How to Beat Shinra in "Sphere Break"
By Marilla Mulwane
Updated September 22, 2017
One of the side quests in "Final Fantasy X-2" is to play in the Sphere Break tournament. After beating three random players, Yuna can take on Shinra to win the tournament. The reward for winning is the Lady Luck Dressphere. The tournament takes place in Chapter 3 at Luca. Shinra is the best Sphere Break player in the game. You will have 15 turns, at 45 seconds each turn, to reach a quota of 50 to beat him. Use three coin Sphere Breaks to beat him.
Look at the Core Number in the center of the board. You have to choose coins that add up to multiples of that number. Look at the Entry coins that surround the core. You must choose at least one of the Entry coins during a turn. The rest of the coins are Border coins. Border coins count toward your quota. You want to use as many as possible.
Click on an Entry coin that is not already a multiple of the Core number. Click as low a number as possible because this gives you more options when choosing Border coins.
Click on two Border coins that when added together with the Entry coin equal the Core number. For example, if the Core number is "6", and you chose an Entry coin of "1", you must click on two Border coins that equal "5". Make sure the first Border coin does not create a multiple of the Core number when added with the Entry coin. You must click three coins.
Repeat Steps Two and Three, making three coin Sphere Breaks every turn. Clicking three coins every turn builds up the Echoes fast, and raises the Quota Bonus. If you must choose two Entry coins to make a Sphere Break, do so, but remember that the Entry coins do not count toward the quota.
Tips
Four Coin Sphere Breaks will beat Shinra faster than Three Coin Sphere, but are a lot more difficult to complete every turn. Save the game immediately before playing Shinra. If you lose against him, or mess up mid-game, restart and begin again. Have a printed list of multiples on hand for quick reference. Practice these steps on other Sphere Break players. Each player has a ranking. The lower the rank, the easier they are to beat. Practice on harder players until you get the hang of playing quick and achieving multiple sphere breaks with the same number of coins. By the time you play Shinra, you will be an expert.
Warnings
A core number of "1" is very difficult to play with because every number is a multiple and you will not be able to build up echoes. Restart the game if that number pops up. You can play Shinra later in Chapter 5 and still get the Lady Luck Dressphere. However, he is harder to beat. You will have to reach a quota of 100 instead of 50. It is better to beat him in Chapter 3.
References
Writer Bio
Marilla Mulwane has been writing professionally since 2005. She has published a fantasy novel for young adults and writes articles on literature, pets, video games and tattoos. Her poetry has been featured on the website and products for the nonprofit organization HALos. She graduated from the State University of New York, Oneonta with a Bachelor of Arts in English and creative writing.