The Legend of Final Fantasy X E-Book

Damien Mecheri

• Herausgeber: Third Editions
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Französisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 349

Beschreibung

One of the most beloved and popular RPGs of all time, Final Fantasy X was beloved not only for the gameplay which introduced new leveling and battle system, but also for its technological achievements: it was the first of the immensely popular series to feature 3D arenas and voice acting. As with the acclaimed Third Editions titles that delve into the depth of The Legend of Final Fantasy, this book goes deep into the game scenarios, themes, game development, music and gameplay mechanics. Nothing is left out and every detail of the game is analyzed and explained with unerring precision, including the controversial sequel game, Final Fantasy X-2.

Leseprobe

Couverture

Page de titre

THE LEGEND OFFINAL FANTASY X

PREFACE

CAN a video game stir a person’s emotions? Can it make them think, or even transform them, even just a tiny bit? In other words, beyond evoking feelings of nostalgia, can a video game really stick with a person and offer them a new view of the world and of themself without relying on a simple narrative device? To this day, there are many obstacles preventing video games from being seen as intellectual and didactic media. It’s as if this incredibly diverse pastime is ineligible to become more than just a leisure activity. “Emotion” and “reflection” are dirty words when it comes to video games; instead, we talk about “fun,” “gameplay,” and “graphics.” The components of a video game are often viewed in isolation, in spite of the fact that it’s the synergy between them that gives the medium its evocative power. Can’t entertainment be both smart and stirring? In today’s world, where it seems like our forms of entertainment are being dumbed down, shouldn’t we be promoting works that can, or have been able to, combine instant gratification with underlying deep messaging?

Over a decade ago, Final Fantasy X continued the golden age of JRPGs, as well as the tradition of a series that, from the very beginning, had honored Hironobu Sakaguchi’s original desire: to tell a story. Yuna’s pilgrimage was the pretext for a dense, complex tale filled with plot twists and fascinating outcomes, under the guise of a harsh examination of religious institutions, in addition to being an opportunity to explore powerful themes like spirituality, the parent-child relationship, and the journey of self-discovery. It’s a story that has moved many players to tears. Over the years, numerous fans have expressed their love for this game. While not everyone appreciates Final Fantasy X (not to mention its eccentric sequel), it once again proved that the medium of video games is just as capable as film, literature, and television of telling a rich, memorable story. In fact, video games offer an advantage over other media: through interaction, a video game can literally transport the player into its universe, to another time and place. A journey into the realm of fantasy.

Paying tribute to Final Fantasy X, this book aims to analyze what makes the game tick, shed light on its intrinsic richness—as well as its weaknesses—and assess its place, and that of its sequel, in the legendary saga.

DAMIEN MECHERI

Passionate about films and video games, Damien joined the writers team of Gameplay RPG in 2004, writing several articles for the second special edition on the Final Fantasy saga. He continued his work with the team in another publication called Background, before continuing the online adventure in 2008 with the site Gameweb.fr. Since 2011, he has come aboard Third Éditions with Mehdi El Kanafi and Nicolas Courcier, the publisher’s two founders. Damien is also the author of the book Video Game Music: a History of Gaming Music. For Third Éditions, he is actively working on the “Level Up” and “Année jeu vidéo” collections. He has also written or co-written several works from the same publisher: Welcome to Silent Hill: a Journey into Hell, The Works of Fumito Ueda: a Different Perspective on Video Games, and the two volumes of Dark Souls: Beyond the Grave.

THE LEGEND OFFINAL FANTASY X

CHAPTER I – UNIVERSE

THEFinal Fantasy games have always taken pride in creating coherent universes in terms of their geography, history, and the customs of the various cities and towns. The franchise’s ninth installment had a very well-developed world, with a multitude of details, like statues of heroes evoking a rich history. FF X took things to a whole new level with the creation of Spira, a unique, Asian-inspired land that was meticulously developed, even offering its own languages and writing systems. So, let’s dive deeper into this universe, its geography, its inhabitants, and the stories and legends that have changed the course of its history.

SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality has been an integral part of the universe of Spira since its creation. To understand Spira and its history, it’s essential to bear this key fact in mind. The spirit world, called the Farplane, is a plane of existence every bit as real as the physical world. It is home to the souls and memories of the deceased. As the Farplane is a material world, it can be accessed from the physical world via the underground city of Guadosalam, making its existence both more concrete and more difficult to understand compared to a supernatural or immaterial world.

The life energy present in all things manifests itself in the form of pyreflies, a direct reference to fireflies because of their appearance as little balls of light. However, the pyreflies are not living creatures; rather, they are a physical expression of the spiritual forces of nature. Since the creation of Spira, humans have developed special abilities by which they harness nature’s vital energy. In addition to these magical powers, some people have the ability to influence pyreflies. They are known as summoners. The Fayth, meanwhile, are humans who had their souls sealed in statues. Their powers can be deployed by a summoner. When this is done, by channeling the power through pyreflies, aeons can be formed. These are ultra-powerful magical creatures who are the physical manifestations of the energy and emotions of the Fayth.

The spiritual energy that makes up pyreflies is part of every living being. When a person’s body dies, their lifeforce must go to the Farplane. According to the beliefs of the peoples of Spira, any person who dies naturally and accepts their death will find their way to the Farplane. However, those who die suffering or before they are ready will find their lifeforce left wandering the physical world. Filled with hatred and jealousy toward the living, these spirits, in the form of pyreflies, can come together to create monstrous, hostile creatures. To prevent that from happening, summoners can perform a ceremony called “the Sending” right after a person dies. The ceremony consists of a ritual dance that guides the spirits of the dead to the Farplane, where they can rest in peace. However, in certain special cases, if a person is very strongly attached to the world of the living because of an intense emotion or an unkept promise, they can refuse death and the Farplane, in which case the pyreflies will recreate their body. These people are called the Unsent. Nonetheless, they remain susceptible to the effects of the sending ceremony and, as such, they must take care not to get sent to the Farplane by a summoner.

As a natural and spiritual force, the pyreflies possess a number of abilities. They contain the memories of living things and can thus recreate memories or images of past events. This can be done directly in the Farplane: a living person makes contact with the pyreflies and can then project the emotions and memories of those spirits, which may take the physical form of the deceased. The living cannot give their own memories and images to the pyreflies because their minds have not yet entered the Farplane. The pyreflies can also “crystallize” in the form of “spheres,” which can be used in different ways, for example, offering the ability to record “videos” that preserve images from the past as if they were memories.

BACKSTORY

IN THE BEGINNING

The world of Spira has existed for over three millennia. Made up of two main continents and a multitude of islands and islets, Spira has produced numerous lifeforms, including humans. Initially, human beings learned to master the art of magic, while also gradually developing their knowledge to focus more and more on technology. Magic and technology coexisted for generations in Spira’s civilizations, which evolved to create immense cities with advanced technology—called machina cities—built by humans. Over the centuries, a division developed between the two greatest cities. On the one hand, Zanarkand maintained the tradition of magic and spirituality while, on the other hand, Bevelle dedicated itself entirely to technology and machina, going as far as to develop deadly weapons, the most dangerous of which was dubbed Vegnagun.

THE WAR

Some two thousand years after the formation of Spira, the cities of Zanarkand and Bevelle went to war with each other. Despite their knowledge of magic, the summoners of Zanarkand were unable to fend off the attacks by Bevelle’s troops. Lenne, a famous singer from Zanarkand and also, more importantly, a powerful summoner, was sent to the front lines to combat the enemy. Her lover, Shuyin, unable to come to terms with the idea of Lenne being killed in battle, decided to find a way to hijack Vegnagun. Shuyin believed that the extremely powerful machina, which wasn’t programed to differentiate between allies and enemies, could put an end to the conflict. Because of its limitless destructive power, Vegnagun was locked away in the heart of Bevelle and remained under close surveillance. Shuyin managed to sneak in, but was then captured. In spite of it all, he managed to escape and found the room where Vegnagun was being kept. He understood that the organ-like mechanism on the “head” of the machina could be used to activate it. Shuyin began playing the instrument, firing up Vegnagun and its cannon that could decimate all of Spira. At that moment, Lenne appeared and begged her lover to stop. However, Bevelle’s guards, alerted by the activation of the machina, arrived soon after and executed the couple. With her last breath, Lenne tried to express her love to Shuyin, but he didn’t hear her. After that, Shuyin was buried in the Den of Woe, near the Mushroom Rock Ravine. Driven by hatred, his spirit, detached from its body, remained a prisoner in the cave filled with pyreflies, haunted by memories of Lenne and the tragic ending to their story.

THE DREAM OF THE FAYTH

Facing the imminent defeat of Zanarkand, the city’s ruler, Yu Yevon, who was also a summoner, made a radical decision. To preserve the memory of his city as it stood on the brink of annihilation, he asked his summoners to transform into Fayth on the peak of Mt. Gagazet. They then began summoning a dream version of Zanarkand, with the goal of making the city eternal. At the same time, assisted by the energy of millions of pyreflies, the Fayth created a massive, indestructible creature that would serve as armor for Yu Yevon, charged with protecting the dream city and keeping it alive. The creature was later named Sin. Absorbed into the monster, Yu Yevon gave it some basic instructions, particularly to destroy machina and big cities to put an end to man’s folly. Alas, Zanarkand would become the first to fall victim to the power of Sin, who ravaged the city as Bevelle’s troops watched. Although his consciousness was altered by the creation of Sin, Yu Yevon had anticipated this turn of events and left instructions for his daughter, the summoner Yunalesca, and her husband, Zaon. To ensure the permanence of the dream Zanarkand while maintaining control over the development of the world, Yunalesca ordered Bevelle to honor Sin and abandon destructive machina, dangling in front of them the possibility of redemption. In other words, if they complied, the threat of Sin might go away. In accordance with her father’s wishes, Yunalesca thus established a cycle of destruction caused by Sin, interspersed with periods of Calm in order to maintain a false hope in people’s minds. To do this, she established the tradition of the Final Aeon, destined to destroy Sin, only to then ensure its reincarnation, since Yu Yevon would absorb the summon and use its energy to regenerate his shell. Yunalesca even set an example by sacrificing her husband, Zaon, transforming him into the Final Aeon to destroy Sin. Yu Yevon then took over the aeon, breaking the intense link between Zaon and Yunalesca, killing her in the process. To ensure that the new order she had established would continue as planned, Yunalesca refused to go to the Farplane. Instead, she maintained her physical form in the world of the living and chose to become an Unsent. She remained deep in Zanarkand to guide future summoners and explain to them how to summon the Final Aeon, a process requiring each of them to sacrifice their guardian. And thus the foundation was laid for a religion known as Yevon—not to be confused with Yu Yevon. From then on, that religion controlled the world of Spira from its seat of power in Bevelle.

INTERLUDE ~ ON THE MACHINATIONS OF YEVON

Although the spiritual elements that govern nature on Spira are recognized, the true meaning of most of these has been distorted by the Yevon church so that it can maintain its stranglehold on all mystical aspects that may appear in people’s daily lives. Thus, the true nature of the Fayth, aeons, and Sin have been carefully hidden. As for the memories that appear when the living visit the Farplane, Yevon has manipulated people’s beliefs to make them think that these are not just materialized images of memories, but are actually manifestations of the dead. Only the more down-to-earth Al Bhed people know the true nature of the pyreflies.

Additionally, much like the blitzball victory sign that’s become a sign of prayer, the Hymn of the Fayth has not always had the same role. Originally, it was a song sung by the people of Zanarkand against Bevelle at the end of the Machina War. It was used while summoning the dream and Sin. However, the Yevon church decided to make it a sacred hymn, supposedly used to soothe the spirits of the dead. The lyrics, which on their face appear to be incomprehensible, actually use Japanese characters and syllables, but all jumbled together. If you meticulously rearrange them by column and by stanza, you can reveal the original text, which can be translated as follows: “Pray for Yu Yevon. Dream, Fayth, and always bring us prosperity.” These lyrics show the deception orchestrated by Yevon. The existence of Fayth for each temple in Spira is the work of Yunalesca, who established the pilgrimage in order to help summoners master their power and build strong relationships with their companions so that they can carry out the Final Summoning.

THE RISE OF THE CRUSADERS

The vanquishing of Sin by Yunalesca and Zaon brought about the first period of Calm. However, it was short-lived. After only a few months, Yu Yevon, who had absorbed Zaon, regenerated the creature using the energy unleashed by the Final Aeon. Over the decades, then centuries, that followed, Sin gradually destroyed all of the machina cities of Spira, leaving nothing but ruins and devastation in its wake. Around 200 years after the first Calm, a man going by the name of Lord Mi’ihen founded an armed group that he dubbed the Crimson Blades. This group was charged with protecting the inhabitants of Spira from attacks by Sin. The Crimson Blades grew in number over time, to the point that Mi’ihen drew the ire of Yevon leaders, who accused the group of fomenting a rebellion. He decided to go to Bevelle, where he managed to convince the church leaders, called the Maesters of Yevon, of the merits of his actions. The Maesters ultimately decided to place the Crimson Blades under their control and renamed them the Crusaders.

NOTE

The road that Mi’ihen traveled to reach Bevelle was later named for him, before being destroyed by Sin 300 years after that, and then rebuilt by the people of Spira, who are proud of the symbol.

A NEW HOPE

While Sin’s destruction continued for close to six centuries, Spira saw a glimmer of hope thanks to the feats of a summoner named Gandof. After a grueling pilgrimage, in order to not endanger the people of Spira, he confronted Sin on an immense, desolate plain, later dubbed the Calm Lands, and managed to defeat the creature. Gandof thus brought about the first Calm since Yunalesca’s. As per the rule, Gandof lost his life after sacrificing his guardian to summon the Final Aeon. He was then posthumously given the title of High Summoner. His victory set an example for each generation of summoners that followed. Although it lasted less than a year, this period of Calm gave the people of Spira some relief. They were able to live for a few months without the fear of being attacked by Sin. Nearly two centuries after Gandof’s triumph, Ohalland, a former player of blitzball, Spira’s most popular sport, undertook his own pilgrimage as a summoner and managed to destroy Sin. And some 130 years later, Lady Yocun brought about the fourth Calm.

SEYMOUR’S TRAGEDY

Around 950 years after the war between Zanarkand and Bevelle, Yo Mika was chosen to be the Grand Maester of the Yevon church. Even after his death, his hunger for power continued to keep him going as an Unsent in the world of the living, allowing him to maintain his status as Grand Maester in the decades that followed. The years after that saw the births of several people whose destinies would be closely tied to the future of Spira. These are Auron, Wakka, and Lulu, as well as Kimahri of the Ronso people, a race of lion-like humanoids. Twenty-two years after Yo Mika was made Grand Maester, Jyscal Guado fell in love with a human and the couple produced a son named Seymour Guado. Three years later, Jyscal became the leader of the Guado people and converted them to Yevon. His marriage to a human aimed to unite the two races, but the existence of Seymour, the fruit of their union, was scorned by both sides. The Guado, who are very attached to their traditions, disapproved of Jyscal’s actions. As such, he decided to exile his wife and son, Seymour, to Baaj Temple.

At a very early age, Seymour developed exceptional abilities as a summoner, and his mother decided to accompany him on his pilgrimage to vanquish Sin while he was still just a child. While his mother was willing to sacrifice herself and become the Final Aeon, Seymour couldn’t bear the idea of watching her die and refused to fight Sin with her. She thus became the Fayth of the aeon Anima, kept like a prisoner in Baaj Temple. Young Seymour decided to take refuge in the temple as well after he gave up on his duties as a summoner.

YUNA’S PARENTS

During the same period, the young monk Braska decided to go to the home of the Al Bhed people to try to reconcile them with the Yevonites. The Al Bhed defied the teachings of the Yevon church by using machina, a fact that had cost them their homeland, which had been destroyed by Sin years earlier. Since then, an Al Bhed named Cid had become the tribe’s leader, and they had begun building a new refuge, named Home, in the Sanubia Sands. Braska met Cid and fell in love with his sister. Knowing of the tensions between the Al Bhed and Yevonites, they decided to flee and get married in secret, an action that was taken very poorly by both factions. Together they had a daughter, whom they named Yuna in honor of Yunalesca. At the same time, in the dream of the Fayth, Jecht, a famous blitzball player from Zanarkand, and his wife had a son, whom they named Tidus. Around the same period, Lulu was orphaned, her parents perishing during an attack by Sin. Two years later, in the land of the Al Bhed, Rikku was born to Cid and his wife.

Four years after Yuna’s birth, her mother felt guilty for angering her brother Cid. She decided to pay him a visit to make peace with him. She undertook the voyage by ship, but the vessel was attacked by Sin, and so Braska’s wife was killed. Deeply affected by this incident, Braska resolved to become a summoner so that he could bring an end to Sin’s reign of terror.

BRASKA’S PILGRIMAGE

Auron, a warrior monk from Bevelle, was destined for greatness and was preparing to be named a captain. Everything changed when he refused to marry the daughter of a Yevon priest. He was banished from the order of monks. Instead, his friend Wen Kinoc received the promotion. Some time later, Auron met Braska, who convinced him to become his guardian and accompany him on his pilgrimage.

In the dream of the Fayth, Jecht was training by swimming in the sea around Zanarkand. However, he ventured too far out and encountered Sin. He was then cast out into the real world of Spira, near Bevelle. Disoriented by this unfamiliar universe, he got into an altercation with some guards, who were baffled by his attitude and his get-up. He was then thrown in jail. Braska got wind of this story and decided to go with Auron to visit Jecht. In his cell, Tidus’ father told them the story of his Zanarkand. Intrigued, Braska saw in Jecht a man of true character. Braska offered Jecht a deal: he would get him set free if Jecht would agree to become his guardian, alongside Auron, so that they could travel together to the real Zanarkand, the one in ruins. Thus began Braska’s pilgrimage, seven years after the birth of Yuna. When the trio reached Besaid Island, Braska was enthralled by the tranquility and beauty of the place and asked Auron to bring Yuna there to live after the pilgrimage.

NOTE

Braska’s pilgrimage was marked by an incident. At the Moonflow River, Jecht got drunk and came face-to-face with an immense creature, the shoopuf, on which the party rode to cross the waterway. Intoxicated and surprised by the animal’s size, Jecht attacked it. Braska was forced to pay everything he had to compensate the Hypello—an amphibian race—in charge of the shoopuf. Jecht then swore that he would never drink again.

The trio eventually arrived at Zanarkand, where they met Yunalesca, who told them the truth and explained to them the requirements for summoning the Final Aeon. Realizing that he had no way of returning to his Zanarkand and hoping to find a way to break Sin’s cycle of rebirth, Jecht insisted that Braska sacrifice him. He also asked Auron to find his son, Tidus, and watch over him. Jecht thus became the Final Aeon, and Braska perished after vanquishing Sin. Yu Yevon took possession of Jecht, who was reborn as Sin a few months later.

Around the same time, Kimahri got into a fight with the hero of the Ronso clan, Biran, and lost. Refusing to admit his defeat, he provoked Biran’s anger. Biran broke Kimahri’s horn to humiliate him. Kimahri then fled his native land.

AURON’S PROMISES

Auron simply couldn’t bring himself to accept his friends’ sacrifice, nor the deception orchestrated by Yunalesca. He returned to the temple in Zanarkand to confront her and demand that she explain herself. He ended up attacking her. However, the summoner was much more powerful than him and effortlessly defeated him. Dying, the warrior managed to reach Mt. Gagazet, where he met Kimahri. Auron tasked Kimahri with protecting Yuna and taking her to the island of Besaid, in accordance with Braska’s wishes. Kimahri, still in exile, agreed. After making his requests, Auron lost consciousness and was taken in by Rin, an Al Bhed merchant. However, his wounds were too deep and he didn’t make it through the night. Bound to the world of the living by the promise he made to Jecht to find his son Tidus, Auron did not go to the Farplane and retained his physical form as an Unsent. He made contact with Sin and, with help from Jecht’s spirit, was propelled into the dream of the Fayth. He managed to find Tidus, whose mother had died of sorrow a year after Jecht’s disappearance, and took him under his wing.

IN THEIR PARENTS’ SHADOWS

In the years that followed, Tidus grew up in dream Zanarkand and became a renowned blitzball player, just like his father, a man he never stopped judging and hating, blaming him for his mother’s death. Yuna, meanwhile, grew up on Besaid Island, alongside her friends Lulu and Wakka, under the protection of her guardian, Kimahri. She quickly developed her father’s summoning talents and began practicing magic so that she could one day go on the fatal pilgrimage. Seymour returned from his exile at Baaj Temple. He reunited with his father, Jyscal Guado, who had since been made a Yevon Maester. Seymour, putting his skills and charisma to good use, rose through the ranks of the Yevon church and ultimately became the High Priest of Macalania Temple. At the same time, Wen Kinoc, Auron’s old friend, was named a Yevon Maester. Seymour also returned to Baaj Temple, where his mother’s Fayth was held, and he summoned her power in the form of the aeon Anima.

THE GRIEF OF LULU AND WAKKA

A number of summoners undertook pilgrimages to defeat Sin, but most of them gave up when they reached the Calm Lands. Lulu became the guardian of Lady Ginnem and witnessed her journey come to an end in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, just beyond the Calm Lands, where the summoner lost her life.

Nine years after the Calm brought about by Braska, Lulu began dating Chappu, Wakka’s brother. For a number of years, Wakka had been a blitzball player for a team called the Besaid Aurochs, famous for its frequent losses. Chappu, meanwhile, decided to join the Crusaders to find a way to defeat Sin. Sadly, he lost his life in an attack by the creature, the very same day that Wakka was participating in a blitzball tournament. The news of his brother’s death crushed Wakka, and his team lost yet again. He then decided to abandon his blitzball career to become a guardian. He thus accompanied Lulu on the pilgrimage of Father Zuke; however, Zuke also abandoned his pilgrimage after reaching the Calm Lands. This journey made Wakka aware of his deep attachment to blitzball, and he decided to train to take part in one final tournament before dedicating himself fully to his role as the guardian of Yuna, who was ready to go on her pilgrimage and whom he had promised to protect.

A few months later, Jyscal Guado was discreetly murdered by his son Seymour, who then took Jyscal’s place among the Maesters of Yevon. At the same time, Wen Kinoc, under the direction of the Yevon church, began forming and training an elite group called the Crimson Squad, named after the Crimson Blades, the original name of the Crusaders. A number of people joined up, including Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal, as well as a woman named Paine, who was hired to record her unit’s actions on a video sphere.

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

Ten years have now passed since Braska vanquished Sin. To complete her training and become a full-fledged summoner in order to undertake her pilgrimage, Yuna is preparing to enter the Cloister of Trials at Besaid Temple. Meanwhile, Wakka is training with the Besaid Aurochs to compete in a blitzball tournament that will be held in the city of Luca. Among the Al Bhed, their leader Cid sends a team with his two children, Rikku and her brother, to go inspect the underwater ruins of a machina city next to the island of Baaj. Cid aims to retrieve a thousand-year-old airship, but also bring an end to the sacrifices of the summoners by interrupting their pilgrimages. He hopes to be able to defeat Sin with war machina. To do so, he teams up with the Crusaders, who have been excommunicated by the Yevon church.

In dream Zanarkand, Tidus is preparing to compete in a blitzball match. Being a big star, he signs numerous autographs before heading to the locker room. The Fayth, tired of dreaming for a millennium now, seek a way to bring an end to their plight. With help from Jecht, who, in his rare moments of lucidity, wants to stop the cycle of destruction that he causes in spite of himself, the Fayth actually summon Sin into the dream. The creature begins destroying dream Zanarkand in the middle of the blitzball match. Tidus comes face-to-face with Auron, who gives him Jecht’s sword and helps him fight off the Sinspawn, small fiends that pop out of Sin’s body. After a few grueling battles, Auron and Tidus are sucked up by Sin and sent to the world of Spira. Just as Jecht and the Fayth wanted. Tidus loses consciousness.

FIRST CONTACT WITH THE AL BHED

Tidus awakes not far from Baaj Temple. The weather is stormy and the environment is sinister, menacing even. In the water, he’s attacked by creatures, notably an enormous fish that’s decided to have Tidus for lunch. The agile blitzball player manages to escape through a hole that leads him into a cave. Freezing and famished, he figures out how to light a fire and starts to fall asleep. Just then, he’s attacked by a fiend. Rikku intervenes at that precise moment and helps him defeat the creature. However, the Al Bhed accompanying her believe Tidus to be a fiend himself, disguised as a human, and they want to slay him. Rikku stops them, ordering them to bring Tidus along. They knock him out and take him to their ship.

Tidus awakes, completely disoriented: none of the Al Bhed speak his language, except for Rikku. She makes it clear to him that it’s in his best interest to help them with their mission, which is to recover the airship from the underwater ruins. Tidus agrees without complaint. Rikku and Tidus dive down to the remains of the machina city and figure out how to reactivate its energy.

The Al Bhed take possession of the airship. Once back aboard the ship, Tidus talks with Rikku, who explains to him that she belongs to the Al Bhed tribe. Tidus has no idea what she’s talking about, so Rikku asks him where he comes from. He tells her about his life in Zanarkand, but Rikku is baffled by this because, as far as she knows, Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago. She figures that Tidus’ mind must have been altered by his brush with Sin, whose toxins are known to affect the brain. Since he’s a blitzball player, she advises him to go to Luca, where he’ll surely be able to find people he knows. Their discussion is then suddenly cut short by an attack from Sin, which propels Tidus off the ship.

SPIRAN CUSTOMS

Yuna, accompanied by Lulu and Kimahri, has entered the Cloister of Trials at Besaid Temple. Meanwhile, Tidus regains consciousness in Besaid’s crystal-clear waters. A blitzball then strikes him on the head. The Besaid Aurochs are training on the beach under Wakka’s supervision. Delighted to finally come across something familiar, Tidus pulls off an acrobatic move that impresses the players. He then meets Wakka, who tells him of Zanarkand’s destruction a thousand years prior as it was taught by the Yevon church, with Sin being considered a punishment for human overreliance on machina and technology. Wakka then takes Tidus to the village of Besaid while recounting his career as a blitzball player. In light of Tidus’ demonstration of his technical prowess on the beach, Wakka asks him to join his team for the upcoming tournament. Tidus happily agrees. The positive and competitive Tidus tells Wakka that the mindset of the Aurochs—to just do their best—is not going to work; instead, they need to be in it to win it. Along the way, they meet Luzzu and Gatta, two Crusaders. Seeing that Tidus doesn’t understand this term either, Wakka takes pity on him for forgetting so many things because of Sin’s toxins and promises to help him. As they’re entering the village, Wakka shows Tidus the Yevon sign of prayer, which Tidus recognizes as the blitzball sign of victory in his world, but he smartly keeps this information to himself. Tidus continues to learn about this new world in Besaid, where he becomes familiar with the Crusaders and numerous aspects of Yevonite culture. In Besaid Temple, he comes face-to-face with a statue of Braska, and a monk explains to him the role of summoners and aeons. Later, Wakka informs Tidus that the apprentice summoner has not returned from the Cloister of Trials, where she’s been for an entire day. That’s all it takes for Tidus to rush off to the cloister, in spite of the objections from Wakka, who tells Tidus that he’s forbidden from entering. At the end of the Cloister of Trials, Tidus is joined by Wakka, who reveals that he is one of the guardians of the apprentice summoner and that it is very important to respect traditions.

THE MEETING

Tidus and Wakka arrive in the main room, where Lulu and Kimahri are already waiting. As tensions rise due to the untimely arrival of the two young men, Yuna emerges from the Chamber of the Fayth: she has succeeded. Outside the cloister, she performs a demonstration for the whole village by summoning the aeon Valefor. That evening, a great feast is held to celebrate the new summoner. Tidus and Yuna talk for the first time and they immediately hit it off. Wakka takes the opportunity to introduce Tidus to his team, the Aurochs. In the middle of the night, Tidus overhears a conversation between Wakka and Lulu, who calls out the resemblance between Tidus and Chappu. She fears that Wakka is looking for a surrogate for his brother, and she reminds him that Chappu cannot be replaced. When he returns to the tent, Wakka tells Tidus the story of Chappu. After a good night’s rest, Tidus meets up with Wakka, who gives him his late brother’s sword. Accompanied by Lulu, Yuna, and then Kimahri, they head to Besaid’s harbor. Along the way, Yuna takes one last look at the village, knowing that she’ll never return if she completes her pilgrimage. They finally climb aboard their ship, the S.S. Liki, and head to the island of Kilika.

THE SENDING

At sea, Tidus learns more about his travel companions, particularly about Yuna’s father. She also reveals to him that Braska traveled with a guardian named Jecht, which, of course, gets Tidus’ attention. The similarities lead them to believe that the guardian was indeed Tidus’ father. Sin then appears and attacks the ship, but the crew manages to fend him off. The monstrous creature ultimately changes targets and destroys a large portion of Kilika, taking the lives of numerous men, women, and children. The ship eventually lands and Yuna hurries to meet the survivors. She asks them for permission to carry out the Sending and they agree. Lulu then explains to Tidus that this ritual is used to send the souls of the dead to the Farplane. Souls that are not sent wander the world, feeding off of resentment and hatred until they eventually turn into monsters, called fiends. As Tidus watches with astonishment and the villagers cry, Yuna begins to dance over the caskets, from which pyreflies emerge. The spirits of the dead are thus laid to rest. Tidus then realizes the enormous burden borne by summoners.

KILIKA TEMPLE

The next morning, Wakka asks Tidus to accompany the Aurochs so that they can pray for their victory at Kilika Temple. When he sees Tidus’ skeptical look, Wakka explains that blitzball offers people relief, letting them forget their troubles and Sin as they watch the tournament. On the way to the temple, Yuna says that she wants Tidus to remain by her side throughout her journey, if possible as a guardian. When they arrive at the temple, a summoner named Dona exits the Cloister of Trials, accompanied by her lover and guardian, Barthello. She mocks Yuna for having so many guardians, telling her that she’s chosen quantity over quality. The group then enters the Cloister of Trials, except for Tidus, who is not yet officially a guardian. However, as a joke, Dona and Barthello force Tidus into the cloister. Once he reaches the Chamber of the Fayth, he is severely reprimanded by the other guardians. Yuna then emerges from the door, having obtained the power to summon the aeon Ifrit. The team boards the S.S. Winno and heads to Luca.

THE BLITZBALL TOURNAMENT

At night, Tidus finds a blitzball on the deck of the ship. Flooded with memories of his father, he tries to perform his father’s ultimate move, the Jecht Shot. Yuna recognizes the move, which Jecht had shown her ten years prior, and she strikes up a conversation with Tidus. He is unable to hide the anger he feels toward his father, and they talk about the difficulty of being the child of a famous person. The S.S. Winno arrives in Luca the next day. The city is immense and festive, nothing like the reserved atmosphere of the villages of Besaid and Kilika. Also, Luca uses technologies like video spheres. Other ships arrive in the harbor at the same time, carrying the other blitzball teams taking part in the tournament, as well as Grand Maester Mika, the Yevon leader, who has come to support the event on behalf of the church. He is cheered by the people and filmed by the many reporters present in the city. He is accompanied by Maester Seymour, whom he officially presents for the first time. At the same time, the Al Bhed Psyches, a blitzball team, contact Cid to inform him that his niece, Yuna, has arrived. While the Aurochs get ready in the locker room, Yuna comes to warn Tidus that some Luca residents supposedly spotted Auron in a bar. Even without further details, Tidus knows in his heart that it is indeed the same Auron who helped him in Zanarkand. Together, they head off to search for him. Along the way, Tidus teaches Yuna how to whistle so that they have a way to contact each other in case they get separated. Yuna also explains to Tidus that the reason why Spira’s villages are so often small is so that they don’t attract Sin. Luca is an exception, and the Crusaders do everything they can to protect the city and its stadium against attacks by the creature. When Yuna and Tidus arrive at the bar, they don’t find Auron. Kimahri, who’s joined them, is then accosted by two Ronso, Yenke and Biran, the latter being the one who broke Kimahri’s horn. Their attempts at intimidation aggravate Kimahri, who hits Yenke, but the fight is interrupted by the announcement that the tournament is starting. After listening to the speech by Grand Maester Mika, Tidus realizes that Yuna has disappeared. Lulu comes to meet them and announces that Yuna has been captured by the Al Bhed Psyches, who demand as ransom their victory over the Aurochs, who they will face in their first match. Wakka tells Lulu that he’ll take care of the match while she goes off to rescue Yuna with Tidus and Kimahri. They manage to infiltrate the Al Bhed ship and save Yuna. Tidus tells her about his misadventure with the Al Bhed and Rikku, and Yuna takes the opportunity to reveal to him that she is half-Al Bhed, and also Cid’s niece. Lulu begs Tidus to say nothing of Yuna’s origin to Wakka, as he is not at all fond of the Al Bhed. Lulu uses her magic to shoot a signal into the sky to let Wakka know that their rescue mission has succeeded. The Aurochs are tied with the Al Bhed Psyches. Wakka rallies his troops for a final play and manages to score a game-winning goal.

Injured from overexertion, Wakka decides to remain on the bench for the first part of the final match against the Luca Goers. Tidus takes his place. Wakka also announces to his team that this will be the last match of his career. The game begins and the Luca Goers lead one to zero at halftime. In the second half of the match, Tidus hears the cheers of the Aurochs’ fans, who are chanting Wakka’s name. Tidus decides to give Wakka his spot so that he can finish his career in style, no matter the outcome of the game.

Meanwhile, wanting to gain the people’s favor during his first public appearance, Seymour secretly orders one of his Guado servants to summon fiends after the final. Once the match ends, the city is attacked by all sorts of creatures. Just then, Auron decides to intervene and defeats a few of them, but Seymour carries out the rest of his plan by summoning the aeon Anima, which has a terrifying appearance and powers to match. Anima destroys the fiends in a matter of seconds. This tour de force is a success for Seymour, who is proclaimed the savior of Luca.

While Wakka keeps his word and says his goodbyes to the Besaid Aurochs, ready to become Yuna’s guardian full-time, Tidus and Auron talk at the harbor. Auron takes the opportunity to reveal that Jecht asked him to watch over Tidus in Zanarkand and to one day take him to Spira. Auron also tells Tidus that Jecht is still alive, in the form of Sin. Tidus can’t believe it; still, he quickly accepts that he has no choice but to follow Auron to learn more. They rejoin the group and Auron then offers to become one of Yuna’s guardians to keep the promise he made to Braska. However, he chooses not to reveal to the others anything about Jecht. Before they head to Djose Temple, Yuna and Tidus talk one-on-one: the young woman explains to him that her role as a summoner is to embody hope for Spira. To do that, she must always appear happy and optimistic, even when she’s down. She then asks Tidus to drive out his unhappy thoughts by trying to do the same and putting on a happy face. Tidus, unaware of the fate awaiting the summoners at the end of their pilgrimage, forces himself to laugh heartily and gets Yuna going with him. She then tells him that she hopes the journey will be filled with laughter. Tidus won’t understand the full weight of these words until much later.

ON THE ROAD TO DJOSE TEMPLE