Line #7 Fridge/FinalFantasyX2


1	'''As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
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3	[[AC: FridgeBrilliance]]
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5	* In ''X-2'', the head-scratcher was how Yuna was tied to Shuyin and Lenne, or why she seemed to be the key to bringing them back together and calming Shuyin's insane rage. It's said outright that she isn't a reincarnation of Lenne, despite the parallels. Then, it hit me. Sin may be gone, the Fayth may be enjoying their overdue rest... but that ''doesn't'' mean Yuna stopped being the most powerful Summoner on Spira. And aside from the task of defeating Sin, a Summoner's duty involves sending the spirits of those who died violently to their rest. I raise a beer to you, Square.
6	** This is something I realized while replaying ''X-2'' and reviewing the pre-requisites for the different endings. You receive a different ending based on how many completion points that you've gained. If you have low completion points then Yuna will not re-unite with Tidus and will instead choose to continue her adventuring with the Gullwings, if you receive enough points however Yuna returns to Besaid and settles down with Tidus. At first I didn't understand why the game ended this way until I looked back at ''X''. In X though Yuna traveled the world she didn't get a chance to enjoy it and experience it, that's where ''X-2'' comes in. In ''X-2'' the only way to receive a full 100% completion is to have Yuna visit every location on the map multiple times, see new people, and experience new things. The completion percentage represents Yuna's satisfaction with the adventures she has had so far. Once she has felt that she has truly experienced the world then she chooses to settle down with Tidus. In ''X-2 International+Last Mission'', they reveal that Yuna leaves the Gullwings anyway no matter whether or not you decided to have her re-unite with Tidus. This also explains her behavior in ''X-2''. As society in Spira was very strict during the events of ''X'', Yuna as a summoner was probably never allowed to just be laid back and have fun. Also as a girl this troper can vouch that no matter how proper a girl is if she's around really good friends then she'll let her hair down and have fun, and for Yuna it was the very first time where she could just have and so she didn't know how to act, so she did the next best thing. She copied Rikku's behavior from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''.
7	* With Rikku's personality it never made sense to this troper why she was so much more laid back until I realized that her situation is the same as Yuna's. Even though Rikku was chipper during ''X'', it was because she like Yuna was a StepfordSmiler, and she being an Al Bhed had very few choices as to what she could do with her life. Though she traveled the world before Rikku never got a chance to enjoy herself as she was on missions. This is the first time in Rikku's life that she is free to do what she wants and go where she wants. The problem is Rikku never had plans for what she wanted to do with her life, which is why she seems to just go with things. Now that Rikku can be truly carefree she's enjoying every minute of it.
8	* Let's go over a few facts; Tidus is a dream of the fayth, he looks identical to Shuyin, Shuyin sneaked behind [[TrappedBehindEnemyLines enemy lines]] to get a WMD so he could save Lenne proving that he'll do anything to keep her safe, Lenne was a Summoner (ergo she was powerful) so she would be sent to the front lines in the war (with no guarantee of her safety), Yuna looks a lot like her and was in a similar scenario...Tidus pulled out all the stops to save her when he learned the truth about [[HeroicSacrifice the Final Summoning]], Sounds a lot like Shuyin...doesn't he? The ''brilliance'' here is the possibility that Tidus may have been the dream version of Shuyin. However it ''really'' hits you when you remember that Tidus was basically a [[LaserGuidedTykeBomb plan the fayth came up with to end Sin's cycle]], could the fayth really have planned out Tidus meeting Yuna (who is ''again'' Lenne's look alike...or is it the other way around), falling in love with her, and finally giving up his life so she would live, cuz lets face it; saving Yuna was his driving force.
9	* But the Fayth, while powerful, needed a little help. So you have the ''other'' pillars of the plan; Auron, who was just TooCoolToLive, too badass to die, and too angry to let Yevon's scheming fail his friends' children, and Jecht who was ReforgedIntoAMinion, but was still FightingFromTheInside enough to give Auron, Yuna, and Tidus a chance to destroy the monster he became. It took all of that to [[TakingYouWithMe destroy Yevon and the entire scheme, finally freeing them from their undead state.]]
10	** After thinking about it some more I came up with another idea; what if the faith didn't just plan out the first game, but the second one too? Think about; Yuna see ''one'' sphere about a guy who kinda looks and sounds like (but as we find out later he doesn't just ''kinda'' look like Tidus) saying he wanted to save the "summoner"...really...just what are the chances that seeing that ''one'' sphere would lead her to save the world ''again'', now can anyone say this adventure would have happened had she never met Tidus. Now i'm not sold on the idea, but come on, if they really did plan out that far ahead it would be pretty badass.
11	*** Which means that not only did the fayth plan everything to save Spira (twice!), but in the process they managed to reward Shuyin and Lenne after their sacrifice by both reuniting them ''and'' allowing their dreamworld/descendant [[{{Expy}} Expies]] to be together too. SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments as well as badass, and a fitting gesture of gratitude for being freed to finally rest.
12	*** And not only that! It seems pretty clear from exploring the backstories of both games that Lenne was one of the summoners of Zanarkand helping to defeat Bevelle in the war centuries ago. In order to save her life, Shuyin sneaks into Bevelle to destroy the great machina weapon Vegnagun, but gets captured; Lenne tries to save him and they both get killed. End result, because Vegnagun wasn't destroyed, Yunalesca and Zaon had to go on with their plan to create the greatest summoning ever to bring down Bevelle. Flash forward to the present: the fayth, drawing upon the dream Zanarkand, create a copy of Shuyin to reunite with his love's {{Expy}}, thus able to finish what Shuyin and Lenne started -- bringing down Yevon (and therefore Bevelle), eliminating Sin and freeing the fayth. In gratitude for this, and for eliminating the last loose ends by destroying Vegnagun and freeing Shuyin and Lenne so they could pass on, the fayth use their power to restore Tidus so he and Yuna can live the lives of love Shuyin and Lenne were meant to have. The games truly are one long plan to give Shuyin and Lenne the chance to undo their mistakes that allowed Vegnagun to remain and created Yevon and Sin, fulfill the missions they were intended to fulfill, and then reward them for succeeding.
13	* Many people think the monkey matchmaking sidequest's sole purpose is RuleOfFunny. But pay attention: The last two monkeys you pair up are named [[MeaningfulName Sol and Luna.]] Hmm... reuniting two lovers who are represented by the sun and the moon? What's this game about again?
14	* The possibility that Chaumi from the bonus audio drama is Auron's illegitimate daughter really does add some perspective to Auron turning down his arranged marriage.
15	* Instead of going to a the Farplane, Yunalesca went to Via Infinito and turned into a basilisk-type fiend. Yunalesca's final form in the first game was a giant Gorgon head. [[TakenForGranite What are Gorgons most known for? What do basilisk-types do?]]
16	* Chocobos disappear into pyreflies when killed. That means that chocobos are fiends! That explains why wild chocobos will fight you. YMMV on whether using tamed fiends as mounts is FridgeHorror.
17	* And speaking of fiends, many players wondered why many of their names were changed, even though they are essentially the same fiends from ''X''. This is because the old Yevon order, who established the old fiend taxonomy/nomenclature system, was brought down as a result of Sin's final defeat. Spira had to start fresh, and thus a new order required a new fiend taxonomy/nomenclature system to go along with.
18	* Baralai's attitude towards Nooj's apparent betrayal makes even more sense if you realise that it happened around the same time Yevon as a whole got exposed as {{Hypocrite}}s. Baralai had to go through two separate traumas one after the other, resulting in serious BreakTheCutie.
19	* An interpretation for Baralai becoming the New Yevon praetor. He seems to want New Yevon to atone for the mistakes the old one made. Possibly clinging to his faith in the hope that Nooj can somehow atone for what he did. Which he thankfully does.
20	* Why does Rikku not get the same recognition as Yuna when she helped defeat Sin? Well the Al Bhed have been thought of as heathens for a while. Old prejudices do die hard.
21	** Wakka and Lulu had just as much to do with defeating Sin as Rikku and yet no one is travelling to Besaid to meet them either. And then there is poor Kimahri who seems to be getting no outside support whatsoever as Elder Ronso despite his role technically making him a world leader. Compare this to Auron who was known as the ''Legendary Guardian'' and was both recognised and idolised during Yuna's pilgrimage. Post-Yevon Spira just seems to be kind of ungrateful in general, and Yuna's status as the ''incredibly beautiful High Summoner superstar singer'' probably did the rest.
22	* Why does Yuna alternate between singing with Hedy Burress's voice and [[NonSingingVoice Jade Villalon]]? Any time she sings with the latter, it's due to Lenne's spirit taking influence. When she sings in battle or for the Gullwings, Lenne is dormant. So Jade Villalon's singing is really Lenne's voice.
23	* Why did Lenne transfer joy to Yuna in the Luca scene? Well, aside from wanting her soul sister to be happy, she's seen what can happen to good people if they never let go of their depressed feelings. There's no way in hell she's letting that happen to someone else.
24	** Similarly, the nightmares/flashbacks can be seen as Lenne desperately trying to warn Yuna about what's going on. Unfortunately, between it being a ''subconscious'' message and Yuna having her own issues, parts of it got garbled (hence the character switching), and the part immediately relevant to present-day conflicts (Shuyin trying to murder everyone) was lost entirely.
25	** "Real Emotion" becomes more disturbing when you realize it's Lenne singing it. Leblanc sexualized the tune, naturally, but the lyrics are pretty accurate to how Lenne would feel after a thousand years of searching for someone to fix Shuyin.
26	--->''Every now and then I don't know what to do\
27	Still, I know that I [[KilledOffForReal can never go back]]\
28	[…] [[FishOutOfTemporalWater Everything's so different that it brings me to my knees!]]''
29	*** And of course, the title comes from Lenne defying the urge to give into [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery emotion]]- to make the same mistake Shuyin made.
30	* Paine fits very well into the astronomical theme of the original party and their Celestial Weapons. Tidus and Yuna represent the Sun and Moon, while the rest of the party represent the five planets that have been known since antiquity. Paine continues the theme by representing Uranus. She has existed in the world but didn't become known to the rest of the party until later, just as Uranus is sometimes visible with the naked eye but escaped notice prior to the telescope. This is reinforced when Paine says that she sang the Hymn of the Fayth with the rest of Spira during the final battle against Sin.
31	** Paine is also the only playable character that wasn't in the first game. Uranus is also the only planet named after a Greek deity, while the rest are all Roman ones.
32	* Many [=NPCs=] from the original game are affiliated with either New Yevon or the Youth League. Lucil and Elma are part of the latter group, and most nameless Youth League [=NPCs=] reuse stock Crusader character models. Nobody says so explicitly, but this is just as natural as most New Yevon randos using warrior monk and cleric models. ''No'' Crusader who made it through Operation Mi'ihen alive would join a group still using Yevon's name.
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34	[[AC:FridgeHorror]]
35	* In ''VideoGame/{{Final Fantasy X2}}'', the characters access different ability sets (ranging from black magic to the power of [[SuckinessIsPainful dancing so badly it causes your enemies to go blind]]) by using "Dress Spheres". The reason why this works is mentioned in a throwaway line about them being filled with the memories of people who actually had the ability to cast magic or dance or use certain weapons, and you're just borrowing their expertise when you use a Dress Sphere. This becomes much creepier when it also shows that using a Dress Sphere can cause unexpected side effects due to the consciousness downloaded into the Sphere breaking through and forcing the user into performing certain actions; this implies that each Sphere contains at least a part of the original person who was used to program it, instead of being just a set of skills and techniques copied out of someone's head (and the game never mentions how the memories are obtained... or what happens to the "donor" afterward). In other words, it's possible that each Dress Sphere is a [[CrystalPrison tiny prison]] [[AndIMustScream containing the enslaved mind and/or soul of a once-living individual, trapped forever and used as a source of power by anyone who picks them up.]]
36	** I'm skeptical. It's pretty much outright stated that the Black Mage dressphere is a sphere of Maechen's memories from before the Machina War. In this case, it's more likely that they're very similar to recording spheres, but convey abilities and probably feelings of the person whose memories the sphere contains.
37	*** Not to mention Maechen's soul clearly not being in that sphere
38	** Indeed, It is confirmed that the spheres are merely recording spheres, and the attack data is gathered from a person who appeared on the sphere. And as a final proof that a person's soul is not trapped in there, The Gun mage was derived from Tobli (as shown by Yuna and co sometimes picking up his verbal tick when using it)Considering what he gets up to for the rest of the game, I think his soul is very much in his body. As for the Songstress, Lenne rebuilt herself around the recordings of her in the sphere, so in effect she was willingly using it as a SoulJar, and as shown by the ending was not an intrinsic part of it, and could leave whenever she wanted rather than being trapped.
39	** It's kind of interesting that this sounds very similar to the way Jobs are handled in [[FinalFantasyXIV FFXIV]]. Anyone can have the base trappings of a classic Final Fantasy class (a staff to cast spells with, a lance to poke things with, all that), but you only become one of the standard Final Fantasy JOBS when you equip the appropriate Soul Stone, upon which are inscribed the deeds of past users of that Soul Stone, and without which you can't use any of the related Job's abilities. Swapping between Jobs requires you change your weapon (and Soul Stone) out, and often involves a complete swap of your outfit, to gear more appropriate for the class.
40	* In the battles, Rikku will sometimes say "Dr P is in the house" and Paine will respond with "stop that". One of the Crimson Spheres shows that Gippal sometimes called her that too. It's likely the nickname brought back bad memories for her.
41	* It's often hinted at that Tidus' own existence as a fayth dream was modelled on Shuyin, which explains the resemblance in appearance and voice, yet the two could not be farther apart in personality and world outlook. However, Tidus could very well be what Shuyin was like back when he was alive. If that's the case, the psychological torture Shuyin has had to endure has sent him into a headfirst dive over the DespairEventHorizon, which means that even Tidus could be pushed to the same extreme if subjected to such immense emotional trauma.
42	* The Fiend Tales. Dozens of cute little throw away stories about fiends having hopes, dreams, thoughts of their own, going on fun little adventures... just don't think about that fact during the next random encounter where you are mindlessly murdering what are now potentially intelligent, sapient creatures. There is also a significant amount of AndIMustScream on top of this, where not only were they not allowed to rest upon death, but became a self-aware monster with the desire to attack innocent people and an inability to speak to anyone but Shinra's machina. And with the summoners gone, your only release is by the cold release of the sword.
43	* Leblanc was only caught in the opening because she decided to put on a highly public concert. If she didn't do that, or if she had actually managed to escape from YRP, this could have gotten very ugly, very quickly. Leblanc is portrayed as a joke, but she is still a powerful crime boss in possession of a piece of equipment capable of transforming her into an exact duplicate of the incredibly beautiful, incredibly famous, and incredibly beloved High Summoner of New Yevon. The damage she could have caused to both Spira and Yuna's reputation is incalculable. And worse, there is actually nothing stopping this from happening again, or indeed, to Rikku and Paine if literally all that is required is to mug them of their garment grids. Rikku especially given her status as daughter of the Al Bhed leader and Yuna's cousin is a target almost as tempting as Yuna herself.

Context Fridge / FinalFantasyX2