A new video has been added to the official Japanese Dissidia Final Fantasy site showcasing an exhibition tournament amongst the various game designing staff. Major thanks to Hitoshura for translating their names here. Below you can read who the staff participants were, and the winner, if you can’t see the video yourself. It’s a very interesting watch to see how the creators themselves measure up in playing their own game.
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Square-Enix announced that Dissidia Final Fantasy will be released in Europe and the other PAL territories during Autumn of 2009.

The exact date of the game’s release is still unknown.

Source: Final Fantasy Compilations

And for good measure, here’s one last post to serve as table of contents and description of all the Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania contents here at TheLifestream.net. The translations from the Dissidia Ultimania serve as a guide to the many repeating themes, motifs, and easter eggs from the original Final Fantasy that appear in Dissidia Final Fantasy. Subtle references to the original plot and characters from the original games are also pointed out on these pages as well. Also included is the art gallery and the extensive interview with Tetsuya Nomura. This post also serves as a great excuse to post this beautiful cover image XD.

We hope you enjoyed the content! Please stick around for our next project!

Link to the Original: Final Fantasy- p. 180 of the Dissidia Ultimania

Link to the Original: Final Fantasy II- p. 196 of the Dissidia Ultimania

Link to the Original: Final Fantasy III- p. 236 of the Dissidia Ultimania

Link to the Original: Final Fantasy IV- p. 262 of the Dissidia Ultimania

Link to the Original: Final Fantasy V- p. 488 of the Dissidia Ultimania

Link to the Original: Final Fantasy VI- p. 510 of the Dissidia Ultimania

Link to the Original: Final Fantasy VII- p. 530 of the Dissidia Ultimania

Link to the Original: Final Fantasy VIII- p. 580 of the Dissidia Ultimania

Link to the Original: Final Fantasy IX- p. 624 of the Dissidia Ultimania

Link to the Original: Final Fantasy X- p. 654 of the Dissidia Ultimania

Chapter EX Director Section II Part 6- Interview with Tetsuya Nomura, p.696-699

Dissidia Final Fantasy Material Art Gallery – p. 666-675 of the Dissidia FF Ultimania

So I’ve decided to wrap up our coverage of the Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania with the Material Art Gallery scans of the book. Here’s a look at some of the concept artwork for the stages, characters and weapons of Dissidia Final Fantasy. Enjoy! And be aware they’re quite large. To see the images in full size, right click and choose “Open Link in New Tab” for Firefox or “Open in New Tab” for IE.

And last, but certainly not least, is hitoshura’s translation of the “Link to the Original: Final Fantasy IX” section of the Dissidia Ultimania. Enjoy!

FFIX dealt with the theme of what it meant to live. The relationship between Zidane and Kuja from the original game is still around even in Dissidia FF.

- In FFIX, Kuja used many theatrical expressions. In Dissidia FF he also uses expressions such as “sit back and admire the second act” in various scenes. In Kuja’s dialogue there are also many which replicate lines from FFIX.

“It’s time to close the curtain on this foolish play…“-Kuja

- Before the final battle in Shade Impulse C4-1, Zidane says: “As long as there is someone who remembers us, those memories and lives will go on forever… that’s living… right?” This line is based on what Zidane said before the battle with the final boss Necron in FFIX.
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Hitoshura has translated the “Link to the Original: Final Fantasy III” section of the Dissidia Ultimania! Enjoy reading the translation on the last FF for the NES.

FFIII was the final FF title for the NES. But even with the passage of time it hasn’t lost its charm, which Dissidia FF is filled with.

- The pose the Onion Knight makes in Destiny Odyssey when leaping towards the Cloud of Darkness is based on FFIII’s cover illustration of the Warrior of the Light. He also makes this pose at the end of his EX-Burst “Ninjutsu”. The two swords he has during his EX-Mode are also the ones from the FFIII cover illustration.

- In Shade Impulse C2-3, when fighting the Cloud of Darkness with a character other than Onion Knight, before battle she says, “I will cause a flood of darkness, and return this world… and your world to the Void.” This is roughly the same as the dialogue in FFIII when facing the Cloud of Darkness. In FFIII, she was revived due to the flood of darkness, and tried to return both the worlds of light and darkness to the Void.

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Hitoshura has translated this monster of an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, from the Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania. Enjoy reading about the creation and designs of Dissidia!

Director’s Section 2 — Tetsuya Nomura

I decided to step aside so the younger staff could grow

– Just as many titles have been started in the past based on your ideas, I’ve heard that the Dissidia project was another that began as one of your ideas. What kind of idea was it?

Nomura: It started when we were making ‘Kingdom Hearts (KH)’. I thought it would be fun to fight against others in Traverse Town (a large city which serves as a base for the main character’s adventure). But for various reasons we couldn’t have that in the KH series. Even so, I still held on to that desire to have competitive battles on a 3D field like that, and started to think that if we used do it with KH, we could use the FF characters who appeared in KH. And for several years since, I had been thinking of this project for an action game: taking characters from each numbered FF game, each using their own unique gameplay system from those games, and being able to freely move around a 3D environment while using obstacles. So with that, just as I was thinking it was about time to get this started, the younger staff including Takahashi (Mitsunori Takahashi: planning director) came to me and said they’d like to be given a project, and that they’d like me to direct. I told them that I’d give them a project, but would they try doing it, including the direction, themselves.
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Our member curiousACfan has once again contributed his skill at translating some of the Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania. “Link to the Original: Final Fantasy II” is done so enjoy reading up on the “Wild Rose” of Final Fantasy!

The tale which first expanded character drama was FFII. Many memorable lines from it appear in Dissidia FF.

Firion’s pose of holding his sword in front of his eyes

When Firion confronts the Emperor in Destiny Odyssey II-5, he holds his sword horizontally in front of his eyes. This pose is identical to his pose in the illustration on the packaging of the Famicom edition of FFII.

At the start of battles, Firion briefly takes up a similar pose. This could be called Firon’s “kime” pose.

(Note: “Kime” is a Japanese martial arts term. It refers to a pose one strikes in order to focus their mental and physical power.)

A young man who is inexperienced with women

When acquiring the summon stone for Shiva AUTO, the conversation is a parody of the scene in FFII with the Lamia Queen. The creature had taken on the form of Hilda, princess of the Kingdom of Fynn, and beguiled Firion.

Shiva’s lines are based on the lines of the fake princess in FFII.
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CuriousACfan has translated another portion from the Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania. This time the, “Link to the Original: Final Fantasy V” section is up! Enjoy!

FFV stood out in the FF series with its cheerful atmosphere. Dissidia FF is loaded with bits of FFV’s pleasantness.

The reason the good luck charm is called “partner”

Bartz carries a chocobo feather as a good luck charm. This feather came from Boko the chocobo, who he traveled with in FFV. Therefore, it’s called his “partner” because it has a strong connection to Boko for Bartz.

When Bartz enters his EX Burst, the cry of a chocobo accompanies its footprints as feathers whirl by.

Return of the Spellblade ability

During Bartz’ EX Burst, “Rapidfire Dual-Wield Spellblades,” he first puts the power of magic into the swords. The effect seen in this part of the move is drawn from FFV’s “Spellblade” ability.
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Hitoshura must’ve had a limit break, because he’s gone and translated another portion from the Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania. This time the, “Link to the Original: Final Fantasy IV” section is up and ready to read!

FFIV featured a vast cast of characters. They show up in the the help sections of Dissidia FF, and still as colourful as ever.

- In Destiny Odyssey IV-5, before fighting Golbez, Cecil uses his sword to fire off surges of darkness. That pose and the course the surges fly in are the same as the pixel image of Cecil’s unique command “Darkness” in the SNES version of FFIV. When he uses “Darkness” during his EX-Burst “Double Phase”, his pose there is based on this as well.

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Hitoshura’s been working hard, and has given us another bit from the Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania. This time the, “Link to the Original: Final Fantasy 6″ section has been translated and is up for you to read!

FFVI’s story of tracing Terra’s growth, and some of Kefka’s many famous lines, find their way into Dissidia FF.

- In Dissidia, Terra had previously operated as a pawn of Chaos. This is derived from the fact that in FFVI, she was a soldier for the Gesthal Empire in its plot for world domination. In FFVI Terra was manipulated by the empire, and lived like a weapon. In Destiny Odyssey III-4, when Terra is out of control, she is wearing the ‘Slave Crown’ once again which appeared in FFVI.

(Note: The stats of Terra as an enemy in Destiny Odyssey III-4. She’s equipped with a “Slave Crown” accessory.)

- In Shade Impulse C4-1, Terra says, “Let’s fight to protect the future together. And… we’ll definitely go back home.” This is based on the line in FFVI, where Terra joins the party after the destruction of the world.
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Once again, a big thank you to hitoshura for providing translations for the “Link to the Original: Final Fantasy X” section from the Dissidia Final Fantasy Ultimania. Enjoy the Spiran nostaligia!

FFX was the first in the FF series to introduce voice acting. Its memorable dialogue shows up in Dissidia FF as well.

- In Destiny Odyssey X, Tidus’ thoughts and feelings are revealed through monologues, the same technique used in FFX. In FFX, the story used the structure of Tidus, standing before the final destination of his journey, telling what had happened so far, with Tidus’ monologues interjected at various points. Also in common with FFX is referring to the path one should follow as a “story”. Dialogue from the end of FFX also appears in Dissidia.

“This is my story, after all.“-Tidus

- In Shade Impulse C3-5, Tidus asks Warrior of Light to remember the fact that they have fought together every now and again, even when they return to their own separate worlds. This is based on a line from FFX’s ending by the heroine Yuna: “The people and the friends that we have lost, or the dreams that have faded…Never forget them.”
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