Blitzball (minigame)

Blitzball is an aquatic ball sport played in Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2.

Similar to a combination of, , , and , Blitzball is an underwater game played in a large sphere of water that is suspended in the center of a stadium for the audience to see. It is Spira's favourite, and most dominant, sport, allowing fans to take their minds off the ever present threat of Sin.

Setting Up and How it is Played
Once the Water Sphere is filled a pair of nets are suspended at opposing points inside the sphere (usually at the North and South horizontal points). The objective of the game is for the player and their team to get the Blitzball, a dimpled ball about the size and shape of a, into the opposing team's net while the opposing team simutaneously defends their net and attempts to steal the Blitzball in order to make an attempt at the player's net while the player defends it. Each time the Blitzball enters a net the team who threw it receives a goal point which is added to their overall game score. Each Blitzball game lasts for two five-minute segments. The team with the highest score at the end of the game wins. In Final Fantasy X-2, if a teams leads the game by seven goals at any point in the game, they automatically win.

Players and Positions
In the time of Final Fantasy X Blitzball teams are made up of six players per side, of which one is the goalkeeper. Team captains tend to have bands on their left arms as a sign that they are the team's leader.

Trivia

 * Three of the main characters in Final Fantasy X are professional Blitzball players of varying skill. They are; Tidus, Wakka and Jecht.
 * Blitz is German for Lightning, reflecting the quick nature of the sport.
 * In Another Story, Yuna notes that after much training from Wakka, she is able to hold her breath for over two-and-a-half minutes.

Game mechanics
In Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, blitzball runs on several stats and RPG-based game mechanics to decide the success of passes, shots and tackles. It is also RPG-like in that players gain experience from playing, leveling up their stats and becoming better players in the process.

HP
HP, or hit points, represents how much stamina the player has left. HP dwindles as the player swims with the ball, is spent when passing and shooting, and is also used for performing various blitzball techniques.

If a player has low HP, passing and shooting stats are halved, and techniques can't be used. HP slowly regenerates when players are not carrying the ball.

SP
SP, or speed, varies how fast the player swims through the water. Speed is very important for escaping the tackles of opposing players and getting closer to the opponent's goal.

EN
EN, or endurance, calculates how much damage from tackles a player can take before surrendering the ball to their attacker. The higher a player's EN, the less likely it is that (s)he will lose the ball.

AT
AT, or attack, is the player's strength in tackling the ball carrier. The higher the player's AT, the more likely it is that they will steal the ball from their opponent.

PA
PA, or passing, varies how far the player passes the blitzball. When making a pass, the player's PA is steadily reduced by friction while traveling through the water. If PA reaches 0 before the ball reaches the intended target, the ball is fumbled, leaving it "loose" and open for retrieval by the opposing team.

BL
BL, or blocking, is based on the player's ability to block passes and shots. The higher a player's BL, the more of his/her opponent's PA or SH will diminish when trying to get the ball past the player. If the BL/PA or BL/SH ratio is lopsided enough, the ball will be intercepted. If a player tackles, (s)he will no longer be able to block the ball.

SH
SH, or shooting, decides how well the player can shoot the ball at the opposing team's goal. Like PA, SH is lowered by the defender's BL and by how long the blitzball travels through the water. When close enough to the goal, it will be calculated against the goalkeeper's CA.

CA
CA, or catching, is a statistic used exclusively by goalkeepers to determine their success at making saves. The keeper will either catch the ball and throw it to a friendly player, or just parry the ball away from the net, knocking it back into play for retrieval by anyone.

Blitzball in Final Fantasy X-2
While essentially the same, there are a few changes. A few are:
 * There are now eight players per team &mdash; seven forwards/defenders, and one goalkeeper.
 * The first team to score seven goals automatically wins.
 * There is only one five-minute round, with no break half time.
 * The player cannot make any direct commands while playing anymore, such as manually controlling the ball handler. The player takes a more managerial role for the team, whose tasks include training players, assigning formations and adjusting how hard they play during play.
 * Instead of the players leveling up and their stats going up on their own, you must train your players with the points you get after games. Training one stat may lower another.

There are also added parameters for the players, including:

RNG
RNG, or range, is how far the player can accurately pass or shoot.

REC
REC, or receive, is how well the player can receive passes.

RCH
RCH, or reach, is how well a player can reach shots, intercept passes, tackle opponents, etc.

FTG
FTG, or fatigue, is how tired the player is from training and playing blitzball matches. A player suffering from high fatigue increases the likelihood of becoming injured while training or after a hard tackle during a game for prolonged periods of time. This can be easily lowered through the Downtime and Hot Springs training modes.

OUT
OUT, displays the number of matches that the player must sit out until (s)he can actively play again and is applicable only if (s)he is injured through training or playing.