Dissidia: Final Fantasy PSP

Released on 04/09/2009

• Dissidia: Final Fantasy Review

  The Final Fantasy..not likely

  Square Enix are known for their immense RPGs that take the player to a different world full of heroes and villains for you to love or hate. The latest Final Fantasy title is Dissidia which is exclusive to the PSP. At face value Dissidia is a beat em up, but when you delve a little deeper you will find that Dissidia is more like other Final Fantasy titles than it first appears.

  A new way to play

  Dissidia Final Fantasy takes the series in a brand new direction in flawless style combining RPG style menus with a fighting style that fits the Final Fantasy universe. The fighting in Dissidia is not a 2D side on affair like Street Fighter nor is it 3D like Tekken. Dissidia is a 360 degree beat-em-up where attacks can come from any direction. Even though this is a fighting title, Square Enix have not forgotten the most important aspect; the story.

  The main story sees the heroes and villains from Final Fantasy I to X gathered by Cosmos and Chaos, to try and finish a war that has been waging between the two for Eons. During the opening cut scene you’ll watch the villains knock the stuffing out of the heroes and gain the upper hand. Not the best way to start things off really! Although the main story is the battle between good and evil, each character has their own story to follow within the main arc, which adds another layer of depth to the already deep Dissidia.

  Dissidia is a 360 degree beat-em-up where attacks can come from any direction.

  To get through the story you will need to navigate a grid which will have enemies, potions and treasure chests visible so you can choose which path you want to take. From the grid screen you can access your character customization which includes abilities, equipment, accessories and summons to name a few of the options that can be tweaked. These options are standard to Final Fantasy, and players who enjoy sitting in the menus playing with the options will have hours of fun before a fight.

  The combat itself is fluid and despite the complexity of what’s happening on screen, it’s easy and fun. The button mapping has been carefully looked at in Dissidia. So at no point will you think that that button should have been somewhere else. The controls are instantly player friendly. This leaves you free to enjoy beating the pulp out of the characters you face, which despite the ease of the controls opens up its own challenges.

  Plan your attacks

  Your attacks are split between Bravery and HP, which then have sub categories of ground and air. Sounds complicated doesn’t it? Well it’s not. The basic strategy is to use your bravery attacks to lower your opponent’s bravery before smacking them with an HP attack. This combination will wear down your opponent until they are ready for the killing blow.

  If you’re having trouble taking down your opponent, get into EX Mode. This mode enables you to hit your foe with a ‘super-move’ of sorts. You’ll receive a screen prompt to let you know what buttons to press. Hit all the buttons displayed and you can then watch the full attack. Miss the end set and you’ll see part of the attack. This can be a life saver if you have it available to use at a crucial moment in a battle.

  Pillars, boulders and other structures crumbled as Sephiroth gave me a royal trouncing.

  Keep moving

  Combat is not nailed down to the floor; you can whip about in the air, wall run and slide about the level with ease. But the most impressive interactive feature (and the scariest) is that the scenery – in places – can be destroyed. Pillars, boulders and other structures crumbled as Sephiroth gave me (as Cloud) a royal trouncing. For the purists who love the turn based mechanic, this will become available to you. But I found this took away from the fun and the excitement a little bit.

  Dissidia is a breath of fresh air on PSP, merging two very different game styles into a flawless title that most can enjoy. The fighting is fast and furious whilst the menus and customisation is deep. Dissidia deserves your attention, much like Crisis Core does. This is why my closing bit of advice is to get yourselves on to the PlayStation Network and download the demo so you can bear witness to the awesomeness that is Dissidia: Final Fantasy.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • +Unbelievably easy and fun
  • +Nothing like it on the PSP
  • +visual and audio perfection

  

  • -Some characters have distinct advantages over others
  • -Cloud is still being all Emo
  • -If you're not an FF Fan this may go over your head

  Review by: Tom 'One-Winged' Daly
  Version Tested: PSP
  Review Published: 28.08.09

  Published: 28/08/2009

• Final Fantasy back on the PSP

  Final Fantasy back on the PSP

  The PSP2 might be hogging the limelight right now - and who can blame it? The thing's a marvel of science - but that doesn't mean that the PSP isn't getting a bit of love now and then. If you're a Final Fantasy fan, you should probably sit down: Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection will be hitting the platform on 22nd April, according to Eurogamer.

  It's quite an item, too, the PSP special edition including art cards and a decorated screen cleaning cloth, all housed in a fold out presentation box. You'll also be getting some downloadable content, which will allow you to unlock stuff in the forthcoming PSP game Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. Weird name.

  What about the content itself? Apparently, The Complete Collection squeezes all the characters and storylines from Final Fantasy IV and its sequel The After Years into a single title. There's a new storyline that links the two, snazzy updated visuals, galleries, CG movies, and illustrations, too, alongside a new soundtrack arrangement.

  Final Fantasy IV first came out for the SNES in 1991, and is seen as being one of the series' best titles.

• Square Enix wants a new Final Fantasy every one or two years

  Final Fantasy producer Yoshinori Kitase has said that he feels the series took too long to come to the current console generation, and aims to speed up development to enable a new entry in the series every few years.

  'Final Fantasy XIII was obviously the first game [on current consoles], and personally I think we took a little too long getting it out,' he told Game Reactor. 'When you think of Western AAA titles like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Assassin's Creed, they seem to work with a lot shorter turnaround - they make a new game in one to two years. That is something we need to follow up, because that seems to be the best way to keep our fans interested and attracted to the franchise.'

  There wasn't an entry in the main Final Fantasy series for the current consoles until Final Fantasy XIII in 2010.

  Final Fantasy XIII-2 is set to arrive on Xbox 360 and PS3 in the first week of February 2012. It's taken a spritely 18 months to put together, compared to the five years it took to create Final Fantasy XIII.

• The Beat 'Em Up Resurgence

  
  

  

  Round 1 - Storied Reputation

  Fighting games like Tekken and SoulCalibur have enjoyed an unprecedented resurgence over the last two years. But before Mitsurugi's katana skills and Paul Phoenix's extreme hairstyle came into style, old-school gamers were playing The Way of the Exploding Fist and Yie Ar Kung-Fu on their humble ZX Spectrums and Commodore 64s. These early fighters - which were inspired by martial-arts films - then paved the way for the most important fighting game of all time.

  Street Fighter II: The World Warrior kick-started the golden era of fighting games in the early nineties. It achieved this with a cast of eight international fighters and an epic (and allegedly accidental) combo system. Street Fighter then matured into a globally adored series and inspired everything from Mortal Kombat and Killer Instinct to Virtua Fighter and Dead or Alive. But when the genre fell into decline in the years following the turn of the millennium, it seemed like the honeymoon period was finally over.

  

  Round 2 - Re-enter the Dragon Punch

  This all changed when Capcom pulled the pin on a grenade labelled Street Fighter IV in 2008 - because not only did the ensuing explosion revive the genre in spectacular style, it made it the strongest it's ever been. SFIV kept all the iconic characters and special moves from Street Fighter II, and by reworking the classic 2D controls with the new Focus and Ultra systems, it offered accessibility and depth in equal measure. But while Street Fighter IV set the benchmark, its 2010 follow-up, Super Street Fighter IV, smoothed out the kinks and offered unrivalled diversity.

  SSFIV could have been a lazy update. Instead it offered ten new faces and a choice of two Ultra Combos. This allowed each fighter to be played in two distinct styles. But Super isn't the end of the story, as it was ported onto Nintendo 3DS as Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, and on June 7th, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition will be released. The inclusion of Yun, Yang, Evil Ryu and Oni will bring the roster up to 39, making Arcade Edition the definitive Street Fighter.

  

  Round 3 - The New (and Old) Challengers

  Street Fighter IV was the game that led the charge, and in its wake, other fighting games followed. A particular highlight was BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger in 2009. This beautiful 2D fighter was the spiritual successor to the intense Guilty Gear series, and much like its eccentric forbearer, BlazBlue was brimming with innovation. It featured a rapid tempo and an ingenuous Drive system which made each fighter unique. Then, when BlazBlue: Continuum Shift tightened up the gameplay in 2010, BlazBlue established itself as the hardcore fighter of choice. An accomplished port of Calamity Trigger is also available for the PSP.

  But the award for “most accessible fighting game” goes to the long running Vs. Series. This Capcom-developed series began in 1996 with X-Men vs. Street Fighter. After a long hiatus, it returned to Europe last year with Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars on the Wii. But while Tatsunoko is massively popular in Japan, it only has a niche following in the West. So when Marvel vs. Capcom 3 launched earlier this year with its familiar cast of celestial wolves, bionic commandos, thunder gods and less-than-jolly green giants, it stole the show in style. Its rabid tag-team combat and X-Factor system also allowed for many astonishing combos.

  

  Round 4 - Fatal Fantasy

  Another classic that made a comeback this year is Mortal Kombat. This brutal fighter was on a slippery slope after switching haphazardly to 3D, but with a series reboot having just been released on the 360 and PS3, Mortal Kombat is back in the realm of 2D gameplay where it belongs. We get the classic Raiden torpedo dive and Liu Kang bicycle kick, as well as a new super gauge that allows for gory X-Ray attacks. But Mortal Kombat's crowning achievement is the variety of content it offers, because even after finishing the seven-hour Story Mode, a Tower of 300 challenges awaits.

  If a fully fledged narrative isn't surreal enough, how about a PSP fighting game based on Final Fantasy? Dissidia Final Fantasy is a 3D fighter that brought together the heroes and villains from Final Fantasy I through to Final Fantasy X. This allowed RPG fans to fight battles between Sephiroth and Squall using a unique combat system that centred on HP and Bravery attacks. The recent sequel, Dissidia 012 Duodecim Final Fantasy, included more characters - including Tifa and Yuna from Final Fantasy VII and X - as well as a significantly expanded single-player mode.

  

  Round 5 - Fight for the Future

  When you add all these excellent games to the likes of Tekken 6, The King of Fighters XII, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny, it's clear that fighting game fans are being spoilt for choice. But what's next for the genre?

  In the coming months we'll see the release of Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus on the Wii and PSP (May 6th), the manga-inspired Arcana Heart 3 on the PS3 and 360 (June 24th) and Dead or Alive Dimensions joining Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition on the new Nintendo 3DS (May 20th).

  After that, we have the Capcom-developed Street Fighter X Tekken to look forward to next year, as well as the long awaited Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and the Namco Bandai-developed Tekken X Street Fighter. All in all, there's never been a better time to own an arcade stick!

  Published: 01/04/2012

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