Dissidia Final Fantasy: NT’s release is just around the corner. While the team-based fighter already has a base roster of 28 characters, Square Enix has stated that they aim to have a roster of 50 different fighters in the future. It goes without saying that Final Fantasy has no shortage of memorable heroes and villains who should be included, but there are always characters who are more deserving than most. As I often do with fighting games I’m excited for, I’ve made a list of ten fighters (with an honorable mention) that I feel need to be included in Dissidia. The second half of the list (Part 2) will be live tomorrow at 9 A.M. PST.
The rules for this list are as follows: Final Fantasy spin-off characters are allowed, but no Kingdom Hearts. No guest characters will be on the list either, as a similar list of only guest fighters will be going up later next week. Also, no characters who were playable in previous Dissidia games will be on the list, as Square Enix has said they intend to add these characters back in. Finally, I’ve played a few minutes of Final Fantasy XI in all my life, and a few hours of Final Fantasy XIV, so unfortunately I don’t know enough about those titles to place their characters on the list. With that out of the way, on with the list.
Honorable Mention: Zack Fair (Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII)
Zack is an honorable mention purely because of his playstyle. While the DMW battle system from Crisis Core could provide him with some unique moves, Zack would likely play identically to Cloud. This makes sense from both narrative and development perspectives, so I could see Square Enix making Zack a clone. If they were to go the extra mile, I think making him a bit faster than Cloud would be a good variation that would be easier to do.
Even if it’s just as a skin change, Zack is an important character to the mythos of Final Fantasy VII, and would be a solid inclusion.
10: Rain (Final Fantasy Brave Exvius)
Rain is probably one of the less likely characters on this list because of his origins as a mobile game character. While the story of Brave Exvius isn’t particularly original or enthralling, it’s a charming tribute to the pillars of the Final Fantasy series. A light-hearted goofball, a stoic childhood friend, a spunky airship engineer, chocobos, moogles, the list goes on. As a knight of Grandshelt and the son of the legendary Sir Raegen, Rain is a born combatant who wields the very cool and very large blade, the Crimson Sabre
Rain’s moveset would largely revolve around the different skills he uses in Brave Exvius. Rain would likely be an up-close attacker, as he uses primarily physical skills. While Fire and Earth spells would be good as mid-range bravery attacks, most of his attacks would be somewhat heavy close-range physical skills like Undermine, Power Break, and Lava Floor. His Limit Bursts would serve as HP attacks, with Flame Sword, Crimson Slash, and Blazing Storm all tearing enemies apart from up close. If he were to receive an EX Form (despite the lack of EX Bursts), Demon Rain from the Halloween event would be a strong choice. I think Rain would provide some nice variety overall, as he would represent the mobile side of Final Fantasy.
9: Yuke (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles)
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, while somewhat dormant today, was a large subseries that made up the majority of Final Fantasy spinoffs almost a decade ago. These games often had multiple different playable species, with the most visually distinct series being the bird-like Yuke. This list is pretty much entirely human characters (as is the roster), so I’d love to see these armored avians get some representation.
Yukes are the best spellcasters in Crystal Chronicles, specializing in White and Black magic. This would make a Yuke the perfect long-range magic fighter, dishing out offensive spells like Blizzard and Thunder. If things get too heated, a Yuke could heal itself with the different tiers of Cure spells, or raise its Bravery with variations of Heal spells (though it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for Blind or Vox to raise Bravery), or through Holy attacks, which would have upgraded HP attack variations. There’s a ton of different armor designs for alternate Yuke costumes, making the Yuke an all-around unique fighter.
8: Minwu (Final Fantasy II)
Minwu is probably the most memorable character in the otherwise “meh” Final Fantasy II, likely due to his noble personality and distinct cultural design. As the royal family’s personal mage, Minwu eventually grows into an essential member of Firion’s team of unlikely freedom fighters.
Minwu can inflict a number of status ailments on opponents in Final Fantasy II, so I could see him being a gimmicky character like Gabranth was in the first two Dissidia titles. Minwu could mess with opponents by using SIlence, Frog, Blind, etc. Then, once the opponent has their moveset or mobility limited, Minwu could use otherwise unremarkable blunt staff attacks to rake in some heavy Bravery. Minwu’s HP attacks would likely be other forms of magic, with his biggest HP attack being Ultima, which covers a huge amount of the screen and does a solid amount of Bravery damage before exploding. While it would be difficult to balance him, I think Minwu would be a lot of fun to play around with.
7: Locke Cole (Final Fantasy VI)
If I recall correctly, Locke was actually considered to be included as a Final Fantasy VI representative in previous entries of the Dissidia series. Final Fantasy VI is a unique title, as it has 3-4 characters that could be considered the main protagonist. Locke, the charming thief, is one of these main protagonists and a fan favorite, making him a likely inclusion.
Having a thief in Dissidia would be fun because of how fast and smooth his moveset could be. Locke could literally steal Bravery from opponents using the aptly named skill Steal, which get you far from an opponent before they can retaliate. I think Locke would work well as a high-risk high-reward character, as he would need to fight up-close due to his smaller weapons (daggers, knives, etc), with very few keepaway moves where he uses long range weapons like throwing stars and boomerangs. Since Locke is a thief, he’s frail and would take heavy damage and lose Bravery more easily, so his fast and up-close playstyle would be as thrilling as it is challenging to get a handle on. Mirage Dive would be a perfect HP attack, alongside Mug. Mug would be especially interesting because of how dangerous it would be to use, as it would simply be an altered and more damaging version of Steal. Locke is yet another character who would have a playstyle that we haven’t really seen before, which further bolsters his already strong chances of inclusion.
6: Faris Scherwiz (Final Fantasy V)
No one would blame you for not knowing who Faris is, as Final Fantasy V is probably the most underrated Final Fantasy title. Because of North America’s strange order of localization for the Final Fantasy series, V didn’t arrive in the West until 1999, a whole seven years after its release in Japan. While the story of V is admittedly not the strongest, Faris is probably the most enjoyable character in the game (alongside main character Bartz, or his unfortunate direct translation, Butz). As a child, the royal offspring Faris was lost at sea and adopted by a crew of pirates who decided to raise her as a boy. Eventually, Faris would become a well-respected pirate captain who, despite her brash and hardened attitude, would care for and help her fellow Warriors of Light in their quest to defeat Exdeath.
Like Bartz in Dissidia, Faris’s moveset could revolve around the Job system that Final Fantasy V perfected. Stats-wise, Faris is high on agility but can essentially work in any Job. While Bartz covers a decent number of classes in his moveset, I think it would be really intriguing to see Faris take on moves from some of the more obscure jobs, like Beast Master or Time Mage. Faris could freeze enemies as a Time Mage, then switch to a Berserker to deal out some heavy Bravery damage on the frozen opponent. We could even include the classes available only in the GBA/Mobile versions of V, like the very-fitting Cannoneer or Gladiator. The variety of classes present could make Faris a danger both up-close and from afar, as her movelist is essentially full of limitless potential. I really hope Faris is included in Dissidia NT, as not only do I have a personal soft-spot for the character, but her potential as a multi-class fighter is just too good to pass up on.
And that’s the first half of the list! Check back tomorrow to see the top 5 characters that need to be in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT.
