Story
DDFF, for those who do not know, is Square-Enix's answer to Super Smash Bros. from Nintendo. It consists of Final Fantasy characters from the very first game up to the newest and latest release Final Fantasy XIII. The game tells the tale of two warring Gods, Chaos, God of Dischord, and Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony. These Gods have chosen warriors from the world of Final Fantasy to battle it out to the death and bring one side to victory. The story in DDFF is actually a prequel to the game, but once you beat the game's story mode you actually unlock the entire first story of the original game, so if you never played the original Dissidia, consider it obsolete.
Lightning joins the fray as she joins Cosmos's side of good
In the end, the story's premise is nothing more than a simple way to bring together the many different characters from Final Fantasy, but soon is forgotten because of how shallow and linear it is. It may not be the best story written by Square-Enix, but it serves the purpose enough to setup a great game that many Final Fantasy Fans will enjoy.
Gameplay
DDFF is all about the action, and this game has taken the fighting genre of games like Super Smash Bros. and added to it a unique system that feels just like you'd imagine fights in Final Fantasy would be like if you removed the turn-based gameplay.
The basics of the battle system revolve around a simple button system to pull of moves and item customization that makes your fighter unique and different.
Newcomer Kain (FF IV) fights upclose with his lance.
When fighting your opponent, you have two different attack types to choose from. They are Brave and HP attacks. Each fighter has two different numbers to worry about, ultimately though the fighter's HP is your prime concern. Should you lose all your HP, you lose the match, and if you can deplete your opponents HP, you'll win the fight. The damage you do however is based on a Brave system. Each opponent has a Brave Point system, where the amount of HP damage they do is equal to the amount of Brave Points they have.
It's a simple system that takes core fighting game mechanics, where every hit depletes HP, and turns it around so that battles can become less about spamming HP attacks and more about building up damage points to deal One-Hit KO or hard hitting attacks.
Another great part of the game is the amount of customization one can put their character in. There are many items to equip that boost your stats like Attack, Defense, Bravery, and HP. So for fans of Final Fantasy, you can customize your character to your liking and see the benefits in action.
New Additions
DDFF is a big game, and the fighting system may be easy to grasp, but there are many new additions to DDFF that change how you will play from the last game.
First off the biggest game changer is the ability to now call in an assist character to fight alongside you and help you pull off bigger combos. In the game, as you fight, you'll build an assist meter that will allow you to call an assist character to do extra damage to your opponent and help you score bigger hits. The same can be done by your opponent however so be careful and don't get caught! Another use for assist characters is they can take damage that could cost you the game and ultimately lose a match, so now it keeps things a little more interesting thanks to this system.
Alongside the new assist ability, the game adds a total of 8 new characters to the mix, bringing the roster up to 30 characters. Some of the newest additions to the game sees Tifa Lockheart from FF VII, Lightning from FF XIII, Vaan from FF XII, and Kain Highwind from FF IV. With so many characters it may be tough to choose who you'll wanna play, but Dissidia has so many unique characters that you're sure to find a favorite.
New Alt costumes give characters more style!
The original Dissida was jam packed with so many additions that it seemed like there could be no way to stuff anymore new additions onto a UMD, but Square-Enix proved us wrong. The main story mode now has an overworld to explore, giving gamers some nostalgic feel as they play along and removing the mundane and static "board" system of the past game. It still is in the game, however the flow of progressing through these "boards" is now much quicker thanks to the new chaining system, where you can fight multiple enemies and earn big rewards based on how many fights you can chain.
Another part to the fighting system is the all powerful EX Burst attacks. Think of these as your super special moves where your character has the chance to finish the fight in one fell swoop or do some serious damage to your opponent. There's a little change now in DDFF where EX Burst attacks can be beneficial to a fight but no longer the end all be all for the opposing team. When you're being attacked, you have the chance to use an EX Burst, and go into EX Revenge mode. In this mode, you slow down time and your opponent for a short while, allowing you to escape an attack and counter back with a hard hitting combo or heaving HP attack, but you will not get the chance to do an EX Burst attack.
Activating EX burst normally means doing so when you're not being hit, and when you do land an HP attack on your opponent, then you have the chance to perform your character's special attack to do some high damage. Each character has their own unique system for how you can damage opponents. For examle, Lightning's EX Burst is similar to the Gestalt mode in FF XIII, where you push button commands to build damage before the final blow.
Tifa's EX Burst: Final Heaven is something you don't want to see, unless you're doing it.
Alongside these modes, you'll find your versus mode for play against the computer or opponents, the original story mode (when unlocked), a survival type mode that pits you against never ending foes for big rewards, alternate costumes and new levels to unlock, battle replays/screenshots, and so much more!Overall- BUY IT!
Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy is going to please many fans of the original. If you've never played the original before, you can skip it and play this one since the previous game is unlockable through this game. This game is recommended for fans of Final Fantasy or Super Smash Bros. DDFF is an enjoyable experience for gamers out there who love collecting, fighting, and equipping items to increase stats and effects in battle. If you love RPGs and/or fighting games, I HIGHLY recommend you try this game out. The story isn't the greatest which is a shame from such a renowned series that usually has great story telling and characters, but ultimately this is the best fan service Square-Enix could give to it's fans.
Editor's Note: I do not believe in writing a scoring system, but for those who must know I'll be recommending games with three different phrases. Buy it! Rent it! Avoid it! Along with these phrases I will try to make it clear that this game may be fans of a genre or series, those looking for something new, or other descriptors.
Great review!
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