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Another Fantasy! Final Fantasy Dissidia Review
Dissidia: Final Fantasy, a new brawler for the PSP, is an admirable attempt to reconcile the gap between the far-out fights that unspool during Final Fantasy cut scenes and the deeds that players prompt with button and joystick.
Unfortunately, the fisticuffs come off more clumsy than they ought to — especially when the role-playing structure beneath is executed with the utmost precision.
The game’s premise is promising, as it pits a who’s who of Final Fantasy heroes against a similarly diverse super group of villains, including beloved Final Fantasy VII antagonist Sephiroth.
Dissidia’s best moments happen when fights between the members of this all-star cast go slightly nuts. A well-placed punch can send an opponent flying heavenward. With a single button-press, the aggressor can leap after the victims and whack them again.
A general disregard for the laws of physics seems to be the rule in Dissidia. Subtle yellow arrows all around the landscape mark areas where players can press another button and do the impossible. Some send heroes spiralling skyward. Others allow them to cling to walls and run up the length of pillars.
Difficulty settings don’t just determine how hard fights will be, they dramatically change the way the game plays by simplifying or complicating the tactical maps that players navigate to get from battle to battle.
Experience points are doled out generously, even when your PSP is tucked away in a drawer. And once a bit of the story has been conquered by hacking and slashing, players can opt to tackle the game in the traditional turn-based fashion, selecting their moves in advance rather than mashing them out in real time.
With this empowerment, however, comes a few hassles. Because the PSP has only one analogue stick, there’s no way to manually control where the game’s camera points. Players can track enemies and other items by squeezing one of the shoulder buttons, but the camera remains unruly — especially when fighters transition between terra firma and perpendicular walls.
Still, with experience points flowing like wine, there are plenty of opportunities to strengthen characters, customize their look and their combat styles, and tweak their performance. All the hooks are in place to make Dissidia: Final Fantasy a compelling role-playing experience. If only the fights and the reason for fighting them were as inspiring.
Plot here is paper-thin. An eternal war between good and evil has taken a turn for the worse. Heroes from multiple Final Fantasy dimensions have been called to a sparse purgatory to carry on the fight, but first the warriors must each seek and find — you guessed it — a crystal to aid them in their quest.
There’s some interesting character work at play. Watching former foes and allies reconnect tickles certain nostalgic nerves, and when heroes from different world’s team up, things get truly interesting.
Over all I like the game to be able to see all the FF heroes all on one action fighting game is very interesting to play .
Review By: Mitch Parker
© Gamersathome 2009