Two years ago, Dissidia: Final Fantasy was released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ongoing series. Fans were treated to a truly unique fighting game that was both complex and visually interesting. Some fights looked as if they had been pulled directly from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children even though it was all gameplay. But by far, the best part of the game for fans was seeing all the main heroes and villains, along with two secret characters, interacting with one another. It led to scenarios that no one thought they'd ever see outside of fan fiction.

With the announcement of Dissidia 012 [Duodecim]: Final Fantasy, Square Enix promises to bring back everything that made the first game great along with new enhancements and new characters. Kain from Final Fantasy IV, Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII, Tifa from Final Fantasy VII, and Vaan from Final Fantasy XII have already been announced with the promise of more being unveiled as the game nears its release in Japan early next year. With that in mind, I thought it'd be interesting to look over all of the characters to ever appear in a Final Fantasy and choose the 46 that have the best shot at being a part of the sequel. Every weekday in December will highlight two potential fighters and give details on their history, their place in Duodecim's story (which is actually a prequel to the original), and their fighting potential.

Welcome to Dissidia December.

Rubicante (Final Fantasy IV)

One of Golbez's four archfiends, Rubicante is considered the strongest and is associated with fire. He is an interesting character in that he has no qualms committing horrible acts of violence, such as destroying the village of Eblan, but he follows his own code of honor that he strictly follows. Rubicante will actually heal his opponents before a fight in order for it to be a fair battle. He will also commend his opponent if they best him in a fight. Beyond that, he functions like any other boss in Final Fantasy IV. In order to make his story have more depth in Duodecim, it could be interesting to see just how far his honor takes him. He may not limit himself to Cecil and could go after other characters, particularly the Warrior of Light, who also has a powerful code of honor.

Rubicante's attacks would all be based around fire and the use of his signature cape. Most of his stats would be average with the exception of his magic and defense, which would be on the high end of characters. His cape would actually work more for defense than attack and if timed correctly, could lead into some powerful counterattack combos. The cape could also grab enemies and toss them about the map. His EX Mode would encase his body in fire, lowering his defense but causing slight damage every time an opponent struck him. Rubicante's  EX Burst would wrap his cape around his opponent, banishing them to a world of fire where Inferno would be cast upon his victim repeatedly. Timing and defensive maneuvering are the keys to victory for players who play with Rubicante.

Faris (Final Fantasy V)

Faris's story is perhaps one of the most intriguing in Final Fantasy V. She is first met as captain of a pirate crew who has disguised herself as a man. In actuality, she is the older sister of Lenna and the lost princess of Tycoon. On a chance meeting with her younger sister, she decides to help Lenna and her friends protect the crystals. Eventually all her secrets come to light and she stays with the party to help save the world and protect her sister. For Duodecim, it would be best for her to continue using her tough persona that she had to adopt in order to survive. On the surface, it would seem she is doing everything to get the job done and receive some kind of reward but in reality she's desperately searching for her lost family.

Like Bartz in Final Fantasy V, Faris can change her Job whenever she likes but for the purposes of standing out, I believe she should focus on her swordplay and the Final Fantasy V Advance exclusive job, the Cannoneer. Her sword strikes would be incredibly fast and help keep her enemies off balance while her cannon strikes, which would come from outside the arena, would be slow but have little indication they were on their way aside from a flick of Faris's wrist. Her EX Mode would greatly increase her speed and sword strikes but would forbid her from using her cannons. They would only be usable during her EX Burst which would unleash the full force of her ship on her enemy. In practice, Faris would be a character that uses her weak flashy moves to cover up her more powerful subtle moves and force players to keep a eye out for her tells.

These are only my choices. What do you think? Would Rubicante and Faris make great characters in Dissidia 012 [Duodecim]? Who would you like to see in the sequel? Let us know in the comments!