Genre : Fighting/RPG
Publisher: Square Enix
Players: 1 (Campaign) 2 (Multiplayer)
Retail Price: $40
Availability: PSP
Square Enix has produced over ten mainline Final Fantasy games that aren’t connected in any way whatsoever in terms of story, so the very existence of Dissidia: Final Fantasy begets curiosity. The game pits their biggest main heroes against their respective villains in one-on-one action combat. While there are RPG elements involved it’s clear that Dissidia is a series oddity as early as the first fight.
Dissidia is a unique take on the fighting genre, to say the least. Characters have two main attributes: bravery points and hit points. They also have attacks that correspond to those points specifically. Bravery points basically equate to your attack level, and you gain them by reducing your opponents. The higher your bravery points are, the more damage you’ll do when you land a blow. Most of the game’s early fights can be completed in mere seconds by bumrushing an opponent and wailing on his bravery points, then winning with one epic blow. It’s a pretty cool feeling the first time you do it, but it gets old quickly. In fact, most grunt-level enemies can be defeated in this manner, so long as your levels are comparable to or above theirs. Factor in fights of this nature in numbers greater than a handful in each of the ten campaigns and you’ll start to feel the repetition grate against your patience.
The truth is, however, most people aren’t playing this game to fight Final Fantasy’s take on “putties.” They’re in it for the dream matchups like Tidus Vs. Garland, or Cecil Vs. Kuja. Fights against the big players usually require a tad more skill and preparation, and are therefore much more rewarding. Their unique movesets and differing strategies require the player to do more than simply rush toward the enemy and spam their bravery attacks because they’ll often meet an opposing barrage defend against. One of the greatest allies the player has in these fights is the arena itself, though, it can be a frustrating partner.
The arenas are in full 3D, with multiple levels, platforms and giant set-pieces. Attacking your enemies through objects like gigantic clock gears and columns is a viable tactic if you’re looking to land a few blows quickly, but the computer doesn’t stay still for long. Winning the higher-level fights is all but impossible with one style, so be ready to seek advantageous positions or escape suroundings harmful to you. And expect to do it with a camera system that seems to be devised by your opponents. You can choose to lock onto your opponent, keeping your view centered on them at all times, or choose to free look, which allows for better level navigation. There are times where you’ll need to keep an eye on your opponent to dodge attacks, but are unsure of how much space you have to navigate on a tiny platform. You need to keep an eye on the oncoming attacks, so you’d like to stay locked on, but doing so affords you a limited view of your surroundings should you need to vacate that platform. Believe that you will need to jump about quickly to avoid attacks at times, and not being able clearly see your path hinders your ability to stay alive greatly. While both camera settings have a job and do it well, some sort of middle-ground would have done wonders to alleviate frustration during intense fighting in small spaces.
The characters in Dissidia can, for whatever reason, dash through the air, run up walls, grind along rails and perform other attacks outside of what can be considered physically possible. Of course these things aren’t necessarily a negative — this is a video game — but those going into this expecting something akin to Soul Calibur might be shocked to find it more closely resembles a brawl in Dragon Ball Z. You’ll send enemies flying into the distance, into walls or toward the bottomless abyss below the levels. You’ll fire blasts of energy of differing patterns or unleash limit breaks EX Burst attacks. There’s something undeniably satisfying about unleashing Omnislash on a system that isn’t the PSOne. While the flash certainly adds to the game’s overall appeal, it’s clearly not your typical fighter.
It’s not your typical RPG, either. The role-playing elements are basic but it’s probably a good thing for a game of this nature. Equipping weapons, armor and accessories to boost stats are about as indepth you’re going to go in terms of character management, and you’ll have access to summons as well. Forget about any sort of exciting exploration, however, as the game relies on a table-top gameboard layout for navigation between fights. It’s easily the worst element in the game. Each stage allows you access to several fights by moving your “piece” about the board, some of which are mandatory, and a boss battle to conclude it. You’re then given or penalized points based on how many times you move. It feels counter-productive that the game encourages you to avoid as many fights as you can for additional bonuses, especially when leveling your character up is so integral to success. There’s no chance people are interested in popping this into their PSP with the desire to avoid as many battles as possible.
The story should be what really drives Dissidia to unheralded heights but is surprisingly the weakest element in the game. Final Fantasy is a property built on the back of philosophical narrative and thought-provoking character interaction, and there’s no shortage of material to work with in this game given ten (arguably) strong protagonists and their counterpoints to bounce conflict off. What should be a story with either high excitement or deep drama due to the inclusion of so many dynamic and multifaceted characters ends up a forgettably basic good VS. evil battle royale. Sure, the characters argue back and forth before battles, but the dialogue usually consists of generic “You have no chance, just give up” style arguements. They almost would have been better off cribbing the tongue-in-cheek “Good is dumb” banter style found in Mel Brooks’ classic movie Spaceballs, except then they would have had to find actors who sounded like they actually cared about their roles. The ones in Dissidia range from acceptable to woeful.
Final Fantasy is a series born out of pure adventure. Fighting played the yang to the yin of exploration, and was for some, the lesser part of the journey. Square Enix has created a game that fails to appeal to a fraction of those who would appreciate it by removing half of what makes the series memorable. Dissidia is functional and engaging if you can get past the fact that it’s less a tribute to the series than it is an excuse to pit Cloud against Kefka.
