Yuna in FFX-2

I'm not going to lie. I'm one of the two people who really enjoyed FFX-2. It's of a radically different style than FFX. Keep in mind that FFX-2 is the story of Yuna, post-Sin, so it was inevitable that the sequel would be a lot brighter than its predecessor.

On the outside, Yuna in FFX-2 is not quite the same as before. Back with flyaway hair and a much more revealing outfit, she is much more of a go-getter than before. No longer is she the one that everyone is trying to save - it's her that everyone is asking for help from. Quite possibly Spira's biggest celebrity, Yuna has a lot of weight on her shoulders and everyone is watching her every move, which is made worse by the feud between the Youth League and New Yevon. As much as I hate to say it, even though Yuna had a lot of pressure in FFX, if she had died on her pilgrimage, there were other summoners who could have done the deed and gotten rid of Sin. Now that Yuna was responsible for the Eternal Calm, people looked to her for guidance in a time of turmoil and uncertainty.

At the core, though, Yuna remains the same. She really does want to help everyone (the reason for the fifty billion sidequests) and she can't say no to anyone. Her determination to save Spira is still strong. After having brought about the Eternal Calm, Yuna really deserved a nice, long vacation. However, not long after she returns to Besaid, she jumps into the exciting world of spherehunting, and discovers something much darker underneath Spira's healing wounds. At first, she shows a little reluctance to jump into the fray, but in the end, throws herself headfirst into uncovering Spira's secrets and resolving conflicts and giving concerts and raising Chocobos and putting spirits of aeons to rest. Furthermore, she still maintains that façade of cheerfulness from FFX. She remains bright and vivacious, even though her heart is breaking on the inside because of all the losses endured from the battles with Sin. Sin may be gone, but Spira's wounds are still smarting and scars are only beginning to fade. At the heart of it all is Yuna. She tries to put on a smile for her friends, but there are times when melancholy and sadness cannot escape her. She thinks of Tidus and wonders how her life would be different had he remained.

In this game, Yuna is once again faced with problem of sacrifice. In the end, when the gang is preparing for the final battle against Vegnagun, Nooj tells the Gullwings his plan to kill Shuyin by killing himself. Upon hearing this plan, Yuna says, quite succinctly, "I don't like your plan. It sucks." She goes on to explain that this kind of sacrifice is exactly what was done two years before. Her aeons were her friends, her trustworthy companions, her battle-worn allies. And to repay them for their service and loyalty, Yuna had to destroy them. This might not seem like a big deal; after all, saying goodbye to a few friends is a seemingly small price to pay for the eternal safety of all of Spira. For the greater good, right? Nevertheless, over the course of two years, Yuna has come to regard this kind of sacrifice as the worst possible choice.

Everyone was so happy. "Great job, Yuna. You did it. You saved us all." There were too many smiles to count. And I know that I was smiling, too. But now ... when I look back ... The people who should be here aren't. The ones who should be smiling with me aren't here.

In FFX, the party had to kill the aeons, because they supposedly had no other way. "We had no choice." This is something that Yuna cannot accept any longer - she dismisses it as an excuse, "magic words" to ease guilt and remorse. She doesn't want to have to lose something in order to win another. This type of exchange is something that, in the end, is not entirely worth it.

Though it might not seem to be the case, Yuna is still the same person as she was in FFX. Her determination, commitment, and sense of duty are still as strong as ever. Her vivacity and silliness in this game isn't something that necessarily indicates an internal change - I believe that Yuna's bubbly exterior resulted from the changes in Spira around her. Yuna is still an undaunted spirit with resolve as strong as steel. Where there's a will, there's a way.