Dissidia: Final Fantasy has been a title we've been keeping an eye on a lot lately, and hence, it's one of the first games we decided to see out on the Tokyo Game Show floor. We moseyed on over to Sony's booth to get in a quick session before going at it again and taking in another short round over at Square Enix proper. Five characters were available to play: Firionel, Tidus, Squall, Warrior of Light, and Zidane. We decided to try out different characters for each play session and tested out the skills of Squall and Tidus.
The overall battle system is rather easy to pick up; attacking with the square button deals the amount of damage currently in your "Brave" gauge while attacking with the circle button drains your enemy's Brave, replenishing your own and then eventually putting enemies into a "Break" state as you can see here in these videos. Now while the general concept of the game's battle system is easy to grasp, mastering the play style of the individual characters is another story. After having played as both Squall and Tidus for a solid amount of time, we noticed that neither character played like the other. Even though their special moves use the same button inputs, they move and attack completely different.
After having watched a Dissidia: Final Fantasy trailer in Square Enix's Closed Mega Theater, the final two characters (heroes for Final Fantasies VI and VII) are confirmed to be Terra and Cloud. Gameplay footage was seen for both characters dueling against their respective arch nemesis. Cloud retains his classic look, while Terra dons a more child-like face and better resembles her original Amano design (blonde hair).
With Bartz and Ex-Death confirmed recently, that makes the entire 20 heroes and villains roster complete. Check back with us later, we'll have some more on Dissidia including full hands-on here at PSP Fanboy and full Square Enix Closed Theater impressions over on Joystiq. So keep an eye on both.
Bartz Klauser and Exdeath of Final Fantasy V are the latest characters confirmed for the Square Enix ensemble title Dissidia: Final Fantasy, according to the latest edition of Shonen Jump Magazine. Like the other older Final Fantasy characters which were originally illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano, they have been reimagined by Tetsuya Nomura for the PSP-exclusive title. Now all we have left to wonder are the heroes of Final Fantasy VI and VII (most likely Terra and Cloud). Hopefully more is revealed at TGS -- needless to say, we'll keep you updated.
Two new vids teach us a thing or two on how Dissidia: Final Fantasy's dramatic progressive battle system works, so pay close attention children. In the first one, keep watch over the big numbers that hover over the character HUD. This is the "Brave" stat. These numbers determine your attack power. If you attack while this number is at zero, then you do no damage. Also, did you notice that some attacks didn't damage HP, but instead started screwing around with the Brave numbers? Yeah, you'll want to watch the second vid (after the break) to fully understand that.
What's going on there is that some attacks drain an opponent's Brave and adds onto yours. This adds a bit of strategy as you can take an enemy down to zero and he'll go into a "Break" status. It's some sort of temporarily vulnerable state. It's a new take on the usual beat em' genre. We can't wait to see more of this game at TGS.
Here's yet another video showing off the one-on-one duels of Dissidia: Final Fantasy. In the clip, you'll witness a spiritual reincarnation of a classic battle that gave birth to 20 years of Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy I's Warrior of Light goes head-to-head with Garland and the sparks are flying. Literally. Check out the vid or download it straight to your PSP.
You're not getting one, sorry. The Limited Edition Dissidia PSP-3000 bundle bound for Japan is being sold exclusively through a lottery system that only Square Enix members in Japan can enter in. The entry period is limited to a one week window, and amongst those entries, random people will be selected to purchase those systems.
The character countdown is almost over now, people. With the confirmation of Cecil and Golbez as Final Fantasy IV's respective light and darkness ambassadors, we now know the identities of most Dissidia alumni. Final Fantasies I through IV and VIII through X are now complete, while villains for VI and VII have also been revealed.
All that's really left is to figure out who the heroes of VII (no-brainer really ... unless a Caith Sith surprise is in store) and VI (more difficult to gauge considering characters shared the spotlight equally) are. That, and what's the fate of V -- in or not? Lots of conflicting reports on that one so we'll wait and see. Maybe TGS is the time to get those last inkling details before the big release this December.
2008 looks to be yet another excellent year for Tokyo Game Show. There's a lot of excitement over the potential surprises at the show. Square Enix has posted its lineup for this year's show, and we're a little saddened to see Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) still not playable. At the very least, we'll be getting some one-on-one time with Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP). Check out the full PlayStation list here:
We're expecting many of these trailers will be shown behind closed doors. Fear not, though. We'll provide detailed impressions of the trailers live from Tokyo next month.
With Dissidia, Square Enix's upcoming PSP-exclusive brawler, coming by year's end in Japan, the company has been quick to release tons of new videos for Final Fantasy fans everywhere. This new trailer shows a lot more CG, a lot more action, and even highlights Final Fantasy VI's Kefka -- a favorite character for many fans of the franchise.
SCEJ just dropped a ton of information concerning several major PSP titles for the remainder of 2008. Three huge games are now officially slated for this holiday season in Japan, and two of them are certainly games you probably won't want to miss importing. Dissidia: Final Fantasy is now set for a December 18 release, while Patapon 2 Donchaka and Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam will both be out November 27 and 20, respectively.
All three games will be sold alongside bundled packs that include the new bright-screened PSP-3000. Patapon 2 Donchaka not only dons a new subtitle, but will also be available as a PS Store download for those who want to save a couple of bucks over the UMD version. This is a similar strategy as seen by Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida or2 and Bleach Soul Carnival. Tax-inclusive prices for games and bundles are after the break ... just in case you wanted to know how much money will be leaving your wallet this holiday season.
The last Dissidia: Final Fantasy video showcase featured a set of not so beloved Final Fantasy characters -- a punk onion dude and the ultra sexy Cloud of Darkness. Yet, despite that fact, the gameplay footage was still awe-inspiring and kept you drooling for more. This time around, we've got more of the same; however, we're sure you're going enjoy watching these characters a whole lot more.
Final Fantasy X's daddy issues duo, Jecht and Tidus, show us how it's done in this here video clip. Not only are they dishing out mad skills as usual, they're taking the fight all around the fighting arena, giving us a sense of how large and dynamic the stages can get. It seems that every little glimpse of Dissidia that we get, it gets harder and harder to look away. Keep an eye on this one folks. This is looking to be the game to have for this year (in Japan anyway).
We're mostly used to seeing an amalgamation of different cut scenes in our Dissidia: Final Fantasy trailers; however, this time we're treated to over two minutes of pure gameplay. The battle you'll be witnessing is between Final Fantasy III light and dark reps, Onion Kid and The Cloud of Darkness.
One thing this blogger particularly took notice of was the short pause for the Onion Kid during his break status; he does a class change and then has to choose an ability from a drop down menu. It's interesting to see that while the game is a fast and fluid fisticuff, the developers could still incorporate some of the traditional turn-based Final Fantasy elements into the game. Are you not grasping that thought fully? Well, you will once you see the trailer.
Wowzers! So there is a lot more information out there on Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep than we anticipated. First we got some translated hands-on impressions gathered from various Japanese sites over at KHInsider, along with a trailer summary. Some of this information we know about already, so here are highlights of the new stuff:
Ven's level is the Castle of Dreams, Cinderella's world. Ven cooperates with Jaq the mouse to collect materials to make Cinderella's dress. After going through a maze and finding the necessary items, a boss fight ensues with Lucifer. No, not Lucifer the demon, but rather the cat from Cinderella.
Secondly, we have 3 pages of Famitsu scans courtesy of PSPHyper. Reading the hands-on impressions while looking at these scans, you can almost pretend you were playing the demo. Lastly, IGN has a few seconds of video footage of both Birth by Sleep and Dissidia from their Game Scoop show. Look for that after the jump.
We knew software support for the PSP was relatively dire but this chart says it all. According to Siliconera, who've compiled a comprehensive analysis of publisher support, 2006 was the peak while 2007 saw a huge decline. The top six contributing publishers to the PSP's software library have all taken a considerable dip in scheduled titles, but Siliconera also points out that 2008 is actually starting to curve upward.
Posted Aug 2nd 2008 11:55PM by Alan Tsang
Filed under: News
Those who were lucky enough to get invited to Square Enix's DKΣ3713 Private Party had a chance to play a demo version of Dissidia: Final Fantasy. A release date of December 2008 was again confirmed for Japan, as well as a limited edition PSP bundle similar to the Crisis Core bundle released earlier in Japan and Europe. And like other Final Fantasy games released recently, Dissidia will also have its own Potion soft drink.
Even though 1UP reports that only 9 Final Fantasy games will be part of Dissidia, PSPHyper, NeoGAF and several Japanese blogs are reporting that in addition to Kefka of FFVI, Golbez of FFIV and Exdeath of FFV were also spotted in the trailer show at DKΣ3713. Meaning now there is at least one character from Final Fantasy I to X, resulting in a grand total of 10 titles. Unfortunately, the trailer was shown in a closed theater, making this difficult to verify. For your consideration: back in March we reported on the above poster which allegedly revealed all the villains for Dissidia -- so far the poster has been right about Cloud of Darkness of FFIII, Kefka of FFVI and Jecht of FFX. Could it be right about Golbez and Exdeath as well?
