Final Fantasy X
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Final Fantasy X (ファイナルファンタジーX Fainaru Fantajī X) is the tenth title of the Final Fantasy role-playing game series and the first installment of the series released on the PlayStation 2. It marks the transition to fully three-dimensional graphics instead of pre-rendered backdrops with the Sony PS2’s robust graphical capabilities. Final Fantasy X is also the first in the series to support voice acting, as well as the first to spawn a direct sequel, Final Fantasy X-2. Final Fantasy X was originally intended to feature online elements (which were dropped before completion), though it was never intended to be online-only. Final Fantasy X received the 2001 Interactive Achievement Awards for art direction, animation and console role-playing game of the year. Final Fantasy is one of the 20 Top selling Video Games of all time
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Gameplay
Battle system
Final Fantasy X features the Conditional Turn-Based Battle System designed by Toshiro Tsuchida, in place of the series' traditional Active Time Battle (ATB) system. This system places both characters and enemies in line to act, depends on specific status attributes, and allows the player time to choose which action to take. The game provides a graphical timeline along one side of the screen, allowing the player to quickly determine which characters and enemies are going next. Doing enough damage to an enemy on the finishing stroke provides an "Overkill" bonus, namely extra experience points, as well as doubling the gil (money) and increasing the incidence of rare items or doubling the amount of items dropped by the enemy.
Party switching
Final Fantasy X only allows the player to use three characters at once (as in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII), but the player is able to instantly rotate any conscious character for one of the other four, a similar system to that used in Breath of Fire IV. It started out as a measure of practicality: each character is relatively specialized; they are good at one or two things but poor at most others. Auron, for instance, does significant damage against large or heavily-armored foes, but often misses entirely when attacking agile or flying enemies (Tidus's and Wakka's specialties, respectively). Lulu is of little value unless the player faces an enemy with an elemental weakness, at which point her strength becomes very useful. Taking the wrong party into a high-stakes battle, such as a boss fight, could lead to almost instant death in previous Final Fantasy games; now, however, the player has the entire party at his or her fingertips, and are never penalized for having the wrong characters in battle. (This trading-out system was so practical that a similar one, the Garment Grid, was devised for Final Fantasy X-2.) It also makes leveling up significantly easier, since the player is no longer forced to fight every battle with the other four party members sitting on the sidelines and receiving no experience. On the other hand, each character must perform at least one action to qualify for experience, which can make battles against weaker enemies somewhat tedious.
Sphere Grid
Final Fantasy X's leveling system, the Sphere Grid, is also original. Instead of gaining the same status bonuses at every level, each character simply gains a "Sphere Level" after collecting enough AP (or Ability Points), which allows them take a single step on the game-board-like Sphere Grid, a predetermined grid of interconnected nodes that branch out from a central point. The grid consists of literally hundreds of nodes (somewhere around 800). Various spheres, found from defeating enemies, are allocated onto nodes -- those upon which a character is currently "standing" and any adjacent nodes -- to unlock various status bonuses and abilities. By functioning as a sort of mini-game, the Sphere Grid may thus become a rather fun diversion instead of a chore. However, some of the more powerful items necessary to fully empower the characters are nearly impossible to find without a strategy guide or a great deal of trial and error.
The Sphere Grid system also allows the characters to eventually deviate from their traditional classes, such as making the summoner Yuna a physical powerhouse and the swordsman Auron into a healer (though, since all portions adjoin to each other in a circular manner, all characters technically have a predetermined course). The International version of the game includes an optional "Expert" version of the Sphere Grid; in this version, all of the characters start in the middle and may follow whichever path the player chooses right from the start.
Overdrives
The character-specific special abilities known as Limit Breaks were renamed Overdrives. However, most of them are interactive, providing options of fighting game-style button inputs or feats of timing to increase damage. Furthermore, the game introduced Overdrive Modes, which allow the player to designate what actions--taking damage, casting healing or offensive spells, stealing items, attacking, or even simply taking a turn--causes the meter to fill. Filled meters could be reserved for future battles as in Final Fantasy VII. However, unlike Final Fantasy VII, a character is able to use normal physical attacks even if the meter is filled all the way.
Summoning
Summoning spells were revamped in Final Fantasy X. Instead of the desired creature appearing for a short time to deliver a burst of damage (Like in the previous Final Fantasys), summoned monsters, called Aeons, arrive to take the place of the party in battle. The player acquires five major aeons over the course of the game, and additional "bonus" or "hidden" aeons can be unlocked by completing various sub-quests. Aeons have their own stats, commands, special attacks, spells, and Overdrives, and can even be slain by the enemy. Besides offering the potential for heavy damage, they can also be employed to guard the party during battles against difficult bosses, as any damage received from the enemy while an aeon is present will be inflicted on the aeon instead of the party. Only Yuna can summon aeons, and although certain spheres and items can make them more powerful, the overall strength of a party's aeons is always tied to Yuna's current strength.
Story
The plot of Final Fantasy X centers primarily around Yevon, Spira's dominant religion. A centuries-old and immensely powerful organization, the Church of Yevon strictly forbids the use of any sort of advanced technology (or "machina"), with the effect that Spira is essentially devoid of computers, motorized vehicles, or automated weaponry or machinery. The Yevon clergy preaches that the destructive force known as Sin which periodically lays waste to Spira was in fact sent by Yevon to punish the people for their use of machina and for their hubris they developed with the advent of machinery. If the Spirans keep to the teachings of the church and continue to repent their transgression, however, Sin will eventually disappear and never return again.
Although the majority of Final Fantasy X's story takes place in the world of Spira, it begins in the teeming machina metropolis of Zanarkand, the home city of the main character, Tidus. When Zanarkand is suddenly attacked by the monstrous entity Sin, Tidus (along with his longtime mentor Auron) is sucked into Sin's vortex and emerges to find himself alone in the ruins of a deserted Spiran temple.
Tidus is picked up by a group of Al Bhed, members of an indigenous Spiran ethnic group ostracized by the Yevonites for their continued used of machina. They speak their own language, a substitution cipher of English which can be deciphered using Al Bhed primers scattered throughout the world. He meets the energetic young Al Bhed girl Rikku, who is the daughter of Cid, leader of the Al Bhed. Rikku speaks his language, and informs Tidus that Zanarkand was destroyed a millennium ago. Tidus is incredulous, and Rikku tells him since he was in contact with Sin he must be suffering the adverse effects of Sin's toxin. Tidus is brought aboard the Al Bhed ship, but after only a short time is swept out to sea in another attack from Sin.
This time, Tidus is washed up near the small town of Besaid, where he meets Wakka, apparently a blitzball player and captain of the local team (the Besaid Aurochs). Tidus shows Wakka and the Aurochs a powerful kick move he knew as a blitzball player. Wakka, impressed, takes Tidus with him to the town, where he is introduced to most of the rest of the playable cast through various levels of blundering explained away by Tidus's "amnesia". Yuna (of Bevelle, and daughter of High Summoner Braska) has just completed her initiation as a summoner of Yevon, one who is charged to defeat Sin. She sets out on her quest, along with guardians Wakka, Lulu (also of Besaid), and Kimahri Ronso (of the Ronso tribe). Later, the guardian Auron (the one who fought alongside Tidus in Zanarkand) joins the party, as does Rikku of the Al Bhed.
Tidus soon learns that the Zanarkand he is from was destroyed some thousand years in the past. Sin was forced into remission ten years ago, by a force comprising High Summoner Braska, the warrior Auron, and Jecht. Tidus wonders if the Auron he knows could possibly be the same in this new era, and if the man called Jecht could actually be his father, assumed dead at sea ten years before (from Tidus's perspective of time). Ultimately, the party must confront Sin, unravel the mysteries of its perpetual return, and figure out exactly how Tidus and his father Jecht fit into this mystery.
Many of the characters in the world of Final Fantasy X appear in the sequel hinted at in the intermission video Final Fantasy X: Eternal Calm. The sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, features an exclusively female party which includes Yuna, Rikku and a new character, Paine. Template:Endspoiler
Characters
Template:Main The playable characters in Final Fantasy X are Tidus, Yuna, Kimahri Ronso, Wakka, Lulu, Auron and Rikku. With one exception, human characters in the game do not have last names, although members of other races are often referred to by the name of their race as if it were a surname (Kimahri Ronso, Seymour Guado). Unlike other recent games in the series, Final Fantasy X does not contain any "secret" or "hidden" playable characters.
Other important (though non-playable) characters include Tidus's father Jecht, Yuna's father Braska, and Rikku's father Cid, the leader of the Al Bhed.
The primary antagonist aside from Sin is Seymour Guado. In addition, there is a vast supporting cast of named characters, as well as the myriad incidental characters that have traditionally populated the worlds of Final Fantasy.
Geography
Template:Main The world of Final Fantasy X is called Spira. It is composed of one continent and several islands. Life in Spira is simple, because the technological civilization was destroyed by an evil being known as Sin. Zanarkand is located on the north edge of Spira, but it was reduced to ruins by Sin 1,000 years before the events of Final Fantasy X. Bevelle is said to be the spiritual centre of Yevonite devotion. Despite this, it is still a large city. It is built on a series of layers, with the headquarters of Yevon at the top.
Final Fantasy X deviates from previous Final Fantasy games in its lack of a true overworld navigation system. All areas are physically contiguous and never exit out to an overworld map, with the exception of a few hidden areas. In addition their connections are mostly linear, providing for basically one path through the game. An airship becomes available later on in the game with a pseudo-overworld map, but in reality it is just a point and click interface that allows the player to choose an area to warp to. Boarding the airship is done "magically" from save points in the game and the airship will allow the players to disembark at some of those save points. The main point of this system is to allow the characters to quickly get from one end of the world to the other.
Musical score
Final Fantasy X is the first time Nobuo Uematsu has had any assistance in composing music for Final Fantasy games. His assistants for Final Fantasy X were Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano. The game was designed to convey an Okinawan mood, and several songs in the soundtrack reflect this theme. The game includes two songs with lyrics, one of which is the J-pop ballad Suteki Da Ne, which, like the ballads from Final Fantasy VIII and IX, has an in-game version together with an orchestrated version used as part of the ending theme. Both were sung by Japanese folk singer Nakano Ritsuki, later known as Rikki. Suteki Da Ne is sung in Japanese both in the Japanese and English versions of Final Fantasy X (and elsewhere, Korean version 'Uhl Ma Na Joh Eul Gga' sang by Korean pop singer Lee Soo Young). The song title Suteki Da Ne (素敵だね) translates to "Isn't it Wonderful?". The other song with lyrics is the heavy metal opening theme Otherworld. which is sung in English.
Cultural aspects
Many elements of Final Fantasy X are drawn from Japanese culture and folklore. The names of most of the main cast are drawn from either Okinawan or Ainu words ("Yuna" meaning "blossom" in the former and "Wakka" "water" in the latter). The world of Spira itself is very different from the mainly European-style worlds found in previous Final Fantasy games, being much more closely modeled on southeast Asia, most notably with respect to its vegetation, topography, and architecture. Final Fantasy X also borrows heavily from mythical beings of other cultures such as Arabian (aeon Ifrit), Hindu (aeon Shiva) and even modern archetypes like Carl Jung's Anima (aeon Anima)
Voice cast
English language version
- James Arnold Taylor — Tidus Template:Audio
- Hedy Burress — Yuna/Fayth (Anima)
- Matt McKenzie — Auron
- John DiMaggio — Wakka/Kimahri
- Paula Tiso — Lulu
- Tara Strong — Rikku
- Alex Fernandez — Maester Seymour Guado
- Gregg Berger — Jecht
- Cree Summer — Lady Belgemine/Young Tidus
Japanese language version
- Masakazu Morita — Tidus
- Mayuko Aoki — Yuna
- Hideo Ishikawa — Auron
- Kazuya Nakai — Wakka
- Rio Natsuki — Lulu
- Marika Matsumoto — Rikku
- Masuo Amada — Jecht
- Junichi Suwabe — Seymour Guado
- Kouichi Sakaguchi — Cid
Different versions and merchandise
An international version of the game was released in Japan as Final Fantasy X: International + Last Mission and in PAL territories under the name Final Fantasy X. It features such content not available in the North American release including battles with the dark versions of the game's Aeons, one airship fight with the superboss Penance, and added scenes. The Japanese release of Final Fantasy X: International + Last Mission includes a twelve minute video clip bridging the story of Final Fantasy X with that of its sequel, Final Fantasy X-2.
Additionally, the European release' includes a bonus DVD entitled Beyond Final Fantasy. The disc includes interviews with the designers of the game, including executive producer Hironobu Sakaguchi, producer Yoshinori Kitase, sound producer Nobuo Uematsu, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima, designer Tetsuya Nomura, and programmer Takashi Katano, and with two English language voice actors, James Arnold Taylor (Tidus) and Hedy Burress (Yuna). Also included are two Final Fantasy X trailers, the Tokyo Game Show and E3 previews for Kingdom Hearts, and the original theatrical trailer for Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. A gallery of Final Fantasy X artwork, including storyboards, image boards, and illustrations from Tetsuya Nomura and Yoshitaka Amano, and a music video of "Suteki Da Ne" as performed by Rikki round out the disc.
The game's success prompted Square Enix to release a sequel (Final Fantasy X-2), a two disc DVD machinima film of the game's story, numerous action figures, several versions of the game's soundtrack and several books, including The Art of Final Fantasy X and three Ultimania guides.
Ultimania series
The Final Fantasy X Ultimania Guides are a series of three artbooks published by Square Enix. It features original artwork from Final Fantasy X, expands upon various details of the game's storyline, and features interviews with many game designers. There are three books in the series: Final Fantasy X Scenario Ultimania, Final Fantasy X Ultimania Omega, and Final Fantasy X Battle Ultimania. A similar series of three books were produced for Final Fantasy X-2.
Final Fantasy X Battle Ultimania provides additional details regarding the history of the world Spira, including a broad timeline of Spiran history, including the creation of machina 3,000 years before the events of Final Fantasy X. Also mentioned is the Machina War which led to the creation of Sin 1,000 years before the events of the game, and time up to the eventual defeat of Sin at the end of the game.
Trivia
- On 2006 a calendar with "Water Basketball" a fictional sport that looks very similar to Blitzball, a minigame on Final Fantasy X was published in US and UK.
- Final Fantasy X sold 90% of its first total 2,140,000-unit shipment, adding up to 1,926,000 (nearly Final Fantasy IX's total Japanese sales), exceeding the performance in a comparable period of Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy VII. Final Fantasy X is one of the Top 20 selling video games of all times, with 6.6 million copies sold as of 2004
- Although Tidus is the lead character in the story, he is the only character whose name is never spoken by anyone in the entire game. This is because Final Fantasy X is the first game in the series to feature voice acting, but since the game follows the Final Fantasy tradition of allowing the player to name the lead anything he or she wishes, it was impossible to have his name included as part of the voice acting dialogue in the script. In this game and Final Fantasy X-2, the other characters refer to Tidus vocally as "him", "he", or "you". However, Wakka speaks Tidus's name (pronouncing it as "TEE-dus") in Kingdom Hearts.
- Tidus and Wakka make a cameo appearance in the game Kingdom Hearts while Rikku, Yuna and Auron appear in the game Kingdom Hearts II.
- Although both Valefor and Anima are generally thought to be male, they are both female.(See Mythology of Final Fantasy X for details)
- Both the summoner's duties and the overall design of Yuna's clothing are strongly reminiscent of the customs and dress of Shinto shrine maidens.
- The character of Auron, appears to have been modeled after the traditional Japanese warrior, as is evidenced by many elements of both his personality (his strong sense of duty and honor) and appearance (his custom of carrying his arm inside his coat, the jug of liquor hung at his belt).
- The game includes it's own cryptography encryption codes, including an entire substitution cipher designed to sound like a real language (Al Bhed Language)
- James Arnold Taylor, the voice actor for Tidus in the US version mentions that Tidus goes throught stages during the game, and so does his voice ,i.e., the narration is a more mature, older Tidus as opposed to the Tidus of when the game starts, who has a higher pitched, younger, immature voice Template:Audio
See also
- Mythology of Final Fantasy X (pyreflies, magic, Fayth, Aeons, spheres, Yevon, etc..)
- Spira (Final Fantasy X) (geography and history)
External links
- Final Fantasy Wiki category list for Final Fantasy X
- Official Final Fantasy X website
- Final Fantasy: Worlds Apart – Final Fantasy X complete script
- GAMEFAQ page for Final Fantasy X (walktrough, bestiary, scripts, etc..)
- IMDB page for Fainaru fantajî X (cast, voice actors , directors, production company, etc..)
Template:Final Fantasy serieses:Final Fantasy X fr:Final Fantasy X it:Final Fantasy X ja:ファイナルファンタジーX th:ไฟนอลแฟนตาซี X pt:Final Fantasy X sv:Final Fantasy X
