Dissidia: Final Fantasy 9/10

What would you think if I told you there was a fighting game out there like Final Fantasy? Would you believe me? A collision of Final Fantasy heroes with the familiar role-playing elements! That's right; the ability is now within grasp with Dissidia: Final Fantasy! But is it for you? The player who adores the role-playing series, but can't stand fighting games? Or the player who enjoys fighting games and can't stand the role-playing genre? With Dissidia, the lines between fighting and role-playing blur combing both elements into one spectacular game!

Is is me or does this game give a nostalgia trip? Gliding through are memories of old return heroes in a full 3-Dimensional light. Filled with music, scenery, and characters from almost every mainstream game to date! If you've ever played a Final Fantasy, chances are a character from that game is in this.

Summary
Story: One of great conflict. You'll team with the Heroes from your favorite Final Fantasy to gather the Crystals, while the villains plot to try and stop you. As you progress, you'll receive that familiar plot twist and follow those paths to it's fated end.

Gameplay: One for the ages, as the fighting and role-playing genres fuse into one. You'll have the ability to learn skills, gain levels, gain equipment, all for the sake of fighting your next opponent. It's far from your average fighter!

Graphic & Sounds: While not amazing, the graphics and sound in Dissidia match respective PS2 titles while dominating anything the Nintendo DS could muster. You'll be electrified by the games opening and compelled by the familiar scenery. Not to mention the nostalgic battle tunes.

Custom Features: With the ability to manipulate the camera angle, Data Install for faster loading times, and even switch your mode of battle with Command Menus, who doesn't love all the extra goodies?

Communications: Players will be able to combat each other via Ad-Hoc mode. Gathering Artifacts and exchanging Friend Cards along the way. Oh what fun!

Overall: A must-buy for fans of the Final Fantasy, and fans of fighting/role-playing games alike!

Story
Like most modern Final Fantasy's, our story opens with a powerful movie. One that tells the tale of the two gods, Cosmos and Chaos, in eternal conflict. Here, we capture the Heroes in their CGI brilliance. Starting with Warrior of Light, representative of Cosmos. Firion, soldier of the Wild Rose. Onion Knight, child warrior. Cecil the Paladin and a Dark Knight. Bartz with the ability to mimic his allies attacks. Terra the maiden magic user. Cloud the former SOLDIER. Squall of SeeD. Zidane the bandit. And Tidus, the Blitzball player. Our heroes are back for an encore and taking names!

I have my complaints. The story is split into ten increments, exploring each character's story. Through this we get to know each character a little better. The amount of development, however, seems insignificant to what we see in modern Final Fantasy's. Let me paint a better picture.

In this game, we see characters like Squall and Kuja, normal complex characters by nature, shrunk. First timers may misunderstand them. One of my great quirks about the story, is that the character's lacked the ability to fill you on their background. Being that the character's original stories are either too complex or too simple to describe. In my opinion, it's tragic.

To paint a picture. We see one of the most popular villains in gaming history, Sephiroth. In the original game, we see his transformation. We see his fixation on the main character. We see his reasons, and they compelled us. In Dissidia though, we just see a bad guy. To me that's tragic. The lack of that development, lacking that experience. That same experience that made him popular in the first place.

Further into the storyline. You see characters interact across generations. Friendships formed and values tested. Delving deeper and deeper into a character's story, shining a spotlight on their past. The plot thickens and you catch glimpses of the tension between villains. A veil of mystery cloaks the story as despair is not far behind as our heroes edge closer and closer to Chaos's trap. Who's to say finding the crystals will even solve anything? Is it all a lie? What is your reason for fighting? Only one way to find out!

Gameplay
The game-play is divided up into several modes of play, including Story, Quick-Play, and actual combat. Battles, scenery, equipment, items, stats, skills, fall under each of these. Squaring off, is the mode people are most likely to try first, Story Mode.

After the battle scene as epic as Final Fantasy; you're left in a tutorial and to receive the background story of the entire mess. As you progress, you learn of your quest: To gather the crystals. Splitting up, your heroes will venture onto chessboard-like maps. Similar to the Sphere Grid/License system, your character will move like a chess-piece across a board in order to reach his/her destination. What's the catch? You're given a certain amount of points, called Destiny Points, which are used for every move you make. At the start, you're given a certain amount of these points to move. And using them up affects your overall score.

So how do we get them back? The very thing we earn Destiny Points with are the very things that block our paths. Throughout the board are denizens of Chaos, clone characters of either heroes or villains. These oddly colored creatures will prevent you from reaching your destination by any means. So, if you can't find a road, make one! By defeating these enemies you'll clear the path on the over-world map, aka the chessboard. However, by defeating those same enemies under the given requirements we can earn extra Destiny Points! This gives the player extra incentive to perform his or her best during battle.

What else is on this chessboard? Try treasure chests! Arr! It's true, booty can be found across the maps. Some even appear after defeating certain enemies! These range from minor trinkets to items exclusive to Story Mode! Eventually making it to the Chaos piece at the end of the map. From there a cut-scene occurs and perhaps even a fight. Once done, you're given another section to traverse with even more enemies. And until you fight the final boss, you're not going anywhere.

Now, along the way, you may level up. You may be wondering what it does. If you're familiar with the mechanics of Final Fantasy, the more you level the stronger you get. In this case, your stats get minor increases. What really increases stats are equipment which is available for purchase or dropped from enemies. At times, you'll have to search for materials to trade; often giving you better equipment then purchased ones. Then of course, you gain HP and Brave attacks.

What are HP and Brave attacks? These two interlinked moves make the system of battle whole. When the battle starts, your character gets a certain amount of points we call Brave Points. By using Brave Attacks, we build up Brave. Why is it so important? The more Brave points you have, the greater the damage dealt by your HP Attacks. Simple as that. By performing HP Attacks, we deal damage to their health points and gain experience. And when we level up, we learn more attacks!

You're allowed a total of six Brave and six HP Attacks each. Because of the styles of the characters, some profess in attacks that take place in the air or on the ground. Playing a character's strengths could be the difference between victory and defeat! That and understanding a character's abilities. Abilities allow your character's to do various things. Like letting you grind on railings, run up walls, or dash great distances. Others are more passive, giving you extra jumps, speed, even allow mid-air dashes!

Keeping up with your character's equipment is vital. Split up into five different categories, each piece is assigned to help increase certain stats. So how do you upgrade? The Shop menu offers equipment for starters. You'll notice though, that some items are grayed out. You'll need certain materials in order to trade for advance equipment. Some materials come from the mode BattleGen.

When you're about to fight a foe, the “BattleGen” screen appears. This lists items obtainable by completing certain requirements. By completing that requirement, the player has a chance of obtaining the item. These items can be traded as materials for better equipment. A good way to do this, is through Quick Play Mode. What is Quick Play? This mode allows players to fight against the CPU, without the fuss of the storyline. By choosing your opponent's behavior and level, you can create a worthy opponent. Sounds appealing? The catch is though, that you need to unlock the villains first.

What is Mognet? At the game's start, you're asked your favorite day. From then on, every-time the calender crosses that day, you receive bonus points. And Play Plan asks how often you play, which determines bonus items received. Overall, these are little bonuses, keeping the player amused.

At last, we've come to combat. I've already explained HP and Brave attacks. To refresh you, Brave attacks increase your Brave, and HP Attacks dish damage equal to this. So, all we have to do is gain lots of Brave right? It sounds a lot easier then it actually is. When your opponent attacks we can either dodge or guard the oncoming blow. Depending on what attack, or what situation you're under, you'll do one of these. If you're lucky, you can counter-attack and trigger "Chase" Combat.

“Chase” combat is a special mode activated when you've successfully performed a certain Brave attack. When activated you and an opponent can fight in mid-air. As if passing a tennis ball back and forth, you and your opponent will trade blows. If one attacks, the other dodges, and so on until someone is hit. Winning “Chase” combat is another key to victory. Of course EX-Cores factor into this too.

What is EX-Mode? It's a special mode character's can undergo during a fight. And during a fight, an item called an EX-Core will appear at a set of locations. Getting enough of these allows the player to activate EX-Mode. EX-Mode can grant your character special abilities giving you the edge in combat. It gets better. It's possible to activate an EX-Burst during this mode. EX-Bursts execute a powerful attack. Similar to a character's special attack or limit breaks in their original Final Fantasy. Overall, I'd say EX-Bursts have a huge part to do with victory.

So, now you know about the relationship between HP & Brave Attacks. About Dodging, Guarding, Charging, and EX-Bursts. What else could add to the strategy of combat? What else could the developers possibly pile onto combat? You're forgetting about terrain. Believe it or not, where you fight has a lot to do with how you fight. While most stages won't affect you so much, some stages have built in “gimmicks” that affect the way you play. These are the same stages you've played with before, only they've got traps. Adding yet another strategy to play.

Last but not least, are Summons. Yes, it's possible to stir up your favorite creatures to aide your cause. Be it Alexander, or Leviathan, or even Carbuncle. Summons are thrown at foes so that the player can gain the upper hand. Giving an uncertain feel to victories.

By now, you should be well-versed in the workings of battle and customization. But who exactly do you customize? Heroes and Villains from Final Fantasy's I – X are included. Each character has a different style of play, with their own set of attacks, patterns, and weaknesses. Certain character's will specialize in a certain element of combat. Like Zidane, who specializes in aerial combat, or Cloud who knocks foes into walls. These traits split them from the norm, allowing spectacular battles to take place. Some of which, can be captured forever.

Replay Mode allows you to save you and manipulate the camera angle of scenes. It then allows you to export the video into the root of your memory stick. This allows fans of the series to re-create their favorite fights from their favorite Final Fantasy titles! Saving digital proof of your awesomeness for years to come. Awesome huh?

Dissidia: Final Fantasy has acquired a level of strategy that transcends modern role-playing and fighting genres. With a creative mix of fighting and role-playing, combat is transformed into a game of strategy unlike any other. The combat alone makes this game a must-buy! With real pulse-pounding action that draws fear, creates excitement, and elicits a cry from hard-earned victory! The gameplay is solid.

Graphics & Sound
If you're familiar with battles in Final Fantasy, then you're familiar with some of the music in this game. You'll hear re-done songs of old, including Final Fantasy VII's One Winged Angel. In Story Mode, the over-world map (chessboard) has a similar song playing on the original game's world map. Nostalgia anyone? In fact, this game is pumped with nostalgic features from nearly every mainstream Final Fantasy. Most of them being the villain's final dungeon.

The maps aren't bad, and neither are the character models. Certainly better than what you'd see even on the best Nintendo DS titles. Sometimes, reminding you of PS2 title graphics. Because here you'll see Cecil's snow-white hair and Cloud of Darkness's seductive clothing (or lack there of.) You'll also get a chance to switch between character's alternate costumes. Whether it be Ex-SOLDIER Cloud or Advent Children Cloud. Each character comes with his or her own alternate. Further bringing a level of customization throughout the game.

Overall? Solid. It's certainly no God of War, then again, God of War doesn't have this game's length or customization . Don't get me wrong, the opening movie was eye-candy. I guess the excess of movies in Crisis Core spoiled me. Darn.

Custom Features
As the player, you have the ability to set the background music for your next battle. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, how about the lengthy options concerning camera angle? Or the fact that you can switch between moving with the joystick or the d-pads? And if you're not fantastic with fighting, why not switch to Command Menu combat? If you're not sure what it is, it's a 'crutch' for players who aren't so hot with actual combat. If you need a reference point, it's similar to that of Kingdom Hearts. Of course, it requires you to beat a character's story mode first. And if the loading times bog you down why not use Data Install?

Data Install downloads a portion of the of the game onto your memory card. Split into three different segments, doing this allows faster loading times. And who doesn't want that? When doing a Memory Stick Install, the game displays Final Fantasy V theme. It happened to be the developers favorite game.

Communications
Oh noes! This game lacks Infrastructure! How do you play now? Well, you have three options. The first, and most obvious, is to find a friend who owns the game. If you don't have that special buddy, it might be time to think about investing. For those who already have a PS3, you can host something called Ad-Hoc parties. This connects your PSP with your PS3 allowing player interconnectivity.

If you can't afford a PS3, the third option is called Xlink Kai. A difficult program to set-up but allows you to connect with other players via Ad-Hoc. The benefit of this is that you don't have to buy a PS3. What's the catch? Xlink Kai is hard to set-up and requires a WiFi Adapter. Overall, it's cheaper then a PS3.

There you are, your three options of play. With this, you can span the globe within the comfort of your living room. Talking trash to players who may not even understand English. Isn't life sweet? This is all accessible via Ad-Hoc mode!

What is Ad-Hoc mode? Not to be confused with Infrastructure (WiFi based) Ad-Hoc allows you to connect with nearby players. Here, you can battle an opponent, edit your friend card and sometimes win Artifacts! A friend card is kind of like the cards you exchange in Monster Hunter Freedom 2. Assuming you haven't played, these cards include classic icons from your favorite Final Fantasy. And of course, Artifacts are items dropped by human opponents acting like Trophies to the player. With so much player-on-player interaction the fun never ends!

Overall? It's what I'd expect to see in a fighting game. Brawling between a human player can be fun. Requiring players to change their combat skills in order to outwit their opponent. Once again another reason to keep playing!

The Good
+ Insane amount of customization.
+ Storyline creates a nostalgic experience for fans!
+ Unique and exciting battle system!
+ Pristine graphics.
+ Balanced, yet advantageous game-play.
+ Ad-Hoc allows players to fight against one another!
+ User-friendly interface.
+ Unlock-able characters Shantotto and Gabranth!

The Arguments
-- Finding certain items can become tedious.
-- Learning curve is steep for novice players.

Overall? It is a grand symphony twenty years in the making. Leading the brilliant chorus are the heroes of some of the greatest games of all time. A show made of courage, leading to a resounding but satisfying end that leaves players wanting more. This will be a game that none will forget for years to come. One that I can safely say, adds my list of must buys. And by far the best fighting game on the PSP! Buy, never rent games as epic as these. The ones that come once in a lifetime, but stay with us forever! That my friend, is the effort of putting every creative fiber into what you're making. That is Final Fantasy!

It's just like all great games were in one. It shows how great Final Fantasy's are... With every hour Dissidia is more exciting.. It's just keeps giving you new options, characters and awesome Story's. it is Must have for Everyone on this Forum (if you don't have PSP just buy it for this game! It's worth it!!)

your review was great. I agree with Caladbolg, final fantasy just gets better and better, Square Enix are doing a great job with Final Fantasy. I have 5 words for Square Enix, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

By the "good review" i mean .skye.

agree with u mostly but best fighting game by far?
to me its a toss up between dissidia and tekken

I am having a total blast with this. I cannot believe at how blown away I have been with Dissidia. This has been my sleeper hit of the year so far. The game that has completly blown away all my expectations. In all honesty I was kind of worried about this game but man o man do I love it.


So far this game is up their with Super Smash Brothers series for me.

That is a really great review. I do agree with all your points about the game. I defo agree with all the plus and negatives about the game.

I've only just got it myself so I haven't progressed that far but I can see already the points about it that you have mentioned.

Yes, i love it.

I can't get off the game until i have done 1 of the characters every night.
My mom and dad think the game is worth the money because it keeps me occupie a lot.
I think this game is definately worth getting because the story and battle system is great!!
THANK YOUU!!!!!!