 In Imagined History , Fading Memory : Mastering Narrative in Final Fantasy X , Washburn writes that Final Fantasy X " makes the relationship of memory , history , and the struggle for control of knowledge a central element of both its gameplay and its narrative . " Washburn gives a synopsis of the game 's alternate history and describes Spira 's development as " evok [ ing ] a number of culturally vital discourses in Japan that the designers of the game drew on : the modernist aesthetics of evanescence , the loss of faith and belief in a society where technology and religion clash , the desire for a dream realm of memories as the source of an alternative history , and the nostalgic desire for the sublime experience of the annihilation of the past and the completion of history . " Washburn uses Final Fantasy X and the analysis of its narrative to make the case for academic study of the medium and counter the critical views held by detractors like Espen <unk> , summarizing that " The ability to complete the game requires mastering not only the instrumental controls needed to acquire and perfect game skills but also the narrative itself , the cultural knowledge of Spira that facilitates the acquisition of skills and abilities . " In Languages Of Navigation Within Computer Games Flynn asserts that Final Fantasy X 's navigation is a representative and symbolic language , writing that " [ a ] lthough Final Fantasy X establishes itself through the opening cut scene as narrative based , it becomes clear that a poetic and mythic experience of space rather than a cinematic sense of space is in operation . " 
