Make The Goers Goners, Ya

Onboard the SS Winno to Luca, we have a lot of stuff to do.

Firstly, we can talk to The Aurochs, who are sharing a room with the Goers. The Killika Beasts are somewhere onboard, too. When we leave the room, we meet with O'Aka. It's mandatory this time. We can also see the first Chocobo.

On deck is where the fun happens. We see more members of the Goers around Yuna. They think they'll easily beat us, but Yuna says Tidus, star player from Zanarkand, will win the title for Besaid. They laugh, of course, but it angers Yuna. On the second deck, we can listen in on Lulu and Wakka four times. The first time, they're discussing Tidus. Lulu still wishes he hadn't come with them, but Wakka didn't want to abandon him in Besaid. Then they talk about how Yuna wants Tidus to be a guardian. Lulu tells him that Yuna said he's Jecht's son. Wakka says it's up to the two of them. Thirdly, they wonder if Tidus should be a guardian. Lulu seems fine with it if Wakka talks to him about it. Lastly, they discuss Sin and how they've been orphaned since childhood. It's brought up by Tidus hating Jecht, "a luxury that's nice to have."

At the front of the boat is a Blitzball. For some reason, this makes Tidus remember the time his dad showed off his special trick. By following the voices in his head/on-screen prompts, Tidus can unlock the Jecht Shot for use in the upcoming tournament. After seeing it a few times, I'm not sure how physics work in Spira. Regardless, when he succeeds, the Aurochs surround him in hopes of learning the move themselves. Sucks to be them as Yuna saw it too and is impressed.

Yuna knows it as the Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III, but Tidus says there was never was a Mark I or II. His dad made it up in hopes of drawing in the crowds. It worked. They then talk about being the offspring of famous people and living up to them. Yuna respects Jecht, despite Tidus' history.

The next day, the boat arrives at Luca. An announcer tells everyone about the Beasts, the Goers, and "the statistical anonymously that is" the Aurochs, who haven't won a game in twenty-three years. Tidus finds a megaphone and begins to hype up the team to the onlookers. Lulu is embarrassed, and Yuna is entertained. And then some famous people show up. A man with wild hair comes off another boat. He turns, and we see a devilishly handsome man with scars and/or eerie veins on his face. This is the new Maester, Seymour Guado, the son of the former guado Maester. After his speech, the camera zooms in on Yuna, and we see her heterochromia for the first time. He bows, and Maester Mika, in the fiftieth year of his reign, steps off the ship. He gives a speech, and we head our way.

In the locker room, Tidus walks in on the team. They're depressed. Wakka enters, and he tells everyone that we only need two wins to be the champions, which cheers them up. We can then get the tutorials on Blitzball. Afterwards, Yuna and Lulu come in, saying that someone saw Sir Auron in a cafe. It never occurs to Tidus that this isn't his Auron. Wakka doesn't want him to go, but after Tidus loosens the stiff player up, he does anyway. He promises he'll be back in time. As he leaves, Tidus sees some Al Bead. He tries to ask them about Rikku, but they don't speak common. He catches up to Yuna, being mobbed by a crowd. He teaches her how to whistle, in case they get lost, and they make it to the cafe, where Yuna discusses town size and Sin. Luca is safe because the Crusaders protect the stadium, the only form of entertainment in Spira. Auron is nowhere to be found, but Kimhari finds some old friends and gets in a fight. Meanwhile, the game has started, and Wakka's getting roughed up. And then something worse happens.

When everyone comes back to reality, Lulu runs up. Yuna was kidnapped in the ten seconds it takes Kimahai to knock someone out. Lulu knows the plan, so the three of us go to hind our summoner.

Go left around the docks and fight a bunch of machina. If machina is in play, Al Bead are near. In the middle pier is a ship that resembles the salvage ship Tidus met Rikku on. We have to fight a boss that's easy to beat. Have Lulu cast Thunder on the Craine three times, and Tidus can activate it. It'll attack the boss, leaving it with 300 HP left. Yuna walks out of the ship, apparently haven beaten up her captors. Eventually, the topic of who saved Tidus is brought up, and Yuna asks if someone named Cid was there. Cid is Yuna's uncle, meaning she's half Al Bead. This explains why her eyes are two different colors. We also gain some backstory on the Al Bead. They're heathens, according to Yevon, who use forbidden machina.  We shouldn't tell Wakka this because he's racist. Upon successfully getting the target, Lulu uses magic to tell Wakka everything is good. This encourages him to make a dash for the goal. He shoots! He scores! Aurochs win!

We return to the locker room to prepare for the finals. Wakka is hurt, so he's on the bench. As the team enters the arena, Wakka falls onto Lulu, and two seem to bond. The scene shits to the crowd as the narrators explain the game. Suddenly, we see a man in a red coat climb some stairs...

Blitzball is my favorite mini-game in all of Final Fantasy. This game, though, is pretty tough. Tidus can make most shots taken at point-blank range, but he's also up against Balgerda, of the Goers, who hits hard. The positions are set for this, so you can't change that. The rest of his team are, as you'd have guessed, pretty bad. Mid to late game, they become the best, but right now, they're terrible. Winning or losing doesn't change the story much, but it's nice to win. Keep everyone away from Tidus with your midfielder, and hope he can survive a Balgerda attack. One strategy I've seen is you toss the ball around for the first half of the game. Let Tidus get most of the EXP. In round two, have him do a Jecht Shot. It removes two defenders for the shot and boosts his SHT by more than enough to get past Raudy's BLK. Play keep away the rest of the game. About halfway through the second half, Tidus leaves. He, and the crowd going wild, wants Wakka. I managed to get him a shot in, so we won 4-1!

As Tidus comes out to congratulate him, we're attacked by sahagins! We fight our way out of the sphere, where we meet up with a man in a red coat. Sir Auron has arrived! They beat up some fiends, and a CGI scene happens. Maester Seymour summons an aeon that obliterates most of the fiends in the stadium. The situation is quickly resolved.

We return to the party. Wakka says farewell to his team as he prepares for his new job as a guardian. He meets up with the rest of the group to wait for Tidus. Tidus, meanwhile, is talking to Auron. He's yelling and blaming everything on Auron, which draws a laugh out of the famed warrior. I didn't know he could laugh. Later on, Auron reveals everything. Jecht asked him to come to Zanarkand to watch over Tidus. And then the plot twists! Jecht isn't dead, technically. He is, however, Sin. Auron goes to join Yuna as a guardian and wants him to come along. They met up with everyone else and have a moment. Tidus is depressed but doesn't know how to show it. Eventually, that laugh scene is played. I won't go into detail, but if you know, then ya know. It's supposed to awkward, and that's all I'll say. Auron becomes a guardian again and decides that Tidus is coming along, too. The gangs altogether! ALTOGETHER!

We climb the stairs out of Luca with the goal of the Djose Temple. But I'll head there...

...tomorrow!

There are two plot twists down, roughly four more to go! The game starts to feel more open from here. Or as open as a corridor game can be. I see why people hate on FFX for the same reason they do XIII, but I like X. It feels alive, and it's the secondary cast that allows for that. Let's meet some of them, shall we?