Customer Reviews

Dissidia 012 [duodecim] Final Fantasy

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

>>The Premise

Dissidia Duodecim, for the uninitiated, is a 3-D, real-time brawler featuring most of the main protagonists and antagonists of the entire Final Fantasy series. Battles are frenetic, acrobatic, and--while seemingly shallow at first--offer deep strategy and customization. It's a lot like Super Smash Bros. for the Final Fantasy series, except it's one-on-one and 3-D. What this means is that, just like Smash Bros., Dissidia provides tons of secrets, unlockables, fan service, and content. Players unfamiliar with Final Fantasy will get considerably less mileage out of Dissidia than fans of even one game in the series, but there's still a solid brawler in here with serious RPG trappings.


>>The Gameplay

Brawls play out in a similar manner: Prowl around your enemy and use the circle button to nail them with Bravery attacks, which don't do damage, but increase your Bravery meter. The higher your Bravery meter, the more damage you'll deal when you finally hit the square button and unleash an HP attack. The point, ultimately, is to whittle away your opponent's HP, using a mix of Bravery and HP attacks, until they're defeated. Mixed in with this is a lot of dodging, rolling, flying around, blocking, explosions, and magic.

Battles earn you EXP, which in turn levels you up, which in turn allows you learn new Bravery and HP attacks. This is where the RPG foundations of Final Fantasy come into play, allowing you to equip new moves, items, summons, and accessories in an attempt to give you the upper hand while duking it out.


>>The Verdict

Dissidia Duodecim brings enough new content to the table that returning fans should definitely take a look, even if they've poured hundreds of hours into the first game. Folks who have played even one game in the Final Fantasy series and are curious about this title should definitely give it a spin. If you liked the first Dissidia, you'll love this sequel--it's bigger, better, quicker, and deeper than the first. If you never liked the first Dissidia, however, this one won't convert you. Fans of brawlers should also take a look, even if they're unfamiliar with Final Fantasy.

Dissidia Duodecim is a standout title on the PSP, and offers a huge amount of bang for the buck.


>>What's New

* Characters: Lightning, Kain, Tifa, Yuna, Laguna, Vaan, and a few others all come to the roster with new fighting styles that are fun and unique. So far, I've played heavily as Lightning, Tifa, and Yuna, and their new styles fit right in to Dissidia perfectly.

* Stages: A handful of new stages have been introduced to coincide with the additions to the character roster. Orphan's Cradle from FFXIII looks and plays great, and there are several other new stages that provide a welcome change in environment. For now, though, it only seems like there are 3 or 4 new stages.

* Moves: Returning characters have a few new tricks up their sleeves to mix things up.

* Music: New tunes have been added--not only for games like FFXIII and FFXII, which weren't represented it the first Dissidia, but it also seems as if at least one new song has been included from all the previous games as well. Menu BGM has been remixed slightly. The music, both new and old, sounds wonderful.

* Assists: Pick your character, then pick any other character on the roster to be your assist buddy when you need help. Assist characters can be assigned in the customization screen, similar to how accessories, equipment, and summons are assigned. You can fight without assist characters, but it's worth it to have one along for some flashy help during a brawl. There are Bravery assists and HP assists, and both should be used judiciously: Although it's easy to fill up the Assist meter, it's also easy to use an Assist at the wrong time and waste an opportunity. Each character offers a different skillset for assists, so it's important to consider your own fighting style and bring along the right assist character in order to maximize your strategy.

* Story Mode: Much improved over the original, the Story mode in Dissidia Duodecim now offers an expansive overworld to explore in between the familiar, grid-based battle levels from the first game. There are lots of secrets, treasure chests, wandering foes, and moogle shops in the overworld, making it an awesome addition to this sequel. Cutscenes are done better, and the new scenario featuring all six of the new characters is great.

* Party Free Battle: Create teams of up to five characters to take into tournament-style or round robin battles. Assign a Class to each character to receive stat bonuses, then unlock temporary new classes that are more powerful as you progress through each battle.

* Creation Mode: This mode is truly the highlight of the game for me--I'm very impressed by it. Creation Mode allows you to create your own quest scenarios, including static cutscenes and custom fights, which you can then share with friends. You can also save, edit, and watch replays in this mode, which offers a surprisingly robust Theater mode similar to Halo 3 or Halo Reach. Pause the replay, move the camera around, take screenshots, cut and string together the video, and then convert your masterpiece to an .avi that can be uploaded to your computer! Awesome! I've spent hours playing around in this mode, and expect to spend many hours more.

* Gameplay tweaks: The AI seems tougher in Battle Mode, but battles feel much more responsive and smooth. Unlockable items and equipment seem to come along much more frequently after every battle compared to the first game, which makes fights more rewarding. Assists add a great new layer of strategy to battles.


>>What's Familiar

* Characters: All the familiar faces from the first Dissidia reprise their roles and fighting styles here.

* Stages: All the stages from the first game are available in this sequel as well.

* Music: All the music of the first game makes a welcome return

* Gameplay: The core gameplay remains unchanged. Aside from the addition of Assists, brawls are still very similar to the first Dissidia, though more responsive. Leveling up is still the same, and the Customization screen with the cute little chocobo is the same as in the first game. Don't fix what ain't broke, right?


>>Pros:

+ Gameplay feels a little tighter and more responsive than in the first game.
+ Graphics seem a little better.
+ New characters, stages, and music are great additions to the game.
+ New cutscenes in Story mode seem as if they're a little better written, better acted, and better directed than in the first.
+ The overworld in Story mode is awesome, and fairly large.
+ The ability to import your save from the first Dissidia means any old characters you leveled up will retain their skills and levels in this game. You can also choose to import your save without bringing over the leveling you've accrued.
+ Creation mode is a stunning and excellent new mode for those who like to make their own movies, screenshots, and quests.
+ The ability to save replays as .avi files that can be uploaded to a computer (and played from your PSP's video folder) is a truly awesome feature. (Be sure to turn on Replays in the Options mode, first.)
+ Assists are a great addition to battles.
+ The data install feature helps cut load times (installing the maximum of 814 MB cuts load times by about 75%--but it takes about 2 hours to install). The install sizes include 492MB, 574MB, and 814MB.
+ The game is overwhelmingly deep, and offers a huge amount of content for a great price--even for those who spent tons of hours in the first Dissidia.
+ Battlegen items are much easier to create in Duodecim.


>>Cons:

- Load times seem to be a few seconds longer in this game than in the first. Even with a maximum data install, loads take just a second or three longer here than after installing data in the first game. The wait is noticeable compared to the first game, but certainly not terrible.

- It's still easy to get stuck in cheap juggle moves by the computer, but Assists help alleviate this issue by letting your Assist character take the hits for you, if needed.

- Still no infrastructure mode. With the ability to create custom quests and edited replays, it's too bad there's no online portal to share your creations. You can still battle and share with friends using Ad-Hoc mode, but a true online mode would certainly have been welcome.


>>Things to note:

* Dissidia 012 [Duodecim] Final Fantasy is the sequel/prequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy. If you're looking to get a Dissidia game, get this one, not the first, because Duodecim includes all the stuff from the first game, plus a ton more.

First off, at 30 dollars, this game is a steal. There is simply so much you can do even after you finish the story mode. Secondly, while it looks a lot like the first Dissidia, there are plenty of tweaks that make for a better game play experience. Here's a quick list of some significant changes the game presents.

-New characters like Lightning, Kain, Yuna and Tifa.

-Chases require you to be on the ball at all times. If you're trying to guess whether you're going to either throw or receive an HP or Bravery attack, it's already too late and the chase is over.

-When entering EX mode in the middle of an attack, you are able to break the attack and slow down time for approximately five to six seconds. As a result, your EX meter is depleted, but you are free to unleash an HP attack upon your opponent.

-Characters have been balanced and tweaked. For example, Cloud can now use meteorain in midair instead of just on the ground.

-New stages and costumes.

-Story mode now has an overworld map that you run around in with your character to travel from the various battle stages. This makes story mode a much fresher experience so you aren't simply a game piece on a board going from battle to battle.

-Custom events.

There are probably a significant amount of features that I have yet to find in this game as well.

Finally, those of you that have invested hundreds of hours into Dissidia 1 can move over much of what you had to Dissidia Duodecim. Levels, items bought with PP, ect ect. So please ignore the other two misinformed reviewers on this page. Dissidia 2 is a Final Fantasy fan's dream come true....again!

So yes, This game I have been waiting for for such a long time. I am glad that I got it. It is almost like I am playing a different game from the first. Now there are some good and bad to this game. Now if you have ever played draonball z budakai, there are cut scenes during the game where its a one button dodge or attack that will have you and the opponent go back and forth until someone is actually hit, well it was in the first Dissidia and easy to anticipate the opponent but now its HARDER, I mean harder.....


Love the new characters, Love that they updated the old characters with new moves. the storyline is not something you would buy this game for. Its not even good. But hell the last storyline wasn't good either. I will say if you thought you needed strategy for the last game now this one gets even crazier.

Some of the new features include new assist. this assist feature is kind of like marvel vs capcom and just blows me away on both ends, being the one hit with an assist and being the one hitting someone with an assist. they have new modes as well. I wish more people brought into this game because every time I go online no one is there lol :-( . say bye bye to Duelist coliseum from the first dissidia and say hello to labyrinth. From what I know, Labyrinth is like a maze and I believe the opponents get harder and harder?????


You can also play the original story ( for those who never got it) on this game as well. Yay for new comers, bad for us Pros lol. the only good for us pros is u get reports with every story mode completed, basically new cutscenes and possible battles that will mesh characters from original game and this game together ( ex. Tifa (new character) in a scene with Cloud and Sephiroth)



Overall I cant put this game down. your PSP collecting dust and you been waiting for a good fighting game to keep you going, This is the one

I didn't play more than a few hours of the first Dissidia, so keep that in mind for this review. Once you get over the learning curve, this game is exceptional - far better than I expected when I purchased it.

- Overworld map is extremely fun to mess around with. You can collect treasure chests, shop from Moogle shops, smash open boulders and slide around to nearby islands, and even engage roaming enemies and try to secure a sneak attack. I've seen some reviews saying that it's kind of bare-bones, but I can't really think of any other traditional world maps that let you even do that much. It's a simple, pleasant addition to the fighting gameplay.

- The new characters are all great, and they all play very differently.

- Quest creation mode, where you can write your own dialogue for custom quests.

- Amazing soundtrack loaded with hits from all the games, and a few original ones.

- The whole first Dissidia campaign is on here as well. You could easily put in 100+ hours leveling up everyone and purchasing all of the collectibles.

I would go so far as to say that this is the best single player fighting game ever made. No other fighting game's one player mode offers as much content, that is as fun to go through. In competitive play, I could easily see some balance issues cropping up, but single player this is as good as it gets. The story is not great, but it didn't ever prevent my enjoyment of the game. Parts of it are fairly dark, despite the cheesy dialogue.

To start off the review I really thing it should have been called Dissidia Final Fantasy Final Mix or something along those lines also I will score the new characters from 1 to 5

Postives

1.9 new characters
Tifa 5/5 Very fast with BRV attack and has amazing Hp attacks and gernal movement
Laguna 4/5 Has good moves some are hard to hit but you can easily barrage foe with
some of he's moves mostly the explosives , also he's machine gun needs to reload
Vaan 5/5 I was very surpise how good he was everyone of he's weapones has two combos also has 4 Hp moves but are all good
Lighting 5/5 They used all of her moves from FF13 she is fast with BRV moves and you can easily switch from her styles, also has great HP attacks
Yuna 4/5 same has the others great BRV attacks and very useful Hp attacks just alittle slow with movement
Kain 5/5 fast and has amazing BRV attacks but some of his Hp lack range and

Didn't play with the others yet


2.previous characters have new costumes and most of their old moves have slightly new looks

3.The new characters have an 8 chapters story of the 12th cycle

4. The Cutscence are way better done

5. Assist can be vey useful when used at the right moment

6. The new music was well chosen like fleeting dream from ff10 and jenova from ff7

7.New areas to fight in

8.Battlegen are easy to get this time

9.Dissidia orginal story is in this one


10. you can spend hours a day on this games I usually play 8 hours a day and have 75 hours total

11. An open map other than than checker board crap

Negatives

1.I was hoping that each returning character would have an 12
cycle story they don't

2. Its great that every character has new moves but only one they should have each gotten 1 new HP move and 2 new Brv one ground the other Air

3.More characters! I don't like waiting 2 years for 10 characters 5 more would have been perfect

4.In the open world map I would have like to see it alot bigger than it is

5. More in the story mode it's cool that their is the first dissidia story, it should have had more on the 12 cycle story

Like I said before it is a great games but it has a few problems

Great game and very time consuming. This game is like a 3D fighting RPG. Graphics are proabaly one of the best of the psp games. Story wise I think it lacks because it isn't very interesting to me. The sound quality of the game is also up there with the graphics but not as good. But overall it is a good game.

I am a relatively new fan of Final Fantasy. I got Kingdom Hearts for Christmas in 2002, and after basking in its awesomeness (along with the others games in that series) I figured I should give Final Fantasy a shot. Final Fantasy IX was my first experience, and it was great. Then I got Tactics Advance, which was also pretty sweet. Then I got XII, and 115 hours of game play later, I started to realize how much I truly love this series. So when the first Dissidia came out, I pooped my pants, saved up to buy a PSP, bought it and Dissidia (I'm reasonably sure in the same week) and after about 10 minutes I pooped my pants again cause it was awesome. I was kind of skeptical about the sequel/prequel/expansion. If something's good, why improve it? It wasn't until I had a lot of extra money and nothing important to spend it on that I decided to give this a try, and after playing this game, I huddled on the floor and begged Bahamut to forgive me for doubting.
This game keeps all the same mechanics of the first, with some streamlined menus and a crap ton more music, stages, alternate costumes, unlockable stuff, and the extended story is drool worthy. I already love these characters, and seeing them shine their brightest and working together was truly moving. I totally recommend this to Final Fantasy Fans. Heck, I recommend this to people that don't even know what Final Fantasy is. The story, graphics, mechanics, and everything about this game coalesce into a brilliant experience that will certainly have moi hooked on this game for a long time.

Honestly this game didn't feel like another game in the series, it felt like an expansion to the original Dissidia. I remember being so excited that it would include not only the new Duodecim, but also would somehow have the room for the original Dissidia as well. Then, after a few hours, I beat Duodecim's new story and only had the reworkings of the original Dissidia to play. Let me try and break it down.

-Story-

Essentially you get a prequel that clarifies some things about the previous war, but it feels so... shallow and doesn't do a great job with the storytelling. It was interesting enough for me to want to play through it, but it didn't keep me invested in it. It was predictable and short. However, once you beat it you can play through the original Dissidia (though it's now updated to play like Duodecim's unique story)and when you do you get a bit more story than the original game had, so that was nice. For instance, the characters have some more dialogue between each other in some parts now, fleshing things out a small amount.

-Gameplay-

Some characters got tweaked, some were updated with new moves, and others had moves taken away (Bartz for instance). The new characters did add some new spin to it, but that could've been DLC and it would've been fine. Not much has changed other than that, battle-wise at least. Equipment/Accessories are far less potent now, for better or worse. I loved the fighting mechanics so much that I played the original game for over a year -straight-, so I didn't mind that they didn't change the actual battles, but I didn't like how they gutted the equipment here. Plus, when you import your saves, you don't get to transfer things like ultimate weapons, so have fun rounding up the parts for your Lionheart, Ultima Weapon, Fenrir, and so on, because they make you do it all over again.

In story mode, the gameplay has changed. Instead of each level going from a board game-type of dungeon to the next, you get to run around a kind of mini-world in-between dungeons. I actually thought that was a pretty cool idea as it opens it up a bit and gives at least a small amount of exploration. Random enemies roam around as well as white lights that, upon collecting three, give you tools to use in the dungeon. It's not groundbreaking, but I did like it.

Shops in this world are expensive. See, if you import a level 100 character, you have to either lower their level (an option in the menu) to below what the dungeon says is allowed, or you get no points in it to spend on rare things, like Summons. The other points, that can be spent at the main menu of the game, are still collected relatively easy, winning battles, mail from moogles, etc.

-Graphics-

Amazing, especially for a PSP. I loved the graphics, very nicely done. The new stages are great, and I personally felt loved the FFXIII one. It just felt and looked fantastic.

-Music-

Um, awesome, lol. I love FF's music and the new/unique soundtracks for this game are great as well. They added more music, which was nice.

-Overall Opinion-

I feel this was a glorified expansion. It was short and didn't (IMO) add enough to warrant it's original price tag - I got it on release day. I beat it and traded it back in within the week, and didn't look back. A good game if you didn't play the original (especially if you didn't play it as much or more than the 500+ hours I put in it), but I wouldn't buy it full-price knowing what I know about it. They're really milking money for DLC's in this version, which gives you some new things (costumes, etc., but I didn't get any DLC for this game as none of it felt worth actual money to me, so but nothing that made me want to keep the game very long.

Awesome game. Was a big fan of the first one. And the edition of having Kain and Tifa as playable characters makes even more awesome. And for those who haven't played the first one don't worry cause once you beat Dissidia 012, you'll unlock the first Dissidia game. If your fan of Final Fantasy,RPGs or fighting games you should check this one out. It was well worth my 29.99

This is easily my best video game purchase of the year. Granted, those who played the first may feel like they've already seen all of this (and for some of it they have) but this is really a well-polished sequel. Even if you now consider the first Dissidia to simply be a "beta" version and this is simply what it should have been there are still loads of new content. The already large roster gets several interesting additions. The replay value (mostly getting items, leveling to 100, and unlocking stories and unique items) is high.

Overall, I am quite happy with my purchase.

Also, this part is specific for Amazon: super easy to find and buy this game. I pre-ordered and the game was shipped and arrived literally the day of the US release. I got my pre-order code for unique content via email on the same day, and just 5 days later Amazon informed me of a $3 price drop and had refunded that amount. Amazon's service is second to none!