Final Fantasy X features one of the strongest ensemble casts of any traditional JRPG. Each character has their own clearly defined arc and inner emotional world, while still embodying a familiar and reassuring archetype. As the main character, Tidus is a beautiful melding of a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky, hero-to-be, and sad boy with a troubled backstory. This is why it’s so hilariously ironic that the most popular meme to come out of this game involves him laughing through his pain.
While Tidus’ forced laugh is the stuff of meme legend, fans of the game know there is more to the story than just a terrible laugh that you can’t unhear. The best memes recognize the context and backstory that led to that awkward moment and then still manage to poke fun at it anyway. Whether you’re awkwardly laughing because the sound coming out of Tidus’ mouth is literally the worst laugh anyone has ever laughed, or because you know that behind that tortured sound are deeper levels of discomfort than most people realize, these memes will have you ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha-ing.
10 Final Fantasy Is Basically Star Wars
This meme cuts right to the heart of the matter. Tidus’ terrible laugh is a response to being asked to put on a happy face, directly after finding out that his father Jecht, is actually Sin. Tidus is about to embark on a quest to destroy his father, and since he’s stranded in a foreign land with no way to go home, he doesn’t have much choice in the matter.
In this pivotal Star Wars scene, Luke, too, is finding out that the boundaries between enemy and family are not always neat and tidy. He responds with anguished screaming, a much more honest response than Tidus’ forced laugh, but effectively an expression of the same emotion.
9 Say My Name, Say My Name
Main playable characters in RPGs often have the option of being renamed, so they can function as an avatar for the player. Tidus follows this tradition, so none of the other characters ever call him by name.
When main characters function this way, they often don’t speak or may have extremely bland personalities so that the player can project their own into the game. The problem here is that Tidus is a pretty recognizable character, with his own distinct character design, personality, voice, and decisions, that the player can’t alter. It’s too bad he never gets the recognition.
8 There Is One Right Answer
Since no one in the game ever says Tidus’ name aloud, there is no definitive way to prove the correct way of pronouncing his name (for the record, based on nothing but unearned gamer certainty, it’s Tie-dus).
Captain America and Iron Man are technically on the same side and find themselves in-fighting due at least in part to some pretty hefty egos in Captain America: Civil War. Similarly, since Tidus is a beloved character, this disagreement over how to pronounce his name has led to a few civil flame-wars, between fans who otherwise have an equal love for FFX in common.
7 A Familiar Face
While Tidus is running around the tropical paradise of Besaid Island, he happens to come across a random NPC: a heavy-set man in a red bandana who vaguely resembles Wedge from the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. This prompted fans to crop in Mr. Peanut Butter, from Bojack Horseman, saying one of his catch-phrases, and acting thrilled at the possibility of a crossover between the two beloved Final Fantasy installments.
Of course, since FFX is all about crossing between worlds, who is to say that it’s not Wedge?
6 Surprise Death Quest
When Tidus washes up in Spira, he’s ignorant of most of the customs in this new world. Someone — usually long-suffering Lulu — has to patiently explain to him how the world works. As they journey, Tidus learns about Spira’s many traditions, but somehow, no one seems to think it’s important to let him know that Yuna’s journeying to her assumed death.
This is by far the most ridiculous oversight on the part of Yuna’s other guardians, as good old Jeff Goldblum’s expression makes clear. Of course, it would be difficult to mention to Tidus that the party is technically on a suicide mission. It’s apparently much better to let him slowly fall in love with a doomed girl, while consistently putting his foot in it about all the things they will do together after they defeat Sin. Come on, guys.
5 A Family Affair
Throughout Final Fantasy X-2, it’s a running gag that Brother, the leader of the Gullwings, has an unrealized crush on Yuna. Brother happens to also be Rikku’s younger brother, and we learn in FFX that Rikku and Yuna are cousins, which means Brother must also be related to the woman of his dreams.
Luckily, Yuna never shows any inclination of returning his affections, so even though Tidus isn’t around at the beginning of FFX-2, he still gets the last laugh against Brother in the competition for Yuna’s heart.
4 Tidus Has Foot-In-Mouth Disease
A picture of a pair of pink shoes that disturbingly appear to be screaming has made the internet rounds, mostly for its versatility. Somehow, this weird picture of shoes seems to easily stand in for more exaggerated human expressions.
Tidus’ weird gaping mouth during his forced laugh is just another example of this shoe perfectly representing a distorted expression.
3 Tidus’ Laughing Legacy
Throughout FFX Tidus, as well as a few other characters, will make reference to the events of the game being “his story.” Tidus even mentions it in the excellent opening sequence to FFX. Since he’s the main playable character, and the story follows his perspective in Spira, he’s certainly right about it being his story.
Unfortunately for Tidus, a person has only so much say over how their story is told. He will be forever defined at least partly by that awkward laugh.
2 Tidus Is An Al Bhed Sycdan
Searching Spira to compile all the Al Bhed primers is one of the easier and more fun side quests in FFX. On the first playthrough, the Al Bhed language can sound like a complete mystery, but players tend to quickly realize that it’s just a simple code. While learning to speak the actual language would probably take a lot of effort, after a couple of playthroughs it’s easy enough to guess at what the Al Bhed are saying most of the time, even without the full translated alphabet.
Any player who has made it past Luca in the game (or seen a meme of Tidus) would be able to translate Tidus’ Al Bhed captioning here.
1 Lost In Translation
One of the most infamous lines in FFX comes from an innocent NPC boy in Luca. Awed by Tidus’ blitzballer abilities, the kid declares he wants to be a blitzball when he grows up - not a blitzball player.
While this is most likely just a tiny error in translation, it was never corrected in the rereleases or remasters and remains to this day a beloved example of FFX silliness.
NEXT: The MBTI Of Final Fantasy 10 Characters
