Mirage Arena

The Mirage Arena is a new world introduced in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, specifically for the game's multiplayer mode, Joint Struggle.

Development and purpose
The Mirage Arena was designed to be Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep's form of arena battles and multiplayer content, in contrast to previous forms of both elements in the Kingdom Hearts series. Previously, arena matches and long, seeded series of battles were conducted in Olympus Coliseum, and multiplayer was played through a special mode outside of the main game, such as Mission Mode. The Mirage Arena features the three protagonists, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua, in their armor in this world as well. To give the Mirage Arena's multiplayer and arena battles something that surpasses previous incarnations, new Unversed bosses were added to be exclusive to the Mirage Arena, and multiplayer can be more than just battling. Through Joint Struggle, players can also race in Disney Town and play a board game on the Command Board.

Originally, the Mirage Arena was meant to have a slight element of story to it, rather than be completely distant from any auxillary characters. The developers planned for Laguna Loire from Final Fantasy VIII to appear in the Mirage Arena as the head of the arena. However, the team was also planning Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy at the same time, and decided that if Laguna appeared in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, he could not appear in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. The team eventually decided they would rather have Laguna appear in the latter, and so Laguna was ultimately left out of the final product. As of yet, no data has been found in game of his planned appearance.

Joint Struggle
In the Mirage Arena, a gameplay mode for up to three players known as Joint Struggle is held. Here, players can interact in the Lobby and later battle the Unversed cooperatively. Joint Struggle features unique abilities that cannot be used in other types of gameplay, and allows bonuses to be obtained for the game's single-player story mode.

Upon entering the area, the players choose their name, the color of their armor, and finally, whether to play in an online or offline lobby. Once there, the player has access to several events.

List of Joint Struggle Events

 * New Event - The host can freely select an event to gather players in order to battle against or with them.


 * Arena Mode - The player can choose which area and difficulty they want, and the silhouettes of the final bosses of the arena are selected depending on the difficulty.


 * VS. Arena Mode - The player can choose this to initiate VS. Mode, so the players can choose how many players are allowed and to form teams to battle each other.


 * Command Board  - This option can allow the player to play against two other players in a Command Board game. The host is free to choose the location of the boards.


 * Rumble Racing - The players can engage in a race in Disney Town.

Appearance
From its exterior appearance, the Mirage Arena appears similar to Space Paranoids. A central orb in the middle, several protrusions and large, strap-like objects surround it.

On the inside, the world has an appearance similar to a space station. In the Lobby, glowing neon steps highlight a dark floor. A wide window gives a view of space, and a Moogle stands in the corner running the Medal Shop. When you set records in the Arena's games, you can get medals and exchange them for rare items in the shop. Blue data screens are also displayed on the window. In the Battle Arena, red screens surround the players as they battle Unversed on a terrain colored varying shades of blue. The surrounding space can also be seen through the windows in this area. A third area, also used for battle, places players in a room with a dark floor and walls.

The arena actually transports the players to different areas of other worlds, such as the play area in Land of Departure.

Trivia

 * The Mirage Arena follows a common thread in the Kingdom Hearts series, in this case the number 13. There are a total of 13 different Arena Matches in Mirage Arena.
 * Laguna Loire, father of Squall Leonhart (Leon) in Final Fantasy VIII, was originally planned to appear in Birth by Sleep and a scenario was planned out where he is in charge of the Mirage Arena. However, this was scrapped due to his inclusion in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.