Tidus and Yuna.

Final Fantasy X is the first game in the Final Fantasy series that has voice acting, which is one of the main reasons why I love this game (not as much as Final Fantasy VIII, but pretty damn close). Another great change introduced in FFX is the huge change from pre-rendered backdrops to fully three-dimensional areas, which honestly brings the series to a whole new level. I love this game not only for the amazing new improvements in graphic quality, but also the story too. A lot of people think that Tidus is a cry baby, but I absolutely love the characters and the story and how everything works together to create this amazing game. The new addition of the sphere grid is one thing I also loved seeing, as it was fresh and gave the game a bit of a new angle.
The story in Final Fantasy X starts out with Tidus, a hot-shot Blitzball player (it's a sport) getting ready for his next game in the city Zanarkand. Suddenly in the middle of the game, a huge monster appears and attacks the city. The monster is known as Sin. Tidus and his mentor Auron are then taken by Sin to the world of Spira. Tidus is found by Al Bhed divers and Rikku tells him that Zanarkand was destroyed 1000 years ago. After yet another attack by Sin, Tidus finds himself separated from the divers and at the tropical island of Besaid. In Besaid he meets Wakka, Yuna, Lula and Kimahri, who are setting out on a journey to collect the last aeon in order to defeat Sin.

Rikku, Tidus, Yuna, Auron and Lulu

Developer(s) Square
Publisher(s) JP Square
NA Square EA
PAL SCE Europe
Director(s) Motomu Toriyama
Takayoshi Nakazato
Toshiro Tsuchida
Producer(s) Yoshinori Kitase
Artist(s) Tetsuya Nomura
Writer(s) Kazushige Nojima
Composer(s) Nobuo Uematsu
Masashi Hamauzu
Junya Nakano
Series Final Fantasy
Aspect ratio 4:3 (SDTV)
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
Release date(s) JP July 19, 2001
NA December 20, 2001
INT January 31, 2002
AUS May 17, 2002
EU May 29, 2002
Genre(s) Console role-playing game
Mode(s) Single-player

Plot

Setting

Final Fantasy X is set in the fictional world of "Spira", and it consists of one large landmass divided into three subcontinents, surrounded by small tropical islands. It features diverse climates, ranging from the tropical Besaid and Kilika islands to the temperate Mi'ihen region to the frigid Macalania and Mt. Gagazet. Although it is predominantly populated by humans, Spira features a variety of races. Among them are the Al Bhed, a technologically advanced but disenfranchised sub-group of humans with distinctive green eyes and unique language. The Guado are less human in appearance, with elongated fingers and other differences. They also have a natural propensity for magic and conjuring monsters. Still less human in appearance are the large, lion-like Ronso, and the frog-like Hypello. A subset of the sentient races of Spira are the "unsent"—the strong-willed spirits of the dead who remain in corporeal form. It is explained that the dead who are not "sent" to the Farplane by a summoner come to envy the living and transform into "fiends", the monsters that are encountered throughout the game. However, those with strong attachments may remain in human form as unsent. Other fauna in Spira, aside from those drawn from real animals, such as cats, dogs, birds, and butterflies, include the gigantic, amphibious "shoopuf", and the emu-like chocobo, which appears in most Final Fantasy games. Both are used primarily for transportation purposes. Most other unusual creatures encountered in Final Fantasy X are the aforementioned fiends.
Spira is very different from the mainly European-style worlds found in previous Final Fantasy games, being much more closely modeled on Southeast Asia, most notably with respect to vegetation, topography, architecture, and names. Character designer Tetsuya Nomura has identified the South Pacific, Thailand, and Japan as major influences on the cultural and geographic design of Spira, particularly concerning the geographic location of the southern islands; Besaid and Kilika. He has also said that Spira deviates from the worlds of past Final Fantasy games in the level of detail incorporated, something he has expressed to have made a conscious effort to maintain during the design process.Producer Yoshinori Kitase felt that if the setting went back to a medieval European fantasy, it would not seem to help the development team advance. While he was thinking of different world environments, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima suggested a fantasy world that incorporated Asian elements.

Characters

The seven main playable characters in Final Fantasy X are Tidus, an energetic and upbeat blitzball star; Yuna, a reserved and soft-spoken summoner who always puts others before herself; Kimahri Ronso, an exile of the Ronso tribe who is devoted to protecting Yuna above all else; Wakka, a blitzball player and devout follower of the Yevon order; Lulu, a stoic and self-possessed, but well-meaning Black Mage; Auron, a taciturn former warrior monk; and Rikku, a perky Al Bhed girl with extensive knowledge of machinery. The primary antagonists of the game are maester Seymour Guado and the other maesters of the Yevon religion, while the enormous whale-like monster Sin serves as the primary source of conflict.
Sub-character chief designer Fumi Nakashima's focus was to ensure that characters from different regions and cultures bore distinctive characteristics in their clothing styles, so that they could be quickly and easily identified as members of their respective sub-groups. For example, she has said that the masks and goggles of the Al Bhed give the group a "strange and eccentric" appearance, while the attire of the Ronso lend to them being able to easily engage in battle.

Story

Final Fantasy X begins late in the story, with the main character, Tidus, waiting with his allies outside the ruined city of Zanarkand. Tidus narrates the series of events leading up to his present situation, which spans most of the game's storyline. It begins in Tidus' home city, the unruined and high-tech Zanarkand, where he is a renowned star of the underwater sport blitzball. During a blitzball tournament, the city is attacked by an immense creature shrouded in water known as Sin. The city is destroyed, and Tidus and Auron are taken by Sin to the world of Spira.
After arriving in Spira, Tidus is rescued by Al Bhed divers in the area, and upon asking where he is from, one of them, Rikku, tells him that Zanarkand had been destroyed 1000 years earlier. After another attack by Sin, Tidus is separated from the divers and drifts to the tropical island of Besaid, where he meets Wakka, the captain of the local blitzball team. Wakka introduces Tidus to Yuna, a young summoner planning a pilgrimage to the ruins of Zanarkand to get the "Final Aeon", the only weapon capable of defeating Sin, who is described as mankind's punishment for their sins. Accompanying Yuna are her guardians, Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri. The party travels to gather aeons, defending against attacks by Sin. The party encounters Auron, who joins them. He reveals to Tidus that Yuna's father, Lord Braska; Tidus's father, Jecht; and himself made the same pilgrimage and defeated Sin ten years ago. Tidus thought his father had died at sea ten years earlier.Following more encounters with Sin, they are joined by Rikku, who is revealed to be Yuna's cousin. Throughout the pilgrimage, Tidus and Yuna draw close through their shared experiences and mutual interest.
When the party arrives in the Guado city Guadosalam, Seymour proposes to Yuna, and she informs the group of her intent to marry him to give Spira hope. Seymour's aide, Tromell, guides the group to Macalania's temple, where they see a message from Seymour's late father. He declares he was killed by his son, and that Seymour's evil nature will destroy Spira. The group engages Seymour in battle and they kill him; soon afterward, Sin attacks the group and they lose track of Yuna. Rikku guides the group to the Al Bhed "Home", which is under attack by Yevonite soldiers. While searching Home's base, Tidus learns that a summoner must give their life to perform the "Final Summoning", leading to his desire to find a way to defeat Sin that would not result in Yuna's death. Using the Al Bhed's airship, they escape the base before it is destroyed. The group finds Yuna in Bevelle, where she is forced to marry the now unsent Seymour. They interrupt the wedding and escape with Yuna towards Mt. Gagazet, where Seymour has slaughtered the Ronso tribe; after defeating him again, the group heads to Zanarkand.
Tidus learns that he, Jecht, and the Zanarkand they hail from are summoned entities akin to aeons. Long ago, a summoner named Yevon had the city's surviving people become "fayth" so that he could use their memories of Zanarkand to create a new city in its image, removed from the warfare on the Spiran mainland. Sin was also created, given form by Yevon to serve as armor; protecting himself and the fayth. While continuously summoning Dream Zanarkand, Yevon lost his humanity and became known as Yu Yevon, a being existing solely to maintain Dream Zanarkand's existence. Sin's true purpose was not punishment for mankind's sins, but to prevent the discovery of Dream Zanarkand's existence by persistently attacking the people of Spira.
Once the player completes Yuna's pilgrimage, Lady Yunalesca—Yevon's daughter and the first summoner to have defeated Sin—tells the group that the Final Aeon is created from the spirit of one close to a summoner. After defeating Sin, Yu Yevon's spirit possesses the aeon, transforming it into a new Sin. The group decides against using the Final Aeon and they defeat Yunalesca. They then seek a new way to permanently destroy Sin that will not require any sacrifices. This leads the group to enter Sin's body and battle Seymour, Jecht's imprisoned spirit, and Yu Yevon. Sin's cycle of rebirth ends, and the spirits of Spira's fayth are freed from their imprisonment, dispersing the pyreflies of the aeons, Dream Zanarkand, and Tidus in the process. Afterward, in a speech to the citizens of Spira, Yuna resolves to help rebuild the world now that it is free of Sin. After the credits, there is a brief scene with Tidus underwater. He opens his eyes and begins swimming upward, and the screen fades to white. This scene segues into the sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, in which Yuna investigates Tidus' possible survival in order to continue their relationship.



Related Links
Final Fantasy X Wikipedia
Final Fantasy X Official Site
Final Fantasy X - FFOnline