It's a shame that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

While FFX will be making all sorts of gigantic leaps in the realm of graphics and music, the basis of this speculation is the plot. And if FFX holds up to past FFs, it will be ripe with RPG clichés.

Let's take a look at some of my theories now, shall we?

(1) The villain
A force known as Sin (or Shin... either way); it's already a well-known fact that this appears to be one of the main villains, if not THE main one. Apparently, Sin attacks technology. According to various sources, Sin takes the form of storms and elements; in fact, there hasn't been any screenshots of "Sin", let alone any talk of it being physical whatsoever. Which begs the question: what is it?

(2) The religion
The religion of the world is known as "Ebon"; Ebon preaches against the use of technology, basically because, well, Sin attacks and destroys anything technological. ;)

(3) Other random facts
The world is apparently called "Spira". Summons are, apparently, called "Aeons". Summoners are considered celebrities. A large chunk of the world is covered in water (again, apparently). For the first time in FF history, Aeons are playable characters for the battle after you summon them. Blitzball is a popular sport on Spira.

(4) Characters and their motivations
The main character is a blitzball player named Tide (or Tidus, or Tida). There's a summoner named Yuna, a female black mage named Lulu (who uses a moogle to attack), a blue beast and guardian of Yuna named Kimari. As well, there's a friend of Tide's who is also a Blitzball player, and a man named Seymour, who is not only a leader of his tribe, but a leader of the Ebon religion as well.

(5) The prophecy
Is it really a prophecy? Most likely. Besides, I like that term (ever see "The Prophecy"? Christopher Walken 0wnz j00). But anyways, I digress. With the announcement that FFX came out, a prophecy of sorts was revealed to tantalize the public. Like in FFIV and FFV, could this prophecy have a deeper meaning? So, here's the prophecy, it's all its riddle glory:

Dead for a thousand years...
A great terror arose from the deep.
It swept across the world
A long past still lingers.
Destiny cannot be denied
A burder grows heavier.
To the kingdom of the sun
Across the vast sea.
To the unknown
The journey home begins.

Interesting, isn't it? Odds are, this short paragraph of ten lines could have a very profound impact on the game. In fact, almost everyone's theories were based around this prophecy. So, who knows?

Now that we got the basics out of the way, let's get back to focusing on theories: first, by stating repetitive Final Fantasy clichés; that being, stuff which always seems to happen. ;)

Character love connections
The main character always falls for another playable character. C'mon, too obvious: Cecil and Rosa, Butz and Lenna, Locke and Celes, Cloud and Aeris (and Tifa?), Rinoa and Squall, Dagger (Garnet) and Zidane. This is definitely one cliché that they're not abandoning. Alas, if Yuna is marrying Seymour, how can Tide be with her without some sort of adultery occuring? ;)

Connections to the enemies
The main character is always connected to the main enemy somehow. Golbez was Cecil's brother. Butz's father sealed ExDeath many years before. Celes and Terra both worked under Kefka. Sephiroth was Cloud's idol. Edea was Matron. Kuja was, in a sense, Zidane's brother. But now, with the main enemy appearing to be some sort of elemental force, where can the connection be?

Connections to summon monsters
Summoned creatures always seem to play some sort of important role in the FFs... Espers in FFVI, Summon Materia in FFVII, Guardian Forces in FFVIII, Eidolons in FFIX. But now, with Aeons in FFX, who you can summon and who become playable characters, what will their deeper, plot-related role be?

Name of the religion
Ebon preaches against the misuse of technology. And with this creed, they've become a world-wide, powerful, popular religion. But look a little deeper into this: "Ebon" means "black" or "dark". A religion being dark? Uh oh! But more on this in a bit...

Name of the world
The world has a name: Spira. The first, last, and only time this has been done was with "Gaia", in FFIX. And look why; there was another world, Terra, thus naming the world was essential in terms of plot. When I tried taking a deeper look at this, I couldn't find a definition for Spira; alas, I did find one for Spirea... kind of close, right? Apparently, Spirea is "a Japanese shrub that resembles members of the genus Spiraea; widely cultivated in many varieties for its dense panicles of flowers in many colours". Is there some sort of connection? Probably not, but the fact that the planet is named could lead to something.

The characters get captured/imprisoned
Name a game where this hasn't happened. Name a game where this hasn't happened two or three times. They're always thrown in jail, kidnapped, captured, etc., and it's bound to happen again. With the summoning celebrity Yuna in your party, you can definitely count on someone kidnapping her.

So, without further ado, let's move on to people's theories and speculation on FFX.