Final Fantasy X-2 is just fluff.

Final Fantasy X-2 is a sequel that no one asked for, and I don't think we needed. It expands on the world of Spira and her characters, which is great, but it doesn't do enough. It's a great callback to more conventional games in the franchise but gives us a new application. It's also a lot of things that make me think things I shouldn't.

For starters, I can't suggest a game that requires you to follow a guide, word for word, to get the full enjoyment from it. There are far, far too many small, tiny scenes that you can accidentally miss if you do something slightly out of order. A few examples are a Toblie scene on the Moonflow in chapter one. I don't think that's a 100 percent req, but all the commsphere stuff in chapter four has a stupidly small window of opportunity. Don't accidentally speak to Buddy! Also, during chapter four, the Mi'ihen Highroad stuff with Rin has us calling him when we see something suspicious. I missed two things because I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. People aren't allowed to loiter on the high road, I guess. And the fact you need to play it twice for the useless story fork that changes nothing is just plain awful. And to say nothing of the missable items? How was I even supposed to know a Crimson Sphere was down there? I'm so glad Paine, a character who needs more screen time, got screwed by vague nonsense.

There's too much fluff. There were several areas that felt shoehorned in. The Calm Lands are the most obvious, but I feel like Zanarkand was misused. Mi'ihen, the last half of Mushroom Rock, and the Thunder Plains felt superfluous and were only here because they were here in FFX. There's very little story that grows the main plot, world building, or characters, but you still have to explore them. Five times, in fact! That might be the worst part of X-2. You have to explore every zone four or five times through the game to even think about getting the perfect ending. Tedium isn't a good game mechanic, and it's an even worst story! Gagazet and Macalania are great because it tells the story of the ronzo's rage against the guado; it's a story worth experiencing.

In a similar vein, X-2 is a major asset flip. Every camera angle, battle scene, and location is exactly the same as two years ago. The portraits of the guado elders are still on Leblanc's walls. Even the food Seymour prepared for us is still there! I et that it makes for a quick dev cycle, but they should have given us different views. I know what the high road looks like, but I want to see more of it. What's in the forests around us? Are there any other caverns in Mushroom Rock? Why couldn't we have explored more of the picturesque Moonflow? There aren't even any worthwhile new dungeons in these areas. Bevelle and Zanarkand have quick walks, the Thunder Plains has a giant massive waste, and Guadosalem has Leblanc additions. And that's it! Everything new is Kilika Port, the Bevelle Underground, and the final dungeon. The Mt. Gagazett ruins, the first dungeon, has a quarter of the game's differences! There are a million ruins in Spira, and we're sphere hunters? Why couldn't we have spelunked them? New forests, islands; what's on the otherside of the ridge in the Thunder Plains? How rad would it be if we stumbled upon an ancient civilization that knows about the machina War deep in the Macalania Forest?

Most of the main characters are Hollywood bipolar. They flip back and forth between worried and somber to happy and ecstatic at the drop of a hat. Sometimes, even in the same scene. Brother can get rejected by his cousin, party with his sister, and be egotistical in the span of four minutes. Instead of adding all the fluff, expand characters. Main characters, secondary, enemies. Maechan is the only person who definitive character growth.

I don't say this often, but the music is terrible. The few standouts make it better than Grandia, but I have no idea to hear most of the OST ever again. It's all very upbeat and peppy, which I'm not into, but this is a step beyond. Synth-jazz fusion that is based mostly on blips and whistles isn't enjoyable. It's not all terrible, of course. The vocal songs are some of the best in the genre. 1000 Words is excellent, and Real Emotion wrongly sets the tone for the game. Every time you hear a piano is a fun time, but I didn't get excited to be in battle.

Speaking of battle, it was boring. Because we have to explore everywhere so often, you can end up being way too strong. It makes you don't need to job change, which is the biggest thing that makes X-2 unique. I ended up mastering the first three jobs by the end of chapter one, and I didn't even try. This allowed me to only focus on their next job when I got them and never needed to balance anything. Towards the end of the game, you get items and grids to let you use other jobs' skills without being the job, so you don't even need to change late game! Sure, your stats aren't up to stock, but it doesn't matter. Magic sucks. An alchemist can heal better than a white mage, and black magic is objectionably worse than basic attacks, even on flans and elementals. Magic takes too long to cast, whereas basic commands don't. Buffs are vital, I guess, so max out that songstress, which you can only do if you get all the Crimson Spheres... And the GUI is terrible. The camera moves around and pans out too much, and it can sometimes limit what you see. At one point, Yuna got stoned, and I didn't notice it because the camera was a mile away. It's also hard to see who did what in combat. No one gets their moment of action like in FFX, so everything happens at once. If you're in the menu, you miss it. Did my status effect work, or was the target immune?

I'm still left with a lot of questions. Mainly, why are the aeons here? We filled them, and they went to sleep. Did we fight dead, Farplane versions of them? Why do so many people know what a dress sphere and a garment grid are? Shinra made them himself recently, right? I would have loved to see more about the dress spheres, too. We know Lenne and Maechen are the basis for the songstress and black mage, but what about the other ones? Why'd the devs only highlight two?

Sphere Break is awful, and they ruined Blitzball.

And, maybe the worst thing about the game, why is there a delay with closing out of the rewards screen?

Okay, so I hate everything about X-2. or do I?

If you take out the fluff, the story is really good. FFX was about the future and how to stop it. X-2 is about the past and recovering and maintaining it. Can Tidus be found? Can Yuna's Calm continue? Can Paine get over her pain? It should have been expanded with more character growth and additional light on the secondary cast. Rikku never changed, nor did Paine. We should have seen more from Gippal, Nooj, and Barelai, but we just had to play Sphere Break. But what we got is among the best in modern times.

I'm also glad that our former allies from X got some shine. Wakka and Lulu having a happy ending was cute, and they didn't just cut Wakka's legs off. He fought off the temple fiends all alone. Kimahri became the ronso elder, and it was rad. All the stuff WE had to do for him was a bit less so, but he's an important player in Spira, nonetheless. Does X-2 Kimarhi have more lines than X Kimahri?

Oh, boy! X-2 was a bad game. I didn't hate it that much while playing it, but looking over what I've written makes it seem like one ofo the worst games ever made. It's still not very good, don't get me wrong, but it isn't THIS bad. The flaws are numerous, but I think it's worth a play if you loved X and the extended universe that has since been written. But there is that caveat of needing a guide to get the true ending. I can not, in good consciousness, recommend anything that does this. All the fluff I've rambled on about makes the game tedious and boring. Think about all I've written in these blogs. How many of them were filled with nothing? But if you don't do them, you miss out on so much, and you'll end up underleveled. What shines in Final Fantasy X-2 shines bright, but the abundant flaws and fluff hurt it in ways that it can't come back for. Some people hate X-2 because it's a game for girls or a J-pop romp. Those are stupid reasons to avoid this, and it's even true. I wish it were! Instead, we've just got half of a game. There's plenty of structure, but the electricity, plumbing, and climate control were never installed. Final Fantasy X-2 doesn't live up to Final Fantasy X as a sequel, nor does it live up to other Final Fantasy titles. Typing that sentence kinda hurts...

"It sucks."

Just like this boring puzzle!

I found a guide and followed it. If you care, just follow the steps the floating commsphere shows you, but I think that's even worse. After my triumphant victory over the Song of Shuyin, we walk through the now open gate. Rikku has a hunch that there won't be any coming back if we go further, so the girls go further down the road. We can turn back to save, which I did, but the true point of no return isn't far away. Yuna will jump across a few platforms until she reaches one with a person on it. It's Nooj, and he's all alone. How'd the gimpy guy get here? Nooj tells us he has a plan to take down Shuyin, but nothing of Vegnagun is ever mentioned. The goal is to shoot Barelai. The bullet shouldn't kill him, somehow, but the shadow of Shuyin will transfer itself into the Nooj. Nooj is "the death seeker," so he's set his body to die. I assume it's a bomb. No one is exactly thrilled with that plan, but no one says anything. For a moment... Yuna chimes in, "I don't like your plan. It sucks." She continues with a wonderful soliloquy about her thoughts over the last few years. She says that too many of her friends have died: aeons, mentors, lovers, and she's always wondered if that was the only way. Were their apologies just hollow words? She just doesn't want to see any more friends die. While she was saying all this, we'd occasionally hear the voice of her lost friends. I know we heard Auron and Jecht, but there was another I didn't recognize. Braska? At this point, Gippal shows up to agree with the sediment. Leblanc is also there, making up an excuse for why she isn't waiting. In response, Nooj asks if Yuna has a plan. Two of them, in fact. Yuna looks to Rikku to remind everyone that machina can be taken apart, piece by piece. It seems dodgy, but everyone agrees. There's less agreement on if love can conquer Shuyin, but Leblanc hardheartedly backs the Power of Love, so it's a go!
 
The camera pans to Shuyin, playing a rainbow piano. He begins to alter the landscape of both Vegnagun and the arena, which chases everyone back to the start. Undaunted by the sheer size of our opponent, each group will split up and take on a different part of Vegnagun. Leblanc's gang goes after the legs, the Crimson Raiders choose the torso, and the Gullwings will focus the tail.

The tail is the hardest part of this section. I think it counters everything, but I wasn't sure. Make sure everyone had Protect/Shell, and have Yuna or Rikku on heal duty. Alchemist may be a pain to master, but it's got some great skills.

After we win, we'll see Leblanc struggling with her section. We race to her and take over while she goes to aid Nooj. The legs have three nodes that attack us, and I get one of the Sin fight vibes from it. Each node is a different color which alludes to the type of attacks it can do. Because of their distance from the party, only ranged attacks can strike them. Alternatively, just focus on Vegnagun to end the battle quickly. You get less EXP and AP from this, but we're at the end game, so who cares?

Leblanc didn't do much helping with the Raiders, and we see Ormi and Logos begging for our aid before we get to them. Gippal's missile launcher sucks, so we have to save them. Vegnagun has two tiny arms that the dark knight's Darkness ability can easily wipe out. They can interfere with killing the torso, but they're so weak that you might as well. Veg also wastes turns reviving them.

After its torso stops attacking us, Shuyin brings the head of the monster down to us for a final battle. The fight is a lot like the last one, so use the same strategy. Besides the tail battle, all of these were really boring and anticlimactic. Protect, Shell, and Haste made everything trivial, and I barely took any damage. Any that I did was healed by Regen. It was nice to hear the voices of our lost friend cheer us on and offer advice, though. It wasn't necessary, but at least the X-2 devs tried to give the game more soul. They'll also share their thoughts on the upcoming Shuyin climax.

Shuyin and the body of Barelai will be before the group now, and Yuna puts her plan into motion. She turns into her songstress and says to Shuyin, who's confusing her for Lenne, "I love you." Shuyin is still distraught because he's been looking for her for 1000 years, but she's just glad that someone cared about her. "it's time to rest." It works, and he drops the body of Barelai behind him, and Paine goes to pick him up. As Shuyin approaches Yuna/Lenne, he finally notices the obvious differences between the two girls. He snaps back to himself, and he's even angrier than before. Now that he's been deceived by someone pretending to be his love, he wants more revenge, and the final boss of Final Fantasy X-2 begins!

Shuyin is really easy! His moves are copies of Tidus' Overdrives, but they're not that strong, especially if you have Protect on. Terror of Zanarkand, Blitz Ace, can one shot a fragile job, but Paine can eat two or three of them without flinching. But, since we're at level 60 with maxed out mages and items, he poses no threat. After we win, Yuna will approach him again, and the spirit of Lenne will pop out of her. We finally get to see and hear the real Lenne! She echoes what Yuna said earlier as Lenne holds her long lost lover in her arms. They both "rest," and the Gullwings return to the others. But the convoluted mechanics aren't done yet! As the girls walk on the Farplane, you (the player) can trigger another scene. I didn't, but if you press "X" now, you get more endings! And while we're at it, here's all of them!

Yuna will hear a whistle, and pyreflies surround her. The ghost of Tidus appears behind her and wraps her arms around her. She says she had a feeling he was here, always watching her through this journey. But despite that, she's not sad anymore. She's accepted her feelings and knows that Tidus can't return to this Spira. She tells him, "I love you," and poofs away without saying a word.

I don't know how to get this ending, but it starts in the water outside Besaid. It mirrors Tidus's first appearance there, which is great because guess who pops out of the ocean? It's Tidus! He whistles and swims ashore just as the Celsius flies overhead. The airship lands, and Yuna jumps out into his arms. The two wonder if he's real? It doesn't matter, though, because he's back. "I'm home." Everyone on the island celebrates! Tidus and Wakka have some playful banter before he and Yuna runoff. Tidus remarks that Yuna's changed, and she begins to tell him the story of the last few years.

Continuing from there, the two are at Zanarkand. Tidus states his theory about why's here. It involves the fayth and thoughts, or, maybe, he's still a dream? Yuna gets worried that he might one day disappear. Tidus tells her to "cherish me, and I'll cherish you." If they stay together, it'll be fine. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't, but the couple laughs as Yuna pushes Tidus into the sea. It's a playful scene, and Tidus doesn't disappear despite the lack of "cherishing." The scene ends with the opening segment of Final Fantasy X, but with Yuna standing where Tidus stood as we overlook Zanarkand.  

But my last scene was Nooj, Barelai, and Gippal in Luca. They're speaking to an arena full of people about how they made mistakes. They all wanted to fly an airship two years ago, but each made their own ship with questionable results. It divided Spira. But, now that everyone is back to their senses, they see that the only real ship they should care about is the one called Spira. And everyone aboard only wants one thing: to be together. They close the ceremony by saying none of this could have happened without "one girl," and everyone knows it's Yuna. We cut to a scene before the speech where Yuna tells the three, "I'm going home." Gippal informs everyone in the arena of that message and says we'll see each other again! Brother flies the Celsius over the arena and tells everyone something I forgot. Y, R, and P are on the deck of the airship. Yuna asks Brother to fly it "higher" and "faster," and he makes weird sounds every time. The final words of FFX-2 are Yuna saying, "It all started when I found a sphere of you."

There's an audio drama that carries on from the Perfect Ending, which carries into a light novel. Neither of them are very good, but they are cannon. It pretty much undoes Yuna's entire story, with her being a conservative, New Yevon knockoff in Besaid, and Tidus dying again. It's weird, but maybe I'll read it. But that'll be for a day far down the road. For now, I see the credits of X-2 roll and an orchestral version of 1000 Words plays, which really emphasizes the lyrics. At last, I see the fated words appear on screen:

"The End."

Weren't there more aeons?

Sorry, Rikku, but your friends on Bikanel are dead.

But it's time to end Shuyin! I've done all I can, so where are we heading? Before leaving, Brother gives everyone a pep talk. At one point, Shinra tells everyone that this will be his last mission, but he won't say why. He then jumps into Yuna's arm, which is cute. Before we head off, Brother tries to figure out what we're calling ourselves now. "Does it matter?" So we get rebranded with something strange, and Gull Boys performs a dance. In response, the girls do as well.

But it's off to Besaid! That's where our best friends are, so why not? The girls jump into a hole, and we're brought to The Path to the Farplane. This is a spiraling path downward. Every hole brings us here, and they're all pretty much the same. The only difference is encounter rate and whether or not there's a semblance of a puzzle. Besaid and Bevelle are the easiest, Kilika and the Calm Lands have a mechanic, and Djose sucks. If you take all five, you get a garment grid for Ultima. The fiends are the same, as are the bosses.

First up is Shiva. She's fast and hits hard, spamming Heavenly Strike all fight. HS affects MP, so try not to run out. If you don't spam Mug, as I did, it's a manageable experience.

In the second stage are all three Magus Sisters. Remiem Temple is blocked off because of a landslide, so I guess the whole place fell? This war wasn't fun. All three ignore the wait turn battle rule and attack whenever they want to. Their special attacks can devastate a single target but are affected by Protect. Mindy, the small one, has the lowest HP of the group, as is tradition. You'll be on edge until one of them ate gone, so go after her. I'm a bit upset because the Magus Sisters don't perform any of their well known tactics. No Reflect or Delta Attack? The HFIL?

Lastly is Anima. Why couldn't we have checked out Baaj? She's the easiest of the group, and Oblivion is practically negated by Protect.

After Anima, we met another old friend, the Bahamut Fayth. He informs us that the aeons tried to stop Shuyin, but they couldn't. He goes on to mention that Shuyin isn't a fiend or alive. He's a shadow, living off of pure hatred for the last 1000 years. This causes Yuna to formulate a plan to stop him: love.
 
We're next taken to the Farplane. This is the same place we last saw the three leaders. We know this because the portal is still there. And just before it is Leblanc. When she got here, she found a sphere by Nooj that told her to wait for him. "Like a good girl," she does so. We promise to tell Nooj that. At this point, we can return to the Celcius to see more scenes between the members. Shinra thinks he can harness the power of the Farplane as an energy source. No, I don't ascribe that X-2 is a prequel to FFVII. We can spy on a conversation between Brother and Buddy. They're wondering what to do when everyone leaves. They don't know, but it'll involve pretty ladies! Cid brakes it up, so follow them to the cabin. Cid's a traditional man who doesn't like unwed women galavanting about. Everyone yells at him for being old.

But back to the Farplane! The last part of the dungeon sucks. We have to play the piano to take down a few walls. To do so, find the notes through the areas and play them on the nearest piano. Fortunately, they're displayed on screen when you step on their circle. Should you fail, you fight another super boss to advance. For some dumb reasons, electric walls impede our path. They go away in time, but the awful camera doesn't help you avoid them. Halfway through is a wounded Guppal. He says he got careless, so we ask Leblanc to watch him. She doesn't want to, but we promise to tell Nooj how good she is, which changes her mind. Before they leave, Gippal hands Paine her sphere. It's a scene where the four of them are on a boat talking about their plans after this. They all say they're going to fly an airship and the roles they'll have. Nooj'll be the captain. Paine's a bit more peppy than usual, which everyone remarks on. I didn't really see it, though. To reach the next area, we need to finish another music puzzle. You need to jump across platforms (sorta) to activate the correct notes. This was awful. Maybe it was the frustrating walls from the last section, the tough but not worth it fiends, or the fact I died to Doom, but I don't want to play anymore. I will, but I'll finish this...

... tomorrow!

Probably. There's still a bit left, and I'm not seeing the true ending, so I'm kinda out of it. I'm so close, though, so I should. If I don't play Smash Bros, we'll end this.

The wrap up: finalle

The last of Spira is to be explored today.

Bevelle has, sorta, found peace. We're allowed in, and the first person we see is Maroda. We ask him why a Youth League member is here, and he says the war is over. Not only that, but we see Issaru surrounded by fans. It seems he's become the new praetor of New Yevon. Pacce and his Kinderguardians are here to support his brother, but they quickly runoff. Rikku says what we're all thinking, "they're multiplying!" The Kinderguardians have grown! We get an episode complete, but there's more to explore in Bevelle.

I went back to the Bahamut fight, but the first Crimson Sphere wasn't there. Rad! But Pacce and Hana have found more secrets in Bevelle. They've uncovered the path to Via Infinito. As we get to cloister zero, we speak to the two kids. As we do, we hear a spooky voice. He tells us we're the first to come here in over a year; since Trema. If you recall Maechen's speech at the YL HQ, Trema is the guy who started both parties but vanished a year ago. Rikku says the name, and pyreflies appear, scaring off the kids. While they run off and the camera cuts away, the man disappears. He leaves a Crimson Sphere behind. The sphere is the direct aftermath of the Den of Woe. Our party leaders are invited to the Crimson Raiders and told to protect the Maester. Suddenly, though, they come under attack. Via Purifico is 100 floors long and filled with super bosses every twenty floors. The (should be) final Crimson Sphere is found at level twenty, but I got stomped at level three. Since I can't reach the Den anyway, I don't see a point in going down.

It turns out that the two factions on the Calm Land aren't very calm. They're about to fight each other until Tobli hovers in and makes peace, uniting both factions under his eye. We've also completed the bachelor's stuff, and it went well. I guess?

Bikanel Desert isn't going well. The fabled monster is attacking, but it's sending small fry out first. Fortunately, Marnela is a legendary warrior. She can Kamehameha Blast the assaulting mobs, giving us time to find the ten gatekeepers. Once the ten of them are together, they can summon Haboob. ...Haboob? Anyway, find nine, then talk to Marnela. This unlocks the gate up north to the bad cactuars. Inside are several tribulations, but we encounter the final one at the end. Behind him, though, is the Jumbo Cactuar, who's just free AP (unless you killed ten small ones en route). Once all ten are together, they summon the Great Haboob, a massive dust tornado. It scares off the fiends, but Marnela is no more. She used up all of her power to save her nation from attack. Suddenly, we get an SOS from the camp because the monsters are now attacking them. We're asked if we want to restock on the airship, and I choose to.

And that's the last we'll ever hear of Bikanel Island. Angria Maniu is another super boss I don't want to tussle with. It also means I can't dig anymore, but I can't beat the Experiment at level four, so what's it matter?

Things still aren't good on Gagazet. Garik is yelling at Kimahri before leaving. When we speak to the former guardian, we're told Lian and Aide have returned. Rather than be upset, Kimahri asks them what they've learned. I'm reminded they went looking for a way to repair Kimahri's horn.m but found none. But they did discover how vast and interesting Spira is. Both boys are already planning another trip. Something triggers in Kimahri's mind, and he knows what to do as Elder. Follow him up the mountain.

We see a confrontation between Garik and Kimahri. Garik wants a path in life for himself and the ronso and goes so far as to attempt a punch. Kinahri easily dodges it and counters with his own blow. Garik echoes what Kimahri said in chapter one about being nonviolent, so Kimahri reminds Garik he's an adult. Why is he always asking Kimahri like a child? Garik calms down, and we all cut to the top of Gagazet. There's a statue of Kimahri, and he tells the ronso what their plan is. It's to look forward with hope, not back with regret. The entire crowd chants for their leader as the Gullwings leaves. Or tries to, at least. Rikku's joined the festivities and is chanting along with Lian and Aide.

And, with that, I've done everything I want/can do in Final Fantasy X-2. Besides beating the final boss, of course. But I'll try that...probably Sunday, actually. I have plans tonight, and the final stretch is a hella long. But who knows?

The wrap up pt. 3

We're still in Djose, and we begin to see the hard work of our digging. All the parts we've collected have been put into the ultimate machine! We're at level 2-3-2 now, but we can max out at level five. Right now, it was an easy kill. Sadly, it's hard to grind and can only be fought six times. I'll need to find a repair manual if I want to kill it again. Considering it rewards forty AP, I might try. But I'm getting close to mastering everyone's jobs, so who knows?

The Moonflow is nice and simple. Tobli's putting on another show. It's far more low-key than Yunapaloza, but it's still a hit! The Macalania musicians have found their rhythm onboard a shoopuf, and the onlookers are thrilled. Jazz fusion isn't a phase; it's a lifestyle. Tobli asks us to participate, and it only involves the girls hanging out, looking board. So, we're not doing anything about the bandits?

There's good news in Guadosalem. The guado have returned to their home. Tromell tells us they won't run from the ronzo, but they won't fight either. They were inspired to keep living after befriending the musicians, who are now playing a great rendition of the main menu theme, Memories of Lightwaves. They've opened the locked house. Inside is a chest that contains Barelai's Sphere and a woman who tells us they're friends of Lian and Aide. They've made plans together. Also, Tobli's business is booming, and his empty chest contains an item that varies based on what you've done.

The Thunder Plains is under attack. Chimera are siphoning off the lightning, which is somehow going crazy. Apparently, it was Shinra's fault. Defeat nine of them to find the boss, Humbaba. He's a behemoth, so prepare for Meteor when you kill him. After his death, a new cave can be found underneath the tower. Equip a charm bangle because this is long and boring. Inside is Cid, being stalked by a boss machina.

This guy has been stalking us since chapter three. All the watchers we've been killing have been feeding their information here. So, hopefully, you've only used basic attacks to destroy them. If you can weather the opening storm and take out the watchers, the fight is pretty easy. He's vulnerable to most breaks and status effects, and Shell/Protect negates a lot of its offense. After Cid quickly apologizes to Brother, we all head to the Celcius. Cid's on the deck, but he'll head to the bridge to bicker with his kids before spending the rest of the game in the engine room.

Macalania Woods is eerily quiet now that everyone's gone. "But at least we have the memories." Fortunately, O'aka and Wantz are nearby. They have a brotherly conversation before O'aka poorly teaches his brother how to peddle. Paine walks off but check their wares for some of the best accessories. As the girls head to the Calm Lands, Yuna wants some time alone at Makeout Pond. Paine asks why, but Rikku knows. Oh, Rikku knows. Yuna still doesn't want her memories to just be memorable. Hopefully, I can wrap this up...

...tomorrow!

I don't care about the super bosses or the tedious digging. But I learned I can get the missing Crimson Sphere after all. Speaking of which, Barelai's Sphere is about the praetor making an alliance with Seymour Guado. Tromell enters the room to let the viewer know this was taken when Rikku joins the party.

Look what they did to my boy!

They killed him. They massacred my baby!

We're Luca, and it's opening day for Blitzball! People from all over Spira are here to partake in the festivities. Everyone, that is, except the Aurochs. They're all helping with Vidina, and they've asked us to fill in for them. Yuna can turn down the invite, but you might as well accept.

Blitzball looks the same when it comes to rewards and seasons/tournaments, but it's completely different. We no longer get to play the game, and it's a simulation in X-2. It's so, so bad, and I want to swear! Stat raises via levels have been replaced by training, but that's a whole new monster I hate. There are more stats and players, but the soul of the game is dead. And why does Yuna suck?

Sphere Break is also being played in the locker rooms. So you try to beat Shinra again, but he's tougher. I did manage to get the two grids from playing Shinra and the Pet Core dog. Rikku can mug, and Yuna always has access to White Magic no matter the job.

Elsewhere in Luca, Yuna goes crazy. She tries to show Tidus that she's better at whistling, and a floating moogle doll appears beside her from some pyreflies. Only she can see it, and she goes to chase it. It allows her to relive her memories of her first time here with Tidus. At the end, she says Yuna says she's not ready for her memories to remain memories.

I missed something during the Mi'ihen Highroad observation stuff in chapter four. Rin's moving on, and the mystery ends without a culprit. We get an ether. What a waste of time.

Members of the Youth League are happy that peace between them and New Yevon was declared. However, many of the members need to blow off some steam. Captain Lucil has proposed a tournament and asks if we want to be in it. Talk to Yaibal, and we head into Mushroom Rock Road. It's less a tournament and more of a gauntlet. We have to win seven matches, but we can usually heal between. We fight Yaibal at the start, but Elma is our penultimate battle. As a mild surprise, Lucil enters as a grand finale. I feel like Yuna got targeted, so try not to have her die. No one is terribly strong, but it can get out of hand fast if you're not careful. Because I missed the memo I had to return to a long dungeon, I didn't get a Crimson Sphere, so the Gull Wings are done here. I walked to Djose Temple, saved, and I'll figure out what's going on here...

... tomorrow!

X-2 is not a good game. #SorryNotSorry

The wrap up pt. 1

I started tonight with 69% completion. I'm indifferent.

The Gullwings have their target, and we know where to go. But which hole do we go from? Either way, Rikku thinks we should make sure Spira will survive without us.

Every location becomes a hotspot, save for the Calm Lands, but I want to start at Zanarkand. It's empty. The monkeys won, and the shoobies are gone. Yuna's memories are safe, but she wonders if it matters. Yuna wants to be strong enough to not have them matter, but that's for later. The only other thing here is the great Maechen! He knows more about Vegnagun and fills us in. Vegnagun was made to fight Zanarkand, but it was never used. It's all powerful, but it couldn't tell friend from foe, so it was never used. Not even against Sin. Rikku asks how Maechen knows everything, and pyreflies emanate from him. He's an unsent. He's been dead for so long that he's forgotten, but the handshake he and Yuna shared in chapter one jogged that experience. But now, he's ready to pass. His memories pop, and Yuna sees her dad for a second, proving that everyone is interconnected. Maechen fades away, but he and Yuna agree to see each other again one day. Farewell, brother.

I next saw commanders. Most of them broke or were pointless, but why did Shinra say this was his last mission with the Gullwings? Head into the engine room for the last treasures, and Buddy will join us. He tells us how he and Brother found the Celcius lodged in ice a while back. They almost froze to death, but a gull led them to safety. If you've slept in the cabin in every chapter, we get a scene with Brother and Barkeep. Brother makes a dirty joke, but it actually isn't. He says how he loves Yuna when she's looking forward, not backwards. Also, Barkeep is married!

Lulu had the baby, and it's a healthy boy! She wants Wakka to name it, but he's indecisive. Meanwhile, Beclem is leaving, and he's already at the docks. Before he leaves, he hands us the "War Buddy" sphere, and I remember he and Chappu fought together as Crusaders. A blitzball falls in front of us, and Beclem does a rad kick to nail the Aurochs. This wows them, and they want him to join the team. But that's for later... When we show the sphere to Wakka, we learn Chappu lied about the sphere with their parents in it. Chappu gets mad that Wakka keeps acting like a parent when all he wants is a brother. That night, Wakka decides on his kidney baby. His son is named Vidina, and everyone loves it. Yuna and Wakka have a talk where Wakka admits he's always been trying to fit into one clique. Now, though, he's just gonna be "Wakka." While he and Lulu have a cute moment, the girls sneak off.

Kilika is still in turmoil, but for different reasons. Everyone wants the fighting to end, but the Youth League won't open the gate. Dona ends up convincing them to do it, and both sides have a party to celebrate. Dona tries to get the line we saw her practicing in the commaphere, but Barthello doesn't want to be fired more. Either way, episode complete! We'll reach the mainland...

... tomorrow!

Don't fight in Kilika's forest. So much crap. Also, I need to vent about the stupid missable objects in X-2. I didn't go back to the Bahamut fight before Djose popped. That means I'm gonna miss a Crimson Sphere. I can't learn important information about key players, the main villain, and a playable member now. It's awful game design.

The Magic of J-pop!

But first, more commspheres! At least the Gagazet hot springs are funny.

The next task at hand is to rehearse for the show. I think this is a minigame, but all we have to do is mash buttons. You're supposed to time your dancing to Rikku's, but button mashing works. I got a score of 300, twice the target for the best accessory, Shmooth Shailing. Thanks, Barkeep. I now have a ribbon that slows me...

The star of the show should be at the venue before the fans, so we head to the Thunder Plains. As we get there, though, the hypello tells us a fiend is attacking the onlookers. Since we've got some downtime, let's go clear it out! Follow the hypello to the new cave. All the way in the back is the random lizard who breathes fire. He's simple, but watch out for the gigas that roam the cave. It can use a hero's drink on itself, making itself immune to all damage. Hopefully, your dark knight knows Death.

We return to the Celcius, and it's on the verge of war already. The Celcius went around Spira, picking up anyone who wanted to see the show. Both New Yevon and the Youth League are here, and they want to fight each other. Childish insults are slung, and everyone blames the missing leaders. To quell the crowd, Yuna climbs to the deck of the airship.

She gives a quick history lesson on the Machina War, warning everyone we're on the verge of another useless struggle before telling us what the song is about. 1000 Words plays, but strange things happen that distract from the music. Shinra's titantron goes haywire and shows the city of Zanarkand as it were 1000 years ago. And then it shows Vegnagun. Shuyin is playing it as Yuna transforms into Lenne. We see a scene that mirrors Yuna's dream from chapter one. Instead of Yuna and Tidus dying, though, Shuyin and Lenne are killed. At the end, the song becomes a duet between the two songstresses as the clouds, for the first time ever, part. The sun finally shines on the Thunder Plains. As Yuna ends Lenne's song, she collapses and is taken to the cabin.

Paine is there, and Rikku joins shortly after. According to Shinra, all that crazy stuff happened because Lenne's thoughts, via the songstress dress sphere, interfered with his stuff. Yuna is alright now, so the girls head to the bridge. Waiting for them is Maechen! He knows who Lenne is and lets the Gullwings in on his information. During the Machina War, Lenne was a singer. Her vocal prowess was matched by her ability to summon, though, so she was called to the frontlines. Her lover, whose name was lost to time, grew enraged and did all he could to save her. He wound up in the lair of Vegnagun, where both of them were killed by Bevelle's soldiers. Rikku compares it to Yuna's would be sacrifice from two years ago. Yuna was prepared to die, just as Lenne, but Rikku would do anything to save her. That ability to sacrifice was what drove Yuna on, and it, ironically, gave her a reason to die. Yuna was fine, as she assumes Lenne was. Lenne's last words were, "I love you," but Shuyin never heard them. Is that why he's been looking for Lenne for 1000 years and still vows revenge?

So how do we stop him? We go down one of those holes! Buddy tells us Leblanc is on board, and you should go see her. You can ignore her, but she shows up anyway, and we miss a Crimson Sphere if you talk to Shibra early. Yuna fills Leblanc in that Nooj is on the Farplane, so Leblanc orders the boys to head down there. She'll be going as well. The boys aren't happy, but the boss believes the power of love will protect them!

Now we can talk to Shinra. The sphere he dropped into one of the holes has begun to function, but it's not good. Fortunately, Leblanc rushes in and hits the console. Percussive therapy works! We see Gippal talking up Shinra's tech but turns it back to himself for fixing it. We then hear Nooj, and Leblanc gets excited. Nooj and Gippal are trying to formulate a plan of attack on Vegnagun, but the colossus flees when he senses danger. Nooj had an idea, but it might not work. If it doesn't, then his demise will be his apology. Gippal thinks it is a bad "sorry" because Nooj has been suicidal for years. As Gip asks Nooj about Leblanc, the feed dies. Everyone is more determined to fight, so the Celcius takes to the skies and flies right into chapter five!

We're in the final act, but there's a lot of clean up to do first. We'll end some substories over the next few days.

Creepin' on Spira

...

We're back in the Celsius, safe and sound. Yuna shares her experience with Shuyin and the faction leaders. At some point in the conversation, Paine slipped away. She's on the deck, and we finally get something about her past. As we saw in the Crimson Sphere reports, Gippal, Nooj, and Barelai were candidates to join the elite crusader squad, the Crimson Raiders. During the entry exam, everything went wrong. Paine was their recorder for the trials, so she's the one who took all the videos. They all got separated, and Paine's been looking for something ever since. It's why she became a sphere hunter. Paine's wondering if she should just forget her past and think of the future. Rikku has joined the conversation at this point and asks if Paine will leave the Gullwings. "It's a possibility." Paine asks Yuna if she could ever do that and leaves. Yuna ponders the question. She started her journey to look for Tidus, but she knows he can't be found now.

Chaos is still the order in Spira, but is Yuna gonna save them again? Before that, Shinra informs us that his commaphere network is working. We now have to see what's going on in Besaid; Kilika, Mushroom Rock, and Bevelle.
Wakka tells us Besaid is at peace.
Dona is more concerned about Barthello.
With Nooj gone, Lucil has become the de jure leader of the Youth League. Why does this scene start with her ass in our face?
Maroda, a YL member, has infiltrated New Yevon. He tells us it's a real mess before the guards show up.

So is Yuna gonna save the day? Sorta! Rather than take a leadership role, the party decides to have a concert. But who could host it? Tobli! Before talking to Buddy in his copilot seat, talk to Shinra and his network again. We can access the rest of his spheres, and many of the scenes are required for completion percentage. I accidentally rushed forward to the mission, so I'm gonna miss out on 1.4 percent. Lame...

We're dropped off on the Moonflow, but at the wrong place. We're next to Djose, so we're just gonna walk there. As we progress, we see three men looking for Tobli. In chapter three, we learned that Tobli's show didn't draw, so his debt collectors want his head. They're still looking for our penguin but can't find him. Suddenly, he runs out from the bush, and all four of us go after him. For the next forty minutes, we chase Tobli up and down the Moonflow. Some of the scenes are pretty funny, and mobs are a great source of AP, but this was pretty boring. If only we could have seen the scooter crash. But at least we didn't get eaten by a shoopuf! We'll finally catch up to Tobli outside Guadosalem, and he happily accepts the role. A million hypellos jump aboard the airship to begin handing out tickets for the show. They do so by jumping off the airship, so hypellos don't take fall damage!

At this point, I tried to watch the commaspheres to get as many points as I could. Most of the scenes are funny or world building, with people talking about Yuna's concert. Lulu "scolds" Yuna for throwing a party she can't attend, while Wakka is oblivious to something I also missed. Something about the sex of his baby? In subsequent watches, the Aurochs tease him. We also learn that Beclem is being recalled from Besaid. A full blown war between Youth League and Beq Yevon is on the horizon.

Dona is growing more and more worried about her husband, so she sends him ballons and the conmmsphere. Bart breaks it.

Rin, on the Highroad, asks us to look into the accidents.

We get two primers from Djose...somehow. They break it at the end.

Elma's chocobo still can't board the shoopuf, one of whom breaks the sphere.

Ormi informs us Leblanc is looking for Nooj.

People are gathering on the Thunder Plains.

O'aka's coming, and the musicians are thinking about it.

Kimahri can't attend.

Issaru ponders his future and asks, "what am I protecting"?

So there'll be a concert...

...tomorrow!

Chapter four is a streamlined chapter. It's short and compact, but it's still filled with fluff.

This isn't a j-pop adventure anymore.

Dig dig dig dig dig dig dig!

Kilika village looks peaceful, but there's a lot of tension. Rumors that fiends are flooding from the temple have reached the sea, and opinions are mixed. A few people worry about their loved ones, some think New Yevon deserves it, and a few others want to help for the sake of preserving human life. Regardless, the Youth League has the hates locked again, and we can't get past it. Go find Dona in her house. After a quick conversation, in which she claims she doesn't care about Bartello, she formulates a plan. She'll distract a guard, and we have to sneak through. To do so, we have to watch three viewpoints. Wait until YL opens the gate and for Dona to have her guard looking away. When you get the chance, take it. Your reward will be an accessory to let you use samurai skills. But we don't have the dress sphere for that?

All paths are blocked in the forest, but you have to inspect them. After three fails, the girls remember that Dona told them about the secret path. It's above us, so the Gullwings turn into dragoons. That path takes us past the forest to the stairs before the temple. Why is the fire blue? While Buddy and Shinra randomly show up to negotiate our fee, we make our way into the temple. It's being guarded, but recourses are low because of the gates. Inside the Cloister; is a wounded Bart. He'll be fine, but he misses his wife. "The age of summoners is over, but I'm still her guardian." How cute. After we've saved him, he gives us a clue on how to advance. Blue flames die whenever we kill a mob. So inspect the sconces and defeat the Daeva it spawns. Don't forget to pick up the samurai dress sphere after you fight two of them.

Beyond everything is another aeon. As you'd expect, it's Ifrit. He's probably the easiest aeon so far. With another town saved, we'll get our reward, and Spira is at peace! Or it would be if the Machine Faction could hold the fort!

Djose is calling for aid, but Brother doesn't want to help. Rikku tells us there's a rivalry between them. Yuna decides we'll just overprice them, but Rikku asks about a discount. There's definitely something lovey dovey between them.

The Al Bhed are guarding the doors, but it's not as good as it was. Gippal has gone missing. Him, Nooj, and Barelai are gone? Hmm...

Anyway, make your way in, and this is the shortest temple. Push the leftmost pillar to shut off the electricity. At the fayth is Ixion, and he's really strong! Paine says it's merged with the local machina, and I think that's what explains the ending. Haste will be essential because of how fast Ixion is. Protect and Shell are wise, too. Aerospark seems scary, but it no longer removes buffs. It also works more like gravity damage, so just heal after.

In every Chamber of Fayth was a massive hole, identical to the one in Bevelle. Djose is no different. The girls wonder where it goes, but no one wants to go down again. As they go to leave, the body of Ixion enters. We never saw it turn into pyreflies... Ixion explodes, and the girls are blown aside. Yuna, either by accident or choice, falls into the hole.

As Yuna falls, she hears a voice. It's him! She comes to in a field of flowers surrounded by mountains. From the mist is the boy of Yuna's dream. Wait, no. It's the guy from the sphere! He calls himself Shuyin, but he calls Yuna Lenne. He says they disappeared together, but Shuyin's been looking for her ever since. During the last 1000 years, he's seen humans remain exactly the same. They're still fighting, killing, and dying over nothing. But now he had Vegnagun. His voice grows deeper and more evil as he speaks. Shiyin goes to hold "Lenne," but Yuna, to herself, doesn't want him to touch her. He does, but she doesn't fight back. Yuna has been in her songstress outfit the whole time( and bursts into pyreflies. Yuna wonders who's feelings these are? Her's or Lenne's?

Suddenly, a voice pieces through the confusion. Nooj screams at her to wake up. Yuna pushes away Shuyin and returns to her normal clothes. Shuyin, meanwhile, transforms into Barelai, whose voice echoes with Shuyin's. Whoever he is, He opens a portal and goes through it, saying something foreboding as he does. Nooj and Gippal go after him, but only after giving Yuna two Crimson Spheres. They want Paine to see them, so Yuna asks how they know each other. Gippal just says, "the four of us go back a long way."

Yuna is alone, and the lights have gone out. She says she's scared and confused, but she's mostly just mad. After a quick walk around the platform, she resigns herself to her fate and pops a squat. She passes out, I think, and is woken up by Buddy via walky talky. She's where we fought Bahamut, but chapter three ends before we learn why.

We're sixty percent through the game, and Paine finally has a reason to exist! I'm only at fifty six percent, but I'm feeling good about it. That doesn't matter, but I am curious again about how Paine and the rest of the story. I'm mixed on the game, but I am enjoying it when I'm dealing with bloat.

Darker aeons

It's late; Gotta do this quick (again).

Besaid seems fine, but only if you ignore the marlboros that roam the outskirts. Inside the village is a slightly different story. Lulu informs us that Besaid is safe because Wakka has kept the fiends at bay, but there's more turmoil afoot. No one knows if more will come, so is there a way to prevent future attacks? Wakka has gone into the temple to investigate, but Beclem wants to burn the temple. We don't tell them what happened in Macalania, but we enter the temple. Wakka is before the elevator to the fayth, and he's injured. He'll be fine, but we want him to be there for his son, so the Gullwings take it from here.

As it was in Bevelle, we see an aeon waiting for us. Valefor, Yuna's first, is before us. With less hesitation, we attack her. Valefor is only slightly easier than Bahamut. We reconnect with Wakka, who's actually giving Beclem's idea a thought. Wakka cares about his memories, but "memories are just memories." He has a family, and he needs to protect them, even if it costs him those memories.

Every location we've visited so far in chapter three has had Shinra following us, setting up blue spheres as we go. It is now that he tells us he's interconnecting everywhere with his TVs. We also get a second area to run the Gunner's Gauntlet. This time it's a rail shooter inside the Cloister of Trials! It sucks.

I next undid my "mistake" and went to the Calm Lands. Nothing's changed, but there's a fayth down there. As before, the Chamber of the Stolen Fayth is fiend infested. Unlike the others, there is no protector, but there are a lot of tourists. Agree to help, and we'll have to save fifteen people "trapped" in the cave. For some dumb reason, everyone down here has traits that complicate protecting them. They refuse to be part of a group if it's too big! You can save them one-by-one or find a guide to get them all at once. Either way, equip a charm bangle for this to remove random encounters. There's a lot of backtracking, and it sucks. When we bring the group to the cave mouth, some give us things to power the teleporter. After a few, we can repower the path to Yojimbo. Save first, though, because I finally died!

Have Rikku mix hi-potions the entire battle. Equipping her with an anti poison accessory is also advised. Enkidu can poison a character, and it WILL kill you. Yojimbo's Zanmato won't kill us, but it will take our hp and mp to one, hence why spamming mega-potions is the way to go and why poison is so deadly.

Another item I got for saving people was the Besaid Sphere. With this, go back home, and we cab start part two of Wakka's cave. We'll have to find the four hidden ciphers, but good luck. Finding them is easy, but decoding the font is hard. What a dumb font they choose for this. The reward is a grid I don't think I'll use, so I gave up. I then finished the first part of the cactuar quest, and I'll finish chapter three...

... tomorrow!

Happy 501st blog update.

I lied. Tonight sucked.

Lots of meh.

Let's start in Luca. Actually, I never should have gone to Luca. The only thing there is Sphere Break, and Sphere Break sucks. Shinra beat me, which means Brother can't fawn over Yuna in her new dress sphere because, despite it helping us save the world, Shinra won't let is have it. "I'm just a kid."

The Mi'ihen Highroad's mission starts immediately. The machina that patrolled the path have gonna haywire, and we need to stop them. There's a rival band of Al Bhed we're competing against, so the goal is to kill seven machina before them. Ignore the chests, and try to explore both paths. I only finished the high road and just started the low road before they got the final kill. I got 10000 gil and a new grid. If you what to, you can get the treasure afterwards.

The Youth League sent us a distress signal, but they're fine. The Machine Faction is helping them guard the path. Lucil comes up to us and asks if we know anything about Nooj. Yuna lies to her, telling her we don't. The road to the HQ is blocked, so we're done here.

Bikanel Island has a new twist. Nahdala asks us to talk to the Cactuar Nation, located in the same place as before. A boy named Benzo can speak cactus, so the cart guy takes us to them. We learn that the Cactuar Nation sealed up a powerful evil eons ago. Recently, though, it's broken free. To reseal it, we need to find ten cactuars who've been training for this. This is similar to Rikku's hide and seek game from X. And it is just as interesting. The first cactus is at the oasis, and we need to shoot him to get him to return home. The next is in Besaid, so I'll get to that one...

... tomorrow!

Final Fantasy X-2 is no Final Fantasy X... But I learned how to AP grind better tonight. Using the attack command may be the fastest way to kill mobs, but every time you use a job specific action, you get one point of AP. So I'll be spamming Darkness, Pray, and Stash for a while.

Let's ignore the crisis!

Temples across Spira are calling for aid, but I need to ignore them to get the best ending!

We're back on the Celsius, and Buddy fills us in on what's going on. Fiends are coming from all the temples in Spira. The Gullwings wonder if they should help, but do they want Yuna to be the only person capable of saving Spira again? But what if they used everyone's helplessness as a way to make money? Just like that, we can protect people and earn some cold hard gil. True neutral, bay-bay! The Friendly Neighborhood Gullwings ate formed! Hotspots pop over Besaid, Kilika, and somewhere else. However, let's start in Zanarkand.

Despite being home to a temple, the sacred land is safe. The tourists near our bonfire are smaller, and there's still no one in the dome. Only Issaru remains, calling himself "the last guardian," but he's ready to give up. The monkeys have won. The rest of the area contains treasure, and I notice the fayth relief is still there.

Gagazet is empty, and only Kimahri and his girlfriend are here. He informs us that Garik and the ronso youth have gone to Gagazet to tell it their plan. They're going to war against the guado. We offer to make peace by any means necessary, so we're climbing the mountain. Kimahri gives us the trainer dress sphere, but only if we responded well to his people in the last two chapters. The teleporters are off, so we have no choice but to hoof it. At the peak where we fought Sanctuary Keeper is Garik. We ask him to settle for peace, but he refuses and attacks.

This battle changes based on how we answered the questions up to now. For me, Garik only had one ronso youth beside him. Garik isn't very strong, so don't worry. When the dust settles, Garik thanks us. He told the plan to the sacred mountain, but Gagazet remained silent. Whatever the ronso worship did not agree. Before our fight, Garik promised to stay his hand if we beat him. Had we lost or not shown up, Garik would have disobeyed his god and gone to war.

I accidentally skipped the calm lands and went to Macalania. We're brought to the travel agency, and we see the Al Bhed are dead. The temple may be gone, but fiends have still shown up. To save the area, we need to win six battles one after the other with no time to relax between. The mobs are simple but beware the chimera guys. O'aka catches up to us and is upset. He wanted to pay off his debt, but now he can't. As a weird way of thanking his collectors for defending the agency, O'aka promises to make this the best shop in Spira. For doing this, we get the berserker dress sphere and a grid that gives its user access to warrior skills without having the dress equipped. It's now glued to Paine.

The rest of Macalania is empty, as is the Thunder Plains. Make sure to speak to Lian and Aide in the north, though. I don't think it matters, but I sent them to Djose. We can also see Cid still sulking in the south. Cid does apologize, so there's progress.

Guadosalem is also kinda empty if you hate Leblanc. If you like her, head to the manor. Speak to the boys in the bottom room and overhear their terrible Nooj impersonations. Leblanc is depressed because "Noojy-woojy" is gone, and they want to cheer her up. She's in her room and wants us to leave. Not even Rikku egging her on can save her. Return to the boys, and we go back to the secret area. Open the chest we couldn't before, and climb to the rafters for another Crimson Sphere. This one's a big one as it shows Nooj, Barelai, and Gippal together before maester Kinoc. It doesn't go well when the rest of the would be Crimson Squad members turn on themselves.

But we're here for Leblanc. Ormi and Logos think a sphere of Nooj might bring her back. The first sphere they show us has Logos staring at Yuna's butt. The second, though, has a lot more value to us. It shows that Nooj was with them after the Bahamut battle on a ledge overlooking the room. But there's another sphere... The Gaol Sphere stars "him"! "He's" speaking with someone while in jail about the Machina War 1000 years ago. As we finish it, Maechen shows up. After the boys ask him how he got here, he feigns dementia. You can ask him more about the Machina War now, proveing that "he" can't be Tidus. Either way, the boys don't wnat us to tell Leblanc about Nooj. If she knew he were down there, she's go after him into the unknown.

The Moonflow is a bit bland. Tobli's show sucks, but that's probably because it lacks stat power. Paine tries to get the troupe away, but Yuna and Rikku want to be stars. One day...

Gippal and the Machine Faction are handling the fiends in Djose, but were he and Rikku and couple? Bevelle still hates us, so I'll get to more exciting things...

... tomorrow!

There's a really bad difficulty spike in chapter three. It's because of numbers or anything, but because the mobs have instadeath attacks now. A few even ignore the ATB gauge on wait and just do whatever. The game isn't suddenly harder; it's just cheaper.

The story begins.

But WTF first, though.

The Gullwings have come to Guadosalem to get their stolen sphere back. We change into our stolen outfits and easily walk in the front door. The Jyskal manor is just as it was before. Even the paintings of previous guado maesters are hanging on the walls. As we enter, we hear the ending of a conversation between Leblanc and Nooj. Nooj! We sided with that nerd! Leblanc is all lovey-dovey towards the mayven, but he's business as usual. He thanks her for showing him where Yegnagun is and leaves. Leblanc goes to her room.

Head through the door on the bottom floor, and we'll see the food Seymour prepared for us and see it's still there. Ormi and Logos are in the back, and they command us to do our duty. What's our duty? Whatever it is, it involves Leblanc, so head to her room. She's staring at a carbonate statue of Nooj but goes to lay down on her bed for our duty. Yuna now has to massage her mortal enemy! It's a weird nine squared minesweeper where we need the "perfect spot" on Leblanc's back. Bad spots make her mad. My question is, why does she have to moan so much? Anyway, Yuna puts her to sleep. The boys show up and tell us to make sure the switch still works. Return to where they were, and we'll find a secret passage!

The girls remove their outfits just as Brother blows their cover. Here's another Ormi fight.

Make your way to the red arrow on the map, and we'll find a sphere. It's not the stolen one, but it's another Crimson Report. This one takes place right after the first one, and it continues from it. Logos yells at Ormi about four missing people, warning him to "fix it" until their commanding officer shows up. Speaking of whom, the boys show up. Blah blah, they run away and set off the booby traps.

Go to the back of the dungeon to get chased by a spiked wall. Just get hit by it because it'll take you to the first switch to turn off the traps. The other two are between the floors that led to the spiked wall. Activate them, and press the last button behind the spikes. This reveals a new passage back to the save point and a new room. In the new room is the stolen sphere, as well as its other half. There's also a chest the game doesn't give us a chance to open... Leblanc had the other part of our broken sphere the whole time! Before we can see it, all the named Leblanc members show up for another fight.

Leblanc knows she's defeated and lets us watch the sphere. It's more Vegnagun, but it's surrounded by Bevelle guards. Leblanc decides we're now allies because Nooj went to Bevelle to stop Vegnagun, which means she's on his side. And we're going to Bevelle to make sure Yuna's Eternal Calm remains. Yuna thinks about her calm, always assuming peace would last, but can she still think that?

We're on board the Celsius, but it won't be long. After Brother and Leblanc argue, we're forced to Bevelle. We have to fight our way to the door again, but we can reach the main temple. It'll be peaceful, too. Inside the temple are monks running around. They're all confused because Barelai has gone missing. Inspect the rooms on either side to change the lift's direction. We need to head down and into the Cloister of Trials.

Mobs attack us along the way, but we'll reach the former chamber of fayth in time. But it's a lot different. There used to be a relief here, but now there's a hole. The Gullwings jump down, even though it's bottomless and the Highroad wasn't. We safely land and come to a massive, cavernous machina. Leblanc and co. catch up, and we head into the Bevelle depths.

To advance, activate the three blue towers. Each will summon a mob, but we unlock the way forward as we progress. You can hang around and keep triggering the towers to reach a ribbon at the bottom of the hole, but that looked really tedious. The three lead the way forward. There's nothing on the right path, so head left. Stand on the pillars to open the bridge, and we'll come to another room with machina. Rikku thinks this is the room with "you know who," but Leblanc tells us to stay focused. I made the mistake of backtracking, and I think I broke the game. You could have spoken to Ormi and Logos, but they were gone when I got back. I've read there's supposed to be a puzzle here, but it didn't work for me.

The next puzzle, though, did. Take the left lift up first and activate the two floor panels. Then fall from the south to take the middle lift, turning on that panel. Return and repeat the process with the right lift, taking the left one down at some point. This opens the jumping puzzle to the dark knight dress sphere, which means Paine finally has something to change into!

Further on is the prater himself, Batelai. Paine warned us that he's stronger than he looks earlier, so how does she know him? Barelai tries to convince us that he can be trusted with Vegnagun, but Nooj can't. We don't believe him, so he attacks.

He's actually really strong. He's fast, can hit the entire party, and has some tricks on his sleeve. I'm almost to level thirty, but Yuna died, and Paine almost followed. Fortunately, I am almost level thirty, so my team has the DPS to keep up. And Yuna's grid lets us use Curaga if she changes jobs, so I always have that on easy access.

He'll run away, and a save point will spawn behind us. Use it and follow.

He'll come to another massive chasm with a walkway over it. We'll reach the end, only to find an old friend. Bahamut is before us. But Yuna sent him, and his fayth is gone? Yuna tries to speak to him in an attempt to calm him down, but Paine knows we have to fight! She's correct.

Bahamut can curse a character, preventing them from class changing. Dark knight sucks at the moment, but it has great stats, so I want to use it. So bring holy waters, which I had 99 of because why not. After a while, Bahamut will start a countdown. If you've played FFX, you knock what this means. I couldn't finish him in time, so I ate a Mega Flare. It did a whopping 300 damage to my overpowered team. I took him out shortly after.

Yuna thinks about her calm again. Is it already over? She thanks Paine for being prepared to fight, and Leblanc comes in. Rikku noticed a hole a moment ago, and the topic turns to that. Did Vegnagun make it? Where does it lead? Before we begin to answer, Buddy contacts us to inform us chaos has erupted across Spira. We're asked to save, so I'll start chapter three...

... tomorrow!

FFX-2 has reused almost every FfX asset. Bevelle Underground was the first big new addition, and I kinda liked it. The save points were far between, which made the dungeon a bit of an attrition battle. And it could have been harder had I done the puzzles. But the plot has finally started, so let's see what X-2 has to offer!

We're disrespectful!

Sorry, Kimahri.

Rather than climb a mountain, I just flew to Zanarkand. The groups of tourists are still around our campfire. Some of them hate us because they're loyal to New Yeyon, but they don't have a name, so who cares. When we reach the dome, though, only Issaru is here. He tells us that the horde of monkeys has scared off most of the shoobies. Even he's wondering why he's still here. Issaru walks away, and the gears start turning in Rikku and Yuna's heads. What if there were more monkeys? Fortunately, many of the nearby primates are, uh, in the mood. All they need is a helping hand, and I worded that poorly.

We now get to breed monkeys. In order to do so, find the chimp with hearts over its head. Yuna will pick it up and try to find its soul mate. It'll have a similar name, but the real hard part is finding them in such a large area with a low resolution. X-2 was made for CRTvs. Like so many side quests in X-2, just go find a guide. We'll get a new grid, but nothing changes. Yet...

Gagazet is last on our journey, so hopefully, there's an outfit here. Kimahri and the ronso are still struggling with their hatred of the guado, and you can help them. I feel like we're fanning the flames of war with our answers. Afterwards, warp to the guy in the dungeon and then backtrack. We'll come to an area still sacred to the ronso, Fayth's Scar. Kimahri told us sphere hunters often trample this area, so could Leblanc be here?

Yes. We see two she-goons climbing on the unclimbable areas from chapter one. Chase after them, but there's no need to do so too closely. There are a few offshoots and a floating rock with an elixir on it. I have no idea how I got it to stay... After the tunnel, we can find the she-goons again. Rather than follow, climb higher. We can find a nice ledge to spy on a few other she-goons enjoying the hot springs. They are dressed. Ormi pops in to yell at his subordinates. As he's doing so, they remember the place is supposed to be sacred. Is there a "ronso buggy man"? I don't know, but the ledge we're on falls into the hot springs. Leblanc runs away, and we find a free outfit. Is there a naked syndicate member around now?

And then the Gullwings decide to enjoy the onsen. It's a weird scene, and I don't know how to describe it. Was it sexual? Why was Rikku's bikini less revealing than her usual attire? Either way, I don't think it was respectful to our first guardian. Brother tries to join, but Buddy knocks him out. When the girls are ready to leave, they stumble on the recovered Leblanc gang. Blah blah blah, beat them up. We're now ready to attack the Leblanc HQ, which I'll do...

... tomorrow!

I also freed O'aka from his debts. I had just enough to sell O'aka's wares to Barkeep. Out of thanks, O'aka lowers his prices so much that selling hi-potions to Barkeep makes 8000 gil, so I got my money back afterwards!

Almost ready for subterfuge.

The Thunder Plains suck.

In chapter two, we have the option to calibrate the lightning towers around the area. This involves three types of button prompts depending on which girl is doing it. Rikku is a simple, one button QTE. Paine has you finding the correct input from three and pressing it at the right time. Yuna's is a memory game. Every tower is slightly different, but they're all bad. You have to hit them 30 times, and you can only mess up twice. They're long and tedious, so I only did one. But if you do five of them perfectly, you get a crappy grid. How exciting!

Elsewhere in the Thunder Plains, we can find Cid. It seems our words against him in Zanarkand are making him do some thinking. Alone...

In Macalania Woods, we find a hypello as we take the south path to the former temple. He informs us that Tobli needs the musicians for his show, but he can't find them. Start by heading to the harpist, where we found the first Jecht Sphere in X. He'll try to contact his friends to get their permission, but he can't communicate with them. He'll tell us we'll have to find them and suggests we look for the circle of blue butterflies. From here, take the crystal path to find the flutist. The drummer is in Makeout Lake. We'll be teleported back to the tree, and the three agree to perform in the play. The woods are dying anyway, so why not? Wait, what?!

We know Leblanc is in the desert, and Nadala wants us to check out the oasis. Strange things keep winding up there. As we approach, we find Rikku's special dress sphere. And guarding it is Logos! He and two she-goons attack, and the Gullwings easily dispatch them. Bikanel returns to its normal sandbox, but we have more areas to dig in. Are shoopufs from here?

Because we gave the Awesome Sphere to the Youth League, Bevelle isn't happy. We can get to the door, but we have to fight our way through. Gee, I wonder why I didn't side with them...

As we enter the Calm Lands, Clasko feels like this is where he belongs! He runs toward the former fiend arena, and we can go after him. The old man who was once there is gone, and we can go in. Inside is a disturbed Clasko. As you'd expect, all the fiends we brought here are still here. Clasko thinks he can make use of the prison, but we need to clear it out. Apparently, most of the mobs we brought here are fake. We need to find the five real ones and kill them. You have a 1/15 chance, so go ahead and fail a few times. When you do, we'll get a red indicator over the mobs' heads. This indicates where the monster is looking, which will always be towards the real one. When you've found all five, return to Clasko. He's found a few more to kill, but they're three blue elementals. After we win, Clasko will turn this place into a chocobo sex dungeon. ...once we bring some chocobos in. Clasko gives us some greens, and I go find one. Once we get one, we can send it out to find stuff. At least, I think. This side quest has a lot of moving parts that I never understood.

Before leaving, head to the travel agency. Yuna will find Lian and Aide. The girls want to bring them home, but the boys run off before we can. Guess we'll see then...

...tomorrow!

End of chapter three... coming up!

Our friends worship us.

It's weird.

The Mi'ihen Highroad seems empty again, but there's a twist you can easily pass. After I spoke to everyone and failed to get them excited about Open Air and a marriage, I went to the travel agency. We enter and hear the ending of a conversation between the innkeeper and a girl who looks familiar. Follow the girl outside and talk to her. She knows us, but we can answer either way. She's one of the least important named characters from X, Calli. We met her and her mom on the high road two years ago as a young and excited child. We haven't heard of her since... She's the only character with a new model and, therefore, the only person to age in Spira. Congrats! She's returned to the high road to live out her lifelong dream of riding a chocobo. Sadly, none have shown up between chapters. But then something serendipitous happens. As the four girls talk about the missing chocobos, one just so happens to walk behind us. After a quick shock, the Gullwings give chase!

The rest of this mission has us following Rikku down the high road. Battles are greatly reduced, but don't listen to Rikku. She'll always be wrong. Collect feathers as you go for reasons... We'll chase the bird back to Luca, where we attempt to corner it. Rikku and Paine will stand at either end of the road, and Yuna will try to catch it by guessing what way it's gonna go. After a few tries, Yuna will be able to read it, but it doesn't matter. The chocobo will easily jump over Rikku, so go speak to the hover attendant when she fails. We'll be able to corral it after. But our victory is short lived. A man from the agency runs up to us and tells us Calli is in trouble.

We cut to her chasing another chocobo as the Chocobo Eater looks on. The Gullwings will see the girl in trouble, and Yuna tries to jump off the cliff to save her. Paine stops her because it's a long fall. With no hope, we look on. Fortunately, reinforcements arrive! Clasko and several more chocobos jump in to distract the Eater, giving us time to save the day. We have two and a half minutes to get around the bend, and the clock doesn't go in battle. Clasko leaves before the fight, but he did his part.

The Chocobo Eater is weak to fire, and we're very strong. I'm nearing the end of mastering our default jobs, so Flametounge and Fira make short work. Calli is seen riding a chocobo as we return to the Celsius. Warp back, and we'll see Calli, Clasko, and a chocobo near the agency. All three will ask to board the airship, and the passage north will be blocked.

So, I did that out of order. In order for that to unfold, you should have gone to Mushroom Rock first and saw Clasko freak out. So do that.

Anyway, next is Mushroom Rock Road. Because we sided with the Youth League, the guards will praise us and let us through. Yaibal goes overboard, thinks we're officially going to join, and runs ahead to tell everyone. We have to walk, but we get a guard along the way to lower the encounter rate. As we reach the gorge, Buddy calls us. He's picked up a sphere, so we take a detour to find it. It's at the sealed door and is held by Nooj. He's also trying to open the door, so Yuna offers the Gullwings' aid...for a price. The price is never discussed, but Nooj hands over the sphere anyway. He specifically hands it to Paine and walks off, indicating that the two know each other. Rikku tries to pry, but Paine says some edgy things, and the topic is dropped. Return to the path and carry on. The drowsy ochus are easy and give good AP, so kill them. There's not much reward for this, but we can see the YL is growing fast because of what we did. Lucil and Elma tell off Yaibal for his zealousness, and we return to the airship.

Head back because it's quicker. As we enter Djose, we see the Leblanc planning their mission. We overhear two she-goons saying they dropped a sphere, and the Gullwings decide to find it first. The sphere isn't even remotely hidden and is on the ground in front of a pillar (and why you should enter from Mushroom Rock). It's Yuna's special dress sphere, but Ormi and Logos want it back. They're easy, so steal their stuff. I left the she-goon for last and took her clothes. Rikku now has her Leblanc outfit. There's nothing at the temple, so port to the Moonflow.

Speak to Tobli, and we'll learn his show isn't selling well. He enlists us to scalp ten tickets to people around the Moonflow. The goal is to overprice the tickets because we get to keep the proceeds. As with the other questionnaire missions, go find a guide. I made 6500 gil and got a new grid. Nothing has changed in Guadosalem, so we'll head to the Thunder Plains...

...tomorrow!

In other news: I'm bad at Smash Ultimate.

Choosing a side!

Chapter two is when FFX-2's story diverges. It means you need to play the game twice to get 100 (and 1) percent, so it's kinda annoying. But who am I gonna pick to rule Spira?

The Gullwings are celebrating their triumph of besting both political parties. Paine is scared because Rikku and Brother are in agreement of how cool they are, which usually means bad things for the troupe. But we're stuck on the bridge because the sphere analysis is already complete. Head to Shinra and see the sphere!

It...it's "him." The man in the sphere that kicked off Yuna's new journey is seen. He stands before the guy on every Monster Magnet album cover and says to Bull God, "You're the only one I can count on to protect Lenne." Lights shine around him, surprising the man, who seems shocked. Did someone else enter the room? While the rest of the Gullwings wonder what it means, Yuna can only ask, "Who's Lenne"? To continue the celebration, everyone convinces Yuna to dance at a party that night. Apparently, Brother picked up some musicians in Kilika who'd be a great addition to the party. Head up to the cabin, and we'll see the three musicians from Macalania. Why'd they go to the Kilika? For some reason, they're immobile, so Yuna has to push them into the elevator. It's an easy task, but why? That night, the whole group is on the deck of the Celcius, which is 30000 feet in the air. Yuna is in her songstress outfit, dancing and singing for everyone. O'aka is there, too. Rikku is behind her for some reason... After a quick performance, she takes some time to get away from the group, so Rikku tries her hand at singing. I think, at least. Rikku has changed into her songstress dress. All Yuna can think about is the sphere. She ponders it silently at first but ends up screaming, "Who's Lenne?!" at the end. The party ends, and everyone looks over to her, causing Yuna to proclaim she's going to bed.

That night, she has a dream. Yuna, wearing her X dress, and Tidus are running through a metal hallway. I assume they're in Bevelle. Guards from the city are chasing after them, and they end up at Bull God again. They hold each other for a moment before the guards open fire on them, presumably, killing them both as their final sights are their dying love. Yuna wakes up with Rikku and Paine around her. Rikku blames her new jammies for the nightmare because Yuna is still wearing her songstress outfit. Head back to the bridge for our next mission.

Brother is less sure that what we did was right. I'm fine with it, but he believes we should return the sphere. But to who? He asks Yuna, but she thinks the leader of the Gullwings, which is Brother, should decide. Abusing his power as leader, Brother declares that Yuna should decide. Whoever we bring the sphere to will love us, but the other will hate us. On one hand, the Youth League would be willing to share the contents of the sphere with all of Spira, but New Yevon won't. However, YL seems like hot headed militants, while NY are boring religious people loyal to a false god. A god we killed two years ago, by the way. This was a pretty easy decision for me, though, as we have a lot of friends in the Youth League, but we only know Barthello in New Yevon. Plus, NY shot us in Kilika, so screw them!

The entire Gullwings head to Mushroom Rock Road and get a hero's welcome. Lucil, Elma, and the rest are in formation to salute us. Maeven Nooj is there, and he's happy, I think, to see us, despite how awkward it is for us to return something we stole. He starts a round of applause, which everyone joins in on, and the Al Bhed members of our team soak in. Meanwhile, Yuna, Paine, and Nooj (and Rikku) head into the HQ. Nooj asks if we look at the sphere, and Rikku stutters. Yuna tells him that we did, and Nooj simply says, "forget." "We cannot." Despite the fact he probably shouldn't have, Nooj informs us that the thing we saw was not Bull God from every Monster Magnet album cover. It's Vegnagun, a weapon that both sides know about but has different minds on how to use it. Nooj wants it to be forgotten, while New Yevon believes they can control it. Before we can get much farther, Buddy runs in to tell us he's picking us a distress signal from the Celsius!

We've been robbed! The broken sphere from Zanarkand seems to be the only thing stolen, but the thieves left a sphere. It's Leblanc! We know where they're located, and Rikku thinks we can bust in. Shinra, though, doesn't. Paine then suggests we sneak in. The plan is to find three female Leblanc outfits and infiltrate the Leblanc Syndicate headquarters in Guadosalem. We return to the bridge to begin our search. The only mission notification is Guadosalem, so we might as well head there. If you speak to the NPCs, they give us two clues about outfits. A hypello lets slip that the group has a mission on the Djose Highroad, and someone else says they've gone to Bikanel. More importantly, we can buy faulty sphere rumors in the inn. Save first because it's a bit random. Talk to the innkeeper and purchase the data for 10000 gil. When you do, he'll offer a clue about a potential buyer. If the clue is "the last person you'd expect," sell him the data. You'll make 90000 gil, which you can use to pay off O'aka, which is how I know this. My clue was "someone young," and I only made 10000 profit. Bleh! But we've only got two leads, so we might as well restart Yuna's pilgrimage!

The first thing we see in Besaid are the Aurochs training for the upcoming blitz season. They're as nice and cordial as usual, but then we hear a new voice. Not-Kyou has appeared up the hill. This is Beclem, a member of the Youth League who's here to train the Aurochs. He's also a douche and "creepy." He's pushing the Aurochs very hard, and they don't have time to talk, so we try to leave. As we do, Datto gives us the old Yevon prayer, which upsets Beclem. He tells everyone how useless summoners are now. Rikku is first to anger when she asks him, "who's calm do you think this is"? He continues to berate summoners, and Yuna gets mad. She won't stand for all her handwork and sacrifice to be demeaned in such a way. Beclem decides to challenge Yuna. If Yuna is as good as she thinks she is, she can beat his score. The mission changes to the Gunner Gauntlet! We have to walk from the statute to the beach, shooting at monsters en route. Every mob drops a treasure that contains ammo, and different ammo types work better against certain mobs. Level one is pretty simple as it only contains a wolf, a stronger wolf, and a giant bird. The small wolfs (simple ammo) can be killed with simple rounds, but the stronger ones (death ammo) will take a reload. Use the death ammo to defeat the bird in one shot. There are other types, but they're not revelent now. We need 500 points and have to reach the beach in under seven minutes. Or was it five? Anyway, this is kinda boring. But just don't get hit, and you'll be fine. Getting hit breaks the score chain. When we win, we'll get another garment grid, but Beclem still doesn't think highly of us. He doesn't seem fond of having friends, a thing that Yuna values over all else. Before leaving Besaid, restart the PR Campaign and Marriage stuff.

In Kilika, we're met with a crowd of adoration. Dona thanks us, but she also warns us that we should leave. The conflict between the two parties are still going on, so we won't get far.

The only thing going on in Luca is a TV News broadcast. It's hosted by another old friend, Shelinda. We can goof around on the broadcast feed, but Shelinda, eventually, gets around to asking about the revered Lady Yuna. The topic remains about her concert, but she gets into us siding with the league. She also asks a question referencing Tidus, which we can respond to in one of three ways. For showing up, we get another grid. Up next is the Mi'ihen Highroad, but I'll do that...


...tomorrow!

Deja vu? But seriously, why would we join New Yevon? Other than because that's what Yuna joins in that questionable audio drama and light novel?

Sacred Trap

Let's finish chapter 1!

Bikanel Island is first, and we're dropped off in the middle of nowhere. Rikku, as she did before, guides us...somewhere. But even she's lost. We should still follow her because why not. After a while, Yuna accepts defeat. There's nothing around us except for an endless sea of sand... As all three girls are passed out, some Al Bhed show up on their hover carts and take us to base camp. The leader, Nhadala, isn't here, but a sandstorm has kicked them out of where they usually are. Apparently, there's another heading this way. The storm never appears (yet), but after you speak to everyone, Nhadala will finally get here. After a short conversation, she lets us go digging. We'll start in the western expanse, which is the safest. The rules for these digs are: we have sixty seconds to find treasure hidden in the sands. All digable areas are marked on our map. The goal is to get the yellow X, which is mission critical, and we can keep the rest of what we find. It's usually a small amount of money or an enemy ambush, but I got a couple of Al Bhed primers. My first dig was a failure because the stupid sexual harassment bot stops us from moving when it warns us we're low on time. If we're not back to the hover when time reaches zero, we fail because now they need to waste precious resources reviving us. It's pretty peaceful, and I did a few more digs for 100 gil each. Occasionally, something strange attacks us, and we're forced to fight a boss named Angra Maniyu. We can't win, but we'll see this unique monster in chapter five. Do steal from it before fleeing, though.

Mt. Gagazet is next, and the only reason to be here is to speak to the ronso. We see Kimarhi first, and he's having some troubles. Two ronso pups, Lian and Aide, have gone missing. Half of the clan is worried about the kids, and the other half wants to destroy the guado. We now half to speak to the few we can and get them on our side. Our actions here will set Spira on a path down the road. There are numerous guides out there for the best strategy to do this, and I'd suggest you look into them. It's a lot quicker than the PR and Marriage campaigns. A lot more important, too. And don't forget the random guy standing guard in the dungeon portion.

If you want to walk to Zanarkand, you'll pass by familiar sights. The water portions where only Tidus, Wakka, and Rikku could go are gone. The fayth disappearing took the water with them, and now there's no reason to go down there. The fish mobs are now fought in Macalania, somehow... There's also a new climbing portion, but the game couldn't let me climb. It's a scene for later, I guess.

But, eventually, as it was two years ago, we'll step into Zanarkand. It's not perpetually twilight anymore, as the sun has gone down. But that's not the only change. The Sacred Sight of Zanarkand has been invaded by shoobies, tourists from around Spira. Yuna is disgusted. One of the tour guides makes us climb up to where Tidus said, "listen to my story." Doing so re-introduces us to Issaru, a tour guide working for Cid now. Rikku has no idea her dad is doing this. Yuna is upset because she didn't want anyone else to stand there. Issaru wishes us well, and we can make our way to the dome. We see three children claiming to be sphere hunters and chase after them. Along the way, we notice (and fight) Leblanc goons. When we reach the kids, we recognize Pacce, Issaru's youngest brother. He and his Kinderguardians have a clue about a special treasure. "Key." After we see them off, we overhear a Leblanc goon thinking the password was "mon," Yuna says something stupid, but Rikku thinks the password is "Monkey"! Until we reach the fayth, we get ambushed by more goons. Monkeys have also invaded the ruins, and one seems to be madly in love. It's a thread we'll look into later, but we need to see where "we cast off our faith" first. Just before that, though, is Cid. Yuna tells him she's outraged, and he walks off. Rikku compares what he's doing to Zanarkandas to turning the ruins of Home into an amusement park, which got him thinking.

The Chamber of the Fayth is empty, and we can open some treasure. Beyond the stairs is where Yunaleska was killed. As Yuna approaches the gaping hole, an evil laugh comes through. It asks us for the password. Answering correctly makes the voice quiver. Did he not expect anyone to get this far? In response, he asks us about the meaning of life. Some of the answers seem like they could be funny ("To marry a hypello), but I recognized the voice as Issaru. He gives up the play and admits that he's just trying to make some drama for the tourists. Issaru's journey ended in Bevelle, when Yuna beat him in Via Purifico, so he never made it here. But he's gotta do what he's gotta do and turns back on the shtick. He leaves us to our devices, and the group thinks about quitting. But Paine remembers there's a sphere here.

Head down the stairs in the back, and we'll reach a new dungeon. It's short, and there's a boss at the end. I don't remember the name, but it's the same guy we killed atop Gagazet two years ago, minus the pomp and circumstance. What it was guarding was...a broken sphere?

Back on the Celcius, Buddy and Brother are speaking Al Bhed. Rikku tells us they found something "awesome," an Awesome Sphere! It's been discovered in Killika, so we head there with no opportunity to do anything else. Beyond the gate we couldn't get through before is a group from the Youth League. Mayven Nooj is before them, telling everyone that New Yevon has a sphere pivotal to learning Spira's history. If NY won't share it, YL will just have to take it! The two groups are seen arguing in the forest where we once fought Ochu. This means we can't use the main path, but the obvious side branches are wide open. We can't head straight to the temple yet, so take a detour to the north dead end. We can overhear the guards talking about their password system. If an odd number of guards is there, the password is Coward Monkey. If it's even, Craven Monkey. We can now get to the temple. We can fight our way through, but we get some items and a grid if we do it stealthily. Odd, Even, Odd, Even, Odd, Odd

Dona has gotten here before us, and she's asking about the Awesome Sphere. The New Yevon rep is feigning ignorance, but another YL member comes down the stairs with the sphere. Just as he does, New Yevon shows its trump card. For a group that once shunned machina, they're now using it against us. It's the same golem guy the guado used against us at the Calm Lands. Because of all the walking I did, it poses no threat to us. But I did break its armor and power. The Gullwings will win, and the other groups will be stunned. In the confusion, partially caused by Yuna's awkwardness, Paine takes the sphere, and we all return to the airship. And, with that, we end chapter one! We'll do all of that again...

...tomorrow!

I really hate what they did to Zanarkand. But we're supposed to, so it's great. I don't hate the devs for doing what they did, no. I hate that that's what would happen. Once the threat of Sin is gone, of course, people would flock to Zanarkand and pay big bucks to do so. It happened to the 9/11 ground zero site. Mecca is a tourist trap, as is everything in Jerusalem. Nothing is sacred on Earth or Spira.

Shombody shave me!

Before we begin: Sphere Break sucks. I hate you, Rin! (But not my cheetah. I love you, Rin!)

 

Before going anywhere else, head to the Calm Lands. There are two game long side quests here, so you might as well start them now. The Calm Lands have become a place of amusement. There are two rival factions who think their three games are better than the other. They're the exact same, though, and neither are doing anything about the fiends. Yuna can promote one of them throughout her travels. In the travel shop at the center of the map is a man looking to marry off his "homebody" son. For some reason, Yuna can set up an arranged marriage between the boy and various women through Spira. With these two quests, I went back to Besaid, Killika, and Luca to get a good start on them.

 

We continue our first of five re-pilgrimages by walking the Mi'ihen Highroad. The first thing we notice is the quick travel hovercars just up the stairs. Gone are the chocobo rides, having been replaced by Al Bhad machina. For a mysterious reason, all the chocobos are gone from the highroad. There's a preacher near Mushroom Rock Road petitioning them to come back, but I get the idea that they can't.

 

But I refuse the easy path and hoof it. There are items to be had, exp to be gained, and creepy relationships to set up. Seriously, this is such a great time to grind. I got to level eleven. We notice a lot of machina patrolling against fiends, but they're really bad. I ran into a lot of mobs, including several iron giants. They're terrible at their job... Otherwise, there's nothing here. You can see a baby chocobo eater if you take to the low road, though, and I sense dark clouds on the horizon... You can also crash a cart if you accept a ride from the north entrance to the travel agency.

 

Mushroom Road has a sight to behold. Ormi and Logos are running ahead, and a group of former Crusaders let them pass. We know those guys are evil, so it's our turn to follow them! Before we're let onto the path that once took us to Operation Mi'ihen's HQ, we can meet the people outside. This is Yaibal of the Youth League. YL has their headquarters down the road, so everyone is standing guard. I don't remember Yaibal, but you can respond that you do. Beside him is someone I do remember, Clasko. The reluctant guard just wants to ride a chocobo, but Elma and Lucil dragged him to the YL. We get out next mission, which is to reach Young League headquarters. Along the way, we see the Leblanc boys jump into a pit. Sneaking up on them leads us to a door they can't figure out how to open. It's got something to do with spheres, though. When we try to ambush them, Logos shoots a smoke grenade at us and escapes. But they left behind the Crimson Report 9 sphere. As we go to leave, we see another person we recognize. It's Maroda, the younger brother and guardian of Issaru! Yuna tried to bring up Issaru, but Maroda skirts around the issue. He really doesn't want to talk about him. But this door is blocked by the Youth League and is off limits to us, so we have to leave. Continue towards the HQ, but I'd suggest not walking when the lights dim. This is supposed to be fog, and it increases random encounter rates. Most of the YL is off on a mission now, so this path is less guarded than it usually is.

 

In time, we'll reach the lift and see Elma. She tells us Lucil is a big wig in the YL and is guarding the HQ above. Take the elevator and head all the way back. Lucil is waiting for us, but she lets us know that the YL leader, Mayven Yooj, is gone now, so we can't speak to him. Talk to her again for a scene where they catch up, and we get a little backstory on the League. It seems there are some miscreants in their ranks because Yooj lets in all comers. While this conversation happens, Maechen shows up. The wise old man who loves to talk your ear off is still in Spira, and he serves the same purpose. Talking to him, which will take a while, lets us know a lot of what's been happening in Spira over the last two years. In the wake of Sin's death, a lot of people wanted to know the truth about Spira's history. These people sought out spheres and called themselves the Seekers. The Seekers were started by a man named Trema, and he shared his newfound knowledge with all who asked. But, one day, he started another faction called New Yevon. New Yevon is far more secretive with their spheres, which upset a lot of people. The Seekers grew into what's known as the Youth League. But Trema disappeared about a year ago with no word on anything. Why did we start two opposing factions? Before we go, Maechen asks to shake our hand. Yuna lets the professor do so, but he gets a little scared. He also tells us that his memory is going, and new information seems to be kicking out the old. In fact, he can't remember his age. Hang with us, Maechen. But the mission is done, so let's carry on. Also, if you watch Crimson Report 9 sphere with Shinra, you hear the voice of Ormi and Logos as they look upon dead bodies. Was this after Operation Mi'ihen?

 

Djose Highroad also has the fast travel carts, but I walk it anyway. There are no items, but exp is exp! Heading to the temple has Yuna tell "us" that the temples of Yevon sat abandoned for a long time after Sin died. Djose was no exception, but it's certainly lively now! The Machine Faction has made this their base and operates their mainland business here. The Machine Faction is run by Al Bhed, who dig in the Bikanel Desert to find new machine parts. Would be diggers come here to get the okay to dig. The line is long, so we have to wait. In time, we'll get the go ahead to speak to the leader, Gippal. Inside the temple, Gippal remarks how cool it is to be near Yuna, but he doesn't stay long. Something happens that seems inconsequential, but we still have to follow him back onto the bridge. It seems Rikku knows him, and it also appears that Gippal knows Paine. Paine has no idea who he is, though, just as Gippal blows off Rikku. Ohhh, a love triangle?! Anyway, he asks if we want to dig, I say yes, and he gives us a pass. We have to talk to someone in Bikanel, but I'll head there later.

 

The Moonflow is next, but there's a strange sight en route. A hypello is traveling with a chocobo drawn cart, and he's under assault. The Moonflow has become a den of bandits, so we'll need to guard the cart to the shoopufs! Word of advice for this, you can skip the hypello's warning dialog to get to the bandits faster. I had to try this five times to get the full reward because the game kept getting strange with the second ambush. When we reach the Moonflow, a small red penguin named Tobil will thank us by giving us the Gun Mage dress sphere. If we saved all of the cargo, we'll get a grid and an accessory I already had. I just wanted the grid. Tobil seems to be planning something. A show, perhaps? Maybe we'll see him again later, but it's on to Guadosalem.

 

All the guado are gone. They went into hiding out of guilt for what they did with Seymour. But Guadosalem is far from empty. It's now the home to every second rate sphere hunter in Spira. What's most disturbing is Leblanc now lives in Seymour's house. If you try to go to the Farplane, Yuna tells "us" that she's thought about coming here before to see if she could see "you." Sadly, it's unstable, so we can't enter.

 

The Thunder Plans is next, and there's nothing here, either. Yuna tells "us" that Rikku is no longer afraid of lightning, though. She camped out here for a week! In the last two years, the Al Bhed have repaired the lighting towers, so all we have to worry about are the fiends now.

 

Macalania Woods isn't doing well, it seems. The fayth vanished from the temple, and the ice began to melt. We see the butterfly guy/harpist from FFX walking away after appearing downhearted at what's happening to the forest. The drummer is where Yuna and Tidus made out, and he teleports away after hearing a sound. Along the bottom path is the flutist, who remarks that the woods are getting lonelier. I don't think that's true because Macalania Woods is where the guado fled. We can find Tromell where the group once fought Sphereimorph (a random encounter now). Talk to him a handful of times, and we can begin to understand what his people are going through. Out of fear of the ronso, they fortified Guadisalam. But they felt guilty and lost all will to fight, and they fled here to disappear. Tromell doesn't want forgiveness. He just wants to be forgotten. Eventually, though, he asks what Yuna has been up to, and he gives us Paine's special dress sphere, Full Throttle. I kinda hate these since they take too long to "summon," and they remove your other characters, but I'm glad they exist for some reason.

 

But that's not all! O'aka XXIII is still alive but on the run. As we approach the former travel agency, we see several Al Bhed around it. They're speaking Al Bhed, so I have no idea why, but we witness the merchant run back into the forest. We can also notice the lake is gone if we go the other way. From here, Rikku wants us to find O'aka, so take the crystal path. We'll see him running beneath us. Follow him to the campsite, and he'll tell us he bought the agency from Rin. However, when the fayth fell, tourists stopped visiting. O'aka now owes 100000 to the Al Bhed, which we can pay off by buying his stuff if we invite him to the Celsius. Alternatively, we can hand him over...

 

While we're here, let's stop by Bevelle. It's Yuna's home, but it doesn't feel like it. We can explore further than before and even meet the leader of New Yevon. Yuna wants to leave because the chairman of NY asked Yuna to marry his son. She turned him down and doesn't want this awkward moment. Rikku does! Before we can get away, the chairman comes to greet us, but it's a new face. This is Barelai. He's the new leader because the prior chairman and his son sucked and got kicked out. We don't get much time to talk because he's busy, but he hopes we'll join New Yevon in time. Paine had her back to him the whole time... We can get a tiara if we find him in the courtroom. And with that said, we can climb Mt. Gagazet and finally reach Zanarkand. But we should head to Bikanel first, which I'll do...

 

...tomorrow!

 

I understand why all the mobs are in different positions, but I also hate it. Why are fiends that were inside Sin now roaming the Thunder Plains? Why are all the elementals everywhere? And I'm kinda not digging the battle system this time around. It's more traditional, which is fine, but I lose track of who's doing damage now because everything is happening at the same time. No one gets to shine or look cool when they take out their target. It's faster, but it's also lost its charm...