Dissidia Final Fantasy NT marks the first home console release for the Dissidia spin-off series, with the previous entries releasing on the PSP starting back in 2008. Oddly enough, the portable versions of Dissidia feel more like full-fledged games than NT, which is sort of a shame considering this is a pretty good looking entry. I?d imagine most of that comes down to Dissidia Final Fantasy NT being a port of an arcade release, but I still can?t help but feel like this is a stripped down version of a series that I?ve actually enjoyed in the past.
If you?re not familiar with the Dissidia series, it?s essentially a fighting game with Final Fantasy characters culled from pretty much all the numbered entries along with a couple spin-offs like Tactics and Type-0. This isn?t a fighter in the Street Fighter or Tekken sense of the word, but it?s more of an arena-based setup, sort of similar to the old Power Stone series from the SEGA Dreamcast.
The combat system doesn?t feel that different here from previous entries, the basic concept of Bravery and HP is pretty standard for the Dissidia series. It makes for an interesting push/pull element in combat, and certainly helps to liven up the action. In conjunction with this, the limited block and dodge mechanics for defense add another element of strategy that lifts the combat up and beyond a simple button mashing experience. If you?re playing against real people, you?ll need to really get a feel for when to attack, when to run, and when to dodge in order to stand any chance of winning. It does feel rewarding when you start to get into the swing of things, which is pretty much what anyone would want out of a fighting game.
Unfortunately, playing online is sort of the meat of the Dissidia Final Fantasy NT experience too. The offline modes are pretty bare bones, allowing for skirmishes against the A.I. or gauntlet matches with increasing difficulty against a number of A.I controlled teams. There is a story mode, but it?s structured in an odd way, and features some really frustrating boss battles against summons that are more aggravating than they?re worth. To be able to progress in the story mode you also need to play other modes, either online or off, in order to unlock additional nodes on a map. If you?re primarily interested in checking out the story, and don?t feel like playing against the A.I. in skirmishes or dealing with the laggy online play, this can definitely deflate your interest in continuing with the game.
I would suggest checking out Dissidia Final Fantasy NT if you?ve played the other Dissidia titles, but I?d temper your expectations when it comes to content. You?ll blow through the story mode quickly enough, and then you?ll just be left with a pretty sub-standard online experience that is definitely in need of some work. The stripped out RPG elements from the previous Dissidia titles really do this entry a disservice, and I think hewing too closely to NT?s arcade roots was a bad call. Still, I can?t help but feel there?s something worth playing here, even if it?s not the best Dissidia game to date.
Square Enix provided us with a Dissidia Final Fantasy NT PS4 retail copy for this review.
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