**Tails by the Foxfire’s Final Fantasy X HD Remaster Quickstart Guide**

With the upscaled Nintendo Switch 2 release introducing a new wave of players to Final Fantasy X HD Remastered, I feel a certain responsibility to share the tips and tricks I’ve picked up in my almost 25 years of enjoying the world of Spira since my first time playing Final Fantasy X as a 12-year-old on the PlayStation 2. One of my favourite aspects of Final Fantasy X is how many secrets there are for you to find, but in true Quickstart Guide fashion, my hope with this rundown is to give you a few handy hints that should get you ahead of the game during your first few hours in Spira:

Take Advantage of Early Item Pickups
Steal From Enemies Until they have ‘Nothing to Steal’
Keep an Eye Out for Al Bhed Primer Volumes
Keep Your Sphere Grid up to Date
Leave No Route or Dead End Unexplored
Complete Destruction Sphere Puzzles in Each Temple’s Cloister of Trials Before Leaving
Make Use of Overdrives & Special Skills in Battle, and Aim to Score an Overkill in Boss Fights Where Possible

Missable Healing Items, a Bonus Overdrive for Valefor, & a Very Early Start on Your Celestial Weapons in Besaid Village

Once you arrive in Besaid, swim to the right, past the beach where everyone is standing to reach an inlet with a treasure chest. This nets you the Moon Crest (needed to unlock the full power of Yuna’s ultimate Celestial Weapon) really early without having to deal with a boss fight while searching for it.
On the beach, run to the left, past the pier, for another hidden chest.
After the cutscene where you meet Wakka, approach the team playing ball on the beach:
- Talk to Botta twice for one Potion
- Talk to Keepa twice for 200 gil
- Talk to Jassu twice for three Potion
- Talk to Datto three times for one Hi Potion
Follow Wakka to Besaid – Valley. Once you’re in the water, hold the circle button to swim underwater and open the chests. You can’t come back here again, so make sure you get them all:
- One Phoenix Down
- One Hi Potion
- Two Antidote
Once you’ve gathered your team in Besaid and have watched the cutscene with the group leaving the village, turn straight around and walk back in. You want to visit the first hut on the left. Talk to the shopkeeper, who will say her dog dug up something weird the other day. Find and talk to the dog (it may be in one of the huts) for a bonus Overdrive for Valefor.
When following Yuna and her guardians to the S.S. Liki, talk to the villagers on the pier for a gift from each of them:
- 400 Gil
- One Ether
- Three Phoenix Downs
- One Remedy
- One Seeker’s Ring Accessory for Yuna

**2. How Does Steal Work in Final Fantasy X HD Remaster?**

Meeting the Mysterious Girl during the Klikk boss fight ruins in the Ruins gives you access to the ‘Steal’ and ‘Use’ Special Commands (I personally recommend just using ‘Steal’ against this boss to stock up on Grenades). Select ‘Special’ from her combat menu, followed by ‘Steal’.

Worth noting: ‘Couldn’t Steal Anything’ means there are still items left to steal and you just weren’t successful this time. Steal until ‘Nothing to Steal’ appears if you’re looking to farm items or grab something good from a boss.

**3. Where Are the Missable Al Bhed Primers in Final Fantasy X HD Remastered?**

The first 5 Al Bhed Primer Volumes can be found in the early game of Final Fantasy X HD, with a handful available in the Sanubia Desert later if they are initially missed:

Al Bhed Primer Volume I (Translates ‘A’) on the Al Bhed Salvage Ship. If missed on the S.S. Liki, Al Bhed Primer Volume III can be found later in the Sanubia Desert.
Al Bhed Primer Volume II (Translates ‘B’): Besaid – Crusader’s Hut
Al Bhed Primer Volume III (Translates ‘C’) on the floor of S.S. Liki – Power Room. If missed on the S.S. Liki, Al Bhed Primer Volume III can be found later in the Sanubia Desert.
Al Bhed Primer Volume IV (Translates ‘D’): Kilika Port – Tavern
Al Bhed Primer Volume V (Translates ‘E’): S.S. Winno – Bridge. If missed on the S.S. Liki, Al Bhed Primer Volume III can be found later in the Sanubia Desert.

**4. How Does the Sphere Grid Work in Final Fantasy X HD Remastered?**

I found the Sphere Grid tutorial difficult to understand and retain when I first played Final Fantasy X on the PlayStation 2, so here’s the quick and dirty rundown:

Open the Main Menu and access the Sphere Grid
Something I didn’t realise at first when I played back in 2003: the levels you earn in battle aren’t character levels like you see in most games; they’re actually the amount of moves you’re allowed to make on the Sphere Grid. Think of it like a board game: you can move one space per sphere level, starting from the circle currently highlighted with the character’s name. Press ‘X’ (‘A’ on the Nintendo Switch) and select ‘Move’ to see your available routes highlighted, then move the cursor with the thumbstick.
Most spaces–or ‘nodes’–on the Sphere Grid contain a symbol that translates to a skill or stat (though there are blank ones you can fill in with rare sphere types later), which you can acquire for your character by pressing ‘X’ (‘A’ on the Nintendo Switch), selecting ‘Use’, and selecting the corresponding spheres from the ones you have in stock (on the Nintendo Switch, you use ‘X’ to open your sphere inventory). These will be highlighted with white text, while the rest are greyed out and cannot be selected. If you don’t have the right sphere type in your inventory, you cannot activate the sphere. Earn more sphere types as rewards in battle from enemies who carry them, or by using the Ability/Speed/Power/Defense Distill combat skills. Note that this applies to most sphere types, but Luck, Fortune, and Key Level spheres can only be farmed from specific enemies.
Multiple characters can activate the same node. The coloured dots lit up around the edges of each Node indicate who has activated it (Light Blue is Tidus, Orange is Wakka, Purple is Lulu, Dark Blue is Kimahri, Lilac is Yuna, and Green is Rikku).
Check current stats and skills for each character by pressing triangle (‘Y’ on the Nintendo Switch)
Switch characters with L1 and R1 (Directional Buttons on the Nintendo Switch)
Click the TouchPad to zoom in and out (ZL/ZR Buttons on the Nintendo Switch)

If you’re struggling in a boss fight, try grinding some sphere level skills and make sure your sphere grid is up to date. This is where your main stats and all your skills come from, so you don’t want to neglect this unless you’re specifically trying for a ‘No Sphere Grid Run’ as a challenge. When I was like 12 and first played Final Fantasy X, I thought sphere levels were character levels and never touched the Sphere Grid. As a result, I didn’t have much defense, attack, or skills at my disposal, and couldn’t make it past Operation Mi’ihen!

**What’s the Difference Between the Standard and Expert Sphere Grid in Final Fantasy X HD Remastered?**

When you first start a new game in Final Fantasy X HD Remastered, you’re asked which Sphere Grid you want to use: Standard or Expert. The game does not elaborate, which is probably pretty confusing for brand new players. Here are the main differences:

The Standard Sphere Grid is a good introductory choice for players learning the ropes or just following defined default character roles (Yuna as healer, Lulu as mage, Tidus as fast melee fighter, Rikku as Thief, Wakka as ranged attacker, Auron as slower, tanky heavy hitter, and Kimahri as a jack-of-all trades). There isn’t much variation, fewer empty customizable nodes, and Key Spheres are mostly required for a character to cross-class into another character’s stats and skills, so advanced players looking for more granular character stat & skill modification may feel constrained.
The Expert Sphere Grid is best for experienced players wanting some flavour or players prefer creating their own builds. The Expert Sphere Grid allows more freedom to send characters down alternate class tracks and cross-class from the start of the game (e.g. sending Tidus through Auron’s sphere grid so he’s fast and hard-hitting), and features more empty nodes for stat customization up to 255 points (the maximum).

5. Leave No Route or Dead End Unexplored

Explore every path that’s open to you before following the red minimap arrow to your objective. At worst, your exploration might waste a little time or get some more random battles & sphere levels under your belt. At best, dead ends usually lead to a treasure chest or important drop like Braska/Jecht Spheres (needed for Auron’s Overdrives) and Al Bhed Primers (each Primer lets you translate a new letter in the Al Bhed language and increases Tidus’s overall proficiency)

**6. What are Destruction Spheres For in Final Fantasy X Remastered?**

Make a habit of not leaving the Cloister of Trials before you’ve opened the treasure chest hidden inside. To do that, you need to complete an extra puzzle involving that temple’s Destruction Sphere. Finding and opening a chest in each of the main temples (Besaid, Kilika, Djose, Macalania, Bevelle, and the final one) not only nets you a hidden item or piece of equipment, but unlocks a big reward later if you find them all, so it’s more than worth your time! While you can return to the temples later to pick up the treasures you missed (except for Bevelle, but luckily the game makes that one unmissable), trust me: unless you’re playing the North American PlayStation 2 release, it’s much easier if you just remember to grab each of the Destruction Sphere chests before you continue on your pilgrimage.

**7. What Are Some Tips and Tricks for Combat in Final Fantasy X HD Remastered?**

Final Fantasy X has probably my favourite combat system from the mainline series, so here are a few tips I’ve picked up over my almost 25 years of playing the game:

Utilize Tidus’s Cheer special skill to boost your party’s Strength & Defense stats. Similarly, make good use of Lulu’s Focus special skill, which gives your party a free boost to their Magic & Magic Defense stats. Neither costs MP, so there’s no reason not to use them to your advantage!
Like with Pokemon, I like swapping in other party members to evenly distribute battle experience points, and the tag team system makes this incredibly easier. What’s more, characters only need to be in the field for one turn to benefit, so it’s no trouble at all to ensure your reserve characters aren’t underlevelled when you need them.
Yuna’s Overdrive (Grand Summon) lets you summon an aeon with its Overdrive bar already full. If the aeon’s overdrive bar was full prior to using Grand Summon, the aeon will be able to use two overdrives consecutively. I like to keep my aeon’s Overdrive bars full for this reason (especially for upcoming aeon-only battles with Belgemine on the road) to unload maximum damage as quickly as possible.
Press triangle (‘x’ on the Nintendo Switch) during a character’s turn to have them guard and lower the damage taken by an enemy.
Take advantage of Trigger Commands whenever they’re available. Just press the left directional button when the ‘Trigger Command’ banner is showing above your combat menu (usually during certain boss fights) to gain the upper hand.
Landing an ‘Overkill’ in a boss fight will earn you extra spheres and experience points, so don’t be afraid to pop that Overdrive, summon your aeons, or spring for a high-level spell!

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