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As I mentioned before, the world of Final Fantasy X, Spira, is a world threatened by a persistent primal force called “Sin.” This creature is itself a fascinating theme within the game.
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Sitting underneath the romance story are some more serious themes, and there’s a particularly effective conversation around religion within Final Fantasy X. Say what you want about Final Fantasy XIII and its sequels, the voice acting is generally far superior to what’s on display here.
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Yuna and the other actors do a generally better job, but individual lines of dialogue are often quite poorly written for everyone and lack the naturalism required for truly effective delivery from the voice actors. Tidus especially is from an era when developers were still figuring out how to effectively write lines of dialogue to be spoke aloud, and the voice actor cast for the leading man turns in a performance that is so amateur it’s difficult to witness now. Unfortunately, the voice acting isn’t quite up to the emotional task that the story demands. Final Fantasy X’s romance arc follows a plot thread that is very genuine, even if it’s hardly as original or notable as the great love stories that it emulates. Ultimately the two come to the ultimate realisation that they are indeed in love and share an evening swim in a pool that’s a real tear jerker for reasons that I won’t spoil for anyone who hasn’t played the game. From an awkward first meeting, to Tidus’ sheer frustration as Yuna is married off, to the conflict with her new husband, Final Fantasy X takes players through a complete relationship cycle. Yuna is conveniently off-limits to Tidus by virtue of her religion. It’s not the most subtle story, as anyone who has played it knows. If you were to picture a fantasy world where an time travelling boy with father issues meets a young and beautiful priestess on a life-and-death quest to prevent a destructive force of nature, then you’d be at the plot seed for Final Fantasy X. It’s not always successful in achieving such lofty goals, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the finest Final Fantasy games ever designed. At its core, Final Fantasy X is a tragic love story, with some pretensions to Shakespearean philosophy and high drama.
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