: the game benefits greatly from Tidus coming deep the Besaiders relationship.
Lulu art by christinaisdrawing, posted by djinn87.
Lulu, Wakka, Kimahri, and Yuna (and to a lesser extent Auron) do not just meet each other and become friends. It’s a quieter set of relationships that are solid, built over years. This is wonderful, and a change from many FF games.
Rikku: Somewhat mixed feelings about Rikku. I like her as a passionate representative of the Al Bhed perspective, fighting for each individual life – and specifically for Yuna’s life. Other parts of her seem a bit…hm… it’s hard for me to pin down, but parts of her seemed like a retread of Yuffie.
I’m not set in this, so I’ll be curious if any of y’all felt the same way or are more versed with the character type to help pin this feeling down.
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Antagonists
Seymour: His voice actor did some major heavy lifting. Suave and slimy and at times persuasive. I think his villainous stature was hurt a bit by both impact and contrast. He wasn’t THAT much worse than some of the other maesters, despite aspiring to be. He also got thwarted so often and died before the end. We just kept swatting him aside. (I hold up Kefka as the gold standard in this way.)
I don’t see him as the real Big Bad in the game.
Sin/Yu Yevon: I love Sin as an enemy. A titanic aquatic monstrosity. The apotheosis of sea monsters. The design of the giant fleshy bulk, the independently roving eyes. I also love that the game hid his appearance for so long. We first just saw the Sinspawn and the giant water bubble, then eventually saw his fin, and in the battle saw the whole thing. Awesome.
Yu Yevon himself was kind of hilarious. Sure, he was the root of countless deaths and all the incarnations of Sin. But in the end he was just a little crabby crab!
I don’t see either of these as the real Big Bad in the game.
Order of Yevon: This. This is my favorite antagonist, the most complex and interesting to me. The entire upper hierarchy within the Order of Yevon. This conservative group that just wanted to keep the cycle going because that’s all they knew, and – in no small part, in my opinion – because it allowed them to persist in positions of power and respect. The maesters took the loyalty of so many good and innocent people, took their devotion, and used it to fuel this cycle of death and sacrifice.
The fact that so many good people were caught up in it with no malicious intent cements this Order as the true Big Bad for me.
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A Few Side Characters
Jecht: What a dick. I appreciate that the game showed both his awful-dad side in full glory as well as his clear regret and desire to have done better. The best part? It shows the latter without diminishing the former or devaluing Tidus’s feelings. Bravo.
Maechen: I’d be totally fine with the game including a Maechen-type in the future to provide lore and backstory. A bit direct in the exposition, but still neat and helpful!
Cid: YEEE-HA!! HERE WE GO!! Most similar to the FFVII Cid, but without the gross and abusive elements.
Shelindra: I know we didn’t see much of her, but she embodies so much of what I love about the good and dedicated followers of Yevon. She’s scared and uncertain but determined to make the world better through her faith.
The aeons: Perhaps this is more about the art, but bravo for how much personality was injected into each aeon. Nuzzling kitty of Valefor. Roaring raging Ifrit. Proud and cold Yojimbo. Tying all of them together is Yuna.
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Story/Themes
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
I see biggest theme through FFX as the power of a group of individuals to see an unjust situation, do their best to support one another, and fight to improve things despite all inertia going against them. All INSTITUTIONS going against them.
This tremendous, long-term spiral of death. Good people feeling like personal sacrifice was the only hope for short-term reprieve. No hope for institutional change. No remote thought of it. Until this group decides enough is enough, and individual lives are worth more than that. They can hope for better.
Sending art by neon-crystallum, posted by CJWriterGal.
The pilgrimage was just the first step. The party did their best to work within the system for peace, and only after that work was deemed to have too high a cost did the world open up.
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Gameplay/Mechanics
Top notch. Best overall game mechanics in the series in my opinion (despite my enjoying some individual parts of other games more).
Turn-based combat: YES YES PLEASE NEVER CHANGE!! This is beyond brilliant. The only downside is that it will make going back to the ATB system much tougher for me when I feel like replaying earlier games.
Aeons: Favorite in the series. Builds on my prior favorite, FFVIII, by increasing customizability and the ability of aeons to function as summonable party members rather than single-use spells.
Party member swapping: YES YES YES!! It’s such a simple, brilliant change. In the past, FF games had to either split party members up or leave some just kind of chilling back at the airship. This removes the need for that.
Tidus art by savaage-nymph, posted by djinn87.
Also, I’m remembering back in FFVII how much I wanted to use people like Yuffie and Aeris, but just couldn’t fit them into my party. They fell further and further behind in levels and became more and more useless. That was even more true in FFVIII. (I’m thinking back to how half my party in the Ultimecia fight was just cannon fodder.)
All that is changed in FFX. My whole party felt useful and impactful. I felt more connected to each of my characters than in most prior FF games. A total, total success.
The only negative for me was that it occasionally felt awkward to have to delay a fight just to ensure I get each party members their experience. A small price to pay.
Overdrive: The best version of limit breaks in the series, a direct improvement on the prior champ (FFVII). You could carry an overdrive from fight to fight unlike FFIX trances, and there was an interesting variety. The animations were great too! My favorites were Auron’s Banishing Blade and Wakka’s “splashy-bop” (his water element reel).
The only negatives for me here were Kimahri’s overdrives (which felt like they should just be normal spells) and Rikku’s, which will likely be much more useful when I have a full table in front of me.
Kimahri art by Ganjamira, posted by CJWriterGal.
Sphere grid: I mostly like this. Even for the part of me that wasn’t in love with it, it wasn’t that I didn’t like it – I just never fully understood it. A bit overwhelming. And I didn’t need to master it, which is nice! It was hard to go wrong just plowing ahead for each character.
Voice acting: Not a gameplay mechanic I guess, but it’s a huge mechanical change in the series and worked out well. Risky, too. I’ve seen an LP of the first Resident Evil, and bad voice acting is a major negative.
No Overworld: Not better than an overworld map, but not worse either. Fits this game just fine, especially helping me feel locked into a linear pilgrimage early.
Gameplay/Mechanics
Top notch. Best overall game mechanics in the series in my opinion (despite my enjoying some individual parts of other games more).
Turn-based combat: YES YES PLEASE NEVER CHANGE!! This is beyond brilliant. The only downside is that it will make going back to the ATB system much tougher for me when I feel like replaying earlier games.
Aeons: Favorite in the series. Builds on my prior favorite, FFVIII, by increasing customizability and the ability of aeons to function as summonable party members rather than single-use spells.
Party member swapping: YES YES YES!! It’s such a simple, brilliant change. In the past, FF games had to either split party members up or leave some just kind of chilling back at the airship. This removes the need for that.
Tidus art by savaage-nymph, posted by djinn87.
Also, I’m remembering back in FFVII how much I wanted to use people like Yuffie and Aeris, but just couldn’t fit them into my party. They fell further and further behind in levels and became more and more useless. That was even more true in FFVIII. (I’m thinking back to how half my party in the Ultimecia fight was just cannon fodder.)
All that is changed in FFX. My whole party felt useful and impactful. I felt more connected to each of my characters than in most prior FF games. A total, total success.
The only negative for me was that it occasionally felt awkward to have to delay a fight just to ensure I get each party members their experience. A small price to pay.
Overdrive: The best version of limit breaks in the series, a direct improvement on the prior champ (FFVII). You could carry an overdrive from fight to fight unlike FFIX trances, and there was an interesting variety. The animations were great too! My favorites were Auron’s Banishing Blade and Wakka’s “splashy-bop” (his water element reel).
The only negatives for me here were Kimahri’s overdrives (which felt like they should just be normal spells) and Rikku’s, which will likely be much more useful when I have a full table in front of me.
Kimahri art by Ganjamira, posted by CJWriterGal.
Sphere grid: I mostly like this. Even for the part of me that wasn’t in love with it, it wasn’t that I didn’t like it – I just never fully understood it. A bit overwhelming. And I didn’t need to master it, which is nice! It was hard to go wrong just plowing ahead for each character.
Voice acting: Not a gameplay mechanic I guess, but it’s a huge mechanical change in the series and worked out well. Risky, too. I’ve seen an LP of the first Resident Evil, and bad voice acting is a major negative.
No Overworld: Not better than an overworld map, but not worse either. Fits this game just fine, especially helping me feel locked into a linear pilgrimage early.
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Side Games
A lot of these, and a wide range in quality.
Blitzball: LOVED IT!! Huge sports fan in real life, and it was awesome to see the FF series provide its own take. My only problem is that once I started using the Jecht Shot, all the challenge went away. Never lost a game and never felt forced to push myself to improve. I wonder if this will change in X-2.
Cactuar Hunt: I didn’t love it mechanically since it was a lot of wandering the desert. Some of the puzzles were fun. Loved the character that the game injected into the cactuars through their individual descriptions. I was awful at the sneak-up game and didn’t get the chance to try again.
Chocobo Racing: BOOOOOO!!!!! BOOOOOO!!!!! BOOO- *stunned by bird*
Arena Collection: I liked this for two reasons. First, it guided me through revisiting the world after the initial pilgrimage ended, which let me discover a bunch of new stuff. Second, it provides a huge set of challenges. I didn’t really deal with lots of these now. Something for replay.
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Music
SO GREAT!!! Some personal favorites:
"At Zanarkand" - beautiful. So beautiful.
"Prelude" - perhaps the jazziest version of the FF theme yet!
"Otherworld" - \m/ \m/ LOVE THIS SO MUCH HOLY FUCK
"Blitzball Gamblers" - Something about this makes me want to take on the day with vim and vigor.
"Besaid Island" - Vaguely reminiscent of one of my favorite pieces, the FFIX overworld theme.
Wakka art by ninco-madison, posted by CJWriterGal.
"Hymn of the Fayth" - this will probably stick in my head as the true theme of FFX. I don't love any single version of it more than the others in a vacuum. Each version fits its atmosphere.
"Blitz Off" - Pretty sweet rocky theme. With the same goal as other themes meant to be heard over and over, like the Triple Triad, Tetra Master, and Choco Hot & Cold themes.
"Brass de Chocobo" - All those Mario 64 feels.
"Thunder Plain" - I like the contrast here. It's a jaunty tune, not something you'd normally associate with the Thunder Plains... and yet? It makes me want to take a happy stroll in the rain, safe beneath my umbrella.
"The Advancers" - Perfect for all your "shit just got real" needs.
"People of the North Pole" - Traversing the snowy mountain.
"Challenge" - YUNALESCAAAAA
"Seymour Battle" - Intense, with a bit of "circus" thrown in for good measure.
Side Games
A lot of these, and a wide range in quality.
Blitzball: LOVED IT!! Huge sports fan in real life, and it was awesome to see the FF series provide its own take. My only problem is that once I started using the Jecht Shot, all the challenge went away. Never lost a game and never felt forced to push myself to improve. I wonder if this will change in X-2.
Cactuar Hunt: I didn’t love it mechanically since it was a lot of wandering the desert. Some of the puzzles were fun. Loved the character that the game injected into the cactuars through their individual descriptions. I was awful at the sneak-up game and didn’t get the chance to try again.
Chocobo Racing: BOOOOOO!!!!! BOOOOOO!!!!! BOOO- *stunned by bird*
Arena Collection: I liked this for two reasons. First, it guided me through revisiting the world after the initial pilgrimage ended, which let me discover a bunch of new stuff. Second, it provides a huge set of challenges. I didn’t really deal with lots of these now. Something for replay.
---
Music
SO GREAT!!! Some personal favorites:
"At Zanarkand" - beautiful. So beautiful.
"Prelude" - perhaps the jazziest version of the FF theme yet!
"Otherworld" - \m/ \m/ LOVE THIS SO MUCH HOLY FUCK
"Blitzball Gamblers" - Something about this makes me want to take on the day with vim and vigor.
"Besaid Island" - Vaguely reminiscent of one of my favorite pieces, the FFIX overworld theme.
Wakka art by ninco-madison, posted by CJWriterGal.
"Hymn of the Fayth" - this will probably stick in my head as the true theme of FFX. I don't love any single version of it more than the others in a vacuum. Each version fits its atmosphere.
"Blitz Off" - Pretty sweet rocky theme. With the same goal as other themes meant to be heard over and over, like the Triple Triad, Tetra Master, and Choco Hot & Cold themes.
"Brass de Chocobo" - All those Mario 64 feels.
"Thunder Plain" - I like the contrast here. It's a jaunty tune, not something you'd normally associate with the Thunder Plains... and yet? It makes me want to take a happy stroll in the rain, safe beneath my umbrella.
"The Advancers" - Perfect for all your "shit just got real" needs.
"People of the North Pole" - Traversing the snowy mountain.
"Challenge" - YUNALESCAAAAA
"Seymour Battle" - Intense, with a bit of "circus" thrown in for good measure.
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Art/Graphics
I love when games use art design to create a unique world, something new. FFIX was the embodiment of so many classic fairy tales rolled into one. FFX is something I’ve never seen before.
I want to be careful about speaking too much on this since I’m totally unfamiliar with Japanese mythology and culture. I don’t know what this is drawing on, and will not pick up specific references. I won’t assume anything there.
The Spiran world and culture is just so full and fresh! A very island-y culture, complete with unique dress, art, writing, trade, environments, even sports. So great. Probably a bit of an odd reference, but I feel like if Star Tropics were made into a PS2 game, it’d look a bit like this. (Minus the aliens.)
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Length
Just over 107 hours played. My most played time in the series by far, and yet – it didn’t feel that way. It raced past. For a game to be so long and feel so short is the perfect indicator of success on this front.
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Replayability
High. I want to explore the sphere grid more, the celestial token stuff more, but most of all, the sheer amount of challenges still left. Dark aeons (without Yojimboing them), Omega, and pretty much the entire Calm Lands Arena. That’s all on top of just wanting to spend more time with these characters and seeing whether knowing the story affects how I view the earlier parts of the game.
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A Brief Ranking of the Main FF Games I’ve Played It’s Just One Small Opinion Please Don’t Kill Me
1. FFIX
2. FFX
3. FFVI
4. Chrono Trigger
5. FFVIII
6. FFV
7. [TIE] FFVII and FFIV. I like the FFIV story more and FFVII gameplay more.
9. FFIII
10. FFII
11. FFI
It was SUPER close between FFX and FFIX. Mechanically FFX is a bit better – I like the gem/ability system in FFIX more, and like the combat system (overdrive and non-AT way betterin FFX. Ultimately, I put FFIX above for purely personal taste. That silly, goofy, cartoonish, fairy tale vibe from FFIX speaks to me a uniquely powerful way. But holy hell was this close between FFIX and FFX.
When I played FFVI, I thought it would be in the top spot forever. In terms of story and characters, it’s right up there with FFIX and FFX, even better in some parts. I put it in the #3 spot because I feel the mechanics of FFIX and FFX are so much stronger, smoother, easier, more fluid.
I guess I’m writing all of this because I want to emphasize just how close the top ones are to each other. I am NOT saying “lol ffvi SUXX vs these new-fangled games.” Even Chrono Trigger is probably up there in this same group. The gap between Chrono Trigger and FFVIII (much as I loved FFVIII) is way bigger than the gap between anything in these first four.
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What a lush and lovely game. I am so excited that I get to play more in this series.
Yuna art by Midorisa, posted by CJWriterGal.
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Next time: Final Fantasy X – Eternal Calm. Will start next week after the Thanksgiving break.
Art/Graphics
I love when games use art design to create a unique world, something new. FFIX was the embodiment of so many classic fairy tales rolled into one. FFX is something I’ve never seen before.
I want to be careful about speaking too much on this since I’m totally unfamiliar with Japanese mythology and culture. I don’t know what this is drawing on, and will not pick up specific references. I won’t assume anything there.
The Spiran world and culture is just so full and fresh! A very island-y culture, complete with unique dress, art, writing, trade, environments, even sports. So great. Probably a bit of an odd reference, but I feel like if Star Tropics were made into a PS2 game, it’d look a bit like this. (Minus the aliens.)
---
Length
Just over 107 hours played. My most played time in the series by far, and yet – it didn’t feel that way. It raced past. For a game to be so long and feel so short is the perfect indicator of success on this front.
---
Replayability
High. I want to explore the sphere grid more, the celestial token stuff more, but most of all, the sheer amount of challenges still left. Dark aeons (without Yojimboing them), Omega, and pretty much the entire Calm Lands Arena. That’s all on top of just wanting to spend more time with these characters and seeing whether knowing the story affects how I view the earlier parts of the game.
---
A Brief Ranking of the Main FF Games I’ve Played It’s Just One Small Opinion Please Don’t Kill Me
1. FFIX
2. FFX
3. FFVI
4. Chrono Trigger
5. FFVIII
6. FFV
7. [TIE] FFVII and FFIV. I like the FFIV story more and FFVII gameplay more.
9. FFIII
10. FFII
11. FFI
It was SUPER close between FFX and FFIX. Mechanically FFX is a bit better – I like the gem/ability system in FFIX more, and like the combat system (overdrive and non-AT way betterin FFX. Ultimately, I put FFIX above for purely personal taste. That silly, goofy, cartoonish, fairy tale vibe from FFIX speaks to me a uniquely powerful way. But holy hell was this close between FFIX and FFX.
When I played FFVI, I thought it would be in the top spot forever. In terms of story and characters, it’s right up there with FFIX and FFX, even better in some parts. I put it in the #3 spot because I feel the mechanics of FFIX and FFX are so much stronger, smoother, easier, more fluid.
I guess I’m writing all of this because I want to emphasize just how close the top ones are to each other. I am NOT saying “lol ffvi SUXX vs these new-fangled games.” Even Chrono Trigger is probably up there in this same group. The gap between Chrono Trigger and FFVIII (much as I loved FFVIII) is way bigger than the gap between anything in these first four.
---
What a lush and lovely game. I am so excited that I get to play more in this series.
Yuna art by Midorisa, posted by CJWriterGal.
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Next time: Final Fantasy X – Eternal Calm. Will start next week after the Thanksgiving break.
