Emperor Mateus/Dissidia (PSP)

The Emperor is one of the villains fighting for the side of Chaos in Dissidia Final Fantasy. He is a man who possesses great magic abilities, capable of casting powerful spells. With an iron fist, he will stop at nothing to achieve his objectives. As one of the higher-ranked villains, he plots with Ultimecia to take control of the world, rather than most of the other villains who seek to destroy it. His desire to rule all stands in opposition to Firion's dream of a world free of war and oppression.

Attire
The Emperor's outfit is heavily based on his Amano artwork from Final Fantasy II, which also features his staff. Mateus wears light, golden colored armor with purple robes underneath it. His hair is blonde and spiked, with an extra-long ponytail. On his chestplate are black and white stripes tracing his ribs, and on his waist and back are demonic looking faces. His gauntlets sport extended claws. Mateus also wears purple make up on his eyes and lips. He also seems to wear a purple crown.

His alternate outfit is a black and white palette swap, based on an alternate Amano artwork and similar to his design from the Final Fantasy Origins FMV.

The Emperor's Manikin version, Imitation Despot, is colored yellow.

Destiny Odyssey
The Emperor confronts the Warrior of Light, trying to persuade him to give up on his quest. He tries to bribe his loyalty by presenting a fake Crystal, but the Warrior of Light sees easily through the ruse and destroys it. After the Warrior tells him that the Crystals are not earned by mercy, but by strength, the Emperor attacks him. He loses and disappears, but not before he questions the Warrior's resolve, asking him if the Warrior would still end the fighting if he knew the whole truth.

The Emperor and Ultimecia approach Sephiroth with a plan to overthrow Chaos and his minions, however, Sephiroth had no interest in the plan. Then, the Emperor noticed Bartz spying on them. Instead of pursuing the copycat hero, the Emperor decided to have him dispose of Exdeath, "The Needless Destroyer".

The Emperor and Kefka are talking about Sephiroth. The Emperor wonders what Sephiroth wants, and Kefka answers that Sephiroth is just another sadist with a god complex. The Emperor says that Sephiroth took his life before his eyes in the last war. Kefka asks why, and the Emperor then says that he was probably planning something. Afterward, he starts a conversation with Garland about Terra's incredible power.

After Golbez gives Cecil advice to follow him to find the secret of the crystals, Emperor tells Golbez that it was a good show. Later on, after Exdeath is defeated by Cecil, Exdeath and the Emperor meet about Golbez's betrayal. Emperor says that it's a matter of time before Golbez finds his own light.

The Emperor is first seen talking to Jecht telling him that if they deliver a perfect death unto Cosmos, then Jecht will be able to return to his world with Tidus. Later on the Emperor stops Jecht and Tidus from fighting, and tells Jecht that Tidus wants to fight him out of hate and it would be meaningless in the great scheme of things, reluctantly, Jecht leaves. The Emperor then asks Tidus if he hates his father. When Tidus doesn't answer, he fights him. After the battle, the Emperor tells Tidus that he cannot get the crystal through hate alone; he then shocks Tidus with a Thunder Crest and disappears laughing. Later on, Jecht and the Emperor argue after Jecht finds out his plan. They both fight and are later seen injured. The Emperor tells Jecht that he could not count on him then teleports away.

The Emperor appears before Firion, asking why he is alone, while at the same time implying that Firion's friends have abandoned him. Firion replies that his friends are only doing what they must. The Emperor then asks what Firion's goal is, to which Firion answers that he simply wants to end the war. The Emperor, laughing at this, signals Ultimecia to fight him. However, she loses and leaves, but not before stating that it is futile to end the battle between the gods. The Emperor then questions Firion's intention, calling him weak and saying that he is nothing more than a tool of Cosmos.

He encounters Firion again at the Dimensional Fortress, taunting him by saying that his dream is too foolish to come to realization. He then fires at Firion, bringing him to his knees. However, Tidus and Cloud arrive to defend their comrade. Realizing that he is outnumbered, the Emperor flees, but not before taunting Firion to come after him. They confront each other in Pandaemonium, and the Emperor still calls Firion a tool. They both fight and Firion wins, but as the Emperor fades away, he states that the battle will never end.

Shade Impulse
After Chaos kills Cosmos, the Emperor reveals to Jecht that Jecht was once a warrior for Cosmos, and possesses a body of darkness but a heart of light. The Emperor then used him to fight Tidus so he could seize that light for himself. With this, the Emperor believes he will survive the destruction of the heroes and villains, and be free to reign over existence when both Chaos and Cosmos vanish.

Later in the stage, the Emperor meets the warriors and congratulates them on killing Cosmos. By gathering the crystals, Cosmos relinquished her power, and died. Emperor then tells the warriors that he will rule over the living, the dead, and even the gods. After the Emperor is defeated, he says that as long as Chaos exists, they are invincible, and that no matter how many times they are defeated, they will be revived. The Emperor fades with an anguished cry.

Battle
In battle, the Emperor is described as a "Trap Master", and his arsenal consists of various magical traps, such as mines and crests of energy that ensnare the opponent and can deal a lot of damage. His main HP attack, the ground Flare homes in on enemies, and his other HP attack Starfall is difficult to avoid. As a downside, his victory largely depends on the terrain and plane - in smaller areas his traps are more difficult to avoid, but in larger areas he has more room to lay said traps and for his Flare spell to track enemies. Some of his traps can also hurt him as well as the enemy.

Boss
The Emperor is fought in Destiny Odyssey I, II, and X, Shade Impulse, Distant Glory (Villains) and Inward Chaos.

EX Mode
Absolute Dominion A5Jgdo5y-N0 The Emperor's EX Mode Power of Hellfire has him take on the appearance of his Emperor of Hell form, faced as the final boss of Final Fantasy II. His clothing undergoes small changes, while his body becomes bulkier and his face quite demonic. While in EX Mode, any HP damage the Emperor inflicts on the opponent will be converted into HP for himself, like Firion's Blood Weapons, and also benefits from the effect of Regen.

His EX Burst, Absolute Dominion, has the Emperor conjuring a powerful spell, and requires the player press a sequence of buttons as they light up, and will end in the ability Entice if executed perfectly. If not, he will end the Burst with the weaker attack, Cyclone.

Equipment
The Emperor is able to equip Swords, Daggers, Rods, Staves, Bangles, Hats, Hairpins, Clothing, and Robes.

Allusions

 * The Emperor's EX Burst, "Cyclone", is a reference to the event when he unleashed a cyclone to destroy the Kingdom of Fynn in Final Fantasy II.
 * In Shade Impulse C2-5, some of the Emperor’s final words are “How could I lose...not once but twice? Who ARE you?”, the same as his last lines in Final Fantasy II.
 * In Shade Impulse C2-1, the Emperor’s line “ I've come back from the afterworld.” is derived from when he returned from hell in Final Fantasy II.
 * When fighting the Emperor while playing the Emperor he will say: “This world can have but one Emperor!” he said these words to Leon, who had declared himself the new emperor, in Final Fantasy II.
 * When he is defeated and fades away in Shade Impulse, he will cry out "Ungaahhhh!", his death wail in Final Fantasy II. He will also make the iconic yell when dealt the final blow during a match. In the Japanese release, he will cry out his original death wail of "Uboaaa!"
 * When fading away in Shade Impulse, black and white auras appear from him. This would reflect how his soul was split into the Dark and Light Emperors after his death.
 * When fighting Tidus while playing the Emperor, the former will say: "What's this 'Ungaahh!' business?" This is another reference to the iconic death cry The Emperor had in the English version of Final Fantasy II. Again, the version of the line in the Japanese version uses the original "Uboaaa!"
 * In the Battle Tips menu, Penelo has a very negative opinion of the Emperor, despising him for his love of domination and subjugation and even claiming that she doesn't "even want to see that guy's face!". This a reference of the hatred she bore against the Archadian Empire which invaded her homeland, Dalmasca.
 * Most of The Emperor's attacks seem to be lightning based, which might be a reference to the emperor's strongest attack in Final Fantasy II, it might also be a reference to the electrified panels in the Cyclone.

Trivia

 * The Emperor is one of the villains to fight another, that other warrior being Jecht.
 * The Emperor's fighting style and manipulative nature may be based on his actions in Final Fantasy II, where he tries to trap or deceive the heroes multiple times.
 * Even though Garland is the closest to Chaos, the Emperor can be considered the leader, since most of the heroes' problems come from him, and he is the one who seems to give orders.
 * The Emperor's Starfall attack has the longest charge time of any attack in the game, requiring more than eight seconds to execute.
 * Other than Garland, the Emperor is the only Warrior of Chaos to speak to Chaos himself.
 * If defeated by Firion in Shade Impulse, his right eye will be closed as if blinded or wincing in pain.
 * Terra's response to his question upon defeat in Shade Impulse might be a reference to what Ashe tells Vayne about herself near the end of Final Fantasy XII.