Guest characters have become more common than ever in fighting games; just look at Mortal Kombat X’s roster of horror icons, or Injustice 2’s cavalcade of Ninja Turtles, Mortal Kombatants, and more. I feel it’s fairly likely that Dissidia Final Fantasy NT will include a couple guest characters, so I present to you my list of the five guest characters that I would love to see in Dissidia NT.
5: 2B (NieR Automata)
I’ll be completely honest: I haven’t started NieR Automata yet. I have it on my desk, all ready to go, but I haven’t started the game. The reason I’ve included 2B is pretty simple though. I asked a decent number of my fellow JRPG dorks what non-Final Fantasy characters they would want to play as in Dissidia, and almost everyone had 2B among their top picks. Not only that, but 2B was even made into a guest unit in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. So while the game is developed by Platinum, Square Enix is involved enough that I feel comfortable having 2B on the list.
I’m sure in a month or so when I’ve played NieR Automata, I’ll look back at this entry with shame, thinking to myself “2B should have been #2 on the list” while running through a mind full of playstyle concepts for 2B. But until then, I didn’t want to exclude a character that seems to be in quite high demand.
4: Randi (Secret of Mana)
This seems likely if only because of the upcoming Secret of Mana remake. Cross-promotion can work wonders for a product, so I wouldn’t be too surprised if Randi showed up sometime soon. He’s another character who has already been in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, so it’s clear that the potential for his inclusion is there. Randi is a boy who falls down a waterfall. finds a legendary sword, and sets off to save the world. His status as the main character makes him the most likely Dissidia candidate from Mana, though it would be funny to see Popoi bounce around against beasts like Garland and Exdeath.
I think the most interesting way to make Randi stand out from other sword-users would be to base his playstyle around the “charge” mechanic that Secret of Mana uses in its combat. I’d make Randi a fast character by default, with weak sword swings as his Bravery attacks. Holding the Bravery attack button (and a direction, for certain moves) “charges” the attacks, making them hit harder and do a substantially higher amount of damage. Since Randi would be defenseless while he charges, players would have to be careful in choosing when and where to charge. While his HP attacks would be heavier sword swings, there aren’t really a lot of “special moves” to choose from in the source material. Brave Exvius gave Randi some interesting special attacks though, so multi-hit slashes like Slice Thrice and Full Moon Slice would be the way to go. You could even make it so that his EX mode makes his attacks fully charged by default, making him a pre-NT Gabranth-esque EX dependant character. Randi has a pretty solid chance of making it into the game, so Secret of Mana fans may very well get their due.
3: Crono (Chrono Trigger)
Ah Chrono Trigger, one of the most critically acclaimed RPGs of all time. A timeless, iconic classic that I firmly believe everyone should try to play once. It’s also the franchise Square Enix forgets about the most, unless you count The Bouncer. But really, do you actually count The Bouncer? With designs by the legendary Akira Toriyama and a story that contains some of the best characters in the medium, Chrono Trigger and its sort-of sequel Chrono Chross are some of the most important games that Square Enix has. And while we may never get another Chrono game, I think we could one day get our silent time-travelling hero, Crono, into Dissidia.
Crono’s moveset would revolve around his Techs: the special skills and techniques Crono can use in Chrono Trigger. Since most of his attacks have Lightning or Wind elements to them, we could give Crono the ability to use both spells to help close the distance between himself and his opponent. Most of his skills would be close to mid-range though, since many of his Techs require the use of his sword. Most of Crono’s Bravery Attacks would be slashes and stabs, though I propose these attacks move Crono behind his opponents. One of the things I enjoyed about Chrono Trigger was how active characters felt, as they would move around the screen in different formations for attacks. I think it would be an interesting twist to have Crono do extra damage from behind, since this would emulate Chrono Trigger’s active combat system.
Crono’s HP attacks would basically just be his physical Techs. Luminaire would be his biggest attack, as he would hit a large area with a crippling holy attack. Cyclone could shave away a lot of Bravery before it wallops its target, while Wind Slash could catch nearby enemies quickly, punishing even the most minor enemy miscalculations. I really hope to see Crono find his way to Dissidia one day, even if it’s just to see how he looks in Nomura’s artstyle.
2: Sora (Kingdom Hearts series
While Kingdom Hearts series creator Tetsuya Nomura stated in 2016 that Sora would not be in Dissidia NT, I think Sora is one of the few characters who could still end up being included later. Kingdom Hearts is a hugely popular series, and the upcoming release of Kingdom Hearts III would serve as the perfect time for a bit more of that sweet sweet cross-promotion. Though obtaining permission from Disney could be a pain, Sora appeared as DLC in World of Final Fantasy, so he isn’t completely off-limits for Square Enix.
There’s really no shortage of moveset options for Sora, as he can do pretty much anything. Magic, melee, Drive forms, summons; Sora’s potential is limitless. I would personally like to see Sora as an exceptional mid-range fighter, using a visually appealing medley of ridiculous Keyblade strikes and skills. Sora’s Bravery attacks would probably be Keyblade swings and elemental magic, but his mobility is what would really make him stand out Kingdom Hearts (specifically later titles in the series) is a fairly fast-paced action RPG. There’s lots of dodging, jumping, and gliding to avoid enemy attacks, meaning there’s a lot of mobility present. I think Sora would thrive as a fast and light character who can easily dodge enemies in a spectacular fashion, possibly with the help of attacks that get him out of danger or away from an enemy for his recovery window. If we need a gimmick, Sora could swap between Limit forms, using up his EX bar. Each Drive form could have different buffs (Brave Form buffs attack, Wisdom Form buffs health, Master form buffs speed, etc).
Sora’s HP attacks would be his and other Keyblade Wielders physical skills from various games, like Ars Arcanum, Blitz, Sliding Dash, etc. These would all be perfect for use at mid-range, and could be slightly altered by Drive forms. We could even include a “Reaction Command” attack, where Sora does some flashy and large-scale attack by simply pressing the health attack button. There’s a lot of skills for Sora to take advantage of in his moveset, so I hope he shows up at one point or another.
1: Yangus (Dragon Quest VIII)
Listen, I really want Sora in Dissidia, and I get that Sora is probably the most wanted character on this list, but I don’t care. My list, my rules, and that means I can flaunt my love for Dragon Quest, and its best character: Yangus. I thought about having Terry or the protagonist from Dragon Quest Builders on the list instead, but I felt they would either be too similar to other characters (Terry), or too difficult to implement in Dissidia’s gameplay style (Builder).
So Yangus it is! Dragon Quest VIII is one of my favorite games, partially because of the lovably barbaric doofus Yangus. Though he’s been in quite a few spin-offs, Yangus is primarily known as the “legendary” cockney bandit who joins the main protagonist of Dragon Quest VIII very early in his journey. They become fast friends, to the point where Yangus refers to the protagonist as his “gov” (governor). Yangus is one of the few “dumb” characters that never gets on my nerves because of how purely charming he is. While fierce in battle and dedicated to stopping the evil Dhoulmagus, Yangus is a big softie who never fails to get a laugh.
Yangus would be a true heavy character, focused entirely on hitting enemies hard and far. Using a spiked club, Yangus would have slow but powerful hits that stuns the enemy and hits them into the distance. This distance would let Yangus buff himself with Tension, one of the main battle mechanics in Dragon Quest VIII. Increasing Yangus’s Tension would increase his Bravery damage immensely, though each attack would lower his Tension level. Filling his Tension level completely would let Yangus unleash his Devil Crusher, a heavy smack that would instantly break an opponent’s Bravery, regardless of how high it is.
Yangus’s HP attacks would be his various club and axe skills, like Helm Splitter, Heart Breaker, and Steal Sickle (which could swipe extra health from an opponent). Axes of Evil would make for a good ranged attack, and maybe we could even get the classic Underpants Dance as a debuff? That may be asking too much, though.
And those are the guest characters that I want to see in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT! Do you agree with my choices? Let me know in the comments below!
