First of all I would like to say hello to everyone here (first post).

I finished FF X once back at the time when it was released but had never played it again until I decided to start over this week. My memory may be a bit fuzzy over the details but there was something that I never quite understood about Yunalesca, which perhaps the more learned folks here can help me out with.

What exactly did Yunalesca accomplish by keeping the cycle of the final summoning going? She knew that Sin would simply be reborn, that the idea of the final summoning was not going to put an end to Sin and also knew that humanity would never attain the perfect atonement needed to vanquish Sin. So what's her motivation? She seemed to have an interest in keeping the cycle going; otherwise she would not have attacked Yuna and the others when they refuse. I mean why doesn�t she lets them try and defeat Sin without the final summoning, knowing that they would fail just as the Crusaders and Al Bhed were allowed to try and defeat Sin earlier on? I don�t see a reason for Yunalesca to attack the party if both her and the party want to defeat Sin.

The only reason I see is that she has some interest in keeping the cycle going. That she gains something with it. She doesn�t want Sin to be permanently defeated, for some reason. What this is I don�t know. Hopefully someone can explain. I know that Lulu says that the unsent envy the living and Yunalesca is an unsent, so I doubt that what she is doing is for the good of the living.


Thanks in advance!
Egami

Well, according to Yunalesca in the game, she keeps the cycle going because there is "no true way to defeat Sin." She keeps the cycle going so that people will still have hope of it being defeated, even though she believes that there really is no hope of defeating it.

And, if you talk to.... I can't remember his name. (He's the old scholar who frequently gives you information.) If you go back to the mountain where Yuna confronted the Ronso, he tells you quite a bit of information about Yunalesca. It was interesting. One fact that is revealed is that she is the daughter of Yevon.

That old Scholar would be Maechan, I think.

Well, according to Yunalesca in the game, she keeps the cycle going because there is "no true way to defeat Sin." She keeps the cycle going so that people will still have hope of it being defeated, even though she believes that there really is no hope of defeating it.

And, if you talk to.... I can't remember his name. (He's the old scholar who frequently gives you information.) If you go back to the mountain where Yuna confronted the Ronso, he tells you quite a bit of information about Yunalesca. It was interesting. One fact that is revealed is that she is the daughter of Yevon.

Right, she wants people to have hope in something she knows will not bring about the results they expect. I will have to find the scholar after that event. I already met with him in the game I am playing now. As you said, Yunalesca is Yevon's daughter and from what I have seen in other threads, she made a deal in which she would defeat sin in exchange that the people would honor her father (Yevon). This in turn leads to the birth of the religion of which she seems to be the driving force.

Now, if she wants people to honor Yevon, then I don't think that she would be comfortable with the idea of people finding a way to break the cycle and permanently defeating Sin without the final aeon, since Yevon, if memory serves me, is protected by Sin from harm. I think that probably explains why she attacks the party after they refuse to listen to her; they become a threat to the Yevon religion, since it basically needs Sin to exist and harm people or at least it needs the cycle that had been going undisturbed for a millennia in order to subsist.

What I don’t get yet is what does Yunalesca really gains from all this.


Thanks for your response!
Egami

That old Scholar would be Maechan, I think.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's him.


What I don�t get yet is what does Yunalesca really gains from all this.


I believe Maechan (?) tells you what Yunalesca wanted, but it's been so long since I played that I don't really remember whether or not he does mention what she was after. I know he says a lot about her and her father though. I seriously need to replay this game. It's been too long.

It was not to her advantage to have Sin destroyed, and as long as summoners performed the Final Sending the people of Spira would believe in her father, Yevon's, teachings and faith. As long as Sin survived they would worship and die for her father, so it all worked out good until Tidus started to question the Final Sending. She knew that if someone figured out that the entire thing was a set up to give people hope, they'd turn from Yevon's teachings, and this does happen in X-2 as everyone now knows that they'd been had all those years.
Thats a pretty good motive for her actions, though I'm sure its more complex then we'll ever know. To have your father worshiped like a god, and you to be worshiped also, is more valuable to some then anything else, even the lives of the innocent.

That old Scholar would be Maechan, I think.


I always though it was Colonel Sanders.

It was not to her advantage to have Sin destroyed, and as long as summoners performed the Final Sending the people of Spira would believe in her father, Yevon's, teachings and faith. As long as Sin survived they would worship and die for her father, so it all worked out good until Tidus started to question the Final Sending. She knew that if someone figured out that the entire thing was a set up to give people hope, they'd turn from Yevon's teachings...

Right, that is how I think it is too. However, it is strange that when you are about to fight her, she is the one who tells them that Sin cannot be permanently beaten, that is an inevitable part of Spira's destiny and that humanity can't ever atone for their sins so as to make Sin go away forever. She exposes the sham that is her own religion. To the party it seems that Yunalesca is contradicting the teachings. That part is a bit odd, one would think that she would be interested in convincing them that there was a chance that Sin may not come back, even if it is not true.



Thats a pretty good motive for her actions, though I'm sure its more complex then we'll ever know. To have your father worshiped like a god, and you to be worshiped also, is more valuable to some then anything else, even the lives of the innocent.

Yeah, now that I am playing the game again I notice that in the temples she has her own, rather large, statue and she is even painted in the world map. People probably praise her for being the first to defeat Sin, the one who created the only way to do so and the only one who can create the final aeon. And to top it off she is the daughter of Yevon too. Within the religion she is quite a prominent figure. I can see how she would want to preserve that status.


Egami

I always though it was Colonel Sanders.

Nah. Mark Twain.

If you want to know more check it out at the Final Fantasy Wiki.

I could never be bothered talking to maechan his voice annoyed me.

If you want to know more check it out at the Final Fantasy Wiki.

Thanks. I also found a translation on a bit about Yunalesca from the FF X Ultimania guide that someone posted in another board:


As The Foundation Of Yevon's Teachings

Yunalesca's act of defeating Sin with the Final Summoning consequently gave rise to Yevon's teachings.

The doctrine of Yevon's teachings, which encourages stagnation and places hope in the Final Summoning, is virtually identical to what she advocates. Also, through receiving visits from those seeking the Final Summoning and seeing them speak of the teachings and hope, she comes to clearly learn of the teachings' contents and moreover, wishes for the people to follow them. In fact, without the teachings Yunalesca's ideals wouldn't have become widespread.

When Zanarkand became unable to escape its destruction, its ruler - Summoner Yevon - wanted to leave behind the city's memory. As a result, Sin was born and there was a need for hope - and today, the ideals of Yunalesca, daughter of Yevon, continue to live on through the Temples and psychologically control Bevelle, and indeed all of Spira.

Continuing The Cycle For Who's Sake?

Judging from her words and actions, Yunalesca genuinely cares for Spira and it's natural to think that she remained behind in order to carry on the best possible means of sustaining it. However, the following interpretations are also feasible.

Yunalesca and her husband had escaped Zanarkand at Sin's birth. And Yevon's teachings claim that Summoner Yevon gave his daughter the teachings with which to defeat Sin. In addition, there is room to suspect a conspiracy between Yunalesca and Yevon.

Destroying Spira with Sin wouldn't have been Summoner Yevon's original intention per se. The destruction of the world that housed the dream itself would include the likelihood of endangering the dream's continuation as well. It can be thought that Yevon entrusted the Final Summoning to his daughter for that reason. That he left behind a handful of hope by imparting the secret technique to his daughter, in order to prevent the people from completely going to ruin in their despair, while not interfering with Yu Yevon's continued existence at the same time. There is a possibility that Yunalesca remained in this world, accepting those instructions as well.

Alternatively, perhaps it was that Yunalesca herself, from deep in her heart, wanted to keep her father alive. She herself was also a citizen of Zanarkand, and Yevon's daughter. It could be that she has continued to grant the Final Summoning in order to keep her city's memory and her father alive, while also doing the same for Spira as well. Of course, all of these theories amount to nothing more than speculation.

This seems to suggest that the origin of the temples of Yevon and their teachings were not something made up by Yunalesca (at least not in their entirely) but that they developed independently from her and simply happened to coincide with her ideals.

I think this clears up the part where she denies what Wakka says (that Sin will be gone if they atone). By the looks of it she doesn't believes that. That would be a way of getting rid of Sin without the finial summoning. I don't think she would want that, so that teaching was probably made up by the people, and if it is true (as the ultimania implies) that she learned the teachings of Yevon (which developed overtime) from the summoners who met her, then it is possible that she learns about the one Wakka and Lulu speak of when they meet her.


Egami

Quick question. When is it stated that Yu Yevon is Yunalesca's father?

Oh, from Maechan. Thanks.

Yunalesca does care for Spira, as did her father. I don't think it was anyone's intention for Spira to be put under such terror from Sin. Yu Yevon's purpose for Sin was to protect Dream Zanarkand, but he sort of lost control of it and himself, and Spira was left with the Sin that it now has.

One thing that does confuse me a bit about the Yunalesca saga is how come the whole Final Aeon = Guardian secret not come out? Over 1000 years, so many summoners must have reached Yunalesca, even though only a handful actually defeated Sin. Surely someone would have come back and told everyone? I mean, they already knew that a Summoner was killed when they defeated Sin.

Simple -- those that reached Yunalesca but never defeated Sin were sucked into one of the many plotholes floating throughout Spira.

I thought Yunalesca only helped the first Gaurdian to reach her?

Whoever is scripting these bots is just getting lazier. Didn't even try to make it seem like a person.

www.google.com then type in final fantasy info and thats all there is to it

Okay, first of all, fail, secondly, please post either using the default font or something a lot more readable because changing your font to black boldface barely shows up against the background a lot of people are using by default.

I could never be bothered talking to maechan his voice annoyed me.


I don't know about that, I really enjoyed listening to him and he sounded like a true historian, thus, making the topics he spoke about incredibly interesting. One of his stories, the one of Yunalesca, like mentionned, was really captivating.

Oh, I loved listening to Maechen. Definitely one of the highlights of both FFXs. For those here that have played Diablo, remember Cain? "Stay a while and listen."

you have to listen to his stories they are great

I did enjoy Machean's little info dumps. They made the story a lot more deep than what it could have been.