Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)
Platform: Sony PSP
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: August 25, 2009 (USA)
ESRB Rating: T for Teen
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: August 25, 2009 (USA)
ESRB Rating: T for Teen
Final Fantasy is one of the largest video game
series ever, so it only makes sense that
something like Dissidia: Final Fantasy would be created. There are tons of nerds around the world that will tell you that Final Fantasy is, like, the coolest thing EVER. Throughout the fourteen game series (with a nearly cartoonish amount of spin-offs, ports, and remakes), Square Enix (or Square Soft, back in the day) has crafted a very large, rich, expansive lore of characters, locations, and stories.
Dissidia: FF is a compilation of Final Fantasy characters, locations, etc. wrapped up in an RPG/Fighting game on the Playstation Portable. And man, it is a fantastic game.
The main attraction of Dissidia: FF is the extensive Story Mode. There is the Prologue which is very short, essentially acting as the game's tutorial. Once you finish that there are 10 chapters, each one dedicated to one character's perspective in an omniscient, overarching plot. After that there is the four chapter long "Shade Impulse" that you can play with any of the main ten characters you please. "Shade Impulse" ends the game's main story, but even after that there are three extra chapters in story mode to partake in. Each chapter places the player's character on a game board, tasking you to move your character over to the enemies to engage in battle (or over to items to collect), with cut-scenes (mostly in-engine, but some in very high quality CG) and dialogue boxes placed in between. The board game set-up is serviceable due to how little time is spent on it, but ultimatly rather uninteresting.
The plot of Dissidia: FF honestly lost my attention very early on. The Goddess of Light has gathered together the heroes of Final Fantasy to combat the villains of Final Fantasy gathered by Chaos. It's a cool, albeit overly used set-up that ultimately will only entertain the most hardcore of Final Fantasy fans. The interpretation of these characters is very flat and uninteresting, for they spit out often cliched, corny, overly-dramatic, and/or stupid lines of dialogue. The voice acting overall is well-done, eventhough throughout the story the characters really don't have anything interesting to say.
The appeal of the Story Mode, as well as just about the entirety of Dissidia: FF, is the deep battles. Battles take place in real-time, on large, one-on-one 3D environments. Players have both HP and Bravery (the starting and maximum amount of HP and Bravery is dependant upon equipment, experience, and character), and can perform HP and Bravery Attacks as well as dodges, blocks, etc. When a player performs a successful Bravery Attack on their opponent, they steal some Bravery from them (the amount is dependant upon equipment, experience, character, and, to an extent, accuracy). When a player uses an HP attack, they deal the amount of Bravery they have in HP (as well as extra damage, dependant upon the move they're performing), and then their Bravery resets to what it was at the start of battle. All of this controls very well: Movement is done via the Analog Nub, and the Camera is both automatic (the automatic camera ussually works perfectly) and manual via the D-Pad. The camera may get jumbled up every now and then, but I never saw it as a large problem.
That all sounds complicated, but here's an Example:
Player 1 starts with 150 Bravery and 500 HP, and Player 2 Starts with 200 Bravery and 600 HP. Player 1 performs a successful HP attack on their opponent, taking 150 HP of damage, as well as 15 extra points of HP damage due to the move used. Their Bravery then resets back to 150. Then, Player 2 performs a successful Bravery Attack, stealing 50 Bravery. They now have 250 Bravery, and their opponant now has 100 Bravery.
Battles really are a lot of fun, especially when you consider all of the extra aspects:
1. Dodges and Blocks will only be successful if one uses proper timing or your equipment/experience/character is strong enough.
2. Summons, which are chosen before battle and unlocked as the player progresses, occur during battle when certain requirements are met.
3. Accessories, obtained throughout playing the game, improve your ability by altering things such as HP and Bravery.
4. Once a player entirely deplete their opponent's Bravery, they will "Break," which means that all HP attacks for a certain period of time will result in zero damage.
5. Throughout Battle, players can collect jewels that will raise their EX Bar. When full, players can enter EX Mode, where they are more powerful and can execute an uber-powerful move, often resulting in a win.
6. Moves are customizable for each character, with new moves unlocking as characters level up.
7. Stages are very large, with walls and platforms that players can run up the side of and platform over and on.
8. The stages are dynamic: For example, when a player attacks a pillar, it may crumble.
9. A significant portion of the battle may take place in the air becuase of double jumps, infinite amount of dodges (which make the player hop a tad), and air-based attacks/moves.
Arcade Mode, Quickplay, Duel Colosseum and Multiplayer are the game's main offerings for gameplay other than Story Mode. Quickplay allows you to set-up battle against the CPU, customizing everything such as the CPU's strength, expereince, and fighing style, the stage you play on, and the character you play as. Arcade Mode in Dissidia is just like it is in just about every other figher: Pick a fighter and fight a series of characters to win. Duel Colosseum is unlocked after beating "Shade Impulse": You choose a character and fight an endless amount of enemies at different levels of difficulty, getting items to spice up the gameplay. Arcade Mode is void of satisfaction because you can't earn Experience, but Quickplay and Duel Colosseum are very addictive. Multiplayer is local only, but I cannot comment on the quality of it because unfortunatly I did not have a chance to try it out.
Equipment is purchased at the game's shop, and more equipment is added as each of the player's characters level up. Money to spend at these shops is earned as you engage in battles. There are tons of different types of armor to purchase, and each character is able to equip certain types of armor dependant upon what type of character they are. The shop is something that must be used frequently, but it's not annoying since details about each piece of equipment is attractively displayed and players can "Optimize" their equipment for each character to have the game automatically equip the strongest equipment.
Experience is earned by engaging in battles in every mode except for Arcade Mode. Every one of the characters has their own amount of individual Experience, and each has a level cap of Level 100. Getting level 100 is not only extremely rewarding, but a large time-sink.
The game's Equipment, Accessories, Experience, Summons, and Customizable Move Sets (all of which carry over to every game mode except for Arcade Mode) are merely the start of this game's extreme addictiveness and customization. The player's progress is recorded extensively in the game's "Records" section, which is sure to provide enormous satisfaction. The game even has an extensive data base, providing a plethora of information on all of the Characters you unlock, most if not all of the game's features and rules, and more. There's even a Museum, where you can listen to all of the music you've heard so far, the cutscenes you've seen so far, etc. The amount of content in this game is mind-boggling: It will likely take hundreds of hours to unlock everything, and that is not hyperbole.
The Visuals and Audio of this game is very impressive. The environments and characters reek of an immense amount of detail and color, and animation all around is fluid. Special Effects that take place during attacks look especially nice due to the explosions of color they create. The music is, for the most part, a compilation of past Final Fantasy tracks with a few oringal scores thrown in: They all combine to form an absolutly amazing soundtrack. The Sound Effects sound just as one would expect them to, and the characters' small pieces of dialogue throughout battle adds appropriete character. All sound is of a very high quality.
Dissidia: Final Fantasy is one of the best game on the PSP: It may just be my favorite game on the platform. My complaints boil down to a dull story, and brief moments of unsatisfaction with the game's camera. If you are an owner of the platform, this game is a must. Dissidia Final Fantasy is near perfect, earning a...
9.5/10
I, Matthew Petras, played this game on a PSP Go for approximately 40 hours. Any comments and questions you have would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!
series ever, so it only makes sense that
something like Dissidia: Final Fantasy would be created. There are tons of nerds around the world that will tell you that Final Fantasy is, like, the coolest thing EVER. Throughout the fourteen game series (with a nearly cartoonish amount of spin-offs, ports, and remakes), Square Enix (or Square Soft, back in the day) has crafted a very large, rich, expansive lore of characters, locations, and stories.
Dissidia: FF is a compilation of Final Fantasy characters, locations, etc. wrapped up in an RPG/Fighting game on the Playstation Portable. And man, it is a fantastic game.
The main attraction of Dissidia: FF is the extensive Story Mode. There is the Prologue which is very short, essentially acting as the game's tutorial. Once you finish that there are 10 chapters, each one dedicated to one character's perspective in an omniscient, overarching plot. After that there is the four chapter long "Shade Impulse" that you can play with any of the main ten characters you please. "Shade Impulse" ends the game's main story, but even after that there are three extra chapters in story mode to partake in. Each chapter places the player's character on a game board, tasking you to move your character over to the enemies to engage in battle (or over to items to collect), with cut-scenes (mostly in-engine, but some in very high quality CG) and dialogue boxes placed in between. The board game set-up is serviceable due to how little time is spent on it, but ultimatly rather uninteresting.
The plot of Dissidia: FF honestly lost my attention very early on. The Goddess of Light has gathered together the heroes of Final Fantasy to combat the villains of Final Fantasy gathered by Chaos. It's a cool, albeit overly used set-up that ultimately will only entertain the most hardcore of Final Fantasy fans. The interpretation of these characters is very flat and uninteresting, for they spit out often cliched, corny, overly-dramatic, and/or stupid lines of dialogue. The voice acting overall is well-done, eventhough throughout the story the characters really don't have anything interesting to say.
The appeal of the Story Mode, as well as just about the entirety of Dissidia: FF, is the deep battles. Battles take place in real-time, on large, one-on-one 3D environments. Players have both HP and Bravery (the starting and maximum amount of HP and Bravery is dependant upon equipment, experience, and character), and can perform HP and Bravery Attacks as well as dodges, blocks, etc. When a player performs a successful Bravery Attack on their opponent, they steal some Bravery from them (the amount is dependant upon equipment, experience, character, and, to an extent, accuracy). When a player uses an HP attack, they deal the amount of Bravery they have in HP (as well as extra damage, dependant upon the move they're performing), and then their Bravery resets to what it was at the start of battle. All of this controls very well: Movement is done via the Analog Nub, and the Camera is both automatic (the automatic camera ussually works perfectly) and manual via the D-Pad. The camera may get jumbled up every now and then, but I never saw it as a large problem.
That all sounds complicated, but here's an Example:
Player 1 starts with 150 Bravery and 500 HP, and Player 2 Starts with 200 Bravery and 600 HP. Player 1 performs a successful HP attack on their opponent, taking 150 HP of damage, as well as 15 extra points of HP damage due to the move used. Their Bravery then resets back to 150. Then, Player 2 performs a successful Bravery Attack, stealing 50 Bravery. They now have 250 Bravery, and their opponant now has 100 Bravery.
Battles really are a lot of fun, especially when you consider all of the extra aspects:
1. Dodges and Blocks will only be successful if one uses proper timing or your equipment/experience/character is strong enough.
2. Summons, which are chosen before battle and unlocked as the player progresses, occur during battle when certain requirements are met.
3. Accessories, obtained throughout playing the game, improve your ability by altering things such as HP and Bravery.
4. Once a player entirely deplete their opponent's Bravery, they will "Break," which means that all HP attacks for a certain period of time will result in zero damage.
5. Throughout Battle, players can collect jewels that will raise their EX Bar. When full, players can enter EX Mode, where they are more powerful and can execute an uber-powerful move, often resulting in a win.
6. Moves are customizable for each character, with new moves unlocking as characters level up.
7. Stages are very large, with walls and platforms that players can run up the side of and platform over and on.
8. The stages are dynamic: For example, when a player attacks a pillar, it may crumble.
9. A significant portion of the battle may take place in the air becuase of double jumps, infinite amount of dodges (which make the player hop a tad), and air-based attacks/moves.
Arcade Mode, Quickplay, Duel Colosseum and Multiplayer are the game's main offerings for gameplay other than Story Mode. Quickplay allows you to set-up battle against the CPU, customizing everything such as the CPU's strength, expereince, and fighing style, the stage you play on, and the character you play as. Arcade Mode in Dissidia is just like it is in just about every other figher: Pick a fighter and fight a series of characters to win. Duel Colosseum is unlocked after beating "Shade Impulse": You choose a character and fight an endless amount of enemies at different levels of difficulty, getting items to spice up the gameplay. Arcade Mode is void of satisfaction because you can't earn Experience, but Quickplay and Duel Colosseum are very addictive. Multiplayer is local only, but I cannot comment on the quality of it because unfortunatly I did not have a chance to try it out.
Equipment is purchased at the game's shop, and more equipment is added as each of the player's characters level up. Money to spend at these shops is earned as you engage in battles. There are tons of different types of armor to purchase, and each character is able to equip certain types of armor dependant upon what type of character they are. The shop is something that must be used frequently, but it's not annoying since details about each piece of equipment is attractively displayed and players can "Optimize" their equipment for each character to have the game automatically equip the strongest equipment.
Experience is earned by engaging in battles in every mode except for Arcade Mode. Every one of the characters has their own amount of individual Experience, and each has a level cap of Level 100. Getting level 100 is not only extremely rewarding, but a large time-sink.
The game's Equipment, Accessories, Experience, Summons, and Customizable Move Sets (all of which carry over to every game mode except for Arcade Mode) are merely the start of this game's extreme addictiveness and customization. The player's progress is recorded extensively in the game's "Records" section, which is sure to provide enormous satisfaction. The game even has an extensive data base, providing a plethora of information on all of the Characters you unlock, most if not all of the game's features and rules, and more. There's even a Museum, where you can listen to all of the music you've heard so far, the cutscenes you've seen so far, etc. The amount of content in this game is mind-boggling: It will likely take hundreds of hours to unlock everything, and that is not hyperbole.
The Visuals and Audio of this game is very impressive. The environments and characters reek of an immense amount of detail and color, and animation all around is fluid. Special Effects that take place during attacks look especially nice due to the explosions of color they create. The music is, for the most part, a compilation of past Final Fantasy tracks with a few oringal scores thrown in: They all combine to form an absolutly amazing soundtrack. The Sound Effects sound just as one would expect them to, and the characters' small pieces of dialogue throughout battle adds appropriete character. All sound is of a very high quality.
Dissidia: Final Fantasy is one of the best game on the PSP: It may just be my favorite game on the platform. My complaints boil down to a dull story, and brief moments of unsatisfaction with the game's camera. If you are an owner of the platform, this game is a must. Dissidia Final Fantasy is near perfect, earning a...
9.5/10
I, Matthew Petras, played this game on a PSP Go for approximately 40 hours. Any comments and questions you have would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!
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