Jecht



Jecht ['dʒɛktʰ] is a non-player character and a reluctant antagonist in Final Fantasy X. He is Tidus's father, one of High Summoner Braska's legendary guardians, and a major blitzball star in his hometown of Zanarkand. Jecht is a tall, muscular man, with a tendency to drink heavily, and wields a large black sword in battle.

Appearance and Personality


Jecht is a muscular and tanned 30-year-old man with long unruly black hair and red eyes. He wears a pair of black shorts with an orange and red sash covering his right leg, a red headband, and a metal gauntlet covering his left arm. In many ways, his appearance is similar to Tidus. He has a black tattoo of the Zanarkand Abes symbol on his chest. In his concept art and in Dissidia Final Fantasy Jecht wields a large black sword with red markings that resemble dolphins. He never wields the sword himself in Final Fantasy X, but as Braska's Final Aeon he wields a larger version of the sword, and is mentioned to have fought with a sword during Braska's pilgrimage.

As Braska's Final Aeon, Jecht is a large, deformed version of his former self with brown scales and horns, and crests of spikes emerging from his back and shoulders. He wears a larger version of his headband, his hair is white and emerges in tufts from the spikes around his head, and his eyes glow. His Zanarkand Abes tattoo is white, and his body below the waist has another large crest of spikes partially covering his legs. His right hand is of normal proportions to his body, and is used to wield his sword, while his left hand is a large claw.

Jecht is a surly and arrogant man and a bully at heart. He frequently refers to himself as "The Great Jecht" (Jecht-sama in the Japanese releases, giving himself a respectful, in this case arrogant, honorific), and is known to Spira as "Sir Jecht" for being a famous guardian. Jecht considers himself the best blitzball player there is and loves fame and glamor, asking Braska several times if there will be celebratory events on their pilgrimage. Jecht's career hit a slump when he began drinking, and it was rumored he was going to retire, though he was quick to deny this and claimed he could quit drinking if he chose. Jecht used to be emotionally abusive to Tidus, giving him the nickname "crybaby", and otherwise brushing him off or berating him.

Despite his numerous flaws, Jecht is a good man at heart. He criticizes Tidus frequently, but does so in the hope of encouraging Tidus to try harder and disprove him. Jecht does love Tidus, but has trouble expressing it: a sentimental message to Tidus on a sphere is cut off with Jecht mumbling, "Remember, you're my son. And... well, uh... never mind. I'm no good at these things". A flashback shows Jecht telling Braska and Auron his dream is to train Tidus into a star blitzball player like himself.

Jecht enjoys the "Hymn of the Fayth," and is well-loved by his fans, to the extent of a blitzball tournament in Zanarkand being named in his honor. When the party learns about the Chocobo Eater and Tidus says they must help because "it's the right thing to do", Auron laughs and explains Jecht used to say the same thing, which ended up causing problems for the group.

Final Fantasy X
Jecht and Tidus's mother loved each other and she fell into depression and died when he vanished. Before he disappeared from Zanarkand, Jecht's career hit a slump due to his alcoholism, and there were rumors about Jecht planning to retire, but he denied them. After vanishing Jecht became a near legendary figure in Zanarkand, billboards featuring him and an annual blitzball tournament being named for him.

Jecht entered Spira while out practicing in the sea and running upon Sin. The Zanarkand he hailed from, as well as Jecht himself, were but a dream recreation of the original city, created from the memories of its original citizens and maintained by Yu Yevon, the summoner who was Zanarkand's leader. The dream Zanarkand is based on Zanarkand as it existed 1000 years ago in Spira's history, whose ruins have since become the destination of pilgrimages. Unaware of any of this, Jecht was seen as a crazy drunkard and locked up in Bevelle.

Soon after his imprisonment, Braska visited Jecht and requested he become his guardian along with Auron, a warrior monk of Bevelle who had fallen from grace. Auron, wary of Jecht, objected to him being a guardian, but Braska thought it the perfect irony for three of the most unlikely people to defeat Sin; a drunken blitzball player from Zanarkand, a summoner with a "heathen" Al Bhed wife and a "half-breed" daughter (Yuna), and a disgraced warrior monk. Before they departed, Jecht told Yuna numerous stories about his Zanarkand.

During the earlier parts of their journey, Jecht's carousing got him into trouble, most notably at the Moonflow where he mistook a shoopuf for a fiend and wounded it, forcing Braska to pay for the damage with their travel money. After the incident, Jecht gives up drinking anything stronger than shoopuf milk for fear his family would be ashamed of him, and out of embarrassment for what he had forced Braska to do. Jecht records their journey to show his wife and Tidus, still hopeful he will find a way home some day.

Over the course of Braska's pilgrimage, Jecht matures as he learns about Spira and what became of Zanarkand. His personal journey mirrors what Tidus would go through ten years later. According to Auron, Jecht would often suggest they help people along the way because it is "the right thing to do", which always led to trouble for the three. Jecht came to accept he was trapped in Spira with no hope of returning to Zanarkand, and left behind spheres to guide Tidus's journey should the same fate befall him.

By the time they reached Zanarkand, the trio had become close friends, and Jecht offered to give up his life to become Braska's Final Aeon, knowing he could never return home. As one last favor, Jecht asked Auron to look after Tidus, believing Auron could find a way to Dream Zanarkand. Though Auron protested Jecht's choice, knowing Sin will eventually return, Jecht assured Auron he'd think of a way to stop Sin's reincarnation.

Although Jecht defeated Sin as Braska's Final Aeon, the "spiral of death" surrounding Sin continued; Yu Yevon's spirit possessed him and transformed Jecht into the core of the new Sin, leaving Jecht's soul trapped within the creature for ten years. Unable to fight against the powerful instincts Yu Yevon had instilled within Sin, the only times Jecht can operate of his own free will is for the brief moments when he hears the "Hymn of the Fayth". Jecht asserts some control and makes his way to Dream Zanarkand where he communicates with the now-unsent Auron and transports him and Tidus to Spira, hoping that Tidus would find a way to destroy Sin for good.

While in Spira, Tidus reminisces about Jecht, not suspecting Sin is his father. When Auron reveals the truth, Tidus initially rejects the notion, but eventually senses Jecht within Sin, and his desire for Tidus to free him from being forced to destroy Spira. Tidus and his comrades are stunned to find Sin complacently listening to the "Hymn of the Fayth", the song Jecht enjoyed as a human. Tidus accepts what he must do and promises Jecht he will find a way to end the cycle and free him.

Using the Fahrenheit to broadcast "The Hymn of the Fayth" across Spira, Tidus's group brings all of Spira together in song, calming Sin momentarily, allowing them to fight their way through the beast's innards and confront Jecht at Sin's core. Able to speak to his son a final time, Jecht transforms into Braska's Final Aeon, and is defeated by Tidus and his allies. Dying, Jecht and Tidus make peace and Jecht enters the Farplane. Yuna uses her aeons to weaken Yu Yevon's spirit making him vulnerable for the first time in a thousand years. The group unleashes an assault on him directly, destroying Yu Yevon and ending Spira's spiral of death.

In the Farplane, Jecht is reunited with Tidus, with the two slapping a jovial high five.

Final Fantasy X-2
Jecht appears in a flashback from the scholar Maechen during Chapter 5 at the Zanarkand Ruins. Jecht has a voice cameo in the final battles along with Braska and Auron, during which time they give Yuna encouraging words and advice on where to strike Vegnagun. As Shuyin resembles his son, Jecht calls him a crybaby and claims he needs a "good spanking".

Jecht makes an appearance in Cactuar creature ending in International + Last Mission and the HD Remaster.

Battle
Jecht is fought at the end of the game in the form of Braska's Final Aeon. Due to the fight with Yu Yevon commonly being considered a story formality due to the ease with which he is defeated, Braska's Final Aeon effectively acts as the game's final boss.

Creation and Development
Daisuke Watanabe considered having Auron be Jecht in disguise, watching Tidus throughout his journey, but the team did not want to make Jecht have a leading part in the story, so they gave up on this idea. Tidus and Jecht's relationship invokes the timeless theme of "a child trying to exceed the achievements of their parent". The bond between parent and child becomes a key factor in finding the chink in Sin's armor that allows for this otherwise invincible creature to be defeated.

During development of Dissidia Final Fantasy, Jecht's inclusion over Seymour Guado was influenced by their respective relationships with Tidus and Yuna in Final Fantasy X. Development staff believed that as an antagonist, Seymour was more suitable to oppose Yuna rather than Tidus if she were to be included, and so Jecht was included instead to make Tidus's rivalry with his game's representative villain more personal. This gave the development staff the chance to expand on their relationship, as their interactions in their original game were limited.

Voice
Jecht's voice is provided by in Japanese, and  in English.

Musical Themes
"Jecht's Theme" is a laid-back melody with steel-stringed guitar solos following Western style, performed by Tsuyoshi Sekito. It appears in the original soundtrack as the second track of Disc 3.

The music that plays during the final confrontation against Braska's Final Aeon within Sin is "Otherworld", a heavy metal style song with English lyrics that was uncommon for a Final Fantasy game. The only other time the song plays is during Sin's attack on Dream Zanarkand in the opening FMV.

Final Fantasy Tactics S
Jecht appears as a recruitable character in Final Fantasy Tactics S. He is of the Visitor race and has Warrior as his main job. His attack is Jecht Rush and his ability is Triumphant Grasp.

Dissidia Final Fantasy


Chaos has summoned a combined force of  Final Fantasy' s ultimate villains to gain control of a number of Crystals, gaining total control of the Final Fantasy worlds. Jecht is one of the villains and stands as the villain representing Final Fantasy X, opposing Tidus, his son.

Jecht has no true interest in serving Chaos, fighting only on the Emperor's word that he and Tidus will be allowed to return home when the war ends. Golbez warns him that the Emperor is only using him, and when Jecht discovers he has been manipulated, he rebels and attacks the Emperor. Disowned by the other Warriors of Chaos, Jecht retreats and fights Tidus alone.

Later, it is revealed Jecht was a member of Cosmos's ranks during past conflicts between Cosmos and Chaos. His servitude to the God of Discord is another component of the Emperor's scheme to destroy Cosmos and end the war by using Jecht to manifest a Crystal attuned to darkness the Emperor can use to achieve greater power.

Jecht's alternate outfit is a palette swap, which colors his sash and spikes red, and his sword gains red colorings with gold details, in an allusion to Auron.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Jecht reappears in the prequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy alongside all the other characters from the original. This time he is aligned with Cosmos and acts as Yuna's guardian. His opponent is Tidus, having been newly summoned by the Emperor to defeat Jecht. When the Emperor attempts to strike down Yuna as she tries to awaken Tidus's lost memories, Tidus takes the attack for her.

Jecht tends to him while Yuna fights the Emperor, and passes his light to Tidus to save his life. This converts Tidus to a Warrior of Cosmos but leaves Jecht an empty shell. The Emperor takes his body to Chaos to be reborn as a Warrior of Chaos, knowing that Jecht will be able to create a Crystal in the next cycle.

Jecht's alternate outfit is redone to resemble his Final Fantasy X appearance, while his second alternate outfit is the uniform of the Zanarkand Abes, consisting of black and white shorts with black arm coverings.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call
Jecht appears as an unlockable character, and is unlocked by collecting Gold Crystal Shards. Braska's Final Aeon appears as an enemy.

He is an Offense and Defense oriented character. His Limit, Blitz King, deals damage in direct proportion to his Strength and Spirit.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
Jecht is represented by Fire-elemental cards in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game, one depicting his Dissidia Final Fantasy artwork, one depicting his Alt 2 outfit EX Mode, and one being his regular Dissidia render. His Dissidia art card is able to use his Ultimate Jecht Shot attack, while his Alt 2 EX Mode card can use his Blitz King EX Burst.

Trivia

 * In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, there is a shop building in Luxerion's The Warren called "Jecht's Goods" and has the logo of the Zanarkand Abes.