Shantotto/Dissidia (PSP)

Shantotto is an extra character in Dissidia Final Fantasy. A hero who fought in the Crystal War, Shantotto is a famous professor of magic from Windurst. She is well-known for her high-pitched, haughty laughter and overall arrogant nature. Shantotto is respected for her great power, but she refuses to admit it when she finds someone who could be better than her. In battle, she fights using powerful spells that level up and become stronger as she gains Bravery. As an extra character in the game, Shantotto has no impact on the main storyline and has no villain opposing her. However, as an extra character who once served Cosmos, the role of her villainous counterpart is filled by Gabranth.

She is set to return, along with the other characters from Dissidia, in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. She is a fully fledged Warrior of Cosmos in this game, but the introduction of Vaan means she probably won't oppose Gabranth anymore.

Attire
Shantotto's outfit is based on her original design in Final Fantasy XI, a robe with black and white stripes, gold linings, and two gauntlets, known as the "Silk Robe Set" in the game. Her alternate outfit is the Wizard's Attire, the Black Mage Artifact Armor from Final Fantasy XI, a brown and blue robe with gold buttons. In Dissidia 012, Shantotto's third outfit is a black hooded robe with red linings which represents either the "Black Cloak" or "Demon's Cloak", player-crafted garments fundamental to the wardrobes of Black Mages in Final Fantasy XI. The corresponding EX Mode grants her a pair of glasses and the vestments of a Windurstian Minister, a position Shantotto occupied before her retirement.

Shantotto's Manikin version, Lady of Antiquity, is brown.

Dissidia 012
In her brief appearance in the Duodecim trailers, she is seen standing upon a large white pillar, laughing. At an unknown point in the game at Order's Sanctuary, she tells an unknown opponent that she will teach them the meaning of being smashed.

Destiny Odyssey
After Warrior of Light's storyline ends, Cosmos remembers about her time with Shantotto. In the flashback, Shantotto is about to confront Gabranth in order to protect Cosmos. The flashback ends shortly before the heroes arrive, having collected the Crystals.

Distant Glory
In Distant Glory The Lady of Legend, the player begins by confronting Shantotto at a sanctuary where victors of previous wars are allowed to live peacefully after winning their battles. The sanctuary has recently been invaded by Manikins, and Shantotto recruits the player to defeat them for her while taunting them, frequently calling them a "loser." During the course of the story it is revealed Shantotto gathered the Manikins herself to test the player's power, and they got out of control. When the player vanquishes all of them, Shantotto "rewards" the player with a "private lesson" and battles them. Once defeated, Shantotto departs to duel with Gabranth (though she cannot remember his name).

After the player completes the storyline, Shantotto will be unlocked in the PP Catalog for 1,000 PP.

Battle
In battle Shantotto is a Chainspeller. Her HP attacks are unique in that they change in power depending on her Brave. The tiers range from 0 to 2999, 3000 to 5999, and from 6000 to 9999, with each tier giving her HP attacks higher power and larger areas of effect. Shantotto is able to chain up to three of her HP attacks, increasing the Bravery damage dealt before damaging the opponent's HP. Her second tier Firaga, Thundaga and Blizzaga spells stagger opponents, and her third tier spells crush all guards, even Exdeath's High Block and Jecht's Jecht Block. However, unlike most magic-based characters, Shantotto is one of the most agile characters in the game, she is fast enough to be able to chase down speedy characters such as Tidus or the Onion Knight with very little difficulty. In addition to this, she is the smallest character in the game, making her extremely evasive and very difficult to pin down with attacks. However, most of her Bravery attacks inflict status ailments, like Paralysis or Poison, and her attacks are slow and have a long recovery time. It is best to use Shantotto's attacks after paralyzing the opponent with Bind, or blocking and attacking them while they stagger.

Boss
Shantotto is faced as a boss at the end of Distant Glory and Inward Chaos.

EX Mode
Play Rough pidzPFVD5zI Shantotto's EX Mode is called Two-hour Ability, where she equips the Cobra Cloche Set, a powerful armor for mages in Final Fantasy XI. While in EX Mode Shantotto recovers HP due to Regen, and gains the ability "Manafont", the Two-hour ability for Black Mages in Final Fantasy XI. This allows Shantotto to retain her Bravery after landing an HP attack, even when using her EX Burst and performing its final blow, letting her use as many HP attacks as she likes without them losing any power.

Shantotto's EX Burst, Play Rough, has her execute "Skillchain: Fusion", striking enemies with her staff and knocking them back with a burst of wind, then attacking with Magic Burst. A menu appears, and the player must select the spells and press twice in order to cast them to attack the opponent with Ancient Magic. To execute the EX Burst perfectly, the player must cast the spells in the following order a moment after she finishes her iconic laugh: Flare, Flood, Burst, Quake, Tornado, and Freeze. Using the spells in this order will maximize the Brave damage done before Shantotto delivers the final blow, consuming the opponent in a rainbow-colored burst of energy.

In her alternate costume, Shantotto's EX Mode is to don the Sorcerer's equipment set, the Black Mage Relic Armor.

Equipment
Shantotto is able to equip the following: Rods, Staves, Hats, Hairpins, Ribbons, Clothing, and Robes.

Allusions

 * If faced against Zidane, Shantotto will say "A male Mithra? Or perhaps not..." referencing the similarly-tailed race from Final Fantasy XI.
 * The order in which the player can chain Shantotto's HP attacks, and enters her attacks during her EX Burst, are a reference to Ancient Magic, a unique set of spells available in Final Fantasy XI. In addition to the massive amount of damage each spell can deliver, Ancient Magic gives the target an elemental weakness to the spell's "weak" element, allowing other spells to do more damage. The order Shantotto's attacks are chained in is as follows: "Fire - Water - Thunder - Earth - Wind - Ice."
 * When Shantotto begins her EX Burst, she strikes her opponent with her staff and lets loose a burst of wind from her hand. These two attacks are references to Full Swing and Howling Fist, Weapon Skills from Final Fantasy XI.
 * The sound made when the player casts a spell during Shantotto's EX Burst is the same sound heard in Final Fantasy XI when the player casts a spell or uses a special skill.
 * Shantotto's EX Burst "Skillchain: Fusion" links together Full Swing and Howling Fist as Weapon Skills, then executes a Magic Burst. This is identical to how Skillchains work in Final Fantasy XI: two Weapon Skills are used in quick succession, increasing the damage done and allowing allies to execute a certain type of elemental magic as a Magic Burst. The name of the Skillchain, Fusion, results in Fire or Light-aligned Magic Bursts in Final Fantasy XI, which is likely why Shantotto must first cast Flare in the chain of spells following the Skillchain.
 * When Shantotto is defeated, she turns into a doll. This is a reference to a special event battle in Final Fantasy XI where the player can battle Shantotto. However, when they win Shantotto turns into a doll, and another Shantotto emerges and reveals that the "Shantotto" the player just defeated was simply a puppet the real Shantotto had brought to life.
 * Shantotto's emblem, seen as the symbol of Distant Glory - Heroes, is the flag of the Federation of Windurst. The music used on the board in her Distant Glory is "The Federation of Windurst," the city's main theme used in most of its areas.
 * Shantotto's exclusive weapons are named after staves available in Final Fantasy XI. Specifically, the last two are the two most difficult Black Mage staves to acquire in the game; their Mythic Weapon and Relic Weapon, respectively.
 * Shantotto's usage of the "loser" insult in her dialogue is a reference to her statement in the Vana'diel Tribune about enjoying the antics of "Total Loser" adventurers, whom she often berates in her manor. "Total Loser" is also a title that players can earn if certain choices are made in the "Curses, Foiled A-Golem?!" quest, which is given to them by Shantotto.
 * The amount of AP required to master Shantotto's HP attacks is the same as the order in which Black Mages learn the same spells in Final Fantasy XI: Stone, Water, Aero, Fire, Blizzard, and then Thunder.
 * The jewel on Shantotto's staff changes color according to the spell she casts. This in reference to a popular practice used by Black Mages in Final Fantasy XI where different elemental staves are equipped to provide a boost to spells of the corresponding element. The colors are as follows: green for Aero, cyan for Blizzard and Bind, red for Fire, yellow for Stone, blue for Water, purple for Thunder and Stun, and black for Bio as well as her EX Burst. The staff also changes color whenever Shantotto blocks (yellow), dodges (green), or attacks regularly (red), referring to the weapons' additional enhancements to defense, evasion and attack power respectively.
 * Shantotto's quote to the Warrior of Light, "you would make a good shield," echoes a comment she makes about the player during the Treasures of Aht Urhgan: "He/She will serve as my shield, should things go wrong." She may be referring to the Warrior of Light's similarities to Final Fantasy XI's Paladin class, also known as Knight in the Japanese version. Common strategy in many MMOs consist of sending defensive melee characters into battle first to act as a "meatshield" and draw damage and attention away from other characters with lighter defenses, such as a Black Mage like Shantotto; Paladins are exceptionally good at this at high levels. The quote may also be a pun on how the Warrior of Light uses his own shield offensively.
 * Shantotto's quote when fighting herself, "What a well-made automaton," is a reference to the Automatons of Final Fantasy XI.
 * In Distant Glory, Shantotto warns the player's character "To beware of Cavernous Maws". Cavernous Maws are used in Final Fantasy XI's Wings of the Goddess expansion and its Abyssea add-ons to travel through time and between realities.
 * One of her entrance lines for a weaker opponent "Ohoho A Marvelous Joke" is taken from the beginning of a quest: "Curses, Foiled A-Golem". Before this line is spoken the player has to choose a line of dialogue asking if s/he is "worthy".

Trivia

 * Shantotto is the only character who has access to all her HP Attacks from the start.
 * Prishe was supposed to fill in the role of the representative of Final Fantasy XI in the game, but was later rejected in favor of Shantotto. However, she gains a role in Dissidia 012.
 * The damage inflicted by Bio after the initial usage counts as an attack. Thus, Bio will count towards activating abilities like Counterattack and Magic Shield, and is capable of causing a Break on the opponent if it depletes their Bravery.
 * When fighting Gabranth, Kefka mimics Shantotto by saying "Hah! Just another loser," in a high-pitched voice.
 * Exdeath's High Block will counter all but Shantotto's highest tier spells.
 * Being a secret character, Shantotto initially did not have an arena based after her; however, she is usually associated with Cosmos' stage Order's Sanctuary. In Duodecim, Final Fantasy XI gains the arena Empyreal Paradox as its signature stage.
 * Shantotto's highest tier Thunder spell, Burst, is the only spell in her repertoire of HP attacks that appears exclusively in Final Fantasy XI.
 * Shantotto is the only character to speak if the play is idle long enough. When standing still for a long enough time, Shantotto yawns and says "Oh, how dull."
 * Shantotto is the fastest among all the magic based characters, running at a speed similar to that of Zidane's.
 * Character dialogues imply that Shantotto is, storywise, the strongest Warrior of Cosmos.