Alicornutopia

Like a bad meme, I return! (I had nothing to say on chapter 5.) The Blitzball game with Aurochs (player) vs Luca Goers is actually... Insane. It's the first Blitzball match of the game ever. It's basically what I'll be talking about.

Blitzball Basics! Two teams, 6 players each. 3 on offense (left/center/right) ), 2 on defense (left/right), and a goalie (catcher). Aurochs has the Center Letty, left offence being Tidus or Wakka, and Letty (NPC) filling in the open slot, since Tidus and Wakka switch. Botta on Right-Offense, Jassu/Datto on left/right defense, and Keepa (ha-ha) on the catcher. (Both me AND Pedro had to check this was accurate.)

You (player) control whoever has the ball on your side, or watch and do nothing while the enemy has it. When the person with the ball hits someone else, you have the option to break through (get tackled, or skip it), then pass/shoot (can be intercepted by people you don't let tackle you/people in the way. Shoot involves the enemy Goalie). You can also pass at any time. Random center gets it at the start, balls failing to be caught go to someone random, 2 halves of 5 minutes (paused while you input choices).

Toss in 'Venom Tackle' and so forth, and you have a game. Here's the thing...
- You need to realize to set the controls to manual, since the AI is pretty bad
- Your team is 60% weaker than the Goers, with only Jassu being 'usable'
- The enemy team's real tank, Balgerda, can go straight through everybody on your frontline (High tackle-resistance)
- Tidus is set to be the left-fielder. So he's not going to be as aggressive as you want him to while AI-controlled
- If the enemy gets the ball at the beginning/after a score, they can score on you while you can't do anything about it
- The enemy gets the ball after you score/fail a shot hard.
- You can really only get one 'Venom Tackle' esque ability in round two, by claiming it during the match.
- Tidus can't have Jecht Shot until round 2, if you level him up hard during, which is not likely unless known beforehand (I was incorrect before.)

So, if you aren't in the lead at second-half 3 minutes, you instantly reset to the 'Blitzoff' random beginning, and you get Wakka replacing Tidus. Who is at least tanky. But by that point, you might be too far back to win. You can skip getting Wakka if you are in the lead (at least +1 score) at that point.

The cutscene that occurs with Tidus being in the match is weird. The 'canon' scene with Wakka in the match has Tidus swim into the sphere to see Wakka, who relaxes on his back after winning. Monsters occur and some get inside, underwater fight! With Tidus in the match, Wakka just kinda swims inside and Tidus has his sword ready for the battle.

Your prize for winning this insanely hard Blitzball match? A power sphere, and you are the first 'winner' in the list. The trophy is in your room until you free-play a tourney. You never have to return to the locker room, let alone do anything there. Congratulations.

Tidus has a giant temper tantrum infront of Auron... It's kinda funny. It's why Tidus is known as a spoiled child.

Also, it is SEVEN HAs. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA. Tidus does it three times alone (with awesome camera angles), and then Tidus + Yuna once.

But yes! BLITZBALL! Next save point you can play VS any team at any time. Even during the final dungeon. You can also recruit random people. You can't recruit Wakka until next to the end of the game. Have fun.

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omg i just watched that video and it was amazing. THE GIANT MONSTER HAS TINY NECK ARMS TO HOLD HIS THEMATIC CHAINS. HE KILLED ALL THE LITTLE MONSTERS WITH HIS FIERY LASER EYE.

There is a mechanic in the game called "overdrive" which basically lets you do a super attack after you've dished/taken enough hurt (in my current box with Throne the laser thing Valefor did was one of her overdrives). Anima's overdrive is pretty cool. She's my favourite aeon <3

Anima is an optional Aeon to obtain, for the record. I like Valefor as my favorite summon in FFX, because as being unique, there can't be better versions elsewhere! The little petting thing Yuna does when summoning Valefor is also pretty cute.

Chapter 7: The Mi'ihen Highroad - South
After Luca is the Mi'ihen Highroad, with lots of vegetation around lots of ruins. As the party walks along, they run into an old man who tells them the story of Lord Mi'ihen. Eight hundred years ago, he created the Crusaders to fight Sin. Yevon accused them of heresy and rebellion, so Lord Mi'ihen walked along that road to face their charges and refute them. He succeeded, and the Crusaders became an arm of the Yevon clergy.

They continue walking and reach some old ruins. The old man catches up with them again and explains they are a testament to Sin's power, and humans mere mud puppies compared to its power. Yuna says she believes humans are the only ones who can defeat Sin (the speciecism is probably unintentional on the part of the writers), and the old man says it's good to hear that from a summoner. He introduces as Maechen, a scholar, at their service, on a journey to study the history of Spira. He says people are counting on Yuna, and she says she'll protect them.

Farther along, three people on chocobos come up to them and say they're Djose Chocobo Knights. The one in front introduces as Lucil, and the other woman as Elma. They explain there have been reports of a large chocobo-eating fiend appearing in the area, and tell Yuna to take care, should she and her guardians choose to rent any chocobos. The knights get back to their rounds, and Tidus suggests they go get the fiend. Auron asks why, and when Tidus says it's the right thing to do, he laughs and remarks that's what Jecht used to say, and that every time he said it it meant trouble for him and Braska.

Near some ruins, after walking a bit more, the party runs into Belgemine, a summoner. She says she has heard much of the high summoner's daughter, and might have a few things to teach her. She offers a one-on-one, aeon versus aeon match. She summons Ifrit, and Yuna summons Valefor. When Yuna defeats her, she praises Yuna's ability and says she might yet defeat Sin. Yuna thanks her, but says she might be able to defeat Sin before Yuna can, to which Belgemine answers she cannot, or rather, was not able to. She doesn't elaborate, and says they'll meet again before walking off.

They meet a small child and her mother. The child asks if Yuna is gonna bring them the Calm, and when she says she will, very soon, Calli runs around her and 'yay's. The mother says they're looking forward to another Calm, and Yuna says she'll do her best. The lady wishes the guardians luck as well. Tidus asks them what the Calm is, and Lulu explains it's the time of peace between Sin's defeat at the hands of a summoner and its reappearance. Tidus says he'd thought it was weird that Yuna's dad had defeated Sin ten years ago and yet. He wonders if it's worth it, and Yuna says it is - even for a little while, people can sleep in their beds without being afraid, and that kind of time is worth anything.

Further along, they run into Luzzu and Gatta, who congratulate Wakka on the victory. Lucil shows up and tells them to stop wasting time, and after she's gone Luzzu tells Yuna they still believe in her, though Yevon may have abandoned them. Yet farther, they meet a young disciple - Shelinda - having an argument with a soldier, who says they'll defeat Sin any way they can regardless of her protests about Yevon's teachings. She says the Crusaders' operation is going to use forbidden machina and she had to stop them. Lulu explains to Tidus the use of machina is strictly forbidden by the Yevon priesthood. Auron says they can use whatever they want and they still won't defeat Sin, and Shelinda cries it's not about defeating Sin, and that the teachings of Yevon must be upheld, and Wakka agrees. She complains the Crusaders won't even listen to her, and it's all because she's just a lowly acolyte. Yuna says she's only been a summoner a short time, and that she shouldn't put herself down every time she fails, for people are depending on her - on both of them. Shelinda thanks her for the advice, and onwards they go.

They finally reach the Mi'ihen travel agency, and when Auron declares they're resting there, Wakka protests that it's an Al Bhed shop. Auron asks if that's a problem, and Wakka mumbles that they don't believe in Yevon and in Luca they kidnapped Yuna. Auron asks where her guardians were, and they make ashamed noises. Yuna says Sir Auron's just concerned for their health, and Wakka says he's not tired, to which Auron retorts that he is, and they walk inside and rest.

Tidus walks out at sunset and sees Yuna alone near the cliff. He walks up to her and asks what she's up to, and she hesitates for a second before turning around and smiling at him. He sits with her, and she says she wishes she could live in a place like this. Tidus says she can once she beats Sin, and she says a new Sin will be born anyway, so Tidus replies she can just beat it again. Yuna says she wishes she could, and Tidus encourages her, saying she's the best summoner out there, then asks her why Sin always comes back. Yuna explains Sin is their punishment for their vanity and will not go away until they've atoned. Tidus wonders how they should do that, and what they did that was so bad in the first place, and if it was using all those machina why that was even bad. She says that she'd never questioned it, but now that he asks, she doesn't actually know if it is that bad or not, and that there are many things she doesn't know. Tidus mimics Mika and says "Such thinking is very unbecoming of a summoner." They laugh, and Yuna says that's not very nice.

Tidus uses a silly Blitzball metaphor to try to reassure Yuna that she needn't worry about the future until after she beats Sin. He asks her how she's supposed to even do that in the first place, and she explains that the Final Summoning is the only way to do it, with which they can call the Final Aeon, the goal of the pilgrimage. She explains the fayth for the Final Summoning is in the far north, in Zanarkand, and when Tidus expresses surprise Auron shows up and explains she means the ruins of a city destroyed a thousand years ago. Tidus wonders if it's really ruins, and Auron says he'll see it for himself soon enough, and that Yuna should come back inside. She asks Tidus if he'll come with them to Zanarkand, and is delighted when he says yes. They go back inside and rest until dawn.

Like something you might not want to forget, I am here!

A few people in here, though seemingly random, you might not want to forget. (HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA) Belgemine is important later, Shelinda pops up later for some exposition, and Luzzu/Gatta/Lucil are important in the next update.

Auron making everyone sleep at the travel agency is a bit deeper.
Auron: "Are you tired?"
Wakka: *bragging* "Not tired at all!"
Auron: *being badass* "Well I am." *walks inside*
Wakka: *dumbstruck look*
Everyone else: *walks inside*

Tidus and Yuna... Jeez. Once again, the thing about the Summoners dying to beat Sin isn't talked about public, and Tidus has no idea. It's an important part of understanding Spira, but the game doesn't reveal it for a long time.

Tidus says something similar to "You can't go 'hey, that's cute girl up there up on the second row, where should I bring her on our date', cuz then you'll fail. You gotta keep focused on the match, let what happens afterward be dealt with afterward." Not only is it a little callback to the opening, where the 'cute girl in the second row' gets flirted by Tidus (he'll do a hand-sign after a goal to show he dedicated it to her. They talk before you run to the Blitzball stadium in Zanarkand), he's basically saying "YUNA GO DIE TO BEAT SIN IT'S A GOOD IDEA LET'S GO TO ZANARKAND." Tidus angsts over this conversation later.

I also think Auron makes fun of Tidus and Yuna sitting together in a 'stop flirting'-esque way when he calls them both back inside to sleep. Auron does not give any fcuks.

Also, Auron is quite good. Good starting stats, his Overdrive-minigames are pretty easy, and his -break skills are always pretty useful. Using the power-sphere you get from winning the tournament on him is also pretty damn effective.

Speedrun Strats: If you talk to a random traveller right as you hit the trigger for Lucil showing up, you can glitch the ability to walk during the cutscene and hit the transition to the next screen, skipping the conversation. There's a better use of this glitch later on, but it's usable here!

!!ALSO!! I forgot something during Luca! Another Speedrun Strat. When Auron and Tidus are walking to talk privately, before the laughing scene, Auron is on screen walking away for only a few seconds. When party members are on screen, you can usually talk to them for little tidbits of nothing. Auron says nothing right here, and doesn't react to being interacted with, but trying counts for a hidden 'relation' value for a certain scene. If you talk to nobody except who's mandatory, the scene much later in the game (I will mention it) will be with Wakka. If you try to talk to Auron here, it counts, and the scene is with Auron. It saves something like, a minute or two of real time, because Auron talks much less than Wakka. I will point the scene out later! (None of the scenes matter. Lulu's is probably the best.)

Auron cares. <3

The speedrun thing I think was fixed on the HD remaster.

And I didn't know about this "relation" value thing.

pedromvilar wrote:The speedrun thing I think was fixed on the HD remaster.

Yeah. It's still interesting.

pedromvilar wrote:And I didn't know about this "relation" value thing.

It's on the snowmobile-things. That should be enough info. That's all I know what it does.

Watching FFX speed runs as nothing is on...

The Tidus peptalk is "girl fifth seat from the right". Don't think where you'll go on your date, that's when you lose.

Tidus: "What I mean is... You really shouldn't worry, you know. After we beat Sin, that's when you can worry about the future."

Yuna: "I guess."

And that's 3 hours 30 minutes into what is a 10 hour 20 minute speedrun. Sooo many cutscenes are unskippable.

Chapter 8: The Mi'ihen Highroad - North
The next day, as Tidus makes his way out of the travel agency, he runs into its proprietor, Rin, an Al Bhed. He explains to Tidus that Al Bhed Primers, books on the language, can be found all over Spira and used to learn it, although he should be careful speaking it since Al Bhed aren't liked much.

A woman screams outside and asks for help for the chocobos. Auron walks back in to tell Tidus to get a move on, and, outside, Lulu tells him they should go to the chocobo corral. Before they get there, a bunch of chocobos run away from it, fleeing from a chocobo eater. They fight it and...
When they reach the end of the road, they find Dona and Barthello arguing with a Crusader. It seems the Crusaders have blocked access to the Mushroom Rock Road ahead, and not even being a summoner grants one an exception to this prohibition. Dona notices the party, and says that the Crusaders will probably call on summoners in the end, and that in the meantime she'll take a nap.

Up ahead at the gate to the Rock Road, they see Luzzu, Gatta, and their wagon reporting for the operation. Inside the wagon there is a weird giant bug/cockroach fiend (about the size of a bicycle). Gatta spots the party and asks Tidus to show him how to blitz sometime, and Luzzu tells them to wait around because they'll have Sin beaten in no time. When the party tries to move through, the Crusaders stop them, and upon noticing they're a summoner and her guardians, explain the operation: they're bringing Sinspawn from all over Spira to the shore near the Rock Road to lure Sin into a trap.

Thwarted, the party returns the way they came, but as they do they see Maester Seymour and two bodyguards walk up the Highroad. Yuna kneels and Seymour greets her, then offers her his help, saying she looks troubled. She explains that the Crusaders are blocking the way, so Seymour walks up to them and, when one of them tells him he'll show Seymour and his party to the command centre, he says he'll also have Yuna and her guardians come with him. He says he'll take full responsibility, to assuage the guard's fears, and they're let through.

Yuna thanks him and bows, and then Lulu tells her it's time to go. Tidus complains about Seymour's antics, and Wakka explains he's a Maester so Tidus had better get used to it.