Dissidia is everything you would expect from a Final Fantasy game and more.
+ Various characters to choose from; each having his/her own play style
+ Multiple gameplay modes ensure hours upon hours of play time
+ Great soundtrack that will please Final Fantasy addicts
+ Tons and tons of bonus content and unlockables
+ Gameplay is immersive and fairly innovative
+ Top notch graphics and presentation
Cons:
- Not as many CG cinematics as one would expect from a Final Fantasy game
- Camera inconsistencies hinder the overall experience
- A weak story crippled by a cliché script
- No online multiplayer
High on the heels of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy comes Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Square's next Final Fantasy project on the PSP, and boy oh boy does it live up to the hype. Dissidia is everything you would expect from a Final Fantasy game and more. This time around, Square is taking a new approach from its usual turn-based combat system. Dissidia features an all new battle mechanism similar to that in most 3D fighting games, but changes the formula making battles high octane and fast paced.
The story revolves around the war between Cosmos and Chaos with each side recruiting characters from past Final Fantasy games. Unlike Final Fantasy games in the past which had compelling stories that sucked the gamer into the Final Fantasy realm, Dissidia's story is rather disappointing and is crippled by a cliché script. Cosmos requires a certain number of crystals in order to defeat Chaos and bring the world peace. You can take the role of any of the main heroes from games I through X in order to get the crystals and once you get your first crystal; you'll unlock Shade Impulse which is a continuation of the main story. Most fighting games don't focus much on story telling, with many of them not even having one, whereas Dissidia does offer a story of sorts, but one which is just boring and filled with dialogues that are just redundant nonsense.
As previously mentioned, Square has taken a new approach with Dissidia, allowing fans to have one on one brawls with some of their favorite characters. This is something fans have been waiting for a long time and Dissidia does not disappoint. There are a ton of characters to choose from, albeit half of them have to be bought from the PP catalog, but we'll get to that later. Battles are one on one and you can either use HP attacks or Bravery attacks to win the battle. HP attacks deal damage to your opponent which is proportional to your current bravery. Taking more bravery from your opponent allows you to dish out more damage. It's a simple mechanic and one which can be used to shift the tide of a heated battle.
Each character has his/her own play style and gamers can focus on leveling up that one character they feel they are most comfortable with. So if you are more of a ranged fighter, Terra would be a good choice, but if you are more of a close range fighter, Cloud would be a more apt character to choose. As you progress through the game by playing the game's multiple modes like Story, Arcade, Quick Battle etc. you'll start to unlock goodies like Gil (the currency used in the game), AP (Action points which allow your character to perform more actions during battle) and PP points. Now the former can be used to buy items from the store to increase the physical attributes of characters by buying weapons, armor etc. The latter is used as exchange points which can be used to buy a ton of stuff like alternate costumes, new characters, voice recordings and small tidbits like getting double exp on a certain day. There is just so much content to unlock which definitely makes Dissidia worth the current price tag and will ensure hours upon hours of play time.
The game looks gorgeous and is probably one of the best looking PSP games to date. The character models look great and there is a good amount of detail put into the battle arenas. One minor gripe is that fans who are used to watching beautifully rendered CG cinematics from past FF games will be disappointed to know that there are hardly any of them present in Dissidia. Yes, there are cutscences, but only a few of them are actually CG. Seeing how many CG cutscences Crisis Core was able to pack, it's disappointing that Dissidia only offers a few of them.
The soundtrack however will be a delight to music lovers and Final Fantasy fans. Battle music taken from previous games is used in Dissidia and they fit in really well. The voice acting is pretty good for a Final Fantasy game, but some of it comes a tad off at times; regardless its still pretty solid. The overall audio quality is good and listening to a character jump and perform a wall run feels just right.
Dissidia, for the most part is a hit rather than a miss but a couple of problems stop it from achieving greatness. One for instance is the camera. On certain areas where the map is not as wide open as the rest, the camera can be a problem. There are chase sequences in the game which allow you to follow your opponent and unleash either a HP or Bravery attack .During these sequences of tug and war, the camera can get in the way and make it impossible for you to judge when an attack is coming. Another gripe is the game not having an online component. It does however support Ad Hoc play, but for a game like Dissidia, having no online play is a bummer.
In the end, Dissidia is something fans have been waiting for a long time and now that it is here, you can be assured that the game does live up to the hype and provides a Final Fantasy experience like none other.