7 life lessons learned from Final Fantasy X characters

Playing through Final Fantasy X Remastered has reminded me of something I picked up when I first played through the game over a decade ago. That is that each character is supremely flawed. Every single one of them, no matter how well put together they may seem, has an issue that we are supposed to pick up on and learn from.

Playing through the game these issues were easy enough to pick up, but in my adolescence I did not apply any of the lessons taught through the characters to my own life. Now that I am older and wiser, I think it’s time to sit down and see what lessons Square Enix has for us in these characters, and how we can apply them to our own lives.

Don’t follow religion blindly – Wakka

OK, let’s start of with an easy one. Wakka may be known for being the captain of the Besaid Aurochs and a reliable guardian, but he is also a racist that is blinded by his flawed religion. Yevon declares the use of machines, or machina, to be sacrilege, thus making the Al Bhed heretics for using it. Wakka takes these teachings to heart and blindly hates the Al Bhed.

As the game progresses Wakka does see the error of his ways, and the point is clear: don’t let religion lead to blind hate.

Don’t assume your senpai knows what to do – Auron

Oh, Auron. By far the coolest character. He is one of the legendary guardians that bested Sin ten years ago and has joined Yuna to help rescue Spira yet again. The man must be a saint that has an infinite amount of wisdom to share and will prove invaluable to the mission.

Wrong.

Although Auron is strong, and one of my favorite characters, his cynicism gets in the way of his usefulness. It is my opinion that the creators of the game wanted to use Auron to show that the senpai-kohai relationship that exists in Japan isn’t always that useful. Situations change, and the previous experiences that the senpai may have had isn’t always applicable to current situations.

To broaden it a bit: adults don’t always have the answers. Just because they’ve been through a similar situation doesn’t mean that they will have the solution to your problem.

Don’t let the actions of others keep you from trusting others – Kimahri

This Ronso is the strong and silent type, but does have personal issues that he overcomes that are applicable to many of us. At a young age, Kimahri’s horn is broken off. He is dishonored and insulted by his own people which causes enough emotional damage that he has to leave his home. This makes him very distrusting of people, which becomes apparent at the start of the game when he tests you in battle and then doesn’t speak to you until much later in the game.

He is later forced to face his demons on Mt. Gagazet. Facing demons: that is something that we all must do eventually.

Don’t let the past hold you back – Lulu

Lulu seems to have everything together until you get to the cave where the summoner she first guarded has died. It then becomes pretty apparent that she had blamed herself for her inexperience and had let that torment her for sometime. She doesn’t open up about it. She keeps all of her pent up frustration locked up inside her until she is confronted with the spirit of summoner she had sworn to protect.

Personally, this is the most relatable flaw of them all. Maybe I haven’t been responsible for the death of a summoner, but who hasn’t done something in their past that they don’t regret? It is something we all struggle through at some point. We have to let go of the anger and self loathing and move on with our lives. Lulu may have still felt the responsibility of her actions but did move on to a new summoner and continued being a guardian.

Maybe that is the point that Square Enix is trying to make with this character. Move on, let go, but never forget.

Don’t let ends justify your means – Rikku

Rikku is a spunky character that always has a positive attitude and only one goal in mind: save Yuna. This is a great goal and one that any player can get behind, but in an attempt to protect Yuna, Rikku willingly crosses the line.

This can be seen throughout the game, but most blatantly when she kidnaps Yuna. Sure, she is protecting Yuna from becoming a sacrifice, but that doesn’t change the fact that she forcefully kidnapped her and then fought other characters.

Once she finally does join the team in hopes to find a way to save Yuna and defeat Sin, she is often vocal in her protests and stirs up conflict in the group. Her kind intentions of protecting her cousin may be understandable, but her actions are sometimes unjustifiable. That’s something that I think we should all keep in mind: the ends don’t justify the means.

Don’t be naive – Yuna

Yuna is a summoner, and like all good summoners a devout believer in Yevon. Through her belief and upbringing she is taught to be incredibly trusting especially of the maesters of Yevon. This leads to her putting herself in some unnecessary and dangerous situations, that all could have been avoided with a bit of common sense and communication.

The thing is, we all do this. It is easy to be playing a game and wonder why Yuna would trust these people, but if you take a step and examine your own life, my guess is you’ve done something similar. It may not be as drastic as trusting a known murderer, but the point is we do trust people…cough…politicians…cough…that we have every reason not to trust. Through the character of Yuna, FF X teaches us to be less naive and quick to trust.

Don’t forget this is your story – Tidus

At the start of the game, Tidus comes off as a whiny little kid. He is so focused on his past in Zanarkand or his father that he gets wrapped up in their stories. Stories that have already been told. Stories that he can’t shape. Although Auron reminds him often, Tidus doesn’t realize until much later in the game that this is his story and that he will shape it.

To often do we let the things and people of our past control our lives. We focus too much on things that we can’t change, and it gets in the way of living our own story. That’s what Tidus taught me.

Live your own story, and make it one worth telling.

The post 7 life lessons learned from Final Fantasy X characters appeared first on Games in Asia.

The post 7 life lessons learned from Final Fantasy X characters appeared first on Games in Asia.