Merry Xmas peons!
Sorry for the double, but info on some of the characters special forms and Burst attacks.
Sephiroth【Concept】
"Blade Master"
He wields the Masamune, a sword longer than himself which boasts the longest reach of all. His unique unseeable swordplay (while you can see a single swing of the sword, the attacks count as mutliple hits) is able to slice his opponents to ribbons in moments. With his Brave sword attacks, Sephiroth will appear to be stationary, while the arch of light left behind inidicates where his attack hit his opponent. However, this does mean that he vunerable after attacking. But it is possible to chain attacks together, if the button is pressed directly afterwards, the resulting attack increasing how much Brave and EX-Force he gains. Compared to other troops of Chaos, he is a bit easier to handle.
【Position and Personality】
Sephiroth is a silver-haired swordsman who was once a famous hero. Hardly a shadow of humane sentiment can be found in his words or actions now, and even among the troops of Chaos he stands seperate from the rest due to his conspicuous nature. He is a person deeply connected with Cloud's past, and he likes to call him "puppet," and generally lord himself over the other.
【EX Info】
EX-Mode Effect: Sprouts a single black wing. Based on the design Sephiroth has in AC/ACC.
EX-Mode Bonus: No name given. When in the air, pressing X will allow him to glide. Futhermore, doing this lets him use special attacks, like a stronger and longer lasting Octoslash.
EX-Burst: "Super Nova" He blows his enemy away with a wave of energy eminating from the blade of his sword, causing them to swallowed within the exploding expansion of a dying star. Press the O button to fill up the Limit Gauge that appears, quickly as possible until it is filled. If you don't finish in the time the star will finish exploding, resulting in a weaker attack.
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Cloud Strife【Concept】
"Smash & Blow/Blow Hitter"
Wielding his giant Buster Sword, he can send opponents flying with one dynamic blow. This can even mean knocking an opponent from one side of the map to the other. He's a character designed to make use of collision damage. Although it is possible to balance out with practice, his aerial techniques are still rather quirky. Although he can use some magic, high damage close-quarters fighting is his speciality. His speed is average. It is possible to use attacks in the same vien as Omnislash. He was designed to be a pick up and play character.
【Position and Personality】
Cloud is a 21-year-old swordsman, armed with the Buster Sword. He is one of the older members among the warriors of Cosmos. He straight-foward in addressing problems and composed during arguments, as he seldomly agitated while approaching these issues with his calm judgement, making him very dependable in this situation in the others' eyes. However when it comes to his personal issues, the constant question of "Why I am fighting?" leaves him frustrated.
【EX Info】
EX-Mode Effect: Switches weapons. Goes from Buster Sword to Ultima Weapon.
EX-Mode Bonus: No name given. His attack power is raised in proportion to his current HP. All of his sword attacks become unblockable.
EX-Burst: "Omnislash" Slashes with his sword 14 times to steal his opponent's Brave, before leaping into the air to slash with all of his might. Press the O button to fill up the Limit Gauge that appears, as fast as you can to make it reach the end. However if you miss the deadline of when the "Omnislash" message appears, there will be fewer attacks than normal.
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Terra Branford【Concept】
"Magic Master"
A mage who uses magic high above the standard of other characters. Not only good for long distance attacks, she also has plenty of short-distance attacks. While magic is fundamentally a long range, as opponents approach she is also capable of switching to short range on the fly. Though she is a little slow while moving. Her girlish voice and movements are part of her charm, right down to the way she appears to put effort into her magical attacks.
【Position and Personality】
Terra is a young woman born from the union of Esper and human. Not only does she store a huge amount of magical power in her body, but she is also well-versed in the arts of swordplay. Because she grew up in an unorthodox enviroment, she does not express her emotions well and is unsure about her future. She also has problems controlling the power of her Esper-self.
【EX Info】
EX-Mode Effect: Tranforms into her Morphed/Tranced form from the original game. She glows with a white and purple tinged light, and her Esper-self seems covered in fur.
EX-Mode Bonus: No name given. She will cast her spells twice in a form of "Dual Cast," and is able to glide by pressing the X button. This is described as this being when "The power of her magical attacks is at its height."
EX-Burst: "Riot Blade" She hurls ice at her opponent, and then lets transparent blades of magic fly from both of her arms. Two gauges appear, one for the left directional button and another for the O button. The number of blades she attacks with and thus the power of the attack are dependent upon how full the gauges are.
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Cefca Palazzo【Concept】
"Trick Star"
His magic follows irregular patterns, and he mainly focuses on irritating his opponent from a distance. Because he exaggerates every motion there is a lag time between attacks, and due to this slowness he is poor at close quarters combat. His main strategy is to play with his opponents, looking down at them with contempt as he makes them fools in his personal game. Incidentally, the motions of his attacks aren't the only odd thing about them, since many of them also have strange names.
(Schala's Note: The attacks have names like 'Spinning Blizzaga,' 'Variety Firaga' and 'Here and There Thundaga')
【Position and Personality】
With his comical conduct, Kefka is a Magitek Knight that combines childishness with brutality. Unlike Terra, his magical powers were artificially injected, a process that destroyed his mind. Kefka keeps his head down admist the other troops of Chaos, clearly watching out only for himself, as he is focused on exploiting Terra's weaknesses for his own gain. Although he often does not appear to make sense, his eccentricity still generally accepted amongst the forces of Chaos. The voice actor was allowed to adlib his lines.
【EX Info】
EX-Mode Effect: Appears as he did at the end of the game - as a angel in a lioncloth who has absorbed the power of the Warring Triad.
EX-Mode Bonus: No name given. Changes the patterns of this magical attacks from two bounces to three (Described as "The magic travels along the ground, stopping for one burst and then flies after the opponent) However, it becomes even harder to predict where it will go. While in the air, you can press X to glide.
EX-Burst: "Light of Judgement"* He draws upon the power of the Warring Triad, smiting his opponent from above with a beam of light, causing a grand explosion. Three buttons are displayed for you to memorize the pattern you must input to invoke the spell. Should you make a mistake, instead of "Light of Judgement," the opponent will be swallowed in a weaker explosion, "Forsaken."
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Squall Leonhart【Concept】
"Combo Master/Combo Fighter"
With his Gunblade, he is quick to attack at at short distances, and combine bullet and blade in his fighting style. Although close-quarters combat on the ground is his forte, he can use magic, allowing him to attack from a distance as well. Either way, he be relished by players who love delivering long strings of combos. Though his HP attacks are a little slow, they have a large attack range.
(Mini notes that Squall tends to run like a girl in this game)
【Position and Personality】
Squall is a 17-year-old swordsman who fights with a gunblade. He graduated from the mercenary training school, Balamb Garden, originally founded to defeat the Sorcereresses. Reticient and rather impolite, he distances himself from his allies, but this to due to his hidden vunerability and fears regarding being hurt. Thus, few people get close to him. As in the original game, he has many moments of personal soul-searching.
【EX Info】
EX-Mode Effect: Swittches weapons from Revolver to Lionheart.
EX-Mode Bonus: Lionheart (Increases the power of Gunblade attacks. It also increases the reach of the blade, and causes it to fire upon contact with opponents, further increasing its damage output)
EX-Burst: Renzokuken - Uses his Gunblade in a series of attacks against his opponent, mirroring the finisher "Lionheart." With sharp explosions, he lets the bullets fly. As in the original, a bar appears at the bottom of the screen with a marker labled "Trigger" to show when to hit the R button to increase the attack's power. The trigger can be hit up to eight times. However, missing the Trigger will automatically end the chance to power up the attack, making the game skip to ending of Lionheart.
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Ultemecia【Concept】
"Magic Shooter"
Although her attacks and movements are a bit slow, as a ranged character her magic bullets can travel long distances. Even if someone manages to approach, she can continue to launch attacks while moving, allowing her to put distance between her and her opponent while still fighting. Her attacks change dependent upon the number of times the button is pushed, allow her barrages to gain power and her attacks to have variations. Also, some of her attacks draw from the image of a "Sorcereress' Knight" with orginal magical weapons such as a sword, an axe, and bow named after the position.
【Position and Personality】
Ultimecia is a Sorcereress with the incredible power to manipulate the flow of time. While attempting to compress time so that she alone could live forever, Squall and his friends came to oppose her. As this femme fatale flaunts her voluptuous figure, she still maintains an air of charm and elegance. Around her fellow troops of Chaos she pretends to be polite while scheming behind their backs, reveling in her own vainglorious thoughts.
【EX Info】
EX-Mode Effect: Changes form as she junctions herself to Griever in a way similiar to the original game.
EX-Mode Bonus: No name given. Her magical powers increase, and she gains a special R+Square attack.
EX-Burst: "Time Compression" She stops time around her opponent to freeze them in place, and then barrages them with magical bullets, ending with a large explosion referred to as "End of Memories."* In the middle of her attack, a guage similiar to Squall appears, complete with the same manner of markers. When her marker reaches the "Fire!" mark, press the O button with the proper timing to increase the power of her projectiles. Successfully completing the sequence will affect the amount of Brave she can steal from her opponent, but either way the general effect of the attack will remain the same.
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Shantotto【Concept】
"Level-Up Magic"
A heavily skill-based character whose magic changes depending upon the amount of Brave she possesses at a given time. While she is unique in being able to combo with HP attacks, they are still hard for her to land. Along with her magic, the attributes of her staff also change.
【Position and Personality】
A prominent Tarutaru black mage, graced with the title of "Professor." Her exact age is unknown, and though she appears to be a charming angel, she is quite forceful in action - almost unprecedentedly so - and the most radical words fly from her lips everytime she opens her mouth. She loves conflict and trouble, running headlong into action, openly flaunting her arrogance. Though she is involved with the world, as well as the story, her tale is seperate from the main battle between Cosmos and Chaos. Furthermore. There is a sense that even if she is defeated, "She will never give up."
【EX Info】
EX-Mode Outfit: She changes from her normal Windrust Commander Coat into a Cobra Unit Coat*.
EX-Mode Bonus: "Manafont" Her Brave will not decease while attacking HP
EX-Burst: "Lost Temper" She attacks with two staves at once for this Skillchain, with 6 types of Ancient Magic swirling around her. In the lower left corner there is a menu box with the options of "Quake" "Tornedo" "Freeze" "Flare" "Flood" and "Burst." As each spell has a different elemental type, they must be cast in a pattern in order to raise their power. However, if you take too much time making your selections, the deadline will pass.
*The Cobra Unit is a group of mercenaries allied with the Federation of Windurst.
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Jecht【Concept】
"Ultimate In-fighter/Super In-fighter"*
He doesn't use magic, so intend overwhelms his opponent in close-quarters, making him a character suitable for those who like fighting games. He moves quickly, and once he makes the approach, his over-whelming strength easily depletes his opponent's Brave in fast combos. The fact that his Brave attacks only grow stronger as he gains more Brave make him more dangerous. His combos have many different branches, and their flow changes depending upon the player's ability to input attacks with optimal timing. In this way, it is possible to cancel out the time between attacks, allowing HP attacks to be integrated into combos.
*Concept titles with a / indicate that more than one term has been used to describe the character's fighting style.
【Position and Personality】
Jecht is Tidus' father, and was once a star blitzball star like his son. He lacks the ability to properly express love or other tender feelings, resulting in an extremely rocky relationship with his son. Though he has no desire to rule the world, he is allied with the side of Chaos for his own reasons. This motive will be revealed through the story. In comparison to a shadowy manipulator like Golbez, he is the type who acts without thinking.
【EX Info】
EX-Mode Effect: A transformation based on Braska's Final Aeon from the original game.
EX-Mode Bonus: No name given. Even if his attack misses, another one can be executed without pause. It is possibly to totally dominate an opponent when they have no time to counter-attack.
EX-Burst: "King of The Blitz" He flings his opponent with a kick, slashes at them with his sword, and then kicks a boulder at them. The same timer bar that Tidus has appears, and the O Button has to pressed went the cursor reaches the center. If you succeed in selecting it the first time, then a second bar appears to power it up further
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Dofus【Concept】
"Dodge-Attack"
Though he uses a sword he's not your everyday swordsman, as he efficiently intergrates his natural athletic abilities to attack while constantly moving about. He is able to shift around into a back stab, making avoiding enemy attacks easier, and leaving him better equipped to quickly respond to enemy attacks as he continues with his evasions. He almost seems to float a bit like Kuja, one of the main points about him that the staff debated hotly.
【Position and Personality】
Always up-beat no matter the surroundings, Tidus is a positively cheerful 17-year-old. He was gathering popularity as a young blitzball star. While he tends to affect everyone's mood around him, when it comes to his own issues he often loses his temper. But he is also sentimental, and often wears his heart on his sleeve. His possesses very complicated feelings regarding his father Jecht.
【EX Info】
EX-Mode Effect: Weapon change. He switches to Caladbolg.
EX-Mode Bonus: Caladbolg (Raises HP and attack power), Hastega (Increases movement speed - to the point of being able to avoid magic). This also allows the player a bit more reaction time for dodging.
EX-Burst: "Blitz Ace" He slashes rapidly at his opponent, then he tosses a blitzball into the air to shoot at his opponent with an overhead kick. As in the original, a bar appears at the bottom of the screen, with a cursor moving back and forth across it. When the cursor reaches the center of the bar, press the O button to raise the last attack's power.
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Zidane Tribal【Concept】
"Air Master"
He moves quickly, which helps to make him more user-friendly in ariel battles, where he excels. He can also preform multiple mid-air jumps, a talent that serves him well on narrow battle maps with scaffoldings. Since he dual-weilds his daggers he has a lot of moves. One motif is that his HP attacks are named after his Dyne skills.
【Position and Personality】
Hiding his profession as a thief behind an actor's mask, Zidane is a cheerful 16 year-old. His energentic personality is summed up as "he is cool when push comes to shove."* He has good powers of discernment, as well as plenty of courage, and he fancies himself to be a ladies' man. His brother Kuja is battling for the side of Chaos, and the two have vastly different views on life, with Zidane considering protecting people to be of the utmost importance. He is competing with Bartz to see who will obtain the Crystals first.
*Quote comes from Main Programmer, Ryuji Ikeda
【EX Info】
EX-Mode Effect: Trance mode from the original game.
EX-Mode Bonus: "Level 10 Jump" (Possible to jump 10 times while in the air) Further more, until he hits the ground again, enemy attacks will not hit him.
EX-Mode Burst: "Reserse Gaia." Using his daggers, he accelerates through a series of high-speed attacks, then he connects his daggers together by their handles to from a single swallow blade, for a single finishing blow. A gauge is displayed, and the O button is pressed to execute the series of attacks. The gauge is split into quarters, each one possessing a certain time limit. If the barrage slows and the time limit passes, it will automatically skip to the last attack.
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Kuja【Concept】
"Range Free/Range Master"
By pushing X in the air, he is able to glide about freely. It gives a feeling of floating with its own peculiar inertia. While he is able strike hard from above, he does have short-range attacks as well, letting him easily cope with close-combat. He can move while attacking, and the analog stick can be used in 2-stage attacks, allowing the range of the second attack to vary. If this type of combo consists of the same type of magic - for example Flare followed by Flare - the second attack will be powered-up.
(Note from Mini: Apparently, recreating spells like Ultima as they appeared in IX was difficult.)
【Position and Personality】
Kuja is a beautiful and brutal angel of death, wrapped in a shadowy ambiance. As in the original story, he is deeply involved in plotting to ensnare his brother Zidane. He enjoys speaking as if he is in a play, and is a narcissist with a bias towards beauty. Possessing an extraordinarily high amount of pride, he tends to look down upon the other troops of Chaos, and plans to be triumphant over all of them.
【EX Info】
EX-Mode Effect: Trance from the original game.
EX-Mode Bonus: No name given. While moving and jumping, Kuja is automatically protected by a ring of magic. Also, everytime he jumps a bullet of light is shot out from the ring.
EX-Burst: "Last Requiem" Begining with a series of magical explosions, his bullets of light come together in a single large ornate explosion for his finale. The same as Zidane, once the gauge appears the O button is to be pressed repeatedly to cause the explosions. The gauge is divided into quarters, and if the pace of entry is too slow the gauge will vanish, ending with the reduced number of explosions.