Tidus

Tidus is a minor character in the  series, originally from Final Fantasy X. He is one of the residents living in Destiny Islands and is part of a trio including Selphie and Wakka. Tidus is thirteen years old at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories.

Kingdom Hearts
Tidus is a friend of Sora, Riku, and Kairi, and is a resident of the Destiny Islands, spending most of his time with Wakka and Selphie.

In Sora's Dive to the Heart, Tidus appears in the Destiny Islands area along with Wakka and Selphie. He asks Sora, "What are you so afraid of?" Later, Tidus will offer to duel Sora on the small island; if Sora defeats him, as well as Wakka and Selphie, he is able to duel all three of them at once.

Tidus's fate after the Destiny Islands' destruction is unknown, but he reappears on the island once Sora defeats Ansem and the worlds are restored.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Tidus appears with Wakka and Selphie in both Sora's and Riku's stories as part of the memory-based Destiny Islands in Castle Oblivion. Some time after Sora goes to sleep, the real Tidus is seen playing with Wakka and Selphie on a beach while Kairi is facing the Small Island.

Kingdom Hearts II
Though he is not seen, Selphie mentions that he and Wakka have been busy playing their "ball game."

Kingdom Hearts coded
Tidus makes a third appearance, this time as a data version of himself in the data version of Destiny Islands, searching for the reason behind the blocks all over the island. He saw the black-coated man right near the waterfall, but does not divulge the man's whereabouts until being defeated by Sora.

Appearance
Tidus is a short, thin boy with tan skin, blue eyes, and sandy hair parted down the center. He wears a small, white-lined yellow shirt with short white sleeves and yellow hems; he wears his shirt open, exposing his chest. Tidus's unique, navy pants have uneven legs, with his right pant leg reaching just past his knee, and his left reaching to just about mid-thigh (this is reversed in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, with his left pant leg being longer). A zipper circles the longer pant leg at a point even with the hem of the shorter pant leg. The left leg has a diagonal zipper on it, presumably a pocket, and he wears a black fanny pack with the pouch facing forward, showing another diagonal zipper. He also wears yellow and black sandals, and carries a red wooden pole which he uses as a practice weapon.

For an unknown reason, Tidus has a small scar on his right cheek that was not present in his original game.

Abilities
On Destiny Islands, Tidus practices fighting skills with Sora using a wooden stick as a practice sword and fighting with swift movements and dodges. During this battle, he fights by stringing together combination attacks. If Sora manages to block one of his sword attacks, 2 Tech Points are earned per block. After defeating Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka as individuals, Sora is able to fight against them all at the same time.

Origin
Tidus is the initial protagonist of Final Fantasy X, released in 2001 and the first Final Fantasy game to be released on the PlayStation 2. In it, he is a skilled seventeen year old Blitzball player from Zanarkand, playing for the Zanarkand Abes. During a match, a mysterious man named Auron appears heralding the arrival of a massive creature called Sin. Coming into contact with Sin transports Tidus 1000 years into the future to the world of Spira. He quickly finds himself embarking on a journey with the new Summoner, Yuna, whose duty as a Summoner is to rid the world of Sin and bring about the Calm. Throughout the game, Tidus finds himself coming to terms with his father, Jecht, dealing with his increasing love for Yuna, and learning the implications of her pilgrimage. Tidus is an exceptional fighter with superb athletic abilities and affinity for swimming both above and under water due to his expertise in the futuristic sport, Blitzball. Tidus uses longswords, and his attacks are one-handed and quick.

His battle stance and victory pose from the game are retained in Kingdom Hearts. His and Selphie's comments about a "ball game" in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, respectively, are a reference to Blitzball.

In the original Kingdom Hearts, his name is pronounced with a hard E sound (tee-dus), but in Kingdom Hearts II, it is pronounced with a hard I sound (tie-dus). As his name is never spoken audibly in Final Fantasy X, the correct pronunciation of his name in English has gone under debate among fans. However, Dissidia Final Fantasy and an interview with Tidus's voice actor confirm that the Kingdom Hearts pronunciation (tee-dus) is correct.

Trivia

 * Tidus's model is used for one type of generic non-playable character in Kingdom Hearts located in Traverse Town.

Notes and references
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