Ah, fighting games. So little to love, but so much love for so little. 
Seriously, I feel the same way. I really like fighting games, but only for about the first 20 minutes before I really start getting my ass handed to me, because it's been a long time since I really sat down and worked out combos and moves for fighting game characters. That being said, I still find them interesting and wish I could get back into that mindseto of really getting into a fighting game like I used to.
Ben geeks out over Dissidia and other psp stuff!
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 On 04/15/2013 at 11:50 AM by BrokenH See More From This User » |
If there’s one genre I’m kind of at odds with it’s fighting games. As much as I love them in short bursts almost nothing about them amazes me. Sure, I enjoyed Mortal Kombat 9 for it’s surprisingly good story line and generous amount of gameplay modes. I enjoyed Persona 4 Arena mostly based on nostalgia factor and for how wonderful my favorite rpg characters look in glorious 2D. KOF 13? Well, it’s simply a very well rounded brawler all together and I was learning how to be mercilessly cheap with King!
Yet as fond as I am of all these games they didn’t break any new molds for me. Arenas were still constrained to small areas and cancels, rush downs, special moves, blocks, and counters blurred together in a sea of mediocrity that carried from one punch fest to the next.
I was thinking about all this when eyeing Dissidia at the pawn shop. A fighting game with Final Fantasy characters? How “fun” and “time consuming” could that be? Against my own scrutiny I decided to pick it up and I’m quite glad I did!
Dissidia really is a “new kind” of brawler. Running along walls and flying around like a super saiyan definitely took an adjustment period to get used to. The environments are huge and you can use your surroundings for tactical advantages. Between bouts you can equip armor, assist items, and yes, even summons. I’m sure to many of you with psps this is “old hat” but for a guy like me I was giddy as a kid on Christmas! Put simply, I’ve NEVER played a game similar to Dissidia before!
So yeah, there are still cancels, rushes, combos, reversals, and all that other fighting game jargon we’ve heard thrown around at EVO. It’s just Dissidia makes an even grander spectacle of it all as you toss around tornadoes, shoot lightning, and do quick time events to pull off EX moves perfectly. Aka, there’s a little bit of Asura’s wrath in there too but the game doesn’t penalize you too harshly for not succeeding at every single prompt it gives to you.
So far my only gripe is the lack of female characters. There’s Terra and Ultimacea and that’s about it. Still all things considered, a roster of 20 nostalgic FF characters for a first entry isn’t bad at all. Compared to the first outing of Blazblue, Dissidia it outright generous by comparison!
I also like navigating characters around the exploration grid. You can find treasure and you fight “phantom enemies” before facing off against a big bad boss like Garland,Kefka,or Sephiroth (Aka, every fan-girl’s favorite murderer sociopath!) Of course the phantom enemies are merely weaker variants of the main villains so in actuality you’re rumbling with inferior clones of pre-existing combatants. (Okay, I guess that brings me up to two gripes. Er, sorry!)
I honestly didn’t think Dissidia would impress me as much as it did. Needless to say, the psp is making a good first impression on me. The games on it seem more experimental than those on the big consoles right now. As such I don’t mind the very slight dip in the graphics department.
Other games I got
Ogre Battle: Let’s cling together
Why? It’s Ogre battle, duh! Um, don’t expect my thoughts on it for awhile. Ogre battle is a deep tactical rpg so playing it 30 minutes before writing an impressions piece on it seems like a grave disservice.
FF Tactics: War of the lions
Yeah, I know it’s just a re-mastered version of the original game on the PS1 but being I no longer have that copy this little gem was a must get!
Jeanne D’Arc
I’ve read both really good and really bad things about this one. It’s yet another tactical rpg so I’m officially delving into masochist territory now! Jeanne is one of my favorite historical female heroines so it was a no brainer. So long as this game has a good story I can forgive any minor faults.
Games I’m thinking about getting next month
3rd Birthday
Many Parasite Eve fans have warned me Aya Brea’s lovable tough cookie persona was obliterated in this follow up sequel to the first two games. As much as it pisses me off to see Aya meek and whiney, this does look like a fun 3rd person shooter with rpg lite mechanics.
God Eater Burst
There’s something about God Eater that is just so delightfully “anime cute” and “dystopian apocalyptic” simultaneously! It’s as if Monster-Hunter, Evangelion, and Highschool Of The Dead were put into a blender. Color me intrigued!
Dissidia Duodecim
I’m enjoying the first entry so much this one might be worth it for the extra characters.
Ys 7
I love Ys so this one is pretty self explanatory!
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