The Hero in Her Story: How Final Fantasy X Redefined Me as a Person and as a Writer

As a child of the late 90s and early 2000s, I grew up in an era where things were rapidly changing. Broadband internet usage was becoming more common. Music downloads were all the rage. Text messages and mobile phones were surging in popularity. However, what was perhaps most defining for me were the events that took place in the year 2000, and those that would come thereafter.

I have fond and vivid memories of the year 2000—specifically: the day my brother and I were gifted a PlayStation 2 by our parents. Having grown up alongside console gaming such as the Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, and later, the PlayStation 1, I learned to love the stories that took place in worlds that were unfathomable from my own. Gauntlet was a favorite in my household, just as the Bloody Roar games and other fantastical and dystopian worlds were as well. However, my love for fantastical worlds could be traced back to the PlayStation 1 days, and titles such as The Legend of Dragoon and Star Ocean.

This article, however, isn't about the early days of online gaming, especially for me. Rather, it is about the events that shaped my understanding of how young people often face impossible situations, and how they respond to them as a result.

September 11, 2001

Almost twenty-five years ago to the writing of this post, I was sitting in my family's living room, playing a game on our PlayStation 2, when my father rushed into the house, and told my mother to turn the television on. Distracted by my game, I barely noticed what was transpiring—at least until I saw both of my parents looking on at the television, and watching the horrors that were unfolding in real time.

Anyone alive on September 11, 2011, understands the enormity of that moment, when we, as a collective nation, people, and world, watched as the first plane flew into the Twin Towers. The silence within my family's living room is still haunting to think about. I can still remember looking at the television at nine years old, and watching what was unfolding, only to ask, "Is that a movie?"

At which point my father would say, "No. It's not. It's happening right now."

Over the course of the next several hours, my parents would sit glued to the television, and watch as the second plane impacted, then the third thereafter. While the fourth would go down in a field in Pennsylvania due to the revolt of passengers, thereby redirecting the attackers from their original target of the United States Capitol, the violence of that day would seep into the early morning, during which point the towers would collapse, then into the afternoon, when more fragmented information began to roll across the airwaves.

Given my age, the impact of the events would not strike me until much later, during which time the domino effect of panic would ripple across the country. Rumors of the potential for additional attacks and violence, real or fabricated as they might have been, caused shockwaves throughout my immediate area. I still remember my parents facing the possibility that there would be additional violence close to home, and how they would handle that as a family.

The next few months would see the world change drastically. Through it all, I can remember the bravery of the first responders in New York, the greater United States, and even the outpouring of generosity that would come as a result of the 9/11 attacks. However, the repercussions of it would be felt for years. Some would even say we are still experiencing those repercussions.

While the realities of 9/11 would continue to haunt me throughout the next several months, my parents impressed upon us the knowledge that there were people working to take charge of the problem at hand. However, I can still vividly recall the anxieties I felt around that event, and even now, I speculate on how those events influenced what was undoubtedly my blossoming anxieties as a child.

At the time, I wasn't sure how to adequately respond. Months would pass, and it would soon be the end of the year, December to be exact. People were still uneasy over what had occurred months earlier, and as a result, I filled my spare time with books and video games. It wasn't uncommon for us as a family to venture into town at times, and because of that, we would often stop at the mall. GameStop was a particular treasure trove, in part because it allowed me and my brother the opportunity to escape into worlds and places that distanced us from the real one.

During one visit, I caught sight of a PlayStation 2 game, which had just been released in the United States. That game was Final Fantasy X.

How a Final Fantasy game would reshape my idea of heroism

The following contains minor spoilers about the plot of the video game Final Fantasy X

While Final Fantasy X was groundbreaking in many ways, its story is what would eventually go on to shape my understanding of how young people face impossible events, and how they respond to them as a result.

Told from the perspective of a teenager named Tidus, Final Fantasy X begins in a futuristic city where technology rules the landscape. During its opening cutscene, our main character, Tidus—a star sports player in his own right—falls victim to a monstrous entity that attacks and destroys the city of Zanarkand. The resulting conflict tosses him to the ocean, where he later emerges on the coast of a small island known as Besaid. After emerging and attempting to explain what has happened, he is escorted into the deeper parts of the island, where he eventually meets a girl named Yuna, who is destined to complete an impossible task: to destroy the terrible beast known as Sin, and bring about the Great Calm.

Like her father before her, Yuna is a summoner: a person who prays to her people's fayths for power, and who ultimately channels their power to protect the people around her. During their pilgrimage, a summoner is tasked with one goal: to gather a party of guardians, to journey to the ruins of Zanarkand, and to commit to a sacrifice that will allow the summoner to call upon a final aeon, which is capable of destroying Sin, an entity that has ravaged the world of Spira for hundreds of years. The summoning of the final aeon is a monumental task that ultimately ends the summoner's life, all in exchange for a period of peace.

Why Yuna redefines the role of the hero

Though the narrative of Final Fantasy X is driven primarily by Tidus, as well as his understanding of how the world is, the story primarily centers around Yuna and the enormous weight that has been impressed upon her by both her world, her culture, and her lineage.

Following her father's sacrifice as a summoner, Yuna vowed to take a stand against Sin. However, there are moments during the story where Yuna, barely seventeen years of age, is forced to grow beyond her years in order to do what many consider unthinkable. She is also tasked with challenging the status quo, as well as the tradition that has taken place over the course of not just her lifetime, but over the lifetimes of dozens of summoners before her.

In many ways, some might consider Yuna to be tasked with defeating Sin simply because of her family history. In deeply examining her character, it is easy to see that Yuna does this not out of a need to fill a role, but out of a desire to make the world better for the people around her.

Which is where the point of this article comes into focus.

As a teenager, I played Final Fantasy X many times, and during each, I gravitated toward Yuna as a character, but not just because of her powers. During each playthrough, I experienced the story of a young woman who faced a monumental task, and did so with the idea that, through sacrifice, her life could make the lives of those around her better, even if it was just for a moment. This was, to me, not just a remarkable display of character, but also a tremendous influence.

As a writer, particularly of young adult fiction, I have always strived to tell stories of characters defying impossible odds. Whether they be from facing alien invasions, to dismantling dystopian governments, to surviving zombie apocalypses and more, the teenagers in most of my stories face a single, central question: what can I do to make the world a better place for those around me?

This, in many ways, is the heart of my journey as a writer and as a storyteller. I say this not just because this central theme resonates throughout most of the stories I tell, but becuase is impresses upon readers the reality that small actions can make bigger impacts, especially in the immediate world around them. I have witnessed this throughout my life, from the days when I was barely below the age of ten, to now, as I am nearing my mid-thirties.

If I have taken anything from Yuna's story, it's that facing impossible odds doesn't just make you brave. It makes you a hero in your own story.