Editor
Yuna's very sad because she has no future or something. Presumably she's going to get sacrificed to kill Sin and she just hasn't told Tidus yet because JRPG. Or something, I dunno, maybe she's just dumb. Tidus says everything will be fine once she beats Sin, but she's like "uhhhhh he always comes back". And Tidus is like "so just beat him again!", so he abandoned that "everything will be fine after you beat Sin" train of thought AMAZINGLY QUICKLY. Yuna says she can't beat Sin twice. MORE EVIDENCE FOR MY THEORY. I guess. Tidus wonders how she'll defeat something as big as Sin. Umm, I dunno, maybe she'll USE HER FUCKING AEONS? Idiot.
Yuna is much nicer than I am and just explains that this entire pilgrimage is so she can get the Final Aeon in the ruins of Zanarkand, at the world's edge. ...Wait, I can explain this better. She needs to collect the 8 Spira League Pokemon Badges so she can travel to the Unknown Dungeon and capture Mewtwo.
Okay, stayin' the night. In the morning, we hear a scream! oh noes, those chocobos.
BOSS FIGHT:
CHOCOBO EATER
welp
you can knock this guy into a lake, but I just kicked its ass with a mix of fire magic, Auron, and Ifrit.
i haz a chocobo (why isn't this the game's normal movement speed)
Up ahead, a blockade! The Crusaders are transporting in Sinspawn as a trap to catch Sin. I suspect it will turn out that Sin was Old Man Fargusson in a rubber mask all along. In either case, we can't pass, and neither can Dona, so it serves her right, at least. Probably serves us right as well.
o hi there seymour
Seymour totally opens the path for Yuna. He really has that sort of "powerful douchebag as a romantic rival" vibe going on. And of course, Tidus overreacts to it, getting pissed at Seymour for doing them a ****in' favor. Friends Fantasy X? Final Friends X? Something like that. I'm saying this is a sitcom, but with stats.
Up ahead... Wakka is very unhappy because this is a joint Crusader/Al Bhed operation. Yes yes, your only remaining character trait is very special. can you, like, go back to talking about blitzball all the time. that was the best.
Seymour recognizes Auron! Seymour's like "tell me a storrrry" and Auron's like "fuck off". It's great.
Yuna: Your Grace!
Seymour: Please, there's no need for formalities!
"There is also no need for clothes. I suggest we discard ours."
Wakka asks Seymour about the whole Al Bhed situation.
Wakka: This is against the teachings of Yevon. Shouldn't you stop them?
Seymour: Yes I should.
Wakka: ...
Seymour: ...
Wakka: ...So, are you going to-
Seymour: No I'm not.
That's pretty much the whole of it. Seymour says that both parties have the best interests of Spira at heart.
This next piece of dialogue went down almost exactly as written, though:
Wakka: Using machina is against the teachings of Yevon!
Seymour: Then, pretend you didn't see it.
[everyone gasps]
Wakka: Beg your pardon, but that's not something a Maester should say!
Seymour: Then, pretend I didn't say it.
Seymour is now the best character in the game. This is not debatable. Right now we're looking at:
1. Seymour
2. Lulu
3. Wakka
4. Datto?
5. Letty?
Speaking of which, blitzball break! TOURNAMENT MODE GO
VS.
THE RONSO FANGS
Their forwards are basically unstoppable. 23 EN what is this. That enough EN to survive tackles from my entire team.
On the bright side, it seems like, in tournament mode, THE GAME DOESN'T BLATANTLY CHEAT. Hooooly crap. The other bright side is that the Fangs are all offense, no defense. But their offense sucks too, because one of their forwards (or maybe their midfielder) only has like 6 SH. Even Keepa can block that!
So yeah, I won 1-5. I'm frankly disappointed that I couldn't shut them out. Tidus scored 4 of my goals, with Datto scoring one.
VS.
THE GUADO GLORIES
Tough match. My only real advantage was that they were all level 1 or 2. Still, this was tough. Their players tended to have 12-16 PA and SH, so blocking them was not really an option. I had to mix up playing hard offense and hard defense to eke out a win. Think I won 2-3 or some such.
VS.
THE AL BHED PSYCHES
pffffffffffahahahaha okay yeah this is not winnable. goalie with 18 block, what the christ
Okay back to the plot. We're still heading to the command center. And then we make it there! yay. Maester Kinoc is waiting for us.
Kinoc: This plan won't work, you know that. We'll just let them dream a little longer.
So, you're putting the lives of dozens if not hundreds of people at serious risk and pissing off a city-destroying abomination so that a few people can briefly believe they're not completely ineffectual before inevitably having their hopes completely dashed?
Kinoc has been on-screen for ten seconds and he's already a huge dick.
Kinoc asks what Auron's been doing the last ten years. Auron says he was fulfilling a promise to a friend, and still is. Kinoc asks if he's seen Zanarkand. Ah, but which one does he mean? We don't hear the answer, so I dunno.
After speaking with the entire group and confirming that we're ready, the operation proper begins. ...And a giant centipede monster just randomly falls from the sky. Well isn't that just great.
BOSS FIGHT:
After the last few easy-ass bosses, we're finally back to bosses that are challenging! Admittedly, I think I'm underleveled. Lulu doesn't even have Fire2 yet. Anyway. The boss has four components. A head with 4000 HP, a body with 8000 HP, and two arms with 800 HP each. The arms block attacks aimed at the body and regenerate several turns after being killed. The head will periodically "move suspiciously", which means it'll use a very nasty poison attack next turn unless you hit it with a magic spell. The arms can also hit your characters for ~500 damage, and the body can cast Thunder and Demi, the latter of which hits your entire party.
It's tough, but doable. I defaulted to Auron/Lulu/Yuna. Auron killed the arms (sometimes in one shot, sometimes in two, due to damage variance) and took potshots at the body when possible. Lulu chipped away at the head. Yuna spammed Cure and occasionally used NulShock to buy some extra time for healing. I also summoned Valefor at one point; he got killed pretty quickly, but not before dropping an Energy Ray on the boss. This took out the head and made the boss much, much easier. Eventually it went down. Cutscene time.
AT Field confirmed! Blood pattern: blue! Sin's an angel!
...And then everyone died instantly/horribly. Except for Rei, who was busy charging the Positron Rifle. Fight ends in a double KO, with Sin getting vaporized and the Rifletower getting blown the hell up. Oh hey, the boss is still alive too. Well, it's good to know that, as incompetent as all the NPCs were, our party was even worse. Luckily Seymour was nearby to hold Sinspawn off while the party regained consciousness. Note that he wasn't using magic, he was just holding it in place with his bare hands. Maester Seymour, motherfuckers. Who wants some.
BOSS FIGHT:
SINSPAWN GUI
WE GET TO CONTROL MAESTER ****ING SEYMOUR HOLY CRAP (and Auron, and Yuna, but they don't matter). Time to get shit done. Seymour one-shots Gui's head with Fira turn one, and proceeds to completely ignore its arms and just blast it to hell and a half with Fira. Fuck yeah, Seymour.
Tidus wakes up on the beach surrounded by dead red shirts. Gatta aka Mauve Shirt survived, but he's understandably pissed. Sin begins to retreat... wait, I thought it was fucking vaporized? How the hell is it still alive? Ah well. Tidus recalls that Sin = Jecht and starts chasing after it, which works about as well as you might expect.
Yuna says she'll summon an aeon to stop it, but Seymour's like "ahahahahaha. oh wait, you were serious. let me laugh even harder..." I do want to know the name of the music that plays during this scene though, because it's awesome. In fact, the music has probably been the best part of this game so far. That or the battle system. I really have no complaints at all about either of them, which is why I've been bitching about the story/characters so much. Gotta mock something.
Meanwhile, Tidus is... hallucinating, or something. A bunch of transparent people are walking around a weird place. Then Formerly Transparent Kid shows up, except this time he's the only one NOT transparent. He kicks a blitzball at the screen, triggering a flashback of Tidus' childhood. Tidus and Jecht are arguing. I love how Young!Tidus' voice actor sounds about 70 years older than regular Tidus. Quality work, there. Jecht was an alcoholic, apparently. Hands up if you're surprised. Very interesting flashback. Not as interesting as Tidus' "YUNA DANCES WHEN PEOPLE DIE WHEN WILL SHE STOP DANCING???" internal monologue though.
Auron finds Tidus and tells him that many stories ended today, but that Tidus' story goes on.
Lulu: You were in contact with Sin again. The toxin -- are you okay?
"S-stupid Tidus! I'm n-not asking because I l-like you or anything! J-just, if you were hurt, you'd be even worse in battle! S-so there!" [/spoiler]
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
You would think that, but no. Not by a long shot >_>
VS.
THE GUADO GLORIES
Tough match. My only real advantage was that they were all level 1 or 2. Still, this was tough. Their players tended to have 12-16 PA and SH, so blocking them was not really an option. I had to mix up playing hard offense and hard defense to eke out a win. Think I won 2-3 or some such.
The real issue here is that the Guado are fast. Over-all the Guado have the second highest speed in the game (Another character you'll meet later in the game has the highest speed in the game, with an average Shooting)
VS.
THE AL BHED PSYCHES
pffffffffffahahahaha okay yeah this is not winnable. goalie with 18 block, what the christ
Yeah, hence why you need a close range Jecht Shot or just doing exhibiation match over and over until they fire their own team mates and hire other members >_>
It's tough, but doable. I defaulted to Auron/Lulu/Yuna. Auron killed the arms (sometimes in one shot, sometimes in two, due to damage variance) and took potshots at the body when possible. Lulu chipped away at the head.
A better start off with that boss is Wakka/Lulu/Yuna. Kill off the head, then switch for Auron/Lulu/Yuna.
I also summoned Valefor at one point; he got killed pretty quickly, but not before dropping an Energy Ray on the boss.
Pro tip: Do this often. It's the easiest way to defeat some bosses. [/spoiler]
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Editor
[Spoiler for Final Fantasy X, click to show]So, moving onward. Auron calls out Kinoc because "those who turned from Yevon died while the faithful live on". .......See, again, I am in disbelief at how much of a dick everyone in this game is. He seriously allowed this operation to go on because he knew Sin would smoke everyone? God.
save_us.seymour. Seymour asks Yuna if she'll accept him as her biller of strength (or something like that), just as Yunalesca had Lord Zaon. what the fuck. what are you even talking about.
Auron says that Sin showed up to see Tidus, because Jecht wants Tidus to kill him. Tidus asks how Auron knows all this, to which Auron just laughs and walks away. Mystery solved.
holy **** kimahri can talk. I mean Lulu has pretty much said as much in the past but this is still surprising! Well, for Tidus, it is, because he's just so dumb.
We're moving onward, and after fighting a few battles, Tidus and Auron both learn the Overdrive Mode "Warrior"! ...whatever that means!
Okay, we finally make it to the Djose Temple path. Tidus wonders how much longer until Zanarkand. Yuna and Lulu explain that they still have to go to the Djose Temple, then the Guado city of Guadosalam, then cross the Thunder Plains to Macalania, then they have to go back to Besaid and do it all over again without continuing before they can get the true ending.
Everyone else moves on ahead, but Auron stops Tidus and says "don't tell Yuna about Jecht" because she might distance herself from him or some such. Hey good job telling me not to do that like a week late. What if I had already done it? Idiot. Tidus wonders if HE had to know; Auron says it's better than him finding out in a critical moment and getting emotional. Auron says that he's heard Tidus is "quite the crybaby".
>keep implying that Tidus is a crybaby
>never have him display any emotion other than "obnoxious douche"
fry_looking_squint.jpg
Up ahead, we find Lucil, the other redshirt captain chick. She says that they may have survived, but their troops were decimated (reduced by 1/10th). She also says that this was their just reward for turning their backs on Yevon.
...ya know, here's what I don't get.
So, people 1000 years ago were getting too clingy with machina and overusing it, so Sin showed up and went "lol no" and blew them all up.
So they started following the teachings of Yevon and foregoing machina in order to repent.
Except now they decided, "hey, we really don't like Sin very much.
I know.
why don't we use some machina in order to kill it."
.......And then it didn't work, and so they're like, "oh no, yevon is punishing us for using machina."
....................What the fuck? It's not Yevon! It's fucking Sin! It showed up to wipe out a machina-based culture! OF COURSE machina didn't fucking stop it!
The temple's up ahead. Seems like it's lightning themed.
Inside the temple, we find a summoner named Isaaru. He says that he looked up to Lord Braska, and that's why he became a summoner. He suggests that he and Yuna race to see who can defeat Sin first.
:O
I've finally found a rival! I assume his first aeon will evolve one of three ways depending on whether I win my first match with him and whether I challenge him to the optional second match.
As we try to enter the Cloister of Trials, Isaaru stops Tidus. His guardian Maroda tells Tidus about a rumor that summoners going out on pilgrimages have been disappearing lately without a trace. Well gee I wonder if it has to do with the fact that WE LIVE IN A WORLD WITH A GIANT CITY-DESTROYING WHALE MONSTROSITY ON THE LOOSE. But thanks. idiot.
Oh hey a Cloister of Trials that makes sense. Yay. Yuna heads into the place to do the thing, but then Dona shows up. She insults us some more, but her guardian, Barthello, recognizes Auron (pronounced "awr-ahn") and asks to shake his hand. Auron is the reason he became a summoner! Ha. Dona hangs her head in embarrassment.
Eventually, Yuna emerges, and Dona immediately starts hassling her, saying she owes much to her incredibly famous father, has the world's best guardian at her beck and call, has one of the world's leaders infatuated with her... Really, Dona just goes "ur a mary sue" and says her guardians won't be able to save her when the time comes. MORE EVIDENCE FOR MY THEORY!
Gotcha! IXION was caught!
Give a nickname to IXION?
After a night's rest, we're back outside, and waiting for Yuna to show up so we can continue.
Lulu: No matter how dark the night, morning always comes... And our journey begins anew.
Sin: But I am beloved by the night. You will taste my powers.
Tidus: We'll kill you AND THE NIGHT!!
Tidus heads into the temple to wake Yuna up because she's so lazy. Man, harnessing the powers of magical demigods all day, performing sendings for the dead all night... When are you going to focus on your schoolwork, Yuna.
That said, stop apologizing, Colette.
Backtracking the way we came, there's a short scene with Lucil, which is only notable because of the angle it's shot from and the fact that Lucil doesn't wear any pants.
The next area is called the Moonflow for whatever reason.
Moving on, into the next area... Shelinda is quickly becoming my least favorite character in the game. Also, we run into those two Ronso idiots again; they hassle Kimahri some more and say that whatever has been causing summoners to disappear will get Yuna next.
Incidentally, random comments:
-I love Lulu's win pose. You know why.
-Lulu learned Fira! Finally! (The best part of this is that, sometimes, when casting it, she'll say "Need a light?" Firebat Lulu, ready for battle!)
-Ixion is an awesome summon.
-Ochus have entirely too much HP for random encounters.
Movin' on... awww yeah, Moonflow Gym!
VS.
LEADER BELGEMINE
Belgemine: Go, Ixion!
Yuna: Grand Summon - VALEFOR! Show 'em what you've got!
Belgemine: The Valefor, again?
Yuna: Hmph. Valefor, use Energy Ray!
Valefor: FORRRRRRRRRRR!
[~3500 damage]
Belgemine: A bold move... but a foolish one! Ixion, use Agility!
Yuna: What?!
Belgemine: Ixion, use Aerospark! Now use Aerospark again! Now use Horn Attack! Now use Horn Attack again! Another Horn Attack, Ixion!
Yuna: Return, Valefor! ...Good job, you did what was needed. Now, I choose you, Ifrit!
Ifrit: 'Frit.
[Ifrit glares at Ixion]
Belgemine: You've got one chance, Yuna.
Yuna: One chance is all I need! Go Ifrit, use Hellfire!
Belgemine: WHAT?!
Ifrit: If... RIIIIIIIIIT!
[~3500 damage]
Yuna got the Dragon Scale Badge!
Yuna got TM34 - Summoner's Soul!
Up ahead is, at long last, the Moonflow proper. It's like, a marsh, with a bunch of fireflies. Lulu says that, at night, it looks like a sea of stars, or some such.
Tidus: ...Hey, I've got a great idea!
Auron: We're not waiting til nightfall.
XD
Tidus says they'll have to come back after they beat Sin. Cue everyone sort of glancing at everyone else nervously. There is something going on here and I hate when the main character is locked out of the loop for dumb reasons. Hate it, hate it, hate it. Wakka says that we need to hurry or we'll miss the shoopuf. Shoopuf? Now you're just screwing with me.
Oh hey there. That is certainly a shoopuf all right. Auron tells an hilarious story about how one day Jecht was super drunk and attacked ze shoopuf, and they had to give up all their money as an apology. Ahahaha. That wacky Jecht!
Driver: Ride ze shoopuf?
RIDE ZE SHOOPUF!
Along the way, Wakka points out a sunken machina city from a thousand years ago. He asks why anyone would build a city over a river.
Tidus: For the easy access to food and water, as a prime location for trade, and for the ease of travel?
Wakka: No, you're wrong. It was hubris.
Tidus: "oh".
Eventually Tidus is like, "okay, you know what, you're full of shit. We use machina all the time. Have you BEEN to Luca?" But then Wakka's like, "no, only certain kinds of machina are banned by Yevon." And Tidus is like, "which kinds are those?" So Wakka says, "oh, very specific kinds. obviously."
siiiiigh
Lulu and Wakka explain how machina was overused and used as weapons of war and blah blah blah and then Sin showed up. Tidus isn't buying it. Lulu understands; she says that machina are only as bad as their users. At which point, Wakka insults the Al Bhed, causing an Al Bhed so show up and kidnap Yuna, and drag her underwater and stick her in a machine.
I wish I was joking.
BOSS FIGHT:
EXTRACTOR
easiest boss ever, even limited to Tidus and Wakka. Just attack it until it dies, it can't do a goddamn thing.
We rescue Yuna. yay. Wakka hates the Al Bhed even more now.
Wakka: Those sand-blasted grease monkeys!
Finally on the other shore! Movin' right along towards Guadosalam. There's a dead body on the ground. Oh wait, she's not dead. hi there, rikku
Oh, how sad. It turns out it was Rikku in that machine that attacked us. She says it's not what we think... but before she can explain, the rest of the party, minus Auron and Kimahri, shows up. Tidus introduces Rikku.
Tidus: She's an Al Bhe-... beh...
...
smooth move, tidus
And yet, somehow, Wakka doesn't catch on! i am surrounded by idiots. Lulu, Yuna, and Rikku say they need to talk alone. Eventually Yuna tells Auron that she wants Rikku to be her guardian. Huh? I don't get what's going on at all. I guess they know each other or something? Auron notes Rikku's eyes - either revealing that she's an Al Bhed or... something else that has spirally eyes, I guess? - but doesn't really care if she joins us or not. So it's decided!
I like how everyone's all impressed with Rikku even though her special ability is that she can use two items at the same time. Rikku also knows how to customize equipment, which is nice I guess.
After a bit of training for Rikku which is harder than it needed to be because she only starts with 300 HP... we head into Guadosalam. A guado man approaches us and says that Seymour has requested our presence at Seymour Manor. After exploring the town a bit, we head there. The party is suspicious of his intentions, but eh. I think Seymour's a stand-up guy.
Random character-related notes:
-Apparently Seymour is half-guado, half-human.
-Lulu seems to be warming up to Tidus. She's even changed her position about him being from Zanarkand from "no effing way" to "ehhhh maybe".
-Tidus thinks Auron has something against Yevon.
-Rikku and Yuffie are the same character. Prove me wrong.
Eventually, Seymour shows up and
Seymour says that "she" lived here. Lady Yunalesca, the first summoner to defeat Sin. Yuna inherited her name. But Yunalesca didn't do it alone, says Seymour. Defeating Sin required a bond of love. We see a knight in shining armor show up to see Yunalesca; presumably this is the Lord Zaon Seymour mentioned a while back.
Seymour then says something to Yuna but we don't hear it. Then Yuna wanders off and downs a glass of water. Rikku comments on her blushing up a storm. Bwahahaha! Seymour asked Yuna to marry him! C'mon, Seymour, you can do better. 4s marry 4s, 9s marry 9s; there's some wiggle-room but you're dating at least 3 numbers down.
Auron asks Seymour if he's aware of what Yuna must do. MORE EVIDENCE FOR MY THEORY.
Seymour says that Yuna must be a leader to all the people of Spira, and that's why he's proposing to her. Auron says that this isn't a play, and that amusing the audience changes nothing.
Seymour: Even so, the actors must play their roles.
owned auron owned
Auron goes to leave, but he's stopped when Seymour asks him why he's still here. "We Guado are keen to the scent of the Farplane." what the heck could that mean? i wonder. Tidus goes over and starts sniffing Auron, to which Auron reacts exactly as you might expect: by grabbing Tidus, tossing him to the side, and walking away.
Seymour says he'll await Yuna's favorable reply. Then we leave.
Yuna: If my getting married would help Spira... if it would make people happy... If I could do that for people... maybe I should do what I can.
...So wait. Are they really trying to go the route of "Yuna's major character flaw is that she's too good"? God.
Yuna says she needs to go to the Farplane and ask her father for guidance. Auron's staying behind. So is Rikku, who explains that the pyreflies just react to nearby people and produce an illusion of memories of their deceased loved ones. If I hadn't talked to Maechen earlier and learned that that's the Al Bhed, scientific explanation, I'd be totally lost right now!
Oh hey, the Farplane looks awesome. Wish we could explore a place that looks that cool, instead of dirt road after dirt road. Wakka talks to Chappu while Lulu observes from a distance. Yuna talks to her parents. Tidus approaches, and Yuna says she's decided... but doesn't say WHAT she's decided! Augh. Yuna tells Tidus to call out to Jecht, but that he won't come. Which, of course, she's right about. She thinks this means he must still be alive; we, of course, know that he didn't come because he's Sin. Talking about how much he hates Jecht made Tidus think of his mom, who then appears!
Tidus: Hold up a sec, I smell a plot hole. Nobody ever performed a sending for my mom.
Yuna: She must have accepted death while she was still alive. That also works. Totally not a plot hole!
Tidus: Oh right, after Jecht died, she just gave up living, which is ACTUALLY why I hate Jecht so much, not because he was a complete and total asshole. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.
As we leave the Farplane, Lord Jyscal tries to follow us out. wtf. The party tells Yuna to perform a sending on him. Also, as soon as he appeared, Auron dropped to his knees, and as soon as he was sent, Auron was fine. SUSPICIOUS. As we walk back towards Guadosalam, the party considers how this was possible. Eventually we reach the conclusion that he must have stayed behind after being sent due to a strong emotion or some such. I was given a chance to interject with my own theory but I didn't act fast enough and the conversation continued without me. Happens in real life all the time!
Yuna returns to Seymour Manor to give her answer, while Tidus hangs around and bugs Lulu about the whole situation. blah blah blah tidus thinks yuna should only marry for love, lulu would prefer if she married for love but would object if she said she was actually going to (MORE EVIDENCE FOR MY THEORY), very interesting.
Lulu: I shouldn't have to say this, but don't fall in love with her.
Okay.
Too late.
>You're more my type, Lulu.
Though it's really more like, "you're the only not-awful character of a compatible sexual preference in the entire game, Lulu!"
Lulu: Interesting. I suppose I could add you to my list.
...what. AWESOME. Yuna/Tidus averted, thank god, that would have been a disaster.
So I'm just sort of wandering around, waiting for the game to let me continue, when I run into Shelinda. She says that Seymour left Guadosalam for Macalania a while ago. Oh god. That's terrible. We spent like an hour on this stupid subplot only for it to be a damn imposter.
........or not? I guess Seymour just fuckin' left and Yuna hasn't noticed yet or something? God. An imposter would have been preferable. Auron thinks Yuna is worried about something, but she won't say what.
On to the Thunder Plains! Rikku is very unhappy about this.
Rikku: I think I forgot something in Guadosalam!
Auron: Nice knowing you.
Rikku: Okay, okay, I'll go.
...I love how it gives an explanation for how to dodge lightning, says "Good luck!", and then incredibly cheery music starts playing.
Incidentally, one of my favorite Why Did They Lose? answers was for Sonic the Hedgehog vs. Lightning (FFXIII). The answer? "Lightning lost because... Sonic dodged her 200 times."
We eventually make it to a rest stop. The random encounters are worse than the lightning, I swear! Rikku really wants to stop and rest, but the rest of the party just walks away while she's talking. Very funny. Was very funny when they did the same exact gag with Yuffie, too.
Eventually she does convince them to stop for a while... at which point Yuna says she's tired. WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT BACK WHEN RIKKU WAS BEGGING TO STOP AND YOU WERE HEADING ONWARD WITH THE OTHERS. God. Yuna is a dick.
---
The real issue here is that the Guado are fast. Over-all the Guado have the second highest speed in the game (Another character you'll meet later in the game has the highest speed in the game, with an average Shooting)
Yeah that's the other thing that made the match with the Ronso much easier. I could just outrun them. It was hilarious. The Guado were much more annoying about that. <_< [/spoiler]
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
You can set how your characters gain overdrive, you have to perform a certain number of things though. By default, you only gain over drive by being attacked and hit, but there are other ways of doing it, like Warrior.
Warrior makes it so you gain Overdrive when you damage enemies, I believe.
There's tons of them. Deal damage, take damage, inflict status', get inflicted by status', etc.
Warrior over-all is the fastest for general gameplay.
...ya know, here's what I don't get.
So, people 1000 years ago were getting too clingy with machina and overusing it, so Sin showed up and went "lol no" and blew them all up.
So they started following the teachings of Yevon and foregoing machina in order to repent.
Except now they decided, "hey, we really don't like Sin very much.
I know.
why don't we use some machina in order to kill it."
.......And then it didn't work, and so they're like, "oh no, yevon is punishing us for using machina."
....................What the fuck? It's not Yevon! It's fucking Sin! It showed up to wipe out a machina-based culture! OF COURSE machina didn't fucking stop it!
It's confusing, but it's explained later on in full detail, THAT'S when it makes sense.
Yuna got the Dragon Scale Badge!
Yuna got TM34 - Summoner's Soul!
This is the one where you can edit your Aeons stats right?
Don't bother with it. It requires too many resources that you can use later on for weapon crafting :/ (Also if you do - Only give them abilities like Firaga and such since their stats raise when Luna's raise)
I like how everyone's all impressed with Rikku even though her special ability is that she can use two items at the same time. Rikku also knows how to customize equipment, which is nice I guess.
After a bit of training for Rikku which is harder than it needed to be because she only starts with 300 HP...
Rikku is hard to raise on her own sphere. It has lots of evasion, and agility spheres, but it MASSIVELY lacks Strength Spheres, so her damage is always very low.
Her main special ability is the ability to Use items. Which is quite because later on you can get items called "Al-Bhed Potions" which when used (Only through the Use command) will heal 1,000 HP and cure Petrification, Poison and another status effect that I forgot to ALL characters in the field.
-Rikku and Yuffie are the same character. Prove me wrong.
Yuffie is an annoying stuck up bitch, while Rikku is not /argument. [/spoiler]
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Liberal Arts Major
*Plays FFX*
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Editor
DAMN YOU TO HELL KENRI!
*Plays FFX*
Ha.
If it makes you feel better, the tables will be turned on me if CG7 ever plays Tales of Vesperia. <_<
[Spoiler for Final Fantasy X, click to show]Okay so... talking to party members. Rikku says that she's scared of lightning because her brother accidentally hit her with a Thunder spell while trying to fight off a fiend at the beach. Silly backstory for a silly character. Rin, the owner of the travel agencies, reappears. He recognizes Auron and reminisces about the past with him. Apparently at the beginning of Lord Braska's Calm, Rin saved Auron, who had a life-threatening injury. But then Auron vanished the next day, even though the wound should have prevented him from moving. Auron thanks Rin, but then says he'd like to drop the subject. OMINOUS.
Tidus wanders off to Yuna's room and accidentally barges in on her. Smooth. Apparently Lord Jyscal left her a sphere that contained a message which said "Take care of my son." His son being Seymour. Yuna doesn't want to talk about it. She runs off. Wakka shows up soon after and gets Tidus in a headlock.
Wakka: Will you PLEASE behave for just one goddamn minute?
Tidus: You KNOW I can't!
In the morning, we head out. Some random guy comes by and takes a picture of the group, then runs off. What the fuck.
Also wtf: when did the Brotherhood sword become so awesome? Last I checked it was 5% Strength, now it's like... 15% Strength, Waterstrike, and Sensor? Hell yeah.
Also also: Iron Giant enemies? Awesome for leveling up.
Yuna: I have something I need to tell you all.
Rikku: Can it wait until we're in a place where we're not likely to be struck by lightning and killed at any moment?
Yuna: No.
Rikku: "oh".
Yuna says she's going to get married to Seymour for the people of Spira. Bah. Big surprise. Auron doesn't care so long as she continues her pilgrimage. Movin' on, into the Macalania Woods. Auron tells Tidus that Yuna is getting married to Seymour as an attempt to negotiate with him. Should've just hired Roger Smith, Yuna!
We head into Macalania Woods. I'm about one screen in when I decide to backtrack to the save point to quit. But on the way I get into a normal encounter. The nimble enemy attacks first and stones Auron. I swap Tidus for Yuna and Esuna him, then swap Wakka for Lulu and barely avoid OHKing a spellcaster enemy due to damage variance. The two enemies then kill Yuna, somehow (still not sure how this happened). Auron kills the tough enemy. Then the nimble enemy attacks twice in a row and stones Lulu and Auron.
..........
So yeah.
Fucking terrible.
........Okay after a break from this nonsense, I am back. DE-EQUIP THE DAMN BROTHERHOOD, equip an ice-element sword to handle those awful stoning enemies. As we move on, we run into Barthello, who has lost track of Dona and is looking for help. Auron tells him to keep calm and do his job, essentially. You know, as odd as it seems, Barthello is one of the only NOT dickish characters in the whole game, so I sorta wish he had let us help him more. ...Though that would be helping Dona by association, so fuck that.
"A butterfly of rainbow wings / Will lead the way, to secret things."
...THERE ARE SECRETS WHERE FAIRIES DON'T LIVE.
Blah. This minigame is dumb. Movin' on.
Auron stops us.
Auron: It is here.
Tidus: What is?
Auron: Something you should see.
He shatters the crystal tree to create a path. The path leads to a clearing. Oh look, it's a materia spring, like the one in Mt. Nibel. Auron explains that spheres are too scientific to even be called magic, but then his explanation of why pretty much amounts to "it's magical magic". Oh ****! Monster attack! It's the Materia Keeper! No wait, it's... it's Chaos! FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK I didn't even collect all the Chaos Emeralds yet!
BOSS FIGHT:
SPHERIMORPH
This is an easy fight. It's even easier if you're not an idiot like I am and figure out how the boss works immediately instead of after like three turns of flailing around, guessing elements at random. But yeah. This boss absorbs three elements and is weak to one. And that element can change. The trick is, it's weak to the opposite element of whatever type of magic it's using. So if it casts Fire, hit it with Blizzard. Or just beat it to death with Auron, either way.
After the fight, we get the Jecht Sphere, a record of Jecht's travels through Spira. According to Auron, at first he was looking for ways to return to Zanarkand, but eventually he decided to stay in Spira. Auron also says that Jecht truly did love Tidus, he just didn't know how to show it. It's really not that hard, guy! Anyway, Auron gets the Shooting Star Overdrive for collecting this Jecht Sphere.
Onward to a snowy area. Tromell, Seymour's butler dude, shows up to escort Yuna away. But then, just as Yuna leaves, Al Bhed show up. god. Party to the rescue! Rikku says they're using a machine to create an anti-magic field. Also: the Al Bhed seem to recognize Rikku. So that's a recipe for disaster, right there.
BOSS FIGHT:
CRAWLER
Fun fight. Crawler starts the battle with a Nullifier in play and out of reach. You CAN have Wakka chip away at this until its 1000 HP is gone... or get Rikku on the field and have her use a Lightning Marble to destroy it instantly. Guess which approach I chose? Yeah. Even after destroying the Nullifier, the boss is not easy. It can hit you for some damage, use a Gatling Gun to hit everyone for a lot of damage, and as soon as the Nullifier is dead, it automatically charges its
Rikku tells the Al Bhed dude that she's a guardian. (I have enough Al Bhed primers to catch some of it by now.) The guy runs off. Wakka starts questioning Rikku, so she just reveals that she's an Al Bhed, and that that guy was her brother. Wakka is pissed. The two start arguing about Yevon and Sin and so forth.
Wakka: Sin showed up because of people like you!
Rikku: Prove it!
Wakka: It's in Yevon's teachings!
Rikku: That's not proof!
Wakka: Well then where did Sin come from?
Rikku: I don't know, but-
Wakka: Aha! You see?
it's like i'm really on the internet
Anyway, Auron puts Rikku to work fixing a snowmobile while Wakka fumes. Tidus determines that he's reasonable and tries to reason with him using his reason.
Tidus: I know Rikku's a good person!
"She gave me some food once after kidnapping me, forcing me into slavery, making me risk my life, and repeatedly beating me up! THAT PROVES SHE'S A GOOD PERSON."
Wakka's not buying it. He storms off while the others snowmobile away. aww yeah tidus and lulu sharin' a snowmobile. They start talking about Wakka. Tidus thinks that Wakka's just stubborn because of Yevon; Lulu's like "um no it's more like because of Chappu using machina to fight Sin and then getting killed. pay attention to these character backstories kthx". Tidus is very dumb at this point and starts cursing Jecht, but Lulu doesn't catch on. Somehow. Dammit, Lulu. I thought you were the smart one. SHE DOESN'T EVEN CATCH ON AFTER TIDUS ASKS "can a human become Sin?" out of nowhere. God. Lulu... you are still the second best character in the game, but don't push it.
Some guy doesn't want to let Rikku into Macalania Temple, until Auron invokes the Air Bud clause. "Ain't no rule says an Al Bhed can't be a guardian." I'm actually amazed that worked; I would have expected a reply like, "um, yes, there is. right here, rule 1." [/spoiler]
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
Right after you view Wakka talking to his brother in the Farplane, and Tidus pulls out the sword.
BOSS FIGHT:
CRAWLER
Protip for future boss fights.
Have you seen those computer panel things throughout your journey? Usually they're in a rest stop. Well, they allow you to fight tough enemies from those areas.
You don't gain AP or gil, BUT any overdrive you earn, stays. So use your Aeons in those fights to quickly power up their overdrives, then when a boss fight comes up, summon the Aeon and use their over drives and then fight with them until they die, then switch to the next Aeon.
This is also the only way to defeat Great Malboro's later on the game provided that Yuna has the First Strike ability. (Great Malboro's ALWAYS ambush you and ALWAYS use Bad Breath at the start of the fight)
aww yeah tidus and lulu sharin' a snowmobile.
This will vary playthrough to play through.
Whichever non-tidus party member you've played with the most (In battles) will be the one that Tidus rides with on the snowmobile. [/spoiler]
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Editor
[Spoiler for Final Fantasy X, click to show]This will vary playthrough to play through.
Whichever non-tidus party member you've played with the most (In battles) will be the one that Tidus rides with on the snowmobile.
Huh, this surprises me. Not the fact that it varies by playthrough, I sorta figured that, but the method. Can't believe I've used Lulu more than Auron.
---
oh fuckin... two seconds after starting up the game, Shelinda wants to talk to me. GO AWAY. Yuna heads off to the Cloister of Trials, but then someone starts shouting about Yuna's sphere and a message from Maester Jyscal or some such. I head into the room with the rest of the party (minus Yuna) and Auron plays back the sphere.
Jyscal: Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.
Pretty much that. Jyscal warns that "flames of darkness burn in Seymour's heart" or something like that, and that he's using everyone, and that, if left alone, he'll bring destruction to Spira.
...You'd think this would turn me against him, but really, I think this piece of dialogue from 8-Bit Theatre sums it up:
White Mage: What reason would Sarda have to destroy Onrac?
Black Mage: A sense of mercy?
yay, we get to skip the Cloister of Trials entirely. Tidus shouts that he's here to stop Seymour. Yuna emerges from the inner chamber. Auron says that Seymour killed Jyscal; Seymour says that Yuna knew about all this, and asks why she came here anyway.
Yuna: I came... to stop you!
"All on my own! Without the help of my guardians! Under the premise of marriage! Even though I'm way, way weaker than you, and would be attempting to stop you in your temple, surrounded by your loyal subjects! It was the perfect plan."
The party surrounds Yuna in a very cool all-for-one moment, but then:
Seymour: "Protect the summoner even at the cost of one's life." The Code of the Guardian. How admirable. Well, if you're offering your lives, I will have to take them.
...See, I just can't hate the guy! He's just too classy.
BOSS FIGHT:
SEYMOUR
I kill off his two guards and then beat on him. He's not nearly as ridiculous as he should be. Eventually, he summons his aeon, the rainbow doom mummy.
BOSS FIGHT:
ANIMA
Yuna: A Pokemon battle, huh? You're up, Shiva!
Seymour: You're summoning topless women for me? You're an even better wife than I thought!
Yuna: ...Okay forget the gag, you just ruined it.
Seymour: And nothing of value was lost.
...But yeah, this is really easy if you just use Blizzara to heal and wait for your Overdrive: Diamond Dust
BOSS FIGHT:
SEYMOUR
Probably the toughest part of this fight. Seymour has all 6000 HP back, and can now use Multi-Magic to attack twice per turn. If he manages to get multiple turns on top of that, meaning four attacks per round, just... watch the fuck out and make sure that doesn't happen. But yeah, not too bad, especially if YOU'RE SMARTER THAN ME AND NOTICE THAT THE GAME TELLS YOU WHAT ORDER HE CASTS SPELLS IN. In which case, you can use Yuna's Nul spells to shut him down completely.
So yeah. Seymour dies the way he lived: the best character in the game. *salutes* It has been an honor, Maester.
Tromell (Seymour's butler dude) is obviously displeased, despite Tidus' brilliant attempts at diplomacy ("He started it!"). We try to leave, but then...
...
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-
I THOUGHT WE AVOIDED A CLOISTER OF TRIALS
GOD
AND THIS ONE HAS STUPID ICE BULLSHIT
TERRIBLE
Okay, NOW we're leaving... oh what the fuck. Tromell and his dudes are going to kill us. We try to explain about Jyscal's sphere, but they crush the sphere and say that Guado will deal with Guado matters. God. Is it so much to ask for ANYONE in this game to be reasonable? Where's Seymour, I bet he'd underst-oh right. Fuck.
Auron's brilliant plan of escape amounts to shouting "Run!" and then taking off. Some Guado follow, but they're easy to fight off even if they do manage to catch me. Eventually, though, I guess we get tired of running and turn to fight, so they... enlist the help of some random yeti who was just chillaxing in the background? God. I don't even know what the fuck. Is this supposed to make sense? I'm honestly curious.
BOSS FIGHT:
WENDIGO
oh hey wendigo, wendigoes are pretty cool, guess I can't complain too much
The annoying Guado dudes will cast Berserk on Wendigo, but Yuna can cast Esuna to get rid of it. Power Break and Dark Attack are very useful here, as is Ifrit. The worst part is that the Guado dudes cast Shell and Protect automatically upon death. Ugh.
Anyway, we win but the Wendigo isn't dead. So it just shatters the ice below us. whoops. Guess that was our fault for choosing to fight on a fucking frozen lake. Idiots.
...somehow, we survive, and I guess the lake isn't made of water or anything, so we can move and breathe normally? Yuna's out cold but everyone else seems okay.
Wakka is very upset about having killed a Maester of Yevon. Hey so like, didn't you see the goddamn sphere orb recording YouTube clip MacGuffin thing? JYSCAL TOLD YOU TO STOP SEYMOUR BEFORE HE DESTROYED THE WORLD. JYSCAL. AS IN THE NOT-TRAITOR-MAESTER-OF-YEVON. Idiot.
Rikku [paraphrased]: Lulu's so grown-up. Just give me five or six more years, though. [pats her chest and butt]
..........................SUBTLE.
Yuna wakes up and says that her plan was to get Seymour to turn himself in in exchange for marriage. Yeah, THAT couldn't have gone wrong. She says she should have told us what she was planning. Gee. YA THINK?! Idiot. She wants to continue the pilgrimage, but she's not sure Yevon will allow it. Auron says that the fayth gives Yuna her powers, not Yevon, and that we'll defy Yevon if we must.
...
1. Seymour
2. Lulu
3. Auron
4. Wakka
5. Seymour again
BAM!
Wakka says he wants out because he has to atone for the crimes he's committed. His line of reasoning goes down something like this: "Yes, I hated Seymour. Yes, he was a bastard who deserved to die. Yes, Jyscal told us to kill him. Yes, Seymour has a huge threat to the world. Yes, he did kill a Maester. Yes, he did try to kill all of us. But we still need to atone because we do, so there."
The party decides to go to Bevelle and explain to Maester Mika what happened. Yeah because explaining things has worked so well every other time we've tried it OH WAIT. I do like how, even now, the party just stands around and makes decisions while Tidus dicks around in the background and occasionally shouts "YEAH THAT'S RIGHT" or "HUH?"
We're getting ready to move on when suddenly Sin appears. ...I'm not sure how that works. It showed Sin underwater but I thought there was no water in this lake? Maybe there are... like... two layers of ice or something? God. So stupid. Sin really just exists in this game to make the party hurry the hell up, I think.
Tidus has like a conversation with Sin/Jecht.
Tidus: I know. You want this to end.
...And then he wakes up, face-down, in a pool of water. In a desert. Again: HOW ARE YOU NOT DEAD?
Forward, into the desert...
BOSS FIGHT:
ZU
...Might not be a boss, but oh well. I cast Slow on the bird and Haste on myself, which gives Tidus about 8 turns to each of Zu's. After taking it down to about 2000/18000 HP, Auron shows up.
Auron: Need some help?
Tidus: ...No?
Auron: Oh. Huh. I just expected. I mean-
Tidus: No, no, I totally understand.
...Soon after, Lulu shows up as well. But again, Tidus could have solo'd that. We soon meet up with Wakka, Kimahri, and Rikku as well. Rikku is extra useful here because we start getting oodles of Al Bhed Potions, which Rikku can use to give the entire party 1000 HP and cure a bunch of statuses. Rikku says she knows where we are, and will take us to an Al Bhed town if we promise not to tell anyone about it. well then. this is a recipe for tragedy, it is.
This area's pretty interesting, because it's big and open as opposed to a straight line. There are also a lot of interesting enemies. The Zus are annoying, but there are also Cactuars, who I... have not managed to kill any of yet. And giant Sand Worms with 45000 HP (!) that I really hated until I realized that Auron's Shooting Star Overdrive can one-shot them. With him on Warrior Mode and Hasted up by Tidus... yeah.
We enter the Al Bhed Home and see that there's an all-out war going on between Yevon/the Guado and the Al Bhed. Keyakku, who is... I assume Rikku's brother, has been killed, and her father Cid tells us to hurry up and help them. Wait... Cid? Oh god. Yuna and Rikku really are related! I was just joking about that, game!
I loot Keyakku's body (Spira dickery alert) and move on ahead. Immediately in the next room is a scripted fight.
Auron: THIS is for the FALLEN! *Dragon Fang, all enemies are overkilled*
Sorry, I just liked that. Very dramatically appropriate.
We keep moving forward... There's an announcement over a loud speaker about... I think detonating the city? Rikku says that Yuna is in the Summoner's Sanctum. As we move on, we learn that the Al Bhed have been kidnapping summoners so they'll be safe. Tidus is still too dumb to catch on and so he's like, "safe? safe from what? isn't that what guardians are for i mean come on rikku".
Eventually we reach the Summoner's Sanctum, but Yuna's not there. Isaaru is, and... that might have been Dona, I think? I dunno, I wasn't really paying attention because I knew everything that was going to happen before it happened. Tidus would find out that summoners die when they use the Final Aeon. Tidus would break down and start angsting. Tidus would realize he's been so stupid to keep saying "after we beat Sin we'll do [blank]". Then Tidus would be convinced to keep going because of the immediate danger. (Also: the Wendigo reappeared for no apparent reason just to stand around. What the fuck?) I'm sorry, I'm not really criticizing the game, I'm just sayin'.
...What I didn't count on was us escaping via a cruise liner repurposed as an airship. Tidus has resolved to not let Yuna die. As we rocket away, Cid launches a volley of missiles, completely obliterating the Al Bhed Home.
........
Okay, our first stop is Luca, then Macalania Temple, then Guadosalam, then I figure we just go in order and take out every city/town/temple/residence on the planet one by one. Preferably while taking potshots at Sin.
...........................
Or we could just use the airship to look for Yuna. THAT WORKS TOO.
fuckin' never let me have any fun
Cid says he's not letting Yuna continue her pilgrimage. Auron begrudgingly agrees/drops the matter because he's the captain. Soon enough, we locate Yuna. She's in Bevelle (where we were headed next. what a coincidence.) and is getting married... to Seymour?!
yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
Seymour LIVES!
Auron: His attachment to this world kept him from the next.
His attachment to destroying this crummy place! Go, Seymour, go!
(It's a good thing this game doesn't let you rename your blitzball team, because I would definitely name my team the Fighting Seymours.)
ALL OF A SUDDEN, FIENDS. IN OUR AIRSHIP. HOW CAN THIS BE? Apparently some Guado snuck on board. Devious.
Auron [looks out the window, sees a giant serpent dragon]: Huh. Now there's a rare sight.
auron the best
Lulu explains that it's the Guardian Wyrm, Evrae, protector of Bevelle.
Auron: Heh. The red carpet has teeth.
yesssssssssss auron
Cid, over the intercom, tells us to get up on deck and fight that thing. Why can't we just use our awesome fuck-off missiles? I dunno.
Auron: The ferryman asks a high price.
...Auron. Keep this up and I'll need to bump you up to #2.
Rin tries to sell us some items...
Wakka: We gotta pay?! If we lose, you die too, ya know?
Rin: I have faith in your victory.
XD yesssssssss
BOSS FIGHT
EVRAE
...joke fight. Pull away, buffz, spam missiles until you run out (nooooo now how will i raze this world to ashes), have Wakka take potshots at the boss, then pull in and slaughter. Terrible.
I like how the wedding's armed guards just point their guns towards the clouds, at the ready, and then a HUGE FUCKIN' AIRSHIP SHOWS UP OUTTA NOWHERE. You can just tell they were thinking, "...i'm not paid enough for this shit." Anyway, the airship then shoots metal cables into the walkway between towers, and the party GRINDS THE CABLES DOWN TO THE WALKWAY. WHAT. TIDUS EVEN DID A RAIL-TRANSFER.
Kinoc: Wh-who the hell ARE you?!
Tidus: We're SONIC HEROES!
We're breaking through all their lines easily, but then a cutscene kicks in and a handful of guards point their popguns at us.
Tidus: ...You're joking, right?
Auron: Idiot. It's a cutscene now. We have to surrender without a fight.
Yuna starts to send Seymour (where did she get her staff? she didn't have it five seconds ago, and besides, why would they even let her keep it?), but then she is generously reminded of the fact that her friends are being held at gunpoint. She agrees to wed Seymour in return for their safety. But then, after they're pronounced husband and wife...
Seymour: Kill them.
Always classy. *salutes*
...But then!
Yuna: Stop, Seymour! If you declare an attack, the shockwaves will knock me off this tower!
...sigh. Seymour tells the guards to put down their weapons. But then, instead of us, I dunno, attacking them, or running away, we just run towards Yuna.
Yuna: Are you stupid? GET OUT OF HERE. God.
Tidus: You're coming with us!
Seymour: That wasn't part of the deal.
Tidus: I am altering the deal. Pray I do not alter it further.
Seymour: ...Hey wait one fucking second, I'M the villain here!
So yeah, then, for no reason, Yuna says she's going to jump from the tower anyway.
Yuna: Don't worry. I can fly.
..........................what.
NO YOU CAN'T.
AND EVEN IF YOU COULD.
WHAT WOULD THAT ACCOMPLISH.
THEY'D JUST KILL US.
YOU IDIOT.
But then she jumps, and summons Valefor on the way down, who carries her to safety. And then... we don't die? We just... run away? What the fuck? We didn't disarm them or anything! They could have shot us! What the fuck is going on?
We're headed to the Chamber of Fayth under the assumption that that's where Yuna is headed, Yuna being an idiot and all. But hey! The good news is, there's fuckin' machina all over the temple. So Wakka looks like a fool, at least.
oh god more stupid puzzle bullshit. this is just like that one special stage from Sonic Chaos! Only worse somehow!
We reach the antechamber and Tidus heads into the Chamber of Fayth ("screw your taboos!"). Yuna absorbs the aeon and passes out. I knew how this whole aeon business worked because I talked to... I think Lulu? way back in Kilika about it, but I think canonically this is the first time Tidus has learned about it. It involves enlisting the help of the spirits of people who gave their lives for Yevon and were imprisoned in stone or some such. In this case, Yuna absorbs... Transparent Kid from the beginning of the game. I don't know what the fuck. This had better get explained at some point.
Rikku says not to come back out, but Tidus does anyway. Kinoc and a bunch of armed guards are waiting for us.
Kinoc: You are to stand trial.
Auron: Heheh. I expect it will be a fair trial.
Kinoc: Hahah. Of course it will.
You got Bahamut!
Ahahahaha! Yuna is put on trial for treason against Yevon, but she implicates Seymour as the real traitor, saying he killed Jyscal.
Seymour [to the Ronso Maester]: Hmm? Hadn't you heard?
best character.
Yuna implores Mika to send Seymour, but he reveals that he's already dead as well. Apparently "rule by the dead is preferable to the failures of the living", or some such.
Yuna: I am a summoner, my lord, like my father before me!
God. I was just joking about stealing from Star Wars, game! You can't take anything I say seriously!
So yeah, apparently the will of Yevon involves an eternal battle against Sin. Destroying Sin permanently is treason against Yevon. Why are we putting up with this? Didn't Yuna just learn how to summon Bahamut? SUMMON IT AND LET IT WRECK SHIT UP. God. So obnoxious. We're thrown in cells, except for Yuna.
Tidus: Why is it everything in Spira seems to revolve around people dying?
That's not true! What about blitzball.
Kinoc: Come out! Your sentence has been decided.
Auron: Sentence? Don't you mean execution?
Kinoc: Come now. What person would execute a dear friend?
Auron: You would.
BAM!
1. Seymour
2. Auron
3. Lulu
4. Wakka
5. Seymour again
...oh god. Are they seriously sentencing Tidus to death by DROWNING? XFD did they not see him playing blitzball or what.
oh wait. I guess it's marginally less stupid. It's not drowning, it's just... a pit of water they think nobody can escape from? ........I take back what I said about it being marginally less stupid.
Tidus: Well, that's a lame way to kill someone.
God, even Tidus is taking shots at them!
Cut to the villains. Mika says that no one has ever escaped from the Via Purifico, but to place guards at the exit anyway.
.........................
THERE'S AN EXIT?
my god.
how did we ever get captured by these fools
Seymour volunteers to be the guard, but Kinoc insists of going with him, presumably because he knows Seymour will let the party escape. But seriously, I don't see how Kinoc could fuckin' stop him.
Anyway, playing as Yuna now. I assemble a party of Lulu, Auron, and Kimahri, but Tidus, Wakka, and Rikku are presumably off dicking around somewhere else and we'll meet up with them later. There's more puzzle bullshit but it's not too bad. [/spoiler]
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
[Spoiler for Final Fantasy X, click to show]We head forward and run into... oh god dammit.
Isaaru: You're too late. I've already become the Bevelle League Champion. You know what that means, right Yuna? I'M THE STRONGEST TRAINER IN THE WORLD.
Seriously though, he's here to deal with the traitors, by order of the church. Hey uh... you DO realize they tried to kill you, right? I mean, now would be a fantastic time to turn. I'm just sayin'! ...No? ......sigh.
BOSS FIGHT:
ISAARU
VS. GROTHIA (IFRIT)
Called Bahamut, tossed a Mega-Flare at it, tanked a Hellfire, then finished with Blizzaga.
VS. PTERYA (VALEFOR)
Shiva'd
VS. SPATHI (BAHAMUT)
Ah hell. I really should've saved my own Bahamut for this... Although actually, this fight is trivially easy. Spathi just counts down to its Overdrive every turn, but doesn't actually attack you. Just Shield its Overdrive and you're good to go. I used Ixion for this, but I imagine you could win this with any of Ifrit/Ixion/Shiva, as they can all heal themselves.
Isaaru says there's a way to the surface up ahead. Auron tells him his pilgrimage is over. Well duh. It's because he didn't TRUST his aeons!
Oh hey, controlling Tidus' group now AKA Team Jobbers. We're underwater. See I can accept Tidus and Wakka handling this, but Rikku's not a blitzballer! She should be dead right now! <_<
...ah hell
BOSS FIGHT:
EVRAE ALTANA
a zombie dragon. seriously. with this party.
I think you're supposed to do some bullshit involving gate locks and running away, but I just threw two Phoenix Downs at it and it died.
The party is back together but hey, who's that awesome guy coming to see us? It's Seymour! And Kinoc but nobody cares about him! Especially now that Seymour has killed him. Ha. Couldn't have happened to a more deserving bastard.
Seymour: If all life were to end in Spira, all suffering would end. Don't you see? Do you not agree?
Best character.
...ahahaha Seymour's plan is to take Yuna to Zanarkand, destroy Sin, and become Sin himself. That's seriously the worst plan I've ever heard. Sin hasn't even managed to wipe out Spira yet and look at how incompetent Spira's leaders are. You'd be better off just frying everyone with Multi-Magic!
Kimahri runs forward and stabs Seymour, which does nothing.
Seymour: ...Unpleasant. Very well. I will give you your death. You seem to want it so.
best character.
oh god. XD He transforms into some lame JRPG final boss type deal. It's Safer Seymour! That's really what it is. Kimahri holds him off while the rest of us run. But then Yuna's like "wait I can't leave Kimahri". Auron says that he's a guardian and that this is his job. But then Tidus gets a brilliant idea and goes "hey yeah, we're all guardians. if you go back, we'll have to follow." So, she does.
BOSS FIGHT:
SEYMOUR NATUS
This is an awesome fight. Seymour has two "phases". The first uses elemental attacks in order; you can block these with the usual Nul- spells. The second phase casts Break (petrifies one character) and Flare, among other things. There's also a second enemy, Seymour's little Mortibody friend who assists him in a variety of ways. But it also steals 4000 HP from him whenever killed, which is... fun times. At the end, I Grand Summoned Bahamut and finished him off with a Mega-Flare. Ha.
...So yeah, after the battle we end up in Macalania Forest. Yuna is off moping, so the party sends Tidus to cheer her up. He says she should just quit her pilgrimage and live a normal life... or go back to Zanarkand with him and they can party all night and so forth.
oh my god
I just realized.
Tidus and Yuna are interacting in a way that seems natural and believable! For the first time in the whole game! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.
At first Yuna's going along with Tidus' plans, but then she breaks down in tears and says she has to continue her pilgrimage. It's sorta stupid, but I have to say, this ONE moment of weakness made me connect with Yuna more than the entire rest of the game combined. It would be nice to get something like this for, I dunno, the main character. Maybe. I'm just sayin'!
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/4/197344_42154_front.jpg
...and then they kiss and start spinning underwater.
This is a G-rated sex scene, right? I'm not just reading too much into this.
Yuna: Stay with me... until the end. Please.
Tidus: Not until the end. Always.
Tomorrow... we head off to the Calm Lands to continue the pilgrimage! The Calm Lands was the site of a war between Zanarkand and Bevelle. It got so wrecked that now it's used to battle Sin, being a place where no bystanders will be harmed.
ugh, what is this, Hyrule Field? stupid.
About halfway across the field, we get a visit from Father Zuke, the summoner Lulu and Wakka were guardianing for before Yuna. He says he was told to kill us on sight for the murder of Kinoc, but then he... doesn't. lol. In fact, he gives us a warning, telling us to stay out of Bevelle! A not-dickish character? ALWAYS A WELCOME TREAT.
i haz a chocobo
Heading to the northeast into the next area... Oh hey, it's Seymour's loyal subjects. They say that Seymour wants to see us! So he's still alive! Somehow! You'd think we'd have had ample time to send him after that fight, but apparently not! They say that Seymour doesn't care if we're dead or alive, and then they call on... this guy...
BOSS FIGHT:
DEFENDER X
This is an... annoying boss. Very much so. It's not hard, oh no, in fact I think this is arguably one of the easier bosses in the game. It has no multi-target attacks, so as long as you can keep your characters revived, you can't possibly lose. It's just fucking obnoxious to have to keep reviving your characters. My trick to minimize this? Dark Buster. Every turn. Helped a bit. Armor Breaking it and casting Hastega also helped, but eh. Overall: stupid boss. [/spoiler]
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
I believe it also has to do with the answers in Guadosalam when you're talking to Lulu.
Pretty much that. Jyscal warns that "flames of darkness burn in Seymour's heart" or something like that, and that he's using everyone, and that, if left alone, he'll bring destruction to Spira.
This is the point he starts going down hill here >_>
..But yeah, this is really easy if you just use Blizzara to heal and wait for your Overdrive: Diamond Dust Rebellion to charge.
Yeah, this is why the 3 elemental aeons kick ass.
And giant Sand Worms with 45000 HP (!) that I really hated until I realized that Auron's Shooting Star Overdrive can one-shot them. With him on Warrior Mode and Hasted up by Tidus... yeah.
Despite the hueg hp, they're push overs really >_>
...What I didn't count on was us escaping via a cruise liner repurposed as an airship.
Quick question: Do you recognize the airship? You've seen it before...
This one escapes A LOT of people.
That's the airship you help Rikku and the others dig up from the ocean at the start of the game.
BOSS FIGHT
EVRAE
You... Found this guy easy? >_>
You suck and I hate you.
He's one of the hardest bosses up to this point. (Protip, you fight him again in the Via Purifco, but only with Wakka, Tidus and Rikku. But you can cheap shot him by throwing Phoenix Downs at him) [/spoiler]
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Liberal Arts Major
LOL
YOU POSTED AS I WAS POSTING A REPLY XD
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Liberal Arts Major
Ah hell. I really should've saved my own Bahamut for this...
Actually, you can't use the same aeon against another aeon.
Oh hey, controlling Tidus' group now AKA Team Jobbers. We're underwater. See I can accept Tidus and Wakka handling this, but Rikku's not a blitzballer! She should be dead right now! <_<
There's one other water segment in the game where you can only use Wakka/Rikku/Tidus. So, I think it has less to do with blitzball and more to do with their clothing and weapon choices.
Can you imagine Lulu trying to swim and cast spells in that get up?
Likewise Auron trying to swing his sword underwater with an injured arm.
Etc
Heading to the northeast into the next area... Oh hey, it's Seymour's loyal subjects. They say that Seymour wants to see us! So he's still alive! Somehow! You'd think we'd have had ample time to send him after that fight, but apparently not! They say that Seymour doesn't care if we're dead or alive, and then they call on... this guy...
If you head back out and hug the cliff face on the right, you'll find an opening and go in it.
This is the monster arena. You can't really fight much now in it (All the monsters escaped) so you have to use special weapons on enemies to recapture them and bring them back. [/spoiler]
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Editor
This one escapes A LOT of people.
That's the airship you help Rikku and the others dig up from the ocean at the start of the game.
That makes a lot of sense, but I totally didn't realize it until now.
You... Found this guy easy? >_>
You suck and I hate you.
Admittedly, my strategy was really cheap. If you tell Cid to pull away, all Evrae can do is use his pitiful ranged attack. With Tidus to cast Haste and Yuna to heal, you really don't even need to pull back in because Wakka deals so much damage to him. (Although it's boring, which I why I just buffed Tidus/Wakka/Auron and then pulled back in.)
Actually, you can't use the same aeon against another aeon.
...oh right
I knew that!
There's one other water segment in the game where you can only use Wakka/Rikku/Tidus. So, I think it has less to do with blitzball and more to do with their clothing and weapon choices.
Can you imagine Lulu trying to swim and cast spells in that get up?
Likewise Auron trying to swing his sword underwater with an injured arm.
Etc
But... she should run out of air! I mean, in the first part of the game, where you use Rikku underwater, she's wearing what looks like a dive mask or something. I think. [/spoiler]
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
Yeah, hardly ANYONE notices that. The first time I read it, I was like "wtf bull shit no way" and then was like holy shit.
But... she should run out of air! I mean, in the first part of the game, where you use Rikku underwater, she's wearing what looks like a dive mask or something. I think.
She takes that off remember? [/spoiler]
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Editor
okay can't find any ogres so enough of that. Time to continue with the main plot.
...
after I play some blitzball!
blitzan gaems
Man. It sure was nice of them to include a JRPG sidequest in this blitzball sim.
MOVING ON FOR REALZ NOW
bonus dungeon alert. totally not going in there. nope. i'm sorry. not gonna happen. shut up lulu. we're leavin'.
Anyway. We're entering Mount Gagazet now. And oh goddammit we're barely two steps in when we get stopped by Ronso Councilor.
Ronso Councilor: Do you enjoy committing genocide, summoner?
Yuna: Depends on the species... councilor.
No. That does not, in fact, happen. God, I wish this game gave me renegade options. Every game would be better with renegade options.
Seriously though, they try to stop us because we're traitors to Yevon. Auron points out that they abandoned Bevelle as well. Kelk (the Ronso Maester) asks if Yuna's continuing her pilgrimage; she says she is, which prompts him to lecture her about how she's got nothing left and no reason to keep going.
Kelk: Everything lost. What do you fight for?
[Someday the Dream Will End starts playing]
Yuna: I fight for Spira.
...So basically, Yuna is the main character of the game, and Tidus might as well not exist because he hasn't contributed anything. Kelk says that Yuna's will is unbreakable, even by the Ronso, and allows us to pass without a fight. Sorta. These two idiots do show up to hassle Kimahri again.
BOSS FIGHT:
BIRON & YENKE
Obnoxious. It's a duel boss, if you didn't figure that out. Kimahri vs. idiots x2. I didn't prep for this fight at all, and Kimahri is easily my worst character (I determined this minutes earlier, when I realized that Wakka outdamages Kimahri vs. armored enemies without Piercing). I basically had to spam Hi-Potions to live. To be fair, I had 99 of them, so in that sense I was well-prepared. I also managed to learn Mighty Guard during the fight which is nice even if it's not anywhere near as good as in FFVII. Still probably the best Overdrive I've gotten for Kimahri so far.
With that done, we head forward. Oh hey all the Ronso are singing for us. Uh. Thanks I guess? Whatever. oh hey a mountain. why don't we climb it.
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
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mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
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mountain climban
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mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
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mountain climban
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mountain climban
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mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
...
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
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mountain climban
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INTERMISSION: A GRAVESTONE FOR A SUMMONER
Lulu: All this way only to fail. Must have been tough.
Yeah dying does tend to be tough.
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
......
THERE IS NO END IN SIGHT FOR THIS FUCKING MOUNTAIN
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
mountain climban
random encounter fightan
a whole
fucking
hour
for like 3 minutes of walking if there weren't any random encounters
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH [/spoiler]
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
[Someday the Dream Will End starts playing]
...Seriously? Pretty sure only People of the North Pole plays in the Gagazet area.
BOSS FIGHT:
BIRON & YENKE
This is one of my favorite fights in the game, if not the series. It took me like an hour.
No, not because it was difficult, or I needed that much time, but entirely because People of the North Pole is the battle theme for it and I didn't want it to end! [/spoiler]
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
BIRON & YENKE
Obnoxious. It's a duel boss, if you didn't figure that out. Kimahri vs. idiots x2. I didn't prep for this fight at all, and Kimahri is easily my worst character (I determined this minutes earlier, when I realized that Wakka outdamages Kimahri vs. armored enemies without Piercing). I basically had to spam Hi-Potions to live. To be fair, I had 99 of them, so in that sense I was well-prepared. I also managed to learn Mighty Guard during the fight which is nice even if it's not anywhere near as good as in FFVII. Still probably the best Overdrive I've gotten for Kimahri so far. [/spoiler]
Uhh.. >_>
Reset dude and go back. You can learn all but one of Kimahri's over drives there. >_>
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Editor
I think Someday only plays for that one scene, for about 15 seconds, and very softly. It might have been something else, but it definitely wasn't People of the North Pole, in any case.
Uhh.. >_>
Reset dude and go back. You can learn all but one of Kimahri's over drives there. >_>
Reset my 30 hour game for that? no wai. <_<
I'm only missing... *checks list* ...White Wind, Nova, Thrust Kick, and Doom. [/spoiler]
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Editor
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
You should always keep a couple saves.
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Editor
[Spoiler for Final Fantasy X, click to show]Moving forward. Rikku and Tidus' brainstorming sessions remind me of (my interpretation of) Mass Effect. "I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. ...That is all."
oh hey, it's Seymour. Again. I'm still not sure how he survived? Tidus tells Rikku to run and tell the others.
Seymour: Now is your time to die. Prepare yourself, son of Jecht.
Tidus: Not if I can help it!
...good retort, tidus. That's at least one step above "You'll kill me OVER MY DEAD BODY!"
Luckily, the rest of the team has showed up to save Tidus from failing miserably. Seymour starts bragging about how he wiped out the entire Ronso tribe to get here. You mean, what, all five of them? I actually wouldn't even believe this, because I figure Biron and Yenke could solo Seymour's last incarnation, but uh... it's definitely believable once you take on Seymour's next form and see how crazy it is. >_>;
Seymour: Pitiful mortal! Your hope ends here! And your meaningless existence with it!
"BIG FAU! SHOWTIME!"
BOSS FIGHT:
SEYMOUR FLUX
This boss fight is fucking ridiculous. First of all, he has his little Mortibody friend still. Second, he uses Lance of Atrophy to inflict about 700 damage and Zombify one of your characters, then immediately casts Full-Life for an instant kill. He can cast Protect and Reflect on himself, and once his HP is low enough, he'll try to use something that will "annihilate" you. I didn't let this happen so I don't know what it is, but I don't recommend letting him do it nonetheless. Most importantly, however, he uses Cross Cleave, which deals over 2000 damage to your entire party. Basically, without Cross Cleave, he's annoying but not really a threat. With it? Fucking absurd.
My strategy was to cheese him to death. First of all, Bio from Lulu - he gets a lot of turns so this is a constant damage dealer. Second, Hastega from Tidus. Third, have Yuna cast Reflect on all your characters. This reflects Auto-Life so he can't insta-kill anyone. Swap Lulu for Auron, partly because Auron is super powerful but mostly because he has the most HP. Unleash Tidus' and Auron's Overdrives. Swap Tidus for Wakka. Unleash his Overdrive. Periodically cast Dispel on Seymour if he uses Protect or Reflect, especially the latter because then he'll cast Flare on himself, expecting it to be reflected, lol.
Finally, to actually KILL him, summon all of Yuna's aeons one by one and unleash their Overdrives. This is very, very dangerous because it gives Seymour multiple turns afterward, and if he casts Cross Cleave, it's over. There's no way to recover from even a single casting of that, sort of say Mega-Phoenix. But each aeon's Overdrive deals 9999+ damage and kills the Mortibody for another 3000-4000, so... high risk, high reward. I dunno. This is definitely the toughest boss fight in the entire game so far.
Anyway, Yuna's now pissed that no one told her that Sin is Jecht. She gets over it fairly quickly once Tidus says that Jecht wants to destroyed, though.
Lulu: You'd fight your own father?
Tidus: Yeah. No problem there.
Har. This game should really have a shapeshifter villain who tries to throw Tidus off his game by turning into Jecht. It would be great. Something like:
Shapeshifter [immediately after changing into Jecht]: Well? What're you gonna do now? Cry? You don't have what it takes to fight me!
Tidus: ...
[Tidus' Strength increased!]
Moving onward, we find a wall of fayth. Very creepy. Someone is drawing energy from them for a massive summoning. Rikku wants Auron to explain what's up, but he says that this is their journey and they should find the answers themselves. Funny, that sounds an awful lot like "I don't know". But Tidus agrees with him.
Tidus: This is our... This is my story.
...In the same way Moby-Dick is Ishmael's story? Come on, now. That's not even plausible. Tidus touches the wall and hey dream sequence time. Tidus is back in Zanarkand! And Transparent Kid shows up! FINALLY. SOME EXPLANATIONS. He's referred to as "Fayth" in the subtitles and says that he met Tidus is Bevelle, but that they've met before that, too. Well yeah. Game's intro. Dur. I mean, Tidus even acted like he knew him before that. Tidus asks where he is are you serious. At least Fayth mocks him for not recognizing fucking Zanarkand also known as his home. Tidus quickly realizes that this is a dream sequence.
Fayth: It's not that you're dreaming. You are a dream.
fry_looking_squint.jpg
...How about a nice fever dream episode? Everyone loves a good fever dream episode.
Fayth starts explaining that a long time ago there was a war between Zanarkand and Bevelle. Knew that already. He says that Zanarkand's summoners didn't stand a chance against Bevelle's machina.
......wait, what?
Shouldn't it be the other way around? We've BEEN to Bevelle. AND Zanarkand. Zanarkand has the machina, guy.
Anyway, Fayth says that the people of Zanarkand preserved it as a memory, by becoming fayth for the summoning.
Tidus: The summoning... You mean Sin?
......what.
Fayth: No, I mean this place. A Zanarkand that never sleeps.
...........Oh. Well that's much more logical. They kept the memory of their city alive by summoning an entire, unrelated city, full of unrelated people, run by machina, even though machina was what just wiped them out. Makes perfect sense.
Fayth says that Zanarkand and all the people in it - Tidus and Jecht included - are dreams of the fayth, and if the fayth stop dreaming, Zanarkand ceases to exist. Fayth says that they're tired of dreaming, and asks Tidus to let them rest.
Fayth: Maybe you are the dream that will end our dreaming at last.
DREAMS DREAMS DREAMS DREAMS DREAMS DREAMS DREAMS
At least this beats "You've forgotten forgetting!" I mean. I guess it does. They're really about on the same level, actually, when you think about it.
At this point, Tidus wakes up. And chooses not to inform anyone what just happened.
...I'm curious about why Tidus just automatically believes this. We're expected to believe, from his narration, that he didn't even believe Auron telling him that Jecht was Sin, until after Operation Mi'hen. But he just randomly believes this vision? I guess we're supposed to assume that he searched his feelings and knew it to be true or something, but still.
oh hey dungeon with silly puzzles that will no doubt test our characters' abilities one by one. sure is endgame in here. As I continue forward, Auron says that Yunalesca is up ahead, waiting to test the strength of any summoners who make it this far. She's "alive" in the same way Mika and Seymour are. Yuna says she's not afraid. Well yeah, you've got Auron on your team. He's presumably already beaten her. why would you be afraid. not like you have to fight herself, freeloader.
...we leave the cave and are immediately assaulted by a giant monster for no reason. sigh. this is not yunalesca. you lied, auron.
BOSS FIGHT:
SANCTUARY KEEPER
A much, much easier fight than the last one, but still a bit annoying. It curses your characters, making it impossible for them to use Overdrives. It also uses Photon Wings, which is ****ing annoying because it inflicts a bunch of statuses on all your characters, including confusion. It will also cast Curaga and Regen on itself. Auron's Armor Break and Mental Break are godsends, that's pretty much all I can say.
Moving onward. Auron tells Wakka and Tidus about when he reached this place on his journey. His resolve began to waver, too. He says that he thought he could change the world, but in the end, he changed nothing. "That was my story."
Moving on some more. Yuna says her goodbyes to a very unhappy Rikku. There's a sphere on the ground; Tidus picks it up. It's from Yuna, to the rest of the party, for after they defeat Sin. Basically just says her goodbyes. Again, Yuna, much better main character than Tidus. Much more relatable, which is saying something considering that Tidus' entire reason for being in the story is to serve as an audience surrogate.
Onward into Zanarkand...
It's the opening cutscene. So good it was worth watching THREE times!
Tidus: Listen to my story. This may be our last chance.
...And then we restart from before the blitzball game in Zanarkand. And the game just keeps going on like that. There is no ending.
No, that doesn't happen. Though secretly I think that would be a pretty clever, if annoying, twist. It cuts to night, after the party has finished reminiscing. It's time to go.
Ahem...
Waiting on this empty street, watching pyreflies flitter by
Feeling anxious, walking towards our fate, our story echoes through the night
Aeons, Mem'ries of the Fayth, lend us your great resolve
Lead us on, to the time of Calm, where the people may be free
To Zanarkand we pray -- It's time to meet you there
Let's take love to Zanarkand -- Oh yeah -- Let's make love
You might be the one I'm waiting for, I think we've met somewhere before
Chasing spirals leaves you feelin' blue, this situation needs a cure
New guardians, new summoners, bringers of the peaceful age
Star-crossed lovers of the dream which ignites the Sphere Grid of our souls
To Zanarkand we pray -- It's time to meet you there
Let's take love to Zanarkand -- Oh yeah -- Let's make love
Dreams of the Fayth, carry me back home
On glory roads of sacrifice we head out for the end
In Zanarkand...
That's right. I just wrote a parody of an 80s synthpop song that was I think released only in Germany.
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k226/sbrainb/GIFS/deal_with_it.gif
...Anyway. Yunalesca is apparently waiting for us in the Dome (TWO SUMMONERS ENTER, ONE SUMMONER LEAVES!). Auron says the whole structure is like a big sphere, and that it's playing back memories of previous summoners. Further in, we see another recorded memory... of Child!Seymour begging his mother not to become a fayth. Yikes.
Further up ahead, we see a memory of Auron and Jecht trying to talk Braska out of sacrificing himself. Braska says that he's "come to kill grief itself".
...
Sin: But I am beloved by grief. You will taste my power.
Braska: I'll kill you AND THE GRIEF!!
Never gets old.
Oh god, there's a Cloister of Trials here. Lulu, you lied to me. You said the goddamn mountain was the trial, and I believed you!
...That said, you'd think I'd hate this Tetris piece lighting bullshit, but I actually think it's sorta clever. Best of the trials by far, tbqh.
BOSS FIGHT:
SPECTRAL KEEPER
This boss is... sort of interesting. It appears in the middle of a circle of six glyphs, which you can move around on. Whenever you hit it, it counterattacks the three glyphs it's facing. Its other two attacks are to attack one target and possibly inflict berserk (and change the direction the boss is facing), or two lay two glyph mines which instantly kill anyone standing on them when they detonate. I say that it's only "sort of" interesting because the best strategy is, and always will be, fielding Yuna, Tidus, and Auron. Cast Hastega, and move the characters so that no two are next to each other (so the Keeper can only hit one character at a time with its counter). Now, cast Protect on all three characters. Yuna is on permanent heal duty while Tidus and Auron kill it. I don't know if it's possible for this strategy to fail. I think you'd have to get very, very unlucky with the Glyph Mines attack; that's the only real threat.
That said, I don't like this boss, or any boss that casts Berserk/Confusion. See I generally like to play my games rather than letting AI controlled opponents fight it out...
Yuna can now take the elevator down to the Chamber of the Fayth. We hear a memory of Jecht saying "Huh? What do you mean, no Final Aeon?" and then we descend. So. I dunno what that means! Perhaps we will find out later. [/spoiler]
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
The only issue with Auron is the major end game. When you max out the sphere grid, he ends up with somewhere around 200 Agility. So, you have to use Agility spheres to be able to max him out (The Monster Arena is where you get an infinite amount of these, hell. An infinite amount of practically EVERY sphere in the game.)
Also, it's not cheese to abuse aeons like that >_>
Also, level up Yuna so she learns Holy, and try to harvest items that will grant ZombieWard/Zombie Proof.
It will make the fight with Yunalesca SO MUCH EASIER. [/spoiler]
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Liberal Arts Major
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Liberal Arts Major
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Liberal Arts Major
My god that game is awesome.
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Editor
So... this is going to involve sacrificing one or more guardians, right.
...Yep. I called it. (Not that it was difficult to call.) Yunalesca says that she will change one of Yuna's guardians into the Final Aeon. And then the bond between that guardian and Yuna will, if strong enough, be able to defeat Sin.
We see a vision of Braska's party. Auron tries to talk them out of it. Jecht says he'll become a fayth because his dream - to turn Tidus into a star blitz player - is back in Zanarkand and has no way of becoming true, so he might as well make himself useful. Big ;_;. Auron says the cycle always repeats, but Jecht says he has a plan to break the cycle this time.
Auron - the current Auron - hacks away at the vision with his sword, and then says that the cycle continued anyway. Lulu and Wakka both volunteer to become Yuna's fayth. But Tidus says that won't solve anything. He's going to ask Yunalesca if there's a way to break the cycle.
Tidus: This is my story. It'll go the way I want it... or I'll end it here.
Heading forward... Yuna asks if Sin will always come back. Lesca says that Sin is eternal, and that any aeon that defeats it becomes Sin in its place. Lulu and Wakka argue that the teachings state blah blah blah atonement destroys Sin. Lesca basically says that it's a nice story that gives people hope.
At this point both Tidus and Memory!Auron shout "NO!" and charge Lesca. Memory!Auron moves to strike her down, but she blasts him. Lesca asks who Yuna has chosen to give Spira hope.
Yuna: No one.
Yuna says she would have gladly died for the people of Spira, but not anymore.
Yuna: The Final Summoning is a false tradition that should be thrown away.
yesssssssssssss yuna
Yuna says that she will defeat sorrow in her father's place, and she'll do it without false hope. At this point Lesca attacks us for vague, stupid reasons.
The team decides that it's time to get dangerous and one by one they give speeches about their resolve, etc. Auron's is especially awesome but you can't pause during this cutscene so I couldn't copy it down. <_<
BOSS FIGHT:
YUNALESCA
...is this a joke?
Okay, yes, it is.
BOSS FIGHT:
YUNALESCA II
Much better. Okay, this is sort of tricky. She Zombifies your party, and casts Cura at them. It's... sort of a tough fight, but not too bad. ...I honestly wasn't expecting a third form, though.
BOSS FIGHT:
YUNALESCA III
...This fight is bullshit for one reason. It says she's "vulnerable to holy magic" but if you use Reflect to bounce her Curagas back at her, she just recovers health! That is bullshit.
...Actually, that was a lie. This fight is, in fact, bullshit for multiple reasons. She can inflict confusion on your entire party, which is great, because I love boss fights with no input from me required. I can just sit back and watch my entire party kill themselves and I don't even have to do anything!
She can also inflict instant death on your entire party.
Yeah.
So I guess I'm going to go grind for several hours now. [/spoiler]
--
[Spoiler for FFX (responses), click to show]The only issue with Auron is the major end game. When you max out the sphere grid, he ends up with somewhere around 200 Agility.
People max out the Sphere Grid? Dear god...
Also, level up Yuna so she learns Holy, and try to harvest items that will grant ZombieWard/Zombie Proof.
Wouldn't that make the fight even harder? I was under the impression Yunalesca's insta-death spell killed all non-zombies. <_< [/spoiler]
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
Yes? I've done it >_>
It's pretty much required to beat any of the optional Original Monster Arena bosses >_>
Wouldn't that make the fight even harder? I was under the impression Yunalesca's insta-death spell killed all non-zombies. <_<
I didn't mean ALL characters should have it. Just one or two of them.
...This fight is bullshit for one reason. It says she's "vulnerable to holy magic" but if you use Reflect to bounce her Curagas back at her, she just recovers health! That is bullshit.
Cure spells != Holy magic. Cure = Healing.
They're talking about the ACTUAL Holy spell. (Which is the only variation of Holy that exists in the game)
However, Holy will pretty much always do 9999 damage to Yunalesca. >_> [/spoiler]
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882
Liberal Arts Major
<->
"What the fuck is Alice doing in Wonderland anyway? Who the fuck told her she could leave the god damn kitchen in the first place?" -Random guy on Xbox Live
http://www.backloggery.com/kodan882