Editing Mirage Arena

{{Game|BBS|FMB}}

[[File:Hub 02 (Art).png|thumb|left|150px|Concept art of the Mirage Arena.]]

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 [[Keyblade Armor|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. Additionally, players can also race in [[Disney Town]] and play a board game on the [[Command Board]]. Concept art of the Mirage Arena shows that it was to be a flora-and-fauna-like hub in the sky instead of a hub in the middle of the Lanes Between. Balloons would have held up the hub instead of being a self-sustained space port, with one balloon having a similar appearance to a {{ff|Cactuar}}.

Originally, the Mirage Arena was meant to have a slight element of story to it, rather than be completely distant from any auxiliary characters. The developers planned for {{ff|Laguna Loire}} from ''{{ff|Final Fantasy VIII}}'' to appear in the Mirage Arena as the head of the arena. However, the team was also planning ''{{ff|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.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110221102932/http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/12/21/nomura_takahashi_dissidia/ Nomura and Takahashi on ''Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy''], '''Anoop Gantayat:''' "The FFVIII hero was actually supposed to have appeared in ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'', Nomura revealed. They'd even partially prepared a scenario where Laguna appears as the head of Mirage Arena. In the end, they decided that if they were to have a new character from FFVIII in ''Duodecim'' it would end up being Laguna, so they left him out of BbS."</ref>

==Settings and Areas==

The Mirage Arena has a futuristic look that resembles that of [[Space Paranoids]]. The main area of the Mirage Arena is called the {{nihongo|'''Hub'''|ロビー|Robī|lit. "Lobby"}}. It appears as a large, mostly hollow, blue sphere floating in space. There are several small, flashing electrical towers on the outer surface, as well a very large version of the same type of tower and a thin, grey tower. At the bottom of the sphere is a grey, triangular shape, while at the top is a large, saucer-like structure with cables running underneath. The structure is surrounded by two concentric rings that constantly rotate about the sphere. The rings have circuitry running along the outer edge, and a pattern of triangles on the inner edge. There are also ghostly rings around the bottom of the sphere and another half-ring running around the center of the structure.

The lobby is in the center of the sphere. In the center of the blue, tiled floor is a large, circular indentation with rings of neon lights. On one side is a circular transporter to the exit, and on the other side is a computer console and a [[moogle]] that runs a [[Moogle Shop#Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep|Medal Shop]]. Hanging from the top of the sphere is a bulbous machine, projecting a sphere of moving light.

While most events occur in different areas in other worlds, some Arena matches take place in a {{nihongo|'''Battle Arena'''|アリーナ|Arīna|lit. "Arena"}}<!--confirm name-->, in which red screens of various shapes surround a circular field colored various shades of blue. The surrounding space can be seen through the windows in this area.

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Once in the lobby, events can be selected from the console. A player connected to the Internet can choose to either host an event or join an existing one. Once all players have chosen to participate in an event, the event can begin once all players go to the center of the lobby and press {{button|x}} followed by {{button|start}}.

Participating in events earns players Medals, which can be exchanged for {{c|Deck Command|KHBBS}}s and key items from the moogle.

*[[Versus Mode]]<ref>PSP versions only.</ref>: Players face each other in battle. Both team matches and free-for-all matches are available. Up to six players can participate with pre-made Command Decks, or up to three can play with their own Decks.

==Notes and references==

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