Final Fantasy X – A Love Letter To My Favourite Game

This article contains some minor story spoilers.

This Is My Story

Let’s go back to where it all began: little Tom seeing Final Fantasy X for the first time and being drawn into its world. Now, realistically, I was probably about 7 or 8 years old. I don’t actually remember what made me want to play the game, but I will NEVER regret picking it up.

My memories of playing the game for the first time are pretty non-existent; it’s hard to remember things from over 20 years ago, okay! However, I do know that the impact it had coded something within me to replay the game once a year (or I try to at least).

Funnily enough, I never actually completed the main story until I got the remastered version on the PlayStation 3 back in 2013… I promise you I’m not a fake fan; I was just TERRIBLE at role-playing games when I was a kid.

Anyway, enough about how I got to playing the game; this article is for me to share my appreciation for something that made a big impact on my life, and that means diving into different aspects of FFX.

Welcome To Spira

Final Fantasy X was released by Square (now known as Square Enix) back in 2001 on the PlayStation 2, and it was the first game in the Final Fantasy series to have voice acting.

It’s a wild start: after Tidus makes his way to the Blitzball arena to play an important game for his team, a humongous monster attacks the city out of nowhere, and a bystander called Auron, with a connection to Tidus, tells him the beast is called Sin. Next thing you know, Tidus is sucked into Sin, and his journey through Spira begins.

Spira is home to various locations such as islands, cities, plains and ruins… You get to visit each location on your journey and experience the atmosphere each has to offer.

Granted, this is an older game, so don’t expect stellar graphics when running around, but you definitely get a sense of culture and what kind of life the locals live.

A Colourful Cast of Characters

Tidus is a teenage Blitzballer thrown into the world of Spira, a world he knows nothing about.

A long-running joke is that Tidus is a lot like Marmite; you either love or hate him. Personally, I love him; once you understand his story and the pain he has endured following the brutal facts he learns along his journey, you’d never be able to blame him for the ways he acts.

Wakka is the cheerful captain and coach of the not-so-great Besaid Aurochs, a team competing in the upcoming Blitzball championship. He is guardian to Yuna, as is Lulu, a black mage with a very calm personality and often cold approach to discussions.

Yuna is a Summoner following in her father’s footsteps. She has a rather innocent and shy personality, but that won’t stop her from summoning the Aeons she has requested help from to destroy any fiend in her way.

Kimhari is a warrior from the Ronso tribe. His loyalty is unbeaten, and he will die for Yuna, as he has protected her since her younger years. As a devoted guardian, nothing is more important to him than keeping Yuna safe.

Auron is the definition of aura. This man was the legendary guardian to Yuna’s father, Braska, and is now a guardian to her as per a promise he made to her father 10 years ago.

Auron will always be my favourite character: his cool, stoic demeanour does a great job at hiding the powerhouse he is and his calm and collected attitude always makes you feel like you’re in good hands.

Rikku is fully playable later in the game, and her chirpy and energetic personality can be pretty infectious. She’s an Al Bhed who quickly takes to Yuna and promises to protect her as she becomes the final guardian to join the team.

Masterful Storytelling

As I mentioned previously, you’re very quickly introduced to this monster called Sin that destroys Tidus’ hometown, Zanarkand. He later wakes up in Spira and learns all about the Fayth, Yevon, Aeons and Summoners.

The story tells you early on that a majority of people in Spira follow a religion called “Yevon”. For years, they have provided teachings to the people of Spira and proclaimed that praying to Yevon and “atoning for their sins” will eventually get rid of Sin once and for all.

I felt a stronger sense of hatred for Yevon throughout the game. The introduction to the Maesters has you feeling a kind of way that is only comparable to villains, and I felt so upset for their followers upon learning twisted secrets as you progress.

Continuing through the game, you unravel mysteries and shocking twists you’d never see coming and some of these moments will either leave your jaw dropped or with tears in your eyes… maybe even both!

As you journey with your friends, you get to experience the heartbreak Sin has brought upon the world, whether it be through the locals in the cities you visit or your own companions as you eventually learn about each one’s past.

You end up feeling the same thing they all do, which is that Sin needs to go, permanently, and for me this was bolstered by a devastating cutscene early on as you approach Kilika Island and witness what Sin is capable of. And the aftermath? So fucking brutal and devastating.

That’s not to say the game doesn’t have its precious moments. Blitzball is really the only form of entertainment in Spira (it’s basically underwater football), and when the championship arrives, I loved seeing how joy can be found in this world despite a monster the size of a mountain tearing everything apart.

The end goal is for Summoner Yuna to pilgrimage with her guardians through Spira to obtain Aeons, powerful creatures of the Fayth that will help her to her journey’s end, which just so happens to be Tidus’ hometown, Zanarkand Ruins.

Of course, the story is not straightforward: no game ever is. The Al Bhed don’t agree with the pilgrimage for their own reasons and take it upon themselves to do whatever they can to stop Summoners from completing their pilgrimage. And throwing Yevon into the mix, I felt pulled in so many different directions, because of every emotion I was feeling and trying to decide what was right and wrong, but no answer seemed correct.

Now I’d be a fool to not talk a bit about the love story that shows the further you play. Tidus and Yuna have an unusual connection before they even meet, and through this connection, I think it helps maintain the respect they have for one another.

Throughout the game, there are multiple moments that they share with each other when they’re alone; it helps to keep both of them grounded.

Whether it be Tidus teaching Yuna how to whistle, so that if she ever gets lost, he’ll come running right to her, or Yuna telling Tidus sometimes no matter how low you feel, laughing out loud can help brighten your mood (for the people who have played the game, you know which scene I’m talking about).

This isn’t to discourage any of the other companions, because this game does incredible work at linking these characters together in the most unlikely ways; I never thought that Auron and Kimhari would have a short history, that Yuna and Rikku would have family connections or that Lulu and Wakka both lost someone so precious to Sin.

In many ways this game tells you that Tidus is the main character, but it never puts the other characters in the shadows. They all shine in their own moments and get the amount of screen time they deserve.

Turn-Based Battling

As with a lot of RPGs, FFX follows a turn-based battling system with mechanics most would be familiar with as long as you’ve played similar games before.

Each character in your team specialises in something, ranging from a white mage to a thief, and it’s quite thrilling trying out each playstyle when battling. Although you will very quickly pick up a style you prefer, and to be honest, it can become repetitive.

This game uses a level-up system known as the “Sphere Grid”, and typically each team member has an obvious route to take based on their type of playstyle. However, nothing would stop you from making Yuna a black mage instead of a white mage, or making Tidus the hard hitter and Auron the agile teammate.

This is what I love about the Sphere Grid: you can take any route you please and build the characters how you like.

The grid is used to make your characters stronger, and there is nothing more satisfying than watching your team hit big numbers and seeing the “Overkill” appear above an enemy’s head when you’ve hit them too hard.

You can also summon the Aeons that Yuna recruits as you progress through the game. After summoning, an awesome cutscene follows that serves as an introduction to the summoned Aeon, and once in battle, they have their own skills in their arsenal.

Your Aeons have their own dedicated Overdrives just like each party member and let me tell you, it’s a thrill watching Ifrit launch your enemies into a big fireball and then hurl a chunk of the ground at them for a fiery explosion.

A Soundtrack to Remember

Final Fantasy X had the pleasure of having three outstanding composers work on its soundtrack: Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano.

Uematsu had worked on previous soundtracks for Final Fantasy before, and when it comes to his craft, this man KNOWS what he is doing. Actually, I listened to the FFX soundtrack on Spotify so much at one point that Uematsu was listed as my most listened-to artist and I’m proud!

If anyone were to ask me, “Tom, which one song from the FFX soundtrack should I listen to?”, my immediate answer would be “To Zanarkand”.

This song is my favourite piece of music from any game. It’s the track that plays when loading into the main menu when you start up the game, and it also plays at a pivotal point in the story, and perfectly captures the feelings for the area you’re in and what you know of the story at that point. The piano beautifully speaks to the despair of what’s happening, but also encourages not giving up on hope and holding onto the fact it may not be a bleak ending.

There are numerous themes, and each character gets their own. Here are some of my personal favourites below.

Tidus’ theme is a perfect intro to the game. It has a sense of calmness and “head in the clouds” type of sound to it, which in many ways fits his personality. The sound of the acoustic guitar paired with the harmonica make for a beautifully soothing sound.

Yuna’s theme always gave me a sense of sadness, like leaving your childhood home for the first time. The piece very much captures what this journey is for Yuna, and the sounds of a delicate piano melody supported by a violin really make you feel like you want to protect this young girl who is on a dangerous pilgrimage.

Auron’s theme has an electric guitar, which really helps to capture the character’s rugged appearance. Accompanied by some percussion to give a military rhythm, this song makes you feel Auron’s loyalty while perfectly fitting his “wandering samurai” persona.

In addition to the above, I would also recommend listening to: Calm Before the Storm, Spira Unplugged, Final Battle, A Contest with Aeons and Suteki Da Ne… specifically that last song; it does a wonderful job of being the cherry on top of a heart-wrenching love story.

The soundtrack overall is an absolute pleasure to listen to. You get a wide variety of emotions because each track has its own uniqueness, and somehow the composers created something where each song makes you feel something… and that’s the reason I adore it so much.

Post-Game Puzzles and Preposterous Powercreep

You have to work hard for the post-game rewards. If you plan to go for the Celestial weapons, good luck. I’ve done this for each team member, and you’ll want to throw your controller or keyboard out of the window when it comes to the Chocobo race and dodging lightning bolts…

The hidden Aeons are worth getting, for two main reasons: they’re cool as fuck, and you get to learn about the areas and people linked to them. Otherwise, two of these hidden Aeons you will learn nothing about if you ignore the optional areas they can be found in.

The Dark Aeons… these are not to be trifled with and once you gain access to the airship, they can be found in various locations throughout Spira. These are incredibly challenging, but quite a fun challenge once you reach a level where you’re on par with them.

Please Play the Game!

This article has become part love letter and part motivation to those who read it, because somewhere along the way, while talking about the love I have for this game, I started to talk about it like I was trying to persuade someone to play it by explaining game mechanics and giving a rundown on the story.

I’m always on edge, feeling like I’ve spoken too much about something or derailed from what the topic actually was, but considering this is me writing about my favourite game of all time, I hope you can cut me some slack. I just adore this game so much, and it’s helped me in so many ways.