A Guinness World Record is virtually guaranteed for Taline, better known by her username Yunalescka, or simply Yuna. the long time Final Fantasy Twitch Streamer has amassed a collection of more than 4,000 memorabilia from Square Enix’s world-famous series over the course of three decades, and is only a certificate away from worldwide recognition for her achievement.
A lifelong fan of Final Fantasy and JRPGs, Yuna says her collection — and securing a world record — means a lot more than just having the most figurines or vinyl soundtracks. Despite this, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing when she’s chasing this feat. Game Rant spoke to Yuna about what a world record would mean to her and what challenges she faced along the way.
Yuna’s passion for Final Fantasy started at a young age
Yuna attributes her ability to explore the game world to her family, especially her father and brothers. “I didn’t know much about gaming when I was growing up. I learned about games by watching my brothers,” she said. As is the case with many younger siblings, Yuna was not allowed to touch her brothers’ consoles. Instead, she spent a lot of time watching one of them play games, which is: Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, and other JRPG series.
“I became obsessed. I was watching him all the time, I didn’t even have to play.”
Yuna fell in love with Final Fantasy mainly. She eventually started playing games herself and remembers a corner store in her hometown that rented out Super Nintendo titles where she would spend her weekly allowance. “My dad gave 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 was going to do.” Around the same time, Yuna started collecting Final Fantasy thanks to a Japanese friend who picked up some for her when he went back.
As a child, Yuna didn’t realize she collected collectibles, but her arsenal of… Final Fantasy items grew every time her boyfriend traveled to Japan. She started saving the money her father gave her to send with her boyfriend and ask him to bring something for her Final Fantasy-related. “It was amazing.” When she started streaming professionally in 2015 Final Fantasy was not immediately Yuna’s favorite subject. However, she got her start streaming Blizzard’s heroes of the storm as a spotlight streamer.
“It was fun, the community was great, and overall it was a good time,” she said. “But then Blizzard took the pro scene away and there was a lot of change.” The heroes scene started to feel more toxic, and Yuna decided it was time to change something. “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 around the games and genres I loved.”
Stream Final Fantasy turned out to be a golden ticket for Yuna. Her numbers dropped at first, but soon her Twitch channel flourished and she regularly collaborated with major content creators such as Caleb Hart and ProJared.
“I’m also so much happier where I am now,” she said. “I can 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 number large enough to challenge the current record holder, who has about 3,600 pieces. Now she says she’s just waiting for the right time to give it a shot, which involves a lengthy certification process that involves photographing each item and calling in an expert witness.
Securing the world record for the most Final Fantasy items is a dream goal, Yuna said, but it goes deeper for her “than just having most collectibles.” Achieving the record took on extra significance 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 urged me to do it because they know how much it means to me.”
The rocky road to a world record
Yuna is of course not alone in her quest to have the most Final Fantasy memorabilia, and she said the competition wasn’t always friendly. “I’ve come across people who were very negative towards me,” she said. “I’ve been told that women shouldn’t be collectors.”
Yuna said she shook off those comments as competitive words. “When people are competitive, sometimes they get a little aggressive.” She had experienced similar behavior during her time streaming Heroes of the storm. Regardless, that negativity further motivated her to secure the world record, Yuna said.
“I want to do this for the women who have huge hobbies and are passionate about what they do.”
All this is not to say that Yuna does not have positive experiences with some collectors. “There are quite a few collectors I know who are really nice, but I have had more negative experiences with collectors for some reason.”
Yuna discussed a particular collector who announced they would be buying large quantities Final Fantasy merch in an effort to secure the record. “I can’t spend that kind of money because it’s a lot. I don’t go out and spend $50,000 to get my collection 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 thing, but I just kind of got shaken off about it because I’m the kind of person who wants to feel like I’ve earned this record because I’ve been buying stuff and taking care of myself at the same time.”
Yuna expressed disappointment at the level of competition among collectors competing for the world record. “It makes me sad because I’m an old-fashioned collector.” She also doesn’t just collect every item out there. “I collect the Final Fantasy articles I love. if i see one Final Fantasy item, I’m not going to buy it just because it is Final Fantasy. I buy it because it means something to me.”
The biggest saving grace for Yuna is the current record holder, who claims to have supported her world record attempt. “I’ve talked 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 told me, ‘You’re a queen, you must have this.’”
Yuna said personal issues have put her world record attempt on the back burner, but in recent weeks she has found the motivation to pull it off. She said she announced on Twitter that she wouldn’t be going for the record right now, but it could come “sooner or later.” At the time of publication, Yuna had yet to announce her world record.
“Final Fantasy is not just a series to me, it’s like a family,” Yuna said. “I think about my father, who worked hard to get consoles and games for me and my brothers. He worked so hard on his own to support me, my brothers and my mother. I think of my brother, whom I saw 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 I grew up with.”
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