Dissidia Final Fantasy Review

Dissidia Final Fantasy...this is a fanboys dream come true for those who love the Final Fantasy series. DFF is a fighting game that pits eleven heros and eleven villains from the main Final Fantasy series, streaching all the way back to Final Fantasy I all the way forward to Final Fantasy XII. While the game is not perfect, it is a fun and enjoyable game that has alot to offer.





Story: 3.5/5

The story, in my opinion, is the weakest part of the game, which is sad considering the scope of the main series and the tales they weave. I think is mainly due to the fact the game is much shorter in the story than the traditional RPG-Final Fantasy. The main theme of the story is similar to that of the Kingdom Hearts series of games, and like those games, pulls plot references and ideas from the original games to mix it in with the main story.

The story is basically the Goddess of Harmony, Cosmos, battles with the God of Discord, Chaos. Both sides summon ten warriors to fight for the fate of the worlds. The plot is somewhat simplistic, but there are plenty of moments where the characters have lines or events similar to their games. Overall, the main story isn't that great, but the references and hints to the main games are great.



Graphics: 5/5

Simply put, this game is beautiful. This game really shows the graphical power of the PSP. The system has better detailing on it than the Playstation One, and it shows it off here. The game is colorful, detailed, and really varied in the coloring and details. The character models perfectly show off the designs the artist did, which is great since many of the designs are inspired by the original art done by Amano. And his style is not easy to replicate in a game format.



Sound/Music: 4.5/5

The main reason the score isn't a perfect 5 is due mainly to some of the remixes in the game. Some of the remixes (namely the older games' themes) are pretty good, some awesome to hear, but the later games, like VIII's Blue Fields song, just sound...meh. The original tracks for many of those would have been far far better to listen to, or at the least, use some other remix (like the orchestraded remix of One Winged Angel used in the game, that was a good choice instead of re-remixing it again). Another point is some of the original music for the game isn't as memorable as the main FF series. The Messenger track that serves as the final battle music against Chaos is really out of place. It just lacks the power of One Winged Angel or even Otherworld.

The sound effects are perfect, lifting sounds from the old games, while updating the 16 and 8 bit games to have a more modern sound. Sword slashes, explosions, magic, it all sounds good. It's fun to hear the Chocobo kweh too. >_>


Gameplay: 4/5

The true meat of any game, the gameplay is the most important thing to any game around. This game is not a typical fighting game like Tekken or Street Fighter. There is a grander cinematic style used with this game, similar to the Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi games. The moves are very stylish and flash too. The arenas are huge, so you will be doing foot work to catch the enemy. This kinda hurts the game sometimes, as some of the enemies, who are magic casters can pretty much play a game of keep away as you try to run them down. This can be very frustrating. The AI can also be very unforgiving and plain cheap in some fights, which can drive you up the wall (which is amusing since you can in fact run up walls in the game).

While not a typical fighter, it is fun though. It's a nice change of pace from the usual style of down to for punch for a fireball. The game also has levels for grinding and equipment, summons, and accessories to equip to have a more RPG feel to it than alot of fighters.



Overall: 4/5 (not an average)

In the end, Dissidia Final Fantasy is a great solid game. It is an entertaining experience that should be tried out. Don't go in expecting Street Fighter or you'll be dissappointed. Try it out with an open mind, and I think you'll come away with a positive experience. This game won't appeal to all, but I think most will have a decent time on it. Square Enix did a good job in providing a royal rumble to celebrate 20 years of Final Fantasy.


So to sum up, I like this game. I've enjoyed going in and playing the characters from 12 Final Fantasy games spanning 20 years of awesome gaming. While alot of people may not get the references or some of the plot points in the games unless they've played the original games, it's still a solid game. If you've seen the movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, then you can see the style the fights will take, which is crazy. I suggest this game for those who own a PSP. However, I would not suggest buying a PSP just for this game (that honor for me would go to Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, a super awesome game). This game isn't for everyone, but I think those who play it, will enjoy it a little bit at least.


Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go stab Tidus some more until he dies. Kupo!