Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)/Dissidia (PSP)

Unreleased

Lightning is one of the new characters introduced in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. She battles using a variety of swordplay and magic using her three Paradigm roles to change fighting styles during combat. In her EX Mode, she wields the Omega Weapon, and her EX Burst is Odin's Gestalt Mode.

Crystal and Attire
Lightning's appearance is identical to her original render. She has light pink hair and pale aqua eyes, and wears a primarily white military uniform, adorned with several belts and buckles, with a red cape. Her weapon of choice is the Blazefire Saber Gunblade, which can shift between gun and sword forms. In her first alternate costume, Lightning's outfit is darker, her cape is dark brown and her hair is white, to match her concept artwork by Yoshitaka Amano. Her second alternate costume consists of the generic uniform for female Guardian Corps artwork.

Lightning has a fourth bonus 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. The outfit is only available by purchasing said game.

Her Crystal is a light blue tear-like shard, and is a direct reference to her sister Serah Farron from Final Fantasy XIII.

Lightning's currently unnamed Manikin version is scarlet pink.

Story
Lightning has been seen in screenshots speaking to Warrior of Light. Lightning is unsure of why Cosmos has called her and Kain to fight, and she accuses Warrior of Light of being a traitor after he says their chance of victory is very slim. She is also shown running past Kain to an injured Bartz, who says Kain attacked him. Kain then attacks Lightning. Another scene shows her pointing her gun at a Manikin of herself and then turning to look at a Manikin of Warrior of Light. At some point in time she is seen talking to Laguna Loire. At another point, she talks with Firion, stating that she senses something about his rose, which surprises him. Later she confronts Garland who tells her most of her friends have already left and that she should enjoy the time she has left.

Battle
Lightning is described as a Paradigm Commando, using her Paradigm Shift abilities from Final Fantasy XIII to shift between Commando, Ravager, and Medic roles during battle by pressing L and R at the same time. Each role has its own moveset, allowing Lightning to change her fighting style completely. As a Commando, Lightning uses primarily melee attacks, as a Ravager she casts magic, and as a Medic she uses Cure spells to recover her Brave without attacking.

EX Mode
Gestalt Mode mp0MRFXNfWY Lightning's EX Mode is Equipped Omega Weapon, swapping out her Blazefire Saber for her strongest gunblade in Final Fantasy XIII. While in EX Mode Lightning gains the abilities "Omega Weapon (ATK)" and "Grav-Con Unit." The Omega Weapon bonus automatically inflicts Break on opponents when she attacks if their Brave is low enough (similar to the "Quick Stagger" ability in Final Fantasy XIII), and Grav-Con Unit completely protects her from Wall Rush damage by projecting a sphere around her to soften impact with surfaces.

Lightning's EX Burst is Gestalt Mode, where she attacks the enemy with Odin's double ended sword. The EX Burst Starts off with Lightning doing a backflip and shooting at the same time, similar to the final Attack in her combo when she has 4 ATB gauges in Final Fantasy XIII. The Gestalt Mode dial will appear and Lightning must input the button and analog combination to unleash Storm Blade, Lightning Strike, Razor Gale, and Thunderfall on the enemy before the time runs out. If the player misses an input, Lightning will skip directly to the final blow, Zantetsuken.

Allusions

 * Reflecting her disdain of being a l'Cie in Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning does not like the notion of being a Warrior of Cosmos.
 * In the TGS trailer's FMV sequence as she battles Garland, other than rose petals, Lightning's charge was nearly identical to the one seen at the Palumpolum's Agora (beginning of Chapter 7) of Final Fantasy XIII.
 * Meeting with Firion, Lightning comments a sense of familiarity with the wild rose he possesses. This plays on how her Eidolith crystal is shaped like a rose.
 * While her Brave attacks are based from 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.
 * In the TGS Trailer, as Lightning is about to fight a manikin of herself, she has her Blazefire Saber in Gun-Mode, the camera zooms in on her as she looks to her left to see the Warrior of Light's manikin. The camera did the same thing seen in the Opening FMV of Final Fantasy XIII when she was surrounded by PSICOM soldiers.
 * Her Paradigm Roles, Commando, Ravager and Medic, are based upon her primary roles in Final Fantasy XIII.
 * The pose she takes in her first alternate attire is the same one she takes in her official CG render.

Trivia

 * Lightning was originally 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" that Lightning would appear in Dissidia Final Fantasy: Universal Tuning. The hoaxes involved elaborate fake magazine pages created in Photoshop and complete with fake Lightning 3D models.
 * Lightning's artwork is based on an artwork of her for Final Fantasy XIII. Her Dissidia art was the first time Tetsuya Nomura drew the Blazefire Saber, which he found difficult due to it having so many parts.
 * 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.
 * Lightning and Aya also share the same Japanese voice actress.
 * Though she knows the move in Dissidia 012, in Final Fantasy XIII Lightning cannot learn Curasa.
 * Though she mentions not being a l'Cie anymore, she can still use Odin's attacks. l'Cie can only access Eidolon powers, in this case the moves she has based on Odin's attacks, when they are l'Cie.