Oy, didn't get a chance to update this morning so we get two days worth of gameplay to catch up with. I have worked up to Auron joining the team. I managed to acquire Jecht Shot on my first try and even won the damn tournament with a true Cinderella story. It was looking rough as the Luca Goers got a score in the first half and I couldn't score a point because the game won't let you set up the party in the first half, because Toriyama most likely because he pulled that trout all the time in XIII. Second half was tense, but I finally managed to get off Jecht Shot and score a point, but after that point I couldn't really do much because Tidus couldn't regenerate his HP fast enough to pull it off a second time, and then the story twist came in where he's replaced with Wakka. I figured I was doomed and was going to have to reset when I noticed Wakka wasn't a bad shooter and even starts with a special shoot move that game me a shot, and literally in the last fifteen seconds of the game, I get the ball to Wakka and he managed to score a goal, winning the game for the Aurochs. So some nice gameplay closure for the man. Anyway, onto the pros and cons list.

Pros:
  • As much as I don't care for Yuna, she is involved in some of the coolest scenes in this game. I've always loved the Sending scene in Kilika and I've always been disappointed we never get another scene like that.
  • While most of the optional content in the game is debatable in quality, I do enjoy the Cloister of Trials, the one in Besaid is a bit simple, but the one in Kilika was nice.
  • I always forget about the Ochu fight, but it's a nice test to see how well you know the gameplay and proof you can cheese a lot of the bosses with Aeons.
  • With everyone so close to Kimhari's part of the Grid, I've had the majority of the party spend some time trying to acquire Lancet before moving on from their paths. Useful for Yuna and Lulu, incredible beneficial for Wakka who has low MP.
  • Yay, Tidus learned Warrior for Limit Breaks.
  • FFX does have one of my favorite incarnations of Ifrit, so nice to get him on my team.
  • I also managed to acquire Blast Ray for Valefor before leaving Besaid, so now I won't have to worry about fighting the Dark version to get it.
  • Been slowly filling Oaka's coffers to get a discount later, though in hindsight, I'm not sure why I'm bothering since I rarely buy equipment in the game.
  • Got Jecht Shot first try!
  • Managed to win the Luca Tournament without resetting, and give Wakka his Cinderella story. Even more amusing is that the Aurochs largely did it by themselves without much literal help from Tidus.
  • I made sure to recruit Biggs and Wedge for my team, partly because they are good, but mainly to keep them from being recruited by other teams. I just need to grab that goalie from the Al Bhed and we're gold.
  • FFX has always had some mixed design for me. I'm not really a fan of the Besaid look that Wakka and his team use or even the Kilika one. But Yuna, Auron, and Lulu have fantastic designs in this game. It's always a bit weird how mismatched it feels sometimes.
  • I will say, I am enjoying my time in Spira a bit better this time around. Though I would hold one's optimism off for a bit, because we are reaching the point where FFX begins to slowly lose me.
  • In a game filled with crazy plot twists, I feel the twist about Jecht being Sin is the most impactful. It sets up a cool mystery, adds more intrigue to Auron's character, and finally gives Tidus a more personal stake in what's going on in the story. It works on a lot of levels.
  • I've never been really bothered by the Laughing scene. I know a lot of people see cringe, but I find it to be a real nice bonding scene between Tidus and Yuna that doesn't involve Tidus' daddy issues.


Cons:

  • While I have a lot of gripes with the game's CTB system, I think the one aspect that annoys me the most is oddly enough the fact the party only gets XP by participating. It just drags combat down so much and it also kind of shows off the weakness of having party members designed to fight specific enemies because then you get stuff like Yuna and Kimarhi who really don't bring as much to the battle system (Aeons excluded) to regular combat. My party is usually close to save point and status effects go away after combat ends, so Yuna as a white mage isn't really needed. Kimarhi has Pierce before Auron, but none of those enemies start appearing before he joins and in comparison to Auron, he hits a bit like a wet noodle. So now I have to actively find things for them to do in battle and it just drags every encounter out longer than necessary.
  • FFXII:TZA has spoiled me, and I really wish there was a speed up button and the ability to skip cutscenes.
  • I think one of the things that bothers me about FFX is the direction they took with Yuna. Like I get they are trying to be true to the Japanese version while also dealing with the annoyance of dubbing, but I feel like FFX might have been a victim of the otaku revolt about subpar dubs that stray too far from the original or try to Westernize it too much. But I just don't feel like Yuna works in this game with the English VA. Nothing wrong with Hedy Burress, like I feel someone in the localization process messed up here, and I don't know if it's the western side trying to stay faithful or the Japanese side being inflexible about changes. I get the feeling she would work better in Japanese for me. She just comes across very awkward, and not like she's just socially awkward, like more a foreigner trying to keep up with local customs.
  • I wonder why so many people are just jerks for no reason here. Like Donna is such a bitch, and it's like sweetie, you should hoping someone else gets to be a High Summoner. Glory doesn't mean trout when you're dead. I can understand the Luca Goers being asses, but like it was such a mood whiplash coming after the Kilika destruction. Not helped that Donna and her partner are from Kilika, which is never directly stated but their clothing is coded as Kilika. The whole sequence just feels weird.
  • For the life of me, I will never understand how people didn't pick up on the fact Yuna was marching to her death. Like that farewell from Besaid felt a bit too weird to be just a simple goodbye. This is another point where I don't envy the localization team because I bet this scene was even more on the nose because Yuna likely said Sayonara on the boat. Which translates as goodbye, but generally means goodbye forever.
  • While not a major con, the fact Yuna lived on Besaid for a decade and didn't get the accent is a bit weird to me. Like I could see Lulu dropping it, especially since she's a bit more world traveled than Wakka, but I feel like it was a missed opportunity to give Yuna some adorkable points by having her slip into the Besaid accent when she gets excited. Like the accents are a nice touch, but very inconsistent. Sadly, this is pretty noticeable coming off XII where even NPCs tend to stick to their designated accents.