Sphere changing (continued) - Rikku’s Mixing It Up

As well as using Mix to unleash seemingly endless affects during battle Rikku specialty Mixing It Up allows her to do much more. With sufficient Dresspheres Rikku can set herself her own Garment Grid which can be a mixture of the same or different Dresspheres for battle. So at one moment during battle she could be wearing the Thief Dressphere (default Dressphere for Rikku) and utilising Flimflam and the next she can be in the Berserker Dressphere and ripping through her opponents using Instinct commands. However this setup is not the same as in Final Fantasy X-2 where a character (providing it’s her turn) can willingly Sphere change into whichever Dressphere available on the Garment Grid. This incorporates the “Dress Up” command seen in “Last Mission” on Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission.

Only Rikku has this option to change, manage Dresspheres (and can have her Dresspheres destroyed) and unlike in “Last Mission” there is no option to change Dressphere during battle. The only way to access this option is in the Mixing It Up sub menu available when Rikku is selected from the option Status. Although you don’t have to set up a combination of Dresspheres it is well advised to do so to maximise Rikku’s efficiency in battle for each Dressphere as its set amount of HP which makes a part of Rikku’s HP and if the HP for the current Dressphere worn reaches zero (0) the Dressphere will break.

If there is another Dressphere set in line Rikku will Sphere Change into the next Dressphere however if there are no more Dresspheres after the initial Dressphere is destroyed Rikku will enter the Bare state which reduces Rikku to commands Attack and Item. Strength, Defence, Magic Defence and Intimidation are at their lowest whilst in the Bare state. With the use of different Dresspheres Rikku can utilise many different commands depending upon the current Dressphere.

When Rikku is using one of the Dresspheres her commands will change. For example whilst in Thief Dressphere the command Flimflam will be available but when using a different Dressphere the command won’t become available and will be replaced with a different command (just like when one of the character’s in Final Fantasy X-2 switches from one Dressphere to another).

At the start and earlier stages of Final Fantasy X-3 this option Mixing It Up won’t be of much use because the player may not have enough Dresspheres to mix. But like obtaining items and Gil Dresspheres for Rikku can be obtained in the same way and like in Final Fantasy X-2 the player may end up with a number of the same Dresspheres.

There is nothing to say you can’t make a mix of the same Dressphere so it’s possible to have a mix of Thief Dresspheres. However whereas Rikku can use all the Dresspheres in the game like Songstress and Dark Knight there are differences and limitations when compared to the default Gunner Dressphere for Yuna. Affects of the same abilities won’t be the same and some Abilities will not be available for Rikku.

When the Garment Grid of Dresspheres has been arranged Rikku will utilise the First Dressphere on the list. For example if Thief Dressphere is first (1st) on the list then Rikku will appear in Thief Dressphere during battle. If Mascot Dressphere is second (2nd) on the list then Rikku will Sphere change into Mascot Dressphere when the Thief Dressphere has been destroyed. If Dark Knight Dressphere is third (3rd) then Rikku will Sphere change into that Dressphere when Mascot Dressphere has been destroyed. This goes on and so forth until all of the Dresspheres assigned have been destroyed of which Rikku will enter her Bare state.

Each Dressphere meets its destruction or zero (0) HP when Rikku loses a certain fraction of her overall HP. Rikku’s HP and MP is made up of the Dresspheres assigned. If three (3) Dresspheres have been assigned and Rikku’s HP results in 2,000 HP then each Dressphere will be destroyed when 500 HP is lost. Say for example Rikku starts off with Thief Dressphere, when her HP is equal to 1,500 (loss of 500 HP) that Dressphere is destroyed and Rikku Sphere changes into the next Dressphere. When a further 500 HP is lost the second (2nd) Dressphere is destroyed and Rikku Sphere changes into her last remaining Dressphere. When her HP reaches 500 HP the third (3rd) Dressphere is destroyed and Rikku will be left in her Bare state. Regardless of the Dresspheres assigned and the amount of HP Rikku has each Dressphere will follow the example explained above.

Unlike in “Last Mission” on Final Fantasy X-2 International + Last Mission the mix of Dresspheres are not shown during battle. The only evidence of a Sphere change occurring is when the Sphere change takes place which will freeze the battle temporarily. The change in Rikku’s appearance, commands and comment from Rikku will also illustrate the effects of a Dressphere being destroyed.