Speaking of FF10...
FF10 HD: So...about that post Seymour stuff...yeah I should talk about that, shouldn't I?
So we get to the Fayth...OF THE EXTREME!!! which we learn isn't creating an Aeon, but literally an entire city...of which only Tidus learns about because he goes to sleep and learns all the truth. Oh yeah, he also says "THIS IS MY STORY!"...I think this is the first time he says that since the game begins, to be honest, and that scene technically takes place after this scene. Interestingly, Tidus words it by saying "This is our...no, this is my story." Weird he'd start with the plural and then go to the singular. Only logic I can think of is Tidus is trying to assert himself by making it clear "it'll end how I want it, I don't care how anyone else thinks." Honestly, the line here just seems out of nowhere, and like a random theme they remembered existed and suddenly forcing it back in. Weird that people also harp on the "THIS IS MY STORY!" so much when he doesn't even say it that often.
I can sum up the sequence as follows:
Tidus: Why am I home?
Bahamut: It's a dream.
Tidus: Really? I need to stop dreaming!
Bahamut: But Tidus...you
are a dream!
Tidus: ...that's crazy talk.
Bahamut: No seriously. You see, war happened between Bevelle and Zanarkand. Bevelle was all >
and Zanarkand was all ;_; so they dreamed up a Zanarkand that can never sleep.
Tidus: o...k...
Bahamut: ...yeah, and they kind of want to stop dreaming. Mnaybe you and your dad, dreams who were TOUCHED BY SIN!!!, can finally stop it!
Considering all this, Tidus takes the news pretty well. His response is more of confusion than denial, and when he finally starts to process it, he goes right into the Acceptance state. TAKE THAT DENIAL, ANGER, BARGAINING AND DEPRESSION! TIDUS JUST BEAT YOUR 5 STAGES OF GRIEF BY GOING STRAIGHT TO STAGE 5, DEAL WITH IT!!!
In all seriousness, if there's one moment that really just puts a huge dent in the "Tidus is a whiner, all he does is whine", it's this very scene. Based on everything people whine about Tidus, if it was true, he'd have done his usual complaining and probably yelled at Bahamut here. Remember, he acted kind of similarly to Auron telling him Sin was Jecht, though there Tidus was more angry for a combination of reasons, as well as kind of went ballistic at the Yuna news earlier, but that was more because he was left in the dark about everything and kept making all these empty promises that he now learned were empty promises. Nonetheless, the fact that he takes the news as pretty much a "*sigh* that's a disappointment..." kind of shows that either:
A. Tidus is not the whiner people pretend he is as an easy way to go "He is an awful hero, game better off without it!"
B. Tidus was a whiner, but has gone through this thing called "character development" and so he is now able to take news well.
If A, well, I explained it there. If B, well...isn't that a GOOD thing? They put Tidus at a low point and managed to make him grow up and become not like he was early on. Anyone sensible doesn't look at how a character is early game and goes "this is a bad character, he will forever be bad!" First impressions are strong, but not always accurate; Tidus showing growth, if you subscribe to B, means he should be assessed at the end of the game and how far he is there, and the path he took there. That's how you look at dynamic characters!
So after this, we get...probably the most pointless section in the game, that being the Mt. Gagazet Caves. It's complete filler thrown in just to break up the fight between Seymour Flux and Sanctuary Keeper...and the latter is a 100% filler boss anyway. Seriously, this is a section of the game that bugged me because it is so forgettable, yet plugged in for the sake of added gameplay and the enemies aren't even that interesting. You're going to fight these things in Zanarkand anyway, and Zanarkand is way better!
So we learn Yunalesca is the one testing us, and that she's "alive as Seymour and Mika" ...yeah, this is pretty straight forward and little else. Well, Yuna does state that she's really not surprised and afraid of nothing at this point. To be frank, this makes sense seeing as from Yuna's perspective her options are basically "Succeed and die" or "Fail and die" so this concept of "Death" sort of loses all meaning when both options lead to it, might as well just throw away your fear of it!
...ok, that and Yuna is brave, we get it. THEN WE FIGHT A GIANT DRAGON BECAUSE YUNALESCA SAID SO!
Now onto a scene of MORE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! Rikku wants to take a break because they're near the summit, because she's trying to stall as much as possible, and is pretty much stating this outright too. Tidus is being open about how he doesn't want the quest to end, but knows it's almost over too. Wakka is basically there to lend an ear, and not much...but then strangely, Auron of all people responds, and in an unexpected way:
"You remind me of myself on my pilgrimage with Braska"
This is really the first time we get insight on what Auron was going through internally in the pilgrimage. We see glimpses of him from the spheres, where he mostly is the Super Ego of Braska with Jecht being the Id. This scene, Auron states that he really didn't think much of it until that point on the mountain where suddenly he had second thoughts, and started considering "maybe there is another way, why does Braska have to do this?" He states he wanted to change the world, but in the end, changed nothing.
So Auron is basically admitting he wanted to do the same as Tidus but failed. Wakka comments on a Legendary Guardian having second thoughts and Auron simply responds "well, I wasn't a legend back then" in effect. Adds that little bit of extra human element to Auron.
Then we see a shot of Zanarkand, Tidus does a narrative that is bland and boring but sounds dramatic so SHUT UP IT'S AWESOME YOU LISTEN TO IT SO WE CAN JUSTIFY THIS FMV!!! Then we get a scene with Rikku and Yuna. Rikku is still trying to talk Yuna out of it, and even convinced herself that Yuna WILL get out of this alive, and they will see each other again.
Yuna gives her a passionate huge...well, they are cousins, so I guess it's a family thing! It's actually kind of touching seeing Yuna give her regards to Rikku and Cid, and Rikku saying "no, you'll tell Cid these things yourself!" and yeah, it's a nice capstone on Rikku and Yuna's relationship which they don't really go much into beyond this scene...
...AND IT FURTHER MAKES FF10-2 GOD DAMNED PAINFUL. See, here they come off as something like family members who don't see each other often, but actually still care for one another. FF10-2, they're basically sorority girls. Here, we see yet again that Rikku has this thing called a "serious emotional side" that shows up multiple times through out FF10, to remind us there's a real character beneath the bubbly, fun personality. FF10-2 sort of deletes that aspect entirely and relegates Rikku to nothing but that surface level description raised several levels up. Really, her character in that game is being the "Fun Girl", with Yuna being the "Nice Girl" and Paine being the "Mean Girl." Because screw characters, we want our trope team dynamic!
...yeah, this replay is only further cementing how FF10-2 completely spat on Rikku's character, whether it be intentional because they didn't care, and just shoved her in a bikini because Fan-service, or because the guys who made FF10-2 didn't pay attention to the character at all, just looked at a couple of FF10 scenes and went "yeah, that's the character alright!" I get it, FF10-2 is a more light-hearted game, you could still afford to give Rikku a serious scene here and there.
But tangent from FF10-2 aside, we now have THE YUNA SPHERE!
Ok, I can sum this up pretty fast:
-She likes having Auron on her team because makes her closer to her father!
-She really likes Kimhari because he's always been there for her
-Wakka and Lulu are her real siblings in her eyes
-She has developed feelings for Tidus as early as Mii'hen Highroad.
None of that is worth noting except for that last one, and it's because of the irony involved. She talks about how it "hurts" because she knows she will "never get to spend the time she wants with him" obviously because she knows succeeding in her pilgrimage = she dies (and she reminds us that "if you're watching this, I am already dead.") The ironic part is, ignoring FF10-2's special ending, she is absolutely correct here, but for the completely wrong reasons. She's going to end up surviving this, it's Tidus who will not. It makes you wonder how she would have thought of it if the situation were reversed from the outset. It's a neat little bit of foreshadowing with irony. Also worth noting that while the "YOU ARE A DREAM!!!" has been revealed, the game doesn't state what will happen to Tidus and Jecht if they stop dreaming. If anything, the game suggested that Tidus could be an exception since he was "touched by Sin" but it's left intentionally vague. So by this point, the player really has no reason to believe Tidus is going to die by the end, and you're more just wondering "ok, how are they going to find a way to keep Yuna alive?"
Rikku left out because the sphere takes place before meeting up with Rikku. I think that scene Yuna shares with Rikku is kind of meant to fill in there, as we otherwise would never hear what Yuna really thinks about Rikku. I'd say it's forced but the way it works itself fits well enough since it is in character for Rikku to try and do whatever she can to tell "YUNA DON'T DO IT!" and given where they are on the journey, it fits that Yuna would take this moment to reassure Rikku.
And then we get to Zanarkand, and we learn Tidus was pretty much telling the entire story to the team (minus the dream part of course), and that's what the narrative basically was! ANd then we go off, awesome music plays...slightly butchered because FF10 HD remastered music THAT IT DID NOT HAVE TO REMASTER SERIOUSLY WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?, minor cutscenes ensue along the way, then we get to the Blitz Ball Dome and one of the best songs in FF10 is replaced with one of the most generic and repetitive songs.
Look, I get why they changed the music; the song works as a build up to the dome and once you're there, the tone from "Build up" to "11th Hour!" is a thing, but...the Blitz Ball match up theme? Really? That's the song you're using for a "Fake Final Dungeon"? Especially after "A Fleeting Dream"? Yeah, screw you, I'm done playing for the night!
