Kefka Palazzo/Dissidia (PSP)

Kefka Palazzo is one of the villains fighting for the side of Chaos in Dissidia Final Fantasy. An insane sorcerer with a complete lack of scruples. His attacks are generally magic-based, but more chaotic than basic spells. Coupled with his erratic movements, his main skill seems to be to annoy his opponents with his contemptuous manner. He shares his goal to destroy everything with other villains, specifically, Cloud of Darkness, Exdeath, and Kuja. However, his short-term goal is to manipulate and take control of Terra, and use her power to further his other plans.

Attire
Kefka's appearance in Dissidia, like the rest of the cast, is drawn more from his original Amano artwork than from his in-game appearances. His clothing is thus very colorful with a variety of polka-dots and stripes, with red and yellow being the predominant colors. His trademark blond ponytail and white and red facial make-up are present, and his lips are outlined in bright purple.

His alternate costume resembles his in-game battle sprite and incorporates more blues and whites into the color scheme.

Kefka's Manikin version, Phantasmal Harlequin, is red.

Destiny Odyssey
Kefka appears with Kuja, telling him to acquire some "bait" for Zidane, but Kuja protests that his friends can't be kidnapped because they travel together. Kefka tells Kuja that Squall travels alone, prompting Kuja to attack Squall and try to capture him, telling him to "kill two birds with one stone."

When Bartz falls into a trap laid for Zidane, Kefka appears before Zidane and refuses to tell him where Bartz is. The two duel, and Zidane wins. Kefka then tells Zidane that Bartz has been taken to enemy territory. Kefka also makes a brief appearance directly afterwards, where Kuja complains that Kefka botched his plan, only for Kefka to shrug off the accusation and taunt him with the failure.

Kefka appears with Kuja after accidentally kidnapping Bartz, instead of Zidane, as the trap which Bartz mistook for a crystal was meant for Zidane.

Kefka appears before Terra and Onion Knight. With Terra having forgotten about her mindless battle with the little knight, Kefka reminds her and mocks her claims that he is lying, calling her "destruction incarnate" due to her powers. Kefka tells Terra she is better suited to fight for Chaos than against him, he then extends an offer to Terra to join him in causing destruction. In an attempt to protect Terra, Onion Knight attacks the mad clown, and Kefka teleports them away, leaving Terra alone to search for her friend.

Along the way, Terra encounters Cloud Strife after Kefka somehow manages to trigger Terra's power, so Cloud takes the brunt of Terra's attacks and then joins her to look for the Onion Knight. They later find Kefka, and again she refuses his offer, having found hope for a future where dreams like those of Firion can come true. Enraged, Kefka summons the Cloud of Darkness to assist him, however, the Onion Knight arrives in time to give Cloud a hand in holding off the Cloud of Darkness, while Terra fights Kefka alone. Kefka bombards her with spells until she stops running and fights him. Terra overcomes Kefka and he fades away, declaring he won't forget his defeat.

Shade Impulse
After Chaos has killed Cosmos, Kefka appears along with Exdeath to ridicule the heroes, as they begin to fade away as a result of the goddess' death. Later on, he is confronted by Terra in his tower, where he has gone on his own way in an attempt to destroy everything. However, he is once again defeated by Terra, and laments the futility of existence (which mirrors his mindset towards the end of Final Fantasy VI), before exploding and fading away with a sorrowful laugh, craving for more destruction.

Battle
Kefka's is fittingly described as a "Mad Mage." His attacks consist of various magical projectiles that move in erratic and unpredictable patterns, making them very difficult to avoid. However, his attacks usually have a lag when used or leave Kefka stationary while he manipulates the attack, leaving him highly vulnerable to counter-attacks. Another drawback is that Kefka has a slow ground movement. For his Chase Sequences, Kefka simply performs a close-range, blue-hued magic blast similar to his Ultima spell. If charged, Kefka will kick the enemy.

Boss
Kefka is fought in Destiny Odyssey VI and IX, Shade Impulse, Distant Glory: Villians, and Inward Chaos.

EX Mode
thumb|300px|right|Light of Judgment Kefka's EX Mode, Power Of Destruction, is his God form, based on his final boss sprite. In EX Mode he gains the Regen status and the ability to glide in the air. He also gains the "Exhilarating Magic" ability. This makes Kefka's spells even more erratic and difficult to dodge.

His EX Burst, "Warring Triad", has Kefka summoning up the immense power of the three gods. It requires the memorization and input of three button commands. If the buttons are inputted incorrectly he will instead use the weaker "Forsaken", his special attack in the final battle, but if the buttons are correct, he will use Light of Judgment, which he used to destroy the world of Final Fantasy VI.

Equipment
Kefka is able to use the following equipment: Rods, Staves, Instruments, Bangles, Hats, Hairpins, Ribbons, Clothing, and Robes.

Allusions

 * In Shade Impulse, before vanishing, Kefka mutters the same lines from the final battle in Final Fantasy VI.
 * One of Kefka's exclusive weapons, Dancing Mad, is named after his theme song during the final battle. The fourth tier of the song, played during the fight against his God form, is selectable as a battle track in Dissidia.
 * Various bits of Kefka's dialogue mirror his dialogue from Final Fantasy VI. If Kefka fights the Emperor, Kefka will declare "You're less than worthless", referencing his insult to Emperor Gestahl in Final Fantasy VI. When using Extra Crispy Firaga, Kefka shouts "You'll be well done!", another line he used to taunt Gestahl. When battling Cecil, Kefka says "Goody two-shoes!", referencing a line he said to General Leo. One of Kefka's defeat quotes is "I hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE YOU!", yet another line he says in Final Fantasy VI to Celes Chere - he says an extended version of the line in Destiny Odyssey VI. Two of his defeat quotes are "Don't think you've won this!" and "Graaah! I'll remember this", both of which are based on his dialogue when defeated in Narshe in the original game. His intro quote "You're lower than lower than dirt" may be based on his quote "You may as well be the dirt on the bottom of my boots! Or the dirt stuck to the bottom of that dirt!"
 * Kefka cackles his signature laugh five times throughout the story: when Zidane asks after their fight where he sent Bartz, after he tells Cloud of Darkness that Terra is a "dear friend" of his, as he appears before Terra and Cloud and as he chases Terra in the subsequent cutscene, and before he fights Terra in Shade Impulse.
 * While chasing Terra during their battle in Destiny Odyssey VI, Kefka briefly assumes the pose of his Amano artwork. He also assumes a variation of one of his Amano art poses should he win a battle.
 * When Kefka uses his EX Burst, he'll descend from above, similar to the beginning of the final battle in Final Fantasy VI. Furthermore, During Kefka's EX Burst, golden lights shines down on him, alluding to the final battle background from Final Fantasy VI. If Forsaken is used during his EX Burst, Kefka assumes the pose of his God form's battle sprite and the camera angle changes to that of a traditional Final Fantasy battle.
 * One of Kefka's victory quotes has him breaking the fourth wall by humming Victory Fanfare.
 * All of Kefka's attacks are attacks he uses in the final battle in Final Fantasy VI - his Firaga, Blizzaga and Thundaga attacks in Dissidia are all variations of the normal versions of the spells he uses in the battle.
 * Kefka's line when battling Jecht, "Meatheads, meatheads everywhere..." is similar to a line spoken by Ultros, upon being attacked by Sabin.
 * When confronted in Shade Impulse, Kefka delivers several lines that mirror his dialogue before the final battle in Final Fantasy VI. His greeting "Welcome friends!" is the same way he greeted the party when they ascended his tower. Kefka's dialogue after being defeated also paraphrases various excerpts of his speech before the final battle in Final Fantasy VI. Before the battle in Dissidia, Kefka says "Beyond the chaos, the end draws near". This references both the original Super NES ("The end comes... beyond chaos.") and GBA ("The end draws near...") translations of the line Kefka says during the battle in Final Fantasy VI when he prepares to use Goner/Forsaken.
 * When Kefka uses Forsaken Null, he assumes the same pose seen in his original Amano portrait.
 * Most of Kefka's character traits seem to be allusions of himself near the end of Final Fantasy VI, including having full control over the Warring Triad and finding all existance futile and meaningless. This may be a further reference to Kefka representing the World of Ruin, whereas Terra's character better seems to represent the World of Balance.

Trivia

 * While the attacks are fairly common among the Warriors of Cosmos, Kefka is the only Warrior of Chaos with access to some variation of the Thunder, Fire, and Blizzard spells.
 * Kefka, as well as Cloud Strife, can equip a set of female-only equipment that is unlocked after beating chapter four of Shade Impulse with Cloud.
 * At the beginning of his EX-Burst, the background falls away in shapes that resemble pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
 * If Kefka begins Forsaken Null during EX Mode, and continues to keep the same Forsaken Null out after his EX mode ends, the magic spheres will still track the enemy until that specific Forsaken Null ends.
 * When Kefka uses an HP attack, his hands glow with a red aura, but when Terra uses an HP attack, her hands glow with a blue aura.
 * In the Battle Tips menu, Penelo says that Kefka "Dances around likes he's mocking you", which makes her angry.
 * Kefka's victory pose is similar to his chibi artwork.