Dissidia: Final Fantasy

Dusting off the PSP is a rare occasion for me. At times I loathe the device, not that the device itself is flawed, but that a game that interests me is so rarely released for this platform. Enter Final Fantasy: Dissidia. Ever since I acquired this game, that two hundred dollar doorstop I call the PSP has only left my hands whilst performing essential tasks that require both hands and a little attention such as sleeping, eating, and relieving myself. Dissidia is essentially crack-cocaine, ground finely, flattened into a shiny disk and shelled out unto the unsuspecting masses. For Final Fantasy fans in particular, this game is a wet dream that’ll have you changing your pants hourly.

Dissidia is classified as a Fighting / Role playing combo. In my opinion, it most certainly fits into the action RPG category. What makes this an RPG? 100 levels of customizing equipment and skills that will keep you playing for hours on end, multiply that by 22 playable characters that are completely unique from each other. Add in some random drop rates for us loot whores, and an item creation system that will keep you busy long after you’ve hit 100.

The combat itself is somewhat similar to a standard fighting game, only I’ve found that most people can hold their own in a fighting game by simply mashing random buttons as fast as they can. This is NOT the case in dissidia, and such acts will get you thoroughly pwned. Dissidia employs two types of attacks, HP and brave: When you deal brave damage your brave counter rises, while brave damage is dealt to you, it subtracts from your current brave. The amount listed as brave damage is what you will deal if you land a successful HP attack, it is possibly to build up your brave high enough to kill an opponent in a single attack. But sometimes (especially as the game progresses) your opponents get very good at dodging these attacks and landing such an attack can get extremely difficult. Not only that but attacking in itself will make you vunerable to an enemy attack, so playing dissidia becomes an art of reading your opponent and knowing exactly when to attack, when to block, and when to run like hell. With 22 playable characters, it takes an intense amount of focus to learn each one and fair well against them.

The big number means you're about to get raped

The action in this game is unparalleled. You can run up walls, fly through the air, smash through objects, smash your opponent through objects, etc, etc. For those who have seen Advent Children, this game actually manages to match the pace and style of the action featured in that movie. It is extremely fun to watch and play, and not to mention intense as well. I have frequently found myself covered in sweat after a long difficult fight, this game gets your heart racing, and you’re going to love every moment of it.

This game has multiple modes. Beginning with the story mode, you can play through each individual characters (the heroes at least) introduction. Expect to spend about 1.5 hours per character. After beating at least one characters story mode you unlock the main story, which takes about 8-10 hours and can also be completed with any character you’d like. The story mode exists mainly to get you used to the game, and in all honestly, the real game doesn’t begin until you’ve beaten it. After playing though the story mode you get access to two more story modes that allow you to unlock secret characters (you can play these with both the heroes and villains). And finally “Inward Chaos” which is the final and incredibly difficult story mode (which even after around 100 hours of play, I have yet to beat).

Other game modes include a quick match mode, where you can select your main character and opponent (and adjust the level and difficulty of said opponent). This is an easy way to farm some items, and the only decent way to level up the villains. Once you’ve beaten the main story, you’ll unlock a mode called “Duel Coliseum”. This mode is kind of hard to explain. It involves a card game and lots of random fighting; I will not go in to too much detail suffice to say that this is where you will do the majority of your rare item farming. They have 5 modes ranging from low level to extremely difficult (level 150 opponents, wtf!!). During your travels you gain Player Points that allow you to unlock all sorts of things, from villain characters to game modes to BGM. There is so much to do in this game!

The endgame content is just ridiculously hard and pretty much separates the men from the boys. At first I had put the game down after trying some of the really hard content, but it soon drew me back in. With some time, loot whoring, and patience I was able to really learn the mechanics and hold my own against the tougher fights in the game.

As far as presentation goes, the graphics are top notch for the psp, and they bring to life some very beloved characters in ways you’ve never seen them before. The voice acting ranges from decent to excellent (Kefka is freaking amazing), and the music features tons of remixed final fantasy classics that always give you a reason to keep the headphones on. Yes this means you get to fight Sephiroth during an excellent rendition of “One Winged Angel”. This is pretty much the best looking and best sounding game on this system.

If you’ve been a long time fan of Final Fantasy, prepare to be swept away by a wave of nostalgia. Expect to see many of your favorite characters return to the world of gaming in ways you could have only dreamed of. Personally, I happen to consider FFVI the best of the series, and the way they handled Kefka not only met, but exceeded my expectations. From his twitchy bird-like movements and his fairy like tip toeing, to his wonderfully bi-polar voice acting. One of the evilest villains in Final Fantasy history truly comes alive.

One creepy ass megalomanical clown

On another note, I found myself spending a lot of time doing the endgame content with Jecht from Final Fantasy X. Jecht is pretty much the Chuck Norris of Dissida, with his manly voice and attitude and frequent use of his hands and feet over the massive ass sword he packs around (why does he carry a massive sword? To show you that he can fuck you up so badly with his bare fists that you don’t want to be anywhere near him when you comes at you with that thing?) seriously, he uses it in one attack, that’s it. This crazy bastard even has a couple moves where he grabs a meteor from space and throws it at you, a fucking ME-TE-OR. Jecht is a badass of epic proportions, he even punches Tidus in the ovaries (does Tidus have ovaries? I think so) so hard that it actually drops his voice a couple octaves. I was never a huge fan of Final Fantasy X, but perhaps that’s just because there wasn’t enough Jecht to be had. Now that I have been exposed to this awesomeness, I really want to see them make Final Fantasy X-3 featuring Jecht doing terrible things to the entire cast.

Bitchslapping Tidus, I approve

Jecht is so awesome, he gets TWO screenshots in this article

This game has one weak point, and that is the overall story. Though pulling different characters from various universes and putting them into the same world is certainly a difficult task, and they can be forgiven for that. Though the overall story is weak, watching each individual hero deal with their nemesis can be very enjoyable, especially if you’ve played the game they are pulled from. The rest of the game, however, more then makes up for this one weak point.

The only reason I cannot rate this game a solid 10 is because it presents itself as an RPG, and an RPG in my world cannot be rated a 10 without an excellent storyline. Don’t let my 9 detract you though. If you own a PSP, get this game. If you do not own a PSP, and are a huge final fantasy fan, this game is good enough to warrant a purchase of a PSP (and hey, you can play Crisis Core too while you’re at it). For me, this is without a doubt the best game I own amongst all of my handheld games (this includes the DS). It is also nice to note that thanks to things like a robust auto save feature, this is a game you can spend 10 minutes with and walk away. With its pristine presentation and addictive gameplay, Final Fantasy Dissidia will keep you busy for hundreds of hours.