Beating Final Fantasy X Without the Sphere Grid, Aeons, or Mix

Explaining the restrictions, the commentator jokes that they won't use the Sphere Grid "because it drives me crazy," Mix "because it seems kind of dangerous," and summoning "because I kind of feel sorry for them." Later on, they also give a practical reason for banning summons: "battles probably wouldn't be much fun." With no character growth at all, each boss is defeated by combining stolen items, status effects, equipment swaps, and special in-battle commands. Those tricks, along with the commentator's impressions of how the story unfolds, form the core of the video.

The story begins in the great city of Zanarkand. The protagonist, a star blitzball player, is caught up in an attack by "Sin" during a match, and is led toward Sin by his acquaintance Auron. The first battle can be won just by repeatedly attacking. Here the commentator also notes that this game's battle system differs from the series' traditional one.

The protagonist then washes up in unfamiliar ruins and is attacked by monsters. Fighting one-on-one with starting equipment is a struggle, but partway through an Al Bhed girl named Rikku joins in, and her special command to throw items makes the fight much easier. What the commentator emphasizes is the "Steal" command. The first attempt always succeeds and can sometimes yield multiple items, so the game is designed to be generous toward stealing, and you should steal aggressively whenever there's an opening. They also explain that the Overdrive gauge, which fills when you take damage, carries over after battles, so filling it before a boss fight makes things easier. Defeating this boss unlocks the Sphere Grid, but from here on it is never used.

During the underwater salvage operation that follows, the party fights an octopus monster. Attacking with Rikku's grenades and the protagonist's Overdrive makes the octopus back away in fear. If left alone at a distance it unleashes a powerful attack, but this can be prevented with a special pincer-attack command that appears at that point. This is also the scene where the decision to ban Rikku's Mix is made. Looking at the octopus monster, the commentator remarks that the FF series loves squid and octopuses, and that designs like FF1's Piscodemon show how strongly the series was influenced by Dungeons & Dragons. They also describe the rapidly shifting battle presentation as "very FF."

The protagonist is swept away by Sin again, this time washing up on a small island. There he shows off his blitzball skills, is recruited onto a team, and agrees to travel with them to the tournament venue. At the village temple, he meets Yuna, who has just become a summoner. Summoners are said to be the only ones capable of defeating Sin, and it is customary for them to make a pilgrimage to temples around the world with their guardians. Aeons become available from this point, but they are banned for the reasons given above.

On the morning of departure, Kimahri, one of Yuna's guardians, challenges the protagonist to test his strength. It's a story battle, so normal attacks are enough. According to the commentator, Kimahri normally has a weak starting position on the Sphere Grid and tends to be a character who barely gets developed, but since the Sphere Grid isn't used at all this time, that doesn't matter. In fact, Kimahri goes on to play a key role in many later battles.

On the boat to Kilika, the party encounters Sin again. The commentator explains that unlike previous fights, this is a battle the party chooses to take on, in response to the crew's wish to draw Sin away from the island where their families live. Only ranged attacks can reach the main body, so the fight is handled by Wakka, who throws his blitzball; Lulu, with her black magic; and Kimahri, who uses a skill that drains HP. The surrounding Sinscales are replenished if all three are defeated, so one is left alive while the main body is attacked. After dealing around 2,000 damage, the scene changes and the protagonist falls into the sea.

In the second battle, which follows immediately, Wakka's blinding skill shines. The enemy's attack pattern repeats single-target, single-target, all-target, and the single-target attacks can be neutralized with Darkness. By reapplying Darkness every three turns while continuing to attack, the enemy can be defeated without stopping to heal. Keeping Wakka's HP high in the first battle is said to be important.

After landing, more Sinspawn appear on the way to Kilika Temple. The main body is flanked by two tentacles with 450 HP each, weak to fire, so they are burned away using Lulu's Overdrive and Wakka's Overdrive, which unleashes a fire-elemental attack on all enemies when three red symbols are lined up. Lulu's technique fires off spells according to how many times the stick is rotated; the commentator adds that it's not one spell per rotation, and they actually rotate it around 20 times. The main body, with 3,000 HP, doesn't use strong attacks, so it can be beaten by attacking while healing.

In Luca, the site of the blitzball tournament, Yuna is kidnapped by the Al Bhed, and aboard the enemy ship the party fights a giant robot (called the Al Bhed Shooter in the commentary). It has 6,000 HP and is tough to fight normally, so the crane on the ship is used instead. Hitting it with Lulu's Thunder three times makes the crane operable, and the protagonist is given a weapon with a Slow effect to soften the enemy's attacks. Ripping off the enemy's parts with the crane deals about 5,000 damage, and the rest is finished off with Thunder. The commentator says "when you think of FF, you think of cranes," recalling the scene in FF6 where the party fought a crane while escaping the Empire by airship.

After rescuing Yuna and winning the tournament, the protagonist reunites with Auron and is confronted with the truth that his father, Jecht, became Sin. Told by Auron that it's up to him whether to follow, the protagonist grows frustrated: "You keep saying it's my choice, but there's nothing I can do about it." Even so, he ultimately chooses to travel with Auron as one of Yuna's guardians.

On the way to the next destination, the party ends up observing a large-scale operation against Sin and fights Sinspawn Gui. This enemy is split into a head, left arm, right arm, and body. The two arms protect the body and revive right away even if defeated. The head and body each attack separately.

First, Auron's Power Break permanently weakens its physical attacks so that everyone except Lulu can survive a hit. Only ranged attacks reach the 4,000-HP head, so it's attacked with Overdrives, black magic, Kimahri's skills, and Wakka's ball. When the head shows signs of spitting venom, landing an attack immediately prevents it. After destroying the head, the 12,000-HP body is worn down with black magic and skills, with Yuna healing occasionally. Lulu's HP is close to critical, but the commentator figures there's no point healing her since she'd go down in one hit anyway. Kimahri delivers the finishing blow. Afterward, the operation is carried out using even forbidden machina, but it does little damage to Sin and most of the forces are wiped out.

By the time the party crosses the Moonflow, three aeons have joined them. On the other side, the Al Bhed kidnap Yuna, and the protagonist and Wakka fight a machine on their own (called the Al Bhed Capture in the commentary). It has 4,000 HP and is weak to lightning, so Wakka is given a lightning-elemental weapon picked up along the way, the protagonist slows the enemy with a Slow weapon, and they keep attacking while healing. Afterward, they reunite with Rikku, who had collapsed not on a snowfield but on a beach. Since Wakka doesn't realize she's Al Bhed, Rikku also joins as a guardian.

When the party takes a detour, guided by Auron, to a place where a recording of Jecht remains, they fight Spherimorph. Using Wakka's Overdrive to apply four kinds of Break effects at once makes it nearly impossible to die from the enemy's attacks. Poison is effective, so Rikku uses a Poison Fang, and then it's just a matter of waiting for the percentage-based damage each turn to bring it down. It takes about 20 turns, but that's all it takes.

On the way to the temple, an Al Bhed machine led by Rikku's brother (called the Al Bhed Gunner in the commentary) blocks the way. In this battle, both magic and summoning are sealed. So stolen items are used heavily. The protagonist swaps in Rikku, who uses a Gold Hourglass to Slow the enemy, a Chocobo Feather to Haste herself, and a Light Curtain to reduce physical damage for everyone. The enemy has only one type of attack, so as long as you can withstand it, you won't lose. With the two high-defense members handling healing, Rikku throws about 18 Electro Marbles at roughly 900 damage each, enough to whittle down its 16,000 HP. After the battle, Rikku's origins are exposed and Wakka starts his tirade against the Al Bhed. The commentator mentions that this scene later became an internet meme.

At Macalania Temple, the party learns of the scheme of Seymour, leader of the Guado, and fights him. In the first phase, Rikku uses Poison Fang twice to poison Seymour. Defeating Seymour automatically makes his two attendants disappear as well.

In the second phase, Seymour summons the aeon Anima. Here the commentator explains Seymour's past. Half Guado and half human, he was born among the deeply prejudiced Guado and was exiled along with his mother. He later traveled to Zanarkand as a summoner, and his mother, who supported him as his guardian, became a fayth at the end of the journey. The resulting aeon is apparently Anima — that's the explanation. Normally you would fight back with your own aeons here, but summoning isn't used. Rikku Hastes herself with a Chocobo Feather, throws several Poison Fangs at the 18,000-HP Anima, and keeps reviving fallen allies to win. In the third phase, Seymour himself, now down to 6,000 HP, is hit with three more Poison Fangs. Rikku went down partway through, so she was revived with a Mega Phoenix, and the protagonist was equipped with armor that nullifies Thundara to deal with it.

Although it was self-defense, the party has killed a dignitary and becomes hunted by Yevon. In the Wendigo battle on the frozen lake, Kimahri first uses Stone Breath to shatter the two attendants. Killing them normally makes them cast magic as they die, but shattering them avoids the problem. Next, Rikku's Sleeping Powder puts the main body to sleep, and it's defeated with attacks that don't wake it. Afterward, the party encounters Sin, which for some reason had been sitting still beneath the ice, and they are blown all the way to the desert.

The Al Bhed settlement had been attacked by the Guado. The party escapes the desert on the Al Bhed airship, and on the way to storm Bevelle, where Yuna has been taken, they fight Evrae, a dragon in the sky. In this battle, a special command can move the airship away from the enemy. Rikku slows the enemy with a Gold Hourglass, Wakka's Overdrive lowers its various stats, and then the airship pulls back. Keeping distance makes the enemy's attacks much gentler, so ranged attacks continue until its remaining HP drops to one-third.

Once its HP falls below one-third (about 10,000), the enemy closes in. At this point the party switches to close-range members and throws Poison Fangs. However, if the enemy uses Poison Breath, the party is wiped out, so it has to be defeated before then. The one the commentator calls "the man you can count on" is Kimahri. Just before Poison Breath was due on the next turn, Kimahri's Self-Destruct dealt enough damage to make it just in time, and Rikku's Poison Fang finished it off.

After crashing the airship into the wedding venue, the party discovers that the interior of Bevelle is full of machina — a surprising scene, given that Yevon forbids machina. In the end the party is captured and thrown into the Via Purifico. Here, battles between aeons are mandatory, so the commentator "reluctantly agrees to a Pokémon battle."

According to the commentator, an aeon's stats depend not only on Yuna's stats but also on the number of battles fought up to that point. Just running away from battles makes them steadily stronger, and many bosses can be steamrolled by using aeons as shields. This is the second reason for banning summons. The battles went like this: using Shiva to counter fire and spamming Blizzard, landing three of Bahamut's spells, and getting by with nothing but normal attacks — all easy wins. This is the only scene where summoning is used.

Underwater, Evrae reappears as a zombie, but since it starts out in Zombie status, two Phoenix Downs are enough to defeat it. As the party tries to escape, Seymour appears before them again. His goal, he says, is to become Sin using Yuna's power and erase all sorrow.

The fight is against two enemies: a front-line attendant and Seymour himself. Rikku casts Haste on herself and Protect on Yuna, and uses Poison Fang on Seymour. Auron lands Power Break on the attendant. What the commentator focuses on in this battle is dealing with elements. Seymour casts ice, lightning, water, and fire spells in that order, but at this point it's impossible to make armor that nullifies all four elements. Instead, the party gets by swapping between armors that each nullify two elements. Because the swap has to happen between the attendant's and Seymour's actions, the commentator explains that adjusting turn order is essential.

He can be beaten by continuing these swaps, but it's tedious, so once the enemy's HP is lowered, Yuna attacks to switch his attack pattern. From then on, the main body attacks with petrification magic and the attendant with status ailments, but equipping a ring that prevents petrification — obtained during the journey — keeps things safe, and the rest is just defending while waiting for the poison to work.

As the party heads for Zanarkand, an even larger machina is sent after them. It has 64,000 HP, and the commentator remarks that enemy HP is "gradually inflating." However, it only uses single-target attacks and is susceptible to Darkness, so after blinding it with a Smoke Bomb, it can be defeated by throwing around 18 attack items that can be stolen along the way.

On Mt. Gagazet, Kimahri's homeland, Biran and Yenke — the Ronso who broke Kimahri's horn — stand in the way. Kimahri was never once able to beat them in the past, but he declares, "This time, Kimahri wins," and takes them on alone to break with his past. The strategy is simply to keep using Kimahri's skills. They let him attack and heal at the same time, and he can also learn several of the enemies' skills. Equipping armor that halves elemental damage, picked up along the way, makes it even safer.

On the same mountain, Seymour appears again, this time riding a large machina. Rikku poisons him using the usual method and doubles Auron's max HP with a Stamina Tonic. After that, Auron just needs to hold out to the end. The enemy's attacks are only two kinds of physical attacks, so he alternates between defending and healing. The spear has an added effect that inflicts Zombie, and the enemy tries to pair it with revival magic for an instant kill, but this is countered by giving Auron's armor an ability that automatically cures status ailments.

Just before Zanarkand, there is a battle against a guardian of the holy land. Its all-target attack Photon Wings is extremely powerful, and only Auron can survive it. The enemy counters by casting support magic on itself, so Rikku first uses a Star Curtain to give the party Reflect, and Wakka's Overdrive lowers its magic attack. Auron handles revivals, and the other members have nothing in particular to do. The counter Haste, tied to Slow, is bounced back by Reflect too, and Darkness neutralizes its normal attacks. The status ailments from Photon Wings are also partly prevented with armor, and after landing a Poison Fang, throwing attack items whittles down its 40,000 HP. The commentator adds that when Reflect bounces the enemy's Haste onto the party, it's "a sweet deal."

The other guardian, waiting in front of the Chamber of the Fayth, is said by the commentator to be nothing special apart from its interesting gimmick. Rikku gets Haste and Protect and has her max HP doubled, while the protagonist adjusts turn order by changing equipment. After that, Rikku fights alone. Attacking it triggers counterattacks in the three directions in front of it, so a turn order is set up that lets her act twice before the enemy: the first action to move around behind it, and the second to attack. The math works out to about 15 attack items for its 52,000 HP, and its normal attacks were handled with Auto-Potion.

In Zanarkand, Yuna meets Yunalesca, who grants the Final Summoning. The Final Summoning requires one of the guardians to be sacrificed as a fayth, and even then Sin is only defeated temporarily and eventually returns. Yuna had been willing to die if her life could be of use, but she refuses, saying the Final Summoning can't change anything. The protagonist also argues back that his father's wish was to end sorrow, not to forget it or cover it up. The party chooses to fight Yunalesca.

The Yunalesca battle is a long fight across three forms. In the first form, Rikku's max HP is doubled so she can withstand critical hits, and Auron's is doubled too in preparation for the second form. The second form uses an all-target attack that inflicts Zombie, so Auron and Rikku block it with auto status cure, while the protagonist takes the role of the one who goes down. The commentator praises the way Yunalesca and Seymour express the idea of salvation through death by combining Zombie status with healing magic, calling it a stylish piece of battle design.

The third form uses Mega-Death, which instantly kills anyone not in Zombie status. So, near the end of the second form, Auron's auto status cure is removed so that he is deliberately turned into a zombie. Reflect is also applied so that healing magic doesn't damage him. Rikku switches to armor with Auto-Life to prepare for instant death. Zombified Auron can't be healed with potions, but he can recover through elemental absorption on his armor, removing the risk of a total wipe, and the party wins by continuing to throw attack items.

Having decided not to use the Final Summoning, the party must defeat Sin with their own hands. The battle against the outer shell proceeds in three stages: left arm, right arm, then core. The arms have lots of HP but monotonous attacks, and drinking a Stamina Tonic beforehand ensures no one goes down in one hit. Ordering the airship to move closer lets close-range attacks reach as well. Extremely powerful attack items can be stolen from the arms, so Rikku, equipped with Auto-Potion, handles healing while the party steals to their heart's content before defeating them. The Sinspawn fought after both arms are down is a powered-up version of the one fought in Kilika, but it has only 20,000 HP and falls to four attack items.

The commentator says that once the airship becomes freely usable, powerful items can be gathered from all over the world. High-powered attack items, Chocobo Feathers that grant Haste to everyone, and Stamina Tablets that double everyone's HP are hugely useful, and the items you can steal from enemies also gradually get stronger, so there's no need for the party to grow.

Sin's face, fought head-on, has 140,000 HP. It doesn't use major attacks for 11 turns, but on the 12th turn it uses a move that guarantees a total wipe. In other words, deal 140,000 damage in 12 turns and you win. It gradually approaches over the first three turns, but at mid-range only items can reach it. The easily obtainable items alone don't have enough firepower, so the powerful items stolen from the arms are used. Auron uses his defense-lowering Overdrive, in which he takes a mouthful of sake and spits it out. Of this move — where failing the command input makes him just drink the whole thing — the commentator says, "I bet kids in the Heisei era imitated this like crazy." On the final turn, Kimahri's skill and the remaining items are unleashed, breaking through Sin's outer shell by the narrowest of margins.

Inside Sin, Seymour, who had been absorbed by Sin, was waiting. He counters every attack with fire magic, but since everyone had been equipped with fire-nullifying armor beforehand, no damage is taken. He has 80,000 HP, but the party's damage output has also increased, so it was over in two turns.

At the heart of Sin, after a conversation with his father Jecht, the final battle begins. Jecht says that once it starts he'll lose himself and won't be able to hold back, and the protagonist responds, "Let's do this together."

The final battle is locked to the starting party members, so the protagonist's wait time is first adjusted to bring in Rikku, who gives the protagonist Haste before he temporarily steps back. According to the commentator, this boss is surprisingly vulnerable to Zombie status. Kimahri and Auron aim to zombify it with their weapons, while Rikku attacks with items. It has two forms: 60,000 HP in the first half and 120,000 HP in the second. In the first half it uses only single-target attacks, so as long as you have Phoenix Downs, there's no risk of a total wipe, but its attendants restore its HP, making it a long fight.

In the second half, an all-target sword attack is added, and a misstep in timing risks a total wipe. Only Auron, with doubled HP, can survive the all-target attack, so every time Auron goes down, he's given another Stamina Tonic and healed to prepare for the next attack. The commentator adds that since it also has action patterns other than the all-target attack, being too slow doesn't mean instant game over. To save time, Dark Matter, which deals about 10,000 damage per use, is used to wear down the attendants and the boss.

With about 30,000 HP left, the protagonist is brought in. When the protagonist talks to his father, the enemy's actions can be stopped twice. This is where the commentator reveals the reason for the preparation. If the boss uses its Overdrive at 60,000 HP or below, a total wipe is guaranteed, so it has to be whittled down all at once while the protagonist is talking — that's why he was given Haste early on. Having defeated Jecht this way, the protagonist tells his father, "For the first time, I thought... I'm glad I'm your son."

The last fight is a story battle to defeat Yu Yevon, the source of everything. As the commentator explains, Yu Yevon is the being who keeps summoning the city of Zanarkand, and each time it is defeated by a Final Aeon, it possesses that aeon, perpetuating the cycle of Sin and the Final Summoning for 1,000 years. The Final Aeon is gone now, but it can still possess the other aeons, so every aeon the party has fought alongside is summoned and defeated, leaving it nowhere to escape. Since the aeons haven't been developed this time, the commentator says it looks like each can be taken out in one hit. Finally, a normal attack on Yu Yevon inflicts Zombie status, and it is finished off with a Phoenix Down.

In the ending, the protagonist announces that he is going to disappear, and Auron leaves the parting words, "It's your time now." Yuna tells the people that Sin is gone and that this is now their time, and asks them to remember, even just once in a while, the people who are no longer here.

The commentator sums up the conclusion as a lonely yet hopeful ending, in which the adults entrust the era to the next generation and the protagonist returns to the world of dreams. Looking back, they feel that not using the Sphere Grid let each character's distinctive traits shine fully, making the journey to defeat Sin all the more enjoyable. The game took on many new challenges, such as its new battle system and character voices, but the commentator's conclusion is that they had about as fun a journey as one could ask for.