Games - Blitzball

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	Games - Blitzball

Blitzball is a fictitious sport that combines Basketball, Handball and Water Polo in one played by characters in two games of the Final Fantasy
video game series, Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2. It is heavily based on the Captain Tsubasa video game series. It is an underwater game, played in a large sphere of water. In the interest of sportsman-like conduct, even races of Spira who might normally not get along with each other are allowed to compete. It is Spira's favorite sport, allowing fans to take their minds off the ever present threat of Sin, and the only mainstream form of entertainment. Interestingly, many teams seem to be gender-blind. Two of the game's main characters, Tidus and Wakka, are skilled blitzball players.

Overview

Teams are made up of six players a side, of whom one is the goalkeeper. The players swim around, throwing a dimpled ball called the Blitzball to each other in order to throw it into the opponent's goal area, thus scoring a goal. The team with the most goals after two five-minute halves is declared the winner. Also, in X-2, if a team leads the game by seven goals at any point, they automatically win. As your players advance through the ranks they learn many new tricks to improve both their offensive and defensive skills.

How exactly the teams manage to hold their breath for such long periods of time is a source of either amusement or confusion among players. Though never stated in the game, it is probable that this ability is the result of serious training on the part of the players, much in the same way that marathon runners train their bodies to be able to run for long distances. In Eternal Calm, a short film set two years after the conclusion of Final Fantasy X, Yuna notes that after much practice and training from Wakka, she is able to hold her breath for over two minutes. Another theory is that the magical pyrefly saturated water on the sphere somehow enables players to stay under water for the 5 minutes required for each half-time.

Blitzball teams

Besaid Aurochs (this is Tidus' and Wakka's team)
Luca Goers
Al Bhed Psyches
Ronso Fangs
Guado Glories
Kilika Beasts
Gullwings (in Final Fantasy X-2, Yuna's sphere-hunting group fills in for the Aurochs when Blitzball season starts)
Zanarkand Abes (Jecht and Tidus played for this team in Zanarkand) (pic)
Zanarkand Duggles (The Abes played against this team at the beginning of Final Fantasy X) (pic)

Gameplay

Apparently all tackles are allowed, players only leave the field when injured. On FFX each game is divided in two half times of 5 minutes, the team with the largest score wins. On tournaments ties are decided by the sudden death rule, i.e., the team that scores first in overtime wins. On FFX2 a game will be stopped and victory declared if any team scores seven goals. There are no half time breaks in FFX2 and the teams have extra players. FFX and FFX2 seem to indicate that players do not breathe under water, but that they are actually capable of holding their breath for extended periods of time.

Image:Blitzballffx_8.jpg|Zanarkand Abes versus Zanarkand Duggles, FFX opening match Image:Blitzballffx_7.jpg|A Blitzball Keeper with the ball Image:Grabbed_Frame_17.jpg|Victory display after scoring Image:Grabbed_Frame_9.jpg|Player getting expelled from the sphere. Image:Grabbed_Frame_16.jpg|Goal! Image:Grabbed Frame 14.jpg|Zanarkand Duggles Image:Luca 15.jpg|Blitzball Pool Image:Grabbed Frame 18.jpg|Tidus makes a Bicycle Kick (In Game known as Sphere Shot)

Trivia

Winning League games and Tournaments will give the RPG players an Easter Egg, i.e., a valuable item that is not essential to wining the game but makes it much easier. Some tournaments offer prizes such as Wakka's Overdrive upgrades, special moves for players or the chance to play against the Zanarkand Abes
On 2006 a calendar with "Water Basketball" a fictional sport that looks very similar to Blitzball was published in US and UK.

Other Appearances

Blitzball was actually taken from the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles. It was invented by the fictional character Finny. This name was later taken by the creators of the Playstation 2 game Final Fantasy X. The book takes place at a United States prep school located in New England in the 1940's, during World War II.A Separate Peace

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Blitzball ]

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