I can still remember the first time I placed the game CD into my original fat Playstation 2 when I was still in elementary school. Back when it was still just Squaresoft and it was the first Final Fantasy to make its way onto the new console. I was completely blown away by the gorgeous cinematics, engaging gameplay, fully voiced characters, amazing music, and the enthralling story. Even if I had no business understanding a fraction of what was going on at that age as I watched my older brother play first before trying to dive in myself with our trusty Brady Games guide book.
While it was not my first Final Fantasy game it was definitely the first I played all the way through by myself and remember quite fondly. It was further embedded into my memories thanks to its cameos in the Kingdom Hearts series and of course the sequel Final Fantasy X-2. I still remember the first time I came across merch in the US. I jumped at buying a Bahamut t-shirt that was way too oversized and wore it proudly. My next purchase was the official soundtrack and you can bet I not only played them constantly in my 4 disc stereo CD player but also put that CD booklet proudly in my binder for school to admire.
So of course when a new line of merch dropped exclusively at Daimaru for the Final Fantasy X 25th anniversary I had to go check it out. While this time around I wasn’t looking to buy too much personally, just getting to see so much coming out in celebration of the milestone was great to see.
The Merch Lineup
When you enter into the Tokyo Daimaru the first thing you see is the Daimaru Matsuzakaya Collection on display which are the more high end items mostly consisting of apparel. While the theme was mostly black and white the nostalgia of the cutscenes and artwork was strong. The subtle nods to the themes in the game as well weren’t lost on the more subtle parts of some of the designs too.
One of my favorites was how the word Zanarkand was inverted on the bag and varsity jacket.
The pop of color on these keychains was amazing and honestly the picture I took and even on the official website do not do them justice. I was pleasantly surprised to see all of the main characters represented on almost everything as well.
After checking out the collection it was off to the elevators and the 11th floor to go to the full Final Fantasy X 25th Anniversary Square Enix Pop Up Store.
It was a decently sized pop up store and since we went on a weekday it wasn’t so crowded either. The first two days of opening they had to set it to seiriken timed entry tickets to prevent overcrowding so it was nice to just stroll in.
The entry had three panels featuring the main characters, actual art from the game framed and signed, and a small greeting along with video playing of the most memorable scenes from the game.
I recommend looking at the official website for the full detailed lineup of merchandise. Everything was beautifully displayed and surprisingly almost everything looked like it was still in stock. I have a feeling they’ll keep rolling out some of this merch to the other Square Enix stores in the future so it’s nice to know in case I change my mind and end up wanting some of it later.
The new chibi character art made for the anniversary was not just all over the new merch and gacha but displayed on mini standees throughout the store.
The new line of plushies were overflowing with cuteness on the shelves. In addition, the new Yuna and Tidus figures were also on display and the details were very nice to see up close.
There was plenty of merch from other Final Fantasy games as well like the full Chocobros set of main characters from Final Fantasy XV in cute plushie form.
Final Fantasy XIV had a dedicated section of shelves including pre-releases of some of the newest merch line ups coming to other Square Enix stores soon.
There was a smaller shelf filled with Nier merch as well.
In the back corner there of course was a section dedicated to Dragon Quest. They even had the brand new Slime themed children’s book on sale that we plan to pick up later.
Not pictured because there were just so many people checking it out is the Kingdom Hearts section that was beside Dragon Quest. I had to hold myself back from making any purchases since I was on a budget this trip but maybe next time!
The last surprise section was the Square Enix anime collection in the back of the store. I was totally shocked to see brand new merch for Inu Boku Secret Service and Soul Eater since they were some of my favorites back in the day. It’s nice to see Pandora Hearts and Vanitas are still going strong with beautifully designed items too.
My Gacha Luck
Unfortunately I didn’t have any yennies on me to do the actual gacha machines that were there. So instead my gacha luck went into the free merch we got with our purchase. For the start of the pop-up even that consisted of special coasters featuring cutscene art of all the characters.
From Friday, July 24 there will also be cup markers featuring full body art of the characters for every 3,300yen spent at the pop-up store and the coasters will remain while in stock.
My Final Haul
As I mentioned, this time around I was on a bit of a budget so I didn’t pick up too much. My main goal was to get 25th anniversary exclusive items I would regret not grabbing right now. So I got the new Final Fantasy X LP vinyl set Eternal Calm for my brother to add to our giant Final Fantasy collection, the Tidus & Yuna accessory pin badge set so I had the official art on something nice for myself and of course I enjoy pin collecting, and the two sets of Lulu’s doll acrylic charms because they cover some of the best and under represented Final Fantasy mascots. I swear I haven’t seen anything with a Moomba on it since Final Fantasy VIII came out and back then there simply was no access to any of the official merch.
I admit while writing this and looking back at the items on sale I am feeling the itch to want to go back and grab some more but we’ll see what happens while the pop up is still going until Friday, August 3.
What are you favorite Final Fantasy X memories during this 25th anniversary celebration? If you could get some of this exclusive merch what do you want most? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Useful Links
Daimaru Matsuzakaya Collection: https://favment.jp/ffx25th
PR Times Article: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000378.000128734.html
