Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy Alternates

As promised, I shall deliver.

I will be posting up images of 3rd alternate, and a couple of 2nd alternates (namely Yuna and some changed 2nd alternates) and give some of my thoughts on them. Let's start off with the very first Final Fantasy.

FFI

Warrior of Light's 3rd Alternate is based on the NES Warrior sprite form. He has red armor and red hair. Although I would much prefer an alternate based on the PSP sprites, I am pretty satisfy with this. For his Ex Mode, he goes Super Saiyan, also a reference to the NES sprites, this time, from the Knight. His hairstyle changes and he gets a slight buff, not much noticed at less you have a sharp eye for detail.

Garland's 3rd Alternate is based on Amano's Cloud Sea Djinn illustration. I'll admit I was skeptical when reports first came it that this was Garland's 3rd Alternate. Apparently someone had seen it in the TGS demo. I was disappointed even. But when I have actually seen him. He looks cool. With a sword made of stone that turns magma upon entering Ex Mode, he just looks cool. The skin color also changes.

FFII

Firion's alternate looks meh... It is based on this Amano drawing, apparently someone said that he was seen with the Origin's opening costume. Guess that wasn't true. Although I must say his Ex Mode looks cool, too bad Ex-mode in Duodecim is short-lived, and pretty much absent in most battles.

However, that same person was right about the Emperor's new clothes (pun intended). He is wearing the Origin's opening costume. However, his alternate Ex Mode was not the much anticipated Emperor of Light. I think I'll be using this alternate mostly, because I totally hated his previous two costumes.

FFIII

Onion Knight's costume is based on an Amano drawing of the Unnamed Warrior. It looks cool, but the green Ex-modes makes it look ugly. Come on, give him black Ex-modes. It's not like black ninjas and sages exist in Duodecim. Red spawned red Ex-modes, and blue spawned blue Ex Modes. It this suppose to be his manikin's Ex Modes? Also, I would have preferred a full Luneth. Here's hoping they changed the 2nd alternate entirely to Luneth.

Cloud of Darkness's 3rd alternate is supposedly based on the concept of Flood of Light, which is part of the FFIII storyline but never did existed. This, seriously trumps the other two costumes. Also, the Ex Mode of the 

2nd alternate is changed to look more like the NES sprite. 

FFIV

Cecil's 3rd alternate is based on the DS release of FFIV's FMV costume. The Paladin form looks okay to me. It's the Dark Knight form that I don't like. He looks like some robot from another dimension in Dark Knight form. Wait... He looks more like something off Power Rangers. Here's hoping the release of FFIV: Complete Collection will introduce a new DLC for this game.

Kain's 3rd alternate is based on the Hooded Man of FFIV: The After Years. In case you are wondering, the Hooded Man IS Kain. His Ex Mode is similar to the 2nd alternate's Ex Mode, just colored purple. Reminds me of Spyro the Dragon. Also, his spear no longer looks like a frigging harpoon.

Golbez's 3rd alternate is also based on this TAY look. This is really a dashing change. He looses all his armor, and instead is only clothed in cape and kilt. He also has prayer beads, looks like a hermit to me. This is definitely gonna be my new Golbez costume. For his Ex Mode, he gets the Shadow Dragons as tattoos-thingie, which would look cool, except it glows and pass over his kilt. It would be prefect if the kilt did not have the Shadow Dragons. Don't really mind the glow, but would prefer that it did not.

FFV

If there was one word to describe FFV's overall 3rd alternates, it would be shocking. Bartz's is based on this. The NES sprite of Bartz as a Freelancer. To me, he looks like something out of Disney. The color. That color. That frigging color! He looks like a Prince from Disney in his Ex Mode. I'll admit it looks better than the 2nd alternate, but I prefer to default.

If Bartz looked Disney, ExDeath looks Blizzard. He looks like a frigging World of Warcraft Night Elf. It's the color, I tell you, the color. And the horns. Anyway, he is based on this, some sort of centaurish creature. It's WoW I tell you. And his Ex Mode his based on the human portion of Neo ExDeath. Yup, it's the top right part, if you can't tell. I wouldn't be surprise.

FFVI

Terra's alternate is pretty, I must say. It must be the blue. It is based on yet another Amano drawing. She has a winged shoulder pad. Also, apparently she is aligned with Chaos at the beginning of Duodecim, and would soon join Vaan and at one point try to persuade Vaan to kill her. The Ex Mode is predictably a palette swap. What else can they do?

Kefka's alternate is based on, again, another Amano drawing. His sleeves are frigging huge and he looks, well, like a clown. Note that the two pairs of wings are absent in game. They are only found on the Ex Mode Kefka.

FFVII

No prices on guessing what Cloud's 3rd alternate is based on. Yup, this, which is yet another Amano drawing. I like the white shoes though. There is a bagpack on his back, slung over the left shoulder. I'll mostly be using the Advent Children attire, I think, unless I find some way to get the Kingdom Hearts Cloud DLC.

Thankfully, Tifa's alternate is NOT based on an Amano drawing. This time, it is based on her in game appearance during Zack and Sephiroth's visit to Nibelheim, where she acted as a tour guide. Yup, the cowgirl outfit. She does get an Amano addition as a DLC though. Where she wears a red skirt that has different suspenders. The white hair is not carried over.

Sephiroth's 3rd alternate is based on his original game appearance. Beadless, sashless, a different belt, shoulder pauldrons, and assymetrical bangs. I wonder why they never included this in the first game. I'll take this as the default over the current one. And have a Safer Sephiroth or something. Also, here's hoping his Kingdom Hearts attire gets added somewhere, some how. I liked that better than the current default, although they are quite similar.

FFVIII

Squall's alternate is based on an Amano drawing, man I'm tired of writing Amano all over the place. He wears a sleeveless shirt and most of the other things remind quite the same, include the sash and boots. Love this, and also hoping the Kingdom Hearts II, (mind you, II, not I)'s attire will appear somehow. 

Laguna's alternate is based on this, his in game appearance at the end of FFVIII. Sans the old man look. Never thought of this as a battle wear. But it works, given Laguna's dashing personality, I wouldn't be that surprised. He actually feels cool wearing that, not look, just that thing known as feel.

OMG! Edea is in the game! Wait, her skills are the same as Ultimecia, her Ex Mode is the same. Is this a bug? Nope, Edea is Ultimecia's 3rd alternate. Not entirely though. The big thing she carries around with her is missing. Yup, that big metal thingie.

FFIX

I'm pretty okay with Zidane's alternate being his disguise as a Pluto Knight. Though I was hoping he would get Genome costume or something. The Ex Mode is again a recolor. Nothing much they can do there. I wonder if he would ever get to use that sword of his back. I seriously doubt it though.

Kuja's is lame. It's just a black recolor given the justice of signifying Angel of Death and as possibly based on Amano's drawing of the first dissidia. Lame!! If they had only suit him up in Garland (IX)'s armor, now, that would have been cool.

FFX

Once again Tidus is given a costume based on an Amano drawing. And he is shirtless and looks darn manly. Goes to show that he is the son of Jecht. Along with Terra and Cloud, Tidus will be siding with Chaos early in the game's story. What happens later remains a mystery. Also, Tidus's 2nd alternate has been updated to look more like his FFX costume. I prefer the old one though. But at least the parts I liked are still in the default.

Yuna's 2nd alternate is based on Amano. Yup, the guy himself. Not. Anyway, it just a change of color and removal of the flower pattern. Her 3rd alternate, however, is based on her wedding scene with Seymour in FFX. Looks kinda like a ballerina, which would probably suit her Ex Burst. Can't wait to see both her Ex Burst and her wedding gown in action.

Jecht is wearing the Zanarkand Abes uniform, which is seen in the opening cutscene of FFX. This might be an allusion to the fact that he was good before he turned bad. In FFX, before he turned into Sin or rather left Zanarkand in general, he was a Zanarkand Abes star player, and in Dissidia he was became a Warrior of Cosmos. His 2nd alternate is also changed mostly removing the feathers-spike thingie.

FFXI

Shantotto's third outfit is a reference to the Black Cloak, player-crafted Black Mage equipment in Final Fantasy XI. The Ex Mode is has her wearing glasses and the vestments of a Windurstian Minister, a position she occupied before her retirement. Mostly no complains her, except her Ex Mode and base form looks so unrelated that they could be two different alternates.

FFXII

Vaan is given his Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 outfit, where he featured as a guess character. This outfit finally covers his DEM ABS. It is mostly him wearing a shirt beneath the vest. But it looks cool and sky pirate-ish. I would definitely be using this alternate.

Basch is here! Or rather Gabranth pretending to be Basch. It is his Kingslayer outfit, worn when he disguised himself as Basch to kill the King of Dalmasca. I wonder if he dons his helmet when he goes into Ex Mode. I kinda doubt it. But I did doubt Golbez's dragon appearing in his third alternate....so meh. I also realized that most helmed characters have either did away with their helms or wears a more revealing helm. WoL, Garland, Onion Knight, Golbez, ExDeath, and now possibly Gabranth (if he doesn't wear a helm in Ex Mode).

FFXIII

Lightning's 3rd outfit is based on this, the Female Guardian Corps outfit. She look kinda...adorable. Somehow. Well, she was an employee there, so it fits. I wonder... If she was employee there why did she wear what she did in FFXIII? Also her FFXIII-2 outfit looks cool. Plate mail and feathers. Sweet.