Pokedudes - Beat normal game. I didn't realise they had difficulty modes in BW2 until I as near the end. That is because you need to beat the game to unlock it and trade with the other version to get the other difficulty mode. This is really fucking stupid and is the most Pokemon thing ever. Basic functionality that should really be in the game forever if you are going to do it! Arbitrarily locked away and requires trading.
I think the worst part is that you have to delete all your data to start a new game, so you can't even use Expert Mode on replays unless you know someone with Expert Mode unlocked to transfer it over. Unlockable difficulty modes is nothing new for Video Games in general, but Pokemon took it to a new level of stupid. Much as I will rave about BW2 being one of the best entries in the franchise, I will never defend how they handled the difficulty modes here. I find it hard to even defend it on a "better than not existing at all" level because it functionally doesn't exist for most people until the aftergame, and worse, it only helps Black 2 players because that gets Expert mode. White 2 gets UNLOCKABLE EASY MODE for aftergame which is stupid unless you are compulsive about 100%ing the after-game and the Super E4 and such scare you.
ANYWAY!!!
FF10 HD: Zombie Seymour just got defeated. Ok, NOW I'm pretty sure I'm done with him for good; Zombies are being rekillified is usually being deaded and such.
So we open with Tidus running around Airship. The only thing noting here is the discussion with Donna, notably where he says "Who cares what everyone else says? Do what you want with your life" and she agrees despite the disgrace. Why is this line meaningful? Well, earlier in the game, Tidus has a flashback with Jecht where he's telling Jecht that people are saying he's getting worse due to drinking and Jecht's response is "let them talk!" Tidus having the same mindset of "Who cares what everyone else thinks?" fits in with this because first off, he is a celebrity too; he knows the public talks. Secondly, this demonstrates he has more in common with Jecht than meets the eye, since he's pretty much taking the mindset of "who cares what the public says?" and telling Donna that.
So the rest of the Airship stuff is nothing major. We have Wakka finally learning Yuna is half Al Bhed, Auron and Cid arguing over the pilgrimage (further proving that Cid's concern is for Yuna, and not the pilgrimages themselves), and then AWESOME ACTION SEQUENCE WITH WEDDING!!! Well no, we do see Rikku's back to her fun-self again when she openly imitates Cid to show how ridiculous a notion of "BLOW UP THE AIRSHIP AND TAKE THEM DOWN WITH US!" which was an amusing scene, in character, and just a good example "This is how you do a fun energetic character!" I can't stress enough how FF10 Rikku is so painful not because she's bad a character, but because she's a GOOD character, and we know she turns into...well...
...no, I won't stop with this nonsense. Taking a fun character and ruining them horribly is nothing I will ever drop and damn it, you're all going to suffer with me, either through reminders about this change, or the fact that I will simply piss you off with the repetitiveness!
But enough of that, ACTION SEQUENCE!
I think that covers everything.
Bevelle Cloister happens, proof Yevon is lying out of their asses, Yuna basically tells the Maester's how it is, then gets in trouble because SHE KNOWS TOO MUCH!!! Honestly, while this sequence isn't bad or anything, there really isn't much to talk about; it's a straight forward "Yevon is corrupt, Seymour is even more corrupt, and the team breaks out of jail. Oh yeah, Isaaru is incapable of saying no" so I won't follow up.
So onto Seymour Natus! Now, neat thing here is Auron tells the team to run as Kimhari holds Seymour off, obviously with the intent of "Kimhari is going to die, he's buying us time so we can retreat, don't let his sacrifice be in vain!" Then Yuna goes "Wait, I'm the one in charge!" about half way down the bridge and says "we're going back to help him!" Tidus' response is of course to whine and moan and be a little bitch about it because that's what the haters would assume!
...or, you know, calmly state "I'm your guardian, I'll follow you wherever you go!" It's almost like Tidus is understanding his position as a guardian. The rest of the team agrees, and Auron just has a chuckle to himself before following suit. Well good to know he's not entirely against Yuna's decision!
This part stands out to me for a reason that only came up recently, not because of FF10 itself, but rather things as a whole. Namely, Yuna's role in FF10.
See, I casually stated that Yuna is proof that characters like Rosa are awful; she's a soft spoken, nice girl healer who is the Main Character's love interest, but that description is only surface level for Yuna, where as for Rosa, it's the ENTIRE CHARACTER. Yuna has depth, Rosa does not...this isn't anything new, but the angle I'm thinking of is directly related to this scene.
In FF4, it's stated Rosa became a White Mage
for Cecil. She left Baron to look
for Cecil. She got kidnapped for the expressed purpose of
baiting and taunting Cecil. Her entire character is hinged upon beyond Cecil's girl. There's literally one scene where she elevates above this, and that's Mt. Hobbs where she actually encourages Rydia to use Fire, being nice and supportive of her. Unfortunately, one exceptional scene does not override the fact that Rosa's entire character is otherwise linked entirely to Cecil. To make matters worse, the only reason you care about rescuing her (both times) is because she's Cecil's girlfriend. Heck, she's even introduced into the game with "Cecil, are you alright? I was worried sick!"
Now look at Yuna. Her role in the game is entirely independent of the other characters...quite the reverse, the other characters exist around Yuna. Notice how Tidus said "I'll follow you!"; Yuna makes the decisions, Tidus is following her. Yuna on multiple occasions calls the shots in the team, as she should since being the Summoner, she's the de facto leader. When she gets in-trouble, the incentive to rescue her isn't because "Tidus loves her!", it's because she's literally the only person on the team capable of finishing the pilgrimage. Guardians are expendable demonstrated when Kimhari attacked Seymour and was willing to stand alone, with Auron mostly agreeing. Yuna would never admit to this of course, and that's fine; Yuna puts value in her guardians are more than just warm bodies to take bullets for her. That's part of her character after all...as in, she actually has a character to be able to make a statement like that about.
It's the complete opposite scenario of Rosa, really, because Tidus does a lot of actions for Yuna's sake...or really, the entire cast as a whole acts on Yuna's behalf. Contrast to Rosa where everything related to her leads to "because Cecil."
What made me think of this is when someone argued that from a certain perspective, Peach and Zelda could be argued not "Distressed Damsels" because part of what makes the trope is the female needs to be an object of desire for the male's personal reasons. In Peach/Zelda's case, they also play a larger role in the grand scheme of things, being political leaders of their countries, and so even if Mario/Link didn't have personal reasons to care, they have universal ones and being the only competent enough individual to save the day, they'd go out and do it anyway (in fact, half the time, Zelda isn't even Link's Love Interest!) Not sure I agree with this perspective, but it's an interesting way to look at it, namely "Do these characters serve a purpose other than being the love interest to the main?" and when it comes down to it, Rosa completely fails at this.
And that's where I left off! Next up, Tidus and Yuna make out underwater and GAMEPLAY SEGMENT IN THE CALM LANDS!
