In Final Fantasy 10, players take on the role of Tidus, a famous Blitzball player who plays for the Zanarkand Abes. Blitzball is a fictional sport Square Enix imagined for Final Fantasy 10, where the basic concept is that it's like underwater soccer. Teams play against each other in giant, floating spheres of water, and while Blitzball is first introduced in a cut-scene, Final Fantasy 10 eventually gives players the opportunity to try the sport for themselves.
Final Fantasy 10 fans have had a mixed reaction to Blitzball, with some enjoying it and others criticizing it as an unnecessary distraction from the core gameplay. Regardless of how one feels about Blitzball, though, it's certainly one of Final Fantasy 10's most iconic and recognizable features. And now Blitzball has crossed over into the world of Star Wars, thanks to a new novel that essentially makes a version of Blitzball "canon" in Disney's sci-fi universe.
Author Mike Chen penned a Star Wars novel called Brotherhood, which recently hit bookstore shelves. As explained by Chen on Twitter, the novel includes a nod to a sport called Blitzball that's "played in a local lake." Chen claims that he used to spend "hours" playing Final Fantasy 10 Blitzball, and "freaking loved" the mini-game. So much so, it seems, to make it official Star Wars canon. However, it's unclear how similar the Final Fantasy 10 Blitzball would be to the Star Wars Blitzball.
Square Enix hasn't revisited the Final Fantasy 10 universe for quite some time, so Blitzball hasn't been given another opportunity in the spotlight. The latest Final Fantasy 10 release saw Square Enix remaster both Final Fantasy 10 and Final Fantasy 10-2 for modern consoles, but there is some hope that the world of FF10 could make a comeback at some point down the line.
Developers at Square Enix have left the door open to the possibility that a Final Fantasy 10-3 could still happen, even though it's been decades since Final Fantasy 10-2's release. Final Fantasy 10 remains one of the most popular games in the series, and so it would make sense for Square Enix to revisit it at some point down the line. It may never get as much attention as Final Fantasy 7, but there could still be a lot of value in revisiting that world.
While fans wait for a potential Final Fantasy 10-3, they may have some major Final Fantasy 7 news soon. Square Enix has announced a special Final Fantasy 7 anniversary livestream for June 16 at 3pm PT, which many assume will see the reveal of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2, though fans may want to keep their expectations in check just in case.
Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster is available for PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Vita, and Xbox One.