Part 116: Episode CVI: Our Father's Adventures

New Music: Spira Unplugged (HD Remaster Version)



Today we really are taking a break from the Celestial Weapon grind. Well, the LP update is at least. Our adventure on this day will be a journey across Spira to gather the remaining Jecht Spheres left behind during Braska's Pilgrimage. We are going to start our collection from Besaid Island. But first, let's clean up the airship map screen a bit by clearing out some of those NEW locations littering the screen.



Besaid Ruins 1 leads to... well some ruins on Besaid. Specifically, this is the roof of the ruins where Kimahri and Tidus briefly fought. Never did get an apology for that one, eh Kimahri? Didn't see you give the same treatment to Auron. Oh, that's right. You already knew Auron because he somehow convinced you to go be Yuna's guardian for a decade. Also that he was probably an Unsent.

Not cool, Kimahri. Not cool.

Anyway, the only thing of note in this, and indeed every hidden location not called Baaj Temple or Omega Ruins, is a single treasure chest. This one contains “Victorious”! Final Fantasy X has a wee bit of a UI problem in... what the flying hell is “Victorious”?! We just get a title. Is it an armor? A weapon? A key item? We've got to sift through the dozens of trash weapons and armor the game tosses at us in the Endgame to discover...



...It's an armor for Rikku which negates Lightning, Fire, and Ice damage. Which ain't too shabby. Especially with one open customization slot left to add an extra buff onto.





Besaid Ruins 2 is... the exact same location as Besaid Ruins 1. It's just a few meters to the south on another rooftop ruin. Sure... This one contains Murasame, the K-Mart brand cousin of the Masamune.



At least we can easily deduce this weapon probably belongs to Auron, given the title. Its noteworthy function is bringing his MP cost down to a single digit. Uhh... neat. But the only time Auron is ever consuming MP is using Break attacks and I've yet to see MP become an issue on that front.

Besides, Auron and other heavy hitter friends are equipped with quite another weapon type in the background of this secondary pilgrimage...





Last, but not... actually, you know what? This is totally least. Besaid Falls, which leads to err... a waterfall on Besaid, there's a worthless Lance for Kimahri. Given he already has his powered up Celestial Weapon, this can go straight to the vendor trash heap.



With that all sorted out, we can proceed to Besaid Island proper. Unfortunately, the airship plops us down on the beach at the opposite end of the island from Besaid Village. Nice work with that teleporter, Rin.



A brisk hike later and we have our homecoming to Besaid Village. If you were playing a later revision of the game, Dark Valefor would be hanging out here waiting to quarrel. Thankfully, that is not the case. Word around town is warrior monks raided the village looking for Yuna, shrugged when she wasn't around, and they all buggered off.

A consistent theme with all parts of civilization during this portion of the game is all of Yevon's warrior monk militia type folks have fucked off back to Bevelle to consolidate their defense. Most people are, understandably, pretty pissed at Yevon at the moment for assorted reasons.



But enough about political strife in Spira, we've got a Jecht Sphere to watch. This one has been discarded just to the right of Besaid Temple.





”Can you even call this a village? It's like a shantytown outside this temple deal. I've seen bigger tailgate parties outside a blitzball stadium.”



”Pfft... If you say so, chief. Do they even blitz here in this dump?”
“Yes. I believe there is a team... The oh... what was the name? Ah! The Aurochs.”
“The hell is an 'Auroch'?”
“...I haven't the slightest clue.”
“Are they any good?”
“They have... quite a record... one could say...”
“Oh yeah?”
“Hmm... Indeed. Longest losing streak in Spira's history.”
*walks off* “Ugh. No wonder my stomach is rumbling. Some kinda loser aura is sapping my strength. Let's hurry this up, man.”
“Hmm... Auron.”



"When this is over... could you bring Yuna here? I want her to lead a life away from this conflict."
"You have my word. I will bring her here."
”And I mean *you* bring her here. No pawning the duty off on the first Hypello or Ronso you see.”
“Er... Of course.”





“I'm so hungry, I could eat a shoopuf whole!"
”Do NOT attempt to eat any more local wildlife!”
“Yeah, put your panties back on, Onimushit. I'll behave.”
“...”
“Yeah... That said, there's this bozo over here that says he's made a Flan Stew? Is it weird I wanted to know how those jello things taste for a while now...?”
“It's a bit...”
“The last one we encountered tried to set your hair on fire!”
“And I respected its moxie. Whatever man. I'm gonna go give it a taste. You coming?”
"Sorry. Well, let's go then."



I'm not sure how moving Yuna from one of the only secure from Sin locations on Spira to a remote island hut would help her “avoid the conflict” of Sin stomping in one day and razing her home. But then again, Braska was kind of a terrible parent. You know, given his wife died and instead of being there for his daughter, he had a mid-life crisis. And then fucked off with his samurai drinking buddy and a random guy in the drunk-tank they picked up on the way out the door.



Before we depart from Besaid Island, there's actually a bonus scene here if we head back to the Crusaders' Hut.



“Report immediately if Sin appears! Crusaders, move out!"



The Crusaders really need to standardize their uniforms. I'd forgotten how absurd they all dressed. Even sole surviving named crusader, Gatta. What is he wearing? Half a shirt, iron shoulder pads, shredded shorts with some sort of leather jock strap tied outside of 'em, and thigh-high boots. What?!

The unnamed band of silly outfits run off...





Me on the left.



*shakes head* "What, this? Just training!”
“Ah.”
“Crusaders already back to the child soldier thing, huh?”
“You never know when Sin will come. We have to keep sharp for the village's sake. But really, my heart's heavy. It's not like I can go around crying in front of my men."
"Luzzu was probably the same way. No matter what happened, he'd never let it show in front of you. Always a fighter, never a complainer, you know?"
”I mean in an alternate timeline where I told you to go fight the good fight and it got you gutted on a beach, he flipped his lid. But just avoid any weird beaches and panther demons and you won't have to worry about that...”
“What does that... What?!”
“Ah. Just messin' with you. You'll do fine.”
"Maybe you're right. I'd better get going. My men await."
"Good luck."
"You, too."



And that is the final scene we get of Gatta. Had Luzzu survived, there would be a very similar scene here with him training the next generation of Crusaders. They actually did put the effort in to include a final scene for most of the surviving secondary characters during the end game. I'll try to show 'em all off as they appear. Several don't pop off until after the upcoming events in Bevelle.





Anyway, that does it for our time on Besaid. Instead of cruising back to the Fahrenheit, we'll instead be returning to the S.S. Liki for another ferry ride to Kilika Island.



We don't have any business in Kilika Port itself. It's the S.S. Liki ferry ride itself where our item of interest is located.





Specifically, we are heading into the ship's bridge, where yet another of Jecht's Spheres has gone unnoticed on the floor by the crewmen for a solid decade. Don't mind us guys. Be on the lookout for Sin while we check up on our drunkard dad and his friends' misadventures.




New Music: Jecht's Theme (HD Remaster Version) (Recommended Listening)



“Where're we going?"
"Back the way we came. Then we go north from Bevelle and climb Mt. Gagazet."
”Wait, we gotta walk ALL the goddamn way back after this crap?! What the hell, man? Why didn't we just like to a boat south and start this lousy thing in this Besaid joint?!”
“There is this thing called Sin. Perhaps you have heard of it?”
“Yeah, I heard of it. I still ain't seen the damned thing and we've marched half way across this Spira crapsack! What does a Sin even look like? Huh?”
“...Sin's form is difficult to describe.”
“Uh-huh. Sure. That's what I thought. So we bumble back to Bevelle and this Gagayeti joint and...”
“Gagazet.”
“Cuz that sounds way more serious and impressive.”



"Beyond it lies... Zanarkand."
"Zanarkand, huh? It's been in ruins for a thousand years, right?"
”The one time I drink tequila instead of whiskey while training and I fucking time travel a thousand years. Just my luuuu—saaaay!”



_{”Helloooo nurse...”}



"Thanks for trying, Auron."
”Now could you scoot over a bit to the right for me, pal?”
“Huh?”
“Ugh... Nevermind.”





“But it's not that easy."
"I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize, Braska. It's not your fault.”
”I'd still probably be stuck in the drunk-tank with that big ass cat dude giving me funny looks. Besides...”
*stands up* “I should be thinking about fighting Sin now, anyway.”



“But I will find my way back!"
”I said I'd stop drinking until we beat that... like space whale or whatever it is was gone. So Plan A of going out to sea and getting ripshit trashed again is already on hiatus.”
"Be careful, Jecht."
"Hey, I'll be all right. You're the one that should be careful. Wouldn't want your little girl to cry."
"She'll be all right. She's strong, like her mother was."
”Did you tell me her mother got stepped on by Sin?”
“...I meant more of the willpower and fortitude strength. Not physically.”
“Oh. Right... That... makes a lot more sense...”
“I am... going to stop recording for a bit.”
“Mhm. That's probably for the best.”




New Music: Movement in Green (HD Remaster Version)



That's another Jecht Sphere down. Before we depart from the ferry, there is another scene tucked away near the bow of the ship.





"Yeah, I did. Elma was upset with me, but Captain Lucil understood.”
”Elma was really, really upset... She said the taint of disgrace will follow me to my grave. Future generations will revile me as a despicable traitor with no sense of honor. That sort of thing...”
“Harsh.”
“Nah... That was kind of how any day ending with the letter 'y' went with her. Honestly, I am not going to miss it a whole lot...”
“Now, I'm working as a chocobo breeder on this ship.”



“Being with chocobos all the time... I think I've found my calling! And it's all thanks to you! Thank you!"
"Well, I'm happy for you."
"Oh, yeah! I found this in one of the chocobo nests the other day. It's no use to me, so I want you to have it."



Clasko forks over a Friend Sphere. D'aww. This lets a character teleport to the position of any other character on the Sphere Grid. Useful when you want to jump ship quickly to another sphere grid to begin grinding out a new vocation.



"Hey, I want to talk to you some more. Can't your stomach wait?"
”Like what happened to that beaten up looking veteran chocobo you were always caring for?”
“Oh him? He disappeared a few nights before I worked up the nerve to quit the Crusaders. Elma said he'd left Spira and gone out to sea to establish a chocobo nation without borders or something. I didn't really understand it, to be honest.”
“Huh...”
“Besides, it's not my stomach...”



They get really upset if they're not fed! See you!"



And with that, Clasko runs off and is never heard from again. In this game, at least. Well, at least the goofy idiot is happy.





No Jecht Spheres reside in Kilika. I guess Team Braska had an uneventful time picking up their Ifrit aeon. So let's skip right on to our next destination of Luca.


New Music: Luca (HD Remaster Version)



Not much new happening in Luca. It's still the epicenter of blitzball in Spira. All the teams are hanging around town until we begrudgingly return to that crummy mini-game. All of Yevon's warrior monks have pulled out from defending town here too and the reforming Crusaders are stepping up to fill in the void. This sure won't lead to a political conflict in a future title.



Anyway, the next Jecht Sphere has been left outside the Besaid Aurochs' locker room. Now I know for a fact this wasn't here last time. Auron has been with us since Luca and I'm pretty sure Sinjecht isn't leaving these behind. So who is the third party scattering these things across Spira?







”And you better not be taping over it with footage of some goddamn overgrown seagull or so help me, Buttshido Blade...”
“It does not work that way.”
“Yeah it better not.”
“But I don't understand why you wanted me to. Didn't you say you have blitzball in your Zanarkand?"
"Not a sportsman, are ya?"
”I cannot say it is my pastime of choice.”
“What *is* your scene, Auron? What do you do for fun? Besides give me shit...”
“I don't see how this is relevant.”
“What kinda shit answer is that? What do you like read books? Doodle tentacle porn? Watch movies? I dunno... Sheesh. Tryin' to be friendly here.”
“...”
"Working on your form?"
*cracks neck* "My form don't need no work. I'm the great Jecht. It's for my kid."



"Yeah, and he wants to beat his old man bad. Once, I told him to give it up. He didn't speak to me for a week.”
”Not like I was tryin' to be a dick. It's just factual that I'm the best. Back in my Zanarkand, you open up a dictionary and turn to 'best' and there's my face. You can't beat the best. That's just science!”
“Wonder what he's doing now. I hope he got bigger and put on some muscle."
”Maybe got a tan or something. Kid was pasty like you wouldn't believe. My ass looked like a bronzed statue compared to this kid's complexion. I'm pretty sure I didn't knock up a vampire, so I never knew what his deal was...”



”Who even gave you that thing?! Gimme that back!”





Another one down. There is a point to getting all the Jecht Spheres, besides just backstory fluff. But, while we're in the neighborhood, let's take another quick pit stop.





If we head into the Auroch's locker room, we can raid a random unsecured locker to obtain the Jupiter Crest, the easiest part of Wakka's worst time sink Celestial Weapon in the game collection. This one was obtainable any time after we got past the Blitzball Tournament frivolities in Luca. But nothing kills pacing like marching in the opposite direction of progress for ten minutes to get a trinket like this.

We'll just remember it for another miserable day.





Our next trip is to the end of the Mi'ihen Highroad. Or more accurately, to the Old Road at the northern end of the region. Really, it's quicker to just teleport to Djose Highroad and head south. But, again I have another side quest I am doing in the background.



At the very end of the Old Road, where the party would be knocked down to if they sucked enough to get owned by the Chocobo Eater, we find another Jecht Sphere. This is also where the Mars Crest was located, if you had missed it earlier.




New Music: Enemy Attack (HD Remaster Version)



"Hmph. What's it waiting for? Hey! Come out and fight!"
”I gotta new item on the menu and it's my foot up your ass! What!? Eating all the overgrown chickens turn you into one, ya pussy!?”
"I told you this was a waste of time."



“It's the right thing to do! Everyone's depending on us.”
”I've seen a lot of stupid ass creatures in Spira, but those big dumb horse chickens are fuckin' adorable! I'm not gonna let some dipshit monster go around eating 'em on my watch.”



”My Sphere Grid thing says I'm about to learn Dick Multi-Strike in a few more levels. I like the sound of that. I know you two wanna see it too. Don't even try to deny that sounds sick.”
“Hehehe.”
"I guess you're right."
"Well, then..."



“Gaaah!”



"Right!"
”Holy shit! Braska. Get a load of this goofy ass thing! Hahaha! Oh man... When I heard 'Chocobo Eater' I didn't know that was like the only thing it was capable of eating cuz it's too damn stupid made to do anything else... Pfft!”



*sigh* “I spent half of Yuna's education savings on buying this device. I wish they'd take better care of it...”
*click*




New Music: Auron's Theme (HD Remaster Version)



Another one down. Only three more remain! The next in the Prequel Road Trip train takes us to the Djose Highroad. Or at least, that's the closest point to where we want to be.





We are in fact, heading a ways south of Djose road, back to Mushroom Rock near where the Crusaders' HQ was set up prior to the whole Operation Mi'ihen disaster.



Here we find a slightly different sphere. Like Braska had near the peak of Mt. Gagazet, Auron has a dedicated backstory sphere here at Mushroom Rock. At least there's a somewhat plausible reason as to why this one would be here, given who appears in it...



"I know I don't need to tell you this, but guard Lord Braska well."
"That, I will. And you'll be busy, too. I heard they made you second-in-command."
”Yeah, terrific. Going to have to turn in the helmet now. You know I barely have a hair left on my head these days. Bald before 30. Talk about a bum deal...”
“It could always be worse.”
“I'm thinking about just shaving everything off with this promotion. Getting a real fresh start, you know?”
“I cannot imagine that look... But I'm happy for you.”
"You know that promotion was meant for you. You were always the better one, even until the end."
"You make it sound as if I was going to die or something. I will see you again."
"Yes."
"Well, then..."
"Going already? You will tell me about Zanarkand when you return, won't you?"
*nods* "Farewell."





As it turns out, all the Yevon Warrior Monks fucking off back to Bevelle is because Kinoc ate it and Grand Maester Mika doesn't actually give shit one about the general Spira populous while sitting in the Sky Vatican overseeing his death cult. I guess Cardinal Babyhead wasn't entirely bad.


Music: Movement in Green (HD Remaster)



Only two more Jecht Spheres to go. Our next one takes us back to the Moonflow.



The Jecht Sphere in question is, for once, right next to where the airship drops the party off. Sadly, its contents will not be a shitfaced Jecht trying to fight a shoopuf to the death.





”The Moonflow...”



“...Lord Braska...”



“...and the drunken liability.”





"So you don't do anything stupid again. I can't believe you attacked that shoopuf. Lord Braska had to pay the handler for damages from his own travel money."



"Ah, a promise? Which you'll forget come tomorrow!"
”Oh yeah? Name one promise I did keep, Yoshibitchsu.”
“Well, that you would stop calling me barely coherent samurai related insults.”
“Okay, first up Yoshimitsu is like a cyborg ninja. Totally different! Secondly, it's funny. So shove it, Samurai Slowdown.”
“...”
"Auron, please. He did apologize. He knows he was wrong."
"That's it!” *stands up*



"You're sure?"
”You do know that shoopuf milk is INCREDIBLY poisonous to humans?”
“...No. I did not. That could have gone poorly for me.”
“Also I don't think those hypello are letting you anywhere near another shoopuf.”
“That too... Point is, I'm gonna stop drinking booze.”
"We're on a journey to fight Sin and save Spira, right? If I keep screwin' up... and... making a fool of myself... my wife and kid are never gonna forgive me."
"That's on the record."
”Oh of course. Say Braska, could you be the cameraman for a minute?”
“Err... sure. Why?”
“I want it to be 'on the record' as to how far I can fit my foot up Masabuffoone's ass here.”




Music: Thunder Plateau (Piano)



Alrighty, then. Our final destination for this side quest takes us past the Moonflow and Guadosalam. Back once again into the Thunder Plains.





The final Jecht Sphere, not that they're in any particular order, is located mid-way between Guadosalam and Rin's Travel Agency. Thankfully, it's been placed under a lightning rod so Tidus isn't struck in the face with a bolt of electricity while seeing what his dad and friends were up to...







“Why am I doing this?”
“Where the hell are you even aiming that thing? I've been drunk since sun up and I could hold it steadier. Goddamn man. Cut! CUT!”
“Cut what...?”
“Ugh. Just give me that damn thing.”





*shakes head* "Oh, I was just... thinking."
"This is important! No foolin' around! You're gonna spoil it!"
”Wait... is that idiot still trying to dodge 200 lightning bolts?”
“He has gotten incredibly high up there.”
“You cannot approve of this...”
“I am not going to try to st—“



“Whoa!”



”Did he just get struck by...”
“Yes. Yes he did.”
“Is he dead?”
“That would be rather anti-climactic.”
“Really? That seems exactly the sort of ending that fool would have for his life.”
“Son of a biiiitch!”
“...We should probably check on him.”



"Now there's a scene for posterity!"



“Hahaha! HAHAHA!”



Nice try, Jecht. Anyway, that is it for our look into Final Fantasy X-0. And with the final prequel sphere, we gain Auron's final Overdrive: Tornado.



Well, we've come all this way. We may as well try it out, no?









Did you know that Auron is capable of conjuring up a localized tornado by glaring hard enough at an enemy and spinning a few times in place? It's true.



Just creating the titular tornado is effortless for Auron. The actual trick to the technique requires a precise input by the player.



The trick in question? Why it's quite simple. Auron unlatches his hip flask...





...and tosses that sonuvabitch straight into the tornado, igniting the whirling vortex in a cyclone of flame. I'm sure the science behind that is sound.





And that concludes our break from obtaining all the Celestial Weapons. Back to the grind...






Video: Episode 106 Highlight Reel
Skip to Tornado Overdrive (You should at least watch this.)





Jecht Official Art