But there are other areas to visit outside the usual story quest spots. And these side areas offer plenty of side quests for your cadre of Sin destroyers. As important as it is for Yuna to finish her journey, who says you can’t put the pilgrimage on hold to do some other stuff? The temptation of great rewards is just too much. So if you’re looking for other stuff to do in Spira, here’s our ranking of the best side quests in the game – considering both the quality of rewards, and which quests are just a fun experience.
10. Learning Al Bhed
The world of Spira has three different spoken languages: Spiran, Cactuar, and Al Bhed. The first you already know, the second is only known to spinning green cactuses, and the third you can teach yourself to speak. Luckily, learning Al Bhed is simple. Although it is time-consuming: You’ll need to find all twenty-six primers that have been spread across Spira. Each primer reveals a new letter, and in turn, automatically translates the Al Bhed subtitles. This is the longest side quest in the game and has benefits even beyond the end credits. In a new game you can load your primers from a previous playthrough and enjoy the adventure again with full knowledge of what the Al Bhed are saying. So it’s worth doing, but it might be more enjoyable the second time around.
9. Cloister of Trials Optional Items
The main attractions of Yuna’s Spiran tour are the various Temples of Yevon and their associated Cloister of Trials, which are proving grounds for summoners looking to gain the power of the Fayth. These trials are just that: dungeon-like experiences loaded with puzzles that need to be solved in order to move forward. The primary goal is to open the last door to get to each Chamber of the Fayth. But every cloister also has a secondary solution that rewards you with very good prizes. All of these prizes are optional (except one) and completing these small side-quests is also helpful to unlock a powerful optional ally.
8. Jecht Spheres
During his travels as a guardian, Tidus’ old man left a series of vlog-style spheres across Spira. And this is before vlogging was a thing. The first sphere is mandatory to collect as part of the story. But after that, you’re on your own. In total there are 10 Jecht Spheres to collect. And doing this sphere side quest gives you two rewards: the first is a look into Jecht’s travels, as well as his relationship with Braska and young Auron. The second reward is at three and ten collected spheres, Auron learns a new Bushido overdrive – and another prime reason to get hunting.
7. Remiem Temple
The Remiem Temple is a hotbed for side quest activity. In the southeast Calm Lands, you’ll find a path that only a chocobo can traverse. And it’ll bring you to the ancient reliquary. Here you’ll meet an old friend inside the temple for some classic one-on-one, with each match giving you rare goods culminating in one of two items needed for Yuna’s Celestial Weapon. And outside the temple, you can race chocobos for rewards (and fun). And after clearing a few other objectives, you can access the Temple’s inner sanctuary for the last of Yuna’s summonable Aeons.
6. Dodging Lightning
This might be the most infamous of all of Final Fantasy’s minigames. On Spira’s Thunder Plains, the lightning never ceases. This adds thematic texture to the first time you travel across them, as well as further traumatizing Rikku. But the real purpose of the endless bolts comes with the conspicuous chest in front of the travel agency. When you see a flash, tap X, and Tidus will hop out of the way. If you can dodge a staggeringly high 200 strikes in a row, you’ll get a key item for Lulu’s Celestial Weapon, as well as a trove of good items. And don’t tell anybody else, but there’s a crater in Thunder Plains – South that forces a strike when you walk across it. This makes collecting dodges as easy as being able to press X (well, with some practice).
5. The Leftover Aeons
Yuna earns five Aeons over the course of her quest: Valefor, Ifrit, Ixion, Shiva, and Bahamut. She gets them as a matter of the storyline, and each serve as useful companions in battle. However, there are three (technically five) extra Aeons scattered around the world. And It’s up to you whether to befriend them or not. To check them out for yourself, the mercenary Yojimbo hides in the back of the Cavern of Stolen Fayth. Anima lies in Baaj Temple, which requires all Cloisters of Trial to be cleared completely before entering. And the Magus Sisters sleep in the Remiem Temple, and need all other Aeons collected to join Yuna’s arsenal. This is a long side quest. But these optional summons are typically some of the strongest Aeons you can get.
4. Blitzball
As the representative sport of Spira, Blitzball is a mix of hockey, football, and water. It can be played from any save sphere after Luca, and requires scouting a team of players from around the globe. There’s a fairly steep learning curve to get a complete grip on the game. But once you learn it, Blitzball can be pretty darn fun. And you can start sweeping the leagues to earn a wide variety of awards, the most attractive being Wakka’s overdrive reels and his Celestial weapon (with its associated sigil).
3. The Dark Aeons
Originally exclusive to the Japanese-only (and later PAL) Final Fantasy X International, the Dark Aeons are evil versions of Yuna’s posse. They’re summoned by ne’er-do wells out to put an end to her journey. The HD Remasters are all-inclusive as far as FFX content goes, so now everybody can try their hand at battling these new super bosses. Every Aeon is represented here, from Valefor to The Magus Sisters. And each Dark Aeon requires a large measure of preparation to defeat. Beating each parallel summon is mostly its own reward in satisfaction. But they each also drop various weapons and armors, with custom abilities that are difficult to obtain otherwise.
2. The Omega Ruins
Once the final dungeon’s location is determined, the party gains control of Cid’s airship, the Fahrenheit. This Machina flying machine allows you to travel to any location in the game, as well as discover a few hidden areas. By entering specific coordinates (x = 74.101 / y = 36.099) you can find the Omega Ruins: a deep, scary cave that houses the toughest wild fiends. And it ends with the Omega Weapon itself, which is a formidable boss to those unprepared. The Ruins also have a slew of goodies. And the fiends, although tough, come with their own desirable treasures waiting to be dropped, bribed, or stolen. There’s a lot to do here, and a whole lot to gain as well.
1. Monster Collecting
The backbone of Final Fantasy X’s side content is capturing monsters for an old man’s collection. It’s not as weird as it sounds. Living in a crevasse on the eastern side of the Calm Lands, the unsent Yevon priest Trema runs the Monster Arena. And he’s always on the lookout for new additions. He’ll sell you weapons that have the Capture ability – with the sole purpose of capturing fiends in the wild. Capturing monsters is not without reward, either. Collect enough of each type (and from each location) and you’ll receive not only a king’s ransom in rare items, but also the privilege to test your mettle against new powerful monsters that Trema dreams up. These creations have items that are essential to making powerful customization abilities. So battling these fiends and getting these rare items is paramount to building the best party you can.
