Dissidia Final Fantasy NT: 5 Things You Should Know

Every genre of gaming has an underdog, a game where perhaps mainstream fans may not know, but die hard fans do and will talk at great length about it. Fighting games are no different. Hell, if anything the fighting genre probably has more cult games than Call of Duty has sequels. From popular household names such as Street Fighter to more obscure arcade cult hits such as Saturday Night Slam Masters, there is no denying that the genre has something for everyone. On the spectrum of casual to hardcore, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT looks like it’s trying to place itself neatly in the middle.

The franchise was been plodding along nicely during the dizzying heights of the days of the PSP, with a fun “pick up and play” dynamic that had players investing hours running around familiar arenas, settling scores of who the greatest hero and villain of the franchise was that wasn’t Cloud or Sephiroth. But now that Dissidia wants to make a splash on the home console market, presumably because no one plays the PSP anymore. If you didn’t manage to get your hands on the beta that snuck past us late last year, you’re probably salivating like Kefka’s thirst for power to get a copy of the game, but you’re not aware of what’s in store? With this in mind, here are 5 things players should know about Dissidia Final Fantasy NT that should help you fully enjoy the game when it launches.

 

5. The Graphics

Let’s get this entry out the way, because it is common gaming law that we can’t talk about a Final Fantasy game until we explain how glorious the graphics are, for fear of being shot by the Reddit police. Whether the Final Fantasy game is good or bad, ever since the PS1 days of the franchise Square Enix has always prided themselves on their stunning presentation and Dissidia looks set to be no different.

The visuals look impressive throughout; the fight arenas, the glistening of the sword steel and the sharp feather details on Squall Lionheart’s coat are all present and looks set to distract us while we fail miserably in battle. Considering that the game is a Japanese arcade port, this probably won’t come as huge surprise, but if nothing else it’s further proof that Square Enix want to keep pushing the graphical envelope with its flagship franchise, no matter the genre.

 

4. The Impressive Roster

When I was a young lad, my mother always gave me two nuggets of her pearly wisdom: “Nick, you’re as dumb as a mule and twice as ugly” and “you can’t have a good fighting game without a good roster”. Though the first nugget of wisdom was probably a fabrication on my part, she did have a point that a great fighting game has to have a great roster, otherwise what’s the point? Thankfully Dissidia brings a full roster that is going to keep all fans of Final Fantasy satisfied.

While the usual mainstay characters of heroes and villains such as Zidane, Ultimecia and The Onion Knight are all ever present, Square Enix have also crowbarred a few more extra characters for the PS4 version, including Prince Noctis from Final Fantasy XV, Ace from Final Fantasy Type-0 and Ramza from the underrated Final Fantasy Tactics. This impressive, hearty roster will keep long term Final Fantasy fans happy, while more casual fans have the potential to learn something a little more about the history of the iconic franchise. Did I also mention, there’s no loot box or paywall in sight?

 

3. A fighting game with class?

Let’s talk about the inner workings of Dissidia. Those who may have kept a keen eye on the promotional material will have realised that Square Enix have reworked this game from the ground up and this includes giving each character a class to help build your dream team.

There are 4 different classes to cater to player’s needs. There are the power based Vanguards, the agility based Assassins, the ranged based Marksmen and finally the specialist based….well….Specialists. These will help plan out your ideal route to victory. It’s refreshing to see a class based system in a fighting game as to memory there has been very little in this genre that offer such options, but considering the 3 on 3 basis and the fact that each character on the roster has their own moves to master, the possibilities of mixing up styles are, in theory, endless.

 

2. The Importance of 3 on 3

When we boil it down, Final Fantasy as a narrative have always been based around the importance of teamwork; a tried and tested formula that has worked through 15 installments and beyond. This simple 3 on 3 structure drives that point home. It really is a system Final Fantasy fans should be more comfortable with than the more traditional 1 on 1 offered in most fighting games.

A chance to plan, fail, succeed and take notes should excite both hardcore fighting and RPG fans. However, the question of how would Square Enix cater to the more casual fan, who just want to pick 3 of their favourites and do battle as so many fighting games like Tekken already offer, remains to be seen.

 

1. Summon Up Some Bravery

Let me repeat this statement one more time: Square Enix want you to know they are proud of this installment of Dissidia. So proud, in fact, that it would appear they have a lot riding on their console debut being a success and want to give the heavyweight champions of the fighting genre a good run for their money.

On the surface, Dissidia NT looks more or less the same as the ones hardcore fans of the series from the PSP days grew to know and love. However, certain tweaks and overhauls have been made. For instance, the fighting rules have changed, as winning isn’t a simple case of targeting your rival teams leader and smashing them into fine chocobo paste. Instead, you must utilise the Brave System.

While general HP does not go down during Brave attacks, it does build your Brave meter which can be used to unleash some devastating moves that have the potential to insta-kill your foes, if done correctly and with a bit of practice. Other fight features also include Summons, where you and your rival team are pitted in a “capture the flag” style game type, where players scramble to collect enough power ups to unleash their respective summon picked before the match.

A lot of these features sound fantastic on paper and should get both fighting and RPG fans excited for this upcoming release. However, it is a matter of time before we see if the final results work out for the franchise and if Dissidia can hang with the brooding tough kids of Street Fighter and Tekken, or if it will be KO’ed into obscurity. Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is coming out in the UK and EU on the 26th January.

If you’re interested in reading more of our coverage on Dissidia, check out our hands-on impressions from our time at EGX back in September.