Blitzball doesn't suck, but it wants you to think so · 7:26pm Mar 21st, 2017
Frankly, once you actually know how to play the game, blitzball isn't bad. It's a bit boring and repetitive, and it does have one major problem besides, but it's fine. No, the problem is that the game developers sucked at introducing blitzball to you.
Blitzball's first major problem is this.
Look at that. The blitzball tutorial menu opens up and a dozen things stare at you. No one wants to read all these. I sure as hell haven't. And who needs to? Blitzball is pretty simple, really. You don't need a Stat tutorial, because the other tutorials will explain how those stats are used. You don't need a Moving tutorial, an Action Commands tutorial (wouldn't Shooting and Passing cover that), you especially don't need a Using HP tutorial (using Techniques consumes HP. Duh). In fact a lot of these overlap. Condense this down to Encounters, Shooting and Passing, Breakthroughs, Techniques (including Techcopy), Status Ailments, and Formations and Game Modes. Boom, six options, all of which will teach you the game fine. Seeing a tutorial menu like this will just frighten players away by the idea that this minigame is so complex you need a dozen separate tutorials to learn how to play it including tutorials just for moving around.
The second problem with blitzball is you're pitting against a team simply better than you. Sure once you actually begin playing you'll realize the Goers are a shitty team, but for now they will kick your ass. The player NEEDS the Jecht Shot to win this, I've no idea how else you're expected to win unless you just hold them off for 8 minutes then use Wakka's Sphere Shot to win 1-0. Point is, it's very likely you'll lose. And what kind of way is that to introduce players to this minigame, to pit them against an objectively superior opponent who is going to kick their ass? Tack on the lack of knowledge of how to play for first-timers, and again, this will instantly turn players off to the idea of playing again.
Which is the third problem with blitzball - you don't get a chance to practice beforehand. Sure you have the tutorials but they don't count. Why is your first game against the Goers? Can't we play another team first, a team with worse stats than the Aurochs, to give us an easy time of it? We just started playing and are still learning, give us a chance to do so against an easier team before we have to go up against the champions. Or you can have a hand wave that the stadium provides practice opponents to warm up against so you can play a meaningless game or two beforehand.
Finally, there's the fourth problem with blitzball that persists after Luca - the computer fucking cheating. Stats are just a suggestion, you will get tackled and the ball stolen even if your Endurance beats their Attack, you will miss your goal even if the goalie's Catch is lower than your Shoot, and their status Techs will take effect far more often than yours will. Yesterday the Al Bhed scored on me with a SH of 13 against Keepa's 19 CA. That's bullshit. This random elements to the higher level stat failing to beat the lower one is just a way to rig the game against you. It's also going to further alienate new players who think they know how the game works but then their 9 EN Tidus gets tackled and the ball stolen by a 7 AT enemy. Did you do something wrong that they beat you with their lower stat? No, the game just cheats.
Blitzball is a passable game, but man the developers did all in their power to make you hate it and not want to play it. Imagine if your first time Chocobo Racing in FF7 pit you against Joe, or Triple Triad made you train by playing the Queen of Cards. It's ridiculous and I don't know why the developers handled their game they invented this way.
This is exactly what happened to me the first time I played this. I was so lost that I didn't play Blitzball the entire rest of the game. Subsequent playthroughs I tried it out and actually started liking it, but it really doesn't give you a good first impression.
I've beaten the Goers without using the Jeckt Shot (hell, one of the other Aurochs scored before halftime in my last playthrough!), but it really helps.
As for the stat calculations, I believe what happens is that the game takes the two opposing stats, let's say 17 and 13, and chooses a number within that range. So a score of 17 can be anywhere between 1 - 17 and 13 will be between 1 - 13. So the final result could be a matchup of 5 and 7. So yeah, it adds in a random element.
If I were to choose which of the grindy mini-games to play throughout the Final Fantasy series, I'd probably pick this one since there is a decent amount of depth and challenge to it. But after playing 50+ games to get Wakka's Sigil, I'm sick of it.
4466365
I think I'd prefer playing blitzball for Wakka's sigil than continually bash my head against the wall in the form of dodging 200 consecutive lightning strikes on a tv that has HD input lag. Also I'm deadly sure that the HD version's higher framerate means you have even less time to react to things in general.
edit: as for the randomness of the stats, I think it rolls anywhere between (max and +/- half the max) rounded down. So if you have a CAT score of 19 you can roll a minimum of 9 but also a maximum of 28.
4466525
In the PS2 version, I was able to get the 200+ dodges without much trouble. But, this new HD game I just can't seem to pin down the timing. I consistently get to 75 then I miss. Luckily, Lulu quickly drops in usefulness towards the end of the game, so getting her ultimate weapon isn't worth the hassle. Not so for Wakka, who's Blitz Attack Overdrive is key to winning against some of the nasty post-game bosses.
Yeah, that makes more sense.
4466546
4466525 I decided to check those tutorials to see if they explain it. They don't.
The Breakthrough Tutorial has Tidus facing three players. It points out their BL is 11, 5, and 3, and Tidus' PA is 17, so "a pass attempt will surely fail." Then when Tidus is tackled by Graav, his 11 EN decreases by 7, equal to Graav's AT. Tidus then passed, his PA decreases by 5, then 3. So in this, the stats are indeed treated like hard numbers - EN decreases by enemy's AT during a tackle, PA decreases by enemy's BL.
4466566 I suppose they wanted to give you the general idea, but treat the virtual combatants with a degree of randomness that you might expect from real athletes. Sometimes people pull off incredible feats of sportsmanship, and sometimes elite players just have bad days.
That said, it would be better if the randomness wasn't quite so severe. I'd take +/- 25% but +/- 50% or even more is ridiculous.
Blitzball in game has, in my opinion, a fatal flaw: you can't move up or down. Seriously, what's the point of an underwater based sport if you're stuck on a 2D plane. Also, a turn based sports game probably wasn't the best idea...