A little ways back, 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, Vaan from Final Fantasy XII, and most recently Laguna Loire from Final Fantasy VIII 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.

Vivi (Final Fantasy IX)

Out of all the characters in Final Fantasy IX none are more beloved than Vivi. While he appears to be a young boy around the age of nine, he is actually only about six months old. Through a series of odd events, he becomes wrapped up in the adventures of Zidane and Garnet but soon learns that his very existence is tied directly to their journey. The Black Mages in Final Fantasy IX are actually mass produced foot soldiers that have to follow every order Garnet's power-hungry mother, Queen Brahne, gives. Vivi is plagued with self-doubt and wonders who he truly is throughout the course of the story. It isn't until the party reaches a town of "awakened" Black Mages who distrust humans that he learns more about himself. They also inform him that most Black Mages are programmed to stop working after one year though Vivi may live longer since he is a prototype. Vivi becomes confused and distressed at the very idea of his own mortality but by the end of the game comes to grip with the fact that his life is destined to be short. Like many other characters, his character arc is perfect for Duodecim. Vivi begins the game unsure and timid before realizing his true power and becoming a force to be reckoned with.

While many characters have the ability to use magic in Dissidia, Vivi is the only character who would exclusively use it with little in the way of physical attacks. Vivi is equipped with a staff, but its effectiveness is limited to quickly getting out of combos. The best thing about Vivi's battle capabilities is that he would be able to use every spell in the game so that it would be up to players to pick and choose which would be the best combination in combat. Vivi's stats would be low with the exception of his magic of course. His EX Mode would allow him to focus his magic for as long as he wanted in order to cast super versions of each spell. The obvious risk is that it would take some time for the powered-up version to be ready. His EX Burst would cast Stop on his opponent before casting two of each of his spells around the frozen victim. As soon as Stop disappeared the spells would collide into his enemy all at once for massive damage. Vivi is the character for players who want nothing but magic at their disposal and the ability to truly customize their character's movesets. I realize that this was possible in Dissidia but never to the degree that I'm suggesting for Vivi.

Garnet (Final Fantasy IX)

Garnet is the princess of Alexandria and adopted daughter of Queen Brahne. When she was a baby, Garnet was saved from death by her real mother during a destructive purge of the Summoner people. Though her real mother died, she was adopted by the king and queen of Alexandria and raised as their own. Her story in Final Fantasy IX begins when she notices strange changes in her mother's personality. She wants to escape the city and visit her uncle, Cid, to ask his advice. When she finds out that Zidane and the Tantalus group want to kidnap her, she willingly goes along though she is hunted by her mother every step of the way. Eventually she learns that Kuja was manipulating Queen Brahne for his own goals and is there when he kills the queen. Brahne asks Garnet for her forgiveness which her daughter gladly gives. Garnet also learns the truth of her origins and her status as a Summoner. From that moment on, Garnet is resolute in protecting Alexandria from Kuja's mechanizations and works with the party to finally stop his plans. By the end of the game, she has become strong, fearless, and more informed about the world. She has also fallen in love with Zidane. For Duodecim, she would be seeking revenge against Kuja while developing a relationship with Zidane. She would also come to terms with her abilities as a Summoner.

Combat-wise Garnet would be similar in battle to Rydia. She lacks the variety of spells that Rydia has but her summons would be much more powerful. For her ground-based Brave attacks, Garnet would use Shiva and all of the ice attacks at her disposal. Garnet's defense would be generally higher when using Shiva though her speed lowers as well. In the air Garnet's Brave attacks would use Ramuh and be able to chain attacks together more easily. Her speed would also be at its highest though her defense would plummet. Finally, her HP attacks would use Bahamut which would dramatically increase her strength but drop the rest of her stats. Like Rydia, players would have to be aware of how long each attack takes since they are generally slower than other attacks. Garnet's EX Mode would increase the speed of all her summons while her EX Burst would be the summon, Ark. Ark is the most powerful summon in Final Fantasy IX and is an airship that transforms into a giant mech before sending out dozens of missiles at an enemy. It then fires off a rail gun that is so powerful that its shockwave can be felt on the other side of the planet. Needless to say, this would be one of the most powerful EX Bursts in the game. Summoners would be tricky for players to use in Duodecim but those willing to learn the intricacies might find Garnet a more interesting option than Rydia.

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