Revisting Final Fantasy X

Official logo of the remasters

With Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster being released at some point this year, I thought I would take the opportunity to write about Final Fantasy X. This is somewhat of a review, and somewhat of an opinion piece.

Final Fantasy X was the first Final Fantasy game I ever played, so it stands out to me in ways that other games in the series never will. This is also a game that really revolutionized the entire Final Fantasy franchise, though it may be difficult to believe today!

This was the first game in the series to have a direct sequel, for better or for worse, setting a precedent for the series today. It was also the first game in the franchise to feature voice acting and "real-time facial expressions" (as quoted from the game's box). Of course, the expressions can look a bit laughable today, and the voice acting may seem a little uninspired, but we would not have what we do in Final Fantasy games today if it were not for Final Fantasy X.

For those of you who have never played the game, it is about Tidus, who is a famous athlete from a city called Zanarkand, who finds himself in another world where his city is nothing but ruins. He joins a summoner, Yuna, and her guardians as they go on a pilgrimage to defeat Sin, the main antagonist of the game. Sin is a gigantic creature that causes tragedy everywhere it ventures, leaving numerous causalities and damages in its wake. The goal of a summoner is to venture from temple to temple around Spira and pray, gaining creatures called aeons that can be summoned to fight, until they reach Zanarkand where they gain the Final Aeon, which is needed to defeat Sin. The thing about Sin is that it never goes away for good and always returns after ten years.

This is a game that has an overall serious atmosphere, and there are very few silly moments throughout the game, which is appropriate for a game that deals with a lot of death. Seriously, there is so much death in this game. It is also an emotional game with many emotional moments that are portrayed at least decently. As I mention below, there is one specific moment that stands out to me as the facial expressions doing a wonderful job, and every character faces one of their own personal tragedies that they need to move past. The ending of this game is one of the most bittersweet I have ever said in a game, and it is widely known as a tearjerker, which is likely why a direct sequel was created.

The method of leveling up is rather unique in that there is a sphere grid, a gigantic grid full of HP, MP, strength, etc., increases and abilities. At its heart, the sphere grid system is like any other RPG. Characters gain experience from defeating enemies and bosses, thus gaining levels. Where it differs is the way the game chooses to use the level ups. Instead of gaining more magic, health, and abilities with each level, the player must navigate the sphere grid to gain those things. It makes the game strategic and allows the player to turn the character into whatever they would like. Kimahri is an obvious example. While every other character has their own section on the sphere grid, Kimahri has maybe one area and, from there, the player can take him wherever they want. They can make him into a white or black mage, or they can prioritize strength by having him go into Auron's section. This can be done with any character, but the player must do this with Kimahri.

I would say that the difficulty of the game is relatively high, once you reach a certain point. I would argue that the game is at least challenging throughout, but once you reach Mt. Gagazet, every boss is at an insane difficulty level for the rest of the game. At least, that is the point where I used to always find myself having difficulty. The truth is that the game does not necessarily get impossibly difficult, but it truly requires the player to strategize more from there on. The boss on Mt. Gagazet is one that would always give me trouble because I never strategized correctly (also, I used to run away from many encounters, but that is a story for another time).
For the record, this post is going to contain some spoilers in my discussion of the characters, so gloss over those parts if you've not played.

Final Fantasy X is both Tidus and Yuna's story as it is about Yuna's journey as a summoner, but it also about Tidus learning about Spira, befriending others, and learning the truth about himself and his father.

I have never played or seen a Final Fantasy game that does not have memorable characters (especially in the case of Final Fantasy VII), and this is no exception. Not to mention that each and every character is completely fleshed out and has a story of their own. All of the main characters face a tragedy during the game, and it is interesting to see how they change or overcome their grief along the way.

The ladies in this game are excellent. Rikku is an Al Bhed, a despised race in Spira, and the racist of the group is unaware of this, leading to some drama later, which provides some interesting plot and character development. She is Yuna's cousin, and she is very supportive. She joins the group after attempting to kidnap Yuna, an effort to stop her from completing the pilgrimage, but ultimately decides it is better to be with her cousin and try to develop a plan to make her end the pilgrimage along the way. Even though it goes against her heart and her beliefs, she journeys with Yuna until the end, even when Yuna refuses to give up her pilgrimage. Rikku understands and backs her up, even though it makes her upset. She is a peppy, upbeat character who has her serious, thought-provoking moments.

Lulu is the oldest of the girls and grew up as an orphan with Yuna. For this reason, the two of them are very close, and very much like sisters. Lulu is one of the most serious characters of the group, and she holds immediate contempt for Tidus, suspicious of his strange actions and lack of knowledge of Spira. As time goes on, she warms up to Tidus, explaining things about the world to him, but still does not want him near Yuna, more or less because she knows both characters have feelings for each other and it would only end in sadness. It is revealed later in the game that Lulu has been on two previous pilgrimages and holds a lot of guilt over something that occurred on one of her pilgrimages. She does look out for all of the younger characters (meaning everyone in the group but Auron and Kimahri), and especially looks out for Wakka and asks Tidus to try to be understanding. She is a really wonderful character.

Yuna is a summoner who is considerate, quiet, and serious. Most of what she thinks about she does not speak of aloud. As the daughter of Braska, the last summoner to defeat Sin, she has big shoes to fill. She is a brave and determined character, knowing full well from a young age that defeating Sin means death. Later in the game, when she casts aside her religion, she continues to journey as a summoner, despite the fact that she is hated around Spira. Most of what the player knows about Yuna comes from Tidus' narration, which is a bit problematic, but she is a fantastic character who gets even more expansion in Final Fantasy X-2 (along with Rikku)!

Though some of the music is reused a little too much, most of the music used in the game is very good. "To Zanarkand," and "The Via Purifico" are two of the most memorable songs of the game. "To Zanarkand" certainly captures the entire atmosphere of the game. I have always said that if you want to show someone who has never played the game what the game is like in just a song, show them 'To Zanarkand.'

We can all laugh as much as we want about the facial expressions, but there are some moments where the expressions are particularly good. If you have not played,   will try not to spoil this too much, but the best example of character expression in the game takes place during the second portion of the final battle. In fact, I may just make this its own post, but Yuna's expressions change very clearly to show how distressed and upset she is about what she has to do. It is really touching and allows the player to connect with her even more; Yuna gets a lot of that in the endgame, which I appreciate. As I said, I will probably just expand on this more in a different post. Just know that it is a really touching, emotional thing to watch.


The game can last about as long as you want. I would estimate that just the main story would take maybe about forty-five hours or so, but there is a lot of sidequests that can be done. The sidequest to get the celestial (aka, ultimate) weapons can take a while if you want to get all of the weapons, and it may still take a while depending on which weapons you want. Many of the sidequests tend to reward you with both the celestial weapons and other items, which is convenient. The Monster Arena sidequest alone can take a while to finish, and that is including reaching high enough levels to actually fight the monsters.

Final Fantasy X has no shortage of things you can do, and it has a lot of heart.

The only thing that disappoints me about the game is the amount fan service present. This is problematic for many reasons, including that these moments often take away from these strong female characters (Yuna, Lulu, and Rikku) by turning them into objects for the audience's pleasure. The most clear cut case is when Tidus stumbles upon Rikku, who has washed up on the shore.

Image courtesy of ffshrine.org

Rikku gets up as Tidus stumbles upon her and takes off her suit. The audience is "treated" to a scene of her, dripping wet, slowly unzipping her suit and stripping it off. The FMV sequence depicted above is especially gross when you consider that Rikku is only fifteen in Final Fantasy X (for reference, Lulu is twenty-two and Yuna is seventeen).

Soapboxinggeek also describes this problem of objectification in the game. She says that, while she enjoys the game overall,  "What I didn’t like was being treated to an animation of Lulu’s jiggly boobs during the victory fanfare.  She was an intelligent, talented and levelheaded character. But her character design featured a skintight dress made of leather belts, and a fur collar which left bare shoulders and lent itself to ample cleavage. The other two female characters, Yuna and Rikku, had arguably less sexualized outfits, but I was still forced to endure FMVs of a sweaty Yuna fainting from exhaustion, and a closeup of a dripping wet Rikku unzipping her skintight waterproof body suit. I can only presume that Square-Enix (or Squaresoft as it was known then) were staffed by mature adults, and that they were aware that the Final Fantasy series has a strong female fanbase. So why were only the women given sexualized introductions (and victory poses)?"

She details a huge problem in the game (and video games in general). While the female characters are objectified (a problem in itself), the men do not suffer from this problem at all. (Note, I am not saying that male characters should be sexualized as well, but if female characters are being sexualized, then it should be "equal," and male characters should be as well. What I would really like to see is no sexualization whatsoever.) The creators made these female characters into wonderful, well-rounded characters but decided to take them down a peg by objectifying them. The purpose of Lulu's victory pose seems to be a "reward" for the player winning a battle.

I would not necessarily say these sequences ruin the game for me because I still love and enjoy it very much, but they make me dread the times when I know I am about to watch one of the girls being turned into an object for the audience's "pleasure." It detracts from the overall playing experience, which is unfair. 

Final Fantasy X is a great game over all, but it is also problematic. Nonetheless, it will always remain one of my favorite video games and I cannot wait for Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster to be released. On a final note, the remaster will be of the International version, meaning, if you lived in or played the North American version, you will now be treated to the Dark Aeon fights as well.

You can find soapboxinggeek's post about being a female gamer here.
I definitely suggest reading it. It is very eye opening and informative, particularly if you do not identify as female or are not aware of the problems afflicting female gamers in the video game industry.

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (PS3) is available for pre-order on Amazon.