Product Details
Dissidia Final Fantasy

Dissidia Final Fantasy
From Square Enix

List Price: $39.99
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Product Description

Cosmos, the goddess of harmony. Chaos, the god of discord. Reigning from distant realms, the two gods had gathered warriors from all lands to lead them in savage war. Cosmos and Chaos were of equal strength. It was believed the conflict would last forever. However, the balance is now broken. Those who answered Chaos's call created an inexhaustible force. And under vicious attack without relent, the warriors fighting for Cosmos started to fall one by one. The conflict that has continued for eons is now about to end in Chaos's favor. The world has been torn asunder, sinking into a vortex of disorder. As for the few surviving warriors… their fates have yet to be determined.


Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #94 in Video Games
  • Brand: Square Enix
  • Model: 90902
  • Published on: 2009-08
  • Released on: 2009-08-25
  • ESRB Rating: Teen
  • Platform: Sony PSP
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: .58" h x 4.13" w x 7.01" l, .20 pounds

Features

  • Continue the experience by trading Friend Cards, creating items and sharing AI characters with other players and even engage in virtual AI battles made possible by the PSP system ad hoc mode.
  • Experience the high-quality world and gameplay mechanics of Final Fantasy presented in an action-packed environment where players can glide through the air and dash along walls.
  • Action-based battle system combines all-out brawling alongside RPG-based character development in an original system developed by the creators of the Kingdom Hearts series.
  • Fan-favorite heroes and villains from the entire Final Fantasy series come together in one game for the first time in a remarkable new tale with fully-voiced CG movies and real-time events.
  • Enjoy series staple battle features accessible through "EX Burst". In this players can experience gameplay faithful to the originals through memorable battle features such as "Limit Break" and "Overdrive".

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Product Description
Celebrating the 20th year of the renowned franchise, Dissidia Final Fantasy for PlayStation Portable brings together the largest collection of Final Fantasy characters ever in a fighting-styled game where players must choose their allegiance between good and evil, as they utilize the more than twenty playable characters available.

'Dissidia Final Fantasy' game logo
Story
Players, prepare to profess your allegiance to either Cosmos or Chaos...Cosmos is the goddess of harmony, while Chaos is the god of discord. Reigning from distant realms, the two gods had gathered warriors from all lands to lead them in savage war. At one time Cosmos and Chaos were of equal in strength. It was believed that their conflict would last forever. However, the balance is now broken. Those who answered Chaos' call created an inexhaustible force. And under vicious attack without relent, the warriors fighting for Cosmos started to fall one by one. The conflict that has continued for eons is now about to end in Chaos' favor...The world has been torn asunder, sinking into a vortex of disorder. As for the few surviving warriors… their fates have yet to be determined.

Battle for Cosmos or Chaos in 'Dissidia Final Fantasy'
Battle for Cosmos or Chaos.
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A wealth of playable characters in 'Dissidia Final Fantasy'
A wealth of playable characters.
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Wielding special weapons and items in 'Dissidia Final Fantasy'
Wield special weapons and items.
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Gameplay
Featuring action very similar to other games in the Final Fantasy series, Dissidia Final Fantasy consists of one-on-one combat either against a human or AI opponent where the goal is to reduces your opponent's hit points to zero. This is done through a series of attacks and battle features which must be balanced against the player's status and that of the opponent faced. In addition, the game also features "EX Mode" which increases the power of existing attacks. This mode can be activated in a variety of ways, both related to combat and chance.

Characters
Dissidia Final Fantasy features characters from both sides of the struggle from each of the games in the Final Fantasy series. Although favorites will soon be found, the storyline of game's main campaign requires players to assume the role of each of these characters at one point or another in order to attain ultimate success. All told the game contains twenty-two total playable characters from Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy XII; evenly split between heroes and villains. In addition, players can also look forward to playing as a few secret characters unlockable in the game. Regardless of the character, players will find that each will become more powerful as they gain experience in battle, have access to different costumes and in most cases are able to transform into different physical forms in specific modes and wield fully customizable. See all 22 and their previous Final Fantasy appearances below:

Hero
Original Game
 Warrior of Light  Final Fantasy
 Firion  Final Fantasy II
 Onion Knight  Final Fantasy III
 Cecil Harvey  Final Fantasy IV
 Bartz Klauser  Final Fantasy V
 Terra Branford  Final Fantasy VI
 Cloud Strife  Final Fantasy VII
 Squall Leonhart  Final Fantasy VIII
 Zidane Tribal  Final Fantasy IX
 Tidus  Final Fantasy X
 Shantotto  Final Fantasy XI
Villain
Original Game
 Garland  Final Fantasy
 The Emperor  Final Fantasy II
 Cloud of Darkness  Final Fantasy III
 Golbez  Final Fantasy IV
 Exdeath  Final Fantasy V
 Kefka Palazzo  Final Fantasy VI
 Sephiroth  Final Fantasy VII
 Ultimecia  Final Fantasy VIII
 Kuja  Final Fantasy IX
 Jecht  Final Fantasy X
 Gabranth  Final Fantasy XII

Key Features:

  • Legacy - Experience the high-quality world and gameplay mechanics of Final Fantasy presented in an action-packed environment where players can glide through the air and dash along walls.
  • All-new battle system - Action-based battle system combines all-out brawling alongside RPG-based character development in an original system developed by the creators of the Kingdom Hearts series.
  • Ultimate cast of characters - Fan-favorite heroes and villains from the entire Final Fantasy series come together in one game for the first time in a remarkable new tale with fully-voiced CG movies and real-time events.
  • Fantasy match - Players select their favorite Final Fantasy characters, sided with either Cosmos or Chaos, to set the stage for their fantasy match.
  • Series Staple Battle Features - Accessible through "EX Burst", players can experience gameplay faithful to the originals through memorable battle features such as "Limit Break" and "Overdrive". In addition, longtime fans of the series can enjoy the ability to summon Aeons and options such as the "command battle" system.
  • Community - Continue the experience by trading Friend Cards, creating items and sharing AI characters with other players and even engage in virtual AI battles made possible by the PSP system ad hoc mode.


Customer Reviews

Masterpiece of Fighting5
Dissidia is blatant fan-service for the dedicated and faithful. But it is also blatant fun! Whether you are new to the Final Fantasy universe or a long time player, Dissidia has it for you! It takes an idea like Super Smash Brothers and widens it up. It isn't a 2D fighter but has 3D fully realized worlds for you to battle it out in! Players can stick to the ground and launch attacks at wide ranges, or fly to the skies to attack in furious mid-air frenzies! It is huge too! The game just keeps widening up as more and more features are unlocked!

Each character can be upgraded at will to the umpteenth level. All of the normal RPG stats are here: Attack, Defense, Luck and so on... but all the characters can learn new moves all throughout the adventure! Dissidia is amazing! Hours and hours of fun! I'd recommend it hands down!

I'm hooked, can't stop playing.5
Ok, so this game is indeed one of the finer games on the PSP, and with the slew of unlockables, story, different arcade modes, and multi-player, it's a game that one could happily spend hours upon hours playing.

The battle system is a little odd, as it's not a typical fighter. More of a action game, with fighting and RPG elements tied all together very nicely. It takes a few minutes to understand how everything works together in battle, but once you get the hang of it, you just keep getting better and better, and the battles become more and more enjoyable.

The story mode, admittedly, is actually kind of weak, for a Final Fantasy title (at least, every Final Fantasy before IX had a good story). I enjoy the story, personally, but it's not full of surprises, or played out in the greatest fashion. It's decent, but it could have been so much better. That, and the voice acting for some characters is a bit sad. It's almost embarrassing to listen to sometimes. But there are quite a few characters whose American voice overs were done perfectly (Sephiroth and Kefka come to mind).

The customization of your characters is un-effing-believable. None of the equipment you use will change your character's appearance, but the amount of weapons, accessories, equipment, summons and abilities you can learn, gain, create and buy are very nearly endless. Especially with the multi-player items you get just from battling. In that same field, there's a calendar system in the game that will give you rewards based on what day you play. By unlocking more bonuses through the catalog in the game, you can make these days occur more often, and yield much greater rewards.

The multi-player is 50/50, in my opinion. Yes, it's very, very nice, it works really well, and the rewards can be unique, but it's only Ad-hoc. There's no online multi-player, which is really disappointing. While my cousin and I played, we experienced a bit of lag, but it was hardly noticeable at all. Very slight, and it didn't ruin the battle, or the experience. It's quite a bit of fun, so if you have or get this game, find someone else who does too. The ability to handicap the level so it's an even match makes it much nicer as well, so that you can fight someone brand new to the game, without them having to spend hours leveling up first.

Arcade mode was a unique addition to the American version, and while it's a lot of fun, it's straight forward, with pre-set characters. No customization here. So, it gets old pretty quickly. However, since you initially only have access to the heroes (you have to unlock the villains via the catalog), this is a good place to go to get some practice with all the characters, as all 20 of the main characters are available to play right off the bat in Arcade mode.

Unlockables in this game seem endless. When you unlock new characters or items, more appear to unlock. As you progress through the game, you get random items and rewards, and more items appear for you to unlock through the catalog. The museum allows you to see all sorts of Final Fantasy info on characters, and, once you unlock it, the replay editor is here, allowing you to go back over battles you've fought and saved the replay for, and allows you to edit them, save them to AVI, and import them to your computer.

Over all, this game is an amazing package, and the only things that really hold it back from perfection are a few poor choices, and poor voice acting. Now, I admit that I'm a Final Fantasy fan, and this game is definitely a present for all the die-hard fans of the series, but the way the game plays, anyone who's a fan of action, fighting or RPG genre of gaming can enjoy this game for months to come. I cannot recommend this game enough. It's worth every penny.

Overall: 9.5 out of 10

Positivies:
+Amazing cast of fan favorites
+Unbelievable customization
+Almost unending unlockables
+Fantastic battle system that just gets better as you play
+Really great Ad-hoc battles
+Easily able to sink 100+ hours into this game
+Accessable to almost any gamer

Negatives:
-No online multi-player
-Story is a bit weak, but playable
-Voice overs are, more often than not, disappointing

"Dissidia" meaning "Conflict", "Conflicted" is exactly how I feel3
I think most fellow FF fans can relate when I say that when this game was first announced, the anticipation was almost immediately unbearable. Well, fast-forward a year or so, and what do we get? More or less what most of us were expecting- a full fan-service action title with a negligible plot line.

True, there was that moment where I find myself saying "Hey! Awesome! I'm (insert favorite character here) in full 3-d with full-range movement in an ACTION game!", but that feeling soon wore off, and gave way to some disappointment at how this truly monumental game could have been much better.

That being said, is it really all that bad? The game clearly does SOMETHING right, otherwise online sales of past FF titles would not have increased as they did in the two weeks following the US release, and the Gamefaqs message board for the game wouldn't have as much activity as it does.

So, let's take a point-by-point look at what was done well, or not so well, in each of the following categories:

Graphics: 7/10
A good-looking game, with some minor problems in this department.
+All 2-d characters are fully re-imagined in 3-d in a way that does service (for the most part. Exceptions being Cecil and Bartz) to the games they hail from
+Attack animations are fluid. You also won't find yourself saying "Hey, that attack landed 2 feet from my character but STILL registered", as in many fighting and action games (ahem, Soulcalibur)
-Sometimes the characters' mouths don't move when they talk, which completely ruins all suspension of disbelief.
-Some different animations for different types of weapons would have been nice (i.e. axes vs. swords. Whichever the Warrior of Light or Cecil or whomever is equipped with, it's still a sword).

Audio: 10/10
The best-sounding game I've played on the PSP.
+Solid voice-acting of every single character in the game. It's really a pity that the voice actors weren't fed many good lines by the scriptwriters.
+There are remasters/remixes of themes from every Final Fantasy game 1-12. Just wait 'til you hear what they've done with "The Red Wings", "Dancing Mad" and "Battle at the Big Bridge". The unlockable songs from FFI-III are the classic NES tunes more or less untouched. My only real complaint would be the shoddy remix of the battle music from FFIV.

Gameplay: 7/10
This is really a mixed bag. If you enjoy ridiculous anime gymnastics like that seen in "FF7: Advent Children", then you'll probably love the combat in this game. I, personally, did not like the film, but that type of combat IS better suited to a video game than it is to cinema.
+Simple, straight-forward controls that are easy to learn but take some effort to master.
+The characters all handle very differently from one another, and each has a distinct "flavor", if you will.
+Action-packed. In some of the tougher battles, your heart will pound and your palms will sweat before the final blow is struck, unless, of course...
-You figure out how to break the game. This is quite easy to do as...about 80% of the characters. It will take supreme self-discipline just for you to keep yourself from spamming the same attack until the other guy just croaks.
-Completely counter-intuitive camera angles. Prepare to go "Talking to a wall" as Squall puts it.
-Targeting system will sometimes cause you to be unable to reach parts of the stage that you want to reach. This only happens frequently on a couple stages.
-If you enjoy online play, prepare to be disappointed. You're going to need a PS3 (which must be the ONLY reason someone would buy a PS3), or a computer program called XLink-something-or-other. The developers could have just as easily included online functionality, but they didn't. Thanks a lot, Square Enix.
-Looooooong load times. Even if you use the "Data Install" feature to shorten load times, be prepared to wave bye-bye to hours of your life you could have spent doing something meaningful as you wait for the battles to begin, or end.

Story: 2/10
Ouch...I mean, ouch. But what were you expecting? Xenogears? There will be moments so sappy that you cringe. Especially when the deep-voiced guy recites verse for every story mode. Just don't think about it and you'll be okay.

Replayability: 8/10
When you get done maining one character, you'll be sure to say, "Hey, that was fun. I wonder what it would've been like as one of the OTHER guys." I would have enjoyed a story mode for the Evil characters, too, if only for ease of leveling, or for the hope that their stories would've been somehow more interesting than the Good-aligned characters.


So, there you have it. A game that keeps me coming back, and I don't quite know why yet. Call me "Conflicted". Or should I say, "Dissidia-ed".