Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)/Dissidia (PSP)

Lightning is the sole representative from Final Fantasy XIII introduced in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. She also appears in the upcoming arcade version. With the aid of five comrades, she once stopped a nefarious plot by the fal'Cie Barthandelus to destroy her world, Cocoon, defying her Focus and challenging her fate of eternal servitude. Lightning fights by using three paradigm roles from her original title, combining gunblade attacks, elemental magic, and healing abilities.

Lightning serves as the main protagonist of the 012 storyline as she leads the other five new heroes in their battle with the manikins, and to keep in with her role as the leader of the new heroes, her main rival is Garland, the leader of Chaos's armies. This rivalry is featured in the game's opening FMV.

Appearance
Lightning is identical to her appearance in Final Fantasy XIII. She has light pink hair and aqua eyes, and wears a primarily white Guardian Corps military uniform, adorned with several belts and buckles and a red cape on her left shoulder. She wields the Blazefire Saber gunblade, which can shift between gun and sword forms.

Lightning's first alternate outfit, "Midnight Cloak", is based on a. Lightning's cape is dark brown, her hair is white, and her uniform has an overall darker color scheme. Her gunblade is darker, with the hilt changing from a predominantly dark pink to a dark gray.

Lightning's second alternate outfit, named "Guardian Corps Uniform", is the uniform of a in Final Fantasy XIII. She wears a khaki coat held closed by a black belt and several buckles with blue pauldrons, gray short-sleeved turtleneck, brown tights, different boots, and a black officer's cap with an intricate design.

Lightning's bonus downloadable outfit is based on Aya Brea, the protagonist of The 3rd Birthday, another Square Enix title. The outfit consists of torn blue jeans, different boots, and a sleeveless black shirt that exposes her midriff, and a plain pendant on a black string. The outfit is available by purchasing the "Twisted Edition" of The 3rd Birthday.

Lightning's manikin, Fleeting Flash, is pink.

Personality
Lightning is a serious, cold, and determined young woman who acts as the leader of the newer characters in Dissidia.

At the start of the game, she is described as a callous, somewhat ruthless, and cold-hearted person who wants nothing but to end the cycle of war and go back to her own world, and she was determined to make it happen in any way possible. During the course of her adventure, her friends became her emotional support and her strength. When Lightning and the team are defeated by a wave of manikins, she smiles at the Warrior of Light before she fades away, giving him good luck in the next fight.

Prologus
Lightning awakes by Cosmos's side. Lightning meets the Warrior of Light and discusses the position of the war with Chaos. She meets Jecht and Kain and is advised to see if she is stronger than the Warrior by teaming up with him. Though Lightning rejects the idea, she and the Warrior team up against the waves of Warriors of Chaos. During the fight, Lightning meets Cloud, who warns her not to underestimate their opponents. Soon after, she meets Jecht and Kain and discusses her impression of the Warrior of Light with them, before heading off to meet with Cosmos.

Light to All
After obtaining her dormant crystal with the other warriors, Lightning leads Laguna, Vaan, and Tifa back to the battlefield where they are ambushed by manikins. When Kefka arrives with Kuja, Lightning fights the latter while the others try to hold off the manikins. After defeating Kuja, Lightning expresses disgust to Kefka for relishing his comrade's demise. He hints at the conflict's overall nature and leaves. Attempting to catch up with the others, Lightning finds an injured Bartz, who mumbles that Kain attacked him. Shocked at Bartz's revelation, Lightning dodges a sudden attack from Kain.

After Lightning fights off Kain, Exdeath and Garland appear with the former revealing he has already been attacking other Warriors of Cosmos. Kain leaves with the unconscious Bartz with Exdeath in pursuit, while Garland takes his leave, deciding to abandon Lightning for the manikins while telling her most of her comrades have likely been wiped out by them already.

Barely escaping with her life, Lightning reveals to Cosmos Kain attacked her and that she thinks the war is doomed. Though she wants to save the world, Lightning believes the quest for the crystals is a suicide mission. The Warrior of Light agrees before raising his sword on her. With Cosmos intervening and calling off the battle, Lightning learns the Warrior of Light and Kain have been working together to ensure their side's victory in the next cycle, which only serves to further anger her. Laguna, Vaan, and Yuna arrive to Order's Sanctuary and Lightning is the first among the four to propose that they take out the manikin infestation. They leave to destroy the manikins and along they way find Tifa and Kain who agree to help them.

After fighting waves of manikins, the group is ambushed by Exdeath and Golbez. They learn that the manikins are making their way to Cosmos, and Kain agrees to hold Exdeath and Golbez while Lightning leads the others in a final stand against the manikins at the Empyreal Paradox. Upon arriving, they are ambushed by Garland, The Emperor, the Cloud of Darkness, Kefka, and Ultimecia.

After defeating the warriors of Chaos, they learn they were just buying time for the next wave of manikins to arrive from the portal. Lightning feels guilty for having lead the others to their deaths, but her companions agree that they all wanted to end the cycles of warfare and are prepared to die. As they look towards the emerging manikins, Kain rejoins and they charge at the waves of manikins to close the portal.

They are overwhelmed, and Lightning's allies collapse. Lightning is the last one standing and throws her Zantetsuken into the portal, sealing it. With a smile on her face, she collapses in defeat.

As Shinryu cleanses its powers and takes the other warriors to the next cycle of conflict, it does not revive Lightning and her team because they all lost their powers by the storm of manikins. When the Warrior of Light looks up at her, she smiles at him before fading away.

Confessions of the Creator
After the player defeats the Southern Lufenia gateway to access the northern continents, Lightning can be found wandering near the Citadel of Trials teleport stone, provided she is not currently in the player's party. When spoken to she brushes off the help of the "mured moogle", saying that changing one's name does nothing to change reality, and the party needs to stop fleeing and face the truth. As the world of the "Confessions of the Creator" is a hypothetical nightmare world where the cycles of war kept going and Feral Chaos killed all summoned warriors, the Lightning present is likely a specter, a ghost of the true Lightning. She vanishes when the player advances past the Mirage Sandsea to the Lands of Discord.

Official Quests
Lightning appears traveling with Yuna in two official quests. In "Yuna's Quest 012: In Such A Place", the two receive a call from Cosmos to return to Order's Sanctuary, and battle Golbez on their way back.

"Lightning's Quest 012: One Can Fight Together" explores Lightning's actions after finding Firion's wild rose. Going off alone, feeling it is connected to her memories, she is found by Exdeath, who mocks her need for a flower to remember who she is. Yuna arrives and the two defeat the warlock. The battle allows Lightning to recall some of her memories, and she recounts to Yuna that her mission in this world is similar to the one she was given in her home world—to fight on the behalf of the gods as decreed by fate. Yuna tells Lightning she can rely on them as friends for support, and a grateful Lightning tells Yuna to call her "Light".

Gameplay
Lightning is described in the game as a Paradigm Commando. She fights by using her three paradigm roles from Final Fantasy XIII: Commando, Ravager, and Medic. Each of these roles has their own move set, meaning Lightning can change her fighting style at any time. The player must press L and R to activate the three roles. Commando uses melee-based attacks, Ravager focuses on elemental magic attacks, and Medic is based on healing Bravery.

The player can skip roles if they do not want to use one of the three shown above. A downside to Lightning is that her melee attacks are not very powerful, and she is fairly fast on the ground. Furthermore, her HP attacks require charging, giving enemies enough time to dodge and counterattack.

In the Dissidia Arcade reboot, Lightning is classed as a Speed-type character. Lightning has an almost identical moveset, with the only major diferences being that her EX Skill is now Army of One and that she cannot use her Medic paradigm role any longer.

Bravery attacks: Ravager
{|class="full-width D012 table" style="text-align:center" !style="width:15%"|Move !style="width:10%"|Type !style="width:10%"|CP (Mastered) !style="width:10%"|AP !style="width:10%"|Priority !style="width:10%"|Effect !style="width:10%"|Damage type !style="width:10%"|Obtained !style="width:15%"|Image !class="b" rowspan="2"|Fire !class="b" rowspan="2"|Aerora !class="b" rowspan="2"|Thundaga !class="b" rowspan="2"|Army of One (ground) !class="b" rowspan="2"|Watera !class="b" rowspan="2"|Thunder !class="b" rowspan="2"|Blizzara !class="b" rowspan="2"|Army of One (midair)
 * -class="a"
 * Ground
 * 20 (10)
 * 100
 * Ranged Low
 * None
 * Magical
 * Initial
 * rowspan="2"|Fire.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Tap up to three times to create three small fireballs that travel slowly and then pick up speed. Has strong tracking.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Tap up to three times to create three small fireballs that travel slowly and then pick up speed. Has strong tracking.
 * Ground
 * 20 (10)
 * 100
 * Ranged Low
 * None
 * Magical
 * Level 18
 * rowspan="2"|Aerora.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Throw a projectile at opponent that hits them multiple times and sends them up into the air.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Throw a projectile at opponent that hits them multiple times and sends them up into the air.
 * Ground
 * 20 (10)
 * 80
 * Ranged Low
 * Chase
 * Magical
 * Level 24
 * rowspan="2"|Thundaga.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Conjure several lightning bolts in front of Lightning that hits repeatedly over a period of time. Persists after being casted, even if Lightning is attacked.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Conjure several lightning bolts in front of Lightning that hits repeatedly over a period of time. Persists after being casted, even if Lightning is attacked.
 * Ground
 * 20 (10)
 * 130
 * Melee Mid
 * Chase
 * Physical
 * Level 27
 * rowspan="2"|Scene Drive.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Spin towards opponent slashing, then perform a combo of sword attacks and gunshots that knock them away.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Spin towards opponent slashing, then perform a combo of sword attacks and gunshots that knock them away.
 * Aerial
 * 20 (10)
 * 100
 * Ranged Mid
 * None
 * Magical
 * Initial
 * rowspan="2"|Watera.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Sends out a large bubble of water that slowly tracks opponent and explodes on impact. Staggers if blocked, but is also reflected.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Sends out a large bubble of water that slowly tracks opponent and explodes on impact. Staggers if blocked, but is also reflected.
 * Aerial
 * 20 (10)
 * 80
 * Ranged Low
 * Chase
 * Magical
 * Level 8
 * rowspan="2"|Thunder.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Conjure three lightning bolts in front of Lightning. Fast execution but short range.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Conjure three lightning bolts in front of Lightning. Fast execution but short range.
 * Aerial
 * 20 (10)
 * 100
 * Ranged Low
 * Absorb
 * Magical
 * Level 29
 * rowspan="2"|Blizzara.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Create a blast of cold air at a set distance in front of Lightning that condenses into an ice shard and knocks opponent into the air.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Create a blast of cold air at a set distance in front of Lightning that condenses into an ice shard and knocks opponent into the air.
 * Aerial
 * 20 (10)
 * 130
 * Melee Mid
 * Chase
 * Physical
 * Level 35
 * rowspan="2"|Scene Drive.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Spin towards opponent slashing, then perform a combo of sword attacks and gunshots that knock them away.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Spin towards opponent slashing, then perform a combo of sword attacks and gunshots that knock them away.


 * }

Bravery attacks: Medic
{|class="full-width D012 table" style="text-align:center" !style="width:15%"|Move !style="width:10%"|Type !style="width:10%"|CP (Mastered) !style="width:10%"|AP !style="width:10%"|Priority !style="width:10%"|Effect !style="width:10%"|Damage type !style="width:10%"|Obtained !style="width:15%"|Image !class="b" rowspan="2"|Cure (ground) !class="b" rowspan="2"|Cura (ground) !class="b" rowspan="2"|Cure (midair)
 * -class="a"
 * Ground
 * 20 (10)
 * 100
 * N/A
 * None
 * Magical
 * Initial
 * rowspan="2"|Cure.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Heal Bravery without attacking. Can be cast in quick succession, but does not restore a lot. The amount healed with each hand motion is always random, but amount healed is always equal to 21% base bravery.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Heal Bravery without attacking. Can be cast in quick succession, but does not restore a lot. The amount healed with each hand motion is always random, but amount healed is always equal to 21% base bravery.
 * Ground
 * 20 (10)
 * 100
 * N/A
 * None
 * Magical
 * Level 22
 * rowspan="2"|Curera.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Heal Bravery without attacking. Requires strict timing on casting. In order to chain correctly, wait until the last moment while her hand is still up. Restores 25% of base Bravery.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Heal Bravery without attacking. Requires strict timing on casting. In order to chain correctly, wait until the last moment while her hand is still up. Restores 25% of base Bravery.
 * Aerial
 * 20 (10)
 * 100
 * N/A
 * None
 * Magical
 * Level 13
 * rowspan="2"|Cure.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Heal Bravery without attacking. Can be cast in quick succession, but does not restore a lot. The amount healed with each hand motion is always random, but amount healed is always equal to 21% base bravery.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Heal Bravery without attacking. Can be cast in quick succession, but does not restore a lot. The amount healed with each hand motion is always random, but amount healed is always equal to 21% base bravery.

!class="b" rowspan="2"|Cura (midair)
 * Aerial
 * 20 (10)
 * 100
 * N/A
 * None
 * Magical
 * Level 32
 * rowspan="2"|Curera.jpeg
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Heal Bravery without attacking. Requires strict timing on casting. In order to chain correctly, wait until the last moment while her hand is still up. Restores up to 25% base Bravery.
 * colspan="7" style="text-align:left"|Heal Bravery without attacking. Requires strict timing on casting. In order to chain correctly, wait until the last moment while her hand is still up. Restores up to 25% base Bravery.


 * }

EX Mode


Lightning's EX Mode is Omega Weapon equipped, where she swaps out her Blazefire Saber for her strongest gunblade in Final Fantasy XIII, the Omega Weapon. While in EX Mode, Lightning gains the abilities "Omega Weapon" and "Grav-Con Unit." The Omega Weapon bonus automatically inflicts Break on opponents when she lands a successful attack while their Bravery is less than 30% of its base value, and Grav-Con Unit completely protects her from Wall Rush damage by projecting a force field to bounce her back into the air when she hits a solid surface.

Lightning's EX Burst is Gestalt Drive, where she attacks with a backlip and a barrage of gunfire before attacking with the Zantetsuken. The player has to enter the commands shown on the screen as Lightning attacks the opponent with Lightning Strike, Thunderfall, Stormblade, and Razor Gale, with all of them appearing at random. Lightning finishes the EX Burst with Zantetsuken, where she spins around with swords outstrecthed to unleash multiple blows that slit away the screen. She then lands and the opponent is slashed again behind her, dealing HP damage from the spinning blows. Failing to input the commands will result in Lightning skipping to Zantetsuken and less Bravery damage done.

EX Skill
In the arcade reboot of Dissidia Final Fantasy, EX Skill replaces EX Burst. Lightning's EX Skill is Army of One which is executed when I is pressed. It manifests with Lightning delivering a series of slashes and a single kick at the enemy.

Equipment
Lightning can equip Swords, Daggers, Greatswords, Katanas, Guns, Parrying Weapons, Shields, Bangles, Gauntlets, Hats, Helms, Headbands, Ribbons, Clothing, Light Armor, and Chestplates.

Allusions

 * When Lightning initiates her EX Burst, she shouts, "I control my fate!" She sometimes says this when using her Full ATB Skill, Army of One, in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Lightning's EX Mode ability, "Omega Weapon," is based on the Quick Stagger ability in Final Fantasy XIII, an ability that instantly staggers opponents when attacking if their stagger gauge is 90% full.
 * Lightning's other EX Mode ability "Grav-Con Unit" refers to the Antimatter Manipulation Principle device in Final Fantasy XIII, which Lightning uses when she jumps from high altitudes to slow her descent.
 * The attack Lightning uses when beginning her EX Burst, back-flipping off the opponent and firing a barrage of gunfire at them, is similar to the final attack in her combo when she has four ATB gauge segments in Final Fantasy XIII. The button commands used to input her attacks during her EX Burst are the same commands used in Final Fantasy XIII: and  to use Stormblade,  and  to use Lightning Strike, / and  to use Razor Gale, and  to use Thunderfall.
 * In the game's opening FMV as she battles Garland, aside from the rose petals Lightning's charge is nearly identical to the one seen at the Palumpolum's Agora (beginning of Chapter 7) of Final Fantasy XIII. As the scene ends, the camera zooms in on Lightning's eye, imitating the opening of Final Fantasy XIII as she enters the Hanging Edge.
 * Meeting with Firion, Lightning senses some familiarity with the wild rose he possesses, referring to the rose shape of her eidolith and the rose petal motif in her attacks.
 * While Lightning's Bravery attacks are based on the actual moves she uses in Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning's HP attacks and Brave to HP attacks are used by Odin in both his modes. Many of Lightning's Commando-based attacks are amalgamations of two separate skills she uses, like Blitz formed from the spinning Blitz attack, and ending with her Scourge attack with the gunshot.
 * As Lightning is about to fight a Fleeting Flash manikin in a cutscene, she has her Blazefire Saber in gun-mode, the camera zooms in on her as she looks to her right to see a False Hero nearby. This alludes to a similar scene in the opening of Final Fantasy XIII when she is surrounded by PSICOM soldiers.
 * Her paradigm roles—Commando, Ravager, and Medic—are based upon her primary roles in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * When Lightning uses the Bravery attack Army of One, a visual distortion appears on the top and bottom of the screen. The same distortion appears in Final Fantasy XIII when a Full ATB Skill is used.
 * When performing certain actions, Lightning will use exclamations similar to those of her comrades from Final Fantasy XIII. For example, when using Lightning Strike, she exclaims, "This is gonna sting!" This alludes to what Sazh says when he performs an attack.
 * When Lightning faces, Garland he says, "You dare to oppose your fate?", alluding to Lightning's attempt to defy the fal'Cie and resist her Focus in Final Fantasy XIII. It also references Barthandelus/Galenth Dysley.
 * At the end of Prologus when the Warrior of Light orders Lightning to stay and wait for Kain and Jecht, she replies, "Who died and made you Primarch?", referring to the Primarch position of leadership of Cocoon's government.
 * While fighting Onion Knight, Lightning will say "Need someone to toughen you up?" referring to when she took Hope Estheim under her wing in Final Fantasy XIII. Onion Knight's quote when facing her, "Maybe I can pick up some pointers", also alludes to this. One of Lightning's quotes when entering battle, "Some things in life you just do", refers to another of her conversations with Hope, "It's not a question of can or can't. There are some things in life you just do". The Cloud of Darkness's opening line towards Lightning is a possible allusion of when a despairing Lightning was about to abandon Hope prior to Odin's intervention.
 * The name of her manikin, Fleeting Flash, alludes to the conversation she had with Hope about her choice of name: "Lightning. It flashes bright, then fades away. It can't protect. It only destroys."
 * When Lightning speaks to Warrior of Light in Chapter 5 of Treachery of the Gods, she says "I keep looking for hope until I find some". This refers to what she said to Orphan, "When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some".
 * When facing Warrior of Light, she says "Great, now I'm fighting fairy tales", alluding to the Eidolon battle that in Cocoon was said to be a fairy tale.
 * Two of Lightning's defeat quotes, "How can it end like this?" and "I can't stop now", were also used when defeated as the party leader in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * One of the items needed to make Zantetsuken and Odin Blade is Survival Knife, which is an allusion of Lightning's sister Serah, giving her a survival knife for her birthday.
 * Lightning's exclusive weapons allude to the three-tier weapon system of Final Fantasy XIII, where each weapon could be upgraded twice to become each character's ultimate weapon. In Final Fantasy XIII, the Blazefire Saber is upgraded into the Flamberge and then into the Omega Weapon; and the Axis Blade can be upgraded into the Enkindler.
 * Lightning's two ultimate weapons allude to Odin's Zantetsuken, which Lightning dual-wields.
 * When the Warrior of Light explains Kain's plan to save Cosmos's warriors by putting them to sleep, Lightning replies, "And you expect me to buy that?" This was her response to learning that Serah was a l'Cie and would marry Snow.
 * When fighting Cloud, Lightning will say, "I know what it feels like to be a tool", alluding to her being a l'Cie and the time she spent manipulated by Barthandelus.
 * Tidus's opening line against Lightning, "Look out, here comes a hero!", references both of their games. On her end, it alludes to Snow.
 * While fighting Bartz, Lightning will say "Not a care in the world, huh?". That is what Sazh says about Vanille in the Vile Peaks.
 * When Lightning is fighting Sephiroth, he says, "You are also a cursed warrior". This alludes to how Lightning, a former soldier, becomes a cursed l'Cie.

Trivia

 * Lightning was set to appear in the first Dissidia, but was scrapped as the developers did not want to lock down her character design and move set before Final Fantasy XIII was released. Prior to the official announcement, a hoax had "revealed" Lightning would appear in Dissidia Final Fantasy: Universal Tuning. The hoaxes involved elaborate fake magazine pages complete with fake Lightning 3D models.
 * Of the six new heroes, Lightning is the only one to fight her main rival once. Vaan, Laguna, Yuna, Kain, and Tifa each fight their main rivals twice.
 * Coinciding with Lightning wearing Aya Brea's outfit in Dissidia 012, Aya can also wear Lightning's Final Fantasy XIII attire as an alternate outfit in The 3rd Birthday. Wearing this outfit will change Aya's voice to sound like Lightning's.
 * Lightning shares her Japanese voice actress with Aya, as well as Aerith Gainsborough.
 * When Lightning wears Aya's outfit, she doesn't have her l'Cie brand or navel piercing.
 * Lightning's Dissidia art was the first time Tetsuya Nomura drew the Blazefire Saber, which he found difficult due to it having so many parts.
 * While in her Commando paradigm, Lightning's ATK is increased by one. This results in her Chase attacks and EX Burst doing slightly more damage if she is in her Commando role when using them.
 * In pre-release versions of Dissidia 012, Lightning's Cura attack was called Curasa.
 * In a mirror match between two Lightnings, if Watera is reflected, the original caster can use Watera again, resulting in possibly multiple Wateras being present. If Lightning were to cast Watera after reflecting the opponent's Watera, the opponent's Watera will vanish as though it were Lightning's. She shares this trait with the Emperor and his Flare spell.
 * Lightning and Firion are the only Warriors of Cosmos who never summon their weapons as the other heroes do and instead carry them with them.
 * Including Prologus, Lightning is the main character in three storylines, the most of any character.
 * At 3,320 AP, Lightning requires the most AP of any character to master all her attacks, tying with Prishe.
 * Lightning has the most exclusive weapons of all characters in Dissidia 012, a total of eight, and ties with Cecil and Feral Chaos on having the most exclusive equipment.
 * Due to her ability to change paradigms, Lightning can simultaneously equip the most moves of any character, a total of twenty-four.
 * Lightning has the most unique attacks of any character, a total of twenty.
 * Lightning is one of the first six characters announced for the Dissidia arcade game.

Lightning (Dissidia 012) Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)/Dissidia Лайтнинг (Final Fantasy XIII)/Dissidia