Dissidia Final Fantasy ( 2008 ) Dissidia Final Fantasy is a video game developed by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable as part of the " Final Fantasy " series 20th Anniversary campaign . " Dissidia " ' s genre has been described as " dramatic progressive action , " featuring characters battling in a 3D - environment with the ability to level up and customize characters . The game unites twenty characters from the original ten installments of the " Final Fantasy " series , along with two secret characters from later games . Chaos makes an appearance as the god of discord , while a new character , Cosmos , appears as the goddess of harmony . Each of these gods has summoned ten warriors to fight for them against the opposing god . Now , Chaos and the villains have seized control of ten Crystals and wounded Cosmos , and the heroes must recover the Crystals to restore Cosmos and prevent control of the worlds from falling into evil hands . A prequel , " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " , has been released for the PlayStation Portable in Japan , North America and Europe . Another title with a similar name was announced for the Arcade system . Gameplay . " Dissidia " is an action - based fighting game mixed with RPG elements . Battles take place on fully rendered 3D fields , with characters free to roam around as they please . The environment can also be interacted with , with characters able to run up walls , grind along railings and destroy pillars and floors with attacks . In battle , players have two types of attacks — Bravery and HP . Every character has their Bravery Points displayed above their HP bar , and whenever they land an HP attack , the damage done is equal to their Bravery . Striking an opponent with a Bravery attack will drain their Bravery and increase the attacker ' s , thus increasing the HP damage they can do . If a player ' s Bravery is reduced to below zero , they enter " break " mode , where they cannot inflict HP damage , Bravery attacks against them do increased damage , and their opponent receives a significant boost to their Bravery . Every character has their unique fighting style and attacks , usually based on the character ' s abilities in their original game . In addition to Bravery and HP attacks , players can use Summons to assist them in battle , and can find new Summons in certain stages or as part of a stage bonus . There is also an " EX Bar " meter which fills up during battle by collecting the EX Force that appears when players strike each other , or the randomly appearing EX Cores . Once filled , the character can enter EX Mode which grants a character - specific bonus and gives access to an EX Burst , a special move that deals massive damage to their opponent . These moves are often a reference to each character ' s signature attack in their respective game , such as Squall using Renzokuken or Kefka using Light of Judgment . After the battle is over , characters are rewarded with gil , EXP , and AP . Further awards may be given if the player fulfills certain conditions during the fight itself , such as winning within a time limit or landing an attack of a certain strength . Of the twenty - two playable characters , each maintains their own Experience level , and share the same equipment supply . Characters begin at level one with only a handful of basic moves , but as they gain EXP and level up they can learn more advanced moves . These moves are equipped to a character using CP , with a character able to equip as many moves as they wish as long as the total does not exceed their maximum CP . By earning AP , a character can master a move , reducing the CP needed to equip it , and sometimes make new abilities appear . Characters can also earn various bonus abilities and bolster their stats through equipment and accessories . Player can also earn PP , which are used to purchase special gameplay features , such as new characters or bonus music tracks . In storyline gameplay , players move about a token representing their character on a tiled gameboard , and move up to objects and enemies and interact with them using " Destiny Points " . Every time the player moves their character , they must use one Destiny Point , and can sometimes earn more by defeating enemies . If the player is able to finish a stage without using all their Destiny Points , they earn a special bonus . When the player reaches the Stigma of Chaos at the end of the stage , the stage is completed and the player is awarded gil and PP depending on their remaining Destiny Points , HP , and other factors . Sometimes at the end of a stage , the player fights another character ; in all ten " Destiny Odyssey " stages , after five stages the player fights their character ' s nemesis in the arena from their original game , such as Cloud fighting Sephiroth at the Planet ' s Core . In the original Japanese version , when all ten Destiny Odyssey stages are completed , the player is given access to the Shade Impulse storyline , which leads the final boss of the game , Chaos . In the North American , PAL , and Universal Tuning versions , only one Destiny Odyssey needs to be completed to unlock Shade Impulse , but the player can only attempt it with the character whose Destiny Odyssey they completed . Completing Shade Impulse unlocks other storylines and gameplay modes , including Distant Glory and the Duel Colosseum . In total , " Dissidia " features five game modes . The first is " Story Mode " , where the player picks a storyline composed of five stages from which the game ' s plot unfolds . The storylines are composed of the Prologue , which acts as a tutorial , Destiny Odyssey I to X , which feature the story of how each Warrior of Cosmos obtains each of their Crystals , Shade Impulse I to IV , which mark the events after the heroes gather with all their Crystals obtained until the defeat of Chaos , Distant Glory : The Lady of Legend and Distant Glory : Redemption of the Warrior , challenges thrown by Shantotto and Gabranth , next , the ultimate challenge , Inward Chaos , where the player faces ultimate versions of the game ' s characters . Next is the " Duel Colosseum " mode , where the player may find four arenas ( sub - modes that vary in enemy level and treasure found ) where enemies that give money upon defeat and treasure can be found . The elementary " Quick Battle " can be used for a quick battle between any two playable characters of the game , and a " Connection Mode " is present , where the player may fight an opponent via ad - hoc or " PS3 Party " , or an AI Ghost , activated via Mognet or through a code . Finally , there ' s " Arcade Mode " , a game mode exclusive to the North American and European releases , where the player is given pre - defined characters to face against a gauntlet of five characters , rewarding them based on their performance . Setting . The game has twelve arenas , ten serving as an important site of conflict between the heroes and the villains in their original games , and the other two being entirely new areas . Each arena can be played as a basic arena with no special features , or as a stage with a special " gimmick " , effectively doubling the number of arenas to twenty - four . For example , the Chaos Shrine stage ' s alternate form constantly drains both characters ' BP during a match . Story . The story follows the conflict between Chaos and Cosmos and their allies , drawn from the " Final Fantasy " main series games . Backstory for the various characters are also given in " Reports " , which are divided into Cosmos Reports and Chaos Reports . Within the history of " Dissidia " , Chaos and Cosmos have been at war with each other for an eternity , but thus far neither side has emerged victorious . As the game begins , it seems Chaos has finally gained the upper hand . The Warrior of Light finds Cosmos mortally wounded from a battle with Chaos . With the forces of light in peril , Cosmos appears before the other nine heroes and entrusts them with the task of recovering the Crystals , which can save their worlds . Though they do not fully understand the quest Cosmos sets before them , the heroes set out to retrieve the Crystals in the hopes they can end the war . Each of the ten heroes has a storyline following their journey to recover their respective Crystal . Each storyline also parallels to a certain extent the events , or at least the spirit , of the storyline in the hero ' s original game — Terra ' s story deals with her amnesia and her waning control over her powers , Cloud ' s concerns his indecisiveness and questioning his reason for fighting , Squall is torn between helping his friends and fulfilling his duty , and so forth . As the game progresses , flashbacks and character interludes reveal that the war has happened before , but many characters cannot remember the previous battles . Through the words of Garland , and the " Reports " acquired during the game , it is revealed the war has been going on for an eternity — every time the war ends and one of the gods is slain , the dragon Shinryu restores the losing god to life and the war begins anew . Though most of the heroes do not know this , the villains do ; it is revealed Sephiroth took his own life in the previous war and that somehow preserved his memories , allowing him to inform the villains and devise a plan . The villains put that plan in motion to end the war in their favor before Shinryu awakens . The heroes return to Cosmos with their Crystals , but Chaos appears and incinerates the goddess , and departs back to his realm . With Cosmos gone , her power over the heroes fades and they begin to fade back to their own worlds . However , with the last of her strength inside them , the Crystals are able to keep the heroes from fading . Determined to avenge Cosmos and see her will fulfilled , the heroes journey to the Chaos Shrine , each confronting their respective villain once again . At this time it is revealed that the villains allowed the heroes to collect the Crystals , which contained Cosmos ' s light , and their shining caused Cosmos to weaken to the point she could not be revived , a " perfect death " . Now that Cosmos is gone for good , the cycle of war is over , with Chaos as the ultimate victor . Resolving to destroy Chaos and claim vengeance for Cosmos , the heroes each defeat their villain once again in battle . At the Chaos Shrine , the ten Crystals combine to open the path to Chaos ' s realm , and the ten heroes confront the god of discord on his throne . After an epic battle , Chaos is defeated and is consumed in flames as the heroes vanish . They appear in the fields outside Cornelia , and after some reminiscing , each return to their own worlds with their Crystal safe , while Warrior of Light heads to Cornelia . In the game ' s secret ending , unlocked after obtaining all the Reports , Cosmos is shown to be alive in her world . She has a discussion with Cid of the Lufaine , implying the world Cosmos now rules alone will eventually fade out of existance . Characters . Player characters are split between supporting the cause of the " Goddess of Harmony " , Cosmos , and the " God of Discord " , Chaos . Both summoned the characters from the series with their own motives : Cosmos wishes to protect the Crystals from Chaos ' s forces and keep order , while Chaos wants to take control of the Crystals and upset the balance of power between good and evil . The narrator of the events occurring in " Dissidia " is Cid of the Lufaine . There are twenty - two playable characters in all . A hero and a villain from each of the first ten " Final Fantasy " games , and a secret character from both " Final Fantasy XI " and " Final Fantasy XII " . Long - time series collaborator and character designer Tetsuya Nomura was in charge of the characters ' design , although many of the characters , even those originally designed by Nomura himself , were designed to fit their appearance as drawn by Yoshitaka Amano . Development . First news of the game spread when Square Enix filed for the United States trademark registration of " DISSIDIA " and then with the opening of the " Dissidia " website with the game ' s logo . It was fully unveiled at Square Enix Party 2007 with the first trailer featuring the Warrior of Light , Garland , Zidane , Kuja , and Sephiroth . The game would be a part of the " 20th Anniversary " collection , and would unite " Final Fantasy " heroes and villains from previous games to do battle with each other . It was announced the game would be produced by Yoshinori Kitase , directed by Yousuke Shiokawa , and though music was handled by Takeharu Ishimoto , much of the music in the game came from previous games and was orchestrated by Nobuo Uematsu . Tetsuya Nomura designed the characters , basing each of them , even those of whom he designed himself in the past , on the original artwork from Yoshitaka Amano . The game ' s concept began in the " Kingdom Hearts " series , where Nomura thought it would be fun to have " Final Fantasy " characters fight in Traverse Town , but was rejected as inappropriate for the series . However he held onto the idea for battles in large 3D fields , and over the years developed it into including characters from different " Final Fantasy " games and giving them different fighting styles reflective of their original games . Finally ready to push for the project to be developed , Nomura was approached by younger Square - Enix staff members including Mitsunori Takahashi and was asked to let them work on a project with him as director . Nomura gave them his concept for " Dissidia " on the condition they do it on their own , and aside from occasional advice , decided to let them follow and interpret his design notes as they chose . While deciding on characters for Cosmos ' s forces was easy , deciding enemies was harder . " Rival " characters were opted as possibilities over strictly final bosses , as characters like Necron and Yu Yevon would have been unsuitable . At one time there were planned to be five secret characters , Kain Highwind being one of them . When he was cut as a secret character , Nomura thought Kain would be suitable to replace Golbez as the representative villain of " Final Fantasy IV " , but it was decided Golbez worked better as a balance with the other characters . Prishe , Vaan and Balthier were considered as well , Prishe being left out in favor of Shantotto , and Balthier being left out due to his then - appearance in " War of the Lions " . Gabranth was chosen as his replacement since , as a guest character , they didn ' t have to limit themselves to primary villains and heroes . Lightning was also considered , but it was decided against as " Final Fantasy XIII " hadn ' t been released yet and so including her would mean introducing her and her skills in a spin - off game first . Localization . The North American and European versions of " Dissidia " received many changes . For example , even though the Prologue originally acted as the tutorial in the Japanese version , the Western version has an additional , shortened tutorial that is separate from the prologue , which covers only the gameplay ' s action - fighting elements , and the aforementioned Arcade Mode is a new gameplay mode that lets players fight against a gauntlet of enemies ( five in Normal mode , eight in Hard mode , and ten in Time Attack ) for rewards . There are also changes to the gameplay itself . The Story Mode can apparently be beaten more quickly , depending on the player ' s decisions , as the Shade Impulse level opens as the player finishes one Destiny Odyssey . Each character has adjusted abilities and several have new attacks , to make gameplay more balanced . A demo of the game was announced to be available through the US PlayStation Store on July 23rd , and it is free to download . The EU Playstation Store released the demo on August 20th . Demo version . The demo , released July 23rd on PSN , makes use of the new mode , " Arcade Mode " on Normal or Hard difficulty and the playable characters are Onion Knight , Cecil , Terra , Cloud , and Sephiroth . Before each match , is a three - page tutorial to show the player how to control the character and other information . Unlike the Japanese version , when the character speaks their line , subtitles for what they say appear and whenever a player wins or loses , it will say " Victory " or " Defeated " , instead of " Win " and " Lose " . Also , when the Player is in EX Mode , the gauge is orange , instead of purple as seen on the Japanese version , though it is purple when the player gathers EX Force . " Dissidia Final Fantasy : Universal Tuning " . On November 1st , Square Enix released an international version called " Dissidia Final Fantasy : Universal Tuning " in Japan . The game has the extras and enhancements from the US / EU release , and possibly more , including Dual Audio for Battle Voices which was confirmed on the main website . The game was released simultaneously on UMD and as a digital download on the PlayStation Store . Music . " Dissidia Final Fantasy Original Soundtrack " was released on December 24th , 2008 , on two CDs . A Limited Edition version was also released . The soundtrack features arranged music from the series , rearranged by Takeharu Ishimoto and Tsuyoshi Sekito . Merchandise . The " Dissidia " cast has been made into Trading Arts Figures , posing in their positions as depicted in their " Dissidia " artwork . " Dissidia " also includes a purchasable bundle similar to that of " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . It includes a copy of " Dissidia " , with limited edition cover art that features Cosmos and the heroes , and a PSP - 3000 with engravings of Cosmos and Chaos , similar to the " Crisis Core " bundle . This set was only available in Japan . A line of grape and citrus flavored Potion beverages with likenesses of the artwork for each of the heroes and villains on the cans have also been produced in Japan . Studio BentStuff published the " Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania α " as an initial reference guide for the game on December 4th 2008 . The Japanese magazine V - Jump also published the " Dissidia Final Fantasy Destiny Hero ' s Guide " on December 18th 2008 , which covers all the 10 chapters of the story mode and provides info on the 22 characters ' abilities and items . A " Dissidia " entertainment pack was released in the U . S . on August 25 , 2009 . The pack includes a Mystic Silver PSP - 3001 , a 2GB memory stick , a copy of " Dissidia " , and a copy of " " on UMD . However , this bundle does not include cases for the games . The PSP also lacks the engravings of Cosmos and Chaos . A preordered copy of " Dissidia " included a 2010 calendar featuring the main hero and villain of each installment for each month . The European version of " Dissidia " includes a special white leather casing with the Dissidia logo on it , and two stickers of a Cosmos and a Chaos stigma .