Spira (Final Fantasy)
Spira is the fictional world of the Square role-playing video games Final Fantasy X and X-2. Spira is the first Final Fantasy world to feature consistent, all-encompassing spiritual and mythological influences within the planet's civilizations and their inhabitants' daily lives. The world of Spira itself is different from the mainly European-style worlds found in previous Final Fantasy games, being much more closely modeled on a setting influenced by the South Pacific, Thailand, Bali and Japan, most notably with respect to its vegetation, topography and architecture.
The creation of Spira includes distinct ethnic minorities including a portrayal of the fictional Al Bhed language that is prevalent throughout the game's dialogue. The backstory and concept behind the dark religious themes of Final Fantasy X were a central theme to the story and their ultimate resolution was well received. The popularity of the Eternal Calm video served as the impetus of Square Enix to do Final Fantasy X-2 to make their first direct sequel in video game form and depict the evolution of Spiran society after religious and political upheaval results in new factions and instability in the world. Spira and its inhabiting characters have been featured in several other Square Enix works including Dissidia Final Fantasy and its prequel Dissidia 012, three games within the Kingdom Hearts series and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.
There have been numerous academic essays on the game's presentation, narrative and localization aspects. Washburn writes that mastering the game comes with the mastering of the cultural knowledge of Spira to unlock skills and abilities. O'Hagan writes on the localization of the games that impact the game experience, detailing alterations to the script and dialogue with modifications, additions and omissions. Another aspect was that the presentation of Spira without an overworld view can be considered a pioneer in 3D role-playing game maps.
Concept and creation
In speaking about the inspiration behind Spira, producer Yoshinori Kitase recounted that players had found fault with the science fiction atmosphere of Final Fantasy VII and VIII, instead desiring a "simple fantasy world". To Kitase, the word "fantasy" did not indicate a purely medieval European setting, so he intentionally set out with the objective of redefining the stereotype held in players' minds. Nomura identified the South Pacific, Thailand, and Japan as major influences on the cultural and geographic design of Spira, particularly in regard to the geographic locations of Besaid and Kilika. Yusuke Naora, the art director, noted that during the concept stage many people on the project were interested in Asian themes, including Kitase and writer Kazushige Nojima. The city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan has been cited as an inspiration for Zanarkand.Nomura said that Spira deviates from the worlds of past Final Fantasy games most notably in the level of detail incorporated, something he has expressed to have made a conscious effort to maintain during the design process. Fumi Nakashima, the sub-character chief designer, concentrated on giving characters from different regions and cultures distinct styles of clothing. Nakashima wanted the machine-oriented society of the Al Bhed to stand out and had them wear masks and goggles to give them a strange and eccentric appearance.
Koji Sugimoto, main programmer for characters, said that the complexities of the PlayStation 2 hardware made mastering it difficult, but more rewarding because the details on Yuna's sleeves to the depiction of shine and shadow could be rendered more realistically. Final Fantasy X was the first game that allowed for 3-D model rendering of backgrounds that increased the presentation, including small details like grass blowing in the wind and cloud movement. Takayoshi Nakazato decided to abandon the typical world map concept for a more realistic depiction. Final Fantasy Xs spatial presentation of Spira is tied to progression, with a player's progress being marked through the panoramic introduction and depiction of the area upon first entry. Sound editor Chiharu Minekawa commented that the transition in sound from one environment to the next was done seamlessly to mimic the natural surroundings of these environments as the player moved through them.
The decision to create Final Fantasy X-2 came after fan response to the "Eternal Calm" in the International Edition of Final Fantasy X which depicted events two years following Yuna's final battle. The dark religious theme of the first game was concluded and the cultural changes were explored as the people of Spira focus on fashion that "reflects their state of mind". Toriyama believes the most important element incorporated into X-2 was the "peaceful world of Spira achieved in X and unification of characters' state of mind". Kitase identified Final Fantasy Xs theme as "independence from the ties of law and customs" and X-2s theme is about "the changes that occurred from the chaos after gaining that independence".
For Final Fantasy X-2 many pop culture references were used, including Charlie's Angels and with the transformation of the dress spheres being a reference to the magical girl genre of anime.
Remastering
Square Enix chose to update Final Fantasy X and X-2s graphics for a remastered release in high-definition. With a production cycle longer than two years, the graphics were not merely upscaled to higher resolutions and feature updated models and textures. Kitase commented that he wanted to excite new and returning players and added more depth to do so and opened up the possibility of further remasters based on reception. Many views could not simply be reframed to 16:9 because that would reveal characters waiting for their cues off-screen, so the remastering team performed a lot of redrawing and additions to the visuals.Setting
Geography
The main landmass of Spira is surrounded by small islands, including: Besaid, a tropical town serving as the origin of Yuna's pilgrimage; Kilika, a larger island featuring dense jungles and numerous conflicts during the games; and the desert island of Bikanel, which is also the location of the Al Bhed's headquarters — "Home". The ruins of Baaj Temple are on an island to the south of the Spira mainland; this is where Tidus begins his journey in Spira.The mainland of Spira is where the bulk of Final Fantasy X takes place. The southernmost location of the mainland, Luca, is a large city home to Spira's pastime, Blitzball. North of Luca is the mountainous area of Djose, which features a Yevonite temple. Connecting Luca and Djose are several roads: the Mi'ihen Highroad, a historical path that features Chocobos for transportation; the Mushroom Rock Road, home of the failed operation to defeat Sin; and Djose Highroad, a rocky path that forks north into the Moonflow and east to Djose Temple.
The Moonflow is a large river running through the heart of Spira, featuring shoopuf rides, ancient ruins, and a high density of pyreflies. A path from the Moonflow leads to Guadosalam, home of the Guado race and the gateway to the "Farplane". North of Guadosalam are the Thunder Plains, which are the site of a never-ending thunderstorm made safe by lightning rods calibrated by the Al Bhed. The Thunder Plains lead into Macalania, a sparkling forest complemented by a frozen lake and a Yevonite temple.
Bevelle, the spiritual center of the Yevon religion, lies on a thin strip of land slightly north of Macalania. The city is built as a series of layers, with the headquarters of Yevon located at the top. The Via Purifico, located beneath Bevelle, serves as an oubliette for outcasts. Further north are the Calm Lands, a series of plains that have been the site of numerous battles in Spira's history; the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, an equally historical area; and Mt. Gagazet, home of the Ronsos. Lastly, the sacred city of Zanarkand is on the northern tip of the Spiran mainland, reduced to ruins by Sin one thousand years before the events of FFX.
Final Fantasy X-2 features several changes to the locations of Spira. The Djose Temple, abandoned by a faltering Yevon after X, becomes the headquarters of the Machine Faction; likewise, the Youth League sets up their headquarters at the site of the failed operation on the Mushroom Rock Road. Bevelle remains the capital of the New Yevon faction, although the game introduces a large, technological area hidden beneath the city. Several new enterprises have been started, including a new pastime in Luca called Sphere Break; a group of entertainers at the Moonflow; a tourist service at the Zanarkand Ruins; and machina transportation in favor of Chocobos on the Mi'ihen Highroad. Lastly, the death of the Aeons at the end of X causes the Macalania forest and lake to melt, sinking the former Yevon temple and destroying the forest's life. X-2 also introduces floating ruins atop Mt. Gagazet and previously unexplored caverns throughout Spira.
Creatures and races
Although it is predominantly populated by humanoids, Spira features a variety of races. The people of Spira mainly reside in small towns and villages and cities like Bevelle and Luca. The Al Bhed is a unique ethnic group which plays an important role in the storyline and world of the games with distinctive green eyes with spiral-shaped pupils. The culture and conflicts of the Al Bhed permeate the games. The main character Rikku is Al Bhed, and Yuna is part Al Bhed on her mother's side and assistance in gaining through a cast of supporting Al Bhed character's, prevalent in Final Fantasy X-2. With the collapse of the teachings of Yevon and the wider acceptance of machina at the end of X, prejudice against the Al Bhed seems to have eased significantly by the time of X-2, though it is still present.The Al Bhed speak their own "language" which is really just a substitution cipher of Japanese, a system of transposing certain letters for others; however, within the game world, it is intended to be an actual language. The original Japanese version of the cipher uses the syllable-based kana system of writing where each symbol represents a combination of "consonant + vowel" or simply a vowel. Certain keywords are not translated into Al Bhed in the game, to give the impression of use of loanwords compared to modern foreign languages. Most keywords are proper nouns, but some common nouns also are not translated, such as "fiend". Alexander Smith decided to "map common phonemes in English to common phonemes in Welsh" and gave preference to Welsh pronunciations, but had to work with new diphthongs to maintain consistency in the Al Bhed language.
Several other races are found throughout Spira, including the Guado, the Hypello, and the Ronso races. The Guado are an arboreal humanoid race with long limbs and fingers, pale skin, and wild, tangled hair. The Guado are the keepers of the entryway to the Farplane, where the dead are sent and have the unique ability to "smell the deceased" and other abilities related to pyreflies. The Ronso are a race of horned, blue-furred, lion-like humanoids who live on Mt. Gagazet, which they consider sacred and guard fiercely. Ronso are tall and formidable warriors with a strong sense of honor and loyalty. A subplot of FFX involves Kimahri Ronso's conflict with his social status that results in his leadership of the Ronso in X-2. The Hypello are a docile, amphibious race with blue skin and live primarily in and around the area of the Moonflow. Though extremely quick and agile swimmers, they are the only race in Spira that does not participate in Blitzball tournaments. The male Hypello are all voiced by John DeMita.
Spira also features various animal species and fictional species, such as the gigantic shoopuf and the chocobo that are used primarily for transport purposes. Most other unusual creatures encountered in Final Fantasy X are "fiends", monsters created from the restless dead by Pyreflies to devour the living. Aeons and the unsent are also forms created by pyreflies. Sin, the bringer of destruction, is a powerful fiend that is made of high-density pyreflies; it can control gravitation forces to replenish its strength and even fly. Sin's high concentration of pyreflies affect the pyreflies present in the bodies of those present, and is known as "Sin's toxin". Despite the Final Summoning being able to destroy Sin itself, the central core of Sin, which is an entity known as Yu Yevon, would survive. From this, Sin is "reborn" after a time.