The most interesting, enduring, and emotionally devastating ending in the Final Fantasy series was completely ruined by its direct sequel. Final Fantasy games have always excelled at telling dramatic, at times even operatic stories – the characters are big, but the stakes are even bigger.
These stories often culminate in tearjerker endings, whether it be an unexpected death, a long-awaited reunion, or a hard-earned victory over absolute evil. But in the great canon of Final Fantasy endings, one stands out, not only in its ability to evoke emotion, but in its shocking and singularly final twist. That is, at least until the sequel came along.
FF10 Has Final Fantasy’s Most Iconic Ending
It Was All A Dream
Final Fantasy X is perhaps best remembered for its central love story between Tidus and Yuna. Slow-burning, hard-won, and ultimately doomed, it’s often considered one of the greatest Final Fantasy romances, if not one of the greatest video game romances of all time.
It takes a long time for Tidus and Yuna’s relationship to pay off, but once it does, it’s intensely satisfying. The final twist of FFX, though, reveals that it was never meant to be: Tidus isn’t real. He’s borne out of the dreams of the fayth, and, if he manages to defeat Sin, he’ll cease to exist.
Of course, that’s exactly what happens: Tidus beats Sin, and he phases out of existence. Although the game’s last moments take on a decidedly positive tone, ending with Yuna reminding the people of Spira not to forget those they’ve lost, it’s a brilliantly ironic and soul-crushing final twist.
While the public celebrates, the rest of the party – especially Yuna – is left to mourn their fallen friend and ponder his existence. It’s scarcely been equalled anywhere else in the medium as a whole, let alone the Final Fantasy series – but then FFX-2 went and cheapened it.
FFX-2 Brought Tidus Back And Ruined The Impact
The Sequel Is Always Worse
Now, I like Final Fantasy X-2 generally. It was the first mainline Final Fantasy game to get a direct sequel, and Square was still figuring some things out in that regard. I didn’t mind the lighter tone, and I thought the new Dressphere system of combat was pretty cool overall.
What I can’t forgive FFX-2 for, though, is bringing back Tidus in any regard. Of course, this is an exceptionally rare scene, and his appearance is brief: you have to achieve 100% completion of the game to revive Tidus, and he only shows up at the very end.
We won’t even get into the mechanism surrounding Tidus’ resurrection, or his resemblance to Shuyin, or the ambiguous epilogue where he wonders whether he’s still just a dream. It makes for a fascinating, albeit poorly explained, addition to the FFX canon.
But no matter how or why he’s back, Tidus’ return in FFX-2 cheapens the emotional impact of FFX‘s original ending. Yuna’s sorrow at the end of the first game only works because she believes she’s never going to see Tidus again. Since he’s a dream of the fayth, killing Sin should result in his disappearance.
But of course, that’s not what happens, because the sequel shows us that the fayth can just bring Tidus back anytime they want. As the audience, if we know she’s just going to be reunited with him at the end of the next game, what was once a devastating emotional blow is significantly softened.
I understand the impulse to give Yuna a happy ending in FFX-2 – by that point, she’s been through a lot. And besides, it’d be impossible to live up to the expectations set by FFX‘s ending without doing something drastic at the end of the sequel.
But ultimately, Tidus’ reappearance comes out of nowhere. It’s an unnecessary coda at the end of an otherwise good game, confusing and cheapening not only its own story, but that of the game that came before it.
FF10’s Heartbreaking Ending Was Better
Sometimes, Sadder Is Better
Honestly, I’d rather FFX-2 left Tidus completely untouched. Maybe talk about his and Yuna’s relationship a bit, or portray Yuna in mourning, but let the man himself rest. It would’ve made for a more interesting story, and a more powerful journey for Yuna, especially when considered in tandem with the mystery of Shuyin’s resemblance to Tidus.
Instead, though, we got what we got in FFX-2, and it’s too late to change that. I just hope that whatever’s next for Final Fantasy doesn’t make that same mistake again – and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy is trending dangerously close.
Rumors of FF7 Remake making major changes to the original story, especially when it comes to retconning its own moments of tragedy, have circulated since the first installment came out. It’d be a little different from how FFX-2 rewrote history, just by the nature of the remake trilogy, but it could stand to cheapen an iconic piece of Final Fantasy history.
Although FF continues to put out direct sequels at an unprecedented rate, I do think it’s learned its lesson from the failures of FFX-2 and its cheapening of the previous entry’s ending. Hopefully, that remains a one-time blunder that future Final Fantasy games don’t repeat.
