Hi! This video was stuck in limbo due to the usual UA-cam shenanigans, sorry about that! In the meantime I did start up a second channel where I upload cut and edited game compilations from my streams (whenever I finish a game that is). www.youtube.com/@jinzee
I'll share the video with some friends to help give it a boost. This channel is criminally underrated and it kind of saddens me when I see it not get the number of views or subscribers that it deserves. Would collaborating with other UA-camrs help with expanding your audience or is that something that you're just not interested in doing (the collaboration part not the views part)?
@@ProperBird *HUGS* Hang in there, Jinzee. I'm sure your luck will turn around? Maybe you could research how to better reach out to others? Also, if you were to ever do a D&D related video then I highly recommend checking out the comic series Die by Kieron Gillen. It's been described as "Goth Jumanji" with is awesome! Gillen even developed a RPG based on it.
Just found this video randomly on my front page. I haven't watched FF stuff in a really long time, so the YT algorithm is still... doing something? Anyway, it's super unfortunate that your work here isn't getting the attention it deserves. I really hope these "shenanigans" get sorted out.
Her singing "La la la - la la la - la la la la la la" while giving the concert on top of the Celsius and everbodys going crazy about it still haunts me...
One small detail I loved about X-2 over X was the funny battle dialogue ike Rikku saying "I'm gonna kick you in the spleen!" and Yuna saying "Duck soup!" "Give me a Y!" "Give me an R!" "Give me a break -_-" Paine's monotoned sarcasm would send me as a kid lol. And I also liked the corresponding quotes that went along with each unique dressphere and their abilities, or when they add a little sassy remark after winning. There's even dialogue for when they are in critical HP and how they narrowly escaped death. These quotes gave the girls some more personality and illustrated how they are ultimately working together as a team to take down the enemy. They made the battles feel more engaging and not just mindless button pressing and commands. While X did have some battle quotes, X-2's definitely had a lot more variety!
The magic girl transformation was exactly why I loved X2! It came after watching Sailor Moon and introduced me to JRPGs, it has a special place in my heart! Thank you for the informative video!
Something I found interesting about X is that the Faith of Zanarkand, who wanted to rest after 1000 years, sent Jecht out into the world where he was guided to become the next Sin. This made the latest Sin more closely tied to the dream. They then guided his son into the real world to end the cycle. With Tidus's connection to Jecht this meant a dream was sent to fight a dream to finally allow the Faith to sleep.
I enjoyed it just for the ending cutscene (which made me cry). That scene during the Farplane when you hit the button to hear Tidus whistle... (I'm absolutely NOT tearing up just thinking about that moment!). It was an excuse to bring Yuna and Tidus back together as they deserved. So there.
Tidus's "I hate you" when he finds Jecht carries so much implication. I love you, I hate that you left, but now I understand, I wish we could have been a real family. Loads of subtext with how the actor delivered that line, it's an amazing moment.
I’ll never forget watching the cutscene where Yuna performs the sending and walks on water for the first time! Immediately enamored with the game and this final fantasy entry (along with X-2, which came later on). Such a great video and it brought back so many nostalgic memories of playing through both of these games ♥️
🎵 Yuna walks on water, she's the lifeguard at our pool, Yuna walks on water, she's the lifeguard at our pool, Yuna walks on water, she's the lifeguard at our pool, Yuna sends, Yuna sends, Yuna sends! 🎵
I always like the laughing scene. It starts with them doing their best "fake laughing" and then results in them laughing for real about how ridiculous it is.
Ikr? People who were laughing and saying it was bad acting definitely didn't touch the game at all. The poor voice actor had to make his own UA-cam channel to address it.
@@toidIllorTAmI I've played the game many times. I love what this scene is trying to convey. It is still bad acting. The main reason the game isn't as highly regarded on my personal list is because of the terrible voice acting. And I don't blame the actors. It was terrible direction. Fully voiced games was still new at the time, so square didn't put enough effort into doing it well. Doesn't take away from it being a good game, but lets call a spade a spade. The dialogue didn't flow well when spoken, and the takes, and editing, were terrible.
@@SilortheBlade that's where you bring other aspects into the mix which is perfectly justifyable but the people who say it's bad only listen to the laughing part. When in the dialogue, he's not really laughing. He's forcing a laugh to get through all the bloodshed they just went through. But yes, they need to put voice actors in a booth with each other instead of separating them and giving them lines to read. In this case, it helped games like Silent Hill.
it's actually such an emotional scene. when you get the reveal and it shows that scene in a new light, you get how serious it is. Low IQ people just like to make fun without actually knowing anything about it.
As a girl, I greatly loved that the game was girly! There were finally protagonists I could identify with. Plus, I grew up loving paper dolls, so getting to kick butt while playing an awesome version of dress-up was amazing!
This is probably the best dissection of these two games and their relationship to one another that I’ve seen on UA-cam. It took two of my favorite games and flipped a bunch of preconceived notions in a way where I got to re-examine it and enjoy them on a whole new level. Thank you so much!
It really is a lot of fun watching these videos! I remember the announcement and release of X-2 marking a turning point. After that genie was out, everyone wanted a sequel to FFVII, and we got a sequel movie, a prequel video game, and a lot of other stuff including a remake that's been released fairly recently. It seems like they've begun making Final Fantasy games with sequels in mind for a good while now.
Honestly, FFX-2 has a lot of great side stories that cap off a lot of the stories and questions brought up in FFX. I Love that both games actually make due and on most of these effective plots. Tidus being a misremembered Shuyin is actually really compelling when you realize that Bahamut is a KID that Dreamed him up!
I'm glad you took notice of the whistling. I think it gets overshadowed at times. In X2, you need to whistle (among other things) to get the good ending. The whistling thing was set in the first game. It's a nice touch, I liked it.
UA-cam algorithm doing something right for once by recommending this to me-watched it all in one sitting, reminiscing on both games, shedding tears. This was such a well done video! For that & for discovering this channel, I subbed in a heartbeat ♥️✨✨
Small correction on the length of the Calm: Braska's Calm lasted 10 years. In-game people note it's one of the longest Calms they've ever had. Suggesting a decade is *exceptional* , not the norm. Meaning a typical Calm might actually be 5 to 8 years. Which is hella short! Also, this suggests the Calm lasts as long as the person who was used to create the Final Aeon can resist Yu Yevon's control and breakdown of their will. Jecht is shows to be very stubborn and willfull (something Tidus inherited in spades lol) so I suspect it took so long because of his personality. Remember, when you finally meet Jecht to fight him in end-game, he says "I-I can't hear the hymn so well anymore." He knows he's about to break and lose to Yu Yevon. It's why he brought Tidus in the first place; to stop him. And as a fast aside; Tidus only being a summon of the Fayth and not a real person makes no sense and is a plot hole. Jecht was real. In-game we're never told anything to the contrary. So is his wife. So it makes no sense that a couple's son wouldn't be real??? Plus, doppelgangers exist in real life; people who look identical but are not related at all. It's rare but it happens. Tidus and Shuyin honestly feel like doppelgangers, hence making Tidus a real person in Zanarkand before its destruction. Otherwise, if he's purely a made-up being, there's a plot hole.
Everyone from Dream Zanarkand, Jecht and Tidus included, were aspects of a summoning that simulated an entire society. The Fayth not having infinite imagination, everyone (including those who were born during the era of Sin) were based on memories of people who used to exist.
Also the first calm was 500 years. Then, Sin returned and destroyed all that Spira had built up in the meantime with each progressive calm becoming shorter and shorter: The second Calm, thanks to Gandof, happened 400 years before FFX, so 100 years passed without a calm. The third calm thanks to Ohalland was 320 years before FFX, meaning the previous calm was, at most, 80 years. The fourth calm, at the hands of Yocun, was at an unknown time before FFX. The fifth and most recent calm, at the hands of Braska, happened only 10 years before FFX.
Tidus, Jecht, and Dream Zanarkand as a whole were all as real as any Aeon is. That’s what a summoning is; it’s the combined powers of a Fayth and a Summoner making a dream real. The Fayth dreams, and the summoner calls that dream into being. In the case of Dream Zanarkand, it was Yu Yevon summoning the collective dream of all the survivors of the original Zanarkand who willingly became a massive Fayth upon the side of Mount Gagazet. Dream Zanarkand was a means to “win” over Bevelle during the war; even if Zanarkand is physically destroyed, the memories and feelings of a civilization of mages and summoners can still keep their home alive through the power of their dreaming. Sin was created as a means to protect this dream, which was meant to last forever, and never meant to be discovered by the rest of the natural world. So, the dreams of any Fayth are as real as anything else when they are summoned, and only end when the summoner can no longer bridge the way between the consciousness of the Fayth and the real world. Tidus and Jecht were never meant to leave Dream Zanarkand originally, and when they did they became “real” in the sense that they began to exist outside the established dream. Now it’s never explained in detail, so this next bit is speculation on my part, however we know that Aeons are comprised of Pyreflies which comprise a lot of the natural world of Spira. Pyreflies can absorb memories and events that happen in the world and eventually crystallize to become spheres. I wonder if Tidus and Jecht begin to undergo a similar process once they enter Spira, as they are essentially human Aeons. They begin to have experiences and feelings outside their assigned lives in Dream Zanarkand, and thus the Pyreflies that make up their beings begin to “crystallize” into something substantial that can survive independently of the greater flow of dreams where they originated. But that process isn’t given enough time to complete for Tidus, so he fades away when Yu Yevon stops summoning Dream Zanarkand. That’s my take, in any case. I hope this all made sense 😅
I played this game when I was 17 going on 18. I had just come out to my family and it was not going well, but for all that happened I got to spend time with Yuna as she tried to figure out her life too. Maybe I read more into things at that time but I understood Shuyin's hatred of the world for killing his lover, rejecting peace, and the urge to destroy it all if he couldn't have her back. I understood Linn's heartbreak at the monster her lover became, and how she desperately wanted him to hear the words that might soothe his grief. I enjoyed Paine being stoic with glimpses of her wanting to come out but being hurt bad enough that her walls were safer. I thought Rikku was always kinda ditzy and seeing her relaxed enough to focus on what she wanted was kinda sweet. Again it is very likely I read into it due to my own circumstances but even now I can't exactly say I don't feel my heart drop when I hear the opening notes for 1000 Words, or get a bit peppy at the intro song. X-2 wasn't a perfect game but I still felt it wasn't a bad game, but it is hard to really hold up against FFX which had more time to tell a good story, in the end it all turns to faded memories that will one day be gone for good.
@@ProperBird Oh! For context I'm nearly 37 now lol! I'm doing fine, happily married and living well. I really did enjoy this examination of the material though, and thank you for the kind thoughts! Please take care of yourself.
I'm not mad at Auron being your favorite because he's amazing, but my pick is Yuna. She's such a endearing, caring, yet badass character who doesn't afraid of anything!
Been trying to find a good x x2 video to watch that explained everything without being boring or opinionated and this one hits the spot great video!!! Liked and subbed.
Thanks for this story recap. FFX is my favorite JRPG ever, I thought I knew the story by heart but your recap reminded me of several points I had forgotten. Great video.
It's so nice to hear you talk about Final Fantasy and I feel like I've learnt something as I have very little Final Fantasy knowledge besides FFXIV. As that is only Final Fantasy game I've played so far, partially due to the fact I tend to not enjoy turn based combat so that has held me back from playing other Final Fantasy games. Though I do feel due to this video it has added something to my FFXIV experience, so thank you for this amazing video and all the effort you put into your work.
Great video Jinzee! FFX was the last FF game I really enjoyed. Never had an issue with the all female cast of X2, at the time I just thought it was an interesting change. Was a bit too short, and not as deep as X. As a teen I always had a problem understanding the full plot of FF games (which made for fun chats with mates trying to interpret and piece it together). Your analysis is very clear and thorough and true, I never realised how actually sad the themes of X are, but it's nice to have a happy ending, a dark souls take on FFX's storyline doesn't suit. The thing I always get from X's soundtrack aside form the sad tear jerky songs like zanarkand is a "summer memories" vibe (especially the besaid island theme). Anyway, great video, happy to have found your channel. Regards from Cyprus!
What a love letter to this story line. ❤️ Reminded me how absolutely phenomenal 10 was and how much fun 10-2 and how much it is okay to just take it easy sometimes with certain games. Deep and shallow. Love it.
I love how everyone just agrees that the Pronunciation is Tie•Dus, instead of the canonical Tea•Dus, because we all collectively know which one sounds cooler 😎
There is also his whole water theme, Blitzball star, his ultimate weapon is a sword that looks like water with bubbles in it. Having "Tide" as a syllable in his name just fits so well.
@@toidIllorTAmI Chapu's sword has it too, Tidus' ultimate weapon looks a lot like the Leviathan summon from other games and it's texture is like surface of water with the sun on it.
"Seymour, people are dying " "Well I don't want to marry them, they're dead!" Guess Seymour isn't a necrophile. XD That was a good bit 👌 As well as the aerith suplex bit, damn. Lmfao XD
Ohhhhh I loved this breakdown! I adore your analysis of the themes of each game and what messages they’re going for, that really elevates it all. I’ve absolutely LOVED X-2 ever since it came out but going back recently and trying to replay it really makes the structure of the game itself really stand out as a bit less than stellar. The gameplay absolutely rocks though, it’s so much fun - and you’re right, sometimes you can just have fun. Also after everything that Yuna has given up she deserves nice things, so if she can strong arm her dream boyfriend back into existence through sheer stubbornness then I’m ALL for it. It’s what she deserves!!
I loved both games. 1000 words made me cry. I also loved how in X you find the airship with Riku at the beginning of the game only to have it be your means of fast travel and an important story piece and that the giant machina from Operation Mi'hen was repurposed later in the game to fight Sin again but this time actually succeeds. In X, we discovered Spira. In X-2 we got to relax and enjoy Spira through the mini-stories in each area and chapter. Also back before UA-cam was big, I used to go to the Sphere Theater in both games to listen to music and rewatch awesome cutscenes.
So happy I finally got to see your retrospective! FF-X is my favorite JRPG. It left quite an impression on much younger me, I am sure the wayback machine would show me making the shocked Pikachu face as Tidus started to fade, many memories still hang on with me today. I enjoyed X-2 as a "guilty pleasure", the change in tone was always a bit jarring for me; so I learned to just enjoy it, as you said, more of a slice of life. In summary: Always happy to find another Auron stan!
You know, I keep forgetting that in Tidus's breakdown in Home he takes a chunk of his aggression on Valefor as it just looks down on him sympathetically.
FF has never really been my cup of Tea, but you just made me watch a 2h Video on it and i loved it! You're pretty awesome Jinzee, thanks for all your work! 😁💜
FFX was my introduction into final fantasy as a teenager and catapulted me into the franchise. The story stole my heart and I remember not understanding why so many people hated X-2, it was a different feeling sure... but it felt like an interesting sequel. The music also has stuck with me to this day because 1000 words broke my heart, and Real emotion felt like Yuna rebelling. I know it's just head cannon but I always just felt like Real Emotion was a piece of Yuna inside the sphere. I still have 55 minutes left of the video and I swear this video has had me on emotional nostalgia journey. I cried just thinking about how much it hit home for me as an adult now. Thanks for creating and forward I go!
Yeah! That’s definitely how I felt most of FFX-2 was trying to say about Yuna. And that fact only grew with how the short “Eternal Calm” video explains that Yuna wants to get away and not be pressured by the old ways. she cut her hair, goes with Rikku after she shows her the Shuyin sphere and it really shows a lot of the strength of Yuna’s arc to be and do her own thing now that Sin is gone.
This video is a masterpiece. As FFX is my favorite of the entire series too, this was such a awesome deep dive, and my usual YT attention span is NOT 2 hours lol well done ^_^
Right off the bat this has one of the best video descriptions out there and it has provided me the history of how such a culinary mistake came to be. I prefer sushi as well, Jinzee. I'm really impressed that you made a video this long! You should definitely feel proud. Maybe I missed you addressing this but how long did this take for you to make?
1:32:16 Did the person on the speaker go that hard originally or is that a really subtle edit hahaha But Anyways Glad I decided to watch this video since FFX is one of my favorite games ever ,was a great reminder of why i love it so much and finally seeing someone give the laugh scene justice instead of thinking its just an awfully voice acted scene That audio about sin coming back made me one of those hoping to see a X-3 game but today i feel like its probably for the better we dont haha Thank you for this video and keep up the great work , Glad i found you through twitch and i will probably come around from time to time to lurk or chat haha
Bless you for your plot breakdowns. I've played through both games as well as watched playthroughs online, and at least 30% of the plot you laid out was news to me lol.
Okay, now that I actually finished (lol). Wonderful video essay! I loved the breakdown and I appreciate acknowledging both the pros and cons. X/X-2 are very special to me. A baby history (not like anyone care but anyway). My first video game I ever touched was Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time AND Majora's Mask. At the same time. The first video game I OWNED was Dark Cloud (which I highly recommend btw. It's like if LoZ and FF had an illicit love child, just saying). The second game I ever owned was FFX, with FFX-2 being my 3rd. At age 10, seeing the opening of X shook me to my core. The music, the visuals, the atmosphere. I have been an avid reader all my life. I was reading chapter books by age 3 or 4. So seeing that opening felt like someone finally pulled from my brain what I see as I'm reading. When I got to the Sending scene in Kilika, I thought "I want to make others feel this." The awe, the visual and musical beauty, the majesty. I then... got stuck in Kilika temple. The Cloister of Trials theme song is legit triggering to me due to that; I spent hours for MONTHS trying to figure it out until I gave up. When X-2 came out I got it and played it. So, ironically, I finished X-2 before X. X-2 has its flaws. But it IS a good game. After beating X - which I did after beating X-2 - and then going back again to X-2, I actually appreciated X-2 a lot more. 1000 Words was the first time a video game made me outright sob. Not X. X-2. (Though, once I beat X, the ending scene when Yuna runs and falls through Tidus? That STILL rips my soul in two. That veeery specific moment. Fuck...) X-2 would have benefited to have been longer, a slightly slower pace, a more fleshed-out story. Fully agree. But it's still good for what it is. JRPGs are 90% of what I play. As you can see, I am a fucking masochist, clearly. And X-2 is still one of my favorite. IT does stand on its own, to me. It's still a good game, flaws and all. It, narrative, makes no sense to expect X-2 to be the same as X. I don't WANT it to be. To have the question "What happens when the Big Bad is killed?" is largely the realm of fanfiction, so it was genuinely enjoyable - and still is - to see the actual creators tackle it as best they could. X will always be the "better" of the two, but X-2 is not far behind, to me. Flaws an all. .....also Akechi was good even in "vanilla" Persona 5, everyone is just soulless and they're the reason abuse victims don't ask for help, okay baiiiiii!
I am a man who was in my early twenties when X-2 originally came out. I remember playing it on my couch when my roommate from Texas came down and sat next to me. He watched it for a time before he drawled, "So then, the point of this game is to get these gals new dresses?" I was a little embarrassed but I didn't stop playing and he didn't stop watching. So no, I don't think too girly is really a problem. What's the point of games if not to explore worlds different from your own?
Wow, I used to watch your Witcher videos, but never suspected you were also a JRPG aficionado! I felt mostly the same way - loved FFX, but FFX-2's story didn't land. Never finished it - one boss kept rolling over my and wasn't motivated enough to finish. I especially didn't find the new character versions believable - as a serious person myself, it was hard to imagine Yuna turning out that way, even with the release of pressure and everything. But you really laid it out well and point out the good parts, and make me want to finish it one day when I finally get time.
Awesome video. My favorite FF by one of my favorite UA-camrs. I remember when x-2 came out and I was so excited, but I was pretty disappointed by it. It was 2003 so I hadn't seen a lot of trailers about it because no internet. I was also 14 so I was too young to appreciate it for what it was. I just wanted Yuna and Tidus back Edit: Just realized 2003 was 20 years ago...so thanks for that
My two favourite anime back in the early 2000s were Neon Genesis Evangelion and Sailor Moon, therefore I loved FFX and X-2 more than any other FF games before or since. I don't think I need to explain further ;p
final fantasy x-2 last mission in a nut shell (featuring justapancake): Paine: I'm emo and have no friends, so I'll trick my friends for a last mission * crowd laughs * Rikku: we need to get this deal with Yuna: let's take easy * 10 floors later * Paine: are we having fun? Rikku: let's hurry to the top Yuna: I hope everyone is ok back home * 20 floors later * Rikku: don't be lazy and get a real job Yuna: I'm a house wife Paine: are we still friends? * 10 floors later * Rikku: you are lazy Yuna: you are aimless Paine: you are my friends * 20 floors later * Paine: can we talk about friendship? Yuna: maybe, why not? Rikku: NO! let's finish this mission * 20 floors later * Paine: let's eat some ice cream! we are best friends Yuna and Rikku: you are right! YRP: hahahahahaha
1:48:05 For me it's "Crysta" from Terranigma that never fails to make me feel like coming home - although the game is really old by now and I played lots of other games since the release of Terranigma. Bot none has ever managed to click with me like Terranigma did.
I loved both of these games. At the time the minigames didn't even feel like they were too common. The only thing that ruined them for me is the 100% completion in x2 for the extra ending. It was an ending you are pretty much never going to get without a guide; which is bad design.
Going through the Via Infinito on the release version (so no Mushroom Cloud or other fiends) was quite the experience. Trema was a *wall* that blocked me for days. Three of my friends helped me brainstorm, and we also looked up ideas from the nascent guide scene. Beating that old bastard is one of my proudest gaming moments.
I was a big Rikku fan too back when these games came out. Might be why I finished a new game + of X-2 while quiting X at Sin's fight in the mountain. And X-2's Memory of Lightwaves is my morning alarm 😋
X-2 song intro eternity is my favorite FF music❤️ i hate how the “open world” from older FF games was gutted in FFX and X-2 but I wont deny the Yuna x Tidus love story conclusion made me appreciate this series more. Edit: Also that laughing scene? Cringy as heck the first time, but I love it because I myself remember the cringy stuff I’ve done and they have been some of the best memories I have.
Final Fantasy 7 was my first. I never played anything like it before, it was magical and I'll never forget my first time playing it. FF8 is my personal favorite. Squall, Rinoa and their little polygon and pixel buddies were my friends in a time in my life when I really needed an escape. FF9 I was never able to give a proper playthrough when it first came out, experiencing it later in life I really appreciated it. But I have no real attachment to it. FF10 though...its the perfect Final Fantasy. The combination of story, characters, visuals, voice acting and gameplay all came together to make what I believe to be the objective pinnacle of Final Fantasy. What's come since has not even come close to replicating it (Including 10-2 i suppose) and if anything the series has completely lost its way with 15 and 16. So now when I see the scenes from 10 that still make me cry to this day, I shed tears not only for Yuna, Tidus and crew but for the series as a whole.
Did you go all the way through that horrible novel for us??? You also keep the theme of sacrifice, I see 😂 Thank you for this wonderful video! It’s very nice to reminisce about ffX, you reminded me how amazing this game was, and your input is very much appreciated ❤ (the two cutscenes about Tidus stupid laugh back to back? I’m rolling on the floor crying.) Since I began playing ffX-2 and abandoned it immediately, I didn’t know anything about it. Thanks for the discovery and summary! It’s like a review by Jinzee but better ❤ JINZEE-CHOCOBO PLEASE COME BACK
Sometime between 2002 and 2005 my dad and I walked into Blockbuster video in the small town beside the village we lived in in Scotland. I had a look round their tiny games section and I was kind of amazed. I found FFX, Silent Hill 2 (in some kind of special box) and Devil May Cry on the shelf I the 3 for £30 offer. We bought them and, holy shit. Never again did I find 3 games I loved more on those shelves! Dad liked the look of them but he didn't really enjoy them. As soon as it was released I went and got X-2, but I didn't really feel it. I got a few hours in and the garment grid was annoying me. I showed it to my dad and he wasn't a fan either, but remarked on how beautiful the graphics were... Thank you for bringing me back to that time when life was simpler. I lost my dad almost a year ago. He lived video games. Mostly strategy games or the old GTA games, but we would talk for hours about games I'd played and he told me about older ones I should try. I moved away and didn't really talk to my dad as often as we had a bit of a falling out. Every time I went to visit it was harder, then his health declined and I realised we needed to talk about stuff. So I talked about those games. He had dementia, and couldn't really remember them anymore. I'm going to start a new save file of X on my Vita this weekend and just remember the times I showed him the game on my wee white TV with the video player on it.
Most interesting thing about x-2 is seeing a final fantasy world at peace. Yes, another global threat rises (we need a game to happen after all), but for the first third, it’s a world that is aware that the great evil is gone and now just trying to be normal. We’ve never seen that before in a final fantasy game.
I finally had the time to finish this today and had a "crying in the club" moment at my desk over the X ending again. B R U H But thanks again Jinzee for making me hype to re-play X-2. It deserves my patience as an adult to actually beat it this time 😭
Thought those themes are linked, I think FF10 is more a story about depression than it is about loss. Each character have their own struggle and are not really moving on from their trauma and none of them are really in control of their life. Only through knowledge and self reflection (litteraly character developpment) can they overcome their depression. Auron's speech before Yunalesca's fight is the catalyst of that change and the metaphore of how you overcome deppression. By making the choice and comitting the party can finally break the cycle of death and save Spira, this world and the cycle being the biggest metaphore of depression of this game. In that way FF10-2 completes FF10 by reflecting about what to do after you overcome depression, how to move forward and how it can come back if you don't pay attention. So even if FF10-2 is of course not as good as FF10, the story is thematically not complete with just the first.
Sweat Jesus!!!! I had no idea you could turn the transformations of in X-2. It's the main reason I never finished the came. Off to my Playstation library to download.
Only reason I was iffy about Tidus coming back is because I was just starting to ship Yuna and Paine XD But honestly, Tidus and Yuna are so perfect together. It doesn't really invalidate X's ending, either; I still cry every time I see it, even knowing Tidus will come back. The two follow-ups really are best being ignored. It's astonishing how far the writer fell from the solid gold that was X. Opera Omnia serves as a much better gollow-up, but sadly that's on its way out.
It’s good to see x-2 get some love. You just need to consider it as its own separate chapter of Yunas life. One where she needs a little lightheartedness after all the suffering she has been through. I was just a tiny bit younger than Yuna at the time both of these games came out and was hitting that bittersweet milestone where you leave your childhood behind and face the more somber, high stakes world of adulthood at the same time she was. Giving up fun, carefree childhood days for the hopelessness of having unending adult responsibilities after years of being sheltered was painful, and both X and X-2 (and the first Kingdom Hearts game) helped me handle the stages of pain that came from feeling like all the happiest parts of my life were behind we with nothing but bad skin and bills to look forward to in the future. The games were there right when I needed them, and I hope they did the same for some other girly girl out there.
This was my second FF game ever and had it for a very long time before I played FF10 for the first time. Quite the experience going from one to the other! Yuna has always been my favorite FF character since
😁👏👏 great video final fantasy 10 is my favorite final fantasy game, the story of tidus and Yuna and their relationship is just so powerful, which is why tidus is my favorite character in the final fantasy series, yeah people make fun of him and the way he does that laught scene but it such a lovely story with great emotional scene, the same with 10-2 where we see how people live now that sin is gone and people can live and grow, which I believe both games are a perfect story together.
X-2 was my first final fantasy. I loved it, I loved it so much, had so much fun with it. Had a Bradygames strategy guide to accompany it and I just remember as a kid being in awe at the fantastic dressphere designs. Then I got a chance to borrow X from a friend and was so confused. Still had a great time though.
The FFX-2 Fiend Tales in the Creature Creator are seriously underrated. I'm going through them on NG+ right now because it's easy to level Fiends up when YRP is low level. I'm not even 30% done yet but there has been everything from tear-inducing (Fiend was once a little kid that shows off to its mourning parents how fast it can run now while the parents have no idea it's them) or ridiculous stuff like a Fiend having lewd thoughts about YRP which are seen in a thought-bubble above its head.
Back in the days i played FFX-2 first, that's why i don't have the same attachment to FFX as most of fans do. And it was real mystery for me! I mean i read some article about ffx so i kinda knew about main characters, so playing ffx-2 first made me curious: where the hell is Tidus? What is going on? Who are these people? What happened in the first game? Etc and etc. And, because there's no guide available at that time, i explored the game by myself, choosing different approach to the quests and finding smth new each time. I played it multiple times, and i really liked the music and the combat. The game also had that cheerful atmosphere which i really needed at the time. Half a year later my friend who was working at the game shop managed to get me a copy of ffx, somehow... I rushed home to play it, and i liked and enjoyed the game quite a bit (despite the fact that i wasn't using sphere grid at all and had to restart the game at some point because i got stuck and didn't want to grind) but overall i was disappointed by it. Not in a major way, but the difference was shocking and darker tone wasn't my cup of tea. And Tidus was really annoying, Yuna felt blunt, etc. As i've said, i liked the game. But between the two - FFX-2 is my favorite. It's just better for me. Also i don't like Auron, i guess we can't be friends...
This was nice, it felt like reminiscing about the game with an old friend. I never got to play the version of the game with fiend summoning and the super mushroom. I had to use a weird item that let every hit of the gun's rapid fire be 9999 when at low health to beat the super bosses.
FFX is my favourite FF game too. I'm currently at the end of a full playthrough of the series (currently playing XIII), but I've skipped sequels, spin offs and MMOs. So the only mainline FF game I've not completed is XV. X is the best of them all, both in gameplay and story. I also have a big soft spot for X-2, I played it to death when it came out (though being a 14 year old boy at the time, there were definitely...several levels of appeal to the game), and the dressphere system is one of my favourites from any of the FF games for character progression, I love a good job system. I replayed it in 2021, for the first time on the remake version, and unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much as I remembered. I think the introduction of the capture mechanic has given the game a bit of an optimal path problem that makes what I enjoyed about the dressphere/job system kind of redundant. Also, trying to 100% the game in a single playthrough was probably a bad idea. I still love it for the story that follows on from X though. ETA: On the topic of music, Real Emotion and 1000 Words are still among my favourite final fantasy songs to this day.
I legitimately love the game play and light atmosphere of x-2. But the ending...oof. I feel like the dress sphere system was really cool and would be a huge hit if put in a different game
Hi! This video was stuck in limbo due to the usual UA-cam shenanigans, sorry about that! In the meantime I did start up a second channel where I upload cut and edited game compilations from my streams (whenever I finish a game that is).
www.youtube.com/@jinzee
I'll share the video with some friends to help give it a boost. This channel is criminally underrated and it kind of saddens me when I see it not get the number of views or subscribers that it deserves. Would collaborating with other UA-camrs help with expanding your audience or is that something that you're just not interested in doing (the collaboration part not the views part)?
@@sebastianevangelista4921 I have done very small collaborations with other UA-camrs, but honestly I'm very bad at reaching out to people at all. 🥲
@@ProperBird *HUGS*
Hang in there, Jinzee. I'm sure your luck will turn around? Maybe you could research how to better reach out to others? Also, if you were to ever do a D&D related video then I highly recommend checking out the comic series Die by Kieron Gillen. It's been described as "Goth Jumanji" with is awesome! Gillen even developed a RPG based on it.
FFX-2 is a favorite of mine and as a straight male who doesn't give a F*CK I defend it yearly and proudly. Thank You PB. LOVE this video.
Just found this video randomly on my front page. I haven't watched FF stuff in a really long time, so the YT algorithm is still... doing something? Anyway, it's super unfortunate that your work here isn't getting the attention it deserves. I really hope these "shenanigans" get sorted out.
Tidus: “People die… and Yuna dances…”
Yuna: “🎵WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU 🎶🎵”
Wait, I have an even funnier version for you I'm going to send you the thing.
@@ProperBird kinda want to know the version you sent now!
Her singing "La la la - la la la - la la la la la la" while giving the concert on top of the Celsius and everbodys going crazy about it still haunts me...
One small detail I loved about X-2 over X was the funny battle dialogue ike Rikku saying "I'm gonna kick you in the spleen!" and Yuna saying "Duck soup!"
"Give me a Y!"
"Give me an R!"
"Give me a break -_-"
Paine's monotoned sarcasm would send me as a kid lol.
And I also liked the corresponding quotes that went along with each unique dressphere and their abilities, or when they add a little sassy remark after winning. There's even dialogue for when they are in critical HP and how they narrowly escaped death.
These quotes gave the girls some more personality and illustrated how they are ultimately working together as a team to take down the enemy. They made the battles feel more engaging and not just mindless button pressing and commands. While X did have some battle quotes, X-2's definitely had a lot more variety!
The magic girl transformation was exactly why I loved X2! It came after watching Sailor Moon and introduced me to JRPGs, it has a special place in my heart! Thank you for the informative video!
I used to just watch compilations of their transformations on repeat
Did you ever play Silent Hill 3? If not, look up Heather's unlockable Princess Heart costume. You might like it. :)
Something I found interesting about X is that the Faith of Zanarkand, who wanted to rest after 1000 years, sent Jecht out into the world where he was guided to become the next Sin. This made the latest Sin more closely tied to the dream. They then guided his son into the real world to end the cycle. With Tidus's connection to Jecht this meant a dream was sent to fight a dream to finally allow the Faith to sleep.
What is this? Directed by David Lynch? Lol
I enjoyed it just for the ending cutscene (which made me cry). That scene during the Farplane when you hit the button to hear Tidus whistle... (I'm absolutely NOT tearing up just thinking about that moment!).
It was an excuse to bring Yuna and Tidus back together as they deserved. So there.
That one got me too! 🥲
Tidus's "I hate you" when he finds Jecht carries so much implication. I love you, I hate that you left, but now I understand, I wish we could have been a real family. Loads of subtext with how the actor delivered that line, it's an amazing moment.
I’ll never forget watching the cutscene where Yuna performs the sending and walks on water for the first time! Immediately enamored with the game and this final fantasy entry (along with X-2, which came later on). Such a great video and it brought back so many nostalgic memories of playing through both of these games ♥️
🎵 Yuna walks on water, she's the lifeguard at our pool,
Yuna walks on water, she's the lifeguard at our pool,
Yuna walks on water, she's the lifeguard at our pool,
Yuna sends, Yuna sends, Yuna sends! 🎵
I always like the laughing scene. It starts with them doing their best "fake laughing" and then results in them laughing for real about how ridiculous it is.
Ikr? People who were laughing and saying it was bad acting definitely didn't touch the game at all. The poor voice actor had to make his own UA-cam channel to address it.
@@toidIllorTAmI Which is frustrating because X's voice acting is actually pretty dang good, especially for an early 2000's game.
@@toidIllorTAmI I've played the game many times. I love what this scene is trying to convey. It is still bad acting. The main reason the game isn't as highly regarded on my personal list is because of the terrible voice acting.
And I don't blame the actors. It was terrible direction. Fully voiced games was still new at the time, so square didn't put enough effort into doing it well. Doesn't take away from it being a good game, but lets call a spade a spade. The dialogue didn't flow well when spoken, and the takes, and editing, were terrible.
@@SilortheBlade that's where you bring other aspects into the mix which is perfectly justifyable but the people who say it's bad only listen to the laughing part. When in the dialogue, he's not really laughing. He's forcing a laugh to get through all the bloodshed they just went through.
But yes, they need to put voice actors in a booth with each other instead of separating them and giving them lines to read. In this case, it helped games like Silent Hill.
it's actually such an emotional scene. when you get the reveal and it shows that scene in a new light, you get how serious it is. Low IQ people just like to make fun without actually knowing anything about it.
I like the way you get that faint "?" floating up behind "Yuna" during the intro to X-2, hinting that it's not really her.
As a girl, I greatly loved that the game was girly! There were finally protagonists I could identify with. Plus, I grew up loving paper dolls, so getting to kick butt while playing an awesome version of dress-up was amazing!
This is probably the best dissection of these two games and their relationship to one another that I’ve seen on UA-cam. It took two of my favorite games and flipped a bunch of preconceived notions in a way where I got to re-examine it and enjoy them on a whole new level. Thank you so much!
Thank you!
It really is a lot of fun watching these videos! I remember the announcement and release of X-2 marking a turning point. After that genie was out, everyone wanted a sequel to FFVII, and we got a sequel movie, a prequel video game, and a lot of other stuff including a remake that's been released fairly recently. It seems like they've begun making Final Fantasy games with sequels in mind for a good while now.
Tidus: "People die, and Yuna dances."
Yuna (proceeds to breakdance on her head while on top of a geyser):
Wait I know that video.
and now you've put 1000 Words back in my minds. I'm definitely NOT holding back the tears, gorramit.
🫂 I'm sorry
Honestly, FFX-2 has a lot of great side stories that cap off a lot of the stories and questions brought up in FFX. I Love that both games actually make due and on most of these effective plots.
Tidus being a misremembered Shuyin is actually really compelling when you realize that Bahamut is a KID that Dreamed him up!
This is the most incredible and in-depth analysis of ffx and x-2 I've ever seen. Thank you so much for this!
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I'm glad you took notice of the whistling. I think it gets overshadowed at times. In X2, you need to whistle (among other things) to get the good ending. The whistling thing was set in the first game. It's a nice touch, I liked it.
UA-cam algorithm doing something right for once by recommending this to me-watched it all in one sitting, reminiscing on both games, shedding tears. This was such a well done video! For that & for discovering this channel, I subbed in a heartbeat ♥️✨✨
Small correction on the length of the Calm: Braska's Calm lasted 10 years. In-game people note it's one of the longest Calms they've ever had. Suggesting a decade is *exceptional* , not the norm. Meaning a typical Calm might actually be 5 to 8 years. Which is hella short! Also, this suggests the Calm lasts as long as the person who was used to create the Final Aeon can resist Yu Yevon's control and breakdown of their will. Jecht is shows to be very stubborn and willfull (something Tidus inherited in spades lol) so I suspect it took so long because of his personality. Remember, when you finally meet Jecht to fight him in end-game, he says "I-I can't hear the hymn so well anymore." He knows he's about to break and lose to Yu Yevon. It's why he brought Tidus in the first place; to stop him.
And as a fast aside; Tidus only being a summon of the Fayth and not a real person makes no sense and is a plot hole. Jecht was real. In-game we're never told anything to the contrary. So is his wife. So it makes no sense that a couple's son wouldn't be real??? Plus, doppelgangers exist in real life; people who look identical but are not related at all. It's rare but it happens. Tidus and Shuyin honestly feel like doppelgangers, hence making Tidus a real person in Zanarkand before its destruction. Otherwise, if he's purely a made-up being, there's a plot hole.
Everyone from Dream Zanarkand, Jecht and Tidus included, were aspects of a summoning that simulated an entire society. The Fayth not having infinite imagination, everyone (including those who were born during the era of Sin) were based on memories of people who used to exist.
Also the first calm was 500 years. Then, Sin returned and destroyed all that Spira had built up in the meantime with each progressive calm becoming shorter and shorter:
The second Calm, thanks to Gandof, happened 400 years before FFX, so 100 years passed without a calm.
The third calm thanks to Ohalland was 320 years before FFX, meaning the previous calm was, at most, 80 years.
The fourth calm, at the hands of Yocun, was at an unknown time before FFX.
The fifth and most recent calm, at the hands of Braska, happened only 10 years before FFX.
Tidus, Jecht, and Dream Zanarkand as a whole were all as real as any Aeon is. That’s what a summoning is; it’s the combined powers of a Fayth and a Summoner making a dream real. The Fayth dreams, and the summoner calls that dream into being. In the case of Dream Zanarkand, it was Yu Yevon summoning the collective dream of all the survivors of the original Zanarkand who willingly became a massive Fayth upon the side of Mount Gagazet. Dream Zanarkand was a means to “win” over Bevelle during the war; even if Zanarkand is physically destroyed, the memories and feelings of a civilization of mages and summoners can still keep their home alive through the power of their dreaming. Sin was created as a means to protect this dream, which was meant to last forever, and never meant to be discovered by the rest of the natural world.
So, the dreams of any Fayth are as real as anything else when they are summoned, and only end when the summoner can no longer bridge the way between the consciousness of the Fayth and the real world.
Tidus and Jecht were never meant to leave Dream Zanarkand originally, and when they did they became “real” in the sense that they began to exist outside the established dream. Now it’s never explained in detail, so this next bit is speculation on my part, however we know that Aeons are comprised of Pyreflies which comprise a lot of the natural world of Spira. Pyreflies can absorb memories and events that happen in the world and eventually crystallize to become spheres. I wonder if Tidus and Jecht begin to undergo a similar process once they enter Spira, as they are essentially human Aeons. They begin to have experiences and feelings outside their assigned lives in Dream Zanarkand, and thus the Pyreflies that make up their beings begin to “crystallize” into something substantial that can survive independently of the greater flow of dreams where they originated. But that process isn’t given enough time to complete for Tidus, so he fades away when Yu Yevon stops summoning Dream Zanarkand. That’s my take, in any case. I hope this all made sense 😅
I played this game when I was 17 going on 18. I had just come out to my family and it was not going well, but for all that happened I got to spend time with Yuna as she tried to figure out her life too. Maybe I read more into things at that time but I understood Shuyin's hatred of the world for killing his lover, rejecting peace, and the urge to destroy it all if he couldn't have her back. I understood Linn's heartbreak at the monster her lover became, and how she desperately wanted him to hear the words that might soothe his grief. I enjoyed Paine being stoic with glimpses of her wanting to come out but being hurt bad enough that her walls were safer. I thought Rikku was always kinda ditzy and seeing her relaxed enough to focus on what she wanted was kinda sweet. Again it is very likely I read into it due to my own circumstances but even now I can't exactly say I don't feel my heart drop when I hear the opening notes for 1000 Words, or get a bit peppy at the intro song. X-2 wasn't a perfect game but I still felt it wasn't a bad game, but it is hard to really hold up against FFX which had more time to tell a good story, in the end it all turns to faded memories that will one day be gone for good.
I hope you're doing better now! 🫂
@@ProperBird Oh! For context I'm nearly 37 now lol! I'm doing fine, happily married and living well. I really did enjoy this examination of the material though, and thank you for the kind thoughts! Please take care of yourself.
@@tigaron02 I'm really glad to hear it, have a wonderful day/night!
I'm not mad at Auron being your favorite because he's amazing, but my pick is Yuna. She's such a endearing, caring, yet badass character who doesn't afraid of anything!
The fmv when they crash the wedding in bevelled blew me away when I first played the game in my early 20"s. Still gives me chills.
Been trying to find a good x x2 video to watch that explained everything without being boring or opinionated and this one hits the spot great video!!! Liked and subbed.
Thanks for this story recap. FFX is my favorite JRPG ever, I thought I knew the story by heart but your recap reminded me of several points I had forgotten. Great video.
I'm actually impressed by the content and context of this video. Thank you for putting a very direct, yet interesting perspective. Great work!
5 minutes in, I'm already crying, happy tears of laughter from "everyone has to be sad". Brilliant.
It's so nice to hear you talk about Final Fantasy and I feel like I've learnt something as I have very little Final Fantasy knowledge besides FFXIV. As that is only Final Fantasy game I've played so far, partially due to the fact I tend to not enjoy turn based combat so that has held me back from playing other Final Fantasy games. Though I do feel due to this video it has added something to my FFXIV experience, so thank you for this amazing video and all the effort you put into your work.
Great video Jinzee! FFX was the last FF game I really enjoyed. Never had an issue with the all female cast of X2, at the time I just thought it was an interesting change. Was a bit too short, and not as deep as X. As a teen I always had a problem understanding the full plot of FF games (which made for fun chats with mates trying to interpret and piece it together). Your analysis is very clear and thorough and true, I never realised how actually sad the themes of X are, but it's nice to have a happy ending, a dark souls take on FFX's storyline doesn't suit. The thing I always get from X's soundtrack aside form the sad tear jerky songs like zanarkand is a "summer memories" vibe (especially the besaid island theme). Anyway, great video, happy to have found your channel. Regards from Cyprus!
What a love letter to this story line. ❤️ Reminded me how absolutely phenomenal 10 was and how much fun 10-2 and how much it is okay to just take it easy sometimes with certain games. Deep and shallow. Love it.
I love how everyone just agrees that the Pronunciation is Tie•Dus, instead of the canonical Tea•Dus, because we all collectively know which one sounds cooler 😎
Teadus sounds like... well it sounds like teat. I'm sorry Japan but I'm just not going to do that.
There is also his whole water theme, Blitzball star, his ultimate weapon is a sword that looks like water with bubbles in it.
Having "Tide" as a syllable in his name just fits so well.
@@forsetigodofjusticeexcelle7506 you know I never even looked at it that way, but that completely fits.
@@forsetigodofjusticeexcelle7506 isn't that Chapu's sword?
@@toidIllorTAmI Chapu's sword has it too, Tidus' ultimate weapon looks a lot like the Leviathan summon from other games and it's texture is like surface of water with the sun on it.
"Seymour, people are dying "
"Well I don't want to marry them, they're dead!"
Guess Seymour isn't a necrophile. XD That was a good bit 👌
As well as the aerith suplex bit, damn. Lmfao XD
Ohhhhh I loved this breakdown! I adore your analysis of the themes of each game and what messages they’re going for, that really elevates it all. I’ve absolutely LOVED X-2 ever since it came out but going back recently and trying to replay it really makes the structure of the game itself really stand out as a bit less than stellar. The gameplay absolutely rocks though, it’s so much fun - and you’re right, sometimes you can just have fun.
Also after everything that Yuna has given up she deserves nice things, so if she can strong arm her dream boyfriend back into existence through sheer stubbornness then I’m ALL for it. It’s what she deserves!!
I loved both games. 1000 words made me cry. I also loved how in X you find the airship with Riku at the beginning of the game only to have it be your means of fast travel and an important story piece and that the giant machina from Operation Mi'hen was repurposed later in the game to fight Sin again but this time actually succeeds. In X, we discovered Spira. In X-2 we got to relax and enjoy Spira through the mini-stories in each area and chapter. Also back before UA-cam was big, I used to go to the Sphere Theater in both games to listen to music and rewatch awesome cutscenes.
The entire video: "Wow, she hasn't mentioned the heartbreaking ending of Yuna whistling at the docks"
Then you end the video with it. Damn you.
Lol
So happy I finally got to see your retrospective!
FF-X is my favorite JRPG. It left quite an impression on much younger me, I am sure the wayback machine would show me making the shocked Pikachu face as Tidus started to fade, many memories still hang on with me today.
I enjoyed X-2 as a "guilty pleasure", the change in tone was always a bit jarring for me; so I learned to just enjoy it, as you said, more of a slice of life.
In summary: Always happy to find another Auron stan!
You know, I keep forgetting that in Tidus's breakdown in Home he takes a chunk of his aggression on Valefor as it just looks down on him sympathetically.
I love that you showed the marriage scene. it's literally my favorite final fantasy scene and I've played 15 of these games
FF has never really been my cup of Tea, but you just made me watch a 2h Video on it and i loved it! You're pretty awesome Jinzee, thanks for all your work! 😁💜
Always here to talk about new things you don't care about but now kinda care about a little. 😌
FFX was my introduction into final fantasy as a teenager and catapulted me into the franchise. The story stole my heart and I remember not understanding why so many people hated X-2, it was a different feeling sure... but it felt like an interesting sequel. The music also has stuck with me to this day because 1000 words broke my heart, and Real emotion felt like Yuna rebelling. I know it's just head cannon but I always just felt like Real Emotion was a piece of Yuna inside the sphere. I still have 55 minutes left of the video and I swear this video has had me on emotional nostalgia journey. I cried just thinking about how much it hit home for me as an adult now. Thanks for creating and forward I go!
Yeah! That’s definitely how I felt most of FFX-2 was trying to say about Yuna. And that fact only grew with how the short “Eternal Calm” video explains that Yuna wants to get away and not be pressured by the old ways. she cut her hair, goes with Rikku after she shows her the Shuyin sphere and it really shows a lot of the strength of Yuna’s arc to be and do her own thing now that Sin is gone.
54:38 They should have had Lulu riding side-saddle down the cables with sparks and everything.
Can confirm Zanmato is the solution to life's issues.
Ok I loved this video. It was in my recommended videos and your story telling and sense of humor are great. I'm definitely dropping a follow.
This video is a masterpiece. As FFX is my favorite of the entire series too, this was such a awesome deep dive, and my usual YT attention span is NOT 2 hours lol well done ^_^
Right off the bat this has one of the best video descriptions out there and it has provided me the history of how such a culinary mistake came to be. I prefer sushi as well, Jinzee. I'm really impressed that you made a video this long! You should definitely feel proud. Maybe I missed you addressing this but how long did this take for you to make?
Just found your channel I must say I can’t believe you are not bigger great stuff
1:32:16 Did the person on the speaker go that hard originally or is that a really subtle edit hahaha
But Anyways Glad I decided to watch this video since FFX is one of my favorite games ever ,was a great reminder of why i love it so much and finally seeing someone give the laugh scene justice instead of thinking its just an awfully voice acted scene
That audio about sin coming back made me one of those hoping to see a X-3 game but today i feel like its probably for the better we dont haha
Thank you for this video and keep up the great work , Glad i found you through twitch and i will probably come around from time to time to lurk or chat haha
That's the Fahrenheit airship. The Celsius airship was on 10-2.
I just realise they named it after temperature measurements XD
Bless you for your plot breakdowns. I've played through both games as well as watched playthroughs online, and at least 30% of the plot you laid out was news to me lol.
Glad to help! 😁
Very unrelated but I was really into dnd back then and whenever you said Vegnagun I imagined Vecna, the undead lich, but he also has a gun.
Licherally unstoppable
Okay, now that I actually finished (lol). Wonderful video essay! I loved the breakdown and I appreciate acknowledging both the pros and cons.
X/X-2 are very special to me. A baby history (not like anyone care but anyway). My first video game I ever touched was Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time AND Majora's Mask. At the same time. The first video game I OWNED was Dark Cloud (which I highly recommend btw. It's like if LoZ and FF had an illicit love child, just saying). The second game I ever owned was FFX, with FFX-2 being my 3rd. At age 10, seeing the opening of X shook me to my core. The music, the visuals, the atmosphere. I have been an avid reader all my life. I was reading chapter books by age 3 or 4. So seeing that opening felt like someone finally pulled from my brain what I see as I'm reading. When I got to the Sending scene in Kilika, I thought "I want to make others feel this." The awe, the visual and musical beauty, the majesty. I then... got stuck in Kilika temple. The Cloister of Trials theme song is legit triggering to me due to that; I spent hours for MONTHS trying to figure it out until I gave up. When X-2 came out I got it and played it. So, ironically, I finished X-2 before X.
X-2 has its flaws. But it IS a good game. After beating X - which I did after beating X-2 - and then going back again to X-2, I actually appreciated X-2 a lot more. 1000 Words was the first time a video game made me outright sob. Not X. X-2. (Though, once I beat X, the ending scene when Yuna runs and falls through Tidus? That STILL rips my soul in two. That veeery specific moment. Fuck...) X-2 would have benefited to have been longer, a slightly slower pace, a more fleshed-out story. Fully agree. But it's still good for what it is. JRPGs are 90% of what I play. As you can see, I am a fucking masochist, clearly. And X-2 is still one of my favorite. IT does stand on its own, to me. It's still a good game, flaws and all. It, narrative, makes no sense to expect X-2 to be the same as X. I don't WANT it to be. To have the question "What happens when the Big Bad is killed?" is largely the realm of fanfiction, so it was genuinely enjoyable - and still is - to see the actual creators tackle it as best they could. X will always be the "better" of the two, but X-2 is not far behind, to me. Flaws an all.
.....also Akechi was good even in "vanilla" Persona 5, everyone is just soulless and they're the reason abuse victims don't ask for help, okay baiiiiii!
Such an amazing video and channel. Keep going! Love your work
I am a man who was in my early twenties when X-2 originally came out. I remember playing it on my couch when my roommate from Texas came down and sat next to me. He watched it for a time before he drawled, "So then, the point of this game is to get these gals new dresses?" I was a little embarrassed but I didn't stop playing and he didn't stop watching. So no, I don't think too girly is really a problem. What's the point of games if not to explore worlds different from your own?
And he wasn't entirely wrong honestly.
1:28:02 Is Yuna's dance a reference to Hindu god Shiva's Nataraja form, the cosmic dancer?
The creators mentioned the South Pacific, Thailand and Japan as major cultural influences so it very well good be!
You remind me of the Final Fantasy Fanatics members group on myspace. Good stuff.
@Proper Bird Well done video, a plus too that the long work day goes faster with extended videos like this. Here's a sub 👍.
I recently learned that Yoji's doggo is actually called Koma Inu and Diagoro is just the name of the attack
Wow, I used to watch your Witcher videos, but never suspected you were also a JRPG aficionado! I felt mostly the same way - loved FFX, but FFX-2's story didn't land. Never finished it - one boss kept rolling over my and wasn't motivated enough to finish. I especially didn't find the new character versions believable - as a serious person myself, it was hard to imagine Yuna turning out that way, even with the release of pressure and everything. But you really laid it out well and point out the good parts, and make me want to finish it one day when I finally get time.
Awesome video. My favorite FF by one of my favorite UA-camrs. I remember when x-2 came out and I was so excited, but I was pretty disappointed by it. It was 2003 so I hadn't seen a lot of trailers about it because no internet. I was also 14 so I was too young to appreciate it for what it was. I just wanted Yuna and Tidus back
Edit: Just realized 2003 was 20 years ago...so thanks for that
I also constantly remind myself I am old by looking at my game collection.
Lol Kefka from VI
I'd say the opera is a more appropriate pick
Always happy to see your videos pop up on my feed ❤
Don't underestimate Chocobo in Creature Creator. Auto-Haste and a Rabite's Foot makes it an absolute monster.
My two favourite anime back in the early 2000s were Neon Genesis Evangelion and Sailor Moon, therefore I loved FFX and X-2 more than any other FF games before or since. I don't think I need to explain further ;p
final fantasy x-2 last mission in a nut shell (featuring justapancake):
Paine: I'm emo and have no friends, so I'll trick my friends for a last mission * crowd laughs *
Rikku: we need to get this deal with
Yuna: let's take easy
* 10 floors later *
Paine: are we having fun?
Rikku: let's hurry to the top
Yuna: I hope everyone is ok back home
* 20 floors later *
Rikku: don't be lazy and get a real job
Yuna: I'm a house wife
Paine: are we still friends?
* 10 floors later *
Rikku: you are lazy
Yuna: you are aimless
Paine: you are my friends
* 20 floors later *
Paine: can we talk about friendship?
Yuna: maybe, why not?
Rikku: NO! let's finish this mission
* 20 floors later *
Paine: let's eat some ice cream! we are best friends
Yuna and Rikku: you are right!
YRP: hahahahahaha
1:48:05
For me it's "Crysta" from Terranigma that never fails to make me feel like coming home - although the game is really old by now and I played lots of other games since the release of Terranigma.
Bot none has ever managed to click with me like Terranigma did.
Thanks
35:28 After just finishing Final Fantasy X again, that "ha, yeah good luck with that" made me literally laugh out loud.
I loved both of these games. At the time the minigames didn't even feel like they were too common. The only thing that ruined them for me is the 100% completion in x2 for the extra ending. It was an ending you are pretty much never going to get without a guide; which is bad design.
I love your pronunciation of Tidus. Imma push the subscribe button now.
Going through the Via Infinito on the release version (so no Mushroom Cloud or other fiends) was quite the experience. Trema was a *wall* that blocked me for days. Three of my friends helped me brainstorm, and we also looked up ideas from the nascent guide scene. Beating that old bastard is one of my proudest gaming moments.
How have I missed this video for a full month? UA-cam really doesn't understand my priorities
I was a big Rikku fan too back when these games came out. Might be why I finished a new game + of X-2 while quiting X at Sin's fight in the mountain.
And X-2's Memory of Lightwaves is my morning alarm 😋
Barely a minute in and the moment you mentioned X being your favourite Final Fantasy of all time, I couldn't hit subscribe fast enough 🤷♂️
X-2 song intro eternity is my favorite FF music❤️ i hate how the “open world” from older FF games was gutted in FFX and X-2 but I wont deny the Yuna x Tidus love story conclusion made me appreciate this series more.
Edit:
Also that laughing scene? Cringy as heck the first time, but I love it because I myself remember the cringy stuff I’ve done and they have been some of the best memories I have.
Final Fantasy 7 was my first. I never played anything like it before, it was magical and I'll never forget my first time playing it. FF8 is my personal favorite. Squall, Rinoa and their little polygon and pixel buddies were my friends in a time in my life when I really needed an escape. FF9 I was never able to give a proper playthrough when it first came out, experiencing it later in life I really appreciated it. But I have no real attachment to it.
FF10 though...its the perfect Final Fantasy. The combination of story, characters, visuals, voice acting and gameplay all came together to make what I believe to be the objective pinnacle of Final Fantasy. What's come since has not even come close to replicating it (Including 10-2 i suppose) and if anything the series has completely lost its way with 15 and 16. So now when I see the scenes from 10 that still make me cry to this day, I shed tears not only for Yuna, Tidus and crew but for the series as a whole.
Holy shit, not a Witcher fact. First time I've seen you outside of tiktok, and talking about one of my favorite FFs. Sweet~
This channel was here long before Witcher Facts. 😅 Welcome in!
Did you go all the way through that horrible novel for us??? You also keep the theme of sacrifice, I see 😂
Thank you for this wonderful video! It’s very nice to reminisce about ffX, you reminded me how amazing this game was, and your input is very much appreciated ❤ (the two cutscenes about Tidus stupid laugh back to back? I’m rolling on the floor crying.)
Since I began playing ffX-2 and abandoned it immediately, I didn’t know anything about it. Thanks for the discovery and summary! It’s like a review by Jinzee but better ❤
JINZEE-CHOCOBO PLEASE COME BACK
It doesn't have an official English translation but there was a fan effort to translate it which I read through. 😣
On the matter of novels it would be pretty cool if Jinzee wrote one herself.
Hey, great video as always. Love your little skits.😊
Sometime between 2002 and 2005 my dad and I walked into Blockbuster video in the small town beside the village we lived in in Scotland. I had a look round their tiny games section and I was kind of amazed.
I found FFX, Silent Hill 2 (in some kind of special box) and Devil May Cry on the shelf I the 3 for £30 offer.
We bought them and, holy shit. Never again did I find 3 games I loved more on those shelves! Dad liked the look of them but he didn't really enjoy them.
As soon as it was released I went and got X-2, but I didn't really feel it. I got a few hours in and the garment grid was annoying me. I showed it to my dad and he wasn't a fan either, but remarked on how beautiful the graphics were...
Thank you for bringing me back to that time when life was simpler.
I lost my dad almost a year ago. He lived video games. Mostly strategy games or the old GTA games, but we would talk for hours about games I'd played and he told me about older ones I should try.
I moved away and didn't really talk to my dad as often as we had a bit of a falling out. Every time I went to visit it was harder, then his health declined and I realised we needed to talk about stuff. So I talked about those games. He had dementia, and couldn't really remember them anymore.
I'm going to start a new save file of X on my Vita this weekend and just remember the times I showed him the game on my wee white TV with the video player on it.
Most interesting thing about x-2 is seeing a final fantasy world at peace. Yes, another global threat rises (we need a game to happen after all), but for the first third, it’s a world that is aware that the great evil is gone and now just trying to be normal. We’ve never seen that before in a final fantasy game.
both of these games take me back to summer vacation
I finally had the time to finish this today and had a "crying in the club" moment at my desk over the X ending again. B R U H
But thanks again Jinzee for making me hype to re-play X-2. It deserves my patience as an adult to actually beat it this time 😭
Thought those themes are linked, I think FF10 is more a story about depression than it is about loss. Each character have their own struggle and are not really moving on from their trauma and none of them are really in control of their life. Only through knowledge and self reflection (litteraly character developpment) can they overcome their depression. Auron's speech before Yunalesca's fight is the catalyst of that change and the metaphore of how you overcome deppression. By making the choice and comitting the party can finally break the cycle of death and save Spira, this world and the cycle being the biggest metaphore of depression of this game.
In that way FF10-2 completes FF10 by reflecting about what to do after you overcome depression, how to move forward and how it can come back if you don't pay attention. So even if FF10-2 is of course not as good as FF10, the story is thematically not complete with just the first.
I like this explanation. It’s incredibly strong.
Sweat Jesus!!!! I had no idea you could turn the transformations of in X-2. It's the main reason I never finished the came. Off to my Playstation library to download.
Enjoy!
Only reason I was iffy about Tidus coming back is because I was just starting to ship Yuna and Paine XD But honestly, Tidus and Yuna are so perfect together. It doesn't really invalidate X's ending, either; I still cry every time I see it, even knowing Tidus will come back.
The two follow-ups really are best being ignored. It's astonishing how far the writer fell from the solid gold that was X. Opera Omnia serves as a much better gollow-up, but sadly that's on its way out.
It’s good to see x-2 get some love. You just need to consider it as its own separate chapter of Yunas life. One where she needs a little lightheartedness after all the suffering she has been through. I was just a tiny bit younger than Yuna at the time both of these games came out and was hitting that bittersweet milestone where you leave your childhood behind and face the more somber, high stakes world of adulthood at the same time she was. Giving up fun, carefree childhood days for the hopelessness of having unending adult responsibilities after years of being sheltered was painful, and both X and X-2 (and the first Kingdom Hearts game) helped me handle the stages of pain that came from feeling like all the happiest parts of my life were behind we with nothing but bad skin and bills to look forward to in the future. The games were there right when I needed them, and I hope they did the same for some other girly girl out there.
"And Auron is the best character in the game."
And that's when I remembered why you're one of my favourite youtubers.
Auron unites us all
Excellent analysis. Wasn’t expecting the Chocobo suit. 😂
This was my second FF game ever and had it for a very long time before I played FF10 for the first time. Quite the experience going from one to the other! Yuna has always been my favorite FF character since
😁👏👏 great video final fantasy 10 is my favorite final fantasy game, the story of tidus and Yuna and their relationship is just so powerful, which is why tidus is my favorite character in the final fantasy series, yeah people make fun of him and the way he does that laught scene but it such a lovely story with great emotional scene, the same with 10-2 where we see how people live now that sin is gone and people can live and grow, which I believe both games are a perfect story together.
X-2 was my first final fantasy. I loved it, I loved it so much, had so much fun with it. Had a Bradygames strategy guide to accompany it and I just remember as a kid being in awe at the fantastic dressphere designs.
Then I got a chance to borrow X from a friend and was so confused. Still had a great time though.
Your intro describes your content to a tee!
The FFX-2 Fiend Tales in the Creature Creator are seriously underrated. I'm going through them on NG+ right now because it's easy to level Fiends up when YRP is low level. I'm not even 30% done yet but there has been everything from tear-inducing (Fiend was once a little kid that shows off to its mourning parents how fast it can run now while the parents have no idea it's them) or ridiculous stuff like a Fiend having lewd thoughts about YRP which are seen in a thought-bubble above its head.
I wish there was a way to know if your completion rate, other than just a percentage. Some are tied to certain chapters.
Luv your commentary and the tone you use. Like…sarcastically hilarious
Back in the days i played FFX-2 first, that's why i don't have the same attachment to FFX as most of fans do. And it was real mystery for me! I mean i read some article about ffx so i kinda knew about main characters, so playing ffx-2 first made me curious: where the hell is Tidus? What is going on? Who are these people? What happened in the first game? Etc and etc. And, because there's no guide available at that time, i explored the game by myself, choosing different approach to the quests and finding smth new each time. I played it multiple times, and i really liked the music and the combat. The game also had that cheerful atmosphere which i really needed at the time. Half a year later my friend who was working at the game shop managed to get me a copy of ffx, somehow... I rushed home to play it, and i liked and enjoyed the game quite a bit (despite the fact that i wasn't using sphere grid at all and had to restart the game at some point because i got stuck and didn't want to grind) but overall i was disappointed by it. Not in a major way, but the difference was shocking and darker tone wasn't my cup of tea. And Tidus was really annoying, Yuna felt blunt, etc. As i've said, i liked the game. But between the two - FFX-2 is my favorite. It's just better for me.
Also i don't like Auron, i guess we can't be friends...
Thanks for this long and neat Final Fantasy video!
This was nice, it felt like reminiscing about the game with an old friend. I never got to play the version of the game with fiend summoning and the super mushroom. I had to use a weird item that let every hit of the gun's rapid fire be 9999 when at low health to beat the super bosses.
FFX is my favourite FF game too. I'm currently at the end of a full playthrough of the series (currently playing XIII), but I've skipped sequels, spin offs and MMOs. So the only mainline FF game I've not completed is XV. X is the best of them all, both in gameplay and story.
I also have a big soft spot for X-2, I played it to death when it came out (though being a 14 year old boy at the time, there were definitely...several levels of appeal to the game), and the dressphere system is one of my favourites from any of the FF games for character progression, I love a good job system. I replayed it in 2021, for the first time on the remake version, and unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much as I remembered. I think the introduction of the capture mechanic has given the game a bit of an optimal path problem that makes what I enjoyed about the dressphere/job system kind of redundant. Also, trying to 100% the game in a single playthrough was probably a bad idea. I still love it for the story that follows on from X though.
ETA: On the topic of music, Real Emotion and 1000 Words are still among my favourite final fantasy songs to this day.
I legitimately love the game play and light atmosphere of x-2. But the ending...oof. I feel like the dress sphere system was really cool and would be a huge hit if put in a different game
12:03 pumping that Tonberry full o' lead