Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Review

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is an interesting game, wus Final Fantasy fans have been waiting for this experience since 2015 when it was first announced for Arcades in Japan. Does this game really live up to the hype? Considering this is the third entry in the Dissidia franchise you’d think it would be the best evolution of the series… Think again.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is exactly what you’d expect from a Dissidia Final Fantasy game… For the most part. For those who have never played a Dissidia game before, it is basically a beat-em up game featuring Final Fantasy characters from every single main game in the series (This also includes Final Fantasy Tactics and Type-0). The way how the gameplay worked in older titles was it was 1v1 combat in a 3D playing field. You have two different types of attacks, you have your HP attack and your bravery attack. You use your bravery attack to get rid of the opponents “Bravery” points which are in layman's terms a way to increase your HP damage against an opponent, the more bravery you have the harder your attack will be.

This in itself was simple enough in the original games, but in this new entry things have slightly changed, gone are the days 1v1 combat. Welcome 3v3 battles for the first time in the series. My god, things get very, very hectic in this gamemode, to the point where you have no idea what you are doing. In the end you just keep hitting buttons until you see the “VICTORY” text appear on the screen. Don’t get me wrong, the gameplay itself can be fun, the controls are tight and responsive and everything feels smoother than it used too but the 3v3 combat really makes it hard for me to enjoy this game.

Having 3v3 combat is an attempt to innovate the game series but instead it just makes it harder for the more casual gamer to get into it. Sure, if you are a hardcore Dissidia fan like myself then you won’t have to much trouble with the 3v3 combat but for newcomers, good luck… your going to need it. Overall the gameplay in this new title is fun once you get a grasp of it but it may be too confusing for those who are picking up the game series for the first time with this entry.

Visuals

Now then, the best part about this game, the visuals. Final Fantasy games tend to have amazing and stunning graphics but this game really destroys any previous FF games including Final Fantasy XV. Everything from the environments and the characters models look incredible. The character models especially are the highlight of this game. Team Ninja (The developers) have done a really good at recreating these characters for the PS4, it's bad when they nail the models for a game like this but yet Final Fantasy XV really suffers from dodgy looking character models (in my opinion). Overall the visuals are incredible, easily one of the best looking games on the PlayStation 4. It is just a shame that the gameplay doesn’t match the games fantastic visual style.

Single Player

Single player? Well this is the games BIGGEST issue. There really isn’t a single player but instead we get cutscenes which tells the games story. Now the cutscenes on their own are pretty great, it is amazing to see these characters interact in beautiful High Definition for the first time. But the problem with just having cutscenes is the fact that there is no meat on the bones, there is no replayability and if you wanted too… You don’t even need to play the game to see the cutscenes you could just get them up on YouTube. There is some form of challenge however and that is in the fact that you need to unlock these cutscenes by completing battles both offline and online.

You have a single player arcade mode which you can partake in. This gamemode is very self explanatory, just complete a set amount of battles with a selected character and your good to go. Everytime you battle you get points which you can unlock parts of the story mode with. Overall the single player in this game is very disappointing, I know that the focus for this game is on the online portion but it is still a huge missed opportunity that they didn’t do more for the story. Even though the cutscenes are pretty good on their own… its just missing the amazing story mode from previous Dissidia games.

Multiplayer

Now this is definitely where the main focus of the game is. All of the effort seems to be in the online part of the game. Square Enix are trying very hard to make this game an esport and fair play to them.. But the online in this game goes from good to mediocre at times. For one, they still haven’t fixed server issues, I go on the game to try an online match and it freezes and stutters every 5 seconds. Which for a game with this much focus on Online Multiplayer really isn’t acceptable.

The multiplayer itself is okay for the Dissidia FF player but not for newcomers as most people have already mastered the combat and will completely destroy you if you don’t go in prepared. Now generally it is a matter of skill, if you keep practising you will get better, you may find you need to battle AI first before you jump into the multiplayer. Overall I think the multiplayer will go far if they keep updating and is by far the strongest point of the game. If you are after an online FF game like this then it will be perfect for you, just not for your average gamer.

Verdict

Overall Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is an okay game. The gameplay is solid but hectic but the lack of a single player really stops this game from shining above the previous games in the series and to other fighting games in general. The main issue is this game lacks substance, its gets boring very quickly. Now I am aware that this game is going to be getting updates and support for the next years to come, I will revisit this game if it improves but for now, it is a good game, it just lacks a great single player and substance.

6/10 - Getting There

Pros:

Stunning Visuals

Smooth and Tight Controls

Multiplayer

Cons:

Lack of Single Player

Gets Boring Quick

Not For New Players

3v3 Can Be Hectic

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