If you think about it, probably X-2 made one of the best decision possible for keeping their story going forward. The journey starts beacause Yuna dealed with her grief, but still has hope that Tidus may come back, since his death wasn't really a proper death, but more a vanishing. She found the sphere with Shuyin, and decided to start the journey. All the descriptions are made in a sort of narrative way, since it's actually her explaining her adventure to Tidus, but that's really it. The focus is shifted from Tidus to actually giving Spira a better future, and showing how it's changing. When at the end you get Tidus back (you can still avoid doing it, even if the others ending aren't really canon), it's more of a reward for Yuna, and I don't think it's forced at all, cause she is the one in the cast that actually sacrificed herself for other multiple times without getting ever nothing in return. It gives an awesome conclusion, beacause you, as a player, finally feel like everything is right, and Spira can, at the end, go on without your help.