Dissidia was, for many Final Fantasy devotees, the ultimate in fan gratification. Blending rich combat mechanics with an equally deep story that pulled in a fan-favourite list of classic Final Fantasy characters, it was an easy sell for PSP owners. The sequel, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, a prequel story, establishes the backstory leading up to the Cosmos versus Chaos war.
More than filling in plot gaps, though, it also expands on the gameplay significantly, adding more characters in the process. In the most recent build of Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, we only got to dip our toes in the Arcade mode at this stage – and it was entirely in Japanese too, we got a great feel for the new mechanics and subtle improvements. In the main game, a new overworld map system is rendered in 3D, a bit like a grid, rather than the 2D map system.
Each square on the new map is linked by a pathway; it branches off and might lead you to a treasure chest or a boss or item shop. It's progressive and ultimately slightly less linear in approach over the original Dissidia.
Cosmos and Chaos characters each have their own story lines too, and there are character crossover points during the story; these fall within an overarching storyline, but each has their own perspective. Initially, though, your biggest decision will be whether to play the game's standard 'Action' gameplay mode, or set the game to 'RPG' mode – and it's an inclusion destined to divide fans.
In RPG mode, the idea is that you play the game on more of a turn-based basis; you choose your actions and an AI-driven, automatic movement system guides your character around the field, freeing you up to control the combat and keep track of your combos, defensive moves and counter-attacks. In practice, it keeps the action fluid and fast. However, we also found that it took almost all of the skill and challenge away from combat. You no longer had to worry about dodging, timing your attacks or reading the environment. Instead, it largely felt like the game played itself; you merely input whatever attack you wanted – and it would repeat that attack again and again until you changed tactics.
Then there's the 'Brave Gauge' – a barrier that protects your hit points; circle attacks bravery. Once you knock that gauge down using 'brave attacks', then you can attack their HP. It's a strategy that requires a little planning ahead of time, since some attacks are simply ineffective against this initial barrier. The square button initiates HP-affecting attacks and dodging and blocking are critical; distance attacks come into play at this point, too.
Lightning, fresh from Final Fantasy XIII, and Kain Highwind, pulled from the annals of Final Fantasy IV, are two of the newest characters added to the ranks. Lightning is a rounded character with a strong mix of dual bladed melee attacks and strong distance magic. Finishing off her opponent in a flurry of rose petals, her style nicely emulates her combat techniques in XIII – as you'd expect. Clad in his iconic purple and black dragon-like armor, Kain, from what we can tell, tends towards aerial attacks. He uses his lancer and pirouettes around the sky, diving and slashing.
Assist characters' – essentially an AI controlled, tag-in special attack, kicks off the gameplay tweaks. Choosing your assist character is all about finding the right character to compliment whoever you're about to face. You don't directly control assist characters - just summon into battle to create joint attacks. Any attack you land also fills your opponent's assist gauge too. If you've 'broken' your opponent at this point, they'll be deeply vulnerable to your barrage, but it also means they might call in their own assist character for devastating counter-attacks too. It's a balanced system in practice; you might be wailing on your foe, but suddenly, mid-way through a battle, things can become a furious back-and-forth struggle of increasingly chaotic assist attacks.
At this point, mastering the 'EX Force' gauge – another new addition to the series – becomes critical. It's a two-step process. EX Force is a blue energy item that you find in the field. Collecting it fills the EX gauge; just being near it is enough for you to automatically collect it. When your gauge is nearly full, an arrow will appear near your character, directing you towards where you can find an 'EX Core' – a glowing blue bell in the field.
By filling the gauge and finding the bell, you earn the right to enter EX Mode. Hitting R and square buttons triggers EX Mode, unlocking additional moves with timed button pressing Quick-Time Events (QTEs) that create incredible, cinematic attacks. 'EX Revenge' mode is activated the same way, but if you have a full EX Gauge and bell and your opponent enters EX mode, if you trigger your EX mode, then you unleash a counter move. Complicated? Absolutely. But if you're taking a lot of damage, hitting R and square can really save your neck.
Character customization has always played a large role in the entire Final Fantasy series, be it through item collection or class selection. In Dissidia, it's all about custom armour, items and condition modifiers. You can modify your EX Gauge length with items, for instance, or how much bravery damage you can inflict and so on. Also, with an already staggering list of new and returning characters (and more to be revealed soon – there's currently an embargo in place), there's certainly no shortage of combat styles players can adopt.
Presentation has always been a strong suit for Square Enix's Final Fantasy PSP entries, and Dissidia continues to push the hardware. Once again, the characters are gorgeously detailed and facial animations, texture work and smaller character physics details (like jiggly boobies and furry jacket linings) are imbued with greater realism. Environments are also slightly interactive and destructible too.
Not due until mid-way into 2011 at this stage in the US and PAL territories, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy is coming along very nicely. While the RPG mode leaves us scratching our heads, there's no denying the continued appeal of this all-star Final Fantasy spin-off.
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