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Dissidia: Final Fantasy review

Game: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Platform: PSP
Genre: Fighting Action (Versus)
Developer: Square Enix

Staff review by Zigfried

September 21, 2009

I've never been a fan of the Final Fantasy series, although I enjoyed the original NES game quite a bit. Friends describe fond memories of Cloud, Zidane, and Tidus; I shrug.

While chatting with one of my friends over sushi, I described Dissidia: Final Fantasy as "Virtual On with Final Fantasy characters". He gave me a puzzled look; far too many people missed out on Sega's one-on-one mech combat masterpiece. Perhaps an Armored Core comparison -- 3D arena battles with extensive character customization -- would have been more appropriate, but I didn't think of that until later.

Then again, perhaps I didn't need any obscure comparisons. As I recounted tales of Cloud clashing swords with Sephiroth inside a grandiose palace bedecked by destructible pillars, my friend's eyes lit up. Personally, I was more intrigued by Garland's appearance, but that's the appeal of Dissidia -- characters from the first ten episodes come together in a grand festival of fan service. Thanks to smart dialogue and strong voice-acting, the heroes all come out looking like legends. As for the villains . . . well, the more "human" antagonists wind up as flunkies to the ruthlessly ambitious despots, so there's a definite disparity. Sephiroth didn't readily fit into either category, so he just stands around and shows off his bare bishounen chest when not stalking Cloud.

Whichever character you choose, Dissidia kicks off with a chaotic cutscene that showcases ten heroes taking on ten villains in a Final Fantasy dream match. This might trick people into thinking the game features team-based combat, but every 3D battle is one-on-one. Fights are swift but strategic, fancy but deep. In addition to hit points, every combatant has a "bravery" factor; pump up the endorphins and they're more resistant to physical pain. This forces players to intelligently alternate attacks -- I never imagined the "button-spammer" problem would be solved so easily.

Many attacks launch an opponent into the air, at which point the fearless warriors engage in absurd(ly awesome) airborne combat. Every character wields a different moveset for land-based or airborne combat; Zidane's nearly unstoppable in the sky, but Firion players will want to get back to the ground as quickly as possible. The extreme variety of fighting styles means players really need to know who they're facing. Onion Knight is a master of quick strikes, Firion can grapple people and rope them in, and Cloud simply brutalizes with that big sword. The twenty fighters aren't even close to balanced, but imbalance didn't stop some people (me) from enjoying Marvel Vs Capcom 2. Besides, no matter how significant the disadvantage, blocking and counter-attacking is always effective.

While Terra Branford flings explosive fireballs or icy shards of doom, it's conceivable that her opponent might actually move out of the way. Such attacks could very well cause the arena itself to start falling apart; sometimes "damage points" are obvious, such as the aforementioned palace pillars. As the game progresses, the world becomes even crazier. Crystal staircases shatter while people are standing on them; follow the opponent into the abyss and a surreal twilight zone awaits . . . or perhaps you'll both just land on the ground. Whether dashing through the air or running up a brick wall (ninja style!), it's easy to maneuver through the large arenas.

As walls explode, you might earn a special ring or accessory. That's not the only way to obtain new items -- you can also buy them from the shop (boring) or occasionally earn them by performing "EX Bursts", such as the famous omnislash. Pulling off a perfect EX Burst requires mastering a button-pressing challenge; the latter-era characters' challenges somewhat mimic similar shenanigans from their original episodes. In Cloud's case, that means tapping "circle" really fast.

There are other clever nods to the original Final Fantasy games. Whereas most characters face their respective nemesii in the final battle, the first boss the Light Warrior encounters is Garland, which mimics the storyline progression of the original NES game. Final Fantasy IV's Cecil alternates between dark knight and paladin mid-battle, demonstrating his mastery of both sides. I'm just grateful that the early-era characters finally resemble Yoshitaka Amano's artwork, although it's quite comical to see a bunch of warriors clad in exquisitely exotic attire standing next to . . . Tidus.

Dissidia includes a slew of game modes that allow players to either face each other or the computer in a variety of ways. The game also includes over 75 missions, each presented as a miniature board game (with fights mixed in). Clearing all of those missions with a 100% rank will take a very long time, as will collecting the hundreds of weapons and armor -- which can thankfully be shared between characters, unless it doesn't match their occupation. Everyone knows mages can't wield zweihanders.

To help make such goals achievable, Square-Enix incorporated a number of bonus incentives to reward repeat play. I began playing Dissidia on a Sunday, which I selected to be my "bonus points" day on the Chocobo Calendar. Ever since then -- thanks to the PSP's manually-adjustable internal clock -- every day has been Sunday in the House of Zigfried.

I later discovered that a few special bonuses had been stealthily assigned to other days of the week . . . bonuses that I missed because I was cheating. Damn those scrupulous Square-Enix ninjas!

Dissidia: Final Fantasy is a flashy but intelligent fighting game, backed up by a lengthy story mode, clearly intended to please fans of the series. But my most striking experiences did not involve familiar faces fighting against familiar villains. As I played through the story mode for Firion -- hero of Final Fantasy II -- I was impressed by his "Master of Eight Weapons" abilities and his honest, innocently charming persona. The villain he faced demonstrated a scheming nature and devious fighting style that would be perfect for an RPG boss. Later, while playing Tidus's storyline, I was shocked by the sincerity behind his confrontation with Jecht.

I've never played Final Fantasy II or Final Fantasy X, but now I'd like to. Dissidia may have actually turned me into a Final Fantasy fan.

Maybe.

//Zig

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