Final Fantasy X Game Overview

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One of the most beautiful, soul-crushing, and touching games that defined a cult following and fans yearning for more, Final Fantasy X is nothing less than beloved, and rightfully so. This is the 10th installment in the Final Fantasy series.

Square Soft launched the game before its merger with Enix (known for Dragon Quest, a heavyweight in Japan) and now goes by Square Enix.

Our Final Fantasy X Game overview will go over its graphics that are known to everyone for bringing a unique, gorgeous experience to the player and any watcher. The story is gripping and soul-shattering until the very end.

Bottom Line Up Front

Equal parts beautiful, heartbreaking and exciting, Final Fantasy X is a classic, with good reason. The themes of death, rebirth, and birth are constant in the game. Tidus, the protagonist, plays a game of Blitzball, reminiscing about his missing father and his mother, who only cared about his dad.

Auron, his father’s old friend, raised him. Tidus is a professional player in Zanarkand, a city that never sleeps. But during what seemed to be a routine adrenaline-filled game, a mysterious large object appears and starts destroying the world of Zanarkand, swallowing Tidus and Auron eventually, leaving them to Spira, where the story unravels.

Setting: Spira

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“Spira… is a spiral of death.”

This quote by Seymour in the later stages of the game describes the world that Tidus wakes up in perfectly. He meets most of the key characters early in the story, while confused about his surroundings. Eventually, he learns that he is in Spira, a world where his Zanarkand existed, but in the past.

Tidus becomes wary of the fear that people have of machinery and technology. Machina, as they call it. Instead, the world has sparse cities inhabited by those who follow the religion of Yu Yevon rather strictly, without questioning.

Tidus also learns of a mysterious place called the Farplane. It is where the souls of the dead must go for eternal rest. Only a summoner can send off the deceased to the Farplane permanently, so once a person or a creature dies, a summoner has to perform the summoning and its beautiful ritual dance to send the dead people away from the world of Spira into their final destination.

There are many summoners introduced throughout the game. Some of them even try to make the struggle into a race to see who will arrive first and defeat Sin. As the game goes on, there are fewer and fewer willing summoners left.

For Final Fantasy superfans wondering: yes, you can ride a Chocobo in the game. It would not be a Final Fantasy entry without our beloved birds!

Key Themes

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Final Fantasy X is one of the most complex entries regarding different themes and fighting religion head-on. This controversial element is key to its popularity.

The game asks players, how much religion is too much? What is there behind birth, death, and rebirth? Why does Spira waltz with all of these all the time? Why are some people left unsent instead of dead?

Yu Yevon vs. Machina, Religion vs. Technology

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A key faction in Final Fantasy X is the Al-Bhed people. This group does not believe in the teachings of Yu Yevon and uses the Machina. Machina is the name given to leftover machinery and technology, created before Sin wreaked havoc in Spira. Despite the conflict between the Al-Bhed and followers of Yu Yevon, they have a common goal. Both sides wish to get rid of Sin, but no one knows how to stop it from actually coming back.

The followers of Yu Yevon strongly believe that if they lead a simple life without Machina, they will not anger or attract Sin. The Al Bhed insist that only the power of machinery will destroy Sin once and for all. The clash between the Al-Bhed and Yu Yevon’s followers is very heated, where the latter actively discriminate against the former.

Most people of Al-Bhed descendency hide their roots or the green eye color characteristic of their people. They do not live freely in Spira, and instead are secluded and prefer to live away from Yu Yevon.

The Al-Bhed also speak a different language, which is also called Al-Bhed. To fully understand the dialogue from Al-Bhed speakers, the player must collect all the dictionaries to learn the Machina language. This language was so popular during the game’s release that fans created automatic online translators, many of which are still accessible.

The religious undertones are often challenged and broken throughout the game. The protagonists attempt to follow ancient tradition without questioning and spend large portions fighting against the Al-Bhed instead of joining forces against Sin.

Birth, Death & Rebirth

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Spira is a cycle with two stages. One is The Calm, while the other is when Sin awakes every ten years. The only way to defeat Sin is for a Summoner to make a dangerous pilgrimage and summon their final Aeon.

Tidus raises many questions about the new confusing world around him. Who is Sin? What is a Summoner? What does the pilgrimage mean? The game slowly reveals these answers through its many plot twists. Many characters died ages ago, but their souls were unsent.

Sin symbolizes death and rebirth throughout the story. He is always born again after ten years. He is also the one who brings death in large numbers to Spira. To many, Sin and death are synonyms.

For Tidus, his journey to the future is a form of rebirth. He feels like a baby discovering a new world when his old world is gone. The Farplane contains the dead, Spira has the living, while Sin is death. Simple? Try and play the game to unravel all the mysteries and how everything ties in.

But to get even more confused, try Final Fantasy X-2. The sequel’s critical acclaim was worse than the original, but it is a beloved game nevertheless. Fans have yet to reach a consensus about it, but it gives room to the rumors of a Final Fantasy X-3.

Theories about a potential sequel have been around for years now, and some members of the original development team have said they would want to do it eventually.

Key Characters

Tidus

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Star of the Zanarkand Abes and the main character. He is the son of Jecht but follows in his footsteps as a summoner guardian. Tidus does not like to be compared to his father and holds a lot of hate towards him. This rivalry in his head is present throughout the story.

Tidus is transported to the future when he comes in touch with Sin. The blitzball star is a very cheerful and optimistic person, even in the hardest of circumstances.

He brings out the best in Yuna, whom he starts having feelings for as the game progresses. Throughout the game, no character directly calls him Tidus. Players can name him whatever they want.

Yuna

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Yuna has big shoes to fill. She decides to become a summoner, like her father before her, Lord Braska. But she accepts her fate and keeps going, wanting to make the final sacrifice to defeat Sin. Yuna is very selfless, quiet, and reserved.

She seems to be a poster child of the Yu Yevon teachings. However, Yuna is half Al-Bhed and has one green eye. She is also the cousin of Rikku. As they go on their pilgrimage, Yuna starts falling in love with Tidus. Their love story is one of the most famous in the Final Fantasy series.

Auron

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A father figure for Tidus after Jecht passed away. He is close to Tidus but does not speak much about himself. Once he shows up in Spira, Auron initially refuses to explain everything that happened around in Zanarkand, Spira, and the truth behind Jecht.

He remains a mysterious yet popular figure. He knew Lord Braska and had been a summoner guardian before to him as well. In the past flashbacks, we can see that he was always serious and determined, which did not change over the years.

Kimahri

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He is the main Ronso in the game. Despite being shunned by his kind, Yuna and her group love Kimahri very much. He is quiet but is a strong guardian, always by Yuna’s side. Kimahri has a broken horn, a very significant sign in his culture.

He had lost it in a fight, which caused his people to shame and banish him. Despite this, Kimahri still feels connected to his tribe and hopes to regain their trust and his honor in time. He was one of the original first guardians to Yuna and does not trust strangers.

Wakka

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Along with Lulu, he is one of Yuna’s childhood friends. It is no surprise that he decided to guard her with his life. Wakka is also very interested in blitzball, but his team is infamously bad. You can help them get better if you choose to play the blitzball mini-games and climb up the sports ladder.

Wakka is a strict follower of the teachings of Yu Yevon, as well as a very loud hater of Al-Bhed. It causes him and Rikku to bicker a lot throughout the game. As the story progresses, his feelings evolve about Yu Yevon and Spira.

He is very electric and happy, despite being confused and trying to understand the whole issue around Spira. He is the first to discover Tidus in Besaid and does not believe his story initially, thinking he got too close to Sin’s toxins.

Lulu

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The last of Yuna’s childhood friends from Besaid. Besides Auron, she is the only one with also a fair amount of experience and knowledge about Spira. She had failed pilgrimages due to summoners chickening out. This experience gives her an upper hand, allied to mastering black magic throughout the game.

Despite all the eye candy, Lulu is a great friend and ally. Her image comes from stereotypical occult characters. She carries voodoo dolls for their shenanigans.

In terms of personality, Lulu is the polar opposite of Wakka. She has a dark aura and is one of the sternest members of the party. Despite not being much older, she acts like a mother figure to Yuna.

Rikku

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Rikku is Yuna’s cousin and the main Al-Bhed character in-game. She calls her cousin Yunie as the two are very close. Rikku often has to defend the Al-Bhed from being bad-mouthed by Wakka.

She is very cheerful but has a serious side to her. Rikku believes that she can discourage Yuna from sacrificing herself to fight Sin.

She tries to recruit other party members on her quest as well. She is the first to see Tidus in Spira, to which he is thankful, even if Wakka was the first to see him in Besaid and lead him to safety and out of the water.

Seymour Guado

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Despite his pompous looks and being one of the most arduous boss battles, Seymour is only a secondary antagonist. He is petulant and sleazy towards others. Seymour is involved in the plot of Spira and hides many dark secrets behind his ridiculous hair.

He is a skilled summoner and the High Priest of the Macalamia temple. Seymour is a Guado-Human hybrid. He has feelings for Yuna which soon reveal his true nature, despite being a bit of a rock in the love path of Tidus and Yuna.

Plot Premise

Tidus wakes up with the desire to find a way home, but he ends up getting a crush on Yuna, who is a young summoner, following in her father’s footsteps. He decides to become one of her guardians. She makes many friends during their journey who become her guardians too.

It is a common joke that she does require a lot of guardians for this pilgrimage. Yuna trusts all of them with her life as they embark on the adventure to destroy Sin. They want to banish it forever and break the cycle once and for all. That is just scratching the surface.

As his journey continues with everyone, they all decide to try and stop Sin for good. Regardless of who Sin is and what the meaning holds. They all want to end Spira’s suffering and bring death to the cause of Yu Yevon as well, not by following the way of the Al-Bhed, but by their own, following every clue they get on the way, either from the teachings or things heard.

Gameplay

Square scrapped its then-traditional scaled-down map used in other Final Fantasy titles. With FFX, the developers wanted a more realistic approach by allowing the player to travel as the summoner and guardians would, allowing them to go back but with a time price, besides at the end of the game.

The developers had to drop the concept of built-in enemies visibly walking through the map with the main characters. The decision was due to technical limitations, and they implemented this system in newer Final Fantasy entries.

Battle system

The Conditional Turn-Based Battle was a new battle system to rival and replace the previous real-time-based system from nearly all previous titles. It is very straightforward as well as it is easier to see who moves when on the right side of the screen where the player sees who is attacking.

The combatants follow a specific order unless affected by Haste and Slow effects. You can use them to your advantage, but so can your enemies. These effects make the characters have fewer or more moves.

Aeons

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Aeons are summons that have been present for ages in the Final Fantasy worlds. Some of these are new to the game, but there are entries like Shiva and Ifrit inherited from other Final Fantasy games.

There are several hidden Aeons like dark or secret ones to discover if you want to complete the game to 100% and get yourself a PlayStation trophy, specifically in the latest consoles.

The Sphere Grid

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The progression system works the way it does because the director wanted the feel of having game pieces move on a board game, ultimately going a direction towards the goal and earning bonuses or points along the way. The Sphere grid can be a pain to master but rather rewarding as time goes.

Understanding it is necessary to make the characters stronger and unlock all abilities. It can teach them new combinations too. Anyone can be a black mage, for example. Unlocking new skills requires having the correct spheres.

Development and Release

The game underwent some changes throughout its development. Originally Final Fantasy X was supposed to have some online gameplay included. The idea was later dropped and never addressed again.

Tidus originally had black hair. Lulu’s many belts were Tetsuya Nomura’s idea to ensure the development team paid enough attention. The director would count the belts during animated sequences, which led the development team to avoid putting Lulu in complex cutscenes with a lot of movement and action. When she does appear, the camera only shows her from the waist up.

Despite all the limitations inherent to the 2000s and the PlayStation 2 platform, Final Fantasy X was a massive jump for its time. Its great storytelling and complex themes combined flawlessly with creative game mechanics.

FAQ

Question: How long is Final Fantasy X?

Answer: The amount of hours required varies from player to player and whether you want full completion, play to the end of the main plot, or only parts of it. It takes 46 hours on average to finish the core of the game. I did so in around 40 hours after several attempts throughout my life. As for full completion, this would require 148 hours.

Question: Is Final Fantasy X sad?

Answer: Absolutely. I will not spoil, but everyone will shed tears throughout the story as it develops. Choices and dead-ends available to the player require sacrifices. Despite being an emotionally-heavy entry, it is a must-play from the Final Fantasy series.

Question: Why is Final Fantasy X so popular?

Answer: The game had a huge cultural impact with its graphics among otakus and gamers. The captivating story and well-rounded characters helped establish its reputation.

Question: Is Final Fantasy X and X-2 the same game?

Answer: Final Fantasy X-2 is a sequel to Final Fantasy X. It divides the Final Fantasy community. After rumors of Final Fantasy X-3’s development cropping up, more players are diving into X-2. I prefer Final Fantasy X without X-2. You can buy them in a bundle for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, or Nintendo Switch.

Question: How old is Yuna in Final Fantasy X?

Answer: Yuna is seventeen years old in Final Fantasy X.

Final Thoughts

I love Final Fantasy X. If you ask me on a random day, I might answer that it is my favorite Final Fantasy to date. I love the plot, the game mechanics, and the touching love story between Yuna and Tidus.

I cannot highlight how much I recommend it, even if there are fights that are a literal nightmare to beat. The game and the plot are worth a couple of hours of grinding and exploring Spira further.

Continue reading related FFX Guides

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