The main character of the game, who finds himself apparently taken from his futuristic home city of Zanarkand to a place 1,000 years in the future, which is ravaged by a creature known as Sin. He's initially quite immature and ignorant about Spira, but over time, becomes more selfless and questions the basic assumptions many Spirans make about their world.It turns out that he is actually from an illusionary copy of Zankarkand created by the Fayth, and his continuing existence is tied to theirs.
The Ace: He is this in blitzball, Wakka calling him a whiz kid with his most powerful overdrive lampshading it being called Blitz Ace. Tidus however has an Always Someone Better still as seen below.
All Just a Dream: A very rare case of an inversion. Spira is real, Tidus himself is just a dream.
Always Save the Girl: As the ultimate aim of Yuna's mission is, in fact, to die, FFX is truly a test of this trope.
Even his team logo is an amalgamation of "J" and "T" (Jecht and Tidus).
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 later on.
Annoying Laugh: His laughing scene in Luca is practically internet-famous.
BFS: While not as big as Auron's, the swords Tidus wields are quite large.
Bodyguard Crush: Notably, his affection for Yuna is one of the main reasons he becomes her Guardian. Likewise, Yuna has also fallen head-over-heels for Tidus, and the two finally hook up in Macalania Woods when Tidus tries to comfort her.
At Mount Gagazet, he learns he's a fictional creation and he'll disappear if Sin is destroyed for good. He reacts with no angst or hesitation, and continues ahead with the plan, willing to die for the same exact reason he's tried to turn Yuna away from. This is a far cry from the selfish, juvenile, stubbornly dismissive Tidus we've known through most of the game.
The Chosen Zero: As with the previous game's Zidane, his personality seems to be a throwback to older Final Fantasy heroes like Bartz and Locke.
Dark-Skinned Blond: Subverted. It's never stated outright, but it's possible he dyed his hair blond. In flashbacks Tidus as a child has brown hair.
Decoy Protagonist: Subverted. The story starts with him and stays like this for a while. When Yuna shows up, she becomes the center of attention and pretty much the heroine, with Tidus stepping into Supporting Protagonist for her. A necessary perspective for the player to be introduced to the mysterious world of Spira alongside him, who knows pretty much nothing of it. The story still retains an important plot point (Sin is Jecht) that is directly related to him, and much later, he jumps into the spotlight by forcing the group to Take a Third Option, giving the story its most important twist and becoming the hero and protagonist once again, it being Tidus who has to perform the Heroic Sacrifice in the end instead of Yuna.
Doomed Hometown: His version of Zanarkand is torn up by Sin.
Fragile Speedster: Until Rikku joins, he's the best bet for landing hits on more agile enemies such as basilisks. He's also the only character with the Flee command.
Generation Xerox: His father was a star blitzball player; he, too, accidentally got sucked out of Dream Zanarkand, and became a guardian.
How We Got Here: Tidus is the narrator of X, telling the player the story (and his thoughts on the matter) up the group's campfire at the ruins of Zanarkand.
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 pendant in the sequel, representing her memories of him.
The Ishmael: Seems to be played straight for a while, until it's revealed that Tidus is the Fayth's chosen one destined to bring about the final end of Sin.
It Was a Gift: Twice: A minor Longsword, given to him by Auron (the latter mentioned it was from Jecht), and later his signature Brotherhood.
Lightning Bruiser: Lacks the punch of Auron, but can strike close to three times before Auron gets a second turn. With both Haste and Quick Hit he verges on Blade Spam territory.
Meaningful Name: Tiida is the Okinawan word for "Sun". Nomura wanted a break from the moody protagonists of Final Fantasy VII and VIII.
Talking the Monster to Death: Subverted. During the battle with Braska's Final Aeon (aka 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 it for the second phase of the battle.
This Is My Story: Says so at multiple points. Auron also reminds him of this.
What Could Have Been: Tidus was originally supposed to be revealed as an unsent. However, Nomura saw a movie with a similar premise (The Sixth Sense; seriously.) and decided to swap Tidus' role with Auron.
In the original draft, Tidus was going to be a plumber(!) who was also a member of a Japanese-style gang.
The daughter of the previous summoner, Braska, she becomes a summoner herself at the start of the game.In X-2, she searches for clues about Tidus' whereabouts after finding a sphere that appears to show him imprisoned (It isn't Tidus, but actually Shuyin), resulting in her getting involved in the politics of the Eternal Calm-era Spira.
Absolute Cleavage: Her X-2 default outfit: the only thing that compensates for it is the Zanarkand Abes' symbol formed from the laces.
Badass Adorable: Not as moe as some of the other examples, but she has definite shades. Most notably, when she's kidnapped by the Al Bhed and the entire rest of the party races to rescue her—only to show up just as she's kicked all the Al Bhed's asses and is about to leave.
Bag of Spilling: Justified due to the ending of X. She may have lost the Aeons due to them being closely related to the Fayth, but her Adrenaline Makeover makes up for it in X-2.
Character Development: From doormat to heretic in the original, to outlaw/pirate/rebel-with-a-cause in the sequel. Albeit still with some doormat tendencies, as Shinra points out.
Her Heart Will Go On: It happens one way or another in X-2; either she stops mourning because she's reunited with Tidus (in the Good or Perfect Ending) or because she moves on (if you don't).
Stepford Smiler: Tidus unwittingly causes her to crack by talking at length about how beautiful his Zanarkand is, and how the whole party should go visit. (sniff...)
Take a Third Option: She ends up taking one when she realizes the Final Summoning won't work against Sin, and her desire to save the world without sacrificing people to do so drives her in X-2.
Tonight Someone Kisses: With Tidus at Macalania Woods, after the Bevelle ordeal. "Suteki da ne" only adds to the "daww" feeling as Tidus and Yuna begin their moonlit tryst.
More Genre Savvy players could have guessed that by looking at the cover of the instruction booklet.
Uptight Loves Wild: A gender-specific inversion. Yuna is prim and follows the rules; Tidus butts heads with every authority figure.
One of Yuna's childhood friends, who is a few years older than she is. He had a younger brother named Chappu, who was killed on a Crusader operation against Sin while using a machina weapon, causing him to hate the Al Bhed and technology. He's also captain of the Besaid Aurochs, who have never won a single game of blitzball.
Doesn't Like Guns: On a stricter sense. Stretches to most machina as well as the Al Bhed that continue to use them.
Dumb Is Good: Not the sharpest tool in the shed, but a more dependable friend you'll never meet.
Fantastic Racism: Towards the Al Bhed in the first game. Almost ironic since he's arguably one of the most laid back characters in the game.
The fact that his son's name (Vidina) is Al Bhed for "future" shows some majorCharacter Development.
Interestingly enough, he's angry with Rikku when it turns out she's Al Bhed after the fight with her brother's machina, but when it turns out Yuna's half-Al Bhed, he asks himself "Yuna's Yuna, right?" This would suggest that after realizing that one of his closest friends is partially a member of a race he hates most, he's rethinking his attitude.
Idiot Ball: Towards Yevon. In the beginning, he is easily the most devout of all eight playable characters, including Seymour, who is one of the leaders of the religion in question. It takes the revelation of Rikku and Yuna's Al Bhed heritage, a collective telling off of him by her and the others, the destruction of Home, the revelation of Yevon's deep corruption, multiple assassination attempts on the party, and finally, the truth that Sin can never be destroyed by the Final Aeon for him to finally wise up for good.
Promotion to Parent: Presumably happened with him and Chappu, (although to hear him talk Chappu was something of The Ace) and to a lesser extent he and Lulu looked after a young Yuna. Chappu complains a little about Wakka acting like a surrogate parent in one sphere shown in X-2.
Religious Bruiser: The most devout follower of Yevon in the party, and one of the physically strongest.
Standard Status Effects: His path's specialty is causing a lot of them such as darkness, silence, etc.
Another of Yuna's friends from Besaid. She was in a relationship with Chappu, who had considered proposing if he won the Cup. She was on a pilgrimage with a summoner named Ginnem who was killed in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, as well as with another named Zuke, who decided to quit in the Calm Lands.
You'd be expecting that she did this to Luzzu upon finding out that he's the one who convinced Chappu to join the Crusaders' doomed-to-fail operation, but it turns out that Lulu had already been told, and hit him when he did..
Deadpan Snarker: Heavy on the deadpan, light on the snark. In fact, the creators of X-2 said that they didn't include Lulu as the third playable character because her no-nonsense attitude would have completely shut down Yuna and Rikku's playful banter.
Failure Knight: She has been a guardian to two summoners before Yuna and one of them did not survive the journey to Zanarkand.
Male Gaze: Take a good look at how the FMV introduces her. Take a good look at where Tidus' eyes wander when he's using the binoculars on the S.S. Winno. Take a good look at where your eyesight falls during her Victory Pose.
The FMV showing her this way is due to her dress. Because FM Vs are not rendered in real time with the same small handful of moving models they hid her from view or only showed from the waist up so they didn't have spend the extra time and money making sure her overly complicated dress was the same each time.
Mama Bear: Towards Yuna in the beginning, toward Tidus once she warms up to him, and towards Rikku starting around the time Home is destroyed.
Mix And Match: Not in classes, like others. She's a Black Mage and a model.
Ms. Exposition: Despite her initial skepticism, she gradually comes to accept that Tidus knows diddly about how Spira works (sans Blitzball, of course). After a while whenever a new situation pops up, she is is usually the first one over to explain it to him. However when Tidus asks her if this means she believes his story, she dodges the question.
Ms. Fanservice: Shares this role with Rikku in the first game. In X-2, not so much.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Averted. Not only are her eyes reddish-brown, but Lulu is actually a pretty nice and caring woman underneath that icy exterior. Well, at least if you're one of her True Companions.
Settle for Sibling: Tidus points out there is definitely something between Wakka and Lulu but it is implied she has mixed feelings about becoming involved with her dead lovers older brother. In the end she and Wakka tie the knot.
Stone Wall: Her HP and physical defense aren't particularly good, (her magical defense is much better) but her Evasion is godly, ensuring she doesn't get hit all that often.
Third Option Love Interest: During a Guadosalam sidequest, Tidus has the opportunity to profess his love for Yuna, express an interest in Rikku, or raise a naughty eyebrow at Lulu.
A Ronso who was alienated from his own people after being unable to honorably accept defeat in a duel, which resulted in his horn being broken, but who now serves as Yuna's protector.
Jack-of-All-Trades: has the smallest path in the Sphere Grid, but can make up for it by having a choice of the other characters' paths, except for Auron's. You need to jump hoops to get him to the start of that Grid.
The Quiet One: He doesn't say a word to Tidus until the aftermath of Operation Mi'ihen. He's apparently making up for being quite boastful when he was younger, at least according to the other Ronso.
Third-Person Person: Like all other Ronso, he almost exclusively refers to himself by his own name, and even rarely uses second- or third-person pronouns.
One of Jecht's old friends, whom Tidus has known for some time. It is revealed that in Spira, he was one of the legendary guardians of the last successful summoner, Braska. It turns out that Braska sacrificed his life and Jecht became the Final Aeon to defeat Sin, an outcome Auron was highly displeased with. He attacked Yunalesca and was killed, but remained as an unsent in order to break the cycle.
Arranged Marriage: the reason he fell out of favor with Yevon was because he turned one down.
The Atoner: He couldn't stop Braska and Jecht from sacrificing themselves in the Final Summoning, so he's determined to make sure their children end the cycle forever.
Black Comedy: Appears to have developed something of a dark sense of humor. For example, before fighting Evrae in Bevelle, he lets out this gem:
Auron:(chucking) The red carpet has teeth.
Broken Pedestal: Quite disappointed to see Kinoc becoming more corrupt over time after rising in the Yevonite hierarchy, but is still angry with Seymour when he kills him.
The Cameo: In X-2, he, Jecht and Braska are heard (but not seen) shouting advice to the party in the final battles. He also appears in a secret cutscene with Gippal.
He's also a party member in the Underworld level of Kingdom Hearts II.
Chaste Hero/Celibate Hero: Part of the reason he teamed with Braska was because he became ostracized from his Warrior Monk sect for refusing the hand of the High Priest's daughter.
Cool Old Guy: Despite of being only 35 years old, but since other characters are about teenagers - in their early twenties (or their ages are never stated, like Kimahri) he is definitely the oldest in the group.
Eye Scream: One of the injuries that he sustained when he attacked Yunalesca ten years ago.
Former Teen Rebel: Inverted; Auron was an upstanding monk in the old days. It was not until Braska'a Final Summoning that Auron realized that his years of service to Yevon were wasted.
Gargle Blaster: Whatever's in his jug. (It's a traditional sake jug, but it may also hold rice wine, in keeping with the Ronin theme.) In his Overdrive he spits it onto his BFS, which causes dark fire and black holes. Another has Auron creating a whirlwind and then hurling his entire jug in, at which point the tornado turns into a fiery pillar.
Fridge Brilliance: Of course he can handle whatever's in there, he's already dead
Heroic BSOD: Apparently, he got really messed up when Jecht and Braska both died and even more so when finding out that it all was in vain Despite a few scenes it's never quite shown, but the result is clear.
I Gave My Word: To find a portal to Jecht's Zanarkand, and watch over Tidus in his stead. Sound impossible? Not for this BAMF.
I Hate Past Me: A pyrefly reenactment of Auron falling to his knees as his friends march to their death. Just the sight of it is enough to make Mr. Cool fly into a screaming rage.
My Greatest Failure: Despite being one of the few guardians (perhaps the only one) to survive a successful pilgrimage, this is his motivation for becoming The Atoner.
The daughter of Cid, the leader of the Al Bhed, and Yuna's maternal cousin. She is one of the first people to greet Tidus on Spira, until he's washed onto Besaid. She attacks the party in an attempt to kidnap Yuna and stop her pilgrimage, but the party is unaware that it was her. She is defeated and later joins the pilgrimage as a guardian, hoping that Yuna will give up on it.In X-2, she and Yuna work with their new friend Paine on a quest to find spheres as part of the Gullwings, hoping for clues to what might have happened to Tidus.
Ditzy Genius: In the first game, despite having ditz tendencies, she is a skilled chemist, and has more emotional savvy than you'd expect for a girl her age.
Hidden Depths: Rikku's aloof personality, cheerfulness, and Badass Adorable status may make her seem somewhat shallow to some. However, if you can get your Relationship Values with her high enough, she opens up about a lot of her reasons for being such. Bottom line: the death of her mother taught her that you can't waste your life being sad, and that you need to live it up while you can, especially in a Crapsack World like Spira. There's more, but going too deep into it would take all day.
Hollywood Atheist: Subverted. All Al Bhed believe in the power of science over Yevon, but Rikku offers some perfectly reasonable justifications for her lack of belief in spiritual matters. That being said, it's further subverted by the fact that she does seem to believe in an afterlife of sorts as shown from when she tells Yuna, and later Tidus, that she'll "see them again". It's really more like she's an Agent Scully, who has a spiritual belief, just not the "main" one as it were.
Ms. Fanservice: Her outfits are quite revealing, especially in the sequel. For a very specific scene, try the FMV reunion in the Moonflow.
Name's the Same: With another Square character. It's also the reason she didn't appear in the first Kingdom Hearts game. She was replaced during development by Yuffie. If you look at Yuffie's outfit in Kingdom Hearts, it looks much more like a recolour of a slightly altered Rikku outfit than it does like Yuffie's original FF7 getup. She does make an appearance later on in Kingdom Hearts II, but she's never referred to by name in the cutscenes.
This is actually an interesting leftover from the game's translation. In Japanese, she's called 'Ryukku', pronounced 'riyucku', it's quite tricky to pronounce for anybody unused to Japanese, so her name was simplified to something easier to say. Of course, then along came Kingdom Hearts, featuring a major character named 'Riku' and causing problems. In Japanese, 'Ryukku' and 'Riku' are really quite distinct sounding names.
Only appears in Final Fantasy X-2. The third member of the heroines, who was once part of a task force composed of herself, Nooj, Baralai and Gippal that entered the Den of Woe, which resulted in Shuyin possessing Nooj and turning him against his comrades. For her, the journey is largely about finding answers to the questions in her own past.
Action Girl: Makes even the White Mage class seem badass. Hell, her unique dress sphere is a giant Mech made entirely out of swords.
Expy: Several people (including the main writer for both Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy X2) have pointed out her similarity to VIII's protagonist Squall. She also shares some similarities with Vincent Valentine, particularly during his time with the Turks.
Archnemesis Dad: Tidus views him as this for a long time. It turns out that he's not quite that bad, but there's still some resentment and for very good reasons.
Antivillain: Type IV, The only real reason he's on the bad side is because he was fused with Sin. When he fused with Sin, he became a Final Aeon in order to destroy Sin so as to save the world. In addition, Jecht was perfectly willing to die at the hands of his son if it meant eliminating Sin for good, although that didn't stop him from having to fight his son under Yu Yevon's influence.
BFS: And it becomes even bigger when Jecht powers up into the Final Aeon.
Captain's Log: Jecht recorded spheres of his journey to show his wife and Tidus, still hopeful he would find a way home someday. When Jecht came to accept he was trapped in Spira, he left behind spheres to help guide Tidus, should the same fate befall him.
Final Boss Preview: Jecht calls out to Tidus when the latter is sucked into Spira. Tidus returns to this void at the end of the game to battle the Final Aeon.
Honor Before Reason: Alluded to by Auron. If he ever used the phrase 'it's the right thing to do' to talk you into doing something, it meant he was about to get himself (and his companions) into a lot of trouble.
I Cannot Self-Terminate: He can't control his own actions and thus needs your party to kill him, which also means he's unable to throw the fight with your party as well.
It Runs in the Family: Neither he nor Tidus is very comfortable with the whole hero gig.
Memetic Badass: An in-universe example to Dream Zanarkand. It's one of the many reasons why Tidus hates him.
Broken Ace: But it turns out his awesomeness is mostly an act for the crowd and that deep down he's an alcoholic who can't relate to or connect with the son he really loves.
Took a Level in Badass: Over time, he takes Braska's pilgrimage more seriously and becomes a more focused individual. When his drunkenness causes him to injure a shoopuff, he stops drinking altogether.
Tough Love: Jecht later claims that he wanted to toughen Tidus up, and was looking forward to seeing him become a star blitz player. He never told Tidus this directly, of course.
Well Done Son Guy: Won't be winning any Father of the Year trophies soon.
Seymour Guado
"Death is a sweet slumber. All the pain of life is gently swept away... Ah, yes. Don't you see... if all life were to end in Spira, all suffering would end. Don't you see? Do you not agree?"
The son of Lord Jyscal Guado and a human, which resulted in him initially being exiled from Guadosalam, but Seymour returned as a summoner, gaining favor with the Guado and the Yevonite church. Seymour is one of the four maesters of Yevon, along with maesters Mika, Kelk Ronso and Kinoc, being promoted fairly early on in the game. He seeks Yuna's hand in marriage to bring peace to Spira, but in reality, plans on becoming one with Sin in order to kill as many people as he can to bring them peace, in his mind. Oh, and just in case the above quote didn't tip you off, he's a perfectly sane individualwho could never be accusedof doing anything wrong.
Anime Hair: Seriously, look at that picture and tell me how that is physically possible?
Affably Evil: Although it's played mostly for Squick. Seymour is the sort of faux-complimentary creep you could see being a Facebook stalker in real life.
Dark is Evil: His Aeon is the Dark Aeon, Anima, but once you get her on your side, it's the opposite.
Dark Messiah: He could be the poster boy for this trope.
Establishing Character Moment: invoked during the Fiend invasion of Luca so the people of Spira can come to see him as something of a savior.
The trueEstablishing Character Moment for him? "Pretend I didn't say it" after Wakka says that his condoning the use of machina is not something a Maester would say.
Expy: Of Emperor Mateus from Final Fantasy II. The developers of Duodecim apparently noticed this, as they put Mateus as Yuna's rival in her storyline.
Fantastic Racism: This was the reason why he ended up exiled from the Guados as a child (by his own father, no less), as the Guados were appalled by his Human/Guado hybrid status.
Foil/Evil Counterpart: To Yuna. Both were born to one human parent and one parent of another race. Both their mothers died when they were young. Both had fathers who made difficult choices that involved staying out of their children's lives for the sake of peace and their children's well-being. The key difference is in their upbringing: Yuna was loved throughout her life despite being half Al Bhed, and always had friends and people who cared about her; Seymour, in contrast, was hated for being half-Guado, was outcast, and grew up lonely and isolated. Hence their different philosophies about the meaning of life - Yuna came to believe that life was worth living even despite the pain, while Seymour came to believe that life was about pain and suffering.
Forceful Kiss: With Yuna, considered by many to be Squick seeing as he is dead.
Freudian Excuse/Freud Was Right: Seymour was incredibly attached to his mother, who sacrificed herself to become a Fayth in order to make him strong. Seymour didn't take it well.
Insane Troll Logic: His modus operandi is to end all suffering in Spira... by turning into the next Sin and killing everybody. It's so stupid that even Tidus lampshades.
"You're totally nuts!"
Of course, as it's simply an extrapolation of Yevon's teachings, he's totally right as far as he knows. It's not like he knew that the Fayth themselves were working towards destroying Sin forever. As far as he knew, they were aiding the spiral of death and part of the problem.
Knight Templar: His master plan to save the peoples of Spira is to kill everyone so that they can be "free".
Leitmotif and Musical Spoiler: A sinister one present in fully six tracks in the game soundtrack, tying in with Musical Spoiler because these tracks play well before the game outs him as evil...plotwise, at least. If Square Enix didn't want us to think the man was evil, they shouldn't have played Arpeggios Of Malice in E(vil) Major every time he showed up.
Little No: His reaction upon being defeated for the final time.
Magic Staff: His Weapon of Choice and when in your party he typically will be dealing more damage then Auron! When you fight him though its curiously absent.
My Death Is Just the Beginning: Possibly doubling up as a Xanatos Gambit, depending on how much credit you give him. Upon the first fight, Seymour is killed by the party in self-defense. He seemed to have planned this, or at least he didn't care if he died. Because the Guados forbade Yuna to send his body to the Farplane, he ends up returning much stronger than ever and decides to fully enact his plans to fuse with Sin and kill everyone in order to "end all suffering in Spira".
Nietzsche Wannabe: The definitive example among Final Fantasy antagonists. Whereas being inherently evil and wanting to destroy the world just because it's there or as part of a Villainous Breakdown is a common motivation for them (Exdeath, Kefka,Kuja, etc.), Seymour is the only one who monologues about how life is meaningless and how the world can only be saved by being destroyed.
Obviously Evil: You'll notice we're not spoiler tagging most of the stuff that has to do with him being a bad guy. That's because summoning a demon from the underworld ten minutes after you've been introduced as a character tends to mark you out as one.
One-Winged Angel: Gets three of these throughout the four times you fight him.
Pet the Dog: Probably the closest thing to a redeemable, good-will, selfless act that Seymour ever committed was giving Baralai a place to stay after the latter and his party were ambushed by a Shuyin possessed Nooj.
There Is No Kill Like Overkill: He quite literally massacres monsters in the Blitzballs stadium. Turns out that's nothing on what he plans to do to the world. It's also implied that he was the one who released the monsters he massacred in the first place.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: From a Certain Point of View. He legitimately believes that the only way to free people from the cycle of suffering is via killing them, and seeks to take control of Sin to do. Given that The Government in Spira is dedicated to ensuring said cycle forever, his plan is simply the ultimate conclusion of Yevon's philosophy. In fact, when he says "But even when I'm gone, Spira's suffering will prevail," he seems to say it with some sadness. The only reason he turns out to be wrong is because Yuna and her friends defy Yevon totally and Screw Destiny.
Villain WithReally Damn GoodPublicity: No matter what he does, what he plans, how Obviously Evil he acts and downright creepy he gets, the public will instantly assume that he's the good guy and anybody who opposes him is a villain without even asking what the full story is. Somewhat justified in that he's basically one of the world's four Popes, but it's still frustrating for everyone who knows he's a bad 'un.
Sin
The "primary antagonist" of FFX, it is an enormous Space Whale that was created by the Summoners of Zanarkand to help them win the war against Bevelle 1000 years ago Yu Yevon to protect him during his perpetual summoning of Dream Zanarkand. Its name originates from the fact that people think that it was born from the sins of their forefathers during the Machina War. It has only one purpose: to bring destruction to technology, or at least any sign of progress in the world.
Lost in Translation/Woolseyism: the Japanese name for the character is the semi-homonymous "Shin". It means "God." On the other hand, being called "Sin" also makes sense, as it was given the name due to it allegedly appearing whenever people were committing sins.
Meaningful Name: It's name is derived from the concept of willingly breaking taboos from ones religion, and the creature is named as such because the people believed it originated from the fact that they sinned or their forefathers sinned during the war.
In the Japanese version, its name is written with katakana that reads as "Shin" (what a tweest!). "Shin" is one of several ways to read the kanji for "deity". A malevolent deity that goes around punishing people for their transgressions seems to be the character concept of Sin.
Population Control: Sin automatically seeks out populated towns and smashes them to bits. This is Yu Yevon's way of ensuring that technology won't advance.
Sequential Boss: Fought four times in a row, although there would be a short break before the last one in the sequence. Appropriate, seeing as the fourth battle is That One Boss.
The founder of the religion of the same name, and father of Yunalesca. He was the leader of Zanarkand a thousand years before the game and led them in the great Machina War against Bevelle. He's the realBig Bad of the game, lingering on as mindless spirit that summons the "armor" known as Sin.
Anticlimax Boss: Infamous for this with the fandom, since it is impossible to lose.
Ax Crazy: Although it's implied that he doesn't know what he's doing anymore.
The Fundamentalist: From what little we actually know about him, he was a pretty zealous leader, considering that he condemned all of Zanarkand's citizens to becoming Fayths and ground technological progress to a halt for over a thousand years.
Flat Character: Somewhat of a unique example. He has an extensive background and possessed an identity at one point, but because of his actions prior to the game he has become a blank slate. Just what he was like is never revealed, which has resulted in a couple of different character interpretations.
He Who Must Not Be Seen: Although we do see him for the final battle, it is only in his parasitic form.
God Is Evil: Subverted in that he's actually a summoner, but is revered as a god by the people of Spira. At the time of the game he is not aware of his actions and is said to be "neither good nor evil", but nevertheless acts as a destructive force.
Hidden Villain: His name is not dropped until the third act of the game, and he does not even make an appearance until the final battle. Even worse, his human form is never seen. Despite this, his influence can be felt throughout the entire game through the Yevon religion.
Ludd Was Right: The purpose of Sin is to keep Spira frozen in a pre-industrial dark age.
Obliviously Evil: Because his sense of self has been destroyed, he has absolutely no idea of all the death and destruction he's causing during the game. However, he may have been evil prior to his mind wipe.
:What Could Have Been: Apparently, there were supposed to be portraits of Yu Yevon (presumably in his non-parasitic form) displayed in public places in the original draft, but they were cut in the final version.
Yunalesca
"It is better to die in hope than to live in despair. Let me be your liberator!"
The first summoner to defeat Sin. The original final aeon was created from her husband and guardian, Lord Zaon. Has been living in Zanarkand as an unsent for a thousand years, acting as the guide to the summoners who complete their pilgrimage.
Daddy's Little Villain: The fact that she is so devoted to honoring Yu Yevon is one of the main driving forces behind the plot. Whether or not she commits her villainous actions because she thinks daddy would be proud or because he specifically told her to is a subject of much debate.
Despair Event Horizon: She crosses it before she dies, as shown from how she believes that there is no hope for Spira without the Final Aeon.
Prehensile Hair: You know her one One-Winged Angel form? Yeah, that's really her hair. Meaning she's freaking riding her hair and kicking back while kicking your ass in her final form.
The antagonist of X-2, more or less. A thousand years as an Unsent has driven him crazy, as did being killed by Bevelle soldiers along with his lover and now he's trying to destroy Spira.
Body Surf: He possessed Nooj, which caused him to fire on his friends (hence their breakup). Shuyin then lied dormant for a few years, until Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal meet up again, their mutual disgust of each other reawakening him and forcing him to jump to Baralai.
Evil Twin: Of Tidus. Also results in a Palette Swap due to how he fights in the Final Battle. He is pretty much Tidus in every aspect; attack animations, critical HP animation, and even his super attacks are just copies of Tidus' Overdrives!
Could also count as Fridge Brilliance, since the Wall of Fayth were forced to "dream" of Zanarkand, Tidus might be their representation of Shuyin.
Ship Tease: He has this with Yuna in an early scene and Paine, as seen in the Crimson Spheres.
White-Haired Pretty Boy: Subverted. He comes off as a rather suspicious figure with implications of the victorious Starscream kind when first introduced, and there's plenty of reason to think he's evil, given that he fights the party in order to protect yet another one of Bevelle's dark secrets, not to mention one of the his sphere also reveals that after the Crimson Squad fiasco he sought help from Seymour of all people. However, later on it becomes clear that Shuyin-possessed Nooj is the actual villain, and Baralai doesn't get around to his Face Heel Turn until after Shuyin swipes his body. The ending makes it pretty clear that he's one of the good guys, working for the betterment of Spira.
Brother
"Who is the leader? I am! I give the orders around here!!"
Rikku's older brother. If he has a real name, it's never mentioned. He is seen piloting the party's airship in both games, but plays a larger role in X-2 where he is part of the Gullwings.
All Love Is Unrequited: In a hidden x-2 cutscene, he comes to terms with Yuna not returning his feelings.
Calling the Old Man Out: A subtle version: he and Rikku had a falling out with Cid in between the two games, so what do they do? They get their own airship, and its name is a jab at Cid's own. (Celsius to Farenheit, get it?)
The Captain: Rikku constantly finds herself wondering why he's in charge.
Kissing Cousins: Has a massive unrequited crush on Yuna, going so far as to learn English (or whatever the common language on Spira is) so he can talk to her. Rikku is not amused.
Large Ham: Not only does he shout, he flaps his arms and punches.
Remember the New Guy: Remember when the party arrived on Bikanel Island? Gippal was there the entire time, having met up with Auron and helping to protect Yuna.
Ship Tease: He's got it with both Yuna and Rikku (more so with the latter, especially considering he seems to come on a bit too strong for Yuna's taste)
Voiced by Takuma Suzuki (Japanese) and Dwight Schultz (English).
An old scholar who has surprising amounts of knowledge of Spira and its history. He first appears at Mi'ihen Highroad walking near a statue of Lord Mi'ihen.
Or O'aka The XXIII, Merchant Extraordinaire. He's a travelling merchant who follows Yuna's group to sell them weapons and items. Has a brother named Wantz who takes over the family business when O'aka is jailed for selling equipment to the enemies of Yevon (guess who).
Dead Little Sister: O'aka and Wantz were originally guardians to their sister, who was a summoner. The brothers failed to protect her, and they are making up for their failure by helping out Yuna. According to O'aka she greatly resembles their dead sister.
O'akaLoves Your Guts: He really does! If you helped him early on, he gives you major discount and in general sells you way better equipment than the stores.
Lampshaded when your party kills Seymour, and he appears outside to leisurely sell you things while the Guado are out to kill you. When they storm out, he warps away with the Save Sphere.
Might be more than a Shout Out: the Ultimania states that Shinra researched how to extract life energy from the Farplane as a power source, and after generations this would become the process of extracting Mako energy as seen in Final Fantasy VII.
My Master, Right or Wrong: States that he can't let the party escape because "Lord Seymour would never forgive us if we did," prevents them from sending Seymour (indirectly enabling the massacre of the Ronso), and destroys the sphere proving that Seymour killed his father before sending the guards after them and reporting their actions.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Look at you, Ghido...all you had to do was prevent Yuna from sending Seymour into the Farplane and be COMPLETELY IGNORANT of your Maester's actions to get EVERYONE TO HATE YOU!!!
◊
◊ worse
◊.Image, so you can see what I mean
◊ without stretching the page.
◊
