A Guinness World Record is all-but guaranteed for Taline, better known by her username Yunalescka, or simply Yuna. The longtime Final Fantasy Twitch streamer has amassed a collection of over 4,000 pieces of memorabilia from Square Enix’s world-famous series over the span of three decades, and is just a certificate away from locking down global recognition for her feat.
A lifelong fan of Final Fantasy and JRPGs, Yuna says that her collection - and securing a world record - means a lot more than just having the most figurines or vinyl soundtracks. Despite that, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing as she chases this achievement. Game Rant spoke with Yuna about what a world record would mean to her, and the challenges she has faced along the way.
Yuna’s Passion for Final Fantasy Started at a Young Age
Yuna credits her ability to explore the gaming world to her family, particularly her father and brothers. “I didn't know much about gaming growing up. I learned about games by watching my brothers,” she said. As is the case with many younger siblings, Yuna wasn’t allowed to touch her brothers’ consoles. Instead, she spent a lot of time watching one of them play games - namely Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, and other JRPG series.
“I became obsessed. I watched him all the time, I didn’t even need to play.”
Yuna became enamored with Final Fantasy in particular. Eventually, she started playing games for herself, and recalls a corner store in her hometown that would rent Super Nintendo titles where she would spend her weekly allowance. “My dad would give me a $2 allowance every Sunday, and the corner store rented Nintendo and Super Nintendo games for $2,” she said. “So that’s what I would go out and do.” Around the same time, Yuna started collecting Final Fantasy items thanks to a Japanese friend who would pick some up for her whenever he went back.
As a kid, Yuna didn’t realize she was amassing collectibles, but her arsenal of Final Fantasy items grew every time her friend would travel to Japan. She started saving the money she got from her dad to send along with her friend, asking him to bring her something Final Fantasy-related. “It was awesome." When she started streaming professionally in 2015, Final Fantasy wasn’t immediately Yuna's subject of choice. However, she got her start streaming Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm as a spotlight streamer.
“It was fun, the community was great, and it was generally a good time,” she said. “But then Blizzard took away the pro scene, and there was a lot of change.” The Heroes scene started to feel more toxic, and Yuna decided it was time to make a change. “I said, ‘eff it, I'm going to play Final Fantasy, and JRPGs, and retro games,’” Yuna said. “I wanted to build a whole new community centered around those games and genres that I loved.”
Streaming Final Fantasy turned out to be a golden ticket for Yuna. Her numbers dropped at first, but soon her Twitch channel was thriving, and she was working regularly with big content creators like Caleb Hart and ProJared.
“I'm also so much happier where I'm at now,” she said. “I get to live my passions, play games that I grew up with, and play the new games that are released.”
Meanwhile, Yuna’s collection of Final Fantasy items grew to nearly 4,000 - a figure large enough to challenge the current record holder, who has around 3,600 pieces. Now, she says she’s just waiting for the right time to make the attempt, which entails a lengthy certification process that requires her to photograph each item and bring in an expert witness.
Securing the world record for most Final Fantasy items is a dream goal, Yuna said, but it’s deeper for her “than just having the most collectibles.” Achieving the record became extra meaningful after she recently lost her mother. “I think my mom would have appreciated it, and the rest of my family,” she said.
“My friends and family have been pushing me to do it, because they know how much it means to me.”
The Rocky Road to a World Record
Of course, Yuna is not alone in her quest to have the most Final Fantasy memorabilia, and she said the competition hasn’t always been friendly. “I have come across people who have been very negative with me,” she said. “I’ve been told that women should not be collectors.”
Yuna said she shrugged those comments off as competitive words. “When people are competitive, sometimes they get a bit aggressive.” She’d experienced similar behavior during her time streaming Heroes of the Storm. Regardless, that negativity has motivated her further to secure the world record, Yuna said.
“I want to do this for the women out there that have huge hobbies and are passionate about what they do.”
All this is not to say that Yuna hasn’t had positive experiences with some collectors. “There are quite a few collectors that I know who are very nice, but I've had more negative experiences with collectors, for some reason.”
Yuna discussed one particular collector who announced that they would buy up large amounts of Final Fantasy merch in a bid to secure the record. “I can’t spend that kind of money, because it’s a lot. I'm not going to go out and spend $50,000 to get my collection up to 6,000 or 7,000 items.”
Although Yuna said that “anyone can start collecting at any time,” the announcement surprised her. “To each their own, but it just kind of threw me off, because I’m the kind of person who wants to feel like I earned this record, because I've been buying things and supporting myself at the same time.”
Yuna expressed disappointment in the level of competition between collectors vying for the world record. “It makes me sad, because I'm an old-school collector.” She also doesn’t just collect every item that’s out there. “I collect the Final Fantasy items that I love. If I see a Final Fantasy item, I'm not just going to buy it because it's Final Fantasy. I’ll buy it because it means something to me.”
The biggest saving grace for Yuna has been the current record holder, who she said has been supportive of her world record attempt. “I’ve been talking to him back and forth, and he’s been waiting for me to get the record,” she said. “He knows how long I've been collecting, and he’s super nice. He’s told me, ‘You’re a queen, you’ve got to get this.’”
Yuna said that personal issues have put her world record attempt on the backburner, but in recent weeks she’s found the motivation to get it done. She said she had announced on Twitter that she wasn’t going for the record at the moment, but it might come “sooner or later.” At the time of publication, Yuna had yet to announce her world record.
“Final Fantasy isn’t just a series for me, it’s like a family,” Yuna said. “I think about my father, who worked hard to get me and my brothers consoles and games. He worked so hard on his own to support me and my brothers and my mom. I think about my brother, who I watched play Final Fantasy for all those hours.”
A world record is more than just Final Fantasy collectibles to Yuna. “When I look at my stuff, it represents family to me. It’s not just a statue, or a game, or a soundtrack. It's something that I grew up with.”