This is my story… (almost 9 years in the making!)
I first played Final Fantasy X HD (FFX) when I was in high school, as it released on the PlayStation 2 back in 2001. For some reason, I’ve had a difficult time committing to this game. Whether it was Plat burnout or overall life fatigue, I think I started the FFX Plat run at least three times: once on the PS3 (first trophy 21 Mar 2014), another on the PS4 (resumed ~13 Sep 2020), and finally, successfully completed on the PS5 (on 11 Mar 2023).
I went into this playthrough vaguely remembering the overall plot, but so many more details went noticed during the Plat playthrough. FFX follows our protagonist Tidus and his journey from his Zanarkand to Spira. One Summoner + 5 guardians later, we find the crew on a mission to defeat Sin, uncovering friends and foes along the way. I always admired FFX’s method of world discovery, as the player is essentially as clueless as Tidus is during the game’s plot. The religious overtones are unveiled to us naturally and seeing the areas of Spira as part of Yuna’s pilgrimage was very clever and made a lot of sense. My only wish was to have even more of the story revolve around Braska + Jecht + Auron, since they made for such a funny crew during the Jecht Sphere scenes.
Combat in Final Fantasy X utilizes a very cool take on turn-based action: Conditional Turn-Based Battle (CTB). Instead of the ATB system in many other FFs, FFX has the turn order listed on the top right of the screen, which shows exactly who’s turns are coming up in order. I was always fond of this method, which prioritizes user strategy vs inputting actions ASAP to allow the ATB bar to refill. The player can also swap characters and even equipped weapons or armor at any point in a fight, which is a really cool touch. The Overdrive bar replaces the limit bar and, while not my favorite “limit” system, does have a cool novelty of being unique for each character and adds a lot of flavor to their personalities.
Possibly my favorite characteristic about this game is the amazing soundtrack. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that “To Zanarkand” may be the best individual FF track of all time. As the main theme of FFX (and composed + arranged by the GOAT himself, Nobuo Uematsu), To Zanarkand is first introduced to us during the opening scene and is beautifully woven throughout the game’s most pivotal and iconic scenes. To me, it’s a masterpiece that can be enjoyed by everyone — not just FFX players!
The trophy list for FFX was a slog, as the trophies varied from insane difficulty (all Celestial weapon minigames AHH!) to extremely time consuming (I never want to see another sphere grid ever again). I will say that following a guide helped a ton, as there are a few that are missable and I did not want to have to start ANOTHER playthrough. As always, here are some of the most memorable trophies during my run:
To my readers who haven’t played the game yet: SPOILERS follow, so please beware!
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Heartstrings
Though this trophy is easy to accomplish, the underwater date scene was one of my favorite moments in this game. Tidus + Yuna finally releasing the romantic tension between them and coming together during a tough time felt like the perfect timing. I think the scene evokes a lot of emotion from the two protagonists and is one of the most visually iconic FF scenes.
Here’s a clip I found on YouTube of the great cinematic:
Delta Attack!
The summons in FFX are known as Aeons and they are a tool used primarily by the Summoners of Spira to combat Sin. Of all the Aeons, my favorite are the Magus Sisters. The final Aeon obtained in the game, the player must have received all other summons first, in addition to the Blossom Crown (capturing 1 of every Calm Lands fiend) + Flower Scepter (enter the Remiem Temple + defeat Bahamut). The coolest part of the Magus Sisters was that you got to control all 3 sisters during battle: Mindy, Cindy, and Sandy!
I remember first getting the Magus Sisters back in high school and being in awe that they had over 9999 HP each and could attack over 9999 damage in single attacks. Break HP/Damage Limits were not known to young BraveTH yet, but the throwback of seeing them in action was great. They were also very useful in starting the stat maxing/power-up part of the game.
Perseverance
Penance is the grand daddy, optional superboss of FFX HD. Players can find it as a flight location on the airship once all the Dark Aeons are defeated. Truly, unlocking the opportunity to fight Penance takes a bit of time. I went through most of the Sphere Grid for Tidus, Auron, and Wakka — maxing STR, DEF, magic DEF along the way — just to be prepared for the gauntlet. Most Dark Aeons were pretty straightforward, but Dark Yojimbo and Dark Bahamut had a bit of a learning curve for me. I must mention the ridiculousness of the pre-fight cinematics, with a special shout for the Dark Magus Sisters fights (which scared the bejesus out of me!).
The Penance fight itself was intimidating to approach. I had already finished stat maxing and customizing endgame armor before starting attempts on Penance, so I knew I was prepared, but I absolutely dreaded the horror of getting 20 mins in and failing. My first two attempts did not go so well, but after starting with Rikku’s Mix overdrive to cast Ultra NulAll on the party to start the 3rd attempt, I was setup properly to survive all Penance attacks. On my successful attempt, I timed this fight and it clocked in at 39 minutes and 5 seconds of carefully executed, 99999 damage Quick Hits.
Blitzball Master
Although somewhat controversial as a mini-game, I always enjoyed Blitzball in FFX. Blitzball is the underwater sport played in Spira and helps the general population as a distraction from Sin. As star player of the Zanarkand Abes, Tidus is recruited to the Besaid Aurochs early on in the game and is able to use the sweet, sweet Jecht Shot to KO 2 players before shooting on goal.
Blitzball is all-encompassing, allowing the player to recruit various citizens throughout Spira to play for the Aurochs as they make their way through the story. To unlock all of Wakka’s Overdrive Slot Reels, one will have to play through Blitzball a ton to unlock. The funnest part of the mini-game has to be customizing your team to your liking and leveling them up to be overpowered, blitzballing beasts.
Weapon Master
Perhaps the most notorious of all of FFX’s grinds, the journey to power-up each of the Celestial Weapons is tough. The weapon Crests are simple enough — find these items in Chests throughout Spira. Some of the weapon Sigils, however, can be cruel and disgusting if not prepped for.
First, the easy ones: Lulu’s sigil involves lightning dodging in the Thunder Plains, which, while tedious, can be prepped/cheated by using a crater to trigger automatic lightning strikes. Capturing one of all the fiends from at least 10 different areas was a laugh, marking Auron’s sigil as arguably the easiest. Wakka’s sigil involves a ton of Blitzball, but since I enjoyed the mini-game, it was a long grind but not a tough one. Rikku’s sigil is the reward at the end of the Cactuar Village side quest, and I thought it was very cute/fun to do.
The hardest ones for me were definitely Tidus + Kimahri’s. Tidus’s sigil is locked behind the Calm Lands Chocobo Trainer. The third chocobo race involves a somewhat RNG-dependent spawn of balloons and the player can get really F’d if balloons are unfavorably popping up while avoiding those kamikaze birds flying at the screen. For whatever reason, Kimahri’s sigil/butterfly catcher mini-game gave me trouble as well — I think the depth perception and the colors of the Macalania Woods just did not work for me. In the end, however, this challenge was conquered (along with all others… mwuahaha!).
Fun Facts
Platinum took 8 years, 11 months (!!!!!) (21 Mar 2014 to 11 Mar 2023)
Game timer at time of last save: 124:30
Time to Platinum: About 150 hours across 3 (attempted) playthroughs
Main party: Tidus, Wakka, Auron
Favorite Overdrive: Tidus’ Slice and Dice
Favorite Celestial Weapon: Lulu’s Onion Knight — too cute!
Favorite cinematic: All of the scenes in Bevelle — rescuing Yuna, Yuna + Valefor
Favorite Blitzball player: Brother (honorable mention to Vilucha)
Least Favorite Cloister of Trial: Bevelle — stupid escalator pads
Least Favorite Trophy — Perfect Sphere Master :(
The feeling that best sums up my thoughts on this Platinum trophy is relief. I spent the most in-game and real time playing this game out of all my Platinum trophies so far. It was a personal struggle to finish this game, not of the game’s fault but rather due to an extreme lack of free time on my end. In the end, however, this playthrough reminded me why FFX is one of the most beloved in the series!
