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The Guinness World Record is all but guaranteed for Taline, better known by her username Yunalescka or simply Yuna. The long-standing one Final Fantasy The Twitch streamer has amassed a collection of over 4,000 pieces of memorabilia from Square Enix’s world-renowned series over a three-decade span, and is just one certificate away from global recognition for her feat.
A lifelong fan of Final Fantasy and JRPGs, Yuna says her collection — and securing the world record — means a lot more than just having the most figurines or vinyl soundtracks. However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing as she pursues this achievement. Game Rant spoke to Yuna about what a world record would mean to her and the challenges she faces along the way.
Yuna’s passion for Final Fantasy began at an early age
Yuna credits her ability to explore the gaming world to her family, especially her father and brothers. “I didn’t know much about gaming growing up. I learned about games by watching my brothers,” she said. As was 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—namely Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, and other JRPG series.
“I became obsessed. I watched it all the time, I didn’t even need to play.”
Yuna fell in love with Final Fantasy in particular. Eventually, she started playing games for herself and remembers a corner store in her hometown that rented out Super Nintendo titles, where she spent her weekly allowance. “My dad gave me a $2 allowance every Sunday, and the corner store would rent Nintendo and Super Nintendo games for $2,” she said. “So that’s what I would go out and do.” Around the same time, Yuna started collecting Final Fantasy items thanks to a Japanese friend who will pick up some for her when she returns.
As a child, Yuna didn’t realize she was collecting collectibles, but her arsenal of Final Fantasy the items grew each time her friend traveled to Japan. She started saving the money she got from her father to send along with her friend asking him to bring her something Final Fantasy-connected. “It was great.” When he started streaming professionally in 2015, Final Fantasy was not immediately the subject of Yuna’s choice. However, she started streaming Blizzard Heroes of the Storm like a spotlight streamer.
“It was fun, the community was great and it was just a good time overall,” she said. “But then Blizzard took away the pro scene and there were a lot of changes.” The heroes the scene started to feel more toxic and Yuna decided it was time to make a change. “I was like, ‘yeah, I’m going to play.’ Final Fantasy, and JRPGs, and retro games,” Yuna said. “I wanted to build a whole new community centered around these games and genres that I loved.”
Streaming Final Fantasy turned out to be a golden ticket for Yuna. At first her numbers dropped, but soon her Twitch channel was booming and she was working regularly with big content creators like Caleb Hart and Projared.
“I’m also much happier where I am now,” she said. “I’m living my passions, playing games I grew up with and playing the new games that come out.”
Meanwhile, Yuna’s collection of Final Fantasy items grew to nearly 4,000, a figure large enough to challenge the current record holder, who has around 3,600. Now, she says she’s just waiting for the right moment to make the attempt, which involves a lengthy certification process that requires her to photograph each item and bring in an expert witness.
Securing the world record for most Final Fantasy items is a dream goal, Yuna said, but it’s deeper for her “than just having the most collectibles.” Achieving the record became especially meaningful after she recently lost her mother. “I think my mom would appreciate it and so would the rest of my family,” she said.
“My friends and family have been pushing me to do it because they know how much it means to me.”
The rocky road to a world record
Of course, Yuna is not alone in her quest to have the most Final Fantasy memorabilia, and she said the competition wasn’t always friendly. “I’ve had people who have been very negative with me,” she said. “I was told women shouldn’t be collectors.”
Yuna said she dismissed those comments as competing words. “When people are competitive, sometimes they get a little aggressive.” She’s experienced similar behavior while streaming Heroes of the Storm. Nevertheless, this negativity further motivated her to secure the world record, Yuna said.
“I want to make this for women who have huge hobbies and are passionate about what they do.”
All of this is not to say that Yuna doesn’t have positive experiences with some collectors. “There are quite a few collectors who I know are very nice, but I’ve had more negative experiences with collectors for some reason.”
Yuna discussed one particular collector who announced that he would buy out large quantities Final Fantasy merch in an attempt to secure the record. “I can’t spend that much money because it’s too much. I’m not going to go out and spend $50,000 to grow my collection to 6,000 or 7,000 items.
Although Yuna said that “anyone can start collecting at any time,” the announcement surprised her. “Each to their own, but it just kind of threw me off because I’m the guy who wants to feel like I earned that record because I was buying stuff and supporting myself at the same time.”
Yuna expressed disappointment at the level of competition between collectors vying for the world record. “It makes me sad because I’m an old-school collector.” She also doesn’t just collect every item that’s out there. “I collect Final Fantasy items i love. If I see a Final Fantasy item, I won’t buy it just because it is Final Fantasy. I will buy it because it means something to me.”
Yuna’s biggest saving grace is the current record holder, who she says has been supportive of her world record attempt. “I was talking back and forth with him and he was 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 should get this.”
Yuna said personal issues put her world record attempt on the back burner, but in recent weeks she found the motivation to do it. She said she announced on Twitter that she was not currently dealing with the protocol, but that it could happen “sooner or later.” At the time of publication, Yuna has yet to announce her world record.
“Final Fantasy it’s not just a series for me, it’s like a family,” Yoona said. “I think about my dad working hard to buy me and my brothers consoles and games. He worked so hard on his own to support me, my brothers and my mother. I think of my brother who I used to watch play Final Fantasy for all those hours.”
The world record is more than just that Final Fantasy Yuna collectibles. “When I look at my things, they represent 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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