A few decades ago the masses believed video games were a waste of time for lackadaisical youths to pacify themselves while ignoring their responsibilities as both kids and young adults. As more and more people started understanding the benefits of gaming so too did the perception of what a video game is and, most importantly, the benefits gaming can bestow on a person’s life changed.
Hi, my name is James Bullock and I am a gamer who has spent the better part of his existence testing the laws of physics, exploring the vastness of a world ruined, and been a champion inside various arenas courtesy of digitized worlds both driven by reality and created through pure unbelievable ingenuity unlike anything seen by human eyes. And as a gamer I’ve discovered something else video games provide: life lessons. Today I examine a game that showed how someone’s past can hinder their future, “Final Fantasy X”.
You Can’t Blame Yourself For Everything That Goes Wrong
As per the norm with most role-playing video games, players are gifted the opportunity to control a band of misfits – characters that have very little in common other than a corresponding goal that aligns them all. “Final Fantasy X” establishes the stereotypical in a rather unique manner featuring a premise where those who hope to keep the world as they know it somewhat peaceful banding together to overcome evil incarnate itself. The monstrous destroyer known simply as “Sin” harbors the angst of the world’s people and its would-be conquerors that failed to overcome it on multiple occasions. By the time X’s narrative begins, a new summoner is preparing for her destiny to unfold even if said fate means sure death. By the side of this summoner – Yuna – are three life-long friends & protectors. One of Yuna’s comrades is a woman specializing in black magic while sporting a stoic, matter-of-fact personality, Lulu. Quiet, straight-forward, and quite frankly cold-natured, Lulu proves to be the voice of reason a majority of the time; verbally lambasting her outrageous would-be brother-in-law Wakka before reminding Yuna about what sacrifices must be made to stop Sin. Lulu’s demeanor is that of someone who is knowledgeable of herself and everything around her without letting her emotions get the better of her.
But Lulu’s presentation is rooted in deception both to others and herself. Prior to journeying with Yuna, Lulu participated in the attempted slaying of Sin twice during what is known as “the pilgrimage”. Before Lulu decided to help a summoner overcome Sin, she lost the love of her life, Wakka’s blood brother Chappu. Lulu didn’t grieve as one normally would and proceeded forth with the intent of slaughtering the beast responsible for Chappu’s death. Lulu’s inexperience during her first accompanying a summoner ended in tragedy as the person she was responsible for protecting is killed when attempting to attain one of the powerful controllable beasts, “Aeons”. Lulu holds onto her first summoner’s death and looks to use the failure as a way to empower herself during her next two pilgrimages; the latter being Yuna’s trek from her homeland of Besaid. Eventually Yuna & Lulu make it to the site of Lulu’s first summoner’s death and the spirit of said summoner, Lady Ginnem, confronts Lulu. All the grief & pain Lulu harbored for being unable to save Lady Ginnem poured out in a moment of revelation to herself and her current allies that Lulu isn’t as well put together as everyone including herself believed. Though Lulu attempted to move on and be better, the fear & frustration that came from her first shortcoming controlled her every action regarding being a guardian going forward – in truth, her every action in general including allowing herself to love again.
It isn’t until her physically confronting her past is Lulu able to fully embrace her future – a future where her third summoner succeeds, Lulu marries Wakka, starts a family, and even becomes a civil leader. While it’s easy to give into the mistakes of one’s past and even harbor regrets, those failures & roadblocks can’t be allowed to become insurmountable emotional barriers that stops someone from being the best person they can be even if that best means turning stuffed animals into killing machines.
Have you learned any major life lessons from playing the “Final Fantasy X” or any video game for that matter? Leave them in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.
