In Final Fantasy X our leading protagonists Yuna and Tidus are the children of heroes who defeated Sin, the evil monster that terrorises the world, ushering a decade of prosperity until Sin’s rebirth. Tidus has followed in his father Jecht’s footsteps in an attempt to surpass him out of spite to the father who bullied and Tidus believes ultimately abandoned him. In contrast Yuna has followed in her father Braska’s footsteps and become a summoner despite her loved ones wishes, in an attempt to give hope to the world and more privately find some closeness with the father she barely knew.
Having Tidus be ‘from the past’ allegedly and new in the world of Spira, creates a great mechanic for exposition because the characters literally need to teach him and the player about the world. The best part of this is that the world as we learn about it, is in fact a well maintained lie. The religion of the world is hoax meant to maintain the status quo, the sacrifices of the summoners and their protectors such as Tidus and Yuna’s fathers are effectively worthless, stopgaps that will never really change anything. Watching the cast come to terms with the lies of their faith and culture is truly an artistic wonder especially when the religious have to deal with technology they discover was only forbidden to maintain their powerlessness before the Cult of Yevon. Who it turns out is actually the villain, and has been using the sacrifice of Summoners as a means to maintain his immortality within the monster Sin.
As I mentioned Tidus and Yuna are stuck in the shadows of their fathers, but the whole cast are in some ways stuck in the shadows of others. Lulu and Wakka and trapped in the shadow of Wakka’s deceased brother, to whom Lulu was engaged. Rikku, Yuna’s cousin, is trapped in the shadow of her Al Bhed heritage, and therefore is a heathen that uses forbidden technology but she is desperate to be a part of Yuna’s life and the monstrous Kimahri who is ashamed of his small size in comparison to the average member of his race. Finally there is Auron, the only survivor of Yuna and Tidus’s father’s group, trapped in the shadow of his failure to prevent the deaths of Braska and Jecht, he has desperately overcome death itself to save the legacy of his friends and protect their children and is one of the most popular characters of the franchise – Disney even allowing him to be featured in the Final Fantasy x Disney crossover franchise Kingdom Hearts.
Once again this story touches on the tropes of victory requiring sacrifice, as many do however it adds another element. Final Fantasy X offers the new element of a rejection of the old and tried methods, of choosing your own path rather than following in the footsteps of others.
By rejecting the old ways and finding their own, the characters not only gain a final victory over the hidden villain but they also gain closure and step out of the shadows of their forbears. In that final victory we are also given one of the most heart breaking bitter sweet endings when the final twist is revealed, and the audience is reminded that no victory comes without sacrifice, especially the unexpected ones.
I was inspired in the way that the characters were seemingly built around their traumatic pasts, and each was seemingly connected. This is something I want to bring into my own work and I would love to be able to incorporate the story design of building a world only to twist and completely and irrevocably show the world you’ve built as a fraud used to scam the characters.
Matt sHERIDAN'S rESEARCH AND eNQUIRY 