Review: Dissidia: Final Fantasy

Though I’ve been a fan of fighters for years, I’ve been on Team Final Fantasy for much longer. I’ve saved the world from imminent destruction simply via living vicariously through the tales woven by the multiple Final Fantasy adventures available to embark on and ultimately had a richer experience than I would have had I spent that time shattering bones and pulling off massive combos. In the past I had a staccato love affair with Square’s first attempt at a full-fledged fighting game that attempted to combine both genres, Ehrgeiz, but to be fair it was far from perfect. Upon Dissidia’s announcement, I knew I must obtain it both to feed my Final Fantasy fix and mingle with characters of my RPG history once again. Like a moth to a flame I was sucked into the world of Cosmos and Chaos.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy is billed as a fighting game, but you won’t find sideways Hadoukens or ultra combos being unleashed here. In fact, it’s far from a traditional fighter that you would find in the arcade or being played with a fight stick. No, Dissidia pits some of the most memorable, endearing, and even the most despicable Final Fantasy characters against one another in a knock-down, drag out battle of epic proportions all in the name of proclaiming a victor between the Goddess of Harmony, Chaos, and the God of Discord, Chaos. While doing so it provides open environments and an extremely well-paced move system for the fighters to duke it out with. You can move around freely in each stage rather than being restricted to vertical or horizontal movement only. In this, you’ll have plenty of room to escape what could be an impending death and much more space with which to plan an effective strategy to take out your opponent.

At first glance, this simple system may seem overly shallow and without much reward, and in some cases it can be. You’ll need strategy, most certainly, in that Dissidia is far more than a simple button-masher. It’s true that you can rely on offensive attacks in battle to lower your opponent’s HP, but there is also a Bravery gauge in play that should have an eye kept on at all times. Aside from the normal and familiar HP well that each character is given they have an equal set of Bravery points that, should they be reduced, will lower your opponent’s attack power. This can be accomplished by simply pressing the circle button rather than the attack button.

You must learn correct timing and usage of this loophole in battle rather than simply relying on brute strength, as proper use of the Bravery meter will eventually land you an HP Attack that will take a massive plug out of your opponent’s health equal to the amount of Bravery you have left. As you can imagine this can very well turn the tides of battle in a swift manner, much quicker than you may have been prepared for, so you’d do well to keep an eye on both sides during each matchup. In this way, much like the balance struck between light and dark throughout all of the previous Final Fantasy games, you’re walking a fine line between both gauges to ensure that both are kept in equal stores.

Though the Bravery and HP gauges can be a bit tough to get yourself acclimated to at first, you’ll also need to watch out for the gradual filling of the EX Gauge that will allow you and your enemy to inflict copious amounts of damage on the other in gorgeously rendered cut scenes akin to quick time events. For each character’s attack, you’ll be asked to perform a different series of button presses that determines whether or not your hit will connect and how much damage you can ultimately end up doing. This gauge is filled by collecting EX Force, or little glimmers of light. Activation of EX Mode via button press will also transform your character into a much more menacing version of themselves, such as Sephiroth gaining the infamous one black wing that we have seen many times over throughout the Final Fantasy lore. While EX attacks are a sight to behold, and a great crutch to lean on if you’re hurting, be warned that they are also very cheap ways to turn the tide of battle in your favor. More often than not a perfectly-executed EX move will end the battle for you or your enemy in that it often feels far too overpowered than what it should be. Since it can be rough to attain EX status in some battles, however, this is only a very slight flaw.

Both systems of brawling complement the admirable amount of acrobatics your characters can perform in-game, such as in-air saves after being hit with an attack, wall-running, and general grace and fluidity of movement seen on the PSP. As if these breathtaking graphics weren’t enough, the sheer spread of familiar Final Fantasy faces available to play as or face off against is staggering. You’ve got Cloud, Sephiroth, Squall, Ultimecia, Zidane, Kefka, Terra, Tidus, and even Jecht to meet up again with. Talk about fanservice - Dissidia delivers. All characters are rendered beautifully in what I would liken to the Kingdom Hearts-style of artwork complete with stunning character portraits and shiny new coats of paint. Dissidia most certainly does not suffer from lack of polish. Because each character boasts their own style of play, you’ll likely cycle through each one at some point simply to uncover what their attacks consist of and how best to approach them in a defensive situation.

Just because the game looks good, though, don’t expect the characters’ voices to sound out-of-this-world or even acceptable. Characters deliver their lines in such a poorly-paced manner in such an amateurish way that you’ll wonder where in the world the voice actors were dug up from. The music as expected is a fantastic experience, but you’ll be cringing at how terrible some of the characters have been voiced.

Where Dissidia ultimately fails is in its relatively short story mode. Story mode is split into two different parts, known as Destiny Odyssey and Shade Impulse. Destiny Odyssey is comprised of 10 chapters, and runs the gamut between all of the Light characters to explain how each of them came to possess a Crystal of Light. Shade Impulse is simply an afterstory that does not give backstory but tells a new tale that you will likely enjoy much more than Destiny Odyssey in that it is a much more involving tale that offers quite a bit more intrigue. While it’s true that you can play Destiny Odyssey over and over again to prolong your enjoyment of the game, each of the characters’ stories begin to run together so much that each sojourn begins to feel the same, stunting your enjoyment of Story mode rather early, as soon as you’ve exhausted your options.

Though Story mode leaves a little to be desired, the RPG-styled customization that Dissidia offers is boundess and quite admirable. You can power your way to level 99, play on certain days of a calendar in order to receive different rewards, and spend so much time on the small but enjoyable extras that Story mode will soon become nothing but a memory in this small yet incredibly robust package.

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Square Enix has truly hit a home run with Dissidia: Final Fantasy. In fact, there is so much content, slick presentation, and Final Fantasy fanservice here that it’s hard to believe one teensy UMD can hold it all. This is a wonderous and highly enjoyable package both for fighter fans and Final Fantasy junkies alike. Perhaps Square Enix has truly found its footing in the realm of fighters and can hold its own in this arena as well as the business of saving the world. Only time will tell, and for now all my time will be spent reaching that coveted level 99 and defeating countless frustrating endboss after endboss.

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Title: Dissidia: Final Fantasy Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix Platform(s): PSP Release Date: August 25, 2025

Doin It RIGHT: - Gorgeous game, with slick production values. - Addictive rules of fighting that present an enjoyable challenge. -Copious amounts of fanservice.	Doin It RONG: - Terrible voice acting. - Story mode is a bit short.
FINAL SCORE: 8/ 10

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