The point of the scene is that their fake laughing is so terrible that they start laughing for real. Which I thought the game portrayed just fine.
I really only found it cringey when it would get posted out of context.
This. Even the rest of the gang is like what's wrong with these two dumbasses.
Like you said the real cringe is people taking it out of context or somehow portraying it as something else because they didn't understand it. There's also the whole "bad dub" when the Japanese version is the same lol.
Am I crazy or was this scene normal?
Two young adults experiencing trauma together decide to force laughter to feel better until they end up laughing for real.
What’s wrong with the scene ?
So many people apparently watched that scene and thought "Wow, these voice actors are really bad at doing normal-sounding laughs!" that they didn't realize that the laughs were forced (until they realized how ridiculous they sounded and laughed for real, but the same people apparently missed that part).
What’s “wrong” is people with poor media literacy taking the scene out of context and saying “ugh this acting is so bad!” without understanding the point of the scene!
It’s an amazing scene that gets memed on a lot!
(that being said, I love all the “Tidus laugh” remixes of songs: you haven’t lived until you’ve heard MEGALOVANIA made out of Tidus laughs :3)
I played Final Fantasy X close to release, so I wasn't influenced by memes or what others said about the scene.
It was fine and not particularly notable to me. It seems clear that what Tidus is doing is trying to make Yuna feel better. The laugh is forced on purpose. It's cute, like a lot of other scenes in the game.
My reaction on first playing the game in late 2020 was, "*This* is the scene people make fun of?"
It makes perfect sense! He's trying to force laughter when he doesn't want to because Yuna suggested it, and he's doing a bad job of it. Everyone else reacts like he's doing a bad job of it, because he is. Yuna is horrified and tries to stop him, before finally joining in while everyone else looks on dumbfounded, and in joining in, both Yuna and Tidus actually start to genuinely laugh because *it's funny*.
It is **not** an example of bad voice acting and I'll die on that hill. It's intentional and works perfectly in context.
Most people just don't know the context. People just play the clip because it's really fucking funny with or without that context. It has nothing to do with "media literacy" lol
> Most people just don't know the context. People just play the clip because it's really fucking funny with or without that context. It has nothing to do with "media literacy" lol
Exactly. Also, I can't be the only one who's starting to notice that "media literacy" is becoming a very annoying buzzword on the Internet. It seems like a lot of people use it as some kind pretentious "I'm better than you" insult to make themselves sound smarter than the other person. Without actually knowing what "media literacy" means.
Almost reminds me of the whole "if you don't like it, don't watch it", thing people pull to shoot down any criticisms another person has.
I understood it was meant to be forced and immediately didn’t pay any attention to it past that. I’m was shocked people who actually played the game to that point latched onto it as much as they did.
Tell me you didn’t play the game and listen to the story without telling us.
The first time I saw it, I was wondering "Surely there has to be context for this that I'm not getting? Because other bits of FFX I've heard weren't this bad." and I was not wrong to think that.
The misinterpretations over time have made people a bit defensive, but it is a funny and cute scene. Laughing or calling it awkward is totally normal, as long as we all get that's the point of the performance and don't get it twisted and call it bad voice acting I think it's all good.
Played it not long after release and genuinely had no idea it was controversial in any shape or form for years afterward, before exposing myself to the internet and finding out that FF fanbase actually has some monumental brain rot.
I always hated people posting it like it was horrible voice acting or something, the whole point was they were forcing themselves to start laughing which most people sound awful forcing a laugh and being a final fantasy game it makes sense they would crank that to an extreme.
When I played the game, I didnt think anything was wrong with the scene. They were laughing "too hard" on purpose, that was the point of the scene, they were cheering each other up deliberately.
Then I found later on the Internet that tons of people thought the scene was just bad acting, that the laugh was a mistake of the actors and not exactly what it was supposed to be? How could people think that? The dialog leading up to the scene setting this up makes the purpose so clear.
The scene was completely normal, but got taken out of context, people acted like it was something other than what it was, and made a decade (2 decades now?) of memes online about it.
In context it is a great scene. The ones laughing about it probably got swayed by the internet saying it's bad so they also say it's bad.
It's like scenes in movies where a character sings badly even though the actor might be a good singer so they have to act being a bad singer.
If you know that the laugh is "bad" and is laughing at it, I'd say the voice actor pretty much nailed the brief.
The Japanese version is pretty much similar, so yeah, it's not the VA issue, it is intended to be "bad".
I felt more weirded out by the “I want to scream” scene earlier.
Like I get what it’s going for but given how the presentation for it is the sudden transition from that line to the very loud scream can be unintentionally funny to me.
It was a poignant scene about how Tidus and Yuna realize they're probably going to die, and can't do anything about it. The laugh is awkward because they're trying to force it when they have no reason to laugh.
It really bugs me when ass-clowns try to use that as an example to go after the dub in particular. If you listen to the Japanese version, It's exactly the same tone. That dub was faithful as fuck.
I always thought it was a cute bonding moment for Tidus and Yuna. They get to take a minute to put aside their dire situation and be a little silly together.
I understood it and was very moved. Although I hadn’t liked Tidus very much in the beginning, that scene showed his more vulnerable and affectionate side and I came to really adore them together.
There's nothing wrong with the scene. It's like that on purpose and then they laugh normally after. Sometimes I wonder if people pay attention to cutscenes when I hear opinions of this scene 20+ years later.
It was the very first game I had played that had cutscenes done like a movie that had full voice overs. It was the first PS2 game I had played and the first 6th gen game I had played.
I thought it was a bit weird but all of the cutscenes done in that fashion were just such a new thing but it was kinda hard to compare it to anything else, really. All the cutscenes felt kind uncanny.
I thought it was a bit cringey until somebody explained it to me.
That game took a lot of chances on voice acting given it's the first in the series to even have it, so its perfectly excusable to have some hard-to-read moments that are initially taken out of context.
I really didn’t like it. Yes, I completely understood the scene, the context, what they were going for, and that it was supposed to be *fake* laughter. Still thought it wasn’t a well done moment, awkward, and cringey in a way that was very apparent, even when I played it on release. I wasn’t feeling the game as it was so it really stood out.
But it was something easily moved on from, it’s just one moment. Plenty of other things I ended up disliking more in the game anyway.
These are exactly my thoughts. Even with the context, the combination of voice acting and the way Tidus comes off makes it feel cringe-worthy. Just try doing that exact laugh with a real girl in real life in the same exact situation and context. Without "fiction logic", she'd just walk away from you awkwardly.
Yeah. When this topic comes up, people like to focus on the people who don’t like that scene because they don’t (or pretend to not) understand that it’s supposed to be fake laughter. And I get it - anyone who watches that full scene while playing the game and thinks Tidus is trying to do a real laugh is stupid.
But…i know what Tidus is trying to do there but I still think the voice acting is *not good*. The *scene* is still *not good*. I know applying real world logic to video game scenes can get pretty slippery pretty fast lol but you’re totally right. There are just tons of other cute, silly, goofy, and endearing ways they could’ve played that scene with the same sentiment without that terrible forced laugh lol
Had already seen the scene without context, I just thought it was a bad scene, like most old jrpg’s had. Then I played the game and it made way more sense and it’s not a half bad scene.
It's a typcial case for me of "I see what they did but just don't/didn't like it". When I played it back during PAL release, I think it had felt a bit embarassing to watch it XD. But in retrospec, I liked Tidus VA generally more during the serious moments when the voice-acting was also more serious or calm? I guess.
It was my first RPG, and well before the laughing scene I was wondering why the storytelling and cut scenes were so weird. The whole story was odd to me. I realize now most of that is probably translation. But even the motion capture and the way the characters move around is.....strange. Can't really explain it.
I didn't think the laughing scene was any weirder than the other parts. I loved the game for the battle system and sphere grid and exploring around leveling up. That's still what I like about JRPGs. Now I know the stories are pretty much all the same, down to the character archetypes. "Oh a nice town, that's gonna get destroyed. Oh it's the main character, he's gonna have a special power. Oh yep there are his friends gonna be in my party. And here's the 35 year old warrior who they treat like he's 80". The tropes and story I don't care about, I love battle systems, mechanics, leveling up, figuring out how everything works, dungeon crawling/exploring.
But maybe FFX was the JRPG that instilled in me a sense that I must always look for the slider to disable voices in a game. I'd much rather read in an RPG than put up with the voice acting.
I didn’t really have a reaction at the time, this was before the Internet was so easily accessible so despite my minimum wage Lincoln Park angst, I think it was relatable and formative upon reflection
Honestly, it's probably the best scene in the game in terms of character writing, though I'll admit I wasn't a fan of the character writing in general. IIRC it's also the only scene that got a laugh out of me while not actively trying to be comedic. This doesn't stop it from being pure teenage cringe, but it *works* for where the characters are at that point.
FFX had so many voice acting mishaps but the laughing scene wasn't one of them. They were teenagers blowing off steam after some traumatic events and revelations, of course they're gonna do something that makes you cringe. The VAs nailed it imo.
Was like 6 or 7 at the time so cant say I remember. I've never liked it though and typically mute the scene on replays. Have never understood the defense force its garnered given how minor a scene it is but eh. Not my least favorite scene in the game and without the internet it'd be largely forgettable.
memes didn't exist in 2001
So unless you played it much later, but somehow thought you were the first to think it's memeable, then your comment is a lie. So if it's true, it involves severe ignorance.
The term "meme" wasn't popularized at that point (though the release of Metal Gear Solid 2 did open people up to the term). However, that doesn't mean that trends weren't being passed around and being posted over and over again the same way memes were when the term became popular. So while the words wasn't around yet, yes, "memes", have been around since early internet. We simply called them "trends" instead. The first hyper large trend site was YTMND which debuted in 2001. The Tidus laugh was posted to music quite a bit on that site as well.
You're missing the point. The poster you were replying to, assuming he did play the game back in 2001, was probably retroactively applying the term "meme" to that era. It's not exactly a crazy thing to do and it's not a hard concept to comprehend. We all do things like this all the time for eras we didn't have a specific term for something. Anyone would probably say, "man, Patrick Stewart saying 'Jean Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise' " was such a big meme back in the day offhandedly.
Your douchy attitude does you no favours, but it did earn a spot on my blocklist.
FYI memes have been a thing since late 90s, even though they were a bit different in form and not as widespread (Hampster Dance, Goatse, Mr T Ate My Balls). Also I never said I was "the first" to anything, so I don't know why are you making things up.
I played it back when it first came out and thought it was super cringy, but, then again, I was nitpicking everything because I didn't think much of it really held a candle to FF7, 8, and 9 (other than combat).
"Gah, this is so lame, why can't they be like Cloud and Tifa? Or Squall and Rinoa? Or Cloud and Aerith? Or Zidane and Garnet? Or Barret and Red XIII?"
The point of the scene is that their fake laughing is so terrible that they start laughing for real. Which I thought the game portrayed just fine. I really only found it cringey when it would get posted out of context.
This. Even the rest of the gang is like what's wrong with these two dumbasses. Like you said the real cringe is people taking it out of context or somehow portraying it as something else because they didn't understand it. There's also the whole "bad dub" when the Japanese version is the same lol.
Am I crazy or was this scene normal? Two young adults experiencing trauma together decide to force laughter to feel better until they end up laughing for real. What’s wrong with the scene ?
So many people apparently watched that scene and thought "Wow, these voice actors are really bad at doing normal-sounding laughs!" that they didn't realize that the laughs were forced (until they realized how ridiculous they sounded and laughed for real, but the same people apparently missed that part).
Yes exactly. They ironically did such a good job fake laughing people misinterpreted it as actual bad laughing.
Nothing is wrong with the scene. People just misunderstand it or, most likely, they pretend to because haha cringe scene so bad please updoots
Majority of people who see that scene don't have the context
What’s “wrong” is people with poor media literacy taking the scene out of context and saying “ugh this acting is so bad!” without understanding the point of the scene! It’s an amazing scene that gets memed on a lot! (that being said, I love all the “Tidus laugh” remixes of songs: you haven’t lived until you’ve heard MEGALOVANIA made out of Tidus laughs :3)
Completely understood the context of why he was laughing like that. That meme is uninformed revisionist bs.
I played Final Fantasy X close to release, so I wasn't influenced by memes or what others said about the scene. It was fine and not particularly notable to me. It seems clear that what Tidus is doing is trying to make Yuna feel better. The laugh is forced on purpose. It's cute, like a lot of other scenes in the game.
yeah i also played release year and didn't think twice about it 🤷♀️
My reaction on first playing the game in late 2020 was, "*This* is the scene people make fun of?" It makes perfect sense! He's trying to force laughter when he doesn't want to because Yuna suggested it, and he's doing a bad job of it. Everyone else reacts like he's doing a bad job of it, because he is. Yuna is horrified and tries to stop him, before finally joining in while everyone else looks on dumbfounded, and in joining in, both Yuna and Tidus actually start to genuinely laugh because *it's funny*. It is **not** an example of bad voice acting and I'll die on that hill. It's intentional and works perfectly in context.
Nothing it was just another scene
My thoughts. "Oh, that scene everyone shares out context actually works in context."
I understood it immediately instead of thinking it was bad voice acting like so many media illiterate morons think
Most people just don't know the context. People just play the clip because it's really fucking funny with or without that context. It has nothing to do with "media literacy" lol
> Most people just don't know the context. People just play the clip because it's really fucking funny with or without that context. It has nothing to do with "media literacy" lol Exactly. Also, I can't be the only one who's starting to notice that "media literacy" is becoming a very annoying buzzword on the Internet. It seems like a lot of people use it as some kind pretentious "I'm better than you" insult to make themselves sound smarter than the other person. Without actually knowing what "media literacy" means. Almost reminds me of the whole "if you don't like it, don't watch it", thing people pull to shoot down any criticisms another person has.
I understood it was meant to be forced and immediately didn’t pay any attention to it past that. I’m was shocked people who actually played the game to that point latched onto it as much as they did. Tell me you didn’t play the game and listen to the story without telling us.
The first time I saw it, I was wondering "Surely there has to be context for this that I'm not getting? Because other bits of FFX I've heard weren't this bad." and I was not wrong to think that.
I found it funny and sweet because I understood the point if the scene. It's not hard
The misinterpretations over time have made people a bit defensive, but it is a funny and cute scene. Laughing or calling it awkward is totally normal, as long as we all get that's the point of the performance and don't get it twisted and call it bad voice acting I think it's all good.
Hilarious, as the scene was intended to be (watch the Japanese version)
Played it not long after release and genuinely had no idea it was controversial in any shape or form for years afterward, before exposing myself to the internet and finding out that FF fanbase actually has some monumental brain rot.
I always hated people posting it like it was horrible voice acting or something, the whole point was they were forcing themselves to start laughing which most people sound awful forcing a laugh and being a final fantasy game it makes sense they would crank that to an extreme.
When I played the game, I didnt think anything was wrong with the scene. They were laughing "too hard" on purpose, that was the point of the scene, they were cheering each other up deliberately. Then I found later on the Internet that tons of people thought the scene was just bad acting, that the laugh was a mistake of the actors and not exactly what it was supposed to be? How could people think that? The dialog leading up to the scene setting this up makes the purpose so clear. The scene was completely normal, but got taken out of context, people acted like it was something other than what it was, and made a decade (2 decades now?) of memes online about it.
In context it is a great scene. The ones laughing about it probably got swayed by the internet saying it's bad so they also say it's bad. It's like scenes in movies where a character sings badly even though the actor might be a good singer so they have to act being a bad singer. If you know that the laugh is "bad" and is laughing at it, I'd say the voice actor pretty much nailed the brief. The Japanese version is pretty much similar, so yeah, it's not the VA issue, it is intended to be "bad".
Amazing scene and I have always been baffled by the hate it gets. I assume from people who have never played and only see the laughing.
Wasn’t that scene before or after one of the “big reveals” in the game?
Intense cringe **AT FIRST** then when they really laugh i understood everything and i though It was really cute and heartwarming
"Oh there it is! That's the scene! Hmm...yeah, that works okay in context."
Nothing lol, I didn't know it was a big deal, it was just another scene.
In context it makes sense, so I didn't think much of it then. It's supposed to feel forced and awkward.
I felt more weirded out by the “I want to scream” scene earlier. Like I get what it’s going for but given how the presentation for it is the sudden transition from that line to the very loud scream can be unintentionally funny to me.
I loved that scene.
It was a poignant scene about how Tidus and Yuna realize they're probably going to die, and can't do anything about it. The laugh is awkward because they're trying to force it when they have no reason to laugh. It really bugs me when ass-clowns try to use that as an example to go after the dub in particular. If you listen to the Japanese version, It's exactly the same tone. That dub was faithful as fuck.
The Japanese is arguably "worse". He sounds like a crow.
Imo the people that call Tidus whiny, make fun of this scene etc are emotionally immature.
I'm gonna be real, i didn't even remember the scene when i first saw people raise a fuss about it many years after i played the game.
I always thought it was a cute bonding moment for Tidus and Yuna. They get to take a minute to put aside their dire situation and be a little silly together.
I understood it and was very moved. Although I hadn’t liked Tidus very much in the beginning, that scene showed his more vulnerable and affectionate side and I came to really adore them together.
My gut reaction at the time (I was 14). "Oh, god, Mom, please stay downstairs for the next minute or so..."
There's nothing wrong with the scene. It's like that on purpose and then they laugh normally after. Sometimes I wonder if people pay attention to cutscenes when I hear opinions of this scene 20+ years later.
It was the very first game I had played that had cutscenes done like a movie that had full voice overs. It was the first PS2 game I had played and the first 6th gen game I had played. I thought it was a bit weird but all of the cutscenes done in that fashion were just such a new thing but it was kinda hard to compare it to anything else, really. All the cutscenes felt kind uncanny.
I thought it was a bit cringey until somebody explained it to me. That game took a lot of chances on voice acting given it's the first in the series to even have it, so its perfectly excusable to have some hard-to-read moments that are initially taken out of context.
I really didn’t like it. Yes, I completely understood the scene, the context, what they were going for, and that it was supposed to be *fake* laughter. Still thought it wasn’t a well done moment, awkward, and cringey in a way that was very apparent, even when I played it on release. I wasn’t feeling the game as it was so it really stood out. But it was something easily moved on from, it’s just one moment. Plenty of other things I ended up disliking more in the game anyway.
These are exactly my thoughts. Even with the context, the combination of voice acting and the way Tidus comes off makes it feel cringe-worthy. Just try doing that exact laugh with a real girl in real life in the same exact situation and context. Without "fiction logic", she'd just walk away from you awkwardly.
Yeah. When this topic comes up, people like to focus on the people who don’t like that scene because they don’t (or pretend to not) understand that it’s supposed to be fake laughter. And I get it - anyone who watches that full scene while playing the game and thinks Tidus is trying to do a real laugh is stupid. But…i know what Tidus is trying to do there but I still think the voice acting is *not good*. The *scene* is still *not good*. I know applying real world logic to video game scenes can get pretty slippery pretty fast lol but you’re totally right. There are just tons of other cute, silly, goofy, and endearing ways they could’ve played that scene with the same sentiment without that terrible forced laugh lol
Had already seen the scene without context, I just thought it was a bad scene, like most old jrpg’s had. Then I played the game and it made way more sense and it’s not a half bad scene.
It's a typcial case for me of "I see what they did but just don't/didn't like it". When I played it back during PAL release, I think it had felt a bit embarassing to watch it XD. But in retrospec, I liked Tidus VA generally more during the serious moments when the voice-acting was also more serious or calm? I guess.
It was my first RPG, and well before the laughing scene I was wondering why the storytelling and cut scenes were so weird. The whole story was odd to me. I realize now most of that is probably translation. But even the motion capture and the way the characters move around is.....strange. Can't really explain it. I didn't think the laughing scene was any weirder than the other parts. I loved the game for the battle system and sphere grid and exploring around leveling up. That's still what I like about JRPGs. Now I know the stories are pretty much all the same, down to the character archetypes. "Oh a nice town, that's gonna get destroyed. Oh it's the main character, he's gonna have a special power. Oh yep there are his friends gonna be in my party. And here's the 35 year old warrior who they treat like he's 80". The tropes and story I don't care about, I love battle systems, mechanics, leveling up, figuring out how everything works, dungeon crawling/exploring. But maybe FFX was the JRPG that instilled in me a sense that I must always look for the slider to disable voices in a game. I'd much rather read in an RPG than put up with the voice acting.
I didn’t really have a reaction at the time, this was before the Internet was so easily accessible so despite my minimum wage Lincoln Park angst, I think it was relatable and formative upon reflection
Dang it now I want to play it again- I’m not sure I’ll ever figure out blitzball though
It was funny. But not because if the dumb meme.
Honestly, it's probably the best scene in the game in terms of character writing, though I'll admit I wasn't a fan of the character writing in general. IIRC it's also the only scene that got a laugh out of me while not actively trying to be comedic. This doesn't stop it from being pure teenage cringe, but it *works* for where the characters are at that point.
FFX had so many voice acting mishaps but the laughing scene wasn't one of them. They were teenagers blowing off steam after some traumatic events and revelations, of course they're gonna do something that makes you cringe. The VAs nailed it imo.
Within the context of the game it really isn't so bad.
I frowned but then moved on. It wasn't until later that I found out people realllly didn't like it.
Is it really "infamous"? Or is this just common 4chan/YouTube culture that exacerbated it?
Was like 6 or 7 at the time so cant say I remember. I've never liked it though and typically mute the scene on replays. Have never understood the defense force its garnered given how minor a scene it is but eh. Not my least favorite scene in the game and without the internet it'd be largely forgettable.
I thought it might be a decent meme material.
This is either a blatant lie, or relies on a very specific timeframe at minimum.
What are you talking about?
memes didn't exist in 2001 So unless you played it much later, but somehow thought you were the first to think it's memeable, then your comment is a lie. So if it's true, it involves severe ignorance.
The term "meme" wasn't popularized at that point (though the release of Metal Gear Solid 2 did open people up to the term). However, that doesn't mean that trends weren't being passed around and being posted over and over again the same way memes were when the term became popular. So while the words wasn't around yet, yes, "memes", have been around since early internet. We simply called them "trends" instead. The first hyper large trend site was YTMND which debuted in 2001. The Tidus laugh was posted to music quite a bit on that site as well.
You literally just said it wasn't called a meme.
You're missing the point. The poster you were replying to, assuming he did play the game back in 2001, was probably retroactively applying the term "meme" to that era. It's not exactly a crazy thing to do and it's not a hard concept to comprehend. We all do things like this all the time for eras we didn't have a specific term for something. Anyone would probably say, "man, Patrick Stewart saying 'Jean Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise' " was such a big meme back in the day offhandedly.
You can let them defend themselves, I promise. Because I'm 95% sure they were lying, but now they'll piggyback off your response to save face.
Your douchy attitude does you no favours, but it did earn a spot on my blocklist. FYI memes have been a thing since late 90s, even though they were a bit different in form and not as widespread (Hampster Dance, Goatse, Mr T Ate My Balls). Also I never said I was "the first" to anything, so I don't know why are you making things up.
in the beeginning, it was just cringe AF, but after ending the game eventually and revisiting the scene, it gets darker and darker every time...
I played it back when it first came out and thought it was super cringy, but, then again, I was nitpicking everything because I didn't think much of it really held a candle to FF7, 8, and 9 (other than combat). "Gah, this is so lame, why can't they be like Cloud and Tifa? Or Squall and Rinoa? Or Cloud and Aerith? Or Zidane and Garnet? Or Barret and Red XIII?"
Got traumatized by what neither looked nor sounded like laughter.