Kuja/Dissidia (PSP)

Kuja is one of the villains fighting for the side of Chaos in Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. With porcelain skin and long, silver hair, he has an elegant appearance. However, this beauty is strictly external—Kuja is cruel, assertive, narcissistic, and extremely envious of his rival, Zidane.

He fights using graceful spells that are as much style as substance. Due to his relative youth and inexperience, the other villains look down on Kuja, but he considers them animals and strives to prove himself their superior. Unable to understand the bond Zidane shares with Squall and Bartz, he lays traps to test Zidane's resolve and separate him from his friends. In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, his storyline is slightly redone.

Appearance
Kuja's appearance is identical to his original design in Final Fantasy IX, simply more refined. Kuja wears a deep purple jacket held closed by a silver band, with white sleeves and gold lining. His legs are covered in the back by a white skirt-like piece held in place by four straps connected to a codpiece. From the thighs down, Kuja wears purple leggings and pointed boots. His hair is more silver than lavender as it was in Final Fantasy IX, and retains the feather. In an appearance feature unique to Dissidia, Kuja is surrounded by five orbs of energy. The orbs orbit him in formation as he moves and are enchanted with Holy and Flare magic to be used to attack with, but do not appear in most cutscenes.

Kuja's first alternate outfit, "Lapis Bolero", has more bluish tones, matching by Yoshitaka Amano, while his EX Mode form is purple instead of red.

Kuja's second alternate outfit, "Achromatic Bolero", is meant to invoke the imagery of an "Angel of Death", Kuja's title. His outfit and hair are black and white with various gradients. His EX Mode form in this outfit is dark gray.

Kuja's third alternate outfit, the "Treno Nobleman" DLC, is an original character design by Hideo Minaba, Final Fantasy IX's art director and the original character designer for both Kuja and Zidane. The costume is intended to envision Kuja as he would have appeared during his time as a wealthy citizen of Treno. His hair is purple with hints of white and topped by a large, black tricornered hat. He wears an elaborate outfit consisting of a lacy cropped top with frilled sleeves, a gold bolero jacket with buckled sleeves and a black collar, and leggings in purple, white, and mauve tones. The piece covering his legs is gold and splits in the back like the tails of a tuxedo jacket. He wears pointed-toe gold shoes. Kuja's EX Mode form in this outfit is primarily gold with light purple fur on his arms and legs.

Kuja's manikin version, Capricious Reaper, is purple.

Personality
As shown in Dissidia 012, in the pre-cycles of war, Kuja was a kindhearted fellow that helped Zidane and his friends. But in the 13th cycle of war, all that changed.

Kuja, in the thirteenth cycle, is a proud, arrogant, narcissistic, and cruel young man that seems to enjoy Zidane's suffering, displaying his insecure and extremely hateful personality.

Twelfth Cycle
Having grown tired of serving Chaos, Kuja is initially unwilling to fight. He meets Cloud, and the two talk before Kuja takes his leave. Kefka overhears the two and decides to interfere with Kuja's memories, displeased with his stance towards the war. After that, hearing of the plan Cosmos has conceived concerning the Crystals, Kuja decides to work against Chaos. To that end, he poses as a Warrior of Cosmos, convincing Zidane to gather the friends he trusted and that Kuja would meet with them again once he scouts a clear road to Chaos, planning for them to defeat Chaos without having to fight their way through his other servants. Moments later, Kefka confronts Kuja and asks what he is plotting, but Kuja insists that Kefka leave him alone. Kuja then meets Terra, deciding to break Kefka's spell over her. He initially considered making Terra his slave instead, but ultimately decided against it.

Because Kuja removed the spell on Terra, Kefka decides to interfere with Kuja's plans, alerting Emperor and Ultimecia to his treachery. The three find Kuja meeting with Zidane, Bartz and Squall, and Kefka tells them that the meeting was a trap by Kuja to gather them behind enemy lines. Caught in his scheme Kuja goes along with the act and attacks them, but allows them to escape.

After The Emperor and Ultimecia berate him for his efforts, Kefka keeps up the act and plays as though he thinks Kuja was only pretending to betray them. However he is aware of the truth, and due to this and his hand in helping Terra break free, Kefka arranges for Kuja to fight Lightning and prove himself. Kuja reluctantly does so, but is defeated and fades away, with Kefka mocking Kuja for it, remarking that his making second place meant he was "completely pathetic", as well as stating that his rebellious phase is going to end as a result, and has to study under him all over again. Following his defeat, Kefka implants false memories in Kuja's mind, causing him to desire Zidane's suffering with a deep inferiority complex so he will be a more willing warrior in the next cycle.

Thirteenth cycle
After being taunted by Ultimecia that his memories are fake, Kuja resolves to prove his worth to her and begins scheming to defeat Zidane while motivated by the false memories. To that end, Kuja sets up an alliance with Kefka who gives him the notion to use one of Zidane's friends as bait. But after his scheme to capture Squall, he sees that the loner would be a poor choice to use as a trap. Kuja then concocts a new plan to capture Zidane using a fake Crystal, and plants it in Kefka's Tower for him to find.

Bartz falls into the trap instead, and Kefka taunts Kuja about his failure. Though Kuja is irritated, he follows Kefka's suggestion and turns to Exdeath, who weaves a second fake Crystal for Bartz to find as a trap. When Bartz reunites with Zidane and shows him the fake Crystal, Kuja's plan works and Zidane is transported away. Kuja taunts Zidane with the prospect of being alone, unable to protect his friends, and leaves Zidane in his solitude.

Later, Garland confronts Kuja and the revelation he presents to the villain has him realize the other Warriors of Chaos are not as superior to him as they think. Confronting Zidane in the Crystal World, Kuja questions Zidane's choice to continue believing in his friends, and Zidane asks if Kuja has friends of his own. Outraged at being associated with the other Warriors of Chaos, Kuja attacks Zidane and is defeated. Zidane claims his Crystal, and Kuja begins to fade away. Zidane asks Kuja why he refuses to believe in others, and Kuja responds he does not see the point, as in the end, people are still alone. Zidane tries to explain the true meaning to Kuja, but Kuja refuses to listen and fades away.

Later, Zidane finds Kuja reciting poetry in the Crystal World after Cosmos's death, resigned to his fate of death once Chaos destroys World B. Zidane still refuses to give up hope, and Kuja attacks him. Defeated again, Kuja asks Zidane to kill him, but Zidane instead offers Kuja his hand and help. Kuja brushes Zidane away, believing he will never understand him, and tells Zidane to go, accepting his fate to return to where he must go and vanishes. After he fades, Zidane says he and Kuja will return to the same place when the war is over.

Official Quests
Kuja appears in "Cecil's Quest 013: Even I Don't Remember It", where he attacks Cecil, Terra, Cloud, Tidus and the Onion Knight in the 13th cycle. He tells the group that Firion is about to confront the Emperor alone, as he hates the Emperor and wishes to see his schemes fail.

Cloud and Tidus leave to help Firion while Kuja battles Terra. Terra is defeated and Cecil steps in to fight Kuja and sends him into retreat. During the battle Cecil questions why Kuja has no one and nothing to hold onto and fight for, and Kuja says the bonds and dreams they cherish are just fragments of faded memories, which he has no use for.

Gameplay
Kuja is described as a Graceful Glider. He is the only character able to glide through the air outside of EX Mode, and can attack while moving. This is crucial to Kuja's Bravery attacks, which consist of two-part attacks where the second part of the effect changes depending on his distance from the opponent, and the power according to the nature of the first attack. This gives Kuja a great deal of versatility when attacking. The start-up of his Bravery attacks are also varied between close and long-range techniques. His HP attacks, with the exception of Ultima and Force Symphony (as of Dissidia 012), stun the opponent, dealing Bravery damage before damaging their HP.

As a downside, Kuja's attacks are mostly mid-ranged and he does not do as much damage as melee fighters. His Bravery attacks are also easy to block, and behave more in a linear pattern, with little vertical range that allows opponents to quickly anticipate the attack.

Boss
In Dissidia, Kuja is fought in Destiny Odyssey VIII and IX, Shade Impulse, Distant Glory, and Inward Chaos.

In Dissidia 012, he is fought during A New Threat, Resolve for Seclusion, Trust, and Conclusion of the Cycle chapters of Story Mode.

EX Mode


Kuja's EX Mode is his Trance form from Final Fantasy IX. During EX Mode Kuja gains the abilities "Hyper Glide" and "Auto Magic". Hyper Glide allows him to maintain altitude longer when gliding, letting him remain in the air almost indefinitely, while Auto Magic leaves Flare orbs in the air when Kuja jumps, staggering opponents, and surrounds him with Holy orbs while gliding to knock opponents into the air. This lets Kuja damage opponents simply by moving around them. The Holy orbs have Melee Low attack priority, allowing them to reflect or nullify lesser attacks, but the Flare orbs are Ranged Low priority and so will only reflect projectiles.

Kuja's EX Burst is Final Requiem. The player must repeatedly press circle to fill the gauge as Kuja performs several Flare Star attacks on his victim. If successfully filled, he'll perform Seraphic Star by zigzagging around his opponent and then ends the EX Burst with a powerful Ultima spell.

Kuja's EX Burst operation is similar to his rival character, Zidane, but the former's limit/power bar is divided at varying lengths, unlike the latter, whose power bar is divided evenly.

Equipment
Kuja can equip Daggers, Rods, Staves, Bangles, Hats, Hairpins, Clothing, and Robes. In Dissidia 012, Kuja can also equip Poles, Headbands, and Chestplates.

Allusions

 * The poem Kuja recites at the beginning of his Shade Impulse scene with Zidane is the exact same poem he states just before Bahamut attacks Alexandria in Final Fantasy IX. Zidane's offer to assist Kuja mirrors Kuja's final moments in Final Fantasy IX.
 * If a character other than Zidane faces Kuja in Shade Impulse, Kuja says, "I have nothing left to fear! But I refuse to die alone... You will all join me!" This paraphrases Kuja's dialogue when defeated as Trance Kuja in Final Fantasy IX, "I won't have to be afraid anymore... but I'm not gonna die alone. You're all coming with me!"
 * As with Zidane, two planets can be seen fusing during Kuja's EX Burst, alluding to Terra assimilating Gaia. However, opposite to Zidane, it is the red planet Terra that emerges as the dominant planet in the fusion.
 * Kuja's Bravery attacks are themed after the spells Holy and Flare, spells he is able to cast as Trance Kuja. His HP attacks are attacks he uses in Final Fantasy IX - Seraphic Star's appearance of a burst of white energy is based on the appearance of the Holy spell in Final Fantasy IX (in fact, Seraphic Star is even named "Holy Star" in the Japanese version), Flare Star is one of Kuja's signature attacks, and Ultima is the spell Trance Kuja uses when defeated.
 * Kuja's ultimate weapon, Terra's Legacy, refers to his home planet in Final Fantasy IX. His second strongest weapon, Whale Whisker, is the name of the strongest rod that can be used by Princess Garnet. Kuja's third weapon, the Punisher, curiously is taken from Final Fantasy VI, and is a rod used by Banon.
 * Kuja's pose when ending his EX Burst is similar to the pose he takes in Final Fantasy IX when he destroys Terra.
 * In his victory pose, Kuja floats to the ground in a pose identical to his original artwork by Yoshitaka Amano, then assumes a pose identical to his Dissidia artwork.
 * When fighting Squall, he says, "Can you survive without a cause?" This alludes to how Kuja would eventually go insane upon learning of his own mortality from Garland.
 * At the beginning of Dissidia's Destiny Odyssey IX, Ultimecia goads Kuja by saying he is "no more than a vessel, a flawed one at that", and Kuja's response is to accuse her of lying. This roughly parallels Kuja's conversation with Garland in Final Fantasy IX, where Garland tells Kuja he is a mortal and Kuja refuses to believe him at first.
 * In Dissidia 012's Light to All, when Garland tells Kuja about his fake memories, Kuja recites "The weak are robbed of their freedom from the strong. And it's only natural that the victor always prevails", paraphrasing his line in Final Fantasy IX, "The weak lose their freedom to the strong. Such is the way of the strong. And it is the providence of nature that only the strong survive."
 * If fighting as Kuja against Garland, the latter will remark, "I sense you are haunted by your fate." This is a reference to the end of Disc Three of Final Fantasy IX, in which Kuja learns of his mortality and is driven into an insane rage.
 * In Dissidia 012, if fighting as Kuja against Shantotto, the latter will remark "You hide your tail, but I still see you quail". This may allude to the conversation between Zidane and Garland in Final Fantasy IX, where Garland explains that Kuja, like Zidane, has a tail but only hides it.
 * In Destiny Odyssey 5, Kuja beginning to fight with Garland could be a reference to his plans to fight Garland but was unable.
 * When Kuja faces Yuna, he says "I'll rip you away from your dear friends." This alludes to when he had Zorn and Thorn extract the Eidolons from Garnet.

Trivia

 * Kuja shares his Japanese voice actor with Kazusa Futahito from Final Fantasy Type-0, Makenshi from Final Fantasy: Unlimited, and and  from the  series.
 * Kuja is the only character that possesses the Glide ability initially even outside of EX Mode.
 * Kuja is one of three characters, the others being Zidane and the Warrior of Light, to have more than one intro quote when fighting his rival in Dissidia.
 * Kuja's icon in the character selection screen in Dissidia 012 erroneously features him in his alternate outfit.
 * Not counting DLC, Kuja is the only character in Dissidia 012 where the entirety of his alternate costumes are palette swaps.

Kuja (Dissidia) Kuja (Dissidia) Куджа/Dissidia