Tidus (although he can be re-named), is the game's main character, and the one which you will be controlling for most of Final Fantasy X.
Background
At the start of the game Tidus is introduced to us as a popular Blitzball player in the futuristic city of Zanarkand. However, the blitzball game is interrupted mid-way by the evil entity known as [[../../Non-Playable Characters|Sin]], leaving Tidus to fight his way out with the help of Auron. Due to Sin, Tidus leaves Zanarkand and is transported to Spira, which he learns is actually the same planet just 1000 years in the future. This takes Tidus aback due to the lack of technological developments, which is eventually explained to be because of Sin. Tidus soon joins Yuna on her pilgrimage to Zanarkand, following in his father's footsteps (who he has a rather turbulent relationship with) who was a guardian of Yuna's father (Lord High Summoner Braska) 10 years prior to Tidus' journey. Tidus' father, Jecht, disappeared from Zanarkand 10 years before the game begins, and we learn more about his relationship to Tidus and his eventual fate through flashbacks and spheres as the game progresses.
Basic Fighting Style
Tidus' weapon of choice is a sword, and his armour is a small shield on his arm. Following Tidus' basic path on the sphere grid will give him a fairly high accuracy (although not as high as Wakka's), decent strength, defence and HP slightly above that of Wakka. Tidus has little flair for offensive magic on his initial path on the sphere grid, owing largely to a low magic attribute as well as relatively low MP and few opportunities to learn black magic spells. However Tidus' real strength is his speed in combat, as he has not only a good agility stat, but also access to the haste spells (see ability list) as well as delaying attacks.
Through the game Tidus is ideal for taking out wolf-type enemies and lizard enemies due to his good accuracy, as well as helping to get lots of hits in on bosses. If you decide to tackle the monster arena or dark aeons, Tidus is an essential member of the team due to powerful overdrives and a good bonus on his ultimate (celestial) weapon.
Notable Skills
The skills that Tidus gains on his initial sphere grid path are detailed below:
Flee - Helps the party flee from a (non-boss) battle
Cheer - Increases the 3 active member's strength and defence attributes until the battle is over. This effect can be stacked up to 5 times.
Delay Attack/Buster - This skill will cause an enemy's turn to move further down the list, enabling Tidus' agility to be exploited further.
Haste/Hastega - Haste cast on one or all party members is an invaluable skill due to how many more turns it will allow your party to squeeze in between an enemy's attacks, and is especially useful on slower characters such as Auron.
Slow/Slowga - Although not as useful as haste due to enemy immunities, this skill can prove useful by consistently lowering the number of turns an enemy will have in battle.
Quick Hit - The final skill on Tidus' path will initially be difficult to exploit to its full potential, as it requires 28mp for a minimal reduction in the time until your next attack. However, as you get more powerful this skill will allow you to land many more blows between enemy turns, as the effect can quickly stack up.
Overdrives
To get Tidus' overdrives to inflict maximum damage, you must successfully stop a pointer scrolling along a bar in the middle section as quickly as possible. For example, if you fail to do this in the 4 seconds allotted for Blitz Ace, the Jecht Shot will not be executed after the 8 strikes. Swordplay:
Spiral Cut:
- Attacks a single enemy
- Available from start of game.
Slice and Dice:
- Hits random enemies a total of 6 times at around 50% power
- Use Tidus' overdrive command 10 times
Energy Rain:
- Hits all enemies once
- Use Tidus' overdrive command 30 times
Blitz Ace:
- 8 Slashes at around 15% power followed by a Jecht Shot (damage equal to that of the 8 slahes) on one enemy
- Use Tidus' overdrive command 80 times
Celestial Weapon
Tidus' Celestial Weapon is the Caladbolg, and is powered up by the Sun Crest, then the Sun Sigil. Obtaining the weapon will require the Celestial Mirror, as will powering it up. The final attributes it holds are:
- Break Damage Limit
- Triple Overdrive
- Evade and Counter
- Magic Counter
- Does more damage when Tidus has a higher percentage of HP remaining
Obtaining the Weapon
In the north west corner of the Calm Lands, you will find a path sloping down. However, this path is initially blocked by an obnoxious man, who has taken it on as his sole role in life to block you from going down this path. Fortunately, it is possible to get this fool to shift with little effort. You will need to find the chocobo trainer, who has various haunts around the calm lands. You will need to scout around to find her (no-encounters may be useful), but she can often be found at the entrance from Macalania, to the far west and sometimes just outside the shop at the centre. When you have found her, talk to her and ask if you can train a chocobo. You must now complete 3 fairly simple tracks (hyper dodger can be a bit tricky, but all that is required is some perseverance), and then win a race against the trainer (see the Sigil location for more information on this part). After you have done this the guy blocking your path will finally move, enabling you to go down the path (take a chocobo if you want), examine the square on the wall and claim the Caladbolg.
Sun Crest
This crest is found in the area where you fight the second boss in Zanarkand (after going down the elevator). You must go up the stairs in this area a couple of times before the chest will appear, in which you will find the sun crest. If you are playing the International (PAL) version of the game, you must get this chest straight after the boss battle, otherwise you will find Dark Bahamut in your way, who you will not only be able to defeat for a long time afterwards, but also may have trouble doing this without Tidus' weapon.
Sun Sigil
Go back and talk to the chocobo lady again, and choose the 4th race. To obtain the sigil you must win the race in under 0:0:0 (getting a time of exactly 0:0:0 will only be rewarded by a Turbo Ether). You can afford to be hit by a bird once (if you're very lucky twice), and must get a lot of balloons (around 12) to get this time. Although this takes a long time, it isn't that hard and will be done eventually with a lot of perseverance. After obtaining this you will be able to fully power up Tidus' weapon.