Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy

Unreleased

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy​ is the prequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy. It is for the PlayStation Portable and has been released in Japan. North America will receive the game on March 22, 2011, Australia and Europe on March 25, 2011 and sometime later in Spring 2011 for the rest of the world.

Gameplay
Dissidia Duodecim's gameplay will be very similar to the original's, featuring all of the original gameplay elements, characters and arenas. Fighters will attack to steal Bravery from opponents, which increases their own, as a character lands Bravery attacks. By completely depleting an opponent's Bravery to zero, they become inflicted with Break status, preventing the opponent from inflicting Bravery or HP damage until their Bravery regenerates to a base amount, while the one who inflicted break gets a large boost in Bravery from the Map. When an HP attack connects with the opponent, they take damage equal to the attacking player's Bravery. By collecting EX Force characters can enter EX Mode, boosting their strength, adding exclusive abilities and letting them execute EX Bursts similar to Limit Breaks. New summons, arenas, music tracks and characters will be included.

One of the main new gameplay features is the Assist system, which allows characters to call an ally into battle to attack, allowing new combos to be created by chaining the moves of two characters in different fashions. The Assist system acts as a counterbalance mechanic to the EX Mode system, as landing an Assist attack can deplete the opponent's EX gauge. The EX gauge can also be utilized to execute a new technique titled "EX Revenge" which will slows down the opponent's movement for several seconds at the cost of consuming the EX gauge without entering EX Mode. Several characters have gained new attacks since the original Dissidia, and several returning moves have had their properties changed. Firion, Kefka, and Shantotto in particular have been stated to be heavily rebalanced. Several other small tweaks will be implemented as well. A character's HP can now exceed the normal limit of 9999, but the new maximum is unknown. The highest amount ever seen in recent manuals on the NA site of Dissidia 012 is 10299 HP, although this is possibly a max for until the release of the game. The extra damage dealt by Wall Rush has been reduced to 25% of the base damage from 50%. Chase Sequences are much faster and absorbs the EX force around you when you enter chase or continue the chase. Critical hits now do 2x times the normal damage instead of 5x times. Another major new addition is the "RPG Mode" for battle. Switching to this from the traditional "Action Mode" aims to turn combat into something more accessible to players of traditional RPGs by taking over movement and providing a persistent lock-on. Players are thus allowed to focus on attacking and defending, allowing newcomers to learn the game's mechanics in stages. The feature will also feature on-screen suggestions to help players learn the nuances of combat. The game will also have a tournament mode where multiple players can battle, and a Watch Mode will be added to allow players who are not participating in current battles to watch them on their PSP. A new battle mode called "Party Battle" allows a sequence of five battles to be fought between two parties of five characters. The characters can be assigned profiles based on the Job System to help them in battle, such as Black Mages receiving a boost to the power of magic attacks. Dissidia 012 will feature a story structure similar to the Destiny Odysseys of the original game, and will include the ability to play as the warriors of Chaos as well. The story mode utilizes a different method of storyline gameplay than the original Dissidia. A world map is used rather than tiled boards, and players are able to form parties and wander the world freely. However, when the player enters a dungeon, the gameplay is reverted to that of the board of the first Dissidia. You can use skills in dungeons like straight chain, which sets up in the player’s line of sight (specifically a cross around the player) in a chain of battles. Complete the chain and you’ll earn extra KP or Kupo Points. You can use Kupo Points to buy items from moogles on the world map. Before entering a dungeon players have a choice to lower their level. If you complete a dungeon below the bonus line limit you’ll earn bonuses such as extra KP and items. Player levels are restored after leaving a dungeon. The map shown in scans appears to be based on the map for the original Final Fantasy. Depending on the story mode being played, players can either form their own parties or have their parties pre-determined - other mechanics of the party system are currently unknown. The "Skills" command returns. Treasure chests, enemies, shops and other features can be encountered on the map. The enemy system is similar to Final Fantasy XII or Final Fantasy XIII, where enemies are visible on the map and approaching one initiates battle. . However it seems that the enemy will be able to attack and damage the player while on the world map, as shown in the Jump Festa Trailer. Other in-battle mechanics, such as Quickmove, will be included on the World Map gameplay. Players will also be able to create their own scenarios using creation mode. Tetsuya Nomura has stated that it will take around 60 hours to beat the game.

Save data from the original Dissidia will be able to be transferred to Dissidia 012, such as character levels and as a bonus, you will receive a special accessory. The storyline of the original Dissidia, adapted to the new story gameplay mechanics, will be playable after the new storyline of Dissidia 012 has been completed.

Characters
All twenty-two playable characters in the original Dissidia will return. In addition to the original roster, nine new characters have been announced: Kain from IV, Lightning from XIII, Tifa from VII, Vaan from XII, Laguna from VIII, Yuna from X, Prishe from XI, and Gilgamesh from V, and introducing a new character: Desperado Chaos. Aerith from VII is to be included as an Assist character for people who buy the demo, Dissidia Duodecim Prologus. It had been reported that there will be more than a handful of new characters, but not necessarily an equal number of heroes and villains, as in the first game, and there will not be an equal amount of characters per game or per faction. It has also been stated that all new characters will be from the SNES era forward. In addition, Dissidia 012 offers the first Dissidia-original playable character, Desperado Chaos, a form of the game's main antagonist, Chaos.

Arenas
All arenas present in the original Dissidia are set to reappear, with seven new additions confirmed: Orphan's Cradle, Sky Fortress Bahamut, the Crystal Tower, the Prima Vista, the Hell's Throne, the Phantom Train and the Empyreal Paradox. It has been stated there will be as many new stages as there are new characters, but there won't necessarily exist a connection between the new stages and the new characters.

Music
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Original Soundtrack will be on sale on March 2nd, 2011, on three CDs. A Firstcut Limited Edition version will also released (three CDs + DVD) The soundtrack features arranged music from the series, rearranged by Takeharu Ishimoto.

Summons
Eight additional summons will be added to Dissidia 012. Brynhildr from Final Fantasy XIII, which can double Map Bravery, has been seen in the Jump Festa 2011 trailer with her concept art. Recently revealed summons as of Feburary are Calcabrina, Syldra, Ultima and Land Worm. Summon names that have been found in the Prologus demo are the Giant of Babil, Zalera and Hecatoncheir.

Plot
Dissidia 012 will tell the story of the twelfth cycle of battle between the warriors of the gods. According to Siliconera, the game will feature something like the Destiny Odysseys, only they will include Chaos characters as well. During the war, a few of the characters from the previous game were on separate sides, as Terra, Cloud, and Tidus worked for Chaos, while Jecht was on the side of Cosmos. The game's main focus is on the new characters and explaining what happened to them, and why they didn't appear in the thirteenth cycle shown in Dissidia.

Development
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy was announced in the Japanese magazine Shonen Jump in early September 2010. It had previously been hinted at by the Dissidia development team, who stated that they would love to make a sequel and that the decision would depend on the success of the first installment; and JD Cullum, Kuja's English voice actor, who offhandedly stated he had recorded his lines for Dissidia 012 in the Summer 2010. Judging from statements by the other voice actors, it appears that the whole English script of Dissidia 012 was recorded at the start of Summer 2010.

According to an interview between Takashi Arakawa and Yoshinori Kitase (director, writer, and producer of Dissidia) with a German gaming site, Kitase stated that a sequel would be "very interesting", and might even include Kingdom Hearts characters, although it would still have to be discussed with Disney. Tetsuya Nomura has stated that for a potential sequel, he would like to include Kain Highwind, Gilgamesh, and Sazh Katzroy, but would not include Kingdom Hearts characters. Nomura had previously expressed a desire to have Kain and Lightning in the first Dissidia, but they were left out.

Dissidia 012 Prologus Final Fantasy
On January 18, 2011, Square Enix released Dissidia 012 Prologus over the PlayStation Network, available in Japan for 300 Yen. The demo of the game features an 8-character arcade mode and a single story scenario following Lightning and the Warrior of Light.

Downloadable Content
It has been said that several games and demos will contain codes and such, which will allow full experience of the game. These are:
 * Dissidia 012 Prologus Final Fantasy: Aerith as battle character (Assist only)
 * Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Legacy Edition (EU) or Pre-ordering from Amazon (US) : Bonus outfit for Tifa (Yoshitaka Amano art costume)
 * April edition of V Jump (JP) or Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Legacy Edition (EU): Bonus outfit for Squall (Kingdom Hearts costume)
 * Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix (JP) or Pre-ordering from Gamestop (US): Bonus outfit for Cloud (Kingdom Hearts costume)
 * The 3rd Birthday (JP) or The 3rd Birthday Twisted Edition (EU): Bonus outfit for Lightning (Aya Brea costume)
 * Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection: Bonus outfit for Cecil, sprite appearance
 * A 4th outfit for both Zidane and Kuja have been announced, yet they haven't stated how to get them yet.

Square Enix also plans to make more downloadable content for the game in the future, and more battle themes and outfits will be purchasable this way.

Merchandise
Similar to the first Dissidia, the Dissidia 012 cast will be made into Trading Arts Figures, posing in their positions as depicted in their Dissidia 012 artwork.

In Europe, a special limited edition under the title of Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy Legacy Edition will be released and will include a special packaging, a set of linotype prints of the new characters and a fourth costume for both Tifa and Squall.

Etymology
Duodecim, which is normally pronounced with a hard "c," is instead pronounced with a hard "s" for purposes of the game's title. Duodecim is Latin for "twelve," which gives the title relevance to the game's story as it revolves around the battles waged during Dissidia's twelfth cycle.

Trivia

 * Prior to the official announcement, two separate hoaxes had "revealed" that Kain and Lightning would appear in Dissidia Final Fantasy: Universal Tuning. The hoaxes involved elaborate fake magazine pages created in Photoshop and complete with fake Kain artwork and fake Lightning 3D models.
 * Kain, Lightning, Vaan, Yuna, and Prishe were all considered to be included in the original Dissidia but were excluded for various reasons.
 * Uniquely among Square Enix's recent releases in Europe, the European versions of Dissidia 012 will only be partially translated; that is, the dialogues and story events will be translated (in French, German, etc.), but the menus, items, locations and battle messages will remain in English. This leads to strange mixed-language sentences when characters refer to a location or item name during a dialogue. Furthermore, European fans have called the quality of the translated parts into question (characters use inconsistent registers and some sentences are translated word for word from the English, complete with syntax errors).