At The Pixels we are running Maui Week, a multi-day event designed to raise awareness of this disaster and the suffering inflicted upon Hawaii. A lot of folk have asked me where and how they can help. We will be directing people all week-long to the Hawaii Community Foundation – Maui Strong Fund where you can give to help the people of Hawaii, though I encourage you to explore other charity options if you’d like. Please help us to perpetuate Hawaii, its traditions, its way of life, its history and heritage, and its peoples!
-Red
Final Fantasy games have always endeavored to be unique, yet contain thematic strands that persevere throughout the franchise. When Final Fantasy X was released in 2001, much was made of its advanced graphics enabled by the PlayStation 2 as well as the very first time that voice acting had been used in a Final Fantasy game. But what stood out to me most of all when I first played it was the feel of the environments and character of the world of Spira. The initial couple hours of the game really shaped my perception as I played through the entire course of the story.
So how does that connect to Hawaiian culture? The sprawling metropolis of Zanarkand, underwater ruins, and a salvage ship aren’t exactly things that come to mind.
It’s the island of Besaid that became a touchstone for me, no matter how many different biomes and cities I visited along the way. A part of that attachment is surely because that’s where the journey begins in earnest, with a party of characters first banding together to pursue a (usually) common goal.
Another component of that is just Besaid itself. The beach, the palm trees, the small temple of Yevon, the huts, and the people of Besaid are emblematic of that island “vibe”, a culture which has a sense of community and appreciation of life unlike any other. Despite the members of the party being disparate in origin and personality, the community of the party is forged nonetheless and familial bonds are built. That’s what Hawaiian culture feels like to me, and that permeates my experience of the game. The theme for Besaid feels like it’s basically telling you to slow down and relax.
Another major theme that runs through all of Final Fantasy X is water, in both literal and metaphorical senses. Right away we witness a sport played entirely within a sphere of water and we have to escape underwater ruins and an underwater salvage site, fighting underwater creatures along the way.
But Besaid Island really reinforced the role of water in the world of Spira. Being an island, Besaid is obviously going to depend heavily on the ocean to provide for its people. The water and daily life are one, and the people are as comfortable in and around the water as they are on dry land. Our first real encounter with blitzball is when we meet Wakka and the Besaid Aurochs, and we learn about the global sport of choice from this ragtag band of island brothers. Kilika is literally decimated by water. Yuna’s iconic performance of the sending in Kilika (another locale of tropical climes) takes place in delicate footsteps upon the surface of the ocean where so many victims of Sin’s wrath have just died not long before. The port city of Luca is not just a hub of commerce, it’s the epicenter of the professional blitzball scene. Sin itself is a gigantic leviathan, a harbinger of destruction which emerges from the deep to ravage the world itself.
Water’s metaphorical connotations are spread throughout FFX as well. Yuna’s role as a summoner is twofold. First, to gain the final aeon and defeat Sin, thus bringing its tempest to an end and ushering in a period of peace: the Calm (both literally and metaphorically). But the other major task of a summoner is to perform the sending upon the souls of the departed, which sets them on their way in their final journey to the Farplane, where they will ever remain. Roiling seas are often signs of Sin’s incoming presence, while calm waters are peaceful and free of danger. The phrase “island time” might be a bit cliché, but for me it describes a more grounded understanding of how time and life flow for us. Lest I digress into a deep philosophy dive, suffice to say that the unconditional appreciation for life in Hawaii felt like it was reflected in the character growth of the party in FFX. Life flows continuously, so appreciate the now.
At the end of the day, it’s all about a feeling of what aloha is rather than anything that can be compared to something else. And that feeling of being connected despite the occurrence of a very real catastrophe is something you can see in the people of Maui. Spira’s people have that aloha, too. The world needs more aloha, and hopefully that spirit will inspire more and more people to do what we can to help.
Look forward to more Hawaii-related content this week and don’t forget to help the people of Maui!
JRPG fiend turned Twitch streamer, Mystraker (Myst for short) turned his childhood love for role-playing fantasy adventures into the driving passion of his life! You can find him on Twitch, usually waist-deep in a sprawling epic tale with more than a few anime tropes thrown in. His love for RPGs even inspired him to earn a degree in religious studies, so you can also expect some deeper thought on his favorite games as well as an appreciation for references to real-world cultures and connections.
