This review contains spoilers
Nostalgia can evoke mixed emotions when it comes to video games or any other subject. I miss the old times, as many others, reminiscing about the days spent playing titles like Time Crisis or Street Fighter in the seaside bar, trading Pokémon with friends, or watching our siblings playing "mature games" like Metal Gear Solid. Such feelings are not unique to us, millennials. Life is a full circle that everyone has experienced before. Now, in our thirties, we long for those days, those video games, and those stories, but... Fear stops us from revisiting them. I'm not the same person; it's not the same time, and perhaps I no longer like this or that game. With the passage of time, I've changed my mind and returned to my childhood, rediscovering Final Fantasy X, despite not having arrived at the same destination.
Just to be clear, I hardly remembered anything. Yes, I knew about Yuna's pilgrimage and the story so far, and the suffering of playing on a 50Hz PlayStation 2 PAL system, but it was from a childish point of view. No deep understanding of the characters or the proper context of the story. But this time, Final Fantasy X has been a completely different experience for me.
The first major impression of this game comes, first and foremost, from its visuals, namely, the setting, and for two reasons:
· It was the first entry of Final Fantasy game on PlayStation 2. A year before that, Squaresoft released Final Fantasy IX, bidding farewell to a system that heralded a new era for JRPGs outside Japan.
· The contemporary context: the setting and atmosphere of Final Fantasy X were deeply rooted in its time, the early 2000s when the slogan was "the future is now". Everything seemed extravagant, like a glimpse of a distant future that we wished was already there due to the introduction of new technologies such as the Internet or science fiction movies like The Matrix. However, unlike today, it wasn't tangible because those years were still ahead. This gave birth to those adventures, those stories set in fantastical worlds that blended the past and the future, creating something truly extraordinary and creative.
I will show you this with the start. The game opens with a cutscene. There is a group of characters gathered around a fire at an improvised camp, and they appear to be sorrowful, as if they have gone through something painful. In the background, there is a city in ruins, and a boy resembles a "young Asian Leonardo DiCaprio" invites us to discover his story™. The menu screen, accompanied by "The Summoning" with water flowing above, is really my comfort zone. But we select new game before the opening starts again, and then... We find ourselves in the same city, Zanarkand, but it isn't in ruins; it's a futuristic place. The same boy, Tidus (although his name is never pronounced), is a Blitzball star. Blitzball is a sports game that combines the spectacle of the NBA with football rules, all within a gigantic water sphere. As we head to the stadium for a match, all seems normal. A beautiful song is played and an announcer introduces us to a legendary player, Jecht, who is missing. Suddenly, a heavy metal song starts playing to the rhythm of a mysterious man's steps, and in the city, an immense monster emerges. Sin wreaks havoc, destroying all in its path. Lastly, the mysterious man, Auron, helps Tidus, but Zanarkand falls apart, and Sin swallows them both. Tidus awakens alone in a whole new world. This world, Spira, doesn't look like the Zanarkand that Tidus knows. It's as if he has traveled, dunno, 1000 years into the past. The fusion of past and future elements, merging Western and Eastern aspects in the environments, attire, technology, religion, and music, enriches the worldbuilding and the plot.
In Besaid, the first settlement, the townspeople play Blitzball, although the island resembles a small fishing village in Southeast Asia. Yuna, the town's summoner, wears a dress inspired by Japanese tradition, with an obi cinched tightly around her waist. Very demure and elegant. However, one of her guardians, Lulu, has a completely gothic look, wearing a dress adorned with dozens of belts. Seeking answers, Tidus accompanies Yuna and her guardians on their quest: a pilgrimage to the borders of Spira, beyond Zanarkand, to defeat the calamity that has been devastating the world until the arrival of new calm; Sin. The world is vast, but the quest narrows the path to a straight line. I've always considered it a necessary sacrifice to endow authenticity to the story and enhance it.
A story that, strangely enough, when I was a child, I considered childish. Now that I'm an adult, I find it deep. I've always had in mind a scene that seemed ridiculous to me: Tidus dreaming with his father mocking him while Yuna and Rikku stood by his sides. At the time, I laughed a lot watching this scene and the voice actor's performance of Jecht. Now, having completed the game, this moment reflects the trauma of a child abandoned by his parents. Tidus is the best character and the most well-written one; his evolution throughout the story is notable. From being a future broken toy in the dreaming Zanarkand, he arrives in Spira questioning everything and helps the people around him to open their eyes. Why must they steadfastly follow Yevon's dogma? Why must they condemn Yuna to a fatal fate? Is there no way to save her and finally put an end to this cycle of destruction? Yuna is another equally well-constructed character, following in her father's footsteps, selflessly facing the world with a smile on her face, but inside she hides the grief and fear of losing her life that no smile can cover. And Wakka's not stupid, please, just hold on to religion by mourning his brother's death.
Final Fantasy X's speech is based on life and death from a perspective close to Buddhism, Confucianism and Shinto, and it uses a primary element of life, water, to represent and emphasize certain moments in the story. In Zanarkand, Tidus is swallowed by a giant monster; in Besaid, Tidus arrives floating on water; in Kilika, the water is bright crimson, metaphorically representing the death of its inhabitants; in the waters of Macarena, Tidus flows with Yuna; and finally, Tidus emerges from the waters of Besaid in the post-credits.
"How many died today? People die, and Yuna dances. When will she stop dancing? When will it stop?" - Tidus after Sin attacks in Mushroom Rock Road.
"Goodbye, Chappu. You always said I looked grumpy, but those were the happiest days of my life." - Lulu in the Farplane.
Are you listening to it while reading, true? Each and every one of the melodies that accompany this journey. The fusion of elements forms a whole, including the music. For one last time at Squaresoft, Nobuo Uematsu used the PlayStation 2 to its full potential, mixing classical instruments with synthesizers or violins with electric guitars. A year ago, I went to the Distant Worlds concert in Barcelona and was delighted to hear musical themes including "To Zanarkand" and "Suteki da ne" performed by RIKKI. My favorite soundtrack of all time. The sublime locations and backgrounds, beautifully scaled in the remastered version, elevate the eccentric from the concepts previously explained and that I was truly fortunate to study in depth in the third volume of the "Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive" compendium.
Gameplay-wise, the game remains fun, with the Sphere Grid allowing us to configure our characters' attributes and abilities to such an extent that this method of customization and progression has been widely praised. Personally, I'm grateful for the way the game encourages the player to take advantage of weaknesses and altered states. Have you ever suffered from petrify or zombie states like in this game? The fight against Yunalesca is one of the most, if not the most, satisfying in the video game. I would like to write a review about Blitzball, but Backloggd should open a special entry for that. What a vein they missed at Square by not making a standalone spin-off of this mini-game. The only not-so-positive point of this review is the post-game, due to its long duration for something that doesn't deserve a 200-hour investment and for obtaining many objects that require a guide. Guides that cost 20€/$ at the time.
Final Fantasy X is a rediscovery, and I appreciate the work more than the day I saw my old friend Jesus play it the first time in 2001. That's my story, which's yours?
Just to be clear, I hardly remembered anything. Yes, I knew about Yuna's pilgrimage and the story so far, and the suffering of playing on a 50Hz PlayStation 2 PAL system, but it was from a childish point of view. No deep understanding of the characters or the proper context of the story. But this time, Final Fantasy X has been a completely different experience for me.
The first major impression of this game comes, first and foremost, from its visuals, namely, the setting, and for two reasons:
· It was the first entry of Final Fantasy game on PlayStation 2. A year before that, Squaresoft released Final Fantasy IX, bidding farewell to a system that heralded a new era for JRPGs outside Japan.
· The contemporary context: the setting and atmosphere of Final Fantasy X were deeply rooted in its time, the early 2000s when the slogan was "the future is now". Everything seemed extravagant, like a glimpse of a distant future that we wished was already there due to the introduction of new technologies such as the Internet or science fiction movies like The Matrix. However, unlike today, it wasn't tangible because those years were still ahead. This gave birth to those adventures, those stories set in fantastical worlds that blended the past and the future, creating something truly extraordinary and creative.
I will show you this with the start. The game opens with a cutscene. There is a group of characters gathered around a fire at an improvised camp, and they appear to be sorrowful, as if they have gone through something painful. In the background, there is a city in ruins, and a boy resembles a "young Asian Leonardo DiCaprio" invites us to discover his story™. The menu screen, accompanied by "The Summoning" with water flowing above, is really my comfort zone. But we select new game before the opening starts again, and then... We find ourselves in the same city, Zanarkand, but it isn't in ruins; it's a futuristic place. The same boy, Tidus (although his name is never pronounced), is a Blitzball star. Blitzball is a sports game that combines the spectacle of the NBA with football rules, all within a gigantic water sphere. As we head to the stadium for a match, all seems normal. A beautiful song is played and an announcer introduces us to a legendary player, Jecht, who is missing. Suddenly, a heavy metal song starts playing to the rhythm of a mysterious man's steps, and in the city, an immense monster emerges. Sin wreaks havoc, destroying all in its path. Lastly, the mysterious man, Auron, helps Tidus, but Zanarkand falls apart, and Sin swallows them both. Tidus awakens alone in a whole new world. This world, Spira, doesn't look like the Zanarkand that Tidus knows. It's as if he has traveled, dunno, 1000 years into the past. The fusion of past and future elements, merging Western and Eastern aspects in the environments, attire, technology, religion, and music, enriches the worldbuilding and the plot.
In Besaid, the first settlement, the townspeople play Blitzball, although the island resembles a small fishing village in Southeast Asia. Yuna, the town's summoner, wears a dress inspired by Japanese tradition, with an obi cinched tightly around her waist. Very demure and elegant. However, one of her guardians, Lulu, has a completely gothic look, wearing a dress adorned with dozens of belts. Seeking answers, Tidus accompanies Yuna and her guardians on their quest: a pilgrimage to the borders of Spira, beyond Zanarkand, to defeat the calamity that has been devastating the world until the arrival of new calm; Sin. The world is vast, but the quest narrows the path to a straight line. I've always considered it a necessary sacrifice to endow authenticity to the story and enhance it.
A story that, strangely enough, when I was a child, I considered childish. Now that I'm an adult, I find it deep. I've always had in mind a scene that seemed ridiculous to me: Tidus dreaming with his father mocking him while Yuna and Rikku stood by his sides. At the time, I laughed a lot watching this scene and the voice actor's performance of Jecht. Now, having completed the game, this moment reflects the trauma of a child abandoned by his parents. Tidus is the best character and the most well-written one; his evolution throughout the story is notable. From being a future broken toy in the dreaming Zanarkand, he arrives in Spira questioning everything and helps the people around him to open their eyes. Why must they steadfastly follow Yevon's dogma? Why must they condemn Yuna to a fatal fate? Is there no way to save her and finally put an end to this cycle of destruction? Yuna is another equally well-constructed character, following in her father's footsteps, selflessly facing the world with a smile on her face, but inside she hides the grief and fear of losing her life that no smile can cover. And Wakka's not stupid, please, just hold on to religion by mourning his brother's death.
Final Fantasy X's speech is based on life and death from a perspective close to Buddhism, Confucianism and Shinto, and it uses a primary element of life, water, to represent and emphasize certain moments in the story. In Zanarkand, Tidus is swallowed by a giant monster; in Besaid, Tidus arrives floating on water; in Kilika, the water is bright crimson, metaphorically representing the death of its inhabitants; in the waters of Macarena, Tidus flows with Yuna; and finally, Tidus emerges from the waters of Besaid in the post-credits.
"How many died today? People die, and Yuna dances. When will she stop dancing? When will it stop?" - Tidus after Sin attacks in Mushroom Rock Road.
"Goodbye, Chappu. You always said I looked grumpy, but those were the happiest days of my life." - Lulu in the Farplane.
Are you listening to it while reading, true? Each and every one of the melodies that accompany this journey. The fusion of elements forms a whole, including the music. For one last time at Squaresoft, Nobuo Uematsu used the PlayStation 2 to its full potential, mixing classical instruments with synthesizers or violins with electric guitars. A year ago, I went to the Distant Worlds concert in Barcelona and was delighted to hear musical themes including "To Zanarkand" and "Suteki da ne" performed by RIKKI. My favorite soundtrack of all time. The sublime locations and backgrounds, beautifully scaled in the remastered version, elevate the eccentric from the concepts previously explained and that I was truly fortunate to study in depth in the third volume of the "Final Fantasy Ultimania Archive" compendium.
Gameplay-wise, the game remains fun, with the Sphere Grid allowing us to configure our characters' attributes and abilities to such an extent that this method of customization and progression has been widely praised. Personally, I'm grateful for the way the game encourages the player to take advantage of weaknesses and altered states. Have you ever suffered from petrify or zombie states like in this game? The fight against Yunalesca is one of the most, if not the most, satisfying in the video game. I would like to write a review about Blitzball, but Backloggd should open a special entry for that. What a vein they missed at Square by not making a standalone spin-off of this mini-game. The only not-so-positive point of this review is the post-game, due to its long duration for something that doesn't deserve a 200-hour investment and for obtaining many objects that require a guide. Guides that cost 20€/$ at the time.
Final Fantasy X is a rediscovery, and I appreciate the work more than the day I saw my old friend Jesus play it the first time in 2001. That's my story, which's yours?