Characters / Final Fantasy X Tidus

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Tidus

"This is my story. It'll go the way I want it...or I'll end it here!"

"Listen to my story. This...may be our last chance."

Voiced by: Masakazu Morita (Japanese), James Arnold Taylor [Final Fantasy X, Dissidia Final Fantasy and World of Final Fantasy], Shaun Fleming [Kingdom Hearts] (English)

Warning: Unmarked spoilers.

The main character, a famous sports star who finds himself zapped from his futuristic home city of Zanarkand to a ravaged beach, where a creature known as Sin is wreaking havoc. His athleticism makes him an unusual (for Final Fantasy), but effective combatant with enough practice. He uses longswords and loosely serves as a Time Mage. Along with Rikku, he is the quickest to act and his Overdrives put him over the top as the third most-useful character (the others being Wakka and Rikku).

Tidus is missing as of X-2, but Yuna is lured out of retirement by a recording of someone who bears an uncanny resemblance. Despite his absence in the story, he can still be unlocked NBA Jam-style in Blitzball (along with his original team, the Zanarkand Abes) and as a fighter in the Fiend Arena. Like the other returning guardians, you have to beat him in a tournament before he joins. He focuses mainly on slowing the Gullwings down, and can guzzle Mega Potions (recovers 2,000 HP) and Hero Drinks (temporary invincibility) with impunity.

A kid version of Tidus is a minor character in the Green Hill Zone of Kingdom Hearts, where you can fight him and his playmates as practice. Furthermore, he, along with his father Jecht, represents Final Fantasy X in the Dissidia fighting game series; Yuna was later added to the "Light" roster in Dissidia NT. He also makes some appearances in World of Final Fantasy: Tidus helps out the heroes after they are cursed with the inability to breathe anywhere but underwater. He later goes on a Mirage-hunting expedition with Yuna, which he doggedly tries to turn into a date. Like Yuna, he can also be summoned as a Champion in battle: Yuna heals characters while Tidus wrecks them with his classic Blitz Ace Overdrive. One of the heroes also references his infamous laughter at one point.

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A-E

• The Ace: He is unmatched at blitzball. Wakka calls him a whiz kid, and his most powerful Overdrive is called Blitz Ace. However, can never quite escape the shadow of his "old man" in Zanarkand. Even his team logo is an amalgamation of "J" and "T" (Jecht and Tidus).
• Action Survivor: Tidus probably never picked up a sword before Sin attacked—but that certainly isn't going to stop him! He can barely hold his starter sword without tipping over.
• All Just a Dream: A rare inversion. Spira is real, but Tidus himself is just a dream.
• Always Save the Girl: As the ultimate aim of Yuna's pilgrimage is, in fact, to die, X is truly a test of this trope.
  • Shortly after he arrives in Besaid, when he hears the apprentice summoner (Yuna) has been stuck for an entire day in the temple without sending word. Ignoring a priest who accuses him of sacrilege, Tidus breaks into the Fayth Chamber to and make sure she's okay. His attitude toward Yuna and Yevon will permeate throughout the game.
  • At Mount Gagazet, he learns he's a historical re-creation and will disappear if Sin is destroyed for good. He reacts with no angst or hesitation, and continues ahead with his plan to kill Sin in Yuna's place.
  • Tidus initially serves as Yuna's Guardian, with Yuna vowing to give her life to defeat Sin. Come the big reveal, it turns out there is a way to defeat Sin without Yuna dying, but it will result in Tidus' death. (Tidus' method will extinguish Sin permanently, as opposed to the temporary fix which would have transpired had Yuna died.)
• Always Second Best: Despite being a Blitzball star back in Zanarkand. He'll always be "the son of Jecht." Even when he's dragged off to another world, he's still outshined by "Sir Jecht's" reputation as a guardian.
• Amnesiac Hero: Exploited Trope. At risk of being imprisoned for heresy like his dad, he pretends to be amnesiac to for his genuine ignorance about Spira. Auron, who is in on the act, encourages him to keep up appearances until they reach Zanarkand.
• And Then What?: He asks this of everyone upon discovering Sin's Resurrective Immortality, questioning why Yuna still insists on continuing her pilgrimage despite knowing this. They initially shut him down by saying what little peace they get is Worth It, but when they confront Yunalesca with the same question and she reveals that the Final Summoning ensures Sin's perpetuated existence, they quickly change their minds.
• Ancestral Weapon: The Brotherhood used to belong to Chappu, Wakka's brother. Wakka decides to entrust the sword to Tidus because he reminds Wakka of Chappu. It also symbolizes the brotherly bond the two develop.
• Armor-Piercing Question: When told that his idealistic goal of destroying Sin and not sacrificing Yuna are "childish":
  "I give up. So what would an adult do, then? They know they can just throw away a summoner. Then they can do whatever they like!"
• Archnemesis Dad: Both Yuna and Tidus are stuck in the shadow of their famous fathers. Yuna's father died trying to save Spira; Tidus's father exists to destroy it. Tidus keeps insisting that he doesn't believe Auron's story of what happened to Jecht, but actions he takes—like recklessly trying to swim after Sin during Operation Mi'ihen—suggest otherwise.
• Back from the Dead:
  • At the end of the first game, he vanishes immediately after Sin is defeated because Dream Zanarkand, which Tidus is a part of, depended on it for its continued existence. However, The Stinger, via a reused cutscene, shows, him surfacing in the sea near Besaid, though the context isn't explained. If you get the Golden Ending in X-2, context is provided, and is followed up on by his reunion with Yuna.
  • And again in the Final Fantasy X-2.5 ~Eien no Daisho~ novella. This time, Yuna brings him back via a process known as the beckoning, which is the exact opposite of the sending. However, if Tidus were to ever realize he's a beckoned, he'll disappear for good.
• Bad Liar: Called out by Yuna before the finale, as he lies about what's going to happen to him once they win. She can tell he's hiding something, just not exactly what.
• Bad "Bad Acting": The guy can't fake a laugh to save his life. The others wonder if he might have gone crazy because of how forced and unnatural it sounds.
• Bash Brothers: While he is this especially with Wakka, Tidus' interactions with everybody in the party can result in alternative scenes where even the stoic Auron and Kimahri express their satisfaction of having met him.
• Battle Couple: Tidus and Yuna eventually become one throughout their journey.
• Berserk Button: He doesn't like it when people bring up his father Jecht. He also doesn't like it when he sees people looking down on others (e.g. the Luca Goers mocking the Besaid Aurouchs), as it reminds him too much of his own father putting him down for not measuring up to Jecht's lofty standards.
• BFS: Not as outlandish as, say, Cloud's Buster Sword, but Tidus's sword does look to be rather larger than average. Bonus points to him mostly carrying it on one hand.
• Big Brother Instinct: Tidus is particularly protective of Rikku. He's the first to defend her from Wakka's wrath, and consoles her when Home is destroyed.
• Blithe Spirit: To Yuna and the other guardians, and arguably to all of Spira. He indirectly exposes the lies of Yevon and trounces three of its figureheads: Mika, Yunalesca and Yu Yevon. (In the former's case, it was more a case of Talking the Monster to Death)
• Bodyguard Crush: His immediate attraction to Yuna is one of the big reasons why he becomes her fifth Guardian. In her video will, Yuna has clearly fallen head-over-heels for Tidus, and the two finally hook up in Macalania Woods when Tidus tries to console her.
• Break the Haughty: Initially quite bratty and ignorant about Spira, he gradually becomes more insightful, usually by having the customs beaten into his head by members of his own party.
• Broken Ace: Tidus might be a very talented blitzball player and a strong morale booster for Yuna's pilgrimage, but underneath his lighthearted and lax persona is an emotionally troubled boy with parental issues which were stemmed by his desire to win Jecht's approval.
• Calling the Old Man Out:
  • Once reunited at Luca after dealing with the Fiend invasion at the stadium, Tidus lets loose all of his frustration on Auron, blaming him for everything that's happened to him since he arrived in Spira.
  • Tidus has waited years for the opportunity to confront his dad over everything Jecht has done. When he finally has the chance, Tidus has too much sympathy for Jecht to mean a word of it.
• Can't Drop the Hero: Tidus will always be one of your forwards in Blitzball, since he has no contract and will never leave. Wakka will replace him during the Goers match, but after that, Tidus is a staple of the Aurochs.
• Cathartic Scream: Early on, he lets out a scream right in the middle of Kilika Temple, which Yuna gently ribs him about later.
  Yuna: Wanna scream?
  Tidus I really don't think that's gonna help this time.
• Character Development: Once he gets to leave the haze of Zanarkand and experience the real world he's able to start growing as a person. He goes from a rude and stubborn fellow who just wants to get home, and doesn't think much of the idea of self-sacrifice to a mature leader who willingly performs a Heroic Sacrifice at the end of the story to defeat Sin and give Spira peace.
  • To reflect on the above paragraph, his voice is deeper in the opening montage than in his earliest canonical appearances. James Arnold Taylor did this intentionally to indicate the character's newfound maturity. However, it's also a result of his voice actor being given poor direction: James Arnold Taylor believed Tidus was narrating events from well into the future, and gave him an older voice for those parts. It doesn't match up with the the youthful voice Tidus uses even after the game catches up with his narration.
  • At the start of the game. Tidus views his father as nothing more than an abusive, drunk, asshole, who left him and his mom at a young age and still casts a shadow over him as a Blitzball star. Over the course of the game he learns that while it was true that Jecht was a jerk, he was ultimately a complicated man who truly did love his son but lacked the proper way to express it. By the end of the game Tidus reconciles the two truths about his dad and learns to forgive him.
• Chest Insignia: The symbol of the Zanarkand Abes. Possibly doubles as an Orphan's Plot Trinket, since it's also Jecht's symbol.
• Chivalrous Pervert: The first thing that Tidus does when getting hold of a pair of binoculars is to scope out Lulu's breasts.
• The Chosen One: Played with. Both Jecht and Auron chose Tidus to make the pilgrimage with Yuna so that he could be the one to find a solution to Spira's "spiral of death" and convince the group to abandon their reliance on the worship of Yevon. However, he's The Unchosen One by the standards of Spira, since he was initially travelling with a summoner's group without being a guardian.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: While Tidus and Zidane are similar in that they're two highly energetic and charismatic blonde protagonists who fall in love with the main heroine of their respective games. Their context, backstories, and roles differ greatly.
  • Zidane is an Experienced Protagonist, he's been on a few adventures before and has earned his fair share of friends, and enemies throughout Gaia before the story has even begun. Tidus is a Fish out of Water who knows absolutely nothing about Spira's culture, people and geography and has to learn at the same pace the player does.
  • Zidane is quite a flirt and always seems to have girls on his mind even when he begins to develop feelings towards Garnet. Ironically, he has issues with telling Garnet his true feelings towards her despite his many flirtatious comments. Meanwhile, Tidus isn't all too interested in flirting with other girls. The closest he gets is telling two female fans that he'll be thinking of them as he plays. The most he ever views Lulu and Rikku are older and younger sister-figures, respectively. However, he is very aware about his feelings towards Yuna and he makes it very clear to her how he much he loves her.
  • Both eventually learn the truths about who they are late in the story, but their purposes couldn't be any more different. Zidane learns the Awful Truth that he's a Genome created for the sole purpose of destroying all life on Gaia, the world he's grown to love. This revelation shocks him to the core to the point he begins refuting the idea that he deserves to have friends. Meanwhile Tidus learns that he is nothing but a dream of the Fayth and once that dream is over, he will cease to be. Other than that, Tidus has no real importance in the grand scheme of things other than being a Blitzball star from Zanarkand. This is important, as Tidus doesn't seem to care all too much about it and this lack of importance is what allows him to speak his mind on the state of the Crapsack World that is Spira and influence his companions, most importantly of all, Yuna, into striving to make their world a better place rather than dying to false hope.
  • Gameplay-wise, while both are very agile and evasive in combat, their roles are quite different. Zidane is a classic thief who's all about stealing, dual wields daggers, and uses his non-traditional "thief-swords" in combat. Tidus is more of a traditional warrior, he uses longswords and employs time magic to control the pacing of a fight.
• The Chosen Zero: Like the previous game's Zidane, his personality seems to be a throwback to more bumbling FF heroes like Bartz and Locke. He's a superstar back home, but once he leaves home, he's a nobody.
• Classical Anti-Hero: Much of Tidus' development revolves around overcoming this. He's plagued by his inferiority complex over his dad, is completely clueless to all the politics around him, and even considers himself the outsider of the group. Come the third act, he and Yuna end up having Swapped Roles, and Tidus declares himself the true lead.
• Commuting on a Bus: Tidus' absence in X-2 is keenly felt, but he seen throughout the game in numerous guises.
  • The first is the grainy sphere recording of him, which turns out to be of Shuyin.
  • The second is as an unlockable character in the Blitzball coaching simulator, along with his old team the Zanarkand Abes.
  • He's also an unlockable character in the Fiend Arena.
  • And he can be glimpsed in a flashback to his notorious "laughing" scene (and the more poignant "whistling" scene) in Luca.
  • When Yuna falls into the Farplane at the end of Chapter 3, she (by prompt from the player) will start whistling, which causes an image of Tidus to appear and guide her back to Spira.
  • Lastly, the ghost of Tidus shows up to comfort Yuna in the Farplane if you choose to let Yuna move on with her life.
• Cool Sword: Tidus' Brotherhood, an aqua-blue blade from which bubbles drift up. It's given to him early in the game by Wakka, and he's always shown carrying it in promotional artwork. It actually ends up being his Infinity -1 Sword after an upgrade.
• Cutting Off the Branches: Depending on the player's choice and the number of quests completed in X-2, Tidus may appear as a spirit comforting Yuna one last time, or he can be resurrected by the Fayth at the end; both are poignant endings, but the latter is considered the canon ending.
• Doomed Hometown: His version of Zanarkand is torn apart by Sin...and wasn't even real to begin with.
• Doom Magnet: Numerous characters warn that "Sin always returns for its spawn", which refers both to Sinspawn and Tidus, as he's the son of Yu Yevon's current host. Thus he feels responsible for what happened in Kilika and Operation Mi'ihen, further fueling his anger.
• Don't Fear the Reaper: Tidus arguably symbolizes death, appearing when Yuna commits herself to her fatal pilgrimage and disappearing once the party's victory over Sin enables her to continue living. But the death he symbolizes is a good one, the natural end of a long and fruitful life as opposed to Seymour's stagnancy. X-2 shows that part of his role as a ghost is to guide people who aren't supposed to be there yet out of the Farplane.
• Dumbass Has a Point: He has a habit of questioning the basic assumptions many Spirans make about their world.
• Easing into the Adventure: In the prologue, he happily signs autographs for his fans, flirts with two ladies in the crowd, and then heads to the blitzball stadium for the Jecht Memorial Cup while pausing to sneer at a billboard of Jecht.
• Emotions vs. Stoicism: In contrast with Yuna. Emotion often wins out.
• Everyone Has Standards: He's enthusiastic about anything regarding blitzball—but Tidus asks Wakka if keeping their minds on the sport is appropriate after the Kilika Port disaster.

F-M

• Face Death with Dignity: In the Character CD, Tidus accepts his own death as long as it means no more summoners like Yuna will be sacrificed to summon the Final Aeon.
• "Facing the Bullets" One-Liner: Just before fighting the Final Boss, knowing that beating Yu Yevon will mean his own death.
  "I know it's selfish...but this is my story!"
• Fashionable Asymmetry: One of the poster-boys that got character designer Tetsuya Nomura such a divided fandom. He has light armor covering only his left arm, and his shorts' right legging is longer than the left.
• Fetal Position Rebirth: As seen in The Stinger of X.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: He knows nothing about Spira or its customs. Other characters, Lulu especially, often have to hammer it into him.
• Foil: Whereas Yuna is very soft-spoken, proper and self-sacrificing, Tidus is very brash, rude and self-oriented. When the two discuss the idea of sacrifice, Tidus is both confused and horrified while Yuna feels any sacrifice is worth what little happiness it brings. Tidus himself says that Yuna changed his mind, and he sacrifices himself at the end. Ironically, this act changes her mind on the subject, also.
• The Fool: A classic cheerful, lucky, oblivious hero whose ignorance of the setting lets him play the part of Audience Surrogate. His questions to the other party members, although heretical by Spiran standards, also help them see the truth about Yevon's lies and corruption.
• Forever War: Mobius Final Fantasy reveals that Tidus spent two years fighting almost alone in another dimension between the events of X and X-2.
• Fragile Speedster: Tidus is easily the fastest party member throughout most of the game, and his skillset capitalizes on this by either letting him attack more often (e.g. Haste, Quick Hit) or slowing his enemies down (e.g. Slow, Delay Buster). However, he's somewhat lacking in the health and defense departments, meaning that, when fighting most major bosses (who are often just as fast as Tidus and immune to his slowing attacks), you're better off using someone hardier, as Tidus will just end up dying a lot. That being said, if the player dips into Auron's side of the Sphere Grid a little, Tidus will quickly become a Lightning Bruiser who hits as hard as Auron, but is faster, and much more durable as a result.
• Funny Background Event: In Djose's Chamber of the Fayth, when Yuna subtly tells Dona off for all her critiques, Tidus can be seen right behind Dona, egging Yuna on.
• Generation Xerox: His father was a star blitzball player; he, too, accidentally got sucked out of Dream Zanarkand, and became a guardian.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: A couple of examples:
  • As noted above, Tidus can be something of a Fragile Speedster. In game, Jecht talks about how Tidus needs to put on some muscle and is still only skin and bones when he's grown up.
  • Tidus brags about being the superstar player of the Zanarkand Abes. He can more than live up to it if you play blitzball, particularly if you exploit the Jecht Shot. Tidus can go on a tear and score far more goals than anyone else, winning you special prizes. It's easy to see why the fans in Dream Zanarkand mob him at the start of the game.
• Glass Cannon: Tidus is this in blitzball. He's a fast swimmer and an excellent shooter. Many of his techniques are also special types of shots that give him a better chance of scoring. Unfortunately, his endurance is pretty low, meaning he won't win many fights for the ball. His passing and blocking stats aren't great either, making him a lousy defender.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Fits the general good-hearted and innocent nature of the trope as well as fitting his sun theme.
• Hates Their Parent: He loathes his father Jecht, who he remembers as The Alcoholic, verbally abusive father during his childhood. Throughout the game Tidus' feelings gradually become more complex, as while Jecht certainly wasn't a good father Tidus learns to accept that Jecht was a complicated figure who changed after arriving in Spira and did care about Tidus even if he didn't express it well.
• Hello, [Insert Name Here]: His first task in the game is...autographing blitzballs!
• The Hero: Downplayed. It's his story, but the bulk of it is Yuna's pilgrimage. It later turns out he's The Chosen One.
• The Hero Dies: In the first game's Bittersweet Ending. It's reversed if you get a Belated Happy Ending in the sequel.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: An interesting example that demonstrates the trope's power. Of the two blitzball players, it would make more sense for Wakka to carry a more martial weapon as a current and former guardian, but it's Tidus who does because he's the hero, not Wakka.
• Heroic BSoD: He has two brief ones during the story, but does get over both of them fairly quickly. The first is in Luca when Auron joins the group and privately reveals to Tidus what really happened to Jecht. The second is in the Al Bhed Home when Tidus learns of the fate that awaits Yuna at the end of her pilgrimage.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He's willing to go along with the Fayth's plan to stop the cycle once and for all, even if it means he will cease to exist.
• Heroic Safe Mode: His mental response to the understanding that his father truly IS Sin, the being killing thousands of people for no real reason is to chase him into the ocean, swimming without hesitation, single-mindedly determined to catch and kill him.
• Heroes' Frontier Step: He makes the step when he learns that he and the Zanarkand he came from are all a dream of the Fayth, and that he and dream Zanarkand will cease to exist if Sin is defeated, as doing so would cause the Fayth to finally stop dreaming and move on. Not only does he continue on willingly with the party's mission to defeat Sin, he also withholds this information until the last moment so that Yuna and company don't lose their resolve.
• A Hero to His Hometown: Star player of the Zanarkand Abes! (waits for applause)
• Hey, You!: Tidus is never directly referred to by name during audible dialogue in either X or X-2, with others simply referring to him as "you," "him," "new guy!", and other impersonal pronouns. It also caused some interesting problems during the dub for X-2, which led to Tidus being the last character in a voice-acted Final Fantasy whose name is chosen by the player. He's addressed by name in subsequent appearances such as Kingdom Hearts, Dissidia, and World of Final Fantasy. Even then, Kingdom Hearts II didn't pronounce his name correctly.
• Hidden Depths:
  • While Tidus may appear to be your stereotypical none-too-bright sports star, he is surprisingly perceptive at times, such as noticing that Seymour is not to be trusted in spite of his position as Maester, and that defeating Sin for a temporary reprieve by continuously sacrificing Summoners over and over without looking for an alternate method is pure insanity. Tidus is also the only party member to notice that Auron is an unsent, long before Auron reveals this secret to him.
  • While Tidus takes pride in his Blitzball career, he also draws the line at the arrogance and putting others down, hence his distaste towards his father and the Luca Goers.
• How We Got Here: Tidus is the narrator of X, guiding the player throughout the story (and providing his own commentary on pivotal scenes) up until the campfire scene at the Zanarkand ruins. After that, his narration ends.
• I Choose to Stay: Like his father before him, Tidus eventually admits to himself that getting back to "his" Zanarkand will never happen. In the good ending of X-2, Tidus refers to Besaid as his "home" for the first time.
• Iconic Item: The aforementioned pendant he wears around his neck, which is the insignia of the Zanarkand Abes, the blitzball team he and his father played for. Yuna wears a similar symbol over her chest in the sequel, representing her memory of him.
• I Am What I Am: Upon learning, he is "dream", Tidus expresses no angst, stating that regardless of what he is, he is happy for the life he was given.
• I Gave My Word: Takes this very seriously, as demonstrated when he finds out what will happen to Yuna when the Pilgrimage ends, and vows to find a way to save her, a vow which he keeps even at the cost of his own life.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: As he gives up hope of going back home during his narrations, Tidus decides he just wishes to have friends, though it then changes upon learning of Yuna's sacrifice.
• Identical Stranger:
  • He's noted to look much like Wakka's younger brother Chappu. When Chappu shows up, there are some notable facial similarities.
  • The "Tidus" recording turns out to be Shuyin, the main antagonist of X-2. It's a little unclear whether Tidus was based on Shuyin or not, but they share the same backstory and voice actors. The difference is that Shuyin fought and died in the Machina War, never got sent, became unstable, and turned evil (it's also implied that Shuyin is older, which gives a possibility that Tidus may become like Shuyin. X-2.5 lightly shows how Tidus becomes a bit unstable after his lovers' quarrel with Yuna).
• I Know Madden Kombat: Tidus had never fought fiends before the events of the game, but he adapts his blitzball skills (which is a pretty brutal underwater sport) into a rough, but effective fighting style. (The way he spikes the ball during his Jecht Shot somewhat resembles how he swings his sword in battle.) Wakka later notes that, for a "Newbie", he can handle himself pretty well in a fight.
  Tidus: [entering a fight after Wakka just called him a "newbie"] Newbie here!
  Wakka: (sheepishly) Sorry!
• Instant Expert: Downplayed. When Auron first hands him a sword, he doesn't seem to know what to do with it and falls on his rear end trying to swing it around. Probably because, as Tidus later explains to Wakka, fiends were rare in Dream Zanarkand:
  Wakka: So, uh...they got fiends in Zanarkand, too?
  Tidus: Just a few. It's a big deal when one shows up, though.
• It Was a Gift: Twice: A minor Longsword, given to him by Auron (the latter mentions it came from Jecht, he's just delivering it), and later his signature Brotherhood is a gift from Wakka.
• Jerkass Realization: Combined with Innocently Insensitive. He had a brief one when he realized that the entire time he'd talked to Yuna about what they would do after she beat Sin, she was stoically accepting the fact that there wouldn't be an after, because she'd be dead. In his defense, no one clued him to this fact until after all that had happened, and once he found out, Tidus made it a point to apologize for it.
• Keet: It's one of the things that makes him stand out in a Crapsack World.
  Lulu: You really do come from a world where there is no Sin...
• Laser-Guided Tyke-Bomb: He was sent by the Fayth to the real Spira to end Yu Yevon's Spiral of Death.
• Leeroy Jenkins: He'll protect his Summoner, whether Yevon likes it or not. He's one to rush headlong into danger to save someone's life, despite it often being against whatever rules that Yevon has set.
• Lightning Bruiser: He's got the best Evasion, the best Speed, and decent Strength. However, his Defense is just okay, and his Magic is rather low.
• Limit Break: The Swordplay Overdrives Spiral Cut, Slice and Dice, Energy Rain, and Blitz Ace.
• Living Dream: Like all residents of Dream Zanarkand, his existence is a product of the dreaming of the Fayth.
• Locked Out of the Loop: He spends most of the game in the dark over the fact that upon summoning the Final Aeon to defeat Sin, Yuna would die. When he does find out, he's not happy and demands to know why they hid it from him; Wakka and Lulu explain that they simply found it too difficult to say.
• Lovable Jock: For someone who never picked up a sword in his life before the game's events, his threats are pretty boastful. Granted, he does manage to back most of it up.
  Lulu: You're a modest one.
• Love Triangle: A dream he had early in the game pictures himself in the middle of one with Yuna and Rikku, who argue about who he should be taking to (his) Zanarkand.
• Magic Knight: His main utility is as a speedy sword arm and a support caster with Time Magic.
• Magnetic Hero: Tidus' strongest attribute, which he naturally inherited from Jecht. Quite suitably, Tidus' gameplay abilities focuses more on support magic that affect speed and turn order.
• Making a Splash: His signature weapon, the Brotherhood, deals water damage.
• Manic Pixie Dream Guy: From the meek and emotionally restrained Yuna's perspective, Tidus suddenly appears in her life being this unusually cheerful and goofy boy who willfully breaks Spira's traditions in the name of his own moral code and eventually influences her to stand up for herself and live life to the fullest. Taken further by the fact that he's a literal invocation of this trope, being a dream sent to Spira by the pixie-equivalent Fayth.
• Meaningful Name: Tiida is the Okinawan word for "Sun". Nomura wanted a break from the moody protagonists of Final Fantasy VII and VIII.
• Milking the Giant Cow: One of his stock animations is to pump his left fist into the air.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Upon learning of Yuna's intended fate, Tidus comes to realize he's been further pushing her along the path to her death.
• Mythology Gag: Tidus' Celestial Weapon is the recurring Infinity +1 Sword Ultima Weapon in all but name.

N-Z

• Naïve Newcomer: At first. As he learns more about the world, he grows out of it. But until that happens, he ends up questioning and breaking a lot of the traditions of Spira, which gets him into some trouble.
• New Meat: He's new to the Guardian game. Doesn't stop him from adapting very quickly, though.
• Nice Guy: He's one of the most optimistic, friendly and upbeat characters in the franchise. It's played up in spinoffs like Dissidia, but even in his home game, Tidus is always trying to cheer up the group and telling them that it's a given that they'll beat Sin.
• No One Gets Left Behind: When Kimahri attacks the already Unsent Seymour, Tidus tricks Auron so that they will save Kimahri from the enemy.
• No Ontological Inertia: Yu Yevon created Dream Zanarkand and all of its inhabitants, including Jecht and Tidus. Once Yu Yevon is defeated, Tidus disappears. Justified in that both Sin and Dream Zanarkand are being summoned by the same Fayth; once Sin is finally defeated, they can stop dreaming.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: Tidus doesn't show any signs of arousal at seeing Rikku take off her jumpsuit while the camera leers on. Instead, he's just excited to see she's all right.
• Number Two: Finds himself to be the Unofficial Vice-Captain of the Besaid Aurochs. He even serves as Captain when Wakka sits out of the championship match. From then on, he permanently assumes the role of Captain as, if you play blitzball after this, Tidus is the only mandatory team member; Wakka is an optional recruit.
• Oblivious to Love: Yuna's crush on him is obvious from the beginning, but Tidus's feelings are much less clear until the famous lake scene, where they have their First Kiss. Most other characters are well aware of Yuna's infatuation; in particular, Lulu makes several hints about it.
• One-Handed Zweihänder: His swords are all at least half as tall as he is, and yet he has no problem swinging them with just his right hand.
• Parents as People: His father was a verbally abusive alcoholic who believed in Tough Love and couldn't figure out how to show his real affection towards him before he vanished ten years ago. His mother adored his father and ignored Tidus whenever Jecht was home, which was the root of why Tidus started to resent him. Without Jecht, she died of heartbreak, leaving Tidus alone.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Played for Drama at Djose Temple. In trying to cheer Yuna up after Operation Mi'ihen, the entire party pick on her because of her bed-hair, including Auron of all people. Tidus' narration makes it clear that he's the only one who genuinely made light of the matter; the rest were just putting on a brave face.
• The Promise: He promises Cid that Yuna will not die. He accomplishes this promise. In the audiodrama, Tidus remembers that he promised Yuna he will forever be with her regardless of her intentions resulting into him once again joining into her journey.
• Rage Against the Mentor: Tidus chews Auron out for his secretive nature.
• Replacement Goldfish: Wakka easily bonds with Tidus over their mutual love of blitzball, and because Tidus resembles his younger brother. It would also explain Lulu's early antagonism towards him.
• Relationship Upgrade:
  • With Yuna thanks to The Big Damn Kiss. In the Character CDs, they are still embarrassed to talk about their relationship though.
  • In the novel, it's even implied that they might've had sex, but then they break up in the audiodrama.
• Resigned to the Call: His goal, at first, is just to get back home. He only tags along with Yuna because he doesn't really have any better ideas of what to do. Eventually, Tidus (like Jecht before him) admits that he knows he's not going back home. Later reveals about the Zanarkand he's from makes this more or less impossible, anyways.
• Riddle for the Ages: This is the official stance on Tidus' connection to Shuyin, in spite of another character explicitly saying that it cannot be a coincidence.
• Rummage Sale Reject: A combination wetsuit-hoodie and lederhosen. You can't really see it outside of cutscenes, but the lederhosen are rendered to look like vinyl, most likely to justify him wearing them underwater. It's intrinsically bad for swimming, nonetheless. In the original plot draft for X, Tidus was a blue-collar construction worker with the attitude of a Japanese street punk, which may explain the crazy attire.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Gender Inverted. He is the Energetic Guy to Yuna's Savvy Girl.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: What prompted him to enter the Cloister of Trials in Besaid and part of what makes him question Yevon.
  Priest: The precepts must be obeyed!
  Tidus: [still running towards the Cloister] Like I care!
• She-Fu: A Rare Male Example, with his Spiral Cut overdrive being the best example.
• Shrouded in Myth: By the time of X-2. Maechen is able to make an educated guess about who Tidus was, but only because he's the most knowledgeable historian in Spira, intimately familiar with the nature of ghosts, and personally met Tidus. Most Spirans know even less, and Yuna herself isn't talking.
  Maechen: They say that High Summoner Yuna was accompanied by a guardian from, of all places, Zanarkand!
• Signature Move: In blitzball at least, it's the Sphere Shot; it's also his coup de grace for his ultimate Overdrive, Blitz Ace. The Jecht Shot can be considered one as well, should the player manage to beat the minigame that teaches it to Tidus.
• So Long, Suckers!: If you use the Flee command with him to escape from a battle.
  "Live and let live!"
• So Proud of You: Following his battle with Jecht, Tidus admits that for the first time he feels proud of being Jecht's son.
• Spirited Competitor: He really gets the spirits of the Aurochs up.
  "No, no, no, no, no. If I say, 'What's our goal?' you say, 'Victory!' When you play in a blitzball tournament, you play to win!"
  
  "Every blitz player knows: when you've got the ball, you've gotta score!"
• Strong Family Resemblance: Tetsuya Nomura has drawn him and Yuna post X-2, and Tidus does begin to look more like his old man, complete with a red bandana.
• Superior Successor:
  • This was Jecht's goal for him, from the very beginning. His parental abuse was meant to either toughen Tidus up or make him hate Jecht enough to want to surpass him as a blitzball player. It seems to have worked after Tidus learns, and then improves upon, the Jecht Shot.
  • Jecht also brought him to Spira for this reason as well - for Tidus to succeed where he failed at stopping Sin.
• Super Not-Drowning Skills: He can hold his breath for a massive amount of time and he's one of the few playable characters who can fight underwater. Justified because he's a professional player of what amounts to an entirely-underwater version of soccer; he'd need to be able to hold his breath for a long time.
• Supporting Protagonist: He is the main character that players control, but In-Universe Yuna is considered The Hero. After Zanarkand though, he firmly takes The Hero role as the one leading everyone to permanently stop Sin and end Yu Yevon.
• Surpassed the Teacher: To his mentor Auron as a leader and guardian. While Auron failed at convincing Braska and Jecht to abandon the final summoning. Tidus's constantly-rebellious attitude throughout the game has rubbed off on everyone and he successfully manages to find a way to permanently defeat Sin and end the spiral of death.
• Sure, Let's Go with That: When he talks about the Zanarkand he knows, the Aurochs considered him crazy for talking about a thousand-year-old ruin as if it were a sprawling metropolis. When Tidus mentions having been near Sin, Wakka believes that's why he's ignorant of Spira and talking nonsense; Sin produces a toxin that badly disorients people until it wears off. It becomes Tidus' go-to excuse for when he reveals how ignorant of the world he is to hide his true nature.
• Taking the Bullet: Poor guy can't catch a break. He saves Yuna from death in both Dissidia 012 and the novel X-2.5.
• Talking the Monster to Death: Downplayed. During the battle with Braska's Final Aeon (a.k.a. Jecht), a Talk option appears in the menu, allowing Tidus to reach out to his father and temporarily soothe his soul, reducing his Overdrive meter, not his HP. It only works twice, so you'd best save both tries for the second phase of the battle.
• Tender Tears: Sheds some after defeating Braska's Final Aeon, as Jecht dies in his arms. He's also noted as being quite the crybaby by Jecht, though he does try to rein this in a little bit.
  Tidus: I hate you, Dad. You know...for the first time, I'm glad to have you as my father.
• This Is My Story: Says so at multiple points. Auron also reminds him of this.
  Auron: "This is your story."
• This Loser Is You: Less so than most examples, as he is by no means incompetent in his world, but when he first enters Spira, most of the other characters' reactions range from confusion to condescension with regards to his ignorant and impulsive behaviour, similar to how the player would likely be received if they were suddenly dropped into a foreign country with no knowledge of their customs or lifestyle. This is emphasized further by Tidus being the only character the player can name, thus making him an intended player avatar.
• Time Master: His starting path in the Sphere Grid contains Time Magic such as Haste, Slow, and Stop. He also gets "Delay Attack" and "Delay Buster", which have a chance to delay its next turn.
• Tomato in the Mirror: He's a component of the summoned dream Zanarkand, ceasing existence once it's destroyed.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • Tidus starts the game without any combat skills but by the time Yuna's group reaches the Calm Lands he's an experienced guardian.
  • Tidus' voice does change over the course of the game, a fact which usually goes overlooked. His narration voice is what Tidus sounds like by the time he's reached Zanarkand; it's not exactly a very deep voice but it is considerably more seasoned. He also gets far more powerful near the end of his Sphere Grid path.
• Trapped in Another World: Although it turns out that his world wasn't even real to begin with.
• Übermensch: Not the most obvious example, but in the world of Spira, he fits the trope perfectly. Tidus does not give a crap about social norms and definitely lives by his own moral code, he is plenty charismatic, he will have Yuna live and be happy, even if all of Spira wants her to sacrifice herself. He even goes up against and kills a god to do so.
• The Unchosen One: He's not a summoner, connected to Yevon, or really anyone of note. He's just a random sports star in Zanarkand who had never been in a fight in his life when he was whisked away to Spira. Nonetheless, he still ends up bringing down its greatest threat, all while defying the conventions that led to it. That said, Jecht and Auron pinned their hopes on him to be the catalyst that would end Sin once and for all (see The Chosen One above).
• Unknown Rival: For most of the game Seymour just bunches Tidus in with the rest of Yuna's Guardians, and certainly not an obstacle to his schemes, let alone for Yuna's feelings (if Seymour's affection for her are truly genuine). It wasn't until Gagazet did Seymour actually start seeing him in a different light...as the "son of Jecht".
• Unreliable Narrator: Not in the usual sense, because the story takes place from his perspective and he accurately narrates everything he personally witnesses with no falsities as far as he knows. The problem is that he has only a limited perspective into the events, no way to know what everyone else is thinking, and is thus missing many pieces of the overall plot. Even worse, his narration occasionally has some of his own personal biases painted in that can hinder his retelling, like his personal hatred for Jecht repeatedly leaking through, and the sheer Mind Screw nature of his existence as a part of the Dream Zanarkand combined with flashbacks that can be blatantly distorted leads to even him being confused at his own thoughts.
• Unskilled, but Strong: Though his damage output is hampered by his lack of experience with a sword, the fact remains that he's a skilled athlete who can hold his breath for five minutes (the time of a blitzball half) in a game that, in cutscenes at least, is shown to be pretty violent.
• Your Head Asplode: In the novel, Final Fantasy X-2.5.
• Walking Disaster Area: Sin is actively seeking him out because he's possessed by the spirit of Jecht.
• The Watson: Don't mind him. He's a little foggy from...um, Sin's toxin. This is an arguably necessary perspective for the player to be introduced to the world of Spira alongside him.
• Why Can't I Hate You?: His final moments with Jecht. Tidus comes to sympathize too much with what Jecht has gone through to hate his father anymore.

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