Dissidia Final Fantasy/Characters/Duodecim

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


This is a character sheet for the Warriors that appear exclusively in Dissidia 012 Duodecim.

See also:



Kain Highwind

"I'm about to teach you pathetic mockeries the difference between you, and a real man!"

Voiced by: Koichi Yamadera (Japanese), Liam O'Brien (English)

—Fighting Style: Tactical Striker

A knight clad in draconic armor, with lance in hand. Though not one to display emotion, he is compassionate and possesses a strong sense of justice.

The Ensemble Darkhorse from Final Fantasy IV, originally meant to be Cecil's foe in the original game, finally makes it for Dissidia 012 Duodecim. He's on Cosmos' side officially, but seems to be striking out on his own with a less than pleasant plan, leading to rumours of him turning his coat against Cosmos.

General Tropes

"All those who challenge me will fall."
"Hmph, I'm the trump card."
"I walk the path of trials."

Exdeath: "So, you offer your life in exchange for theirs?"
Kain: "Of course not. I offer yours."

Exdeath: "I am afraid that time runs short for you."
Kain: "Truly. Then let us make this quick."

  • Big Damn Heroes: During the opening sequence, he meddles in Cecil's fight with Golbez, helping Cecil break free from one of the mage's attempted attacks. He also saves Tifa from Ultimecia when the latter attempts to kill her.
  • Determinator: To nearly ridiculous extents. In addition to dealing with the conflict of the gods, he's been running around killing off his allies to prevent them from being permanently offed by the manikins. Then he faces Exdeath, who retreats while leaving a pack of manikins (in Kain's form) to fight in his stead. He then saves Tifa from Ultimecia. Then he has a You Shall Not Pass moment against Golbez and Exdeath (mostly Exdeath though; Golbez really wasn't helping out). After this, he's shown to be physically drained, battered, and bruised, and yet drags his body to the source of the manikins, catching up to the main group just in time to aid them in a battle that he knows will -- without a doubt -- lead to his death. And he gives it his very all, from start to finish.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: The new heroes sacrificed themselves to seal the manikins away in the void in a Bolivian Army Ending.
    • Kain's invoking of this trope gets extra points above the rest of the cast—he stays behind to stop Exdeath from pursuing them to the portal to the Rift, and it's at this point it is revealed he and Golbez have been planning this all, and Kain goes to rejoin his comrades. Golbez flat out asks Kain if he really intends to miss out on the next cycle, and Kain replies he's made his choice. Sure, they all knew they were on a suicide mission, but Kain had a chance to turn back without them knowing, and refused.
  • I Did What I Had to Do
  • The Lancer: Mostly to Lightning, and is also the Sixth Ranger to the Five-Man Band in Dissidia 012.
    • He's also this (or The Dragon) to Golbez, working alongside him to ensure the heroes survive to the next cycle.
    • He also gets bonus points for literally being a lancer... as in fighting with a lance.
  • Large Ham: He shares Cecil's habit of over the top battle cries.

"Cross the heavens! BOW DOWN!"

  • Name of Cain
  • Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: "Your levity is reprehensible" really stands out from his other, simpler battle quotes.
  • The Sixth Ranger
  • The Southpaw: Kain's a lefty.
  • Victory Pose: Assumes his iconic trademark pose at the end of his EX Burst—the same pose up there in his artwork.
  • Welcome Back, Traitor
    • The Atoner: After being called out by Lightning on his plan (see below), Kain's actions for the remainder of the story are pretty much a retread of his ordeals in IV. Also, it's hinted that Kain is fearful of Cecil regaining his memories of Kain from their world due to said ordeals.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: See below.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Lightning calls him out for taking it upon himself to personally kill the other Warriors of Cosmos in order to save them from being Killed Off for Real by the manikins.
  • What You Are in the Dark: In the Epilogue chapter, the entirety of the storyline applied to Kain after he confronts Exdeath and Golbez functions as an extended one of these. Kain had, then, a myriad of opportunities to escape Final Death at the hands of the manikins, and could have lived to fight another day. No one would have known, if he had chosen to take them. Yet, he didn't. Kain drags himself through apparent hell and high water to get to the Last Stand, despite it all. Considering both the morally dubious nature of his role in the storyline and his reputation in the fandom as a backstabbing traitor in his original game, it's a nice way to establish that no, Kain really is a good guy.
  • The Worf Effect: Subjects other characters to it—Kain is the one who beat Bartz, Zidane, Squall, and Firion, and he probably beat the Onion Knight and Cecil too. Of course, he typically beats them with liberal use of the age old strategy of In the Back.

Design and Costume Tropes

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

  • Air Jousting
  • Blade on a Stick: Like Cecil.
  • Blown Across the Room: Gungnir, Rising Drive, and Sky Rave, granted there's enough room, will drive the opponent back, up, and down. Unless you happen to be on a particularly large arena like The Rift or Dream's End, they will hit a wall, they get knocked back that far.
  • Blow You Away: Cyclone
    • Wind Is Green: He stands out in this regard, since aside from Vaan's Windburst, every other air-elemental attack in the game is gray.
  • Death From Above: He's a Dragoon, so this is expected. Sky Rave and Jump are the most prominent examples. His EX Burst is the apotheosis of this.
  • Difficult but Awesome: His gimmick is that you can press Triangle after landing a Bravery attack to dash forward and attack again while the opponent is still reeling from the first blow. However, the timing is very difficult to get right.
    • Awesome Yet Practical: Once you do get the hang of him, he's incredibly powerful. His HP attacks hit over a variety of altitudes and close to mid ranges horizontally, Gungnir, Sky Rave, and Rising Drive do massive Bravery damage, and Jump executes quickly and lets him dodge attacks.
  • EX Mode: Holy Strength!

"Dragon's gift, to me!"

    • In reference to the class change he made in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, Kain becomes a Holy Dragoon. His armor changes colour to a blue green and he ditches his helmet. In addition to Regen, Kain's EX mode gives him the following ability:
      • Lancet, the trademark ability of Dragoons that absorbs HP from enemies.
    • Holy Dragoon also gives him access to him EX Burst: Dragoon's Pride:

"Let me ease your pain! Heavenward!" or "I've returned to my senses! Heavenward!"

"Dragon's grasp... With all my strength!"

  • Goomba Stomp
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: His EX Burst is most notable in this regard, but a lot of Kain's attacks are, with the frills stripped off, various ways to put his spear through his opponent's body as fast and as far as he can.
  • In a Single Bound/Jump Physics: His specialty.
  • Javelin Thrower: Gungnir. Doubles as a dual Mythology Gag—Gungnir is both the final spear Kain comes equipped with when he rejoins the party for the final time, and an attack used by recurring summon Odin where he throws his spear at opponents immune to Zantetsuken.
  • Life Drain: Lancet.
  • Mythology Gag: Two of his attacks, Spiral Blow and Sky Grinder, are his Band attacks from The After Years performed with Golbez and Cecil, respectively.
  • Power Glows: His lance does when performing some of his Brave attacks and all of his HP attacks.


Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

"After the endless wandering ... he dreams of meeting his rival once again." -- Enkidu Feather

"Well, well, Bartz! We Meet Again!"


Voiced By: Kazuya Nakai (Japanese), Keith Szarabajka (English)

—Fighting Style: Frenzied Swordsman

Yet another Ensemble Darkhorse makes it into Duodecim. This time, it's the legendary Gilgamesh from Final Fantasy V, armed with his wide assortment of weapons and the blazing flame of his winning spirit. Contrary to popular belief, Gilgamesh neither fights for Cosmos nor Chaos. Sometime after his banishment by Exdeath, he wanders into World B from the Rift.

General Tropes

Gilgamesh: (to Squall) Whoa, you've got a gunblade! You must be a connoisseur!

Design and Costume Tropes


Gameplay and Combat Tropes

    • Gilgamesh reveals his eight-armed true form from his debut game. In addition to Regen, Gilgamesh's EX Mode gives him the following ability:
      • Octo Break: As Gilgamesh enters his EX Mode, he takes up a weapon for each of his eight hands, until the end of the EX-mode. He will either wield eight of the same weapon, four different weapons each with one duplicate, two different weapons each with three duplicates, one of every weapon or even some other combination; because of how random Gilgamesh's EX Mode actually is, there's roughly 16,777,216 different ways his EX Mode can turn out. In addition to extra hits for all physical attacks, this means that during his EX Mode, his abilities are far more reliable than usual, and can therefore be planned around. However, there's the very real chance that he'll end up wielding multiple Excalipoors, in which case you'll want to exit EX mode fast.
        While he is enjoying this benefit, HP attacks not reliant on swords are also improved. His Rocket Punch shoots eight fists instead of two and the Missile spell fires two missiles.
    • Gilgamesh Morphing Time also gives Gilgamesh access to his EX Burst: Strongest Sword
      • Gilgamesh is presented with eight blades, spinning around like a roulette wheel in front of him. One of these blades is Excalibur. All the others are Excalipoor. Once you choose one, Gilgamesh launches into a long sword-combo upon the enemy. Pick Excalibur, and it does amazing damage, and Gilgamesh finishes his attack with Ultimate Illusion, a final swing that launches an erupting wave of energy at the opponent.

"That's it! Ya-ha-ha! I'm too good!"

"That's it! J-just kidding. This is far from the strongest of swords!"

Tifa Lockhart

"We're not some faceless soldiers. We're friends, and we've been through a lot together."

"Stretch and forget the past. Walk down your chosen path to... the light." —- Stretch Boxers

Voiced by: Ayumi Ito (Japanese), Rachael Leigh Cook (English)

—Fighting Style: Feint Brawler

An optimistic woman proficient in hand-to-hand combat. Contrary to her rough-and-tumble appearance, she often encourages her friends.

The third confirmed character for Dissidia 012 Duodecim. Cloud's childhood friend and love interest. She's suffering from amnesia in this game, and does not recognize either Cloud or Sephiroth.

General Tropes

  • Badass Damsel: She gets rescued by Cloud from Sephiroth and by Kain from Ultimecia.
  • The Chick: Serves this role in the Five-Man Band the new heroes make.
  • Designated Girl Fight: The only straight in-story example in the game, as Ultimecia serves as her obstacle.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: The new heroes sacrificed themselves to seal the manikins away in the void in a Bolivian Army Ending.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia
  • Male Gaze: Very noticeable in the opening FMV.
  • Mythology Gag: After Cloud rescues Tifa from Sephiroth, Tifa comments that Cloud was "like a hero, charging in to save the girl," similar to his promise to her from their original game.
  • Shout-Out: Her Premium Heart gloves have the Kingdom Hearts logo on them.
    • One of her Brave attacks is named "Falcon Dive." A cross-company shout out? Why should they do that? Maybe because Kazushige Nojima, scenario writer for FFVII, wrote the plot behind Brawl's Subspace Emissary.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: With Cloud, although she doesn't realize it for obvious reasons.
  • Turn the Other Cheek: While Tifa is uncertain whether Kain's decision to kill their friends to save them from the manikins is right or not, she knows Kain believes what he's doing is right and decides to follow him and keep fighting anyway.

Design and Costume Tropes

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

"Time to get serious!"

    • Tifa switches out her Leather Gloves for her ultimate knuckle duster Premium Heart. In addition to Regen, Tifa's EX Mode gives her the following ability:
      • Premium Heart: which increases Tifa's attack power the more EX Force she has.
    • Equipped Premium Heart also gives her access to her EX Burst: Final Heaven

"Are you ready? My thoughts empower me."

"Breaking my limit! ... Feels like you're flying, doesn't it?" or "Breaking my limit! Words aren't the only way to convey your feelings."

  • Flash Step: Her fighting style lets her cancel attacks and quickly slip around to attack the opponent from another angle.
  • Kung Fu Wizard: Though she's primarily a melee fighter, she's got her spells too, and unlike Cloud, she can use them in the air as well as on the ground.
  • Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs
  • She Fu


Laguna Loire

"True kindness might be to sit back and just watch." —- Toe Jam Tragedy

"There'd come a time when life'd pull us apart. S'not a reason to avoid people."


Voiced by: Hiroaki Hirata (Japanese), A. V. Kennedy (English)

—Fighting Style: Tactical Gunner

A spirited man who uses various guns to fight. With his cheerful personality, he casually mediates the other warriors.

The fifth confirmed character for Duodecim. A fan-favorite Guest Star Party Member and father of Squall.

General Tropes

"Oh no... not good... focus, Laguna!"

  • The Ditz
  • Foil: To Squall, in their few interactions. It's encapsulated in their attitudes towards the other warriors; Squall doesn't see a point in making friends since he's focused on getting home, while Laguna embraces the chance to get to know people from so many different worlds, and advises Squall to "enjoy the now."
  • The Heart
  • Heroic Sacrifice: The new heroes sacrificed themselves to seal the manikins away in the void in a Bolivian Army Ending.
  • Idiot Hero
  • Large Ham: Laguna sometimes speaks in an over-emotional tone to other characters to lighten up the mood.
  • Mental Time Travel: His EX Mode is a reference to this. In the original game, when Ellone's Mental Time Travel ability sends Squall and his friends into scenes from his past, Laguna and his friends are aware of the boost to their strength and combat abilities, but attribute it to "faeries".
  • Nice Guy
  • No Sense of Direction: Laguna gets snarked at by the other warriors for this very often.
    • "It's not that I have a bad sense of direction. I'm just interested in all directions."
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: At first, his encounter with the Cloud of Darkness makes him look like a complete idiot, but Laguna was able to get some pretty vital information about the manikins, without breaking character as the team goofball at that.
  • Popularity Power: In the original game, Laguna is essentially a Badass Normal whose strongest ability was to throw grenades at monsters. However, since he is something of an Ensemble Darkhorse, even by people who otherwise dislike Final Fantasy VIII, this means he gets to kill people with the Ragnarok airship in Dissidia.
  • Punny Name: The first part of "Ragnarok" is pronounced the same way as Laguna in Japanese (Raguna-roku).
  • The Smart Guy: Yes, while being an Idiot Hero. Despite being a klutz and a bit of a loon, Laguna is the most intellectual of the new heroes, bringing a map with him (even if he misreads it) and finding out the location of the Manikins and leading the group to them. He also far and away has the most strategic fighting style among them.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Laguna only had his trademark machine gun in Final Fantasy VIII, only threw grenades in his Limit Break, and out of battle was pretty goofy. Now he's practically the personification of More Dakka with more firearms than any other Final Fantasy character could even dream of using. He's still pretty goofy though.
  • The Unexpected: Most people were expecting Rinoa or Seifer to be the new representative. Laguna was considered an outside chance, especially compared to the likes of Tifa and Kain.

Design and Costume Tropes

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

"[3]"

    • Laguna is empowered by the presence of a mysterious force and casts Aura on his weapons, giving them a golden sheen befitting of the President of Esthar. In addition to Regen, Laguna's EX Mode gives him the following ability:
    • Look, the Faeries are here! also gives him access to his EX Burst: Desperado

"Now it's a party!"

"Go, go, go! The greatest attack ever!" or "Go, go, go! You're getting the Cuchi-cuchi treatment!"


Yuna

"There's a world worth saving, even if you have to sacrifice yourself." —- Braska's Sphere

"You fought to keep me safe. You told me all kinds of stories."


Voiced By: Mayuko Aoki (Japanese), Hedy Burress (English)

—Fighting Style: Grand Summoner

A female summoner who openly accepts her destiny and keeps on fighting bravely alongside her Aeons.

Shown at the Stinger Teaser of the trailer at Jump Festa. Now a Summoner joins the ranks of Duodecim.

General Tropes

  • Beware the Nice Ones: Just like FFX, it's not a good idea to get on Yuna's bad side. The Emperor really should have known better.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: The new heroes sacrificed themselves to seal the manikins away in the void in a Bolivian Army Ending.
  • Irony: As Tidus said in Final Fantasy X watching Yuna perform the Sending, "people die, and Yuna dances". Well, now the Sending is her EX Burst, so it's exactly the other way around.
    • There also is some parallelism to Tidus' journey and revelations in X. In X, Tidus sacrifices himself to save Yuna from giving up her life to summon the Final Aeon and finally vanquish Sin and Yu Yevon once and for all. Here, it is Yuna, by virtue of the group Heroic Sacrifice enacted to prevent the influx of manikins from overwhelming the other warriors in the next cycle, who essentially does the same for Tidus.
  • Just Whistle: Tries to whistle for Tidus to come back to her early in her story. It works... not that Tidus wants to admit it.
    • Adds on as a Mythology Gag (along with so many others, of course); early in X, Tidus tells Yuna that if she's ever in trouble, she should Just Whistle, and he'd come running (at the time he says this, Yuna can't whistle at all, and it takes some time for her to learn). It never happened in that game, but look what happened here.
  • Mediator: Tries to play the role of negotiator between Tidus and Jecht. It defuses somewhat, but The Emperor doesn't want Tidus not to fight. It leads to Jecht saving Tidus, becoming a Warrior of Chaos due to it. Thus, her attempt at mediating the two causes their fighting in Dissidia.
  • Only One Name
  • Silk Hiding Steel
  • The Smart Guy: Shares the role with Laguna.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: With Tidus, since he is Brainwashed and Crazy this time around.
  • This Is My Story: Shares Tidus' line for her Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner.

Design and Costume Tropes

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

"For the hope of the world!"

    • Yuna is surrounded by a blue glow of pyreflies. In addition to Regen, Yuna's EX Mode gives her the following ability:
      • Double Summon: Which allows Yuna to summon two Aeons at once.
    • Grand Summon also gives her access to her EX Burst: To the Farplane!

"I will end the spiral of conflict."

    • Yuna dances on a column of water as she conjures all her Aeons to attack the opponent in sequence with all their special attacks and Overdrives. Rings of light close in on a displayed button command, and the player must press that button just before the ring vanishes to continue the attack. Yuna finishes the EX Burst completing her sending dance and consuming the enemy in a swarm of pyreflies.

"Sins of time eternal! I will cast them away." or "Sins of time eternal! I will do it without false hope."


Prishe

"The struggles we go through -- it's our experiences that teach us strength."

Voiced By: Aya Hirano (Japanese), Julie Nathanson (English)

—Fighting Style: Combo Blitzer

Originally planned as the XI representative in the original Dissidia, but ended up replaced by Shantotto. But now, the foulmouthed elvaan joins the Warriors of Cosmos.

General Tropes

  • Badass Adorable: Charged up, her bare-handed punch combos can crush guards and deflect attacks, which combined with their length and power, roughly makes her the female version of Jecht... with purple hair and frills.
  • Big Eater: In FFXI, Prishe was known for consuming food items (with stat bonuses attached) in battle. When the player fights against her in the Heroine's Combat BCNM, she would often ask her teammates for food items whenever she performs a weaponskill. This is referenced by her accessory for crafting her exclusive weapon, the Tarragoner, a high level cooking ingredient in FFXI. One must wonder how she still manages to keep such a slim figure.
    • In addition, Prishe has no less than eleven hidden battle quotes in the game that all revolve around food. They replace most of her HP attack quotes, her quote for entering EX Mode, and her line that begins her EX Burst.
  • Bokukko: The game's only female character to refer to herself using "ore", a masculine Japanese Pronouns.
  • Breakout Character: As with Shantotto, she's received much wider exposure due to her appearance in this game and her popularity has increased accordingly.
  • Death Seeker: Her status as such in Final Fantasy XI is referenced by the intro quotes for both Chaos and her Mirror Match.

Chaos: "Wish not for life, but seek death."
Prishe: "Have I been looking for the end all along?"

Exdeath: "You house an immeasurable Void within you."

"Gonna have me some fun this time!"
"It's playtime with Prishe!"

Design and Costume Tropes

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

"What goes around comes around!" or "Prishe is here, where's the grub?"

    • Prishe activates her Two-Hour Ability as a Monk. She glows with an aura of energy and equips Power Fists. In addition to Regen, Prishe's EX Mode gives her the following ability.
      • Hundred Fists: The aforementioned Two-Hour Ability, which automatically chains the second attack in Prishe's combos twice, letting her link three attacks together at once for extra damage and possibly two Skillchains.
    • Two-Hour Ability also gives her access to her EX Burst: The Five Lights

"How's that for ya?!" or "It's getting way past my lunchtime!"

    • Prishe pummels the enemy with a barrage of punches and summons five spheres of shining light. You must quickly press 5 buttons (in a clockwise order starting with a random first button), causing Prishe to kick each sphere at the enemy. If successfully executed, Prishe throws the Star of Tavnazia through the enemy, which then erupts into an explosion of Holy Energy.

"My will to live... I'll show you just how strong it is! Later!"

  • Invulnerable Knuckles: Several of her Bravery attacks have such high priority that she can stagger HP attacks!
  • Kung Fu Wizard: She's a White Mage/Monk hybrid character.
  • Lightning Bruiser: She has one of the fastest movement speeds in the game, her attacks come out fast, and the charged up ones hurt a lot. As with all charged attacks charging them takes out the "fast" part, but Prishe can use her unique combo gimmick to chain fast attacks into charging attacks, drastically reducing their charge time.
    • Mighty Glacier: However, her HP attacks really leave a lot to be desired.
  • Megaton Punch: Howling Fist, which can be charged up like a wind-up punch.
  • Punched Across the Room: Half of her combo finishers have Wall Rush properties. The other half initiate Chase.
  • Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Combo and Raging Fists for Bravery attacks, Asuran Fists for HP.
  • Shoryuken: Her other signature move, Auroral Uppercut.
  • Spin Attack: The appropriately-named Spinning Attack.
  • White Magic
    • Holy Hand Grenade: She has Holy and Banish as brave attacks, and Banishga as an HP attack.


Vaan

"Just believe in me and wait somewhere safe."


"One must make their soul like the wind to continue dreaming. Dreams will come true..." —- Galbana Lilies

Voiced By: Kensho Ono (Japanese), Bobby Edner (English)

—Fighting Style: Adroit Attacker

A cheerful youth who skillfully uses a variety of weapons in battle. Confident in his skills, he fearlessly enters any fierce battle.

The Supporting Protagonist of Final Fantasy XII finally gets his chance in the spotlight of a major game. Vaan has taken the role as Terra's "Knight" and is distrustful of Kain's motives.

General Tropes

Design and Costume Tropes

Kefka: And here I thought you were just another pre-pubescent pretty boy!

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

"Gotcha in my sights!"

    • Vaan gains a golden aura of Mist energy and exchanges all of his weapons for their ultimate counterparts, symbolizing he's completed the License Grid and has earned the ability to equip them. In addition to Regen, Vaan's EX Mode gives him the following abilities:
      • Zodiak: Which increases the power of all of Vaan's weapon attacks and gives his Switch Attacks more follow up hits.
      • Free Switch: By pressin R+Square, Vaan is able to change his weapon instantly into bare hands, allowing him to pull off better switch attack combos.
    • Obtained All Licenses also gives him access to his EX Burst: Quickening

"No holding back!" or "I'm Basch!"

    • Vaan launches into his series of Quickenings. First is Red Spiral, an upward spiral of blue flames that turns into a pillar of fire dropping down on the enemy. Second is White Whorl, a giant tornado generated by a spiraling uppercut. Third is Pyroclasm, two fireballs thrown at the enemy which explode into a massive sea of flames. A perfect string will result in Luminescence: the enemy is trapped between two circles of runes and blasted with light energy.

"Here! Rupture! Burn! How's this? Stings, huh?"


Lightning

"I think this will bring an end to the conflict. But... Do you really believe that the end of the conflict will return us to our original worlds? Our victory might not have any meaning."

"There is nothing to detest. Everything is precious." --Survival Knife

Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese), Ali Hillis (English)

—Fighting Style: Paradigm Commando

The former soldier does have a gentle heart, though her harsh mannerism and speech can leave a cool impression.

From Final Fantasy XIII, Claire "Lightning" Farron with her latest-tech Gunblade is now among the cast of Dissidia. She has the ability to switch between Commando, Ravager, and Medic roles during gameplay, exploring a lot of moves.

General tropes

Kuja: "So ephemeral, lightning."
Lightning: "Oh, I'll show you how lightning strikes."

    • Another when facing Warrior of Light.

Warrior of Light: "Toss aside your blade, and say good night."
Lightning: "No thanks. It's not my bedtime."

  • Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Her EX Burst is the only one in the game that requires using the Analog Stick, which can lead to a few problems for those who set the movement controls to "D-Pad".
    • Made worse for those whose PSP system's region is different to the game. Her EX Burst button commands are reversed. So if it says press X you should actually press circle, and vice versa.
  • Deadpan Snarker: "Who died and made you Primarch?"
  • The Heroine: Of the Five-Man Band of new heroes in Duodecim.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: The new heroes sacrificed themselves to seal the manikins away in the void in a Bolivian Army Ending.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: One of her win quotes.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: She'll do what's right, but she is by far the bitterest character in the entire game and is very cynical. This puts her at odds with Vaan and Laguna, who by contrast are cheerful and optimistic.
  • Lady of War: Graceful as ever.
  • Petal Power: The rose petals that accompanied her and Odin are back. Lampshaded.

Vaan: "Light's special attack is so cool. Where do those petals come from anyway?"
Lightning: "Enough small talk... Just keep your eyes front."

  • Shout-Out: Her special DLC costume is that of Aya Brea from The 3rd Birthday.
  • Talking to Herself: Aerith and Lightning share the same JPN voice actor
  • Victory Pose: At the end of her EX Burst.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: When she learns that Kain and the Warrior of Light are killing off their comrades in order to allow them to be revived by the next cycle (the Manikins would permanently kill any warriors), Lightning ends up calling the Warrior of Light, Kain, AND Cosmos out on that plan.
  • When She Smiles: Very briefly during the ending sequence of Duodecim.

Design and Costume Tropes

Gameplay and Combat Tropes

"Not your lucky day!"

    • Lightning switches out her Blazefire Saber for her third tier gunblade Omega Weapon. In addition to Regen, Lightning's EX Mode gives her the following abilites
      • Omega Weapon: Which forces Break to opponents when hitting them with Brave attack while they are in critical BRV.
      • Grav-Con Unit: Which nullifies wall rush damage dealt to Lightning.
    • Omega Weapon also gives her access to her EX Burst: Gestalt Drive:
    • 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 you miss an input, Lightning will skip directly to the final blow Zantetsuken, in which she holds her blades out and spins rapidly, hammering the foe with a storm of blows. She then kneels with her back to the enemy as the effects of the attack catch up with them.

"Let's finish this! Bullseye."

  1. Interestingly, a Report cutscene shows the two bonding.
  2. To clarify, he met Cecil, Kain, & co. in FFIV:TAY, and met Terra and WoL in the Video Game Remakes of their respective titles.
  3. "Genius" in this context may have its archaic meaning of "Guardian Force".