In defense of Tidus & Yuna (spoiler warnings)

[Imperia]

I've been wondering why everyone is so hard on both Tidus and Yuna. With Tidus, everyone accuses him of being a weak little "girl," they say he's too whiny, too annoying, and too stupid. With Yuna, everyone accuses her of being with no personality (I hope X-2 proved them wrong), that she was weak, ignorant of her actions in finding a different way to save the world, boring, that she became "horny" in X-2, and anything else that may come out of their mouths...

I defend these two characters. I think they are greatly misunderstood. I'll start with Tidus:

-Sure, he can be whiny, but can you blame him? Why was he such a way? Well, first, his father picked on him throughout his childhood, and wouldn't leave him alone, his father didn't tolerate tears, and he constantly put him down. After Jecht dissappears, Tidus' mother dies, and now the only guardian left was Auron. Ten years later, Sin attacks, and Tidus sees his beloved home city destroyed right before his eyes, and then is sent to another time and place, and he finds that he cannot get home, and eventually learns that he can never go back ever again.
In this new world, everyone is very conservative, and worship this Yevon character that Tidus has no clue about, and everyone maliciously accuses him of being a heathen (damn mutants), and Tidus begins to feel lost and alone. Then he sees Yuna-his true love. He joins her, travels with her, and then eventually learns that she's marching towards her death-and becomes crushed by this awful truth. Now he tries to find a way to save her, along with Rikku. They eventually find a way how, and find a way to defeat Sin once and for all, they defeat him, and Yu Yevon, and Tidus fades away. He was willing to give himself up for Yuna so that she could live a normal life. If it weren't for him, there would be no X-2.

So overall, if you went through all these things, wouldn't you be whiny too? Wouldn't you appear as a fool?

Now with Yuna:

-As we know, Yuna lived her life following a very strict code of ethics. She had to walk a straight line, had to act a certain way, think a certain way, she had to be nice to everybody (even to jerks), she had to do and be like everybody else, (I can personally relate to this situation, since I spent six years in private school), and when it was all over, she was finally free to be herself, and to be a person who can kick butt even HARDER . As for her new outfit, so what if it's skimpy? She's NOT a slut, so we shouldn't worry about it.
As for her finding the other way to defeat Sin, you know, sometimes you HAVE to take risks. No matter what the situation. Yuna was not being ignorant. She was doing something very gusty, and very noble. She was finally breaking the ice-which is something that NEEDS to be done again, and again.

So overall, if you were in Yuna's shoes, wouldn't you have acted the same way as she did in her structured world?

Well, I'm done. Sorry to make it so long, but I really felt that I had to defend these two great characters that I love so much.

Any other thoughts you might add?

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

Tidus could be irritating at times, but I don't mind him too much, otherwise I wouldn't have spent so much time getting the Caldabolg for him (I HATE chocobos now...).

Yuna actually wasn't that bad either. I think the only thing I didn't like about them was the laughing scene in Luca, in which I muted the TV and left the room for.

[SeeDRankLou]

Many characters in Final Fantasy games are misunderstood, Squall being a very prime example. A lot of people will just look at the characters personality, with little if any thought about their background or what this character has been through, and make the judgement of this character based solely on the present of the game. The writers of this game put a lot time into character development and a character's past. And many times a gamer will overlook this information. A character's personality is more than the sum of its parts, it's deep and meaningful (usually) and it takes time for that to be seen. But first impression does have a very big impact on a person's thoughts. And the first impression of Tidus is that he's whiney. You find out a lot about his character through the game, and he becomes a very enjoyable character. But that first whiney impression is still there, and in some people that first impression is pretty branded in their minds. Same with Yuna. Yuna in the begining was introverted and seemingly weak-willed. But Yuna turned out to be a very strong character, especially by the end of FFX-2. But still, the first impression is there.

I like your character analysis Imperia. It should also be noted that these characters are both teenagers, barely old enough to understand responsibility, love, valor, or sacrifice, and yet they are just thrown into the pool head first with no swimming lessons. I think they, especially Yuna, deal with the situation very well.

[Greeneyes]

Y'know, I never really thought of Yuna as a "kick-butt" kind of character, even in FFX-2. Sure, she was free & felt the light-hearted taste of freedom...away from the strain of being a summoner. But I think deep down, she's still sweet & kind & gentle. I feel that most of her "kick-butt"-ness in FFX-2 was really becos she didn't want to be seen as letting the group down. I mean Rikku & Paine are like that. So Yuna has to be like that too; just so that she won't be seen as letting the group down or to just blend in as one of them.

I think a lot of her demureness in FFX is not just becos she was forced to put on a brave front in front of her people but also because her basic nature is to be nice. I think Kimari, Lulu & Wakka just did a good job of raising her to be respectful of others.

But people think she was weak in FFX but I think in fact, she was incredibly strong. I mean she didn't give way to Kimari's tribe when they didn't let her through. And it takes a brave soul to go through life & prepare for the final summoning knowing very well that you have to sacrifice your life. Yuna was like a quiet samurai who was ready to face death if it meant helping her people. I don't think she was that strong in FFX-2. I think she was stronger in FFX. Strong as in "internal" strength. A quiet mental strength. In reality, kick-butt, loud-mouthed characters ( like the type you see in FFX2) are easier to take down then the quiet characters. To me, Yuna in FFX reminded me of Aikido instructors. They look quiet & gentle but when provoked, they can break your bones with a gentle & elegant ease.

Y'know what they say; Be careful of the quiet ones...still waters run deep.



As for Tidus, I don't find him wimpy at all. Perhaps because my initial impression of him was when I saw the 8hr DVD of FFX. It was in the original Japanese voice acting (with English subtitles). The 'Japanese' Tidus was actually very gung-ho & had a "never-say-die" attitude. The 'English' Tidus in the game however had this whiny, "surfer-dude" way of talking & that may have given people a negative impression of him. I think most people here formed their impression of FFX characters based on the English version. I guess voice-acting really does play a part in how one perceives the characters in FFX.

[square_is_the_best]

I agree Greeneyes. "It's better to be quiet and to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
My first impression of Tidus was good. I didn't think he was whiney at all. He was my favorite until I fell in love with Yuna. I'm actually jealous of Tidus for 2 reasons. 1) He gets to go to Spira and have an awesome adventure and 2) he gets Yuna. Damn! LOL
Great analysis Imperia. Its nice to see some people with actual brains.

[TheAbominatrix]

Tidus was awesome. I liked that Square made him 'real'. He wasnt all tough and no-nonsense... he reacted like a real person would. First he gets thrown into a completly new world... and then he learns that the world he knew and grew up in wasnt truly real. That's harsh. I think I'd break down. But Tidus made it through.

And Yuna... she was quiet and I think she kind of shut off all her feelings in preperation for what she knew was coming; her death. She was well aware that everyday she got closer to the day when she would have to die to save Spira. The same people that go on and on about how brave Aerith was because of her sacirifice (which she may or may not have known was coming) and then bad mouth Yuna, who was more than willing to sacrifice herself for a peace she knew wouldnt last. She was ready to die, to give her life so the rest of the world would have a few years without Sin. That's true bravery.

[-N-]

I think most people just have a problem with how their voices sound. Voice is pretty key for most people to decide what kind of person a person really is. And Yuna's voice falters a lot - I could think of several better ways for her speech to flow while still preserving the same integrity of her character. Same with Tidus, but to a lesser extent - as his voice acting gets better as the game progresses (and for Yuna it seems to be the opposite).

[Starcrest]

I agree Tidus is a little whiney, but, it's alright, as Imperia as pointed out, he has good reason. I didn't have a problem with Yuna much. She was kinda...quietier then every1 else IMO, been a while since i played last ne way. Yes voice acting was a big roll, and yes they coulda used better ppl, but what they have was good

[SomethingBig]

I am one of those "I can't stand Tidus" folk. The Japanese Tidus is cool with me. Square should've given us a choice of choosing between Japanese and English voices.

Reasons for hatred towards English Tidus:
-Yeah, okay, his father was strict with him as a child. Okay? Don't you think he would have gotten used to it? I have, for Christ's sake. His mother died. Yeah, mourning is good for some time. One of my old friends lost both of her parents and she got through it perfectly. Tidus also believes/"knows" that there's a way to get back to Zanarkand.
-His voice was flat-out annoying. "OHMIGAWSH, hey guys! Let's *insert stupid saying here*!!!111$!@#%1358!1" The last thing I want to play as in a video-game, especially in a FF game, is a stupid, naive brat. I would have rather have played as a blade of grass that could do nothing but heal itself by using the sunlight. It, at least, wouldn't whine.
-He is just a whiny version of Cloud. If you haven't noticed, his Overdrives are horrible versions of some of Cloud's Limit Breaks:
Spiral Cut = Braver
-Deals a large amount of damage to one enemy
Energy Rain = Meteor Rain
-Deals a large amount of damage to all enemies
Blitz Ace = Omnislash
-Hits a single enemy(the blitzball kick at the end is just like Cloud's finishing Braver at the end of Omnislash)
Yeah, I loved Cloud to death. What's my beef with this? Why couldn't Square come up with new moves for the character? What angers me even more is that they made Cloud's clone a whiny idiot.

Yuna:
I had absolutely no problem with Yuna. She was down-to-Earth and had a heart of gold and a will made of steel. She was considered a traitor by basically the entire planet and was hunted down by even her old friends. Did she cry? Yeah, once. Once. Let me say that again. Once. Oh, there was that second time when she had to see the love of her life "disappear". And that leads to another reason why I hate Tidus. He'll cry for past events, but he won't cry while saying good-bye "forever" to the love of his life.

[Imperia]

So, you don't tolerate people who cry a lot? People are different. Not everyone is like Cloud. I don't like stoic characters very much. They don't have much feeling. At least Tidus did! No offense, but I think you are too harsh on him. As for his father being strict, not all people can take that- male or female. I certainly wouldn't. I don't tolerate the strict.

[nevermind6794]

I don't remember Tidus crying except as a little kid. His dad gave him crap about it, which is why he got over it quickly.

I think Tidus just sounds whiny because of the voice. Some people, unfortunately, just sound that way naturally.

[SomethingBig]

Yeah, he sounds whiny because of his voice and he whines a lot, unlike his Japanese counterpart.

I can tolerate people that cry a lot. I can't tolerate naive whiners.