Dissidia Final Fantasy is a 2008 role-playing fighting video game developed and published by Square Enix, released for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita.  The game centers on the conflict between deities Cosmos, the goddess of harmony, and Chaos, the god of discord, who summon multiple warriors from the Final Fantasy games to fight for their sides in their thirteenth war.

Positives:

• Good graphics
• Terrific soundtrack
• Great character designs
• Great fighting mechanics
• Good story
• Fast paced action
• Tons of unlockables
• Good roster of characters
• Good voice performances

Negatives:

• Lackluster story
• Repetitive gameplay
• Camera can be wonky at times
• Some voice performances could be better

Campaign:  The campaign are pretty lengthy easily topping the 8 hour mark. The story follows gods Chaos and Cosmos who are in constant battle.  When Chaos gains an upper hand, Cosmos summons 10 warriors to fight against 10 villains and rivals summoned by Chaos in hopes of saving reality.  The story is nothing to run home about.  In fact, it’s surprisingly thin.  Especially given the great stories the series has had.

The game does let players explore the characters and their relationships with their rivals as well as each other.  The bulk of the campaign follows players searching for Cosmos-curing crystals after choosing 1 of 10 characters. The characters are great, each with their own distinct personality stemming from their respective video games. Each character has their story to be told so players can play the story mode with each character in their own campaign which contributes to the overarching storyline.

One of the weaker points of the story are the doppelgangers called Manikins.  They feel like a cheap bad guys when like Kingdom Hearts, new and original characters to the series could’ve been the “bad guys”.  Also, the tiled gameboard is just planned stupid.  It reminds me of the gameboard in DragonBall Z: Budokai 2.  It makes no sense to have that. (3 out of 5)

Gameplay:  The fighting mechanics are actually pretty solid mixing the best of traditional fighters with RPG elements and a maneuverable 3D environment.  Like any fighting game, players objectives are reducing their opponents health b at to zero.  To do this, the combat system allows for a very diverse experience when it comes to the combo chains, evasive maneuvers, interactions with the environment, and special moves.  Players can also summon to aid in battle.  The 3D arenas allow versatility to the movement which brings up the mid-air combat. I don’t care what anyone says, vertical wall running is freakin awesome. It does takes some getting use to but when it is utilized effectively can be enjoyable and badass.

A great aspect of the game is how unique each character feels.  Some excel more at casting spells which makes them great long range characters while others wield swords make them more effective in close range.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect (and most confusing) is the BRV or “Bravery Points”.  Both characters start out with a set amount of BRV which acts as a buffer against HP attacks.  Reducing BRV points with “BRV attacks” allows players to use “HP attacks” to reduce opponents HP.  After an HP attack BRV points will recover.  It’s a unique system that isn’t a bad one just takes some getting use to.  To make it simple, the more BRV points the less HP damage and the less BRV points the more HP damage.

Players are able to level up their characters and equip them with paraphernalia and special techniques.  There are some balancing issues with the AI. In some matches they will seem overly weak, while others prove to be near god-mode.  A lot of this does have to do with the equipment they carry. Winning matches rewards players with experience to level up their characters and PP which they can use to purchase many things within the game (music, costumes, characters, equipment, etc.).

The gameplay is pretty fast paced but it can feel repetitive.  There are no mini-games or side missions to alleviate the constant fights or modes to change up the battles such as disabling the specials or including a handicap…well you get the idea. But aside from that, there is a lot of more to the gameplay that should be explored.  (4 out of 5)

Graphics:  Character designs are definitely on point and unlocked character skins help keep the designs diverse.  The level designs are large, active, vibrant and absolutely a joy to look at. Thumbs up to the fact that they’re destructible.  Great locations from the series.  The in-game graphics are decent, similar to the in-game graphics of Final Fantasy X of the PlayStation 2 era.  Not bad but for a mobile game.  The intro is one of the best cinematic intros in a video game.  The battle between the forces of good and evil is simply epic with .  The camera can be a problem at times making battles hard to keep track of. (3 out of 5)

Score: There are two things that are done exceptionally well and that is the music and the voice performances.  Final Fantasy has always had great music but Dissidia takes those familiar themes and remixes them.  And they’re actually good.  Fans of the series will definitely appreciate this.  And lets talk about the voice performances.  Thumbs up to the cast for just doing the characters justice.  Most of these characters have had no voice in their games so it’s great to hear them speak and the casting was fantastic.  The game has a fantastic soundtrack. (3 out of 5)

Replayability:  Fortunately for fans of the franchise, there is tons and tons of replayability.  Players can play through the different campaigns with each character.  Players who crave a challenge can up the difficulty for a harder yet more rewarding experience.

There are tons of content (weapons, gear, skins, voice, music, characters, etc.) that can be unlocked in the campaign.  Versus mode is highly competitive and with the various heroes and villains, learning to play them all will have players playing for hours. The versus mode allows players to play single matches, team based matches or arcade.

Unfortunately, I don’t know many people with a PSP or the game so online multiplayer is something that I wasn’t able to explore.  Also, the story will be a grind as players will be playing it over and over and over.  The already lame progression field in the campaign is further drilled into the players brain.

For players who love getting the bag for their buck, this game doesn’t disappoint with all the unlockables. (4 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, Dissidia Final Fantasy is a straight up must have experience not only for Final Fantasy fans but for fans of the fighting genre as well. Yeah, it has its share of problems which mainly focuses on its lack of an engaging story.  Its cool seeing our favorite heroes go back and forth with their enemies and rivals but for a war escalating between gods there should’ve been more.  The game does still shine in many other aspects.  There are a ton of great characters, a fast paced combat system, fantastic music, great graphics, and tons of unlockable content.  Dissidia Final Fantasy gets 3 out of 5.  It comes as a high recommendation for fans of the series.