Let's have a look if Dissidia Duodecim is a mere dull remake or almost a complete new game
Even if you already own the old Dissidia and have every char leveld up to 100 (as I have done), especially because the game allows you to import your old chars with full levels and Ability set (except for the change of old vs new abilitys, summons and armor)
Features: Assist
Rating: +
The new assist attack feature fills in a gameplay hole that has flawed the old Dissidia a bit, it's nice Square Enix has payed attention to that, it forces you to rethink some very imbalanced gameplay strategys you could literally win every battle from in the old Dissidia, and to be forced to rethink it is a really good thing, it adds more depht to the battles.
Features: Party Battles
Rating ++++
This time you're also able to set up some different set of partys that are used in certain game modes, story mode features some parts you have to fight as party for example. The big bonus about it is that even party members who don't fight will get some EXP for every won battle, so you have a very easy way to gain fast much EXP.
Features: New Characters
Rating: ++
Even if it's "just" 6 new characters, SE also hit the nail on the spot here, giving the fans exactly the characters of choise they longed to have, and in addition beeing able to keep the old 2 Bonus Characters Shantotto and Gabranth, even added 3 whole new Bonus Characters, from which one is quite hard to get, he's kinda the "Omega Weapon" of Dissidia, so it makes up a total of 9 new characters, which is quite an impressive amount for a remake.
Features: Story
Rating: ++ -
With adding a pre-story that tells the events that happend before the events of the first Dissidia, a story that is really interesting and keeps the promise to answer questions and filling story gaps that have been there in the Prequel Duodecim clearly can declare itself almost as a kind of Dissidia 2.
But just almost, because after you have cleared out this new story, you have the old Dissidia Story back up, and sadly it's EXACTLY the same copied thing, even all cutscenes are 1:1 (only thing that's new is Worldmap and Moogle shops here, but that doesn't made up for the rest), so this is a huge letdown for all the players of the first game, SE really could have added one or
two extras here.
But at least afterwards a really challenging mode awaits.
And apart from that there also is a story beneath the story in the form of so calles "Reports", which you have to unlock by progressing in the story mode and which will enable you to unlock the new bonus characters, further these reports also provide some interesting background info to the overall Dissidia Plot and have some scenes that really are worth a second look (which they fortunatley allow you to do, as often as you like)
So, alltogether, the recycling of Dissidia's story into Duodecim 1:1 certainly is a good thing for all who never have played the first installment, but for all who already have done so it would have been nice beeing able to earn some extras there.
But the rest of the story mode is very original and well inspired and make up for this more than enough.
Features: Game Modes
Rating: +++
The story mode, which is itself a collection of many mini modes certainly is the big main part of the series, it is made together with this modes:
Cycle 012 - Namegiver to the game and explains what happend before the first Dissidia Game
Cycle 013 - This is the Story of the First Dissidia Game, 1:1 copied
Cycle 000 - Can be considered as "Hard Mode" for fans of the game who want a challenge
Reports - Loose little extra chapters telling background information to the overall story, some interactions here are really worth this mode.
Apart from the story this game also features some more modes, some of them have to be unlocked first:
- Labyrinth - The successor of Dissidia's Colosseum, but here you can't keep your Items when exiting, it also doesn't feature the endless principle anymore, instead it has different rooms and goals to reach.
- Arcade - A very classic mode for every fighting game, a few fights in a row, this mode also features Time Attack
- 1on1 Battle - If you want to have a quick match vs. the CPU where you can set everything as you're pleased, this is the place to go
- Party Battle - Like 1on1 Battle, just one party vs another instead
- Online - So far I haven't been able to play Online yet, but important to mention: Now you're able to fight your own Offline Friend Cards
In summary, Dissidia Duodecim is a game well worth buying even if you own the first Dissidia, it has only little flaws, like a sometimes really angering CPU strength and, this applies only to owners of the first game, story recycling, but apart from that it does everything right what could be done right, starting from the new characters, the revival of a world map, music, outfits, amounts of attention payed to detail for the whole final fantasy series to modes and the overall gameplay.