On July 19, 2001, Final Fantasy X arrived on store shelves for the first time, one of the chapters of the series that would make it to the podium of the most beloved Final Fantasy of all time. The tenth final fantasy made both Eastern and Western audiences fall in love, thanks to a finely crafted combat system and a story that touches on themes that were not taken for granted at the time, like religion and sacrifice for the greater good. On the occasion of the anniversary of Final Fantasy X we are going to find out again what made the story of Tidus and Yuna unforgettable.
Final Fantasy X: the anniversary of Square Enix's most ambitious game
Final Fantasy X is, in many ways, one of the most ambitious video games ever developed by Square Enix. The game was the first Final Fantasy to come out on PlayStation 2, and the developers wanted to create a product with all the technical improvements that the new hardware could offer. For this FFX cost the software house the beauty of four billion yen; an enormous productive effort which was not immediately repaid by an enthusiastic welcome.
Although at the time the traits of excellence of the game were recognized, the tenth chapter often complained of being too in line with the tradition of the saga, with turn-based combat and a linear storyline to say the least. On the other hand, at that time the industry was starting to move towards action and open worlds.
But it is also in this that he recognizes himself the creative spirit that lies at the foundations of Final Fantasy X. In the fashion of the moment, the developers of Square Enix preferred to tell a story, their story, and to do so they decided to evolve the turn-based combat system typical of the saga, rather than invent a new one. It is no coincidence that, with hindsight, the FFX combat system is counted among the most satisfying of the saga.
What made the fans of the time fall in love, however, was the narrative plot, which tells the story of Tidus and Yuna touching rather unusual themes for a JRPG of the time. Final Fantasy X talks about the weight of having unattainable parental figures, talks about religion and fanaticism, talks about politics and revenge, but above all the game talks about the relationship that men have with death, always present in different forms in the world of Spira.
Yuna's journey
Much of Final Fantasy X's storyline is based on the journey of And one as the supreme summoner. The protagonist of the game in fact has a heavy duty on her shoulders: complete a pilgrimage to the continent of Speyer, obtain the powers of the Aeons and, through them, defeat Sin, a gigantic immortal monster that cyclically brings death and destruction around the world.
We players experience the journey through the eyes of Tidus, a Blitzball player (a sport similar to football but played underwater), mysteriously projected 1000 years into the future by Sin, up to the time in which the events of the game take place. Tidus is originally from Zanarkand, a legendary city where even Yuna must go to obtain the necessary power to fulfill his duty. From this incipit begins their journey together with the guardians of the summoner: Kimahri, Wakka, Lulu, Auron and, subsequently, Rikku.
Yevon's church teaches that only when humanity has atoned for its sins Without it will disappear forever, but that is not exactly the case. In fact, with the progress of the plot we will break up the whole religious organization è corrupt and drunk with power.
As soon as you look slightly beyond the colorful curtain full of visual effects of Final Fantasy X it becomes immediately evident how the game is in the first instance a real social criticism against all kinds of fundamentalism, especially in the religious, but also political sphere. Thanks to Tidus' complete ignorance of the world around him, the first part of the plot is all about the "unspoken", a terrible secret inherent in the nature of the invokers who periodically reject Sin.
Il Yuna's pilgrimage will cost her her life, while the clergy is nothing more than a corrupt system, which has no qualms about portraying any form of technological innovation as heretical in order to maintain its leadership position. The leaders who preach the importance of the sacrifice of the summoners to keep Sin at bay are also aware that it is not possible to permanently kill the monster in this way, making it a mere dog on a leash to maintain its power.
Rebellion and sacrifice
Many things have been said about the history of Final Fantasy X in the past and made several more or less in-depth examinations, but what Yuna's journey tells us is basically a story of rebellion and sacrifice. The first rebellion of the group occurs when Tidus realizes that the journey of the summoner is nothing more than a long pilgrimage to death., which leads the whole company to discover how corrupt and dramatically useless is the modus operandi of the church.
This part of the game culminates in the kiss between Tidus and Yuna, which takes place after the latter's definitive crisis of faith. Although the church is behind us, however, However, Sin must be defeated once and for all and with their kiss, Tidus reminds Yuna that, despite everything, there are things that are still worth living for. It is no coincidence that their own names are contractions of the terms "sun" and "moon" in the Okinawan dialect.
The second rebellion is that against the gods of Speyer, which occurs when the group decides to fight against Yunalesca, the first supreme summoner has now become a being transcendent of human nature. The woman reveals to our heroes that in order to defeat Sin not only Yuna will have to lose her life, but also her most trusted guardian, who will become the Supreme Aeon able to give peace, temporarily, to the monster. Before becoming one in turn in a cruel endless cycle.
This is where Yuna and Tidus' journey becomes a veritable crusade to destroy this whole process at its root, killing Sin once and for all and Yunalesca before him. Yet another sacrifice, after all, would only have granted a brief period of peace and little more, and to free humanity from the vicious circle of death in which it has been stuck for centuries, something more is needed. And perhaps an even greater sacrifice for Yuna, as we'll find out just before the credits roll.
Final Fantasy X and its anniversary twenty years later
After all that has been told so far, it will be clear to you that Final Fantasy X, in its own way, was fairly revolutionary when it came out, both from a technical and a narrative point of view. It can be said that the gaming world was not ready for the arrival of this product, also given the unenthusiastic reviews of the time.
In fact, FFX uses its initially linear structure to tell a story that has all the characteristics of the epic, a narrative that would perhaps have been impossible by opting for a more open world structure right away. In any case, it is not surprising that in the land of the Rising Sun and beyond, today it is among the most loved Final Fantasy.
Read also: Persona celebrates its 25th anniversary: seven new Offer projects are on the way
Final Fantasy X/X2 HD Remaster – Nintendo Switch
- Game genre: RPG
- Graphics updated and rebuilt to be realistic and rich in texture
- Music: Players will be able to choose between the original and the remastered ones
