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31 of 37 found the following review helpful:
I'm hooked, can't stop playing. Aug 27, 2009
By J. Carter
"One Eyed Pyrate"
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
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
The one and only true Final Fantasy fighting game (Bradd's review) Oct 08, 2009
By A. Dent
"Aragorn"
Dissidia is the best Final Fantasy fighting game because it's the only FF dedicated fighting game. It can be played in Story Mode, Arcade or Online. I enjoy all three modes and I recommend it to all Final Fantasy fans and to those who love fighting games but not everything is perfect.
GAME MODES
It all starts with a movie that that goes through every main character from every Final Fantasy game individually. If you do the Story Mode you can be one of 10 'good' characters and fight your way to the finish.
When you play Online you can be a good character or play as the villains if you can afford to buy them for Perk points in the Perk shop.
In the Arcade mode where you can earn Perc points and Gil if you fight well you can also be any of the 10 good characters or any of the 10 main villains.
Any battle can be replayed but that's not it. Once the battle is over it can be saved and then edited and saved as a movie. This works in any mode: story, arcade or online.
GAMEPLAY
Is different form other fighting games in that you have to use a combination of melee and ranged attacks. This earns you Bravery points. The more Bravery you have the more life damage you do when you perform a primary attack. You can also collect EXO points on the battlefield to transform yourself into a stronger form and do an extremely powerful attack.
You earn Perc points and Gil in the Arcade mode or in the Story mode and you can use them to buy equipment, summoning gems, cool costumes or to summon any of the 10 main villains.
THE GOODS AND THE BADS
This is a fun and addictive game and I've been playing it every day for a few days already. I found the 'Teen' rating to be appropriate because anyone younger would find Dissidia hard to play.
In my view, there are a few problems too. For example, you cannot play as Zack Fair form 'Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core' because he is considered a secondary character. It also takes some practice to get used to the battle system. Online battles can be glitchy sometimes with the game freezing for a second or two but that could be because of the Wi-Fi network.
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Note: The above is mainly Bradd's review with me responsible for some edits. Bradd is my son.
18 of 24 found the following review helpful:
Masterpiece of Fighting Aug 26, 2009
By Benjamin Zeimis
"General Mayhem"
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!
15 of 20 found the following review helpful:
"Dissidia" meaning "Conflict", "Conflicted" is exactly how I feel Sep 12, 2009
By Matthew C. Tate
"GoDieSomewhere"
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".
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
The ultimate Final Fantasy experience Nov 30, 2009
By Dark Neko I have owned this game since it came out, have played more than 100 hours already, and I must say, this game is H U G E, believe it, ENORMOUS.
First the good things:
This is a Final Fantasy fan dream come true, the main characters from the first 10 games vs the villains of the same games, and 2 bonus characters. That's 22 chars, and everyone plays different to each other. From Cloud's crushing attacks to Kefka's trickery magic, to Exdeath's counterstrike style to Zidane's aerial play you'll have completely different experiences playing each character.
The presentation of the game is flawless, maybe the best graphics the psp can show. The music is also gorgeous, with originals and reinterpretations of classical final fantasy themes. The action is silk smooth, there is no slowdown in single player, and some very minor in multiplayer when the stage gets filled with debris, ex-force sparks, and multiple magical effects, but it's very minor and doesn't get in the way.
The play style is a lot of fun, at first you'll find it odd, and your characters will lack movement, speed, and maneuvers, but later with good leveled characters, the battles will start to look a lot like advent children's battles, especially the last one (won't spoil the movie to you). Battles can be truly spectacular, with both characters running, flying, jumping, clashing swords, destructing the scenery in the process with missing blows and/or by crashing the opponent in the stage.
You also can endlessly customize your characters, the quantity of equipment, accessories, summons is well into the hundreds, maybe thousands of items.(However, the equipment doesn't change your characters look) First you'll want just a better sword for your Warrior of Ligth, then you'll want a Champion Belt accesory to deal 25% more damage, later you'll want the Adamant Chains armor set, then you'll realize that you can mix and match booster items for different effects in different circumstances. Luckily you have 3 profiles per characters, each with its own set of abilities, equipment, accesories and summons.
Also, the more you play, the more the game keeps giving. You get rewards for playing in your special day, (that you preset at the beginning), for playing several days straight, for accomplish several small feats while playing ( ex: finish an opponent 30 times with Ex-Burst), he, even get a reward for NOT playing several days. You get items, icons, reward multipliers, etc.
Multiplayer is also a lot of fun, you create a card to represent you, and exchange it thru wi-fi. When you get another player's card, you can battle online ad-hoc in a lobby, and after that, you get a ghost of the other player's character that you can battle in an offline lobby, with the chance to get some of the ghost's equipment and accesories. Also in multiplayer you can get some of the most powerful equipment in online battles,equipment that you canno't get in any other place, in the form of artifacts. This are pieces of equipment that you name, and are travel from player to player, keeping tabs of the history of the travels. Some of these artifacts are uber-powerful so if you want the best for your characters you'll want to play online.
The game have several modes, story mode, quick battle, duel coliseum, (where you figth for items), arcade mode where you play with preset characters, musem with theater, where you can see your battle replays, edit them, (change camera angles, skip sections, remove bars) and export them to video files for showing off., voice and music players, icon library (to attach to your friend card in multiplayer), profiles of the characters, summons, extra details of the story, view the in-game cinematics, etc.
You'll get a lot in this package, I cannot see how they fit all this stuff in such a small package (the UMD is NOT full).
Now for the bad:
This game is awesome, but there are two main flaws that keep it from being perfect.
First: The Story sucks, badly. The story is very simple, good vs bad, and save the world. Very straightforward, no plot twists, no surprises, no nothing. All the characters personalities reflect the one they had at the beginning of their respective games, some are doubting, some scared, some irresolute, and they show very little character development. Very different of what you would expect from a Final Fantasy story. It get's a little better when you get close to the end, but it never really takes off. And oh-god, some of the dialog is c-h-e-e-s-y, with take me to the other flaw.
The voice acting.
Characters that have previously spoken in other games keep their original voices from the english dub, but some of the character get AWFUL voice acting, terrible, truly terrible voice acting. There are some nice exceptions, but in general the voice acting is abysmal. You get used to it after a while, but an option to switch to japanese audio track would have been greatly welcomed. (Note: I think that in a next version of the game, there will be an option for japanese audio track, but I cannot confirm this).
This flaws may sound drastic, but they don't demerit the great game that Dissidia is, mainly because they both relate to the story mode, and this game has far more than that, especially in multiplayer. It's a great game, it's a lot of fun to play, and it will keep you hooked for a long time with it's stream of reward. I have already poured more thatn a hundred hours on it, and just when I thougth that I had almost everything the game keeps surprising me with more. I have friends that have also bought it,and with all multiplayer stuff, I think I can easily get some other 50 hours more of the game.
If you like fighting games, rpg games or collecting games, get this one, you'll be glad you did.
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