Dead Fantasy

Dead Fantasy is a series of fan-made CG action movies, created by Monty Oum, featuring a cast of characters from the Final Fantasy and Dead or Alive game franchises fighting it out against each other battle royal-style in a number of different environments, including archaic ruins and modern cities.

Since the first installment of Dead Fantasy, the series has been well received by the fans of both game series, with trailers, previews and the installments themselves being featured at several gaming conventions. Currently there are five movies in the series, and it is unknown how many installments will be made.

Yuna
Fighter Type: Long Range

Fighting Style: Gunner, Summoner

Weapons: Guns (2x), Summon Magic, Items Staff, Dressphere

Yuna is the female protagonist of Final Fantasy X and the main protagonist of Final Fantasy X-2, the daughter of the High Summoner Braska and of half-Al Bhed ethnicity. Her cousin Rikku also appears in the movie series, fighting along side her and the rest of the Final Fantasy cast. She is the first character to appear in Dead Fantasy, and she also appears in Dead Fantasy II, fighting alongside Rikku, Tifa, Rinoa, and Kairi. In Dead Fantasy IV, she summons her aeons to fight the Kasumi X clones and is rescued by Cloud Strife. She also appears briefly at the end of Dead Fantasy V with Cloud.

Yuna is about average in speed and strength, but she is able to shoot both bullets and energy-blasts from a great distance in her Gunner Dressphere. She is also equipped with Potions and Ethers, as seen in Dead Fantasy II. As a Summoner, she is able to summon the Final Fantasy X versions of Ixion, Shiva, Valefor, Ifrit and Bahamut. Although Yuna is a great fighter and able to hold her own in battle, she eventually needs help shifting the odds in her favor, as shown in Dead Fantasy I before Rikku arrives to help, and again in Dead Fantasy IV, when Cloud Strife comes to her aid.

Kasumi
Fighter Type: Balanced

Fighting Style: Mugen Tenshin Ninjutsu

Weapon: Ninja Magic, Ninjatō, Tantō

Kasumi debuted in first instalment of Dead or Alive, and - in the series canon - the winner of the first Dead or Alive Tournament. She was a ninja from the Mugen Tenshin Clan, who become a runaway shinobi after entering the tournament. Her brother Hayate and half-sister Ayane also appear in the series. Kasumi first appears in Dead Fantasy I alongside Ayane and for the whole of Dead Fantasy II, duelling against Yuna in Dead Fantasy IV, and has last been seen at the end of Dead Fantasy V, killing most of the Kasumi X clones. She is currently under the care of Ryu Hayabusa and Momiji, having become exhausted from fighting and losing a lot of blood.

The girl’s ninjutsu and ninjatō skill is quite lethal, as well as quick and elegant. She also uses a lot of magic, emitting energy blasts from her hands for long range attacks and her Sakura Parry teleportation ability, which makes her hard to pin down and hit. Sakura Parry is able to teleport others Kasumi touches. She uses her Sakura Parry rather too much and so far hasn't shown any side-effects. All-in-all, she is a well-balanced fighter with normal limitations, such as exhaustion.

Ayane
Fighter Type: Agile, Magical

Fighting Type: Mugen Tenshin Ninjutsu

Weapon: Ninja Magic, Energy Sword

First appearing officially in Dead or Alive, Ayane is a ninja of the Mugen Tenshin Clan, and the winner of the third Dead Or Alive Tournament, in the series canon. Her half-sister Kasumi fights alongside her, and although Ayane bares a strong hatred for her, she seems fine with fighting on her side against the Final Fantasy cast in the movies. Ayane debut in Dead Fantasy was in the first instalment with Kasumi, fighting for the full length of the first movie, and for the whole of Dead Fantasy II. She will star in a later instalment, battling in a one-on-one brawl against Rikku.

Ayane is fast and agile in battle above all, being able to leap great heights and move fast on her feet. She also bares great Ninpo magic abilities, as shown in Dead Fantasy II when she destroys a stone tower in a great explosion, (reflecting her ending in Dead or Alive 4.) However, some of her Ninpo attacks require a lot of time to charge up before she can execute them.

Rikku
Fighter Type: Agile

Fighting Style: Thief

Weapon: Twin Blades, Dresspheres

Rikku is a Al Bhed girl from Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 and the daughter of Cid, the Al Bhed leader. Her maternal cousin Yuna also appears in the movie series. Rikku is the fourth character to debut in Dead Fantasy, appearing early in the first instalment to help Yuna fight against Ayane and Kasumi. She has last seen in Dead Fantasy II, being teleported into a underground cavern with Ayane. She will appear in a future installment to engage in a one-on-one fight with Ayane.

As a Thief, Rikku is extremely fast, using a combination of blade-work and martial art moves in battle. That, along with her natural flexibility, allows her to take on even the biggest, strongest opponents. She is also able to change Job types via Dresspheres, although her first attempt to do so in Dead Fantasy II was interrupted when Hitomi crashed into her. She will likely use Dresspheres successfully in the future.

Hitomi
Fighter Type: Strong

Fighting Style: Karate

Weapons: Fists

Hitomi is a German-Japanese karate master, who enters the Dead or Alive Tournaments to test her skill against the best in the world, first appearing in Dead or Alive 3. She has been practicing the art of karate under her father’s tutelage since she was a child. Hitomi first appears midway of Dead Fantasy I, aiding Kasumi and Ayane in battle against Yuna and Rikku and then against Tifa toward the end of the first act of Dead Fantasy II. At the end of the second movie, she and Tifa are sent to a abandoned church to fight one-on-one, which is the main event of Dead Fantasy III. She later appears in Dead Fantasy V. She's apparantly working with Helena and Hayate. The reasons are currently unknown.

Physically, Hitomi is the second-strongest out in the Dead or Alive female cast, demonstrated when she breaks and throws enormous stone block and pulls up the ground without too much strain. She also has great mastery over karate and seems to have strong senses; she was able to defeat Tifa even while blind and poisoned. Hitomi’s strength and skill compensates for her lack of magical powers, although towards the end of Dead Fantasy III, she steals most, if not all of Tifa’s Materia, giving her some magical ability for the time being.

Tifa Lockhart
Type: Strong, Magical

Fighting Style: Monk

Weapons: Materia, Knuckles

Tifa Lockhart is the female protagonist of Final Fantasy VII and a member of AVALANCHE. She is the sixth character to debut in Dead Fantasy. Her childhood friend, Cloud Strife, also appears in the series, presumably looking for her. Tifa arrives at the end of Dead Fantasy I, aiding Rikku and Yuna against Hitomi, Ayane, and Kasumi for the remainder of the movie and most of the first half of Dead Fantasy II. At the end of the second movie, she is teleported with Hitomi to a old cathedral to fight karate master on her own, which is the main event of Dead Fantasy III. In Dead Fantasy V, she fights against Hayate’s clan, until she passes out from exhaustion and blood loss. At the end of the film, she is taken away by the DOATEC.

Sporting a multitude of Materia - including Fire, Ice, Lightning, Time, Gravity, Ultima, Barrier, Poison and Blind - Tifa is a highly magical competitor, mixing their power with her strength and skill in martial arts. However, she does seem to be too dependent on her Materia in battle, which becomes her downfall against Hitomi when her opponent steals most, if not all, of her Materia and uses it against her.

Rachel
Fighter Type: Tank

Fighting Style: Demon Hunter

Weapons: Warhammer, Peluda Tail Whip, Fiend Magic

Rachel is a Fiend Hunter who first debuted in Ninja Gaiden: a series of games based in the Dead or Alive universe. She searches for her sister Alam, who was turned into a Fiend. She appears near the end of the second act of Dead Fantasy II, destroying the rest of the temple the others were fighting in. At the end of the movie, she is teleported with Rinoa for a one-on-one battle in a unknown location.

Possessing blood that could turn her into a Fiend, Rachel has abnormally great strength, allowing her to destroy solid stone buildings, swing her massive hammer with ease, and throw her opponents great distances.

Rinoa Heartilly
Fighter Type: Agile, Magical

Fighting Style: Sorcery

Weapons: Vanishing Star, Silenced Tear, Sorceress Power

Rinoa Heartilly is the main female protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII and a highly powerful Sorceress. As the eighth character introduced in the movie series, she appears at the beginning of the last act of Dead Fantasy II, permanently in her Angel Wing Limit Break. She will appear in a later installment to battle against Rachel.

As a Sorceress, Rinoa uses a great deal of powerful magic in battle: she is able to freeze a lake of lava, use telekinetic ability, cast Holy and Tornado, and conjure portals from the moon. The Angel Wing allows Rinoa the abilities of flight and protection, so she can swoop down on the enemy or protect her friends from attacks. She also wields two fan-made weapons in Dead Fantasy, the gun-blade Vanishing Star and the blaster edge Silenced Tear. Her sword style vaguely resembles Amy of Soulcaliber.

Kairi
Fighter Type: Agile

Fighting Style: Keyblade Wielder

Weapons: Keyblades, Drive Forms

Kairi is the main female protagonist of the Square Enix and Disney hybrid game series Kingdom Hearts, who once helped save entire worlds from the Darkness. She first appears in Dead Fantasy II, during the fourth act alongside Rinoa, and is seen again briefly at the beginning of Dead Fantasy IV. Her appearence in the series came as a shock to fans, as it was thought that only characters from the Final Fantasy and Dead or Alive universes were to make appearances.

In the Kingdom Hearts games, Kairi has seen little combat, and she is neither very strong nor skilled with her Keyblade, Destiny Place. However, in Dead Fantasy, Kairi is shown to be a very agile fighter: performing flips, high jumps, and being able to glide. She can also activate Drive Forms; in Dead Fantasy II, Kairi transforms during battle into Valor Form, which turned her outfit color red and gives her the ability to use two Keyblades: Oblivion and the Oathkeeper. In Dead Fantasy, Kairi’s fighting style is, in a way, similar to Sora’s, the main protagonist of Kingdom Hearts.

Helena Douglas
Fighter Type: N/A

Fighting Style: N/A

Weapons: N/A

Helena is a French opera singer and the current leader of DOATEC (Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee). She made her first debut in Dead or Alive 2. In Dead Fantasy, she first appears in the third installment, activating a small army of Kasumi X clones to kill both Kasumi and Yuna. She appears again in Dead Fantasy V, taking a injured and unconscious Tifa away in a helicopter.

Helena has yet to fight in the movies, and her actions, as well as her connections with Hitomi and Hayate, are suspicious and still unexplained.

Kasumi X
Fighter Type: Balanced

Fighting Style: Mugen Tenshin Ninjutsu

Weapon: Ninja Magic, Ninjatō, Tantō

First appearing in Dead or Alive 2, Kasumi X is a result of the DOATEC Super-human Development Project and Kasumi’s antagonistic clone. Appearing in multitude at the end of Dead Fantasy III, Kasumi X was activated by Helena and sent to kill Kasumi and Yuna halfway through their match in Dead Fantasy IV. According to the third episode, they only had an estimated maximum lifespan of 14 hours without mechanical support. Together, the clones killed some of Yuna’s most powerful summons and were prepared to kill her as well, but they were interrupted when Cloud arrived and saved her. The clones proceeded to attack the two of them, but Kasumi dealt with them herself by teleporting away and taking the clones with her. In Dead Fantasy V, Kasumi had alrready killed many of the Kasumi X clones. The remaining clones charged at her when she faltered due to exhaustion, but they were quickly killed by Ryu Hayabusa.

Cloud Strife
Fighter Type: Balanced

Fighting Style: N/A

Weapons: Fusion Swords

The primary protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife was the first male character to be introduced in the series. His first appearance in Dead Fantasy IV was unexpected, due to the series being thought to possess a “female only” cast. It’s likely that he is on the search for Tifa.

Cloud enters the series riding in on Fenrir to rescue Yuna from a troupe of Kasumi X clones. After his appearance, Kasumi retreats to take on the clones herself. Cloud then offers to drive Yuna away from the battlefield, which she agrees to. It is implied that Yuna reminds Cloud of Aerith Gainsborough, due to the words that appear at the beginning of the movie. He appears again in Tifa’s flashback during Dead Fantasy V, and then at the end with Yuna, watching the helicopter holding Tifa fly towards a city.

Hayate
Fighter Type: Balanced

Fighting Style: Mugen Tenshin Ninjutsu

Weapon: Ninja Magic

Hayate is a ninja in the Mugen Tenshin Clan and Kasumi's brother. He has a powerful sense of duty when it comes to his role as the leader of his clan, as well as being very devoted to the clan's rules and traditions. He appears in Dead Fantasy V along with a part of his clan. He only uses his teleporting skills and refuses to fight Tifa.

Ryu Hayabusa
Fighter Type: N/A

Fighting Style: N/A

Weapons: Dragon Sword

Ryu, the star of Ninja Gaiden, has the demeanour and wisdom of a man far older than himself, due to his proud lineage and mantle as a respected ninja. His exploits have given him an attitude far removed from most others, and he understands things in more abstract and philosophical terms than others. He first appears in Dead Fantasy V, where he dives from the sky and kills all of the remaining Kasumi X clones in one attack, meanwhile saving the life of a weakened Kasumi.

Momiji
Fighter Type: N/A

Fighting Style: N/A

Weapons: N/A

A prodigy of the Ninjutsu arts, Momiji is an up-and-coming kunoichi being trained by Ryu Hayabusa. Appearing in Dead Fantasy V, she doesn't fight, but she debuts alongside Ryu while she examines Kasumi's memories from her fights. She and Ryu are last seen taking Kasumi away from the battlefield littered with the bodies of the clones.

Dead Fantasy I
Release Date: October 2007

Running Time: 03:54

Characters Introduced: Yuna, Kasumi, Ayane, Rikku, Hitomi, Tifa

Dead Fantasy I introduces the first six female characters of the series and the first fight of the series, taking place inside, and later outside, of an enormous, abandoned temple situated on top of a tower. This movie was labelled by Monty Oum as the one he “wanted to do the least”, as it only served as an “introduction” for the rest of the series.

The movie starts with Yuna running through the temple, being pursued by two shadowy figures - Kasumi and Ayane. The three girls fight two-to-one; Yuna is able to hold her own by herself for a long time but starts to falter. Before she is impaled by Ayane, Rikku comes to her aid, evening the numbers. The fight continues, destroying much of the interior of the temple as well. Hitomi appears midway through battle, aiding her fellow Dead or Alive fighters, and the fight moves outside of the temple. Ayane, Kasumi, and Hitomi start to overpower Yuna and Rikku in strength and number, before Tifa appears, evening out the sides. The film ends with the girls bracing themselves for another fight, with Tifa glowing with Materia.

Dead Fantasy II
Release Date: March 2008

Running Time: 10:51

Characters Introduced: Rachel, Rinoa, Kairi

Dead Fantasy II is the first segment to show the use of magic on both sides of the battle, and the first to feature a character not directly linked to the namesake franchises of the series: Kairi of Kingdom Hearts. The movie was featured at the Anime Boston convention on March 23, 2008.

The episode starts where Dead Fantasy I left off: a three-on-three battle with Tifa, Yuna, and Rikku against Ayane, Kasumi, and Hitomi outside the temple. Using different combo moves and team strategies, the girls of Final Fantasy easily overpower the Dead or Alive trio. Realising they need to do something, Ayane goes to the top of the tower, charging her Ninpo power while Kasumi and Hitomi defend her. Yuna, Rikku and Tifa try to stop them but are unable to. Ayane destroys the temple with her magic, forcing them all to fight during a vertical fall. Halfway down, Rachel, who has been waiting perched on her Warhammer, destroys the rest of the tower, making all of them fall towards a river of lava at the bottom. The fighting continues as the girls flow down stream on a slab of rock, until they hit a lava-fall. Rinoa freezes the lava over and she, along with Kairi, join in with the battle. Rinoa then teleports the girls to different locations throughout the world: Rinoa is sent with Rachel, Tifa with Hitomi, Yuna with Kasumi, Rikku with Ayane, and Kairi by herself. The movie ends with Rikku and Ayane, both of whom are unconscious, falling into a giant hole.

Dead Fantasy III
Release Date: July 2009

Running Time: 05:38

Characters Introduced: Helena, Kasumi X

Dead Fantasy III, which shows the first of a series of one-on-one battles between the different sides, was released alongside Dead Fantasy IV. It is also the first installment to show physical repercussions from the battle, such as injuries, blood, and ripped clothing.

The episodes feature a Materia Magic battle between Tifa and Hitomi within a partially demolished cathedral, which is set on fire during the progress of the fight by Tifa’s fire spell. Towards the end of the fight, Hitomi manages to get the upper hand over Tifa, beating most, if not all, of the Materia out of her body to use against her. The fight ends with Tifa being blasted out of the cathedral by Hitomi onto the snow outside, and she is now seriously wounded. The movie ends with a short scene of Helena activating an army of Kasumi X clones.

Dead Fantasy IV
Release Date: July 2009

Running Time: 05:16

Characters Introduced: Cloud

Dead Fantasy IV was released consecutively with Dead Fantasy III and features the series’ first male character: Cloud Strife.

The movie starts with a brief scene of Kairi, waking up on a deserted beach alone and finding a white feather on the sand. The scene then shifts, with the words ''“Why am I here? Because… I trust her… and because… you remind me of someone… that I said goodbye to… a long time ago…”'' appearing on screen, reminiscent of the opening scene in FFVIII, to a field where the one-on-one battle between Kasumi and Yuna takes place. As soon as the girls start to fight, the Kasumi X clones appear and attack the two of them. Yuna transforms into her Summoner attire and tries to use her Summons to defeat them, but the clones overpower the Aeons, and Yuna changes back to her Gunner dressphere. Before the clones deliver the final blow to Yuna, Cloud suddenly appears, ready to aid Yuna in battle. Kasumi teleports herself and the clones away to fight them on her own. Cloud then drives Yuna to a city with him on Fenrir. On the way, Yuna falls asleep on his back, most likely because of the recent battle. The movie ends with a flashback of Cloud trying to stop Tifa from falling off the cliff near the ruins of Midgar.

Dead Fantasy V
Release Date: July 2009

Running Time: 08:12

Characters Introduced: Hayate, Ryu Hayabusa, Momiji

The fifth installment is a direct sequel to Dead Fantasy III, and shows what happens to Tifa and Hitomi after their one-on-one battle in the cathedral. This movie also introduces the first male Dead or Alive characters of the series.

Hayate and his ninja clan take over Hitomi's fight and pursue Tifa, forcing her to face many enemies at once while bleeding and exhausted. After being chased along a train, she makes a desperate jump, ending up in a warehouse. Cornered, she fights the entire horde of ninjas without the help of her Materia. She manages to defeat most of them, even while being impaled by arrows and losing more blood. During the battle, she has a flashback of her goodbye with Cloud and her arrival to the temple in Dead Fantasy I. (The exact scene that Cloud remembers in Dead Fantasy IV.)

Desperate, she resorts to more brutal fighting, disembowelling and outright killing her assailants while attempting to strike Hayate. He refuses to fight, instead teleporting right past her. In the end, Tifa succumbs to her injuries and finally collapses. When Hitomi catches up with them and sees Tifa in the bloody state, she slaps Hayate, visibly angry. Helena arrives on the scene in a DOATEC helicopter with a small squad of armed personnel and takes Tifa on board, where she could be treated or experimented on. Hitomi, after showing Helena the Materia in her arm, goes on the helicopter with them, leaving Hayate alone in the snow.

The scene then cuts to Kasumi, battling against the Kasumi X clones in a lake. She has killed off most of the clones, but is exhausted from fighting and blood loss. Luckily for her, Ryu Hayabusa arrives, killing the last of the clones and catching Kasumi as she collapses. Momiji, who appeared alongside Ryu, reads Kasumi’s mind, and sees all the events that have happened so far. The three then disappear, likely to get Kasumi aid for her wounds, and leave a bloody lake littered with dead clones behind. The movie ends with a scene of Cloud, and a sleeping Yuna, watching the helicopter carrying Tifa fly towards a luxurious city.

Development
The project for the Dead Fantasy series started in July 2007, after Monty Oum gained acclaim for the creation of the fan made CG movie Haloid, which featured Metroid series's Samus Aran and Dead or Alive 4 secret character Spartan-458 versus each other while fighting Halo series's Covenant. His intention for Dead Fantasy was to create a new CG movie which featured more human characters, instead of simply "humanoid" characters, as was the case in Haloid.

Animation

 * To cut down on the development process of all movies, Monty opts to leave out certain aspects of many of the character's attire such as Yuna's ponytail and sash to cut down on the time it takes to run dynamic simulations.
 * Monty has stated that an Anti Form for Kairi is "technically not possible". Her Valor Form was a simple texture wrap, but Monty said he "would like to make more interesting ones for the remaining drive forms."

Voices

 * While Monty used the original voices of the Dead or Alive cast, due to lack of voice clips or none at all, he used voices from different sources for the Final Fantasy characters:
 * The voice of Xianghua from the Soul Calibur series was used for many of the Final Fantasy casts' attacks, including short taunts.
 * During many of the scenes of Dead Fantasy II, the voice of La Mariprosa from Dead or Alive 4 were used for Tifa.
 * Yuna's attack cries are taken from Jun Kazama of the Tekken series

Contests

 * Monty Oum has stated that Rikku will be going through multiple Dressphere changes in her battle against Ayane and had set up a contest where artists would draw designs for the Dressphere changes Rikku could go through. Winners seen so far include a Ninja dressphere, a Spellsword dressphere and a Lolita dressphere.
 * Monty Oum has also set up another contest on DeviantArt, stating that he needs new design for Kairi's remaining Drive Forms, as well as new Keyblade designs.

Trailers

 * The user yuna800 on YouTube was asked by Monty Oum to create a trailer for Dead Fantasy IV. This trailer, titled "♥ ∂єα∂ fαитαѕу 4 тяαιℓєя ♥" is currently viewable on YouTube and reveals more in-depth information about Yuna and Kasumi's struggle.
 * Again, user yuna800 was tasked with the trailer for parts 3 and 5. The trailer is titled ♥ ∂єα∂ fαитαѕу ιιι/v fιяє!!! ♥. It reveals what happened between Tifa and Hitomi.

Trivia

 * The moves that the girls execute are not just from their respective series. Monty Oum has included salutes to many action games, manga and movies by including famous moves into Dead Fantasy, including:
 * Moves from Soul Calibur such as Talim's "Tagga Na Kamay" throw (Hitomi, Episode II), Astaroth's "Poseidon Tide Rush" attack throw (Rachel, Episode II) and Kilik's "Great Waterfall" (Tifa, Episode V).
 * Moves from Tekken such as Lili's Femme Fatale (Yuna, Episode II) and Ling's Shooting Star.
 * Moves from Street Fighter such as Chun Li's famous "Thousand Kicks."
 * Dante's Rainstorm from Devil May Cry, (Yuna, Episode II).
 * Black☆Star's "Certain Kill: Black☆Star Big Wave" from Soul Eater (Hitomi, Episode III).
 * Jet Li's signature butterfly kick.
 * Jackie Chan's drunken fist.
 * In Dead Fantasy II, Yuna attempts to revive Tifa with bottles of Turbo Ether and X-Potion that are similar in detail to the Final Fantasy XII Premium Potion Bottles. One of them even displays the Ether symbol on its tag.
 * Though initially it was indicated that Dead Fantasy III was to be the one-to-one battle between Rikku and Ayane, the movie was instead became the battle between Tifa and Hitomi. This decision came around after a poll Monty Oum presented on his DeviantArt page over which fight the people wanted to see first.
 * Naminé, Kairi's Nobody is a likely candidate to appear in future Dead Fantasy instalments to come. This is due to concept art of her appearing on Oum's DeviantArt page.
 * In Dead Fantasy III, the theme for Devil May Cry 3, Devils Never Cry can be heard. Also, in Dead Fantasy IV, the song Liberi Fatali from Final Fantasy VIII is played in the background.