—Fighting Style: Tactical Striker

A knight clad in draconic armor, with lance in hand. Though not one to display emotion, he is compassionate and possesses a strong sense of justice.

The Ensemble Darkhorse from Final Fantasy IV, originally meant to be Cecil's foe in the original game, finally makes it for Dissidia 012. He's on Cosmos' side officially, but seems to be striking out on his own with a less than pleasant plan, leading to rumours of him turning his coat against Cosmos.

General Tropes

• Animal Motifs: Dragons.
• Badass: Before Jecht, there was Kain Highwind. *
  Interestingly, a Report cutscene shows the two bonding.
  • Badass Arm Fold: For his Victory Pose, after planting his spear into the ground.
  • Badass Baritone: You'd better believe it.
  • Badass Boast: Though not as much as much as Jecht, Kain makes it clear you will not win when you face him.
  "All those who challenge me will fall."
  "Hmph, I'm the trump card."
  "I walk the path of trials."

  • And then there's his Pre Asskicking One Liners to Exdeath:

  Exdeath: "So, you offer your life in exchange for theirs?"
  Kain: "Of course not. I offer yours."

  Exdeath: "I am afraid that time runs short for you."
  Kain: "Truly. Then let us make this quick."
  • Badass Cape: His Hooded Man outfit.
  • Badass Longhair
• Big Damn Heroes: During the opening sequence, he meddles in Cecil's fight with Golbez, helping Cecil break free from one of the mage's attempted attacks. He also saves Tifa from Ultimecia when the latter attempts to kill her.
• Determinator: To nearly ridiculous extents. In addition to dealing with the conflict of the gods, he's been running around killing off his allies to prevent them from being permanently offed by the manikins. Then he faces Exdeath, who retreats while leaving a pack of manikins (in Kain's form) to fight in his stead. He then saves Tifa from Ultimecia. Then he has a You Shall Not Pass moment against Golbez and Exdeath (mostly Exdeath, though; Golbez really wasn't helping out). After this, he's shown to be physically drained, battered, and bruised, and yet he drags his body to the source of the manikins, catching up to the main group just in time to aid them in a battle that he knows will — without a doubt — lead to his death. And he gives it his very all, from start to finish.
• Heroic Sacrifice: The new heroes sacrificed themselves to seal the manikins away in the void in a Bolivian Army Ending. Special points for invoking this due to What You Are in the Dark as described further down.
• I Did What I Had to Do
• The Lancer: Mostly to Lightning, and is also the Sixth Ranger to the Five-Man Band in Dissidia 012.
  • He's also this (or The Dragon) to Golbez, working alongside him to ensure the heroes survive to the next cycle.
  • He also gets bonus points for literally being a lancer... as in fighting with a lance.
• Large Ham: He shares Cecil's habit of over the top battle cries.
  "Cross the heavens! BOW DOWN!"
  • Purple Prose
• Mythology Gag: Assumes his iconic trademark◊pose◊ at the end of his EX Burst — the same pose up there in his artwork.
• Name of Cain
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: "Your levity is reprehensible" really stands out from his other, simpler battle quotes.
• The Sixth Ranger
  • Sixth Ranger Traitor: Seemingly
• The Southpaw: Kain's a lefty.
• Welcome Back Traitor
  • The Atoner: After being called out by Lightning on his plan (see below), Kain's actions for the remainder of the story are pretty much a retread of his ordeals in IV. Also, it's hinted that Kain is fearful of Cecil regaining his memories of Kain from their world due to said ordeals.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: See below.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Lightning calls him out for taking it upon himself to personally kill the other Warriors of Cosmos in order to save them from being Killed Off for Real by the manikins.
• What You Are in the Dark: In the Epilogue chapter, the entirety of the storyline applied to Kain after he confronts Exdeath and Golbez functions as an extended one of these. Kain had, then, a myriad of opportunities to escape Final Death at the hands of the manikins, and could have lived to fight in the next cycle. No one would have known, if he had chosen to take them, save for Golbez who pretty much asked him to. Yet, he didn't. Kain drags himself through apparent hell and high water to get to the Last Stand, despite it all. Considering both the morally dubious nature of his role in the storyline and his reputation in the fandom as a backstabbing traitor in his original game, it's a nice way to establish that no, Kain really is a good guy.
• The Worf Effect: Subjects other characters to it — Kain is the one who beat Bartz, Zidane, Squall, and Firion, and he probably beat the Onion Knight and Cecil too. Of course, he typically beats them with liberal use of the age old strategy of In the Back.

Design and Costume Tropes

• Bishōnen: Not the bishiest, but just take a look at his EX Mode.
• Badass Cape: In the Hooded Man costume.
• Cool Helmet: Dragon shaped with purple (or red in his Dark Kain costume) hair-like tassels.
• Compressed Hair: Where the heck does all that lovely blond hair go when he's not in EX Mode?
• Evil Costume Switch: His alternate costume is his dark side, giving him a forked spear and blue and red armor.
• Femme Fatalons: Kain sports a set of painted fingernails filed to a point.
• Good Costume Switch: His EX Mode is his Holy Dragoon class upgrade from Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.
• Guyliner: Wears purple armor with lipstick and nail polish, and a tiara-like headdress as his alternate outfit EX Modes. Seems this trope is just the fashion for men in Baron or something.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: In his EX mode where he turns into a Holy Dragoon, it becomes more evident that he encompasses the noble, knightly values that come with this trope.
• Hidden Eyes: Nomura was told that his EX Mode removes his helmet, so he drew Kain with his eyes in shadows normally.
  • Ditto for his character model. His helmet leaves a shadow that completely obscures his eyes.
• Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons
• In the Hood: His aptly named Hooded Man costume.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Lampshaded by Ultimecia after he rescues Tifa.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: We finally see a high-definition Kain without his helmet on. And he is gorgeous◊.
• Purple Eyes: Revealed whenever his helmet isn't on.
• Sculpted Physique
• Shoulders of Doom: More sedate than his FFIV fellows Cecil and Golbez, but still present.
• 24-Hour Armor: Except for his Hooded Man costume.

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

• Air Jousting
• Blade on a Stick: Like Cecil, only his weapons are full-fledged spears.
• Blown Across the Room: Gungnir, Rising Drive, and Sky Rave, granted there's enough room, will drive the opponent back, up, and down. Unless you happen to be on a particularly large arena like The Rift or Dream's End, they will hit a wall — they get knocked back that far.
• Blow You Away: Cyclone.
  • Wind is Green: He stands out in this regard, since aside from Vaan's Windburst, every other air-elemental attack in the game is gray.
• Boring, but Practical: He has one of the smallest Bravery skillsets in the game, with two ground attacks, three aerial, and ground and midair versions of Cyclone. However, they're all he needs.
• Death from Above: He's a Dragoon, so this is expected. Sky Rave and Jump are the most prominent examples. His EX Burst is the apotheosis of this.
• Difficult, But Awesome: His gimmick is that you can press Triangle after landing a Bravery attack to dash forward and attack again while the opponent is still reeling from the first blow. However, the timing is very difficult to get right.
  • Awesome Yet Practical: Once you do get the hang of him, he's incredibly powerful. His HP attacks hit over a variety of altitudes and close to mid ranges horizontally, Gungnir, Sky Rave, and Rising Drive do massive Bravery damage, and Jump executes quickly and lets him dodge attacks.
• EX Mode: Holy Strength!
  "Dragon's gift, to me!"
  • In reference to the class change he made in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, Kain becomes a Holy Dragoon. His armor changes color to a blue-green and he ditches his helmet. In addition to Regen, Kain's EX mode gives him the following ability:
    • Lancet, the trademark ability of Dragoons that absorbs HP from enemies.
  • Holy Dragoon also gives him access to his EX Burst: Dragoon's Pride:
  "Let me ease your pain! Heavenward!" or "I've returned to my senses! Heavenward!"
  • Kain launches himself into the air at high-speed. In order to increase the altitude of his jump, the player must repeatedly tap a specific button which changes every few seconds. If successfully executed, Kain reaches the peak of his jump above the clouds, with the two moons filling the night sky behind him. He then performs a series of acrobatic flips and twists before rocketing back down to drive his lance through the foe, trailing behind a beam of light which continues to pierce his foe's body while he poses in the foreground.
    "Dragon's grasp... With all my strength!"
• Goomba Stomp
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: His EX Burst is most notable in this regard, but a lot of Kain's attacks are, with the frills stripped off, various ways to put his spear through his opponent's body as fast and as far as he can.
• In a Single Bound/Jump Physics: His specialty.
• Javelin Thrower: Gungnir. Doubles as a dual Mythology Gag — Gungnir is both the final spear Kain comes equipped with when he rejoins the party for the final time, and an attack used by recurring summon Odin where he throws his spear at opponents immune to Zantetsuken.
• Life Drain: Lancet.
• Mythology Gag: Two of his attacks, Spiral Blow and Sky Grinder, are his Band attacks from The After Years performed with Golbez and Cecil, respectively.
• Power Glows: His lance does when performing some of his Brave attacks and all of his HP attacks.

Gilgamesh

Voiced By: Kazuya Nakai (Japanese), Keith Szarabajka (English)

—Fighting Style: Frenzied Swordsman

Yet another Ensemble Darkhorse makes it into 012. This time, it's the legendary Gilgamesh from Final Fantasy V, armed with his wide assortment of weapons and the blazing flame of his winning spirit. Contrary to popular belief, Gilgamesh fights for neither Cosmos nor Chaos. Sometime after his banishment by Exdeath, he wanders into World B from the Rift.

General Tropes

• Ascended Extra: Gilgamesh appeared in the first game as a summon stone.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Literally: Upon entering his EX Burst, Gilgamesh crashes against the screen!!
• Collector of the Strange: His summon profile in the original game says that "he fancies himself a seeker of rare blades."

  Gilgamesh: (to Squall) Whoa, you've got a gunblade! You must be a connoisseur!

• Daydream Surprise: In Report 19, Gilgamesh thinks how his duel with Bartz should turn out.
• Easy Come, Easy Go/Failure Is the Only Option: According to the Official Quests, he's entered World B a total of three times in his search for Bartz. Each time, he gets sucked back into the Rift after fighting someone, even if he won.
• Epic Fail: The Excalipoor EX Burst.
  • Of course, if the player ends up killed by the Excalipoor EX Burst, it also qualifies as one for the player.
• Everything's Better with Samurai
• Impact Silhouette: Leaves a Gilgamesh-shaped hole when he crashes through the screen at the beginning of his EX Burst.
• Kabuki Sounds: Complete with the poses.
• Large Ham: He shouts "HERE I AM!" to call out an attack.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Averted: He is in fact one of the few warriors to actually remember their pasts prior to joining the conflict of the gods, and he's not even one of the soldiers recruited as much as a third party who stumbled upon it, which causes hilarity to ensue when he tries to get Bartz (who holds only a handful of memories of his home world) to remember him.
  • However, he doesn't seem to remember Squall, Zidane, or Vaan, and at first doesn't recognize Exdeath either. Could perhaps be a case of But for Me, It Was Tuesday, given just how many worlds he's been to. That, or he hasn't canonically met them yet during the time of 012.
• The Other Darrin: His seiyuu in Final Fantasy XII, Daisuke Gouri, passed away in early 2010, so he'll be voiced by a new seiyuu in this game.
  • Also applies to the English version; for whatever reason, his VA for XII (John DiMaggio) didn't reprise the role, so Gilgamesh is instead voiced by Keith Szarabajka.
• Relationship Voice Actor: And you know where his new seiyuu and Bartz' seiyuu worked together as main rivals? Where GUNZ were put on (Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura).
• Shout Out: Oddly enough, there seem to be more then a few to Fate/Stay Night. His EX Burst resembles Illya and Miyu's use of Kaleidoscope to recreate Excalibur.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: He finally gets a chance to properly use Excalibur.
• The Unintelligible: With the music and attack sounds playing over them, a lot of his attack calls can be hard to decipher.
• Unknown Rival: He has dedicated himself to escaping the Rift so that he can challenge Bartz to a rematch. Bartz's reaction? "Who are you?". Justified in that, for the most part, few people in Dissidia retain memories of their world, so Bartz really CAN'T remember him.
• Walking The Multiverse: Why he was expected to appear in a crossover with several other Final Fantasy characters.
  • So far, he's previously met up with Cecil, Terra, Squall, Zidane, Vaan, and the Warrior of Light *
    To clarify, he met Cecil, Kain, & co. in FFIV:TAY
    , and met Terra and WoL in the Video Game Remakes of their respective titles. And there's evidence that he's at least been to Cloud's and Tidus' worlds, too. In other words, Gilgamesh knows his way around the multiverse.
    • Lampshaded in a cutscene where Vaan, Zidane, and Squall (the ones who have met him outside remakes) encounter him, but because of purifications, do not remember who he is.
• We Meet Again: Too bad no one seems to remember him.
• Wink Ding: After every blow of his EX-burst, when he strikes a pose.

Design and Costume Tropes

• Armor Is Useless: All of his outfits give him armor of varying design, weight, and protection, but he plays the same every time.
• Badass Cape: His third outfit, based on his VIII incarnation.
• Cat Smile
• Facial Markings
• Monochromatic Eyes: Of the Blank White Eyes variety.
• Rummage Sale Reject: He's like a clown and a samurai had a baby, and then it exploded.

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

• Awesome, but Impractical: His weapon effects range from a chance to instantly Break the opponent, doing double base damage, depleting their EX Gauge, and generating significantly higher EX Force. If only he didn't use those weapons completely at random — thanks, Excalipoor.
  • His Assist is also notable in this regard. He only ever uses Excalibur or Excalipoor when called, and if he uses Excalibur, he does the most damage of any Assist in the game. If he uses Excalipoor, well, as least he still Wall Rushes to set them up for another attack.
  • And then his EX Burst. The most powerful in the game by quite a bit, if he gets it right. If not, he uses Excalipoor again, and guess how it's going to go.
• Blow You Away: Hurricane and Wind Slash.
• Blue Magic: His HP attacks are nods to Blue Magic from his original game, many of which he himself could use.
• Boisterous Bruiser
• Calling Your Attacks: "ROCKET PUNCH!" and "Tsubamegaeshi!"
• Confusion Fu: As Gilgamesh fights, he uses a random weapon for each attack, with effects ranging from generating more EX Force when he hits, to possibly instantly breaking the opponent, to doing twice as much damage, to only dealing one damage per hit.
• Death from Above: Jump, natch.
• Desperation Attack: The Chicken Knife builds in power as Gilgamesh's HP decreases. Amusingly, this effect is rather like the Valiant Knife from Final Fantasy VI, which is rather ironic*
  "Valiant" means "Brave", and the Chicken Knife is supposed to be powered by cowardice
  .
• Dual Wielding: All of his attacks.
  • And in his EX-mode, he can octo-wield!
• EX Mode: Gilgamesh Morphing Time!
  "Gilgamesh morphing time!"
  • Gilgamesh reveals his eight-armed true form from his debut game. In addition to Regen, Gilgamesh's EX Mode gives him the following ability:
    • Octo Break: As Gilgamesh enters his EX Mode, he takes up a weapon for each of his eight hands, until the end of the EX Mode. He will either wield eight of the same weapon, four different weapons each with one duplicate, two different weapons each with three duplicates, one of every weapon, or even some other combination; because of how random Gilgamesh's EX Mode actually is, there's roughly 16,777,216 different ways his EX Mode can turn out. In addition to extra hits for all physical attacks, this means that during his EX Mode, his abilities are far more reliable than usual, and can therefore be planned around. However, there's the very real chance that he'll end up wielding multiple Excalipoors, in which case you'll want to exit EX mode fast.
      While he is enjoying this benefit, HP attacks not reliant on swords are also improved. His Rocket Punch shoots eight fists instead of two and the Missile spell fires two missiles.
  • Gilgamesh Morphing Time also gives Gilgamesh access to his EX Burst: Strongest Sword.
    • Gilgamesh is presented with eight blades, spinning around like a roulette wheel in front of him. One of these blades is Excalibur. All the others are Excalipoor. Once you choose one, Gilgamesh launches into a long sword-combo upon the enemy. Pick Excalibur, and it does amazing damage, and Gilgamesh finishes his attack with Ultimate Illusion, a final swing that launches an erupting wave of energy at the opponent.
    "That's it! Ya-ha-ha! I'm too good!"
    • Pick Excalipoor, and every hit deals 1 damage. Gilgamesh realizes this by the end of the move, finishing it by throwing the sword away and lamenting his bad luck. The sword lands in the opponent's head to deal the HP damage.
    "That's it! J-just kidding. This is far from the strongest of swords!"
    • If the opposing character ends up killed by Excalipoor, it also qualifies as an Epic Fail on the receiving opponent's end.
    • This is made somewhat more awesome as a clever Mythology Gag; in Final Fantasy V, the Excalipoor always dealt 1 damage, unless two things were done; the first is by punching someone while holding the sword, and the other is by using !Throw from Ninja.
• Hammerspace: Whips out a rather large missile from nowhere for his Missile attack.
• Hot Blooded: Just like in Final Fantasy V.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: As always.
• Multi-Melee Master: Wields eight weapons:
  • An Axe to Grind: Battle Axe.
  • Blade on a Stick: Naginata.
  • Cool Sword: Zantetsuken and the Genji Blade.
  • Infinity+1 Sword: Excalibur.
  • Joke Item: Excalipoor.
  • Katanas Are Just Better: Masamune.
  • Knife Nut: The Chicken Knife.
• One-Hit Kill: Not quite, but the Zantetsuken has a small chance to insta-break an enemy.
• Razor Wind
• Rocket Punch: One of his Blue Magic spells.
• Shock and Awe: Electrocute.
• Spin Attack: Whirlwind Slash and Hurricane
• Spirited Competitor: It's his trademark, and this time is no different, with a few of his victory/defeat quotes centering on the concept of looking for a Worthy Opponent. And of course, he's always trying to find Bartz.
• Stout Strength: Pretty much the only character that subscribes to this trope — even the other giants (Exdeath, Golbez, Garland) have pretty waspy waists.

—Fighting Style: Feint Brawler

An optimistic woman proficient in hand-to-hand combat. Contrary to her rough-and-tumble appearance, she often encourages her friends.

The third confirmed character for Dissidia 012. Cloud's childhood friend and love interest. She's suffering from amnesia in this game, and does not recognize either Cloud or Sephiroth.

General Tropes

• Badass Damsel: She gets rescued by Cloud from Sephiroth and by Kain from Ultimecia.
• The Chick: Serves this role in the Five-Man Band the new heroes make.
• Designated Girl Fight: The only straight in-story example in the game, as Ultimecia serves as her obstacle.
• Heroic Sacrifice: The new heroes sacrificed themselves to seal the manikins away in the void in a Bolivian Army Ending.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia
• Male Gaze: Very noticeable in the opening FMV.
• Mythology Gag: After Cloud rescues Tifa from Sephiroth, Tifa comments that Cloud was "like a hero, charging in to save the girl," similar to his promise to her from their original game.
• Shout Out: Her Premium Heart gloves have the Kingdom Hearts logo on them.
  • One of her Brave attacks is named "Falcon Dive." A cross-company shout out? Why should they do that? Maybe because Kazushige Nojima, scenario writer for FFVII, wrote the plot behind Brawl's Subspace Emissary.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: With Cloud, although she doesn't realize it for obvious reasons.
• Turn The Other Cheek: While Tifa is uncertain whether Kain's decision to kill their friends to save them from the manikins is right or not, she knows Kain believes what he's doing is right and decides to follow him and keep fighting anyway.

Design and Costume Tropes

• Bare Your Midriff
• Brown Eyes: Like in her original game and the Kingdom Hearts series, they are a bit on the maroon side.
• Cowgirl: Her third costume, which rapidly became an Iconic Outfit.
• Cute Bruiser
• Fingerless Gloves
• Jiggle Physics: Most noticeable in her entrance pose as well as her EX Burst. Lampshaded in her Vs. Zidane quote: "What are you staring at?! Focus!"
• Ms. Fanservice
• Muscles Are Meaningless
• Panty Shot: Although it occurs far less than one might expect, given the shortness of her skirt.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
• Sexy Backless Outfit: Her third bonus alt.
• She's Got Legs
• Stripperiffic: If her normal costume doesn't cut it, her DLC version◊ certainly does; it even somehow gives her an exposed back!

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

• Action Girl
• Air Jousting
• An Ice Person: Exclusively uses different tiers of blizzard magic for her spell attacks, which contrasts Cloud's focus on fire spells and its upgrades.
• Bare-Fisted Monk
  • Power Fist
• Betting Mini-Game: Tifa's EX Burst uses the Slot mechanic of her Limit Break. Fortunately, it's not completely up to chance, and once you get the rhythm of the button presses down, getting a Perfect isn't too difficult.
• Boobs of Steel: It's Tifa. There would be riots in the streets if they had her any other way.
• Elemental Punch: She has several martial arts moves that use elemental properties, like Dolphin Blow, Water Kick, Burning Arrow, and Rolling Blaze.
• EX Mode: Equipped Premium Heart!
  "Time to get serious!"
  • Tifa switches out her Leather Gloves for her ultimate knuckle duster, Premium Heart. In addition to Regen, Tifa's EX Mode gives her the following ability:
    • Premium Heart: Tifa's attack power increases based on how much EX Force she has. The more EX Force she has, the higher her attack power.
  • Equipped Premium Heart also gives her access to her EX Burst: Final Heaven.
  "Are you ready? My thoughts empower me."
  • Tifa charges herself and a slot machine reel appears, and you must try to get Yeah! on every one of her Slots. She then charges the enemy from all angles with a powerful barrage of bare-fisted attacks, and finally, charging energy into her fist, she charges through the enemy with an incredible punch, creating an explosive pillar of flames behind her.
    "Breaking my limit!... Feels like you're flying, doesn't it?" or "Breaking my limit! Words aren't the only way to convey your feelings."
• Flash Step: Her fighting style lets her cancel attacks and quickly slip around to attack the opponent from another angle.
• Kung-Fu Wizard: Though she's primarily a melee fighter, she's got her spells too, and unlike Cloud, she can use them in the air as well as on the ground.
• Rapid Fire Fisticuffs
• She-Fu
  • Waif-Fu

Voiced by: Hiroaki Hirata (Japanese), A. V. Kennedy (English)

—Fighting Style: Tactical Gunner

A spirited man who uses various guns to fight. With his cheerful personality, he casually mediates the other warriors.

The fifth confirmed character for Dissidia 012. A fan-favorite Guest Star Party Member and father of Squall.

General Tropes

• Adorkable: He's even having a leg cramp when fighting Cloud of Darkness!
• Alliterative Name
• Badass
  • Adaptational Badass: YMMV on how badass Laguna was in Final Fantasy VIII. Here, there's no question at all.
  • Badass Armfold: Shortly before finishing his EX Burst, when he lands atop the Ragnarok Cannon.
  • Badass Normal: While every other character in the game has at least some basic magical skills, Laguna uses no spells or equivalent supernatural powers at all, instead relying on his assorted firearms.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Though he's a weaponsmaster in battle, off the battlefield, Laguna is, well, Laguna.
• Bumbling Team Dad: Laguna looks after the younger heroes in his own strange way, even calling himself Uncle Laguna in front of them.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer
• Cool Airship/Cool Starship: He has a BFG based on the Ragnarok Airship.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Implied when facing Cloud of Darkness.
  "Oh no... not good... focus, Laguna!"
• The Ditz
• Foil: To Squall, in their few interactions. It's encapsulated in their attitudes towards the other warriors; Squall doesn't see a point in making friends since he's focused on getting home, while Laguna embraces the chance to get to know people from so many different worlds, and advises Squall to "enjoy the now."
• The Heart
• Heroic Sacrifice: The new heroes sacrificed themselves to seal the manikins away in the void in a Bolivian Army Ending.
• Idiot Hero
• Large Ham: Laguna sometimes speaks in an over-emotional tone to other characters to lighten up the mood.
• Mental Time Travel: His EX Mode is a reference to this. In the original game, when Ellone's Mental Time Travel ability sends Squall and his friends into scenes from his past, Laguna and his friends are aware of the boost to their strength and combat abilities, but attribute it to "faeries".
• Nice Guy
• No Sense of Direction: Laguna gets snarked at by the other warriors for this very often.
  • "It's not that I have a bad sense of direction. I'm just interested in all directions."
• Obfuscating Stupidity: At first, his encounter with the Cloud of Darkness makes him look like a complete idiot, but Laguna was able to get some pretty vital information about the manikins, without breaking character as the team goofball at that.
• Popularity Power: In the original game, Laguna is essentially a Badass Normal whose strongest ability was to throw grenades at monsters. However, since he is something of an Ensemble Darkhorse, even by people who otherwise dislike Final Fantasy VIII, this means he gets to kill people with the Ragnarok airship in Dissidia.
• Punny Name: The first part of "Ragnarok" is pronounced the same way as Laguna in Japanese (Raguna-roku).
• The Smart Guy: Yes, while being an Idiot Hero. Despite being a klutz and a bit of a loon, Laguna is the most intellectual of the new heroes, bringing a map with him (even if he misreads it) and finding out the location of the Manikins and leading the group to them. He also far and away has the most strategic fighting style among them.
• Took a Level in Badass: Laguna only had his trademark machine gun in Final Fantasy VIII, only threw grenades in his Limit Break, and out of battle was pretty goofy. Now he's practically the personification of More Dakka with more firearms than any other Final Fantasy character could even dream of using. He's still pretty goofy, though.
• Unexpected Character: Most people were expecting Rinoa or Seifer to be the new representative. Laguna was considered an outside chance, especially compared to the likes of Tifa and Kain.

Design and Costume Tropes

• Armor Is Useless: Laguna's DLC alt. is the armor he wore when playing a Sorceress Knight in a movie.
• Bishōnen
  • Badass Longhair
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy
• Bling Bling Bang: His EX Mode makes him The Man With The Golden (Machine) Gun.
• Fingerless Gloves
• Green Eyes
• Older Than They Look: He's 27 while the others are in their teens to early 20's. You wouldn't know he's 5-10 years older than them by looking at them, though.
• Peek-A-Bangs: Over his right eye.
• Tall, Dark and Handsome

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

• Bottomless Magazines: Averted for all of his weapons. He visibly and audibly reloads his Machine Gun after firing it, and his other weapons are all Throwaway Guns from his Hyperspace Arsenal.
• Difficult, But Awesome: Unlike the rest of the hero characters, who have simpler fighting styles, Laguna is a more tactical fighter, like The Emperor or Kefka.
• EX Mode: Look, the Faeries are here!
  "You've awakened the genius!

  A reference to Laguna calling himself a genius in FFVIII, but "genius" in this context may have its archaic meaning of "Guardian Force".

  "
  • Laguna is empowered by the presence of a mysterious force and casts Aura on his weapons, giving them a golden sheen befitting of the President of Esthar. In addition to Regen, Laguna's EX Mode gives him the following ability:
    • Faeries' Miracle: Laguna can skip the lag at the end of his Bravery Attacks by performing any attack.
  • Look, the Faeries are here! also gives him access to his EX Burst: Desperado.
  "Now it's a party!"
  • Laguna blasts the enemy with his rocket launcher, then tosses a grenade at the enemy and hangs from a grappling hook. You must then aim the cursor at the enemy to pepper them with machine gun fire. When the Damage gauge is filled, he uses the Ultimate Ragnarok Cannon, where his weapons combine into a battle platform and fire an immense beam of energy at the enemy, causing the grenade to finally explode.
  "Go, go, go! The greatest attack ever!" or "Go, go, go! You're getting the Cuchi-cuchi treatment!"
• Frickin' Laser Beams: The specialty of his Ragnarok Cannon.
• The Gunslinger: Now with more guns then ever!
  • BFG: Both his bazooka and Ragnarok Cannon.
  • Macross Missile Massacre: Missile Barrage fires rockets that fly forward for a bit, then turn and begin tracking the opponent. Homing Bazooka does the same with a single rocket.
  • More Dakka: He is The Man With The Machine Gun, after all. His EX Burst deals the most hits of any attack in the entire game, hitting almost 60 times! In second place is his Machine Gun, hitting just over thirty times, about the size of a magazine in a real-life SMG like his.
  • Recursive Ammo: His charged Ricochet Shot Bravery Attack and Split Laser HP Attack.
  • Stuff Blowing Up: He's bringing different grenades, a bazooka, and a rocket launcher with him this time.
  • Throw Down the Bomblet: He has multiple types of grenades, including Sticky Bombs and a stranger one that makes a Beehive Barrier.
  • Sniper Rifle: He's toting the same one Irvine used during their attempt to assassinate Edea; this also makes him a Friendly Sniper.
  • Shotguns Are Just Better: Uses a Shotgun very similar to Irvine's for Armor Piercing Attacks.
  • Wave Motion Gun: His Ragnarok Cannon.
• Hyperspace Arsenal
• Kill Sat: His Satellite Laser HP Attack.
• Laser Blade: His Ragnarok Blade HP Attack.
• Multi-Ranged Master
• Pistol Whipping: Pummel.

Voiced By: Mayuko Aoki (Japanese), Hedy Burress (English)

—Fighting Style: Grand Summoner

A female summoner who openly accepts her destiny and keeps on fighting bravely alongside her Aeons.

Shown at the Stinger Teaser of the trailer at Jump Festa. Now a Summoner joins the ranks of Dissidia 012.

General Tropes

• Beware the Nice Ones: Just like FFX, it's not a good idea to get on Yuna's bad side. The Emperor really should have known better.
• Heroic Sacrifice: The new heroes sacrificed themselves to seal the manikins away in the void in a Bolivian Army Ending.
• Irony: As Tidus said in Final Fantasy X watching Yuna perform the Sending, "people die, and Yuna dances". Well, now the Sending is her EX Burst, so it's exactly the other way around.
  • There also is some parallelism to Tidus' journey and revelations in X. In X, Tidus sacrifices himself to save Yuna from giving up her life to summon the Final Aeon and finally vanquish Sin and Yu Yevon once and for all. Here, it is Yuna, by virtue of the group Heroic Sacrifice enacted to prevent the influx of manikins from overwhelming the other warriors in the next cycle, who essentially does the same for Tidus.
• Just Whistle: Tries to whistle for Tidus to come back to her early in her story. It works... not that Tidus wants to admit it.
  • Adds on as a Mythology Gag (along with so many others, of course); early in X, Tidus tells Yuna that if she's ever in trouble, she should Just Whistle, and he'd come running (at the time he says this, Yuna can't whistle at all, and it takes some time for her to learn). It never happened in that game, but look what happened here.
• Mediator: Tries to play the role of negotiator between Tidus and Jecht. It defuses somewhat, but The Emperor doesn't want Tidus not to fight. It leads to Jecht saving Tidus, becoming a Warrior of Chaos due to it. Thus, her attempt at mediating the two causes their fighting in Dissidia.
• Only One Name
• Silk Hiding Steel
• The Smart Guy: Shares the role with Laguna.
• Starcrossed Lovers: With Tidus, since he is brainwashed this time around.
• This Is My Story: Shares Tidus' line for her Pre Ass Kicking One Liner.
  "This Is My Story. It has a Happy Ending!"
• Walk on Water: How she was introduced.

Design and Costume Tropes

• Absolute Cleavage: Her Gunner dressphere.
• Black Bra: One that can be clearly seen from any side or back shot.
• Detached Sleeves
• Flower Motifs: The Sea-Hibiscus.
• Fairy Tale Wedding Dress: In her Wedding Dress Costume, of course.
• Fluffy Fashion Feathers: In her Wedding Dress Costume.
• Giant Waist Ribbon
• Hotter and Sexier: Her Gunner dressphere.
• Kimono
• Miko
• Mismatched Eyes: Green right eye and blue left eye.
• Pimped-Out Dress: Her Wedding Dress.
• Rapunzel Hair: In her gunner dressphere.
• Sexy Backless Outfit: All of her outfits.
• She's Got Legs: In her Gunner costume.
• Short Hair With Tail: In her Gunner dressphere.
• Stripperiffic: Her Gunner DLC Costume.
• Showgirl Skirt: Her Gunner dressphere.
• Who Wears Short Shorts?: In her Gunner dressphere.
• Woman in White: In her wedding dress.

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

• A.I. Breaker: Playing her against humans can go either way, depending on relative skill and opponents involved, but the computer opponents fall before her like dominoes. The most infamous example of this is her Megaflare move, but Energy Ray is almost as good, and her other three HP attacks are all apparently very difficult for the CPU to handle.
• Calling Your Summons
• Combination Attack: Her EX Burst is to call all her Eidolons in sequence to use their various attacks.
• EX Mode: Grand Summon!
  "For the hope of the world!"
  • Yuna is surrounded by a blue glow of pyreflies. In addition to Regen, Yuna's EX Mode gives her the following ability:
    • Double Summon: Yuna can summon two Aeons at once.
  • Grand Summon also gives her access to her EX Burst: To the Farplane!
  "I will end the spiral of conflict."
  • Yuna dances on a column of water as she conjures all her Aeons to attack the opponent in sequence with all their special attacks and Overdrives. Rings of light close in on a displayed button command, and the player must press that button just before the ring vanishes to continue the attack. Yuna finishes the EX Burst completing her sending dance and dissolving the enemy into a swarm of pyreflies.
  "Sins of time eternal! I will cast them away." or "Sins of time eternal! I will do it without false hope."
• Instant Runes
• Magic Staff
• Magic Dance: Uses her Sending Dance as her EX Burst.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Once the novelty of her summonings wear off, Yuna isn't really a stand-out character, with a highly limited pool of attacks that don't do all that impressive damage, and limited combo potential among them.
  • Boring, but Practical: However, she has some of the best anit-A.I. moves in the game (especially against the final boss), and her moves, though lacking in damage, are straightforward and versatile. Falls just short of being a Skill Gate Character, though.
• Squishy Wizard
• Summon Magic: She's bringing her Aeons into battle with her, including:
  • Valefor: A Big Badass Flyer ready to Blow You Away and launch Frickin' Laser Beams.
  • Ifrit: The Fiery Horned Djinn.
  • Ixion: A Cool Unicorn with Striking Lightning Power.
  • Shiva: The Blue Haired Lady of Ice.
  • Bahamut: The Awesome Dragon with Powerful Nuclear Breath.

—Fighting Style: Combo Blitzer

Originally planned as the XI representative in the original Dissidia, but ended up replaced by Shantotto. But now, the foulmouthed elvaan joins the Warriors of Cosmos.

General Tropes

• Badass: Charged up, her bare-handed punch combos can crush guards and deflect attacks, which combined with their length and power, roughly makes her the female version of Jecht... with purple hair and frills.
  • Badass Adorable
  • Cute Bruiser
• Big Eater: In FFXI, Prishe was known for consuming food items (with stat bonuses attached) in battle. When the player fights against her in the Heroine's Combat BCNM, she would often ask her teammates for food items whenever she performs a weaponskill. This is referenced by her accessory for crafting her exclusive weapon, the Tarragoner, a high level cooking ingredient in FFXI. One must wonder how she still manages to keep such a slim figure.
  • In addition, Prishe has no less than eleven hidden battle quotes in the game that all revolve around food. They replace most of her HP attack quotes, her quote for entering EX Mode, and her line that begins her EX Burst.
• Bokukko: The game's only female character to refer to herself using "ore", a masculine Japanese Pronoun.
• Breakout Character: As with Shantotto, she's received much wider exposure due to her appearance in this game and her popularity has increased accordingly.
• Death Seeker: Her status as such in Final Fantasy XI is referenced by the intro quotes for both Chaos and her Mirror Match.
  Chaos: "Wish not for life, but seek death."
  Prishe: "Have I been looking for the end all along?"
• Genki Girl
• Gratuitous German: Her exclusive weapons include the Koenig Knuckles and the Glantzfaust.
• Hot Blooded
• Madam Swearsalot: Has a very foul mouth in comparison to the rest of the cast, and uses mild language frequently. The two that will likely pop up most often are her Assist call ("It's about damn time!") and her defeat quote ("Aw heeeeeeell!")
• Only One Name
• Our Elves Are Different
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: She definitely tries to be this for the Warrior of Light, and it appears to have worked.
• Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: She's supposedly the intended vessel for the rebirth of the Twilight God Promathia. Referenced by some of the other characters' intro quotes against her.
  Exdeath: "You house an immeasurable Void within you."
• Secret Character: She has to be purchased with PP first, and the ablity to purchase her has to be unlocked.
• Spirited Competitor: Has shades.
  "Gonna have me some fun this time!"
  "It's playtime with Prishe!"
• Tomboy
• What Could Have Been: She was originally planned to be in the first game.
  • Kam'lanaut and Eald'narche were also considered to fill her spot for Dissidia 012.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: What became of Prishe following her appearances in the reports is unknown.
  • Answered in the Official Quests released only in Japan. Prishe vanishes when Garland kills Cosmos in an earlier cycle.

Design and Costume Tropes

• Ambiguously Brown: A racial trait of her people, the Elvaan. The "Ambiguously" comes in when you notice her FMV and artwork depict her with much lighter skin than she has in-game.
• Bare Your Midriff: Her 3rd outfit.
• Elegant Gothic Lolita
• Nice Hat
• Older Than They Look: Estimated to be in her 30's, despite her appearance.
• Pointy Ears
• Power Crystal: Although the crystal that grants her immortality isn't actually visible on her costume.
• Power Fist: She equips a pair of cesti when in her EX mode.
• Skirt over Slacks
• Woman in White: In her 2P costume.
• Walking Swimsuit Scene: Her 3P outfit is the FFXI Sunbreeze Bikini.
• You Gotta Have Purple Hair

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

• Action Girl
• Bare-Fisted Monk
• Dynamic Entry: Her signature Nullifying Dropkick.
• Elemental Powers: From combining moves to create skillchains.
  • Playing with Fire: Liquification, Fusion
  • Blow You Away: Detonation
  • Making a Splash: Reverberation
  • Shock and Awe: Impaction
  • Light 'em Up: Transfixion
  • Casting a Shadow: Compression, Gravitation
• Elemental Punch: Holy element with Asuran Fists, fire element with Spinning Attack, and wind element with One-Inch Punch and Dragon Kick.
• Energy Ball: Holy.
• EX Mode: Two-hour ability!
  "What goes around comes around!" or "Prishe is here, where's the grub?"
  • Prishe activates her Two-Hour Ability as a Monk. She glows with an aura of energy and equips Power Fists. In addition to Regen, Prishe's EX Mode gives her the following ability.
    • Hundred Fists: The aforementioned Two-Hour Ability, which automatically chains the second attack in Prishe's combos twice, letting her link three attacks together at once for extra damage and possibly two Skillchains.
  • Two-Hour Ability also gives her access to her EX Burst: The Five Lights.
  "How's that for ya?!" or "It's getting way past my lunchtime!"
  • Prishe pummels the enemy with a barrage of punches and summons five spheres of shining light. You must quickly press 5 buttons (in a clockwise order starting with a random first button), causing Prishe to kick each sphere at the enemy. If successfully executed, Prishe throws the Star of Tavnazia through the enemy, which then erupts into an explosion of Holy Energy.
  "My will to live... I'll show you just how strong it is! Later!"
• Invulnerable Knuckles: Several of her Bravery attacks have High damage priority, allowing them to deflect HP attacks.
• Kung-Fu Wizard: She's a White Mage/Monk hybrid character.
• Lightning Bruiser: She has one of the fastest movement speeds in the game, her attacks come out fast, and the charged-up ones hurt a lot. As with all charged attacks, charging them takes out the "fast" part, but Prishe can use her unique combo gimmick to chain fast attacks into charging attacks, drastically reducing their charge time for no loss of power.
  • Mighty Glacier: However, her HP attacks really leave a lot to be desired, executing slowly and not being very difficult to avoid.
• Megaton Punch: Howling Fist, which can be charged up like a wind-up punch.
• Punched Across the Room: Half of her combo finishers have Wall Rush properties. The other half initiate Chase.
• Rapid Fire Fisticuffs: Combo and Raging Fists for Bravery attacks, Asuran Fists for HP.
• Razor Wind: Charged Dragon Kick.
• Shoryuken: Her other signature move, Auroral Uppercut.
• Spin Attack: The appropriately-named Spinning Attack.
• White Magic
  • Holy Hand Grenade: She has Holy and Banish as brave attacks, and Banishga as an HP attack.

—Fighting Style: Adroit Attacker

A cheerful youth who skillfully uses a variety of weapons in battle. Confident in his skills, he fearlessly enters any fierce battle.

The Supporting Protagonist of Final Fantasy XII finally gets his chance in the spotlight of a major game. Vaan has taken the role as Terra's "Knight" and is distrustful of Kain's motives.

General Tropes

• The Artful Dodger
• Big Brother Instinct: Vaan gets very protective of the Onion Knight when they meet, thinking it's wrong for a kid to be involved in the war, and tries to act as a Big Brother Mentor to him. The Onion Knight is clearly annoyed by it, but accepts that Vaan is now his official big brother, whether he likes it or not.
• The Big Guy: Vaan fills this roles in the band.
• Deadpan Snarker: Mostly at Laguna's expense.
• The Dulcinea Effect: He saves Terra from Kefka's torture even after having once fought her before.
  • Then again, if she's being tortured by him, chances are they aren't allies any more.
• Fearless Fool: Vaan barely bats an eyelash when told marching on manikin headquarters would spell almost certain doom, confident that it would be no problem for him. This earns him some ire from Lightning, who is annoyed by his optimism. In a later scene, Vaan shows he isn't quite as confident as he lets on, mentioning to himself that he would have liked to keep his promise to see Terra again.
• Headbutting Heroes: Occasionally with Lightning.
• Heroic Sacrifice: The new heroes sacrificed themselves to seal the manikins away in the void in a Bolivian Army Ending.
• Holding Hands: He appears to do a lot of this with Terra.
• Hypocritical Humor: Really, Vaan? You of all people shouldn't be telling the Cloud Of Darkness to put on a shirt.
• Lovable Rogue
• Mythology Gag: Lovable Rogue taking a knightly vow to protect the mysterious Terra. Sounds a bit similar to Locke, huh?
  • He also has a small Shout Out to Balthier; when fighting himself, he will declare he is the leading man, and has a secret voice data reciting his (in)famous line "I'm Captain Basch Fon Ronsenburg!".
• Only One Name
• The Other Darrin: Kouhei Takeda, his VA in all his other voiced appearances, was planned to return but had scheduling conflicts, so he was replaced by Kensho Ono.
• The Promise: Vaan promises Terra that he'll find her before the fight against Chaos.
• Relationship Voice Actor: With Cecil, who voiced his older brother Reks. Subverted in the fact that Vaan never actually meets up with Cecil in the story.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right
• Sky Pirate
• Street Urchin
• Stepping Stone Sword/Sword Plant: Sits on his greatsword for his Victory Pose.

Design and Costume Tropes

• Badass Longcoat: In his DLC costume.
• Bishōnen:
  Kefka: And here I thought you were just another pre-pubescent pretty boy!
  • Indigo Eyes?
• Cool Airship: Vaan wears an ornament resembling his airship the Galbana in his 3P costume.
• Dark-Skinned Blond
• Fingerless Gloves
• High Collar of Doom: In his 3P costume.
• Nice Hat: His DLC costume gives him a very nice pirate hat.
• Pirate: DLC outfit◊.
• Sharp Dressed Man: In his 3P costume.
• Tattooed Crook: His 2P costume has a tattoo on the left shoulder.
• Tragic Keepsake: His pendant, which belonged to his dead older brother.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: Slowly but surely, his abs are achieving memetic status. Although his 3P costume puts him in a fancy shirt instead.
  • His abs were memetically bad in his original game due to modeling constraints. This just goes to show what a little more love from the art team can do.

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

• Difficult, But Awesome: It's tricky to get the hang of his Switch attacks, but once you do, he's very powerful.
• Elemental Powers: His HP attacks are based on the elemental Concurrences from Final Fantasy XII.
  • Blow You Away: White Whorl and Windburst.
  • Dishing Out Dirt: His Cataclysm HP Attack.
  • Light 'em Up: His Luminescence part of his EX Burst.
  • Making a Splash: His Torrent HP Attack.
  • Playing with Fire: Red Spiral and Pyroclasm, of course. Also, his Inferno HP Attack.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Most characters have attack names that are decidedly... flowery. Stuff like "Radiant Wings," "Dayflash", and "Flourish Of Steel." Vaan, though, has very simply-named Bravery attacks. The attack where he uses his spear? "Spear." The attack where he uses his crossbow? "Crossbow." At least we won't be forgetting the names any time soon.
• EX Mode: Obtained all Licenses!
  "Gotcha in my sights!"
  • Vaan gains a golden aura of Mist energy and exchanges all of his weapons for their ultimate counterparts, symbolizing that he's completed the License Grid and has earned the ability to equip them. In addition to Regen, Vaan's EX Mode gives him the following abilities:
    • Zodiak: Thus increases the power of all of Vaan's weapon attacks and gives his Switch Attacks more follow up hits.
    • Free Switch: By pressing R+Square, Vaan is able to change his weapon instantly into bare hands, allowing him to pull off better switch attack combos.
  • Obtained All Licenses also gives him access to his EX Burst: Quickening.
  "No holding back!" or "I'm Basch!"
  • Vaan launches into his series of Quickenings. First is Red Spiral, an upward spiral of blue flames that turns into a pillar of fire dropping down on the enemy. Second is White Whorl, a giant tornado generated by a spiraling uppercut. Third is Pyroclasm, two fireballs thrown at the enemy which explode into a massive sea of flames. A perfect string will result in Luminescence: the enemy is trapped between two circles of runes and blasted with light energy.
  "Here! Rupture! Burn! How's this? Stings, huh?"
• Flying Weapon: When using his staff switch attack, Vaan will use magic to have the staff float and attack on its own.
• Full-Contact Magic: Vaan activates his HP attacks by conjuring runes and then punching or kicking them to create elemental effects.
• Hyperspace Arsenal: Played straight, unlike fellow weapon master Firion.
• Instant Runes: Vaan's HP Attacks are the Concurrences that are cast after Quickenings, complete with giant magick circles.
• Multi-Melee Master/Multi-Ranged Master: Vaan is able to switch between weapon types for each of his attacks, and each weapon does bonus damage or has an additional effect if he's swapping out one weapon for another, encouraging player variation. Among the weapons he uses are:
  • Axes: A Handaxe for normal, Golden Axe for EX.
  • Barehanded: Mostly when he uses his chase attack, magick HP Attacks, and as the neutral weapon type.
  • Crossbows: The bowgun and the Gastrophetes for EX.
  • Great Swords: A claymore for normal mode and Tournesol for EX Mode.
  • Guns: Namely the Altair and Fomalhaut for normal mode and EX Mode, respectively.
  • Katanas: Kotetsu for normal mode and Masamune for EX Mode.
  • Shields: Which accompany his short sword and axe, the leather shield for normal and the Zodiac Escutcheon for EX Mode.
  • Short Swords: Including his Mithril Sword, and the Durandal for EX Mode.
  • Spears: As of now, a Javelin for normal mode and the Zodiac Spear for EX Mode.
  • Staves: An Oak Staff for normal and the Staff of the Magi for EX.
• More Dakka: Courtesy of his Automatic Crossbow.
• Orgasmic Combat: When getting damaged in the English version.
• Primal Stance: It can get kind of narmy at times.
• Rolling Attack: His Axe Switch Attack.
• Spin Attack: His Spear and Staff Switch Attack.

—Fighting Style: Paradigm Commando

The former soldier does have a gentle heart, though her harsh mannerism and speech can leave a cool impression.

From Final Fantasy XIII, Claire "Lightning" Farron with her latest-tech Gunblade is now among the cast of Dissidia. She has the ability to switch between Commando, Ravager, and Medic roles during gameplay, exploring a lot of moves.

General tropes

• Action Girl
• Badass Boast: Against Kuja in her story.
  Kuja: "So ephemeral, lightning."
  Lightning: "Oh, I'll show you how lightning strikes."
  • Another when facing Warrior of Light.
  Warrior of Light: "Toss aside your blade, and say good night."
  Lightning: "No thanks. It's not my bedtime."
• Damn You, Muscle Memory: Her EX Burst is the only one in the game that requires using the Analog Stick, which can lead to a few problems for those who set the movement controls to "D-Pad".
  • Made worse for those whose PSP system's region is different to the game. Her EX Burst button commands are reversed. So if it says press X, you should actually press circle, and vice versa.
• Deadpan Snarker: "Who died and made you Primarch?"
• The Heroine: Of the Five-Man Band of new heroes in Dissidia 012.
• Heroic Sacrifice: The new heroes sacrificed themselves to seal the manikins away in the void in a Bolivian Army Ending.
• I Did What I Had to Do: One of her win quotes.
• Knight in Sour Armor: She'll do what's right, but she is by far the bitterest character in the entire game and is very cynical. This puts her at odds with Vaan and Laguna, who by contrast are cheerful and optimistic.
• Lady of War: Graceful as ever.
• Petal Power: The rose petals that accompanied her and Odin are back. Lampshaded.
  Vaan: "Light's special attack is so cool. Where do those petals come from anyway?"
  Lightning: "Enough small talk... Just keep your eyes front."
• Shout Out: Her special DLC costume is that of Aya Brea from The3rd Birthday.
• Talking To Herself: Aerith and Lightning share the same JPN voice actor
• Victory Pose: At the end of her EX Burst.
• What Could Have Been: She was originally planned to be an unlockable character in the first Dissidia. The idea was scrapped due to Final Fantasy XIII not yet being released at the time. Also, her design and moveset for XIII had not yet been finalized, and they didn't want to force anything to be set in stone by including her in Dissidia.
• What the Hell, Hero?: When she learns that Kain and the Warrior of Light are killing off their comrades in order to allow them to be revived by the next cycle (the Manikins would permanently kill any warriors), Lightning ends up calling the Warrior of Light, Kain, AND Cosmos out on that plan.
• When She Smiles: Very briefly during the ending sequence of Dissidia 012.

Design and Costume Tropes

• Art Evolution: Inverted. Lightning was obviously designed to appear using Playstation 3 graphics, so while she looks fine in artwork and CG scenes, the PSP can't show the finer details of her design in the level of detail demanded for her to look right. As a result, it's especially obvious when looking at her renders that it's a series of textures applied to a character model.
• Badass Cape/Scarf of Asskicking
• Bare Your Midriff: Her Aya costume.◊
• Bling of War: Her 3P costume is a more formal Guardian Corps Uniform.
• Fingerless Gloves
• Flower Motifs: Roses.
• The Gunslinger
• Mini Dress Of Power
• Modesty Shorts
• Nice Hat/Commissar Cap: Her 3P Costume.
• Rose-Haired Girl
  • White-Haired Pretty Girl: Her first alt. costume makes her one.
• She's Got Legs

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

• Awesome, but Impractical: Army of One may be her personal Limit Break and looks cool, but it's actually weaker than her basic three-hit Launch and Smite attacks and has a much longer start-up. The only advantage it has on them is that is produces more EX Force, which isn't a great boon when that only takes effect if you can hit with it.
• Cool Sword: A total of 3 different ones:
  • Blazefire Saber and Omega Weapon, her standard gunblades:
    • More Dakka: The gunblades turn into submachine guns after all.
    • Mix-and-Match Weapon
    • Morph Weapon
  • Zantetsuken, the sword of Odin:
    • BFS
    • Bifurcated Weapon
    • Dual Wielding
    • Double Weapon
    • Named Weapons
• Elemental Powers: She runs the gamut, though as in her original game, focuses on lightning and wind:
  • Blow You Away: Aero and Razor Gale.
  • Shock and Awe: Thunder, Thundaga, Thunderfall, and Lightning Strike.
  • An Ice Person: Blizzara.
  • Playing with Fire: Fire.
  • Making a Splash: Watera.
  • Non-Elemental: Ruin and Ruinga.
• Everything's Better with Spinning: Her EX Burst is just like her final move with Odin in her original game. Also, some of her attacks seem to involve spinning as well.
• EX Mode: Omega Weapon Equipped!
  "Not your lucky day!"
  • Lightning switches out her Blazefire Saber for her third tier gunblade Omega Weapon. In addition to Regen, Lightning's EX Mode gives her the following abilities:
    • Omega Weapon: Hitting an opponent with Brave attacks while they are in critical BRV is guaranteed to Brave Break them.
    • Grav-Con Unit: Wall rush damage dealt to Lightning is nullified.
  • Omega Weapon also gives her access to her EX Burst: Gestalt Drive:
  "I control my fate."
  • The Gestalt Mode dial will appear and Lightning must input the button and analog combination to unleash Storm Blade, Lightning Strike, Razor Gale, and Thunderfall on the enemy before the time runs out. If you miss an input, Lightning will skip directly to the final blow, Zantetsuken, in which she holds her blades out and spins rapidly, hammering the foe with a storm of blows. She then kneels with her back to the enemy as the effects of the attack catch up with them.
  "Let's finish this! Bullseye."
• Full-Contact Magic: Most of Lightning's HP Attacks have her casting thunder or wind magic with her Zantetsuken swords.
• Jack of All Stats: Her HP attacks are versatile across close and long-range, her gunblade blows are simple but effective, and her spells can stun or distract opponents. Her downside, similar to the other Jack of All Stats, the Warrior of Light, is a limited pool of reliable attacks, combined with her Paradigm Shift only letting her use certain attacks at a time and telegraphing which she's preparing for.
• Magic Knight
• The Musketeer
• Paradigm System: She can switch between her three characteristic styles for different Brave Attacks.
  • Commando: Primarily weapon attacks with the exception of Ruin spells.
  • Ravager: Mostly elemental spell-casting with the exception of Lightning's signature skill Army of One.
  • Medic: Uses healing magic to restore her Brave without attacking.
• Razor Wind: The aptly named Razor Gale HP attack.
• Rolling Attack: Smite.
• Spell Blade: Most of her HP Attacks are using thunder magic with the Zantetsuken.
• Spin Attack: Blitz and Zantetsuken.