Tatsu

Tatsu in Xenoblade Chronicles X

"*Finally! Dance of freedom! Tatsu thanks you!*"
— Tatsu
**Tatsu** (Japanese: タツ; English dub: /ˈtɑːtˌsuː/) is a Nopon native to Mira in *Xenoblade Chronicles X*. He is met by Cross upon being freed from a vegetable containment unit in Chapter 3. After introductions, he accompanies Cross, Elma, Lin, and their companions for the rest of the game.

Unlike Riki from *Xenoblade Chronicles*, Tatsu is not a playable character. However, he is a major support character who assists the main cast on their journey. He automatically joins or leaves the party if Lin does the same.

## Appearance

Tatsu is a male Nopon whose fur color is mostly shades of brown and some orange. He has brown hair that swirls to the side from the top of his head. He has two red spots on his cheeks and a dark brown star-shaped pattern on his belly. Tatsu sports a green cloak with a hood, making him loosely resemble a type of vegetable native to Mira. He also carries a large backpack, inside of which are two Biters and an odd device known as a Follow Ball. He also wears glasses with spiraling patterns on each lens.

## Personality

While Tatsu's personality can generally be described as childish and carefree, he occasionally comes across as rather condescending. As is common with many Nopon, Tatsu is easily caught up in the moment and is forgetful. Tatsu and Lin often act like immature bickering children.

## Story

### Pre-Prologue

One day in the Dodonga Caravan, Ron, a close friend of Tatsu's, invited him to go out on a scouting mission to find food and things to trade, as well as finding people to trade with. Even though they both went on the mission, Ron did not actually participate, claiming that his specialty is guarding his own tent. Despite Tatsu's attempt to persuade him otherwise, Ron continued to be stubborn. His stubbornness led him to being kicked out of the tent. They both argued until Ron finally gave in, albeit reluctantly.

When they both set out on their trip, they ate plants and bugs along the way, spitting out unpleasant tasting ones and saving sweet ones in their bags. One day, they both discovered and followed delicious looking lizards deep into a forest. Unfortunately for them, a gigantic carnivorous creature called a Tectinsula laid its eyes on them. As they tried not to lose eye contact with the Tectinsula, they both slowly backed away, only for it to attack them. As they panicked and scattered, Ron screamed at the Tectinsula to eat Tatsu due to his potato-like body. The Tectinsula decided to pursue Tatsu, while Ron stood by muttering that he would never forget Tatsu for his "snackrifice". Ron left, but due to being a Nopon with no sense of direction, he wandered off in the opposite direction of the Dodonga Caravan. Several days later, he collapsed but was taken in by kind aliens, and became their guard until the ends of his days.

Meanwhile, the Tectinsula simply would not give up until at last Tatsu's foot got caught in a metal object hidden within the bushes. As the Tectinsula was about to swallow Tatsu whole, it was blasted apart by a laser fire. Tatsu realized that the object he tripped over was a trap set up by someone. Relieved, Tatsu devoured the entire monster, leaving only its shell intact. After he finished eating, he realized that he forgot about the trap that saved his life. While pondering who had made the trap, Tatsu was startled by raspy voices. He saw two aliens, Prone, holding gun rifles at him. Tatsu had never seen or heard of them before. The two Prone soldiers were annoyed that Tatsu ate the Tectinsula, so they decided to pursue him. Thanks to his nimbleness and the Prone's poor running speed, Tatsu managed to escape them.

Tatsu eventually winded up in a familiar place — the Dodonga Caravan. However, the camp was left devastated with no Nopon in sight, not even any dead bodies. Tatsu believed that the camp must have fled somewhere or been kidnapped. While Tatsu was panicking and debating over the fate of his Nopon friends and family, the Prone managed to capture him. Not having the willpower to resist, they tied him up and threw him into a basket. From within the basket, Tatsu wept and mourned over the fact that he may not be able to meet with his Nopon caravan again. Tatsu began wondering about his plans to leave the caravan due to his vision of slaying a god with a group of sidekicks. He could not believe that he left the camp only to be devoured soon.

As Tatsu saw a shooting star through a crack in the basket, he quickly wished for a pretty girl from the Prone to gently cook him. His shooting star continued shooting and did not vanish. Amazed by this "shooting star" while forgetting to finish his wish, Tatsu saw a man-made spacecraft plummeting into the planet's surface. Tatsu could not grasp what was going on while pieces of the spacecraft scattered throughout the surface of Mira.

## Affinity Links

* Gotsu
* Jitsu
* Koko
* Lin
* Mujiji
* Mumutsu
* Satsu
* Tora
* Yoyotsu

## Quotes

* *"Friend, do you ever get lost? Tired of bulky maps and flawed memory?"*
* *"T-Tatsu not turnip OR potato! For last time, Tatsu is not food!"*
* *"Escape! Yes, escape! Tatsu also want escape! Friends! Friends not leave Tatsu trapped!"*
* *"You ARE mean! Mean and cruel! Tatsu definitely not potato!"*
* *"Oh-ho! It look perfect size for Tatsu... Wait! What?! Tatsu know what that is! That ruh-fridger-eater! Food go in there to cool off!"*
* *"As leader of BLADE team, Tatsu need cool and tough image!"*
* *"Tatsu agree: friends must find thingy that can help do stuff better!"*
* *"Friends patronize Tatsu! Nopon proud and brave people, with rich history, you know!"*
* *"Linly! Linly! What is Linly making?"*
* *"Welcome to Sandy Bum Canyon!"*
* *"What language? Nopon, of course! Friends' Nopon very good, by the way."*
* *"Tatsu knew friends must be hungry, so Tatsu ride spinny-plane here to deliver hot meal! Tatsu heropon, after all."*
* *"Fwah grub? Fwah grub sounds delicious! Maybe Tatsu try some when Linly finished cooking. Can Tatsu help?"*
* *"Meh-meh-meh? Ta-Tatsu is here to serve, not BE served, Liny!"*
* *"Woo-hoo! Tatsu do Dance of Discovery!"*
* *"Look at cute kitty! Here, kitty kitty!"*
* *"Wha?! Ta-Tatsu not taste like chicken! Tatsu taste like poop! And p-poison! Tatsu taste like poison poop!"*
* *"Bigger than caravan big! Bigger than even legendary Frontier Village big!"*
* *"Silly friends—it obviously key to big door from before!"*
* *"What? No? Sorry, Tatsu a little lost, but... If it mean friends get to make more Hom Hom, Tatsu gladly approve!"*

## Trivia

* Tatsu is the character in *Xenoblade Chronicles X* that pays the most tribute to *Xenoblade Chronicles*.
	+ Satata, a minor character from Colony 6, is also named Tatsu in the Japanese and French versions of *Xenoblade Chronicles*. The characters are relatively similar in appearance, with the same rosy cheeks, a similar circular style of glasses, and both carrying a big knapsack.
	+ When the party reunites Tatsu with the Dodonga Caravan during *The Ties That Bind*, he is greeted by some of the younger Nopon, who call him Dadapon. Lin then asks him if he's actually a "middle-aged deadbeat", a reference to Riki from *Xenoblade Chronicles* who is 40 years old (in the Japanese dub, Lin explicitly asks Tatsu if he is 40), before Tatsu quickly replies that he is only 13 and his mother Koko tells the little Nopon that he is actually their brother, not father. This becomes a running gag throughout the game, as Tatsu's siblings seem to constantly forget he is their brother, not their father.
	+ In one cutscene, Tatsu mentions the "legendary Frontier Village", another reference to *Xenoblade Chronicles*.
	+ Towards the end of Chapter 12, he calls the humans "hom hom", yet another reference to *Xenoblade Chronicles*.
* Tatsu has voice clips present for Soul Voice in the Japanese version which were removed in the international release.

## Gallery

Tatsu wearing his father's shadesTatsuTatsuOfficial ArtOfficial ArtOfficial ArtOfficial ArtTatsuTatsu without his hoodTatsuTatsu riding in a Skell with LinTatsu giving a bento to LaoTatsu without glassesConcept ArtConcept ArtConcept ArtConcept Art

fr:Tatsu