Let's Play Final Fantasy X: International (Expert Grid)

We're going on a boat trip~! Will this one go any better than the last? Yes

Check out the dude with the eye patch. He's probably a rival Blitzball player. He looks awesome, I wonder if we should recruit him later.

And that second shot is our "world map". It sucks even when it doesn't have a boat making it hard to see. Anywhere I want to go, I have to trek to through areas or teleport using the airship when we finally get it.




These boat trips are pretty cool because everybody who wants to show up in the rest of the game has to hitch a ride because this is the only boat traveling this route until who knows when. We met the Luca Blitzball team back at the temple so they're on the boat in addition to the Besaid and Kilika teams who actually hail from these parts. Dona and her guardian are here along with Yuna's squadron, plus the Anti-Sin Coalition dudes and O'aka will beg for more money.

Dona spends the entire trip rubbing up against her manmeat. ^_^;



Yeah, I finally had to break down and edit some pictures for gender consistency. -_- Well, I didn't have to but Yuna looks so evil in that shot I just had to use it.

Seeing Yuna surrounded by yet more adoring fans, Sally gets jealous and decides to cut in. It's the Luca Goers and they remember Sally as the idiot from the Kilika temple who thought the Aurochs stand a chance of winning the tournament. I imagine summoners aren't supposed to show a bias for their home team since they fight for "Team Spira" but, having friends on one of the teams, Yuna has an extra reason for her bias. Plus



There's that. Yes, boys, the most famous summoner alive is a little bit crazy. But, well... it's not like any of them have been there to verify it's totally destroyed. And Yuna is kinda hot (and not taken like Dona)... so what's the harm in humoring her? The Goers head below deck to get the giggles out of their system before the big tournament.



Yuna's reasons for believing in Sally are a bit disappointing but hardly surprising. "Jecht said so." Sigh. One day Sally will prove herself. To Yuna... and to herself.

Word has it Wakka and Lulu went up to the top deck alone earlier. Officially there is nothing more than friendship between Sally and Wakka now but there's nothing wrong with a little eavesdropping, right?



O_O

HOLY CRAP THAT TWO-TIMING BASTARD!!

W-when did they-?! I mean, it was only a couple days ago he tried to get in Sally's pants! Musta been before Sally got here b-but-!



Aw crap, now they're talking about growing up without parents so you know they're going to feel obligated to "make it work" even though Lulu totally doesn't deserve it. And what are they going to tell Yuna? Nothing?! You know Lulu's not going to quit the pilgrimage even though she's in no condition to be traversing around the world fighting fiends now.

Oh Sally, I'm so sorry. ;_;



Sally decides to work out her frustrations on a Blitzball she finds on deck but that just brings up a whole different set of issues. Daddy issues. When Sally was a kid she tried to do one of her dad's signature moves. She completely failed and, worse, dad saw the attempt and mocked her mercilessly for it. "Of course you can't do it, sport, nobody else can!" HATE.



It's time for the Overcoming Paternal Abuse mini-game! It's right up there with the Erotic Lesbian Massage mini-game from FFX-2 for best in the series. I posted this video of Sally failing miserably at it because I forgot to record the successful attempt. You only get one chance at this and that's why Yevon created save spheres. Succeeding means Sally will know the Jecht Shot in Blitzball and that's our only chance to win at Luca.

"The Sally Shot," Sally declares. Boo-yah, fame shall be hers once more! The lads all set to trying to learn how it's done but none of them are awesome enough to pull it off. Sally leaves them to it and chats up Yuna a bit.



Sonofa-!

It figures. "Um, can you not tell Wakka about that?" Sally asks.

"I... guess so... But why... would you not... want them to know? Jecht... was a great man."

"He wasn't great to me or my mom, that's for sure," Sally responds.



"I dunno. I thought he died ten years ago so I never really thought about it. Probably... sock him and then challenge him to a Blitzball match." Sally smirks confidently but inside she wonders about that. She's pretty good now but good enough to best Jecht? Maybe... "Your dad's famous too, isn't he, Yuna? You know how tough it is, right?"

"It is... hard to be... as great as... him, as a summoner. But... it is a great honor... to have such a great father. I think." Dammit Yuna, you're, like, impossible to relate to.

"Well you're lucky 'cause my dad sucked," Sally replies.

"You mustn't say such things about your father!"

"I got every right!"

Suddenly Yuna realizes she's being contrary which, according to the Little House books, is a sin or something. A sin worse than disobeying the whole "honor thy father" thing, apparently. "...I... guess you do."

Wakka pulls Sally back to the Aurochs' last minute Blitzball practice to demonstrate the Sally Shot until she turns blue.


Progress Report!


As you can see, Sally is well on her way to picking up Steal and Use Item. There are some battles in Luca that will be stupidly easy if Sally has Steal by then but I don't think that's going to happen.



Lulu has made her way into the more physical area and is almost to the crossroads between stat break and status attack. After studying the grid a lot I think stat break actually has the most direct path to picking up Hastega, which was requested, so I'm inclined to attempt that route.



For Wakka I'm trying something a little different. Cutting through the middle of the grid has a lot of dead space and level 1 elemental spells are a dead end he'd have to backtrack out of. Instead he took his own path as far as the level 1 lock and will sit there until I get a key sphere (should be soon). Once unlocked, he'll head for the level 2 elemental spells and continue from there.

If it ever looks like Wakka is falling behind in usefulness, there are plenty of crossover points into white magic available.

Not worth pictures:
- Kimahri is starting down white magic. He's halfway through the thrilling "Null" spells.
- Yuna is still sitting there at her starting point. I'm still not sure what to do with her!
- Auron will be joining soon so if anybody has thoughts for him, be sure to speak up.

I'm still giggling at this, five minutes after I first saw it.

Man, I totally didn't pick up on that when I played. I think I was... 14? when the game came out, so that must've gone right over my head at the time.

Those first two shots have a huge chunk of conversation missing between them. Lulu and Wakka are talking about Tidus (Sally). The whole conversation can be found here.

... Well, now I feel dumb! I had a feeling there was stuff missing, but I still totally fell for it anyway.

Yeah, I'm totally making shit up here but making it look like it's canon. Although they really do have a kid in the sequel.

Yeah, I remembered that, which is probably why I bought into the little story you made up there.

SALLY CRUSH STUPID TRIAL! SALLY STRONGEST THERE IS!

Plus after the implied gay incest earlier on, practically anything less extreme seems plausible!

I wonder what it'd be like if I planned this stuff from the start... rather than just seeing what the screenshots will let me do and running with it. Watch your step, plotholes ahead!

Hey, she's just following in her role model, Shiva's, example.

She'll regret it come Bikanel, however.

The sentence and the visual representation made me laff.

I missed the treasure, incidentally. Had to wait about 40 hours before I could come back to claim it, since the Cloister Treasures are a requirement for unlocking Baaj Temple.


And I wanted to name Ifrit "Wolfie"

You can tell she just wants to pick up a gun and fill them all with lead.

Not that she knows what a gun is. Or lead.

It's the belts. It's easier to undo several dozen of them than to fiddle with Sally's lederhosen.

Jecht is mean

Actually, you can just take the ship back to Besaid later on and you'll get another shot at the Shot.

SERIOUSLY?! x_x Damnit. Though it's more important to have for the tournament than later on games.

Yeah, I don't think you can try again before the tournament, which makes it a moot point.

I am so looking forward to the big romance scene later on in the game.

ARG I hate Blitzball! I haven't given up yet but I might yet. So next post shall have a "surprise ending"

Wahoo! Yip! Wai~wai! There's civilization on this world after all!

Luca has a nice big Blitzball stadium, adoring crowds, and even magic television! When the ship from Kilika arrives the TV crew is there to film all the arriving Blitzball teams. First up is the Kilika Beasts who get a big sympathy cheer for being the most recent Sin survivors. Then the Besaid Aurochs are a statistical impossibility, having lost every single game in over twenty years.

Finally the homeboys, the Luca Goers, step off the ship and the crowd goes wild. They play it up, acting like just 'cause they won as many matches as the Aurochs lost they're gonna win. Those jerks. Well Sally's got something to say to that!



"For far too long, you've maintained a monopoly on victory, crushing the hopes and dreams of Blitzers all over Spira. You may have the best team, and you may have won last tournament, and you might even win the next one, but this time the cup belongs to us, the Besaid Aurochs!!"

Wakka finally manages to pull Sally down from the crate she climbed up on for her speech. "Simmer down, ya? You might be one heck of a Blitzer but your pet talks could use some work."

"Yevon's left testicle! We were on the sphere," random Auroch #3 remarks.

"We were?" asks random Auroch #5. "Sweet."



Oh yays, a celebrity from Yuna's circle of interest. That would be political/religious leaders and fellow summoners I guess. Glad to escape the mostly confused and mocking attention Sally has brought on them, the Aurochs head to the locker room while the playable characters go where Yuna's whims send them.



Hey we didn't get a band. The Goers didn't even get a band! Though these guys are pretty freaky looking so I'm not sure that's a bad thing... Sally complains about not being able to see through the crowd and Wakka shushes her rather than hoisting her up on his shoulders. How disappointing.



Oh look, a freshly minted politician. His name is Seymour Guado and he's kinda... veiny. Also his cloak appears to be attached to his nipples. His dad died recently and he inherited the position so you know he's the best kind of politician. He talks about improving human-Guado relations in his little speech. Guado are not to be confused with guano, though they can both be found on cave floors.



Yuna seems quite taken with him. Sally's a bit surprised; he doesn't seem like Yuna's... type. But there are other things to worry about: Sally's gotta make good on her promise of sweet chocolately victory!



Al Bhed... That's what Rikku is! Anyway those kids from Chapter 2 finally get their way and it's time for a Blitzball tutorial. It mostly comes down to swearing at the constantly changing camera angle and the arbitrary stat calculations. Okay, we can do this.. we can...



Oh sweet distraction, a way out of this! Thank you, Yuna, thank you!

"B-but the game's gonna start!" Wakka sputters as his last hope of not retiring with a perfectly horrid record runs out the locker room door.



What a coincidence! I wonder whose dad Auron's gonna turn out to be.



Those Al Bhed dudes aren't being suspicious. Nope, not at all.

"So, like, you guys all look alike to me so... was that you? I guess not. Anyway I'm sure all Al Bhed know each other so if you know this girl named Rikku, can you tell her Sally said thanks for the food? Great, thanks!" Sally runs off after Yuna.

"Tu oui ghuf fryd cra fyc cyoehk?" one of the Al Bhed asks the other.

"Hu lmia. Ev cra dfela yc muit E drehg E sekrd ryja ihtancduut," the other shrugs.

Why would you say that, Yuna? Don't they teach you anything in Summoner College?



So Sally tries to teach Yuna how to whistle. "Do that if we get separated and I'll come!" Sally declares.

"B...but it didn't work..."

"Let's go!"



Yuna is quite well-read in travel guides of Spira. She explains that Wakka's Blitzball-centric view of the world is actually quite common. The stadium in Luca is the only one in the world and the Anti-Sin Coalition protects the stadium in particular. Spira has invented television but not the sitcom so Blitzball is the only form of entertainment available.



I really do.



Hey guys! Good to see you're so concerned about protecting the stadium from Sin, which, you might remember, attacked a nearby island yesterday and is probably still in the area.

Okay okay, Yuna, we'll go to the pub.



Unless he's invisible. Never underestimate the milkman.

Yuna investigates further.



Cat fight!!

It turns out Warrior Kitty has a backstory after all. Warrior Kitty know Ronso Yenke and Ronso Biran from ten year ago. Warrior Kitty runt. Warrior Kitty possibly sexually abused at "time of horn-molt". Warrior Kitty get revenge!

While sally incites a riot, the tournament is beginning.



Wakka must have lotsa valor, ya?

The game between the Besaid Aurochs and Al Bhed Psyches begins without Sally. Oops. I'm... really torn up over that. So sorry, but Yuna needed Sally.



CRAP!



Okay so the two guys in the hall waited for Yuna to leave with only half her guardians (still more than Dona has regularly). They followed her, kidnapped her in a crowded pub, took her off to their boat, delivered their ransom demand to Wakka and Lulu, and still managed to be there for the start of the game. And Lulu made it all the way across town in that ridiculous skirt by the time Sally noticed Yuna was even gone.

The logistics of this setup has always bothered me. If the Al Bhed just showed a slightly larger presence in Luca today or showed evidence of possessing long-distance communication devices I'd be okay with it.

The discussion of why the Al Bhed Psyches would feel the need to resort to dirty tactics to win against the worst team in the world makes up for a lot though.

Aren't they adorable? They run around on all fours, then get up on their hind legs and shoot at us! ^_^ I think I'll call them Bhedspawn because they're a lot like Sinspawn but with Al Bhed instead of Sin.

There are a ton of them.



The Aurochs are just trying to buy us time and they're able to keep the scored tied. The Psyches must really suck.



That's what she said! Oh wait she did...



Behold, the big empty Al Bhed boat that is trying to depart before the rescue squad arrives! Jerks, the game's only like ten minutes long; you can just let her go in like three minutes...

The group fights a wussy robot boss with an awesome robot boss name: Oblitzerator. It gets killed by a crane it stands next to. The... claw kind. Not the bird.



The moment the Oblitzerator finishes exploding, Yuna walks out on deck. "I have... punished the... nonbelievers," she says with a smile. "Was that right?"

"Yes, you did very well." Lulu gives her a hug.

They eventually notice Sally looking around the deck as if looking for something in particular. "I do not believe there is treasure to be acquired on this vessel," Lulu informs her.

"No, I wasn't -" Sally gives up her survey. "When I first got here, I got picked up by this Al Bhed ship and I thought maybe this was the same ship but it doesn't have a save sphere on deck so it can't be."

"You knew... Al Bhed? What... happened to them?" Yuna asks.

"I don't know. When Sin attacked I got knocked overboard and woke up in Besaid. I never saw what happened to them."



"Cid is... the name of my... mother's brother. He's an... Al Bhed. I've... never met him."

"You're Al Bhed?!" Sally is quite shocked by this. I mean, Yuna doesn't even wear goggles!

"Half, on my... mother's side," Yuna confirms, bowing her head. "It is my... inherited shame."

"Don't tell Wakka," Lulu cuts in. "He is less tolerant of their kind than some."

"Um, right." Sally suddenly realizes, "Wakka doesn't know!"

"That's what I just-"

"No, the game! He doesn't know Yuna's okay!"

"Oh, that."




The game is still going despite a long chase all around the stadium, fighting the Oblitzerator, and having a discussion about Yuna's family secret. Longest sudden death overtime ever? Seeing the signal, Wakka leads the charge to the Aurochs' first victory in many many years. The Psyches need to fire, like... everybody.

With his beloved one game victory, Wakka succumbs to his injuries and faints. Underwater. No, the lack of drowning never makes sense, especially since only some party members are able to fight underwater.



That's what she said! That one didn't work as well.

Sally tries to tell Lulu she's being too cruel, always comparing Wakka to his brother like that.

Lulu's on to me!!

In bed.



Back in the locker room, Yuna apologizes for getting kidnapped and Wakka tells her if she ever lets it happen again, they might just have to leave her tied to the train tracks for a few hours so she learns her lesson.

There are only six Blitzball teams in the world, which doesn't work out nicely for a tournament. The Aurochs were seeded so they only had to beat one team to make it into the finals. Their opponents, the Luca Goers (of course), had to beat two teams to make it into the finals. Realistically that should give the Aurochs and advantage in energy levels but that's just not the video game way.



And, uh, Wakka subs himself out for Sally. I'd like to point out that Wakka's Aurochs were the only all-male team in the world until this moment. That kinda bothers me and if I actually play Blitzball after this game, I may try to stuff my team with girls just to spite Wakka. Toss in an Al Bhed too, just to rub it in.

After the team heads out to play, we get treated to another scene between Wakka and his babymama.



Lulu doesn't want to be a single mom. Between her puppet-wielding belt-fetishist goth ass and Wakka - the racist sexually confused Hawaiian - there's an extremely slim chance of the kid growing up normal. Things don't need to get any more dysfunctional.

Tender Moment Alert!



Wakka actually just fainted again, so they're not really cuddling. Still it's so "awwww"! Starting Lulu on a Tank path is already working its magic as she can easily support the weight of Mr Beefcake there.



Sports movie cliché fulfilled.

In the stands:





Smiley here is kind of a dick but not it's actually his buddy to the left who's the most trouble. The girl is nothing special other than the fact she is the only girl in the match. Also: the logistics of giggling underwater fascinate me.



Right off the bat, Graav grabs the ball and with the way Blitzball works we can't do jack until we've got possession. Graav is the overleveled jerk so it's a miracle Keepa actually blocked that goal. In the three times I replayed this match, that's his only save. He throws the ball in to Letty and I take the opportunity to switch to Manual A.

Manual A lets you control the movement of whomever (on your team) has the ball based on the minimap in the bottom right corner. Left is our goal, right is theirs. The red blips are them, greenish ones are us. Manual B bases the controls on the main image and is variable with the camera angle so it sucks. Auto sucks because at that point you're not even playing.

Letty passes to Sally and Sally passes to whoever is open. In this case it's usually Jassu and I move Sally and Jassu closer together so their passes take less time and are less likely to be intercepted. Every time someone participates in a play, like passing or catching, they earn experience points. The goal is to get Sally to level three by halftime so she can equip the Jecht Shot and win this baby.



That's the stuff!

Wakka gives a little pep talk and then it's back to the pool.

One minute into the second half and it's over.

I don't know if HP recovery is even fast enough that Sally could conceivably do two Jecht Shots in one game at her level but it doesn't matter this game. Halfway through, Sally is subbed out for Wakka so he can have his Blitzball "last stand." I'm sure Wakka's not bad but he doesn't have the frickin' Jecht Shot!



We tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end it doesn't even matter.*

* Actually we woulda gotten a Strength Sphere, which adds a STR+4 to an empty node on the Sphere Grid. Lulu really could have used the boost.

Either way a ton of fishkin attack. Sally and Wakka are the only ones who can fight underwater right now so they fight their way through to get out of the fishbowl.



Where yet more monsters await.



Yeah, work that shoulder!



"No time to chat, kiddo."

The monsters keep coming and just as it seems there can be no end to them, the true hero appears.



And boy is his summon charming. You can't see it in that shot but it is bound by chains and presumably isn't as strong as it would be free. It roars - or screams in agony perhaps - and every monster in the stadium turns to sparkles.

It's frustrating how the game acts like Seymour might be good or at least ambiguous yet he summons this nightmare beast. Good job reinforcing he's really frickin' powerful though! Maesters are apparently Summoners who went into politics.



So long, lads! Have fun in Besaid after I kick you all off the team!

Yuna's party hang out just inside the borders of Luca. There appears to be some kind of invisible wall preventing them from proceeding until the main character is with them.

"You... You're no milkman, are you?"

"No," comes Auron's gravelly response. "That was just an excuse to stop by and sex your mom every morning."



"Perhaps. You'll never know." Almost as an afterthought, Auron adds, "Oh and your dad is Sin."



"What, you hadn't figured that out? I thought it was obvious."

"You're a damn liar!!" Sally yells. "You're always making things up! My dad's a bastard but he's not some giant monster!"

Auron shrugs. "What you believe is up to you. Come with me and discover the truth or stay here and wallow in denial. Some stories end sooner than others."




Stopping here because this is already by far the longest update yet and I'm exhausted.

Is it Rikku? It's Rikku, isn't it.

heh, I would have also taken "no, but you fight like a cow."

No! It's Aeris! FINALLY! It's gotta be! 8-D

Previously on Spheres of Our Lives: Sally the Overhyped Blitzball Star failed to score even once in her debut game and Wakka retired from the world of sports in shame. Suddenly a man from the past unexpectedly appeared!

What will become of Sally? Will she ever see Wakka again? And what of the man in the red coat??



Well that was resolved awful quickly.



Auron, you just wrapped up the entire plot hook of this update! Now we've got to kill time until the writers can come up with something. Yuna, do something!



...

What have I done?



"Not... really."

"Well... this is the start... of your guardian training. Smile!" Yuna smiles. What does that smile mean? Is she going to make Warrior Kitty kick Sally's ass if she doesn't cooperate? Is she crying on the inside? This is so confusing!



Damnit Sally, she's going to have you killed!

Oh hey, she seems to approve of that wide-mouthed grimace.



HA HA HA HA

HA HA HA HA

HA HA HA HA



You started it!!



Down this road is the next temple. The next temple has the next trial. Screw this, there's got to be something else to do.



Like chat up the other Blitzball players hanging out in Luca and try to recruit some of them to the Aurochs! I think that Ronso is hitting on Wakka. Balgerda isn't allowed to join our team ever for that crack. Bitch.

Actually all these guys have contracts with their teams so none of them are recruitable but there are plenty of free agents hanging out in town. Sally recruits Shaami the Newsgirl, Wedge the Ineffectual Guardsman, and Zalitz the... Dude. His name starts with a Z. That's kinda cool, right?



Once it's not like sending the Special Olympics players up against the Real Olympics teams, Blitzball gets kind of fun. Plus you can win fabulous prizes! But I have no idea how. I played three games and didn't win anything. Then I ran out of money to renew player contracts. Back to the quest... -_-

Thanks boring backstory-spitting NPC!



Thanks random NPCs! Sally should have started calling herself a guardian ages ago with the way people throw random items and equipment at her now. Everybody on this whole road without a name gives out free stuff. Which means...



Hi boring backstory-spitting NPC who has a name. -_-

Meet Maechen. He's a scholar, which means he's kinda boring but you've gotta pay attention to him on the off chance he'll say something important. In FFX-2 if you skip anything he says you'll miss out on the 100% ending. This time he says Sin is making people too depressed so Yuna really needs to do something about that.



These girls are like the Anti-Sin Coalition we've been traveling with since Besaid except they're lesbians. I mean chicks on chicks. I mean.. nevermind.

They announce there's chocobo-eating monster in the area, thus they are riding their chocobos around.

"We should go kill that fiend!" Sally declares.

"Why?" Auron prompts.

"'Cause we're the heroes and that's what heroes do!" Yeah! You tell him, Sally!



Shut up your lies old man! I'm not listening to you anymore!!! ;_;

Further down the road...



"I..." Yuna blushes, "I think I might... like that."

"Then we shall have a dual. Your aeon against mine," Belgemine continues.

"O-oh. That's... what you mean." Yuna giggles nervously. Not sure what Yuna thought she meant but whatever.



BELGEMINE summons IFRIT! YUNA summons VALEFOR!

They're pretty evenly matched provided Yuna has been advanced along the Sphere Grid. So... yeah, I redid this battle after actually using Yuna's Sphere Levels. She's a red mage now, since that gets her Aeons a high magic defense the most efficiently.

The prize for winning is an "Echo Ring" that gives Yuna +10% HP and Echo Ward. It's pretty nice for this point in the game.



Well thanks lady, that's really - wait, huh? Why not?

Belgey leaves without explaining. Darn it, why can't she be more like Auron and spit out major spoilers right off the bat?



At our next stop, Yuna lies to small children! This little girl is maybe ten but in FFX-2 she's suddenly a cute teenager. My how they grow.

The little girl's only use here is prompting Sally to ask what the Calm is. The Calm is the time between periods of Sin. I suppose you could avoid figuring that out before now if you didn't talk to random townsfolk at all. Sin gets defeated and takes a bit of time to... reform, I guess.



A random Blitzball! Maybe Sally can confront her father's memory again!! Or... not. You shouldn't have left it sitting around like that, kid. I've never been able to resist kicking that thing to find out what the little kid might give you.

A little farther down the road one of the random NPCs gives us a Level 1 Key Sphere so Wakka can continue on his journey into black magic. Yay!

Hey guys! So where were you when monsters attacked the game, huh? The Choco-Girls ride up and scold them for being slackers after only a few lines of conversation. Good to see someone's keeping them in line now.

Yuna makes an effort to convert them back to the faith but they're not interested in that crap. Sally gives a slight nod to them as they continue along. Heathens gotta stick together... kinda.

Further yet, one of the heathen forces is engaging in an argument with a True Believer. He uses the approach of the summoner and her guardians to escape.



Meet Shelinda. We hates her.

She's against the project all the heathens are working on not just because it's a non-summoner based attempt to defeat Sin but because they dare to use machines in the attempt! Won't someone think of the Teachings!?!

I'm kind of surprised O'aka hasn't popped up along this road. Pretty much everyone else has, after all.



Already, seriously? Okay cool.

Hey, be nice to Maechen, he's got a cool voice.

Seriously. Maechen has my favorite voice in FFX and X-2 - I wish I could attend a class he was teaching so I could hear him explain history in that voice.

Speaking of FFX's voices, I'm replaying the game and remembering two things: one of the reasons why Auron's voice is so cool is because his mouth is almost always covered up so the actor didn't have to try to lip synch. Conversely, Yuna's voice actor doesn't deserve all of the complaints I've heard - her biggest flaw is that she DOES try to lip synch EVERYTHING, which creates all those weird pauses in her lines. Near-endgame spoiler: When Tidus finds the sphere she recorded early on that has all of her goodbyes, her voice acting is actually pretty good and lacking the stupid pauses.

Oh, and I still think that Seymour kinda sounds like Winnie the Pooh. I always expect him to say "Oh, bother."