The roster for "Dissidian Final Fantasy" on arcades continues to grow as Square Enix recently announced the release of Garland as the game's first playable villain. Square-Enix has released an official trailer showcasing the character in action, and as stated in a report from Forbes, he will be available for Japanese gamers by the end of the month.
Garland, as he appears in "Dissidia Final Fantasy" for arcades, originates from the very first "Final Fantasy" game from the 1980s. Garland served as both the first and final boss of the game, creating a loop in time for him to remain immortal until the player would destroy him for good.
"Final Fantasy IX" also has an antagonist bearing the same name, although they are unrelated and have very different stories, as the version in "Final Fantasy IX" is merely a nod or tribute to the original.
The villain did appear in the two "Dissidia" titles for the PSP, but given how the arcade game is a reboot of the franchise instead of a direct sequel to the two previous games, Garland now sports a slightly different move set and may have different motives in the game's overall story.
As shown in the trailer, Garland appears to be a heavy-striker type of fighter, dealing large amounts of damage from up-close, although the character does have a few long-range slashing combos that can be used until Garland is able to close the distance.
There is still no official word on a PS4 port, although the report does point out that the arcade version was built on PS4-like hardware, indicating that a port will be released soon. It is this PS4 version that many speculate will find its way to the West, although Square-Enix has yet to give official word if the arcade version will also be released in Europe and the U.S.
