Finally, I got my hands on a copy of this game, Dissidia: Final Fantasy is the new Final Fantasy game released for the Sony PlayStation Portable or PSP. I have the Japanese version and U.S. version will arrive sometime in mid 2009. I honestly thought this game would be nice but I was wrong, very wrong!
History and the game
After an opening quite long but very enjoyable film of good and evil, more or less the idea of what is happening. Cosmo, the goddess of harmony (the good) and Chaos, the god of discord (evil) have called for some of the past Final Fantasy characters to fight for him / her. I honestly do not know any of the characters before Final Fantasy 6 until I played this game. I was in 6th grade, when Final Fantasy 6 (3 U.S.) came out, so I can not be blamed.
Heroes:
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 (Ahh Tarutaru our beloved and adorable!)
The villains:
Garland - Final Fantasy
Emperor - Final Fantasy II
Dark Cloud - Final Fantasy III
Golbez - Final Fantasy IV
Exdeath - Final Fantasy V
Kefka Palazzo - Final Fantasy VI
Sephiroth - Final Fantasy VII
Artemis - Final Fantasy VIII
Kuja - Final Fantasy IX
Jecht - Final Fantasy X
Gabranth - Final Fantasy XII
Initially, you have to go through the prologue that acts like a series of tutorials for the game. I really like this game, which is a combination of board game, action and RPG all in one! The prologue will teach you to navigate through the board, get the items from the chests of treasure, fight monsters, etc. At first you might feel overwhelmed, at least I, with all the features and options. But since the menus are so elegantly designed was easy to get used and the button is for which option. Unlike Macross Ace frontier that I have reviewed two weeks ago. This is what I can expect from Square Enix in all their games and so far has not disappointed.
There are two main modes - Story Mode and January 1. The story mode lets you choose which character you want to play with history. The 1 to 1 for me is just a way to grind your characters level.
As you fight through battles and complete the phases, you gain experience points and items and gils (money) that can be used to boost the stats of your character and buy new weapons / items in the store.
There are a lot of things to cover in terms of actual game, because the division between the board game and the real battles. I'll try to cover as much as possible.
The party board game more or less determines how many battles are being fought, the board will treasure chests, healing theme, monsters (so you fight and win experience and items) and a statue that you have to destroy in order to complete a particular stage (Note: you do not need to kill all the enemies to finish the stage, the destruction of the statue is sufficient, at least this is what we have seen so far. During each stage, points will be given points called Destiny, its basically the points for you to navigate along the stage, if you manage to complete the stage without having to go negative, you earn the most points after to complete the stage, sometimes I think you have to come to the refusal to reach all (or maybe I suck). You can recharge your DP, completing the DP Chance like defeating your enemy within 10 seconds or trigger their attack EX (special move I'll talk about later) in 10 seconds (do not have all the enemies you have opportunity DP to plan the way it moves along the joint.
On the board, not only move, however, also have skills that can be used as a cure of 30% HP or cast negative impact on their enemy is next to where you are. Finally, you can press R to enter search mode and check the level of each enemy, and the chance of early PD. I can not find it so useful though.
That should cover the basics of the board game now in the real battle!
The battles are quite fast, the square and circle buttons are for the attack is to defend R, L is to alternate target on / off (sometimes you want to go somewhere else and not looking at his enemy all the time), the triangle allows you to walk on walls or jumping from one place to another (very useful when fighting in a stage where there is little place for you to walk, you have to jump) and the cross is jump. EX attack or special move is activated when the EX gauge is full and pressing R + Square. If you have esper equipped, you can call by pressing R + circle again when the EX gauge is full. Which gradually will fill the EX meter, when you attack, if attacked or EX obtaining complete the theme that appears randomly during the battle.
Once an attack is triggered EX, a sequence of buttons will appear to you, you will need to get properly to get the maximum results out of it and, finally, press the button to show you the blow of grace as well. I have not yet mastered this attack, though.
When you level, your character will not just statistics, but he / she will also gain more skills that can be assigned to the keys. Pressing left and the circle can have a different attack to push the right / up / down and circle! So the combination is endless, and not literally, but my idea. That goes for the square button attack as well. You can also choose a different EX attack in EX mode menu. This should give you at least some ideas of what this game has to offer. I'm pretty sure there are more features I have not covered, as this mini game, like the option that requires the PP'm still trying to find out what your favor, all I know is that I used to do something 30PP related to the "treasure hunt in a cave." Sorry I can not read too much Japanese.
There is also a multiplayer mode, but I have not had a chance to prove it.
Graphics and Audio
The graphics are quite impressive, and I'm not just talking about the CG intro of the game but the graphics too. Facial character animations are one of the best I've seen in a PSP, you can actually see detailed facial animations of each character. The way his eyes flash at the way the mouth / lips move as they talk is as smooth as watching your anime. This is almost the best feature I like about Dissidia: Final Fantasy in terms of graphics.
Also worth mentioning is the special effects / lighting of the game, whether you are moving on the board, navigating through menus or battle enemies and destructible objects and when you or your enemy is pushed against a wall, the wall breaks as well. All these really improve the game even more realistic.
Square Enix has been known for having some of the best music made in the gaming industry, if not the best. And Dissidia: Final Fantasy is no exception, but again the game basically uses the music of all Final Fantasy.
Verdict
If you are a fan of Final Fantasy I do not see why you would want to miss this, of course, unless you do not have a PSP, then you can not blame them. But if you're a fan and a PSP itself, I suggest you pick up the Japanese version if you can not wait for the North American version on ebay or YesAsia. The fact that this game has features table games, action games / fighting and traditional role-playing games should be more than enough to meet a wide range of players who are in different genres of games. Finally, this game has much to offer features that I think is worth more than what I paid, you do not see a lot of games like that too often!
For a long time, Final Fantasy has been considered one of the best RPG games out there and the series is on par with the new version that is Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. It would also be a demand for the PSP, since it has had in recent games that have the same design as unrealistic, and it seems that FF Tactics will be an exception.
Not forgetting to mention that for this game, you will be able to play two new character jobs: the Onion Knight and Dark Knight. With the Onion Knight, you will be able to add to its strength, while also compromising some of their other skills. Meanwhile, the Dark Knight will allow you to attack your enemies and take them magic points to increase your score. The second is the Dark Knight, which allows you to hit your opponents, but if that's not enough, you can always steal magic points that add to your account and will surely be an asset to your game.
As the intricate plot in Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, has elevated the experience to a whole new level, and everything will be fine. The other jobs are included in the game a challenge, taking you through the different levels of play and a staggering 60 battle maps to complete.
Final Fantasy Tactics is the fantasy of any RPG fan really. To add more excitement to your game, you will have more character jobs which will take several levels to master, but in the end, you must pay knowing that you have 60 battle maps to explore. Besides the two mentioned above, you would have more character jobs available in FF Tactics.
And if you've played previous games in the series before, you may recognize some of the characters that appear on the War of the Lions. You may recognize some of the characters in this game as some of them are returning from the war of the Lions, as Balthier from Final Fantasy XII and Luso from FF Tactics A2: Grimoire sealing.
The last of the Final Fantasy RPG takes gaming beyond anything fans have awaited the popular classic. And although few people were saddened by the fact that this game is more of an expansion rather than a remake itself, which is not entirely considered a flaw. This makes things even more interesting as it has taken its leap from the basic premises of the game and infusing more flavor. If it is Final Fantasy, you can be sure will not disappoint!
When it comes to the technical aspects of the game, role playing has never been so exciting. And although you may experience increased load times in some points in the game, not something that bothers you at all. Meanwhile, two-dimensional characters are sweet reminders of what's to like about this game, and everything has gotten better in the game becomes portable. In addition, the action sequence and the level of intensity and would not even from the moment you arrive at that sword!
Also as a bonus feature, you can see mini-clips of important events during the game, making it possible for you to see when and how it happened. The mini-clips were amazing, and it was done by Akihiko Yoshida leaves nothing more to say.
Because you can see some of the important events in the game - as the kidnapping of the princess, the memory of Ramza, Delita reed whistle and destructive explosion Zeakenden Fprt - you have the luxury of setting them up as you want to play, so that the real game can be even more exciting. And because this game is very exciting to play alone, now the opportunity to spend time playing with his friend. So you can tag your friends along to join you in battle, or compete against them to see which will prevail in the world of Final Fantasy!
