FFX walkthrough - details you notice on the way...

[Simen]

Final Fantasy X - playthrough with focus on details and new things


http://i2.listal.com/image/469879/600full-final-fantasy-x-screenshot.jpg


I am currently playing through the whole game again, and I'm gonna update this post with things I haven't noticed before. It's pretty exctiting 'cause it's a big world and a game with a lot of details, I have never really looked after the details. This is what I got so far...


1. Submerged Ruins

I reloaded the Al Bhed alphabet from an earlier game here, and read the "sign" on the wall in the east of the water. It says something like this: When in the land of roaring lightnings, heading towards Macalania, with the pillar in sight, look not to the right, but to the left..." (?) - what's this? Something about the cactuar statues in the Thunder Plains? Anyway, I'm going to do a search when I come to it.


2. Besaid Temple

I actually noticed something about the sounds in this place, and I've never noticed it before: When you pick up a glyph, besaid or destruction sphere, a mighty vibrating bass-effect comes, and it remains as you carry the sphere. When you place it back somewhere, the bassy noise stops - cool!

Edit: This also happens i Kilika Temple, and most likely the other temples as well..


3. Besaid Island

This one is not very "ooooh, wowie...", just something I didn't know: It's possible to go back to the cliff Wakka pushes Tidus into the lake from. No treasure chest or anything to get there, just flowers... lol


4. On the boat to Luca

a) There are actually 4 different scenes with Wakka and Lulu on the top floor. I thought it was only two, and when jo go up there afterwards, talk to them, and go back down; Wakka stops Tidus on the way down the stairs and says something about him being recognised in Luca.

b) In the blitzball-scene with Tidus and Jecht; when Jecht comes to Tidus as a child, bowing his head just like him, it looks like anothet Jecht is watching it all in the background: Nice detail that kinda reminds us that Jecht is Sin, and he's watching Tidus on the way.



That's all for now. I'll let you guys know when I update it later.
Feel free to post details you've noticed after the first times. :)

(And oh, sorry if my english isn't 100% correct here, I'm from Norway)

-Simen

[Bubba]

Good to have you back Simen!

Yeah, feel free to update us with your playthrough. I only managed to get about halfway through FFX before losing myself to Blitzball. I plan to attack it again when it comes out in HD.

I'm currently on a FFVI playthrough which I'm updating (not too often, it has to be said!) on this forum. Be interesting to hear how yours goes.

[Simen]

Thanks BF! ;)

Yup, I'll update when I see/hear something new.

[Jiro]

Yeah I'm really looking forward to seeing what else you note about your playthrough. Especially the al bhed signs you find, I never quite got 100% so I didn't get to see all the hidden things like that!

[Simen]

Alright. I've read one other in Besaid too, but it was nothing "special" like the one in the ruins. I'll let you know the other's though, if you want? I have my iPad with noteblock open beside me when I play. Doing notes. :) Can't wait to continue!

[Jiro]

That's a very clever way to do it, nice idea! I am looking forward to hearing every little detail because I won't be able to play for another few months when I get back home to Australia!

[Simen]

Thank you!

I just played another hour or so, have come to Kilika. Did you guys know that almost every man who's saying goodbye to Yuna when she leaves Besaid, gives you items or gill? :) But most of them you have to speak to twice, not just once. This is though nothing "new" for me, so I won't note it down in my first post.

[Jiro]

I remember when I figured that out too, I started talking to people everywhere and would keep talking to them continuously until they gave me stuff. Freebies! :D

[Simen]

Yes. Is nice! :D

[Pete for President]

Nice find about the bassy sound! I think the Al Bhed sign in the Sunken Ruins is either referring to a normal treasure chest or Kimahri's ultimate. Not sure though, let me know what you find when you get there : )

[Simen]

Edited the post a little. Nothing new though. Played through Kilika today, but can't say I noticed any new details. Exciting to play this game again, anyway! :)



Nice find about the bassy sound! I think the Al Bhed sign in the Sunken Ruins is either referring to a normal treasure chest or Kimahri's ultimate. Not sure though, let me know what you find when you get there : )

Thanks! I noticed it was the same thing in the temple of Kilika, a mighty bassy noise when holding sphere's. It's a cool effect. Very easy to notice for me now too, beacause I play on a good sound system this time. Much better than before, therefore it's easier to hear new things in the game. Many details in sound too, you know..

Thanks for thoughts about the sign, I find it interesting too. But I think I need to load one of the old games with control of the airship, so I can go back there again and note down excactly what it says. I'll add it to pt. 1 here when I do. ;)

[Dr. rydrum2112]

When I replayed the game I noticed that most NPC's tell you different things after each storyline event. That is what they say changes after advancing the story a few steps.

One question I have always wanted answered- (spoiler), how did Jecht get pulled out of dream world into Spira? It is explained that Jecht pulled out Tidus.

[Flying Arrow]

I'm playing through the game for the first time in like 7 years and it's making a good argument for why I shouldn't read the internet's opinion on games anymore. I still don't think the game is particularly great, but it generally has solid dialogue and good story pacing (minus the Blitzball tournament, my goodness). The scene direction is still kind of awkward in the way some cutscenes are a lot of disjointed cuts and badly-framed angles. But playing the game after playing PS3 titles almost exclusively for the last two years has given me a new appreciation for how Squaresoft used to do things. Awkward and problematic, yeah, but refreshing because it's still leagues above what normally passes for "story" in console games today.

I also just want to say also that I am (used to be?) one of the biggest X detractors around. I know there are some parts coming up that I may not like, but for now I'm really enjoying myself.

[Simen]

Flying Arrow: Good to hear you're enjoying this game now. You know, people's opinions are different, and eventhough some people won't like FFX, it doesn't change the fact that I've always loved it. Some scenes may seem "awkward", but I think it's charming. It can't be perfect either.

1st post updated.

[ShinGundam]

I'm playing through the game for the first time in like 7 years and it's making a good argument for why I shouldn't read the internet's opinion on games anymore. I still don't think the game is particularly great, but it generally has solid dialogue and good story pacing (minus the Blitzball tournament, my goodness). The scene direction is still kind of awkward in the way some cutscenes are a lot of disjointed cuts and badly-framed angles. But playing the game after playing PS3 titles almost exclusively for the last two years has given me a new appreciation for how Squaresoft used to do things. Awkward and problematic, yeah, but refreshing because it's still leagues above what normally passes for "story" in console games today.

I also just want to say also that I am (used to be?) one of the biggest X detractors around. I know there are some parts coming up that I may not like, but for now I'm really enjoying myself.
That is probably the low poly in-game event, they usually feel stiff or limited compared to prerecorded in any 3D FF game.

[Flying Arrow]

Yeah, all the in-game cutscenes are, obviously, inferior to FMVs. It's not the low-polyness of it that bothers me. But it's still not like they aren't "pre-recorded". These scenes are just as directed as anything else, so there's no reason why there should be a lack of orientation or continuity. At one point I walked up to a character on the Mi'ihen Highroad. Cutscene starts, Tidus approaches, Yuna walks up from the character's side and starts talking. Maybe it's me but it's just the constantly shifting camera angles and close-ups that really disorient me. Square were obviously trying to show off but... I think they went overboard.

Anyway, I've played a bunch more. Some details I really, really like:

-The ruins scattered throughout Spira. Spira is probably one of the series best settings conceptually. I always recall having thought this, but playing through again and seeing the city sunken into the Moonflow (which I forgot about) is really sobering and an amazing world-building touch.

-As immensely boring as I find the map design in this game, there's still something to be said for the aesthetic of running forward to the horizon at almost all times. Places like Mi'ihen, Mushroom Rock Road, and the Thunder Plains just have these really romantic vistas that really hammer home the notion that you're trying to get... er, home. I still am unimpressed by the linearity of the game's areas, but the thematic continuity is really nice. X's closest sibling, XIII, is a game about escaping from home rather than returning to it, so I wonder if it would have sat better with me in that game had you been able to see Eden or Pulse shrinking in the distance as you progressed.

-A negative detail: the enemy encounter rate is really getting to me. When I think back on X, one of the things I remember is fighting the same enemies over and over again. Well, that's more or less exactly what I'm doing. Almost everything up to Macalania Lake so far as been palette-swapped fliers, armoreds, nimbles, blobs, or spell-casting elements. They obviously had to balance the standard FF monster roster with the characteristics of X's role-heavy battle system, but I don't think they were able to cover enough ground. I've run into the same monster combos three and sometimes four times in a row in a single locale, often not even having to character swap in the battles. But worse is none of the battles 18 hours in feel all that different than from those at the outset of the game.

[Dr. rydrum2112]

I remember the vistas and diversity of locations being amazing in the game. There is one vista on the way down from Mt. Gag that is sick, the scene on mi'ihen high road looking at (setting sun scene?). Moonflow had a great lil video as did the sending at kilika.


As for your negative on the opponents- that can be said for every RPG I have ever played.

[Simen]

Flying Arrow: I agree with you about the ruins along the road, those are great details!

Played some more earlier, and noticed a couple of things I haven't seen before. On Mi'hen Highroad, there's a lady that shows Tidus an Al Bhed sign and goes on about how terrible she thinks the design is (lol).. And also, I didn't know that Wakka asks where Tidus har seen Auron before (?), right before entering the Highroad.

Now I'm gonna play some more!

[FFIX Choco Boy]

Hmm... I wonder what city is sunken under the Moonflow? I'm pretty sure the city under Bevelle that you go to in X-2 is Midgar, so would that mean the Moonflow city is... Edge? It's in the right orientation from Bevelle. But then, I'm almost positive the Calm Lands is where the Chocobo Ranch was.

EDIT: Nevermind, pay no attention to me. FFX happened 3,000 or so years before FFVII, and on a different planet. Please, continue.

[Dr. rydrum2112]

Hmm... I wonder what city is sunken under the Moonflow? I'm pretty sure the city under Bevelle that you go to in X-2 is Midgar, so would that mean the Moonflow city is... Edge? It's in the right orientation from Bevelle. But then, I'm almost positive the Calm Lands is where the Chocobo Ranch was.

EDIT: Nevermind, pay no attention to me. FFX happened 3,000 or so years before FFVII, and on a different planet. Please, continue.

You are right- they are set in the same universe, but on different planets (That was in some ultimania) and the underground gaol (sp?) was made to look similar to midgar.

[Simen]

Okey, so now I've played and enjoyed my way through Mi'ihen Highroad, Mushroom Rock, Djose Highroad, Thunder Plains, and I'm in the temple of Macalania now. I can't say I've seen much more details that's "new", BUT a couple of comments along the road...


1.) Djose Temple: I gotta say that I think the Cloister of Trials at this temple is amazing, very well done, and by far the coolest to do so far. I haven't decided which is best of this one and the two next (have to play them again to decide), but it's definately much cooler than the first two.

2.) After beating Brother's Al Bhed machina, I saw a new scene with Rikku and Tidus riding the snow scooter. All the other times I've done the game, he is riding and talking with Lulu. It was cool to see a new scene with Rikku. However, I knew this could happen, so I won't note it down in my first post.

I've also noticed a couple of other scenes I think I haven't seen before, could it be a fact? One of the scenes I noticed that I just think was a little different, was at the sunset-scene with Yuna and Tidus at Mi'ihen...? I know that the scene with either Rikku or Lulu and Tidus riding the snow scooter, is somehow decided wheter the characters get along in the story? Or something like that!? Can't remember where I read it, but now I know it's true that it can change..

[Pete for President]

2.) After beating Brother's Al Bhed machina, I saw a new scene with Rikku and Tidus riding the snow scooter. All the other times I've done the game, he is riding and talking with Lulu. It was cool to see a new scene with Rikku. However, I knew this could happen, so I won't note it down in my first post.

I've also noticed a couple of other scenes I think I haven't seen before, could it be a fact? One of the scenes I noticed that I just think was a little different, was at the sunset-scene with Yuna and Tidus at Mi'ihen...? I know that the scene with either Rikku or Lulu and Tidus riding the snow scooter, is somehow decided wheter the characters get along in the story? Or something like that!? Can't remember where I read it, but now I know it's true that it can change..

Awesome, never knew there were other scenes beside Lulu's on the scooter, or at least I think. As I recall which girl you get more scenes with depends a lot on the answers you give to Lulu when she's in front of Seymour's mansion in Guadosalam.

[Nebulance]

2.) After beating Brother's Al Bhed machina, I saw a new scene with Rikku and Tidus riding the snow scooter. All the other times I've done the game, he is riding and talking with Lulu. It was cool to see a new scene with Rikku. However, I knew this could happen, so I won't note it down in my first post.

I've also noticed a couple of other scenes I think I haven't seen before, could it be a fact? One of the scenes I noticed that I just think was a little different, was at the sunset-scene with Yuna and Tidus at Mi'ihen...? I know that the scene with either Rikku or Lulu and Tidus riding the snow scooter, is somehow decided wheter the characters get along in the story? Or something like that!? Can't remember where I read it, but now I know it's true that it can change..

Awesome, never knew there were other scenes beside Lulu's on the scooter, or at least I think. As I recall which girl you get more scenes with depends a lot on the answers you give to Lulu when she's in front of Seymour's mansion in Guadosalam.

The scenes are determined by so-called 'affection levels.' A more thorough discussion is here: GameFAQs: Final Fantasy X (PS2) Affection Levels FAQ by CB! (http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/197344-final-fantasy-x/faqs/15267)

[Pete for President]

2.) After beating Brother's Al Bhed machina, I saw a new scene with Rikku and Tidus riding the snow scooter. All the other times I've done the game, he is riding and talking with Lulu. It was cool to see a new scene with Rikku. However, I knew this could happen, so I won't note it down in my first post.

I've also noticed a couple of other scenes I think I haven't seen before, could it be a fact? One of the scenes I noticed that I just think was a little different, was at the sunset-scene with Yuna and Tidus at Mi'ihen...? I know that the scene with either Rikku or Lulu and Tidus riding the snow scooter, is somehow decided wheter the characters get along in the story? Or something like that!? Can't remember where I read it, but now I know it's true that it can change..

Awesome, never knew there were other scenes beside Lulu's on the scooter, or at least I think. As I recall which girl you get more scenes with depends a lot on the answers you give to Lulu when she's in front of Seymour's mansion in Guadosalam.

The scenes are determined by so-called 'affection levels.' A more thorough discussion is here: GameFAQs: Final Fantasy X (PS2) Affection Levels FAQ by CB! (http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps2/197344-final-fantasy-x/faqs/15267)

Cool, that goes deeper than I thought.