The main character of Final Fantasy X is Tidus, but the main heroine of the story is Yuna. Daughter of High Summoner Braksa, Yuna resolves to take the unenviable journey to receive the Final Aeon and defeat Sin, bringing peace to all of Spira. Yuna is one of the most interesting and determined characters ever to grace an RPG. While some female characters are often criticized for being mere “damsels in distress”, this article will delve into Yuna’s story and discuss why she is such an amazingly strong character.
Final Fantasy X features an emotional and gripping narrative and a very interesting concept for it’s story; death. The people of Spira are constantly under attack from the seemly invincible monster Sin, who causes death and destruction all over the world and the only way to bring peace (albeit briefly) is for a summoner and their guardian to sacrifice their lives in the hope to defeat Sin by using Aeons which are souls of the dead. Even if they are victorious, Sin is soon reborn and cycle begins anew. A pretty depressing prospect indeed.
Auron: “Spira is full of death… only Sin is reborn, and then only to bring more death. It is a cycle of death, spiraling endlessly.”
Despite this, Yuna chooses to follow in the footsteps of her late father and volunteer herself to journey across the world gaining enough strength and knowledge to battle Sin. During the first half of the game Tidus (and by extension, the player) is unaware that Yuna must die in order to defeat Sin. When you first encounter Yuna she seems like a reserved, yet optimistic woman, but there is an air of sadness about her. At first it seems that she is just cautious of the pressure put on her by the expectation of everyone in the world relying on her to defeat Sin, but soon you realise there is a much more tragic reason. When Tidus learns the truth, his emotions get the better of him and I’m sure the player is no different. Looking back now, all of a sudden Yuna’s odd actions seem to make sense and it is all summed up beautifully by this heartbreaking line spoken by Tidus.
Tidus: “Sometimes Yuna would just stare off into the distance. I finally understood why. She was saying goodbye to all the places she’d never see again.”
While the realisation that your death is not only inevitable, but that the gruelling journey you are taking is actually bringing you closer and closer to it would be enough to make even the most courageous person falter, Yuna’s resolve is strong and her determination, stronger still. Yuna fully accepts her fate and takes very seriously her responsibility to bring peace to the people of Spira. While she may seem frail, soft spoken or unassuming physically, her will is insurmountable. She is meet with many other challenges during her journey, but she never once relents, even knowing what the end will bring. Tidus often questions her motives and sacrifice, even going as far as suggesting she just quit the pilgrimage and live a normal life, but she responds that even is she were free to do whatever she wanted to, even with Tidus by her side, she would never be able to forget her promise to everyone.
Yuna: “I fight for Spira. The people long for the Calm. I can give it to them. It’s all I can give. Defeating Sin, ending pain… this I can do.”
You learn over the course of the game that many summoners have failed in their Pilgrimage, whether they lose their resolve and give up, or die before they even get to the final battle. Summoners surround themselves with guardians for protection on their Pilgrimage and Yuna is no different. They say you can tell the character of the person by how others talk about them, and everyone shows Yuna a lot of respect and admiration. Even her enemies acknowledge her resilience and while many of the hierarchy of Yevon try to use her for their own means, not one of them succeeds and Yuna herself is often the one to foil their plans. Lulu, Wakka and Kimahri are like family to Yuna and guard her with their lives, Rikku is her family and tries everything in her power to keep her safe and even Auron sees the strength in her and allows her to make her own decisions. Yuna is of course just as thankful and willing to do anything for her friends.
Yuna: “Maester Seymour. I trust my guardians with my life. But they are also my friends. I will not stand by and watch them be hurt. I will fight you, too!”
That brings us to the last person Yuna grows close to over her journey, Tidus. Being an outsider Tidus has a completely different perspective of the world of Spira and has no attachment towards traditions and Yuna’s faith in Yevon’s teachings. It is an interesting dynamic how Yuna tries to explain it to Tidus and how she tells him her sacrifice is worth it to see the people of Spira happy. Some of biggest character development in Yuna’s arc comes when she discovers Yevon’s deceit and how she responds to it. Tidus notes how Yuna is visibly shaken as her faith is torn from her. Although once again Yuna is not one to back down and staying true to herself she continues on with her journey as the people of Spira’s happiness is her only concern. Yuna once told Tidus how she taught herself to be strong and practiced smiling to everyone, even when she was in turmoil inside. Yuna has incredible inner strength, but she also understands that she needs the strength of her friends to overcome her mightiest challenges.
Yuna: “I’ve… learned how to smile… Even when I’m feeling sad.”
Yuna is the shining light of hope to the people of Spira and she is an amazing and well developed character amongst a cast of great characters in Final Fantasy X.
The RPG Square 