With the release of Dissidia: Final Fantasy exactly two months away, I thought it might be time to share my thoughts and impressions on the game after seeing it at E3 2009. When I walked into the Square Enix booth, I ran to the Kingdom Hearts game, intending to only play that one. I had seen Dissidia ported on a friends' PSP, and wasn’t all that interested, so I wasn’t planning on even trying it. I am a Final Fantasy fan, but I thought that this new title might have just been a plea for help from Square Enix. But once I decided to give it a try, I had to put my foot in my mouth. I realized that this game has so much more potential in it than any fighter out there. If you are a Final Fantasy fan, you know what I mean, if not, read more to figure it out.
What was brought to my attention right away was the battle arena. One of my favorite fighters is Soul Calibur, which plays in ‘stages’ that might as well be 2D as most of them are circular and void of obstacles, save the edge. The Dissidia arenas are much more detailed, similar to Super Smash Brothers Brawl, with its' interactive 2D stages, but with an extra dimension. The arenas are 3D and extremely dynamic. Each has a unique element to it, be it a crumbling castle, multiple stories of ruins, or both. They are all detailed, and complex, giving you and your enemy plenty of options. Better arenas in fighting games always means better, more dynamic battles. For any fan of fighting games, a good arena can make or break a fight.
When this game was first announced, the first thing that ran through my head was: “how do they think they will appeal to the Final Fantasy fans with a fighter?” My conclusion now is that there was only so much they could do, but they did pretty well with what they had. Characters in Dissidia can be leveled up, gain gear and weapons, as well as new abilities. Even battle features such as summoning monsters and controlling characters through the classic battle system is also an option. Also, Limit Break and Overdrive have not been left out. Best part? You can battle your tricked out characters with other players in ad-hoc mode. Dissidia has that special flavor that makes me go fangirl and play for hours just to get my favorite costumes and abilities.
The battle system is directly from the creators of Kingdom Hearts, with items, magic, and abilities galore. I am hack-n-slash kinda girl so this strikes home for me, as the system is real-event. Complete with floating, flying and going through walls, I am I heaven. I played Final Fantasy more for the story, not so much the battle system, because to be quite honest, I can’t stand turn-based (no offense of course). But Dissidia took a chance and turned the tables, making a game that is appealing visually and move at a good pace. The best part to me however, is getting the chance to fight once more as your favorite character from games past.
Another special tidbit: exclusive to the North America version will be an Arcade Mode, just for a little more authenticity. So for all you fighter fans out there, definitely give this one a shot, it has the fast paced feel like a fighter should, complete with massive weapons and a long list of abilities that make game play more epic. For all the Final Fantasy fans: if you loved the characters, there is plenty of RPG elements and storyline to fuel the fire.
I will definitely be seeing more of you, Dissidia, come August 25, 2009.
