Dissidia: Final Fantasy Character Spotlight: Squall and Kefka

We’ve got a little less than a month to go until Dissidia launches in the US, bringing with it a host of changes from the Japanese version.  This week, we’re taking a look at Squall Leonheart from VIII and Kefka Palazzo from VI.  Read on! 

When I first started playing the Japanese version of Dissidia, for no real reason at all I ended up settling on Squall as my main character.  I don’t particularly care for Final Fantasy VIII, and Squall’s not really a favorite character of mine at all.  However, his appearances in the Kingdom Hearts series, thankfully sans emo, made him slightly more tolerable.  In any case, the Gunblade-wielding hero of Balamb Garden is a rather interesting character in Dissidia, having been given access to all of his Limit Break attacks as well as several new ones.  Here’s the breakdown.

• Rough Divide: Squall’s weakest Limit Break in FFVIII is ironically the LAST one he learns in Dissidia; it’s also his worst move in the Japanese version of the game.  When Squall uses Rough Divide, he leaps into the air, then flies forward in a downward arc, with his Gunblade extended.  The downside of this move is that while it travels incredibly quickly, there is almost no tracking or homing to it, and Squall’s yell is very distinctive, making it extremely easy to dodge.  In the English version, this move has been tweaked considerably, gaining an aerial version and also allowing it slight homing capabilities.
• Fated Circle: Squall’s second Limit Break comes in two flavors in Dissidia; a ground version and an aerial version.  In both attacks, Squall spins his Gunblade around his body in a full circle, leaving a ring of red spheres around him that detonate when he pulls the trigger. When done on the ground, this attack spins horizontally, while the aerial version spins vertically.  It should be noted that in the Japanese version, Fated Circle is Squall’s only aerial Limit Break, though this is no longer the case in the English version.
• Blasting Zone: Squall’s third Limit Break is one that you likely remember being hit with quite a few times while playing the Kingdom Hearts games; it’s his signature move in that series.  In this attack, Squall raises his Gunblade above his head, igniting it with energy and extending the blade, covered in light.  He then swings it down forward, causing a string of explosions to erupt out of the ground in front of him.  While not the fastest move in the world, this attack does allow Squall to knock enemies out of the air with his extended Gunblade.
• Lion Heart: Known as End of Heart in the Japanese version, this attack is Squall’s EX Burst super move, and functions nearly identical to its appearance in the original game.  Squall equips the Lionheart Gunblade when in his EX Mode, and when his EX Burst is activated, the game enters into a Renzokuken sequence where players must repeately time presses of the R button as Squall’s slashes connect.  If the player performs all of the trigger pulls correctly, Squall will end with a powerful series of charged slashes that send the opponent reeling.
• Revolver Drive: One of Squall’s Dissidia-exclusive moves, and a rather odd one at that.  In this move, Squall slides forward across the ground with his Gunblade extended; as long as you hold the attack button he will continue to slide, though you are allowed some lateral control of his movement.  If his Gunblade touches the opponent, he will quickly pull the trigger, sending them flying.
• Magic Barrage: Squall launches out a series of fireballs and ice projectiles that can combo enemies, ending with a wave of lightning that knocks the enemy skyward.  In the English version, Squall has gained an aerial version of this move that allows him to zone his enemies by building a wall of exploding projectiles; if the explosions connect, the enemy will be stunned and Squall can combo into his Aerial Rough Divide special move.

In the Japanese version, Squall is a formidable fighter with an extensive list of combos and special moves.  However, has two main weaknesses; first, his HP attacks are very slow and easy to read by a more experienced player, and second, he only has one Aerial HP attack (Aerial Circle).  Because of this, while Squall is perfectly capable of building up a solid reserve of Brave power to use his special moves, it’s far more difficult to hit with one and finish the fight.  It’s no surprise, then, that in the English version of the game, Squall seems to have been one of the characters to receive the most attention in the rebalancing department; while it’s still too early to tell how buffed he’s been, a considerable amount of his moves have been tweaked, and several new attacks have been added to round out his arsenal.  Who knows, maybe I’ll end up maining him again.

And now, for something completely different!  We’re jumping back over to the side of Chaos, to take a look at its most eccentric recruit; you know him, you love to hate him, it’s Final Fantasy VI‘s own mad clown, Kefka Palazzo.  Without a doubt the most iconic villain of the entire 2D Final Fantasy epoch, Kefka brings with him an unique play style, a fiendish laugh, and one of the most memorable pieces of music in the series.  Also notable as one of the only villains in RPGs to actually succeed in his evil schemes, Kefka is a welcome addition to the forces of Chaos and one of its stranger recruits, at that.  Take a look at some of his moves.

• Havoc Wing: Kefka’s default special attack, and one of the many moves that he uses in the final battle in Final Fantasy VI; in this attack, Kefka does a goofy backflip, and while his back is turned to the enemy, sprouts a MASSIVE set of wings that fire out of his back, skewering anyone unlucky to end up in their way.
• Trine: Yet another Kefka specialty move, this spell causes Kefka to summon a trio of blue triangles around his opponent that quickly converge in on them; notably, if Kefka is in his EX Mode when he performs this move, a second series of triangles will appear shortly after the first, making the attack far harder to dodge.
• Missing Zero: Known as Goner in the original SNES release of Final Fantasy VI, this attack is perhaps Kefka’s most dangerous – both to his enemies and to himself!  In this attack, Kefka conjures up a magical portal that chases his opponents throughout the arena, dropping powerful spheres of magic energy onto them from above that detonate as soon as they contact anything.  This move lasts as long as you hold the button, but it has one specific drawback; Kefka cannot move or defend himself while keeping the portal open!  A skilled player can dodge the explosive spheres and dash in to punish Kefka before he can react.
• Hyperdrive: Kefka’s last special move is yet another attack he pioneered in the final battle of Final Fantasy VI; Kefka stands still for a moment, gathering energy, before he releases a projectile of fire along the ground that launches at his opponent at an incredibly high speed.  While difficult to dodge on the ground, this move can be nullified by simply jumping over the projectile.
• Mad Magic: Kefka doesn’t have any melee combos; in fact, he doesn’t fight hand to hand at all!  All of his normal attacks, instead, are “twisted” variations on magic spells used most commonly by the heroes in the Final Fantasy series.  Kefka has access to altered versions of Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga, each one sporting unpredictable movements and strange effects.  He also has access to the legendary Meteo and Ultima spells as normal moves, each one working differently than their counterparts used by other characters.
• Warring Triad: When Kefka activates his EX Mode, he transforms into his God of Magic form from the final battle of VI, angel wings and all.  Activating his EX Burst super move harkens to this form as well, as the player must memorize and then repeat a series of three button presses.  If the player succeeds at this, Kefka will gather power before unleashing his signature Light of Judgement onto his foe, dealing massive damage.  If the player fails at the button combo, the camera will shift perspectives to that of a traditional Final Fantasy battle as Kefka assumes his sprite’s pose from the final battle of VI and casts Goner on his enemy.

Being one of a handful of “mage” characters in the game, Kefka handles considerably differently from all of the characters I’ve focused on so far in this series of articles.  Because of his lack of any melee attacks, one might be tempted to use Kefka purely as a long range character; this may work, but several of his moves have a range limit, making Kefka far more useful as a pure mid-range character, filling the air with projectiles before charging in to unleash a Havoc Wing or trapping his opponent between a circle of Trine spells.

Now, the demo for the English version of Dissidia was released on the PSN this Thursday, and with it a whole host of changes to the gameplay mechanics, as well as balance tweaks for pretty much every character in the cast.  New moves have been added, and the properties of already-existing moves have been changed.  Because of this, I will remind readers that these spotlights cover the Japanese version of the game, and while the basic gameplay mechanics are the same between the two versions, the specifics of certain moves may change.  Next weekend, the Dissidia Double Feature is jumping back, way back, to focus on the franchise’s first two heroes, the Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy I and Firion from Final Fantasy II.