Kuja/Dissidia (PSP)

Kuja is a warrior of Chaos in Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, serving as the antagonist representing Final Fantasy IX. He also appears in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT and its arcade version. With porcelain skin and long, silver hair, he has an elegant appearance that belies a cruel, narcissistic, and envious nature. He fights using graceful spells that are as much style as substance.

In Dissidia Final Fantasy, the other antagonists look down on Kuja due to his relative youth and inexperience as newly summoned warrior, but he considers them "animals" and strives to prove himself their superior. Unable to understand the bond his rival, 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, Kuja's storyline is slightly redone, establishing him as an unwilling warrior of Chaos who has been through several cycles of the war. On amicable terms with Zidane, Kuja attempts to aid him and his comrades in the twelfth cycle, but due to Kefka Palazzo's manipulations, Kuja's mind was implanted with false memories upon his awakening in the thirteenth cycle, causing his animosity towards Zidane to resurface in Dissidia Final Fantasy.

Dissidia Final Fantasy & Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Kuja's appearance is the same as his original design in Final Fantasy IX, though more refined. Kuja wears a deep purple bolero jacket held closed by a silver band, with metal, white sleeves, and gold lining. His white half-skirt is held by four straps connected to a codpiece. He wears purple fingerless gloves, leggings, and pointed boots. His hair is more silver than lavender as it was in Final Fantasy IX, and retains the feathers. Unique to Dissidia, Kuja is surrounded by five orbs of energy that orbit him in formation and are enchanted with Holy and Flare magic. The orbs 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", invokes the imagery of an "Angel of Death", Kuja's title in Final Fantasy IX. His outfit and hair are black and white with various gradients. His EX Mode form is dark gray.

Kuja's third alternate outfit, the "Treno Nobleman" DLC, is an original character design by Hideo Minaba, the art director of Final Fantasy IX and the original character designer for both Kuja and Zidane. The costume envisions Kuja 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 is gold with light purple fur on his arms and legs.

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

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT

 * Default
 * Angel of Death I - Default coloration. Kuja's feathered ornament is slightly more distinguishable.
 * Angel of Death II - 1st alternate coloration. Recolors his jacket, skirt-piece and sleeves black.
 * Angel of Death III - 2nd alternate coloration. Recolors his jacket gray and skirt-piece and sleeves pink.


 * 1st Alternate Costume
 * Cloaked Anchorite I - Default coloration. A revamped version of Kuja's "Treno Nobleman" attire in Dissidia 012, now based entirely on its original concept art by Hideo Minaba. Kuja wears an elaborate black coat with lavish patterns, white and blue pants, knee-length black boots, white gloves and a pointed wizard hat. He has straight white back-length hair with curls at the top and sides of his face.
 * Cloaked Anchorite II - 1st alternate coloration. Colors his hat and coat purple, his pants white and gray, and his gloves black.
 * Cloaked Anchorite III - 2nd alternate coloration. Colors his hat and coat white, his pants black and purple, and his gloves black.

Kuja equips magical Cores:
 * Weapons
 * Brumal Cores - Default weapons. The orbs of light conjured by Kuja in the PSP games are replaced with two "cores" representing the Holy and Flare spells. They can split to become six individual cores, thus retaining the six orbs of light's properties. The cores emit a fiery aura.
 * Brilliant Cores - 1st alternate weapons. The cores take on the form of crystalline spikes that emits a frosty aura. The Holy core is colored sky blue, and the Flare core is colored red.
 * Scintllant Cores - 2nd alternate weapons. The cores take on the form of sparking orbs that give off an electrical aura. The Holy core is colored dark blue, and the Flare core is colored plum.
 * Turbid Cores - 3rd alternate weapons. The cores take on a swirling form of pure light and dark energy. The Holy core is colored cyan with a light aura, and the Flare core is colored purple with a dark aura.

The cores have not appeared in the Final Fantasy series prior, and are original weapons for Kuja in the Dissidia series. The first three Cores resemble the Fire, Ice, and Lightning trifecta of elemental spells, respectively. The Turbid Cores represent both and light and darkness.

Kuja's default player name is Nameless Angel of Death, and his manikin counterpart is renamed Reaper's Caprice.

Personality
In the twelfth cycle, Kuja's personality is reminiscent to his reformed nature at the end of Final Fantasy IX. As a result of recovering his memories of his homeworld, Kuja is benevolent and cares about Zidane, though still retains a narcissistic, haughty demeanor and theatrical speech patterns. Although he treats the other warriors of Chaos with disdain, especially Kefka, he is on good terms with Cloud, whom he comforts when the latter becomes conflicted about fighting a friend from his world. However, Kuja remains reserved, stating that he and Cloud are "far from being friends." He later breaks Kefka's control over Terra due to feeling sympathy for her plight. Reluctant about directly participating in the conflict due to his memories, Kuja wishes to help Zidane and his friends defeat Chaos before his plans are foiled by Kefka's machinations.

In his original storyline for Dissidia Final Fantasy, Kuja suffers from a - (similar to how he is depicted early on in Final Fantasy IX), as the other antagonists belittle him for his youth and inexperience as a newly summoned warrior for Chaos. This is slightly retconned in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (as Kuja has participated in previous cycles), where Kuja is demeaned by the other warriors of Chaos for his youth and for being manipulated by false memories upon his awakening. In spite of learning of his fake memories, Kuja attempts to outshine them to prove himself superior. As his hatred for Zidane is due to Kefka implanting false memories to ensure Kuja is a more "cooperative" warrior for Chaos in the thirteenth cycle, Kuja becomes arrogant, cruel, and sadistic, as he seems to enjoy Zidane's suffering. After being defeated by Zidane in "Shade Impulse", Kuja becomes disheartened in his role in the conflict and resigns himself to his fate, believing that "the world has disowned [him]" and asks Zidane to kill him. Thanks to Zidane's compassion, the two reconcile, with Kuja regaining his benevolence towards Zidane before he vanishes.

In Final Fantasy Dissidia NT, Kuja retains his memories from his homeworld and the previous cycles, and thus defects to aid Zidane and Terra to gather summons. He tries to remain distant, as he attempts to leave the two after rescuing them until persuaded to join their party. Kuja is reluctant to act outright heroic, such as when he pretends to not remember saving Terra when she thanks him for freeing her from Kefka's spell in the twelfth cycle, and claims that he was only assisting Zidane to defeat Alexander when Zidane expresses his gratitude for Kuja's help. In spite of this, Kuja enjoys teasing Zidane and develops an amicable relationship with Terra.

Treachery of the Gods
Having been through several cycles of war and recovered all of his memories, Kuja has grown tired of serving Chaos and is initially unwilling to fight. He is on good terms with Zidane, who has also recovered his memories. On the Prima Vista, Kuja comforts Cloud, who is tormented at the thought of fighting a friend from his world. Kefka overhears the two, and decides to interfere with Kuja's memories, displeased with his stance towards the war.

After hearing of the plan Cosmos has conceived concerning the Crystals, Kuja begins to work against Chaos and meets up with Zidane. Kuja poses as a warrior of Cosmos, convincing Zidane to gather his trusted friends and have Kuja meet with them again once he scouts a clear road to Chaos. Their plan is to defeat Chaos without having to fight their way through his other servants.

Kefka confronts Kuja and asks what he is plotting, but Kuja wants Kefka to leave him alone. Kuja later meets Terra and considers making her his slave, but decides against it due to sympathizing with her predicament and breaks Kefka's spell over her. An enraged Kefka alerts the Emperor and Ultimecia of Kuja's treachery. The three find Kuja meeting with Zidane, Bartz, and a suspicious Squall, who was already doubting Kuja's allegiance. Kefka summons manikins to reveal Kuja's ties to Chaos, and makes the heroes believe the meeting was a trap by Kuja to gather them behind enemy lines. Caught in his scheme, Kuja goes along with the act and reluctantly attacks them, but allows them to escape.

The Emperor and Ultimecia berate Kuja for his efforts and warn him to not make enemies within their ranks, but Kefka keeps up the act and plays as though he thinks Kuja was only pretending to betray them. Unable to avoid participating in the conflict now, a depressed Kuja tells Kefka that he could keep forcing him to fight and snidely inquires about Terra, mocking Kefka for losing his slave. Wanting payback for Kuja's hand in helping Terra break free, Kefka goads Kuja to fight Lightning in order to prove himself. Kuja reluctantly does so and separates her from her allies, but is defeated and begins to fade away. Kefka mocks Kuja for his failure and implants false memories in his mind, causing him to desire Zidane's suffering and develop a deep inferiority complex so he will be a more cooperative warrior in the next cycle.

Light to All
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. Kuja begrudgingly allies with Kefka, who suggests using one of Zidane's friends as bait. After his scheme to capture Squall fails, he sees that the loner would be a poor choice to use as a trap. Sometime afterwards, Kuja almost gets into a fight with Garland after the latter criticizes him for outsmarting himself. Kuja leaves once Jecht attempts to join in.

Kuja then plans 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, Zidane is transported away to Chaos's shrine, where Kuja appears before him. Kuja taunts Zidane with the prospect of being alone and his inability to protect his friends, and leaves Zidane in his solitude.

Later on, Garland lectures Kuja once again about his recklessness and about fate, telling him they all share the same destiny as warriors summoned by Chaos. Garland's revelations make Kuja realize the other warriors of Chaos are not as superior to him as they think and resolves to prove himself as the victor in his "finale." 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, allowing Zidane to claim his Crystal. As Kuja begins to fade away, Zidane asks Kuja why he refuses to believe in others, which Kuja responds he does not see the point because people are still alone in the end. Zidane tries to explain the true meaning of friendship, but Kuja refuses to listen and vows to be the one who triumphs in end.

Following Cosmos's death, Zidane finds Kuja reciting poetry in the Crystal World, who has resigned to his fate of death once Chaos destroys World B. Zidane refuses to give up hope, and Kuja attacks him. Defeated again, Kuja asks Zidane to kill him, but Zidane instead offers Kuja his help. Accepting his fate, Kuja gently brushes Zidane away, believing he will never come to understand him, and tells Zidane to go. As Kuja vanishes in blue flames, Zidane believes he and Kuja will return to the same place once 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 thirteenth 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. 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.

Rebirth of the cycles
Kuja is summoned as a warrior of Spiritus and gathers with the other antagonists at Spiritus's tower. When Spiritus communicates with Materia, Kuja silently watches as Spiritus declares his intentions to rule World B.

At Midgar, when Zidane and Terra are ambushed by the Emperor and Sephiroth, Kuja comes to their aid by fending them off and healing the heroes. The trio enters Trance, but the battle is cut short when planesgorgers begin devouring the dimension.

Kuja, Terra, and Zidane enter a portal, where Kuja attempts to brush the others off. However, a moogle insists that he stays with Terra and Zidane. Remembering how Kuja freed her from Kefka's spell in the twelfth cycle, Terra persuades Kuja to join them, expressing her desire to have a proper conversation with him. When Terra thanks Kuja for freeing her from Kefka, Kuja pretends to not recall the event. As they enter Alexandria, they are attacked by Alexander, despite Terra's assurances they aren't here to harm him. Kuja states it was a mistake for him to appear before the summon, but Zidane reminds Kuja it is not the same Alexander he destroyed on Gaia, much to Terra's confusion. After they prove their worth to Alexander, Kuja dismisses Zidane's gratitude for his help, claiming to have only helped them to obtain the summon. When the planesgorgers start to destroy the area, Kuja begins to depart and advises Zidane and Terra to do the same, acknowledging Terra's desire to see him again in the future.

Once Materia and Spiritus come to a truce, Kuja joins the rest of the champions to defeat Shinryu, the source of planesgorgers that threatens to eradicate the world. Before their staged battle to lure Shinryu out, Zidane suggests they meet up again "once things calm down," and Kuja nods in agreement and flashes a smile at him. During the battle, Kuja attacks Tidus and Vaan, but is interrupted by Cecil and starts battling him. Once the battle energy summons Shinryu, Kuja participates in a joint attack against the dragon, but is repelled as Shinryu reveals his true form in a potent burst of power. Once the warriors regain their composure, they work together to defeat Shinryu.

Shortly after killing Shinryu, the moogles give Kuja a crystal to host his memories for Spiritus to use in the new cycles of wars. With a crystal doppelgänger of himself to serve on Spiritus's behalf, Kuja is sent home alongside Zidane.

Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
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 varied between close and long-range techniques. His HP attacks, with the exception of 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 easy to block, and behave more in a linear pattern, with little vertical range that allows opponents to 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.

Bravery Attacks

 * DFF2008
 * Dissidia 012

HP Attacks

 * DFF2008
 * Dissidia 012

EX Mode
Kuja's EX Mode is his Trance form from Final Fantasy IX. He 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 to fill the gauge as Kuja performs several Flare Star attacks. If successfully filled, he'll perform Seraphic Star by zigzagging around his opponent and ends the EX Burst with a powerful Ultima spell.

Kuja's EX Burst operation is similar to his rival, 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.

Exclusive weapons

 * DFF2008
 * Dissidia 012

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT

 * Type: Assassin - Kuja can glide around while performing many of his abilities.
 * EX Skill: Discarnate Chorus (Soul Resonance) - Grant buffs to any nearby allies, while also making Kuja's EX skill gauge fill faster. The skill is enhanced each time it is used, and up to three buffs can be applied at once.

Gallery

 * Dissidia & Dissidia 012

Allusions

 * The poem Kuja recites at the beginning of his "Shade Impulse" scene with Zidane is the poem he states 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 fuse during Kuja's EX Burst, alluding to Terra assimilating Gaia. Opposite to Zidane, the red planet (Terra) emerges as the dominant planet in the fusion.
 * Kuja's Bravery attacks are themed after the spells Holy and Flare, spells he casts 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 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.
 * In the arcade reboot, the orbs of light controlled by Kuja are changed to Holy and Flare orbs, and the orbs themselves partially resemble the planets of Gaia and Terra respectively.
 * 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, is 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?" alluding to how Kuja would 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. Kuja is a Genome, beings made by Garland to be vessels for Terra's dormant souls.
 * 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 refers to Kuja learning of his mortality in Final Fantasy IX 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 alludes to the conversation between Zidane and Garland in Final Fantasy IX, where Garland explains that Kuja, like Zidane, has a tail but conceals it.
 * In "Destiny Odyssey II"/Chapter 7 in "Light to All", Kuja beginning to fight with Garland could be a reference to his plans to fight Final Fantasy IX Garland, but was unable to do so.
 * 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.
 * The opening for Kuja's debut trailer for the arcade reboot focuses in on Terra in an ominous manner, alluding to Kuja's later role in Terra's destruction.
 * During Dissidia NT's Story Mode, Alexander is immediately hostile towards Kuja, Zidane, and Terra. Kuja muses that his presence may explain this, alluding to the Battle of Alexandria and Alexander's summoning and destruction in repelling Kuja's assault.

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.
 * Uniquely among magic-based characters, Kuja is classed as an Assassin as opposed to a Marksman in the arcade reboot.
 * Kuja is one of three warriors of Chaos to disappear in light instead of shadows upon being defeated in "Shade Impulse", the only others being Jecht and Sephiroth. Coincidentally, all three also have a comparably friendlier disposition with their respective rivals in Dissidia NT (Cloud and Sephiroth to a far lesser extent).