How the hell am I supposed to win on the Blitzball Tournament?

[Peter_20]

I've restarted this game several times now (don't ask me why, I seem to like starting from the beginning in any game), and every single time I get totally owned by the Luca Goers during the Tournament.
Last time they scored like 5-0 against my team, and my struggling with the players didn't help much at all; the game seems to favour the Luca Goers.

I know how the technical aspects work, and I also know about this "at least 1 point left" thingy when you're trying to score a goal.
But anyway, the game cheats me from winning in various ways: if I try to Break on someone, and my Endurance or whatever is higher than their Attacks, I still get knocked down, and then they steal the ball and score in no time.

Oh well, how am I supposed to win? :rolleyes2

[Ender]

It doesn't matter if you win that game or not. The only difference is some short in-game cutscene differences and your personal satisfaction AFAIK--there are no other item, story, or character "bonuses" for winning.

If you play enough times I can pretty much promise that you will either get good enough, or lucky enough, to win (I'm sure it helps if you've played the game successfully in the subsequent league-play and tourney options on a previous playthrough). It's a matter of how much commitment you are willing to make towards an ultimately pointless aspect of the game.

IMO breaking is pretty much worthless in that game. Pass the ball to Tidus and have him swim close to the goal and do a Jecht Shot.

[Mirage]

You're not really supposed to win the first match the first time, it's just a bonus if you do. Try again next time you restart, when you're more experienced in blitzball.

The stats aren't treated as absolute. They can effectively either be 50% less, or 50% more. There's an element of random chance in there too.

[Firo Volondé]

Don't worry about it too much. All you get a Strength Sphere for winning, though it is very handy at this early stage of the game, it is far from vital. If you do plan to try and win, though:

1) Pass around and keep possession as much as possible in the first half, partly for the experience, but mostly to stop them from scoring freely. Have Tidus pull off a pass at least once to put him to Level 3, so he can use Jecht Shot in the second half. At the four minute mark, get the ball down to Tidus quickly and try to score, so that they won't have time to counterattack.

2) In the second half, you will only have three minutes before Tidus comes off. It will interrupt the game and restart it as a blitzoff. You MUST get Tidus down AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE and score with the Jecht Shot. When Wakka comes on, you should be ahead or even. If you're behind, reset your PS2 and try again. If you're ahead, just get the ball and stall until time runs out, if scores are level, you could try to score with Wakka, he's also good at scoring. Again, make your move with a minute to go.

[cally777]

I agree with everything Firo says tactics wise. Mirage is also right about the stats. This means that there are some situations where you know you can break past a player, and others where its a gamble.

Eg Tidus/Datto can easily break Abus/Bickson, but either defender or Graav is risky.

For this reason, only try a risky breakthrough in the first half if it will allow Tidus to shoot close to the goal (you should be practically standing in it!) Even then you might not score (goalie's catch and your shot also randomise 50%), so its best to wait till nearly half-time.

Second half use Jecht/Sphere/Venom shot. With these you can sometimes score from even half-way in opponents half (if you are unblocked and desperate!)

[Namelessfengir]

my way is to save in a new spot right before the game
as for the first 'quarter' get the ball and hold it!!!!
set your control for manual (hit triangle and select manual 1) then run back to your goal and pass between all your guys to get them exp just make sure that the guy you pass to is not too close to a goer
as for shooting if your lucky tidus or datto might get a shot in but better just to be passing.

if you did it right most of your players should have gotten enough xp to gain a skill slot ie lvl 3
if you get it for tidus give him jecht shot
as for the others what ever moves they came with
your goal during the second half is to win or tie the game if you tie this gives you a chance to level up wakka get the venom shot. during overtime its one shot one kill so if the goers get the ball hope you can tackle him.

hope these help

ps if you saved beforehand and you fail just reload try again thats what i do ... i don't like losing to those pussies

[Hambone]

I finally beat the first game on my last file. I was like "OMG, the crystal cup!"

But yeah in the first half, pass and shoot like crazy. In the second half, make sure Tidus has the Jecht Shot and use that. Also, Wakka replacing Tidus is a good thing. He is faster and a better shooter. "Shoot like crazy!"

[d£v!l'$ ph0£n!x]

or alternatively use the impossible to lose method. score one goal (easy with jecht shot) then get a hold of the ball and sit in your net. the other team will just leave you alone!!! go get a cup of tea or something . . .

[Tavrobel]

Two words: Jecht Shot

In the second half, spam Wakka. His SHT stat is usually higher.

[rubah]

Wakka replacing tidus is terrible, because wakka doesn't have jecht shot I forgot he replaced him the first time and was disappointed because I had tried to harvest exp the first half xD

[Mirage]

His SHT stat is usually higher.

Too bad that's mostly irrelevant, because he almost always needs to get through one or two defensive players first, and at that level, Wakka simply doesn't have enough SHT for that.

[Tavrobel]

You people really need to play sports games more. I never found dodging the enemy to be difficult.

[Mirage]

oh, dodging them is easy enough, too bad they all mobilize from everywhere within 50 meters once I select 'shoot'.

[rubah]

Psh, I play rpgs

[cally777]

Like I said, if you shoot when Wakka is unblocked, even if its quite far out, he has a fair chance of scoring. So don't despair if Tidus has left the field.

I sometimes think also, that Wakka has some kind of "heroic bonus" so that his chance of breaking players is higher in this game. I remember once breaking through Graav, then Doram, then Balgerda with him. But I could be imagining it. Still it inspired me in a fic I was writing about the game, its a great way to win by breaking through the entire opposition defence, then scoring.

Basically when it goes down to the wire, try anything to score. Thats the stuff of legend after all.