Interdimensional Rift (Final Fantasy V)

Interdimensional Rift
(次元の狭間, Jigen no Hazama?, lit. Dimensional Rift)
Background information
Type	Final dungeon
Affiliation(s)	Exdeath
Residents	Exdeath
Gameplay details
Items	Various depending on area
Enemies	Many high level enemies and bosses
Quests	Defeating Exdeath

The Interdimensional Rift, also known as simply The Rift (次元城, Jigenjō?), is a term in Final Fantasy V, visited as the final dungeon. The Interdimensional Rift represents the space between dimensions, and is where the Void was sealed. Exdeath came to the Interdimensional Rift to seek its power.

Being the victim to the Time Magic spell Banish also throws a target into the Rift.

Outside of Final Fantasy V, many other games in the Final Fantasy series imply that the Interdimensional Rift is part of a connective dimension through which other parts of the Final Fantasy multiverse can be reached.

History

Before Final Fantasy V

One thousand years before the events of Final Fantasy V, a fiend named Enuo took control of the Void, but was defeated by the twelve legendary weapons. The Void could not be erased, and so had to be sealed within the Interdimensional Rift, along with the demons of the Rift.

To seal the Void, Planet R was split into two and its four crystals were also split in the process. Splitting the world caused the town that would become known as the Phantom Village to be inadvertently pulled into the Rift. Once the worlds were separated, the entrance to the Rift became caught in the space between the two, putting it and the power of the Void out of reach.

Centuries later, a tree in the Great Forest of Moore used to seal evil spirits became corrupted into a great malevolence, and transformed into the warlock Exdeath. Exdeath sought the power of the Void, but could not reach the Interdimensional Rift as long as the world was split; on his first attempt, thirty years before Final Fantasy V, the Dawn Warriors defeated him.

Final Fantasy V

Exdeath destroying Tycoon with the Void's power.

In Final Fantasy V, after battling the Light Warriors, Gilgamesh was thrown into the Rift by Exdeath, who tired of Gilgamesh's incompetence. Shortly after, Exdeath shattered the crystals of both worlds, weakening their elements and allowing him to revert the worlds to their one natural form. Once this happened, the entrance to the Rift became accessible. Exdeath could harness the power of the Void, which began to break free from its seal in the Rift.

Using the Rift as a stronghold (and managing not to be frozen in time), Exdeath unleashed the Void over Tycoon, the Library of the Ancients, Walse, Istory, the Moogle Village, and Lix, pulling them into the Void. Meanwhile, the Phantom Village reappeared in a forest in the merged world, noticed by a few residents in Crescent. Exdeath allied with the demons imprisoned in the Rift, making them his servants after entering the Rift himself, promising to free them. When the Light Warriors encountered the Famed Mimic Gogo in the sunken Walse Tower, Gogo self-cast Banish and was also thrown into the Rift.

Exdeath and the ancient demons of the Rift.

The Light Warriors collected the four tablets from the Sealed Castle to unseal the twelve legendary weapons that had been used to defeat Enuo, then entered the Rift through the sky over what used to be Tycoon. The Light Warriors passed by the desert where the demons warned them that Exdeath would use the Void to create a new world of darkness, and they battled them along the way to fight Exdeath. After passing the Phantom Village and entering a forest, they were confronted by Calofisteri, the first of these. After defeating her, they arrived at a cave where they found the dangerously powerful Omega, resembling the robots they had previously seen in the Pyramid of Moore. Outside the cave was a library, where upon examining a book, they inadvertently summoned the demon Apanda, who was defeated, allowing the party to arrive at a tower.

Arriving at the Dimension Castle, the Light Warriors defeated the demon Azulmagia in the dungeon. A girl appeared to be taken hostage by Catastrophe, and appeared to thank them after it was defeated. She then revealed herself to be the demon Halicarnassus, and the Light Warriors defeated her before arriving at the exit and confronted the next demon, Twintania. This allowed the Light Warriors to safely safely enter the last floor and find Gilgamesh, who mistook them for monsters, but stopped fighting them after recognizing them. The Light Warriors also battled the powerful dragon Shinryu, before confronting the last demon, Necrophobe, with Gilgamesh sacrificing himself to defeat it.

The Light Warriors confronted Exdeath, who transformed into his true tree form. He pulled the Castle of Bal, the Catapult, and the Pirates' Hideout into the Void before pulling in the rest of the warriors. The spirits of the Dawn Warriors and King Alexander Highwind Tycoon restrained the Void and saved the Light Warriors who then battled Exdeath, who was sucked into the Void, and re-emergee as Neo Exdeath, a being of destruction.

After Neo Exdeath was defeated, the lands sucked into the Void were restored, and Bartz and his friends returned from the Rift.

After Final Fantasy V

Later games imply that after the events of Final Fantasy V, Gilgamesh, Shinryu, and Omega traveled to other dimensions.

References to Gilgamesh's travels are the most direct. In Final Fantasy VIII, during the battle with Seifer Almasy in Lunatic Pandora, Odin's sword cuts a hole in the sky after defeat, out of which Gilgamesh appears, defeating Seifer and asking about the "dimensional interval". In Final Fantasy XIV, at the end of "Don't Do the Dewprism", Gilgamesh mentions leaving through the "rift that lies between" to other worlds. In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Gilgamesh mentions stumbling into World B while traveling through the Void and the worlds connected to it. In many of his encounters, Gilgamesh directly mentions Bartz.

Shinryu and Omega are described as being able to traverse dimensions in Dissidia Final Fantasy. In Final Fantasy XV, Omega's arrival through a portal is described as "interdimensional nonsense".

Characteristics

Entrance to the Interdimensional Rift is as simple as being the victim of the Banish spell, which exiles to the Rift through a one-way trip. Leaving the Rift is much more difficult, making it a suitable prison both for the Void and the demons held as prisoners within. Navigating the Rift to reach a specific destination is extremely difficult if not impossible, as implied with the many encounters with Gilgamesh across several games, where he is trying to find his way back home, and is never sure of what world he has arrived at. Doorways to worlds appear to open and close on a whim, also leading to difficulty in navigation.

The Rift is a bizarre mishmash of dimensions, where the rules of space and time do not necessarily apply the same way as in the real world. The rules of time appear inconsistent, as the Phantom Village is entirely suspended in time when within the Rift, while time is not suspended for monsters trapped within or for the Light Warriors. The locations within the Rift are interconnected through a series of passages that sometimes contradict a logical physical layout. One of these locations is a castle appearing in the sky, the laws of gravity apparently not applying.

The first eight areas of the Light Warriors' route through the Interdimensional Rift strongly resemble, and may be pieces of, locations seen earlier in the game. The first is a desert resembling the Desert of Shifting Sands, the second is ruins resembling the Ronka Ruins architecture, the third is the Phantom Village, the fourth is a forest resembling the Great Forest of Moore, the fifth is a cave resembling Istory Falls, the sixth is a library resembling the Library of the Ancients, the seventh is a tower resembling the Barrier Tower, and the eighth is a castle resembling other castles seen throughout the world such as Castle Tycoon.

Later games imply that the Rift is part of a connective dimension through which other parts of the Final Fantasy multiverse can be reached.

Gameplay

Main article: Interdimensional Rift (Final Fantasy V field)

The Interdimensional Rift dungeon comprises nine distinct areas. The first eight strongly resemble other locations in Final Fantasy V. Different demons are fought as bosses in each. The last area has the most difficult enemies and bosses. Defeating bosses along the way is required to progress further in the dungeon, while the final boss is fought at the very end.

The Interdimensional Rift is home to the most difficult and powerful enemy encounters in the game (except for the Sealed Temple in versions where the Sealed Temple is included). This also means it is among the best spots for level grinding.

In addition to demons fought as bosses, the superboss Omega can be fought in the cave area, while the superboss Shinryu can be fought on the last floor. These are both optional and can be skipped.

The party encountering Gilgamesh.

The battle with Neo Exdeath.

Musical themes

"Prelude to the Void"

"Prelude to the Void" plays as the background music for areas of the Interdimensional Rift except the Last Floor, where "In Search of Light" plays.

"In Search of Light"

"In Search of Light" appears as downloadable content for Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and as one of the main songs of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call.

Other appearances

Final Fantasy XIV

The Interdimensional Rift.

Main article: The Interdimensional Rift (Final Fantasy XIV)

The Interdimensional Rift is filled with many egg-shaped constructs with a large screen. Each one contains an arena, with the screen available as a label. Omega has monitors called "Level Checkers," which he uses to personally examine each fight as its occurring and to test and eliminate the weaker fighters. The battles within the Interdimensional Rift are familiar boss battles from throughout the Final Fantasy franchise, such as Kefka (FFVI), Chaos (FF), and Exdeath (FFV).

There are three segments to the Interdimensional Rift known as the Deltascape, Sigmascape, and Alphascape. As the Alpha group proceeds between the segments, Omega demonstrates its ability to modify the Rift. It removes the unnecessary constructs and makes slight changes to the appearance of the Rift. After Omega's defeat in Alphascape V3.0, he deletes the Rift entirely in an effort to destroy Alpha group, minus Alpha himself. All that is left is the Void. This attempt fails as Alpha hides Cid and the adventurers by shrinking them with a shrinking effect card. The adventurers confront Omega while Alpha rests and Cid keeps him safe.

Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008)

The Rift.

The Dimensional Fortress area is the representative area of Final Fantasy V under the name "The Rift" (次元城, Jigen-jō?, lit. Castle of Dimensions). It is here that the Onion Knight begins his storyline, Squall fights Kuja, and Cloud fights Firion. Bartz is transported here when he is captured, and fights Exdeath here at the end of his storyline.

Concept art.

The Rift is an open arena and the largest in the game, with a central castle surrounded by several smaller turrets and towers floating in the air. Quickmove indicators connect the various towers to the central area. Portals to other areas of the Void from Final Fantasy V appear in the sky as background elements.

The Ω form of the stage causes the castle's structure to randomly shift around, drastically changing the environment: turrets will appear in mid-air upside down, towers will stack up on each other, and some buildings will vanish altogether. Only the central castle's base will remain unchanged, though the keep in the center of the base and the bridges around it will still shift. EX Cores will likewise teleport to new locations or even vanish entirely when this occurs, and the Bravery pool increases.

The Voidshard is the battlegen item obtained through stage destruction in this area.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy

The Interdimensional Rift is an arena. When Gilgamesh makes his appearance, he steps out of a portal similar to that of the Banish spell, apparently having entered the world of conflict via the Rift. The arena appears to be nothing more than a copy of the true Rift, as Gilgamesh vanishes into another portal to the Rift while he and Bartz confront each other.

Portal to the Forest from The Rift.

Portal to the Cave from The Rift.

Portal to the Desert from The Rift.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT

The Last Floor is the representative arena of Final Fantasy V, titled "Interdimensional Rift".

The stage is separated into two parts, the bigger bottom half, and the smaller upper half, where the transformed tree form of Exdeath can be seen. As the players can see their opponents from a fair distance, their visibility is key during battle. The different level of elevation between the gap can be made effective for dashing and wall running.

Midway during battle, the space in the background will turn reddish-orange and appear to speed faster, resembling the final battle background against Neo Exdeath.

The Interdimensional Rift Last Floor.

The Interdimensional Rift Last Floor.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call

The Rift.

The Rift appears as the background in the Battle Music Sequence for "Battle 1".

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade

Interdimensional Rift.

Dimension Castle.

Dimension Castle (New Years).

Special background.

Special background.

This section about a location in Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest

Interdimensional Rift.

The Interdimensional Rift appears as the final location where the player fights the Four Fiends from the original Final Fantasy, and Neo-Exdeath as the final boss. The drops from the Four Fiends are Radiant Lance from Lich, Butterfly Sword from Marilith, Nanatsusayanotachi from Kraken, and Wyvern Lance from Tiamat. Neo-Exdeath drops Excalibur. Once the player reaches this area, they can only return to the previous zone maps using the Map menu.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper

This section about a location in Final Fantasy Record Keeper is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius

This section about a location in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Chocobo GP

The Interdimensional Rift appears as the final set of race tracks in the main story mode. The Rift is divided into two sets, Alpha and Omega, each one with their own variations.