LogFAQs > #930271950

#25: This is it! Now is the time to choose! (Yunalesca, Final Fantasy X)

It is better for you to die in hope than to live in despair. Let me be your liberator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_vmauwceK8

I've said before that the cutscenes leading up to Yunalesca are the best cutscenes in video game history. The twist is gut-wrenching, the team chemistry is stellar, and it's just the perfect game-changer in the minds of all the characters and the player alike.

So why is Yunalesca so low on this list? It's actually a testament to how damn good the writing and pacing is that it made the list in the first place. The fight... well, it isn't actually all that fun.

It's unique, don't get me wrong. The status effects keep you on your toes, and it's a surprise to have a boss start pulling the "revive kills zombie" cheese on you. Try to go EZ Modo with an Aeon? She'll Mind Blast and Absorb to fuck its shit up. Her design is awesome too, starting sexy as a goddess in this setting should be, then growing ever more monstrous as her inner wickedness is revealed. The struggle feels genuine, and it takes great management of your action economy (or, if you're cleverer than me, some well-timed Reflects) to deal with the ways she inhibits your healing, strips you of your buffs, and shuts up your spellcasters for daring to try and counteract it.

And then Mega Death happens and the enjoyment drops substantially.

I should clarify: I have no problem with difficulty, as you'll see later on this list. But I despise "gotcha" mechanics with no precedent and no warning. This is especially true in a story-rich RPG where it feels meta-gamey that the characters will prep for a move they have no knowledge of, just because the player was gotcha'd by it and reloaded the save. Is this a weird thing to be irritated about? Probably, but it's one I've always had. In this case, Mega Death punishes you for reacting to all the other mechanics correctly and curing the Zombie status on your party members by insta-killing anyone without the status or Deathproof. There really is no way to see this coming aside from a guide.

All that being said, one terrible mechanic isn't enough to destroy all the story hype, uniqueness, and straight-up badassery that Yunalesca entails. Beating her was the turning point of the game for me, and it set up the story to become what I consider the best in the franchise.
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E come vivo? Vivo!