Square's 2001 role-playing video game Final Fantasy X is the tenth game of the Final Fantasy series. It features several fictional characters designed by Tetsuya Nomura, who wanted the main characters' designs and names to be connected with their personalities and roles in the plot. The game takes place in Spira, which features multiple tribes. The game's sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, was released in 2003. It takes place two years after the events of Final Fantasy X and features both new and returning characters.
There are seven main playable characters in the game, most prominently protagonist Tidus, a skilled blitzball player from Zanarkand who becomes lost in the world of Spira after an encounter with an enormous creature called Sin and searches for a way home. He joins the summoner Yuna, who travels towards Zanarkand's ruins to defeat Sin alongside her guardians: Kimahri Ronso, a member of the Ronso tribe; Wakka, the captain of the blitzball team in Besaid; Lulu, a stoic black mage; Auron, a famous warrior and an old acquaintance of Tidus; and Rikku, Yuna's cousin who searches for a way to avoid Yuna's sacrifice in the fight against Sin. The leader of the Guado tribe, Seymour Guado, briefly joins the party for a fight, but is revealed to be an antagonist in his quest to replace Tidus' father, Jecht, to become the new Sin. Final Fantasy X-2 features Yuna, Rikku, and the newly introduced Paine as playable characters in their quest to find spheres across Spira and find clues regarding Tidus' current location. During their journey, they meet Paine's former comrades, who are related to the spirit of an avenger named Shuyin.
The creation of these characters brought the Square staff several challenges, as Final Fantasy X was the first game in the franchise to feature voice acting. They also had to feature multiple tribes from different parts from Spira with distinctive designs. Various types of merchandising based on the characters have been released. The characters from Final Fantasy X and its sequel were praised by video game publications, owing to their personalities and designs. The English voice acting initially received mixed response, but X-2's dub received a better response.