Dissidia: Final Fantasy
8/30/2009
Title: Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Platform: PSP
Genre: Fighter/RPG
I'm an unashamed fan of the Final Fantasy series. Not fanboy fan, mind you, but I've played them all, and can name off the heroes and bad guys with little trouble. Hell, I even bought Ehrgeiz on the PS1 because there were FF7 characters in it. Here we are, 11 or so years later, and they're back for another brawl. And it's good.
The gameplay seems baffling at first - one-hit kills are as common as ten-minute-long duels - but, like in GODHAND, everything suddenly clicks after an hour or so. This is, dare I say, a thinking man's brawler, where the perfect defense is the best offense. You'll jump and dodge everywhere at lightning speed, waiting for the single moment your opponent slips up and leaves an opening, and then you crush him. This is not a traditional fighting game where you whittle down your enemy while blocking his projectiles and little else. There's a fair element of luck involved, sure, but mastery of the battle system will make you feel supremely badass (even as Zidane).
My biggest gripe is there's just so much game. You've got a laughably-written story mode for every character - several hours long for each one - with weapons/armor/accessories/summons/abilities/skills to worry about for each. There are also more P's that I have ever seen in my life - HP, BP, AP, PP, CP, GP, EXP, DP - and that's not an exaggeration; those are all real scores. There is also the more traditional arcade mode, with lots of unlockable goodies like alternate costumes and voice sets, and a quick play mode for experience grinding, among other unlockable modes. Basically, if you don't get the hang of the battle system and don't have the patience to learn the dodge system, then there's a whole lot of game you'll be missing out on. It feels daunting for a portable game, awesome as though it may be. If you've got time to spare, however, or if you are even a passing fan of the series, then you definitely owe it to yourself to pick this one up.
Platform: PSP
Genre: Fighter/RPG
I'm an unashamed fan of the Final Fantasy series. Not fanboy fan, mind you, but I've played them all, and can name off the heroes and bad guys with little trouble. Hell, I even bought Ehrgeiz on the PS1 because there were FF7 characters in it. Here we are, 11 or so years later, and they're back for another brawl. And it's good.
The gameplay seems baffling at first - one-hit kills are as common as ten-minute-long duels - but, like in GODHAND, everything suddenly clicks after an hour or so. This is, dare I say, a thinking man's brawler, where the perfect defense is the best offense. You'll jump and dodge everywhere at lightning speed, waiting for the single moment your opponent slips up and leaves an opening, and then you crush him. This is not a traditional fighting game where you whittle down your enemy while blocking his projectiles and little else. There's a fair element of luck involved, sure, but mastery of the battle system will make you feel supremely badass (even as Zidane).
My biggest gripe is there's just so much game. You've got a laughably-written story mode for every character - several hours long for each one - with weapons/armor/accessories/summons/abilities/skills to worry about for each. There are also more P's that I have ever seen in my life - HP, BP, AP, PP, CP, GP, EXP, DP - and that's not an exaggeration; those are all real scores. There is also the more traditional arcade mode, with lots of unlockable goodies like alternate costumes and voice sets, and a quick play mode for experience grinding, among other unlockable modes. Basically, if you don't get the hang of the battle system and don't have the patience to learn the dodge system, then there's a whole lot of game you'll be missing out on. It feels daunting for a portable game, awesome as though it may be. If you've got time to spare, however, or if you are even a passing fan of the series, then you definitely owe it to yourself to pick this one up.