Ace (Type-0)

Ace is a playable character in Final Fantasy Type-0, and one of the main characters of the same game.

He is a student of the legendary Class Zero in the Rubrum Peristylium Suzaku. A group of students from the Peristylium Suzaku, the Magic Academy of the nation of Rubrum, that fight the invasion of Rubrum by the Milites Empire. As part of the resistance operation "Operation Apostle", he and his comrades seek to become the Agito, a messiah prophesied in ancient mythology to appear at the time of Finis, an apocalyptic calamity.

Ace is attributed as number 01 in Class Zero and had been chosen to be the leader for Operation Apostle.

Appearance and Personality
Ace is a youth with short, light blond hair and light blue eyes. Like the other male members of Class Zero, he wears a uniform that consists of a black jacket, white pants, a medium-sized red cape and a brown pack. In his summer outfit, he wears a white shirt, black pants, gloves, and necktie, and retains his cape and brown pouch.

Ace is described as having a cool look. Despite his youthful age, he has a mature speech and attitude. He is considered as a calm person, but can reveal himself at times to be reckless and act out of anger. He doesn't think twice when defending his friends from trouble, as seen when he interfered with Cater to support Nine as the latter confronted their instructor Kurasame.

Early Life
In the year 833, at the age of 8 years old, Ace was raised alongside those who form the senior members of Class Zero. Much like his classmates, Ace saw Arecia Al-Rashia as a mother and thus is more loyal to her than the Rubrum government.

Final Fantasy Type-0
During Milites's attack on Rubrum's capital, Ace comes to Izana's aid when he is attacked by Milites soldiers. Though Ace kills off the surrounding soldiers, Ace's healing magic is not enough to save Izana and he is forced to help Queen and Nine fight off another platoon of Milites soldiers. By the time they are defeated, Izana had died and Ace sheds a tear before taking his leave.

With Seven and Jack, Ace comes to the aid of Machina and Rem Tokimiya when they are overwhelmed by Qun'mi and defeats her to end the invasion on Rubrum. Soon after, Machina and Rem become the newest members of Class Zero to aid in defending Rubrum. At one point, Ace finds Machina at the chocobo stables where the latter feels a sense of nostalgia when remarking that if he had a chocobo, he'd name it Chichiri. This leads Ace to learn from the Commandant that Machina is Izana's brother, yet decides not to speak of it.

After Andoria's death drives a furious Celestia to attack Class Zero, knocking Rem and Machina out, Ace attempts to tell Celestia that they have nothing to do with Andoria's death. Celestia didn't listen and has her Bakurairyu attack him. Ace was readying himself to fight with the monster when Deuce interferes and defends him, bravely convincing her to stop her attack and listen before she secretly helps them escape the Militans. However, Ace soon learns that Machina has learned of Izana's death from the Commandant and thus causes a rift between the two as Machina eventually leaves Class Zero.

As Finis begins, turning down the offer to become l'Cie alongside the others, Ace confronts Cid Aulstyne as he becomes the l'Cie Arbitor of Lulusath and nearly kills Class Zero. However, with Machina and Rem helping him and the rest of Class Zero in spirit, Ace manages to defeat Cid. However, the battle's victor came at a price. Though the fact that Ace and the others decided not to become l'Cie saved the world from its original fate to be destroyed, it did not alter their fate to die. Coming to after dreaming of everyday life in his class, Ace realized this fact along with the others.

When many of them begin to break down from the revelation that they are actually dying, Ace manages to calm them down with a song as they spend their last moment sharing their dreams of what they wanted to do once the fighting ended. By the time the revived Machina and Rem found them, Ace and the rest of Class Zero have died. As the scene ends, Ace's last Card casts ac rainbow in the sky, his voice heard saying "We are here".

However, in the alternate ending created by Arecia removing the crystals from Oriense's history, Ace survives the war and is shown studying in the library. A bored Machina tries to convince him to go out and play with him but Ace rejects, stating that he wishes to prepare for the next semester. A stubborn Machina refuses to leave the boy alone, and drags him out of the library to play.

In Battle
Ace wields cards in battle, and has a very quick ranged battle style where he throws them at his enemies. Ace is a fragile character, with low HP, but manages to overcome it with excellent evasion.

His basic attack, Card, summons the effects of the cards he draws with his special attack, Deck Open, or throws a handful of cards that home into his enemy. By tilting the analog stick up or down, he can use different variants of his basic attack. The first is a melee attack that involves Ace creating a circle of cards around him, while the second is a chargeable attack that summons up to 5 cards above Ace that fire at the enemy one by one when released.

Weapons

 * Card
 * Sliver Card
 * Magic Academy's Card
 * Mystery Card
 * Card of Light
 * Mythril Card
 * Dragon Card
 * Empire Tarot
 * Platinum Card
 * Reaper's Card
 * Master Card
 * Magician Card
 * Hanafuda
 * Wild Card
 * Last Trump Card

Support Abilities

 * Speed Up: Increase movement speed. Req: Level 11; AP 2.
 * Dualcast: Can equip two offensive spells Req: Level 16; AP 6.
 * -RA Magic Cancel: Allows "Magic Cancel" into a "RA" level spell. Req: Magic Cancel Second-Style; AP 15.
 * -GA Magic Cancel: Allows "Magic Cancel" into a "GA" level spell. Req: Level 39; AP 30.
 * Triple Evasion: Allows user to dodge thrice. Req: Level 12; AP 2.
 * Infinite Evasion: Dodge for infinite amount of time. Req: Triple Evasion; AP 3.
 * Avoiding Guard: Extends invincibility during dodge. Req: Level 19; AP 5.
 * Avoid Cancel: Cancels current ability. Req: Initial; AP Mastered.
 * Libra: See target's status while locked on. Req: Initial; AP Mastered.
 * Melee Attack Lv.1: Close-range move; By pushing Up + Triangle, Ace summons a ring of cards that slashes enemies around him twice as he hops forward. Req: Enhanced Normal Attack; AP 3.
 * Melee Attack Lv.2: Adds a combo finisher. Req: Melee Attack Lv.1; AP 4.
 * Magic Cancel First-Style: Ace can "Magic Cancel" at the end of his Melee Attack. Req: Melee Attack Lv.2; AP 8.
 * Charge Attack Lv.1: By pushing Down + Triangle, Ace bends down slightly and summons a powered up card that causes a miniature explosion. Holding Triangle can call up to 3 cards. Req: Initial; AP 4.
 * Charge Attack Lv.2: Ace calls up to 5 cards now along overall increased strength. Req: Charge Attack Lv.1; AP 4.
 * Enhanced Normal Attack: Adds a combo finisher to the standard attack by throwing 3 cards simultaneously. Req: None; AP 3.
 * Magic Cancel Second-Style: Ace can "Magic Cancel" at the end of his Combo Finisher. Req: Magic Cancel First-Style; AP 10.

Special Abilities
Ace's special abilities have different effects and different ways to use them. Aside from being used for direct attacks, they can also be used for healing or to inflict negative status effects. Other abilities he is shown to have are Laser Cannon, Tri-Laser, Trap Card and Teleport Card.


 * Open Deck: Stocks random cards; 4 effects have a equal chance of appearing. Req: Initial; AP Mastered.
 * Attack Deck: Prioritizing in stocking attack cards (Red). Req: n/a; AP 8.
 * Support Deck: Prioritizing in stocking support cards (White). Req: n/a; AP 6.
 * Life Deck: Prioritizing in stocking HP recovery cards (Blue). Req: n/a; AP 4.
 * Spirit Deck: Prioritizing in stocking MP recovery cards (Yellow). Req: n/a; AP 6.
 * Trap Card: Sets a card trap on the ground, needs to be activated by the user. Req: Level 10; AP 8.
 * TC Time Extension: Lengthen Trap Card's duration. Req: Trap Card; AP 6.
 * TC's AG Cost Reduction: Reduce Tri-Laser's Ability Gauge consumption. Req: Trap Card; AP 10.
 * Cannon Laser: Fires a powerful laser after a short delay. Ace move during it's animation. Req: Level 13; AP 8.
 * Enhanced CL: Boost Cannon Laser's critical-rate. Req: Cannon Laser; AP 8.
 * CL Time Extension: Lengthen Cannon Laser's duration. Req: Enhanced CL; AP 5.
 * CL's AG Cost Reduction: Reduce Cannon Laser's Ability Gauge consumption. Req: CL Time Extension; AP 6.
 * Tri-Laser: Fire 3 lasers that deal moderate damage. Very good at controlling space. Req: CL's AG Cost Reduction; AP 12.
 * TL's AG Cost Reduction: Reduce Tri-Laser's Ability Gauge consumption. Req: Tri-Laser; AP 14.
 * Teleport Card: Teleports to where the card is thrown and attacks; instantly activates if an enemy is hit with the card. Req: Level 13; AP 6.
 * TC's Power Increase: Strengthen Teleport Card's power. Req: Teleport Card; AP 8.
 * Enhanced TC: Boost Teleport Card's critical-rate. Req: Teleport Card; AP 8.
 * TC's AG Cost Reduction: Reduce Teleport Card's Ability Gauge consumption. Req: Teleport Card; AP 8.
 * Straight Flush: Ace's Trinity Attack.

Ace's Decks
Deck Open, one of his special abilities, draws one card which, as mentioned above, changes the effects of Ace's basic attack. Up to four cards can be drawn before one use of Card, and there are four different types of cards, each granting a different ability. The final effect is decided by the most present type of card, and is strengthened by the quantity of cards drawn.

The final effect can be one of the following:
 * Shadow Step - Ace draws a majority of white cards. Feint, direct attack. Can Stop foes.
 * Burst - Ace draws a majority of red cards. Quick, powerful and direct attack.
 * HP Charge - Ace draws a majority of blue cards. Recovers Ace's HP.
 * MP Charge - Ace draws a majority of yellow cards. Recovers Ace's MP.

There are also different degrees of these effects, such as MP Charge, MP Hi-Charge, and MP Mega-Charge. After drawing three or four cards of the same type, he can perform an attack that deals damage to all the enemies nearby in the same area or heal all the party members, depending on the card type.

Later, he can learn a second special ability, known as Attack Deck, which is almost identical to Deck Open, but has a higher chance of drawing red cards that deal damage to foes. Other abilities with a similar effect are Support Deck, Life Deck and Spirit Deck.

Creation and Development
In early 2006 renders, from when Final Fantasy Type-0 was first announced as Final Fantasy Agito XIII, Ace was shown to have a younger looking face compared to his final design. His hair was longer and white, and his eyes were a deep blue.

Later, in 2008, when the game was re-announced for the PSP platform, Ace's face became more mature, and his hair much shorter and had a silver-blond color. Finally, when the game was re-announced as Final Fantasy Type-0, Ace was shown to have a more youthful appearance, and his hair similar to his second design but more layered. His eyes are a lighter shade of blue. His uniform design didn't change aside from an overall darker color palette.

Ace's name was first revealed in the first Final Fantasy Type-0 TGS trailer in 2010. Before that, he was known as Card-kun.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
. Ace appears on promotional card for Final Fantasy Trading Card Game on which he is present in his official render pose and having Rubrum's emblem in the red background.

Etymology
"Ace" is one of the values in trumps, the Japanese term for traditional Western playing cards. It means "one" in Old French and was borrowed from earlier dicing games, where it referred to the corresponding value on a six-sided die.

Trivia

 * Ace and Hope Estheim from Final Fantasy XIII share their Japanese voice actor.
 * Ace, after summoning his weapon, is the only character whose dodging changes to teleportation.
 * In the demo, the underside of the card Ace holds is blank. It is unknown if this is intentional or a graphical error.
 * Developers have stated that Ace is meant to be a rather beginner friendly character.
 * In the alternate ending, when Ace is studying, he is seen wearing glasses.