Many consider Final Fantasy X to be the best entry in the franchise and that's in no small part due to Tidus. His relationship with Yuna and the heartfelt interactions between them help to provide some of the game's best moments. When combined with his personal development throughout the game, they make him an incredibly relatable character. Awkward laughing aside, there really is a lot to love about Tidus.
The game was one of the most successful Final Fantasy titles ever and was the first to receive a direct sequel. As the world of Spira has been expanded upon, so too has Tidus' backstory and character. To some, he may have started life as nothing more than a Cloud clone, but over time, he has gone on to become one of the most beloved characters in Final Fantasy. He may seem like an open book, but there are plenty of interesting facts hidden amongst the pages.
10 He Was Originally Going To Have Black Hair
Yoshinori Kitase and his team were keen to move away from the cool, stoic protagonists that had been a staple of many of the earlier Final Fantasy titles. To accomplish this, Tidus was given a more carefree attitude and the decision was made to give him black hair in order to better differentiate him from Final Fantasy VII's Cloud.
Interestingly, Cloud was also once planned to have dark hair. Once again though, the team ended up settling on blond. It's unclear exactly how far into production the change to Tidus' hair color was made, but prototype footage exists showing him as a brunette. Strangely though, he has blond hair in some of the early concept art.
9 His Name Means 'Sun' In Okinawan
Tidus' name could also have played a part in the team's decision to make him blond. It comes from the Okinawan word 'Tida', which translates to 'Sun'. Yuna's name also comes from the Okinawan dialect and means 'night.' Given this theming, the team may have felt that blond hair would be a better fit for Tidus.
Hair color isn't the only element of the game that's connected to Tidus and Yuna's names though. Both the crests and sigils needed to power up their Celestial weapons were named after the sun and moon respectively. This makes them the only two party members whose crest and sigils' names remained constant across the Japanese and Western releases of the game.
8 It's Pronounced 'Teedus'
Given that Tidus' name is never actually spoken during Final Fantasy X, many players were unaware that they were pronouncing it wrong. Although his name did appear in some trailers for the game, it would not be until Tidus' cameo in the first Kingdom Hearts game that most fans would hear it spoken aloud. It came as a big surprise to many.
Most Western players are inclined to read his name as 'Tide-us', but, as with many words and names, the Japanese pronunciation is a little different. Players weren't the only ones confused by the pronunciation either, with the English voice actor for Selphie mispronouncing it in Kingdom Hearts 2. Aside from this mistake though, his name has been pronounced 'Teedus' in every piece of media in which it has been spoken.
7 Blitzball Wasn't Always His Main Passion
Tidus' time with the Zanarkand Abes plays a fairly significant role in Final Fantasy X's narrative and, in many ways, it helps to define his character. His relationship with his father centers around his desire to earn Jecht's approval by becoming a successful Blitzball player. It's also through Blitzball that he forms such a close bond with Wakka. This in turn leads to Tidus becoming a member of Yuna's party.
In early drafts of Final Fantasy X's script, however, Tidus was actually a plumber, of sorts. His job would have seen him installing underwater pipes and clearing water-dwelling fiends from construction areas. Thankfully, the game's director felt that this made for a weak main protagonist and reworked the character and his backstory to include Blitzball.
6 His Character Was Influenced By The Sixth Sense
Auron being an unsent was one of the biggest plot twists to ever grace the Final Fantasy franchise. Many players were completely taken aback by the news that one of their favorite players was effectively a glorified ghost. Were it not for The Sixth Sense though, things could have been very different.
Early drafts of Final Fantasy X's story featured Tidus as an unsent rather than Auron. Following the release of The Sixth Sense, however, the development team felt that the plot twist would be too similar and rewrote Tidus to instead be a dream of the Fayth. As Auron was seen as a secondary character, the team felt that him being one of the unsent would be different enough from the movie.
5 His Character Arc Was Inspired By Japanese Folklore
The Japanese folktale of Susanoo and the Orochi has provided inspiration for several video games. Although Warriors Orochi is perhaps the most notable, it also had a big impact on Tidus' character arc in Final Fantasy X. It tells the tale of the Orochi, a fearsome monster that threatened to cause death and destruction if regular human sacrifices were not made. It reappeared periodically until eventually being defeated by Susanoo.
Much like the Orochi, Sin reappears periodically and requires a summoner and one of their guardians to be sacrificed in order to prevent destruction. As for Susanoo, he is the God of Sea and Storms and thus shares Tidus' affinity with water. He's also the brother of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, which may have had an impact on Tidus' name.
4 He Was The First Fully-Voiced Final Fantasy Protagonist
Due largely to the 700mb disc capacity, it was fairly uncommon for PlayStation games to include voice acting. As the first Final Fantasy title to appear on the PS2 though, Final Fantasy X was able to give voices to all of its main characters. Masakazu Morita was cast as Tidus in the Japanese release and has reprised the role on numerous occasions. James Arnold Taylor provides Tidus' voice in all English Final Fantasy releases although Shaun Fleming voices Tidus in the Kingdom Hearts games.
As well as being the first main protagonist with a voice, Tidus is also the very last main protagonist that players are able to rename. This is because despite the game's voice acting, Tidus' name is never actually spoken during the events of Final Fantasy X. He's instead referred to by his gender pronouns or nicknames based on his Blitzball talents.
3 He's The Only Main Protagonist Not To Complete The Journey
It's fairly rare for a party member to die in a Final Fantasy game, which is perhaps what makes it so emotionally impactful when it actually happens. Although none of the main party technically dies during Final Fantasy X, Yuna sends Auron to the Farplane and Tidus ceases to exist when the dream of the Fayth ends.
As a result of this, Tidus is the only main protagonist not to be present at the end of their respective Final Fantasy game. Whether or not what happens to him can be classed as death is debatable, but the loss is every bit as palpable as the deaths of Aerith, Luna, and Odin.
2 He Has A Doppelganger
Despite it being bundled with the HD remaster of Final Fantasy X, not many people have actually played the game's sequel. Those who have should be familiar with Shuyin. He serves as the game's main antagonist and is the primary reason that Yuna starts her new career as a sphere hunter. Although this ultimately stemmed from a case of mistaken identity, that might not have always been the plan.
In the original Japanese release of Final Fantasy X: Eternal Calm, a cutscene which connects the two games together, it is actually Tidus that is shown in the sphere. It's possible that the team simply hadn't finished working on Shuyin's character model yet, but the story may also have been rewritten afterward. At the time of Eternal Calm's release, a sequel wasn't in the works and it only came about due to the positive fan reception to Eternal Calm.
1 He's A Terrible Kisser
Romance isn't something that's seen too often in the Final Fantasy series, but it's found regularly throughout Final Fantasy X. One of the most iconic examples is the kiss scene between Tidus and Yuna. According to animator Kazuyuki Ikumori though, the team had a lot of trouble making the scene look natural. It was apparently reworked multiple times due to female team members believing that it didn't look right.
On the subject of romance, the English localization team had to fight to get Yuna's 'I love you' line added to the game's ending. In the Japanese release, she simply says 'Thank you', but the localization team felt that 'I love you' made for a more fitting farewell. Despite some resistance from the team in Japan, the line was eventually added - making it one of the only intentional dialogue differences between the Japanese and Western releases of the game.