Dissidia: Final Fantasy

When taken into perspective, Dissidia could've failed on so many levels. A Final Fantasy fighting game? Didn't we already try that back in 1999 with the lackluster Ehrgeiz? Still, if there's anything I've learned from my time with Dissidia it's to leave your pre-conceived notions at the door. This is Final Fantasy like you've never played it before.

THE VERDICT by Sean Mirkovich Sean Mirkovich's Avatar Will found Dissidia a rewarding, albeit sometimes tedious fighting title for fans of the Final Fantasy series. What it lacks in story, it makes up for in some fun spikey-haired gameplay. While not the next revolution in fighting games, as Will puts it, if you're the kind of person that has bred a Chocobo, you're probably in the right state of mind to enjoy Dissidia.

When Worlds Collide

Dissidia opens with the story of two warring titans - Chaos, the god of discord, and Cosmos, the goddess of harmony - engaged in a timeless battle. In hopes of crushing their opponent, the gods summon twenty legendary champions from the Final Fantasy universe to fight their battle: ten heroes led by Cosmos, and ten villains controlled by Chaos. With the war tipping in Chaos's favor, Cosmos's heroes are tasked with collecting an assortment of magical crystals that will obliterate Chaos once and for all. While Dissidia's yarn may not be the high point of Square Enix's storytelling career, it tends to work surprisingly well, and really set the stage for the game's battles. Each hero has a unique premise chronicling their reason for fighting, and it's an absolute treat to see the characters interact with each other so naturally in the Dissidia universe. But, let's be honest - you're not going to buy Dissidia just for the story; you're most likely here so you can take a Gunblade to Sephiroth's smirking pretty-boy face.

The game's character roster is genuinely impressive, featuring an astounding cast that chronicles ten separate Final Fantasy titles (not to mention a few hidden characters that I won't spoil here.) Dissidia's unique fighting engine really reminded me of a cross between Virtual On and Power Stone, pitting two fighters against one another in massive open arenas. Each fighter begins the match with a set amount of BP (Brave Points), which will essentially serve as your defense. Players maneuver their character through these battlefields using the analog stick, where they can lock onto their opponent using the left trigger and traverse each FF-themed level's unique terrain through wall-running and grinding, all the while chipping away at their enemy's BP. Each character has an assortment of basic attacks (Brave Attacks) and defense-crushing special moves (HP Attacks) at their disposal. Timing these attacks (as well as guarding) in tune with your opponent's actions are vital to your success, and can result in some extremely impressive battles. You remember those epically choreographed fights from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children? Yeah - you're gonna be playing those.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy

Something old...

Staying true to the Final Fantasy name, battles also include series staples such statistic-boosting items that can be equipped before you fight. Items range from Cloud's Buster Sword to any variety of accessories that characters can equip from the customization screen, giving your warrior various perks in battle (+1 LUK, +50 HP, etc.) You can unlock equipment by creating it in battle with Dissidia's in-depth Battlegen mode, or simply purchase them with your hard-earned Gil. The amount of equipment you can unlock is truly staggering, and the perks from each piece of armor are really felt during the battles, making the fine-tuning customization options almost another game entirely. In Dissidia's Story Mode, players will collect Summon Stones: mystical orbs that unlock another Final Fantasy traditions: Summons. Summons allow players to call upon legendary beasts from the FF universe to significantly decrease their opponent's BP - but be careful, as you can only equip one summon at a time. The variety of Summons is fantastic, and a single Summon from Ifrit to Bahamut can really change the tide in even the most helpless of fights.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Dissidia: Final Fantasy

Comments [11]

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ChokaDaChicken

This game looks awesome, I played the demo. I also loved Ehrgeiz, the arcade was dope as hell!!

kevinamadi

dammit. i want this game more than anything but i gotta wait cuz i want it on PSPgo. anybody know if and when it'll be downloadable?

tparsons5150

Yeah I was playing this for awhile Sunday night it's pretty good, but I just cant get into playing a PSP game(small screen and No trophies) A great game though the battle system is solid

ZanonX

I wish they would move it to console after a while.

I mean sure portable for a little while then move it to console.

for more sales.

tparsons5150

ZanonX wrote:

I wish they would move it to console after a while.
I mean sure portable for a little while then move it to console.
for more sales.

That'd be awesome, Especially if it got a Console make over

Solidus2002

'But, let's be honest - you're not going to buy Dissidia just for the story; you're most likely here so you can take a Gunblade to Sephiroth's smirking pretty-boy face.'
How wrong GamePro was on this...they should've put:
'Let's be honest; you're here to pick Cloud Strife and use Omnislash to send Sephiroth again to oblivion.'
That was definitely MY reason! And just like back in 1997 doing that (wow, has it been THAT long?) it was every bit as epic doing it again...LOL!

blurr77

I agree with this reveiw entirely, although lets be serious: Almost every single game that i've played has some form of button-mashing. The first one that comes to mind is God of War: Chains of Olympus. The moment I unlock the Spud of War costume, every single shred of strategy left the game, and was replaced by continuesly mashing square and R, and hoping that you hit something. What I am trying to say is that button-mashing is practically inevitable in almost all video games. Dissidia is an excellent game with a solid fighting engine, inuitive controls, and a level of strategy that is unheard of in fighting games, and I love it.

ControllerKid

This would be my reason for buying a psp.. besides soulcal.. and 3d.. and music.. and movies.. and tekken.. and metal gear... and assassin's creed, sfalpha, emulation, internet etc..

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