Dissidia 012 is of course the sequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy, which was released a little over a year after the original game. As one would expect it adds a few new mechanics into the mix and adds some fan-favorite characters that weren't represented in the original like Kain, Tifa, Gilgamesh and Laguna, as well as Lightning from the recently-released Final Fantasy XIII. The story mode is also greatly expanded this time - it takes place on a 3D world map rather than the simple grid of the original, complete with random encounters and NPCs to interact with, and allowing the player to control a party of up to three characters at a time. In addition to serving as a prequel, this mode also retells the entire story of the first game in its new style, as well as adding a new following chapter, so there's quite a bit more to experience on the single-player front this time. Combat remains largely similar to the first game, though with some new mechanics added into the mix. Assist Mode allows a player to call in a second character to aid them in battle, helping to attack or defend against incoming attacks. Assists can also be "Broken" while a character is in EX Mode, preventing the other player from calling in their own assist for a short time. Similarly, a character's EX Mode can be countered with an EX Break - calling in an assist character to force them out of that mode. Finally, there's EX Revenge, allowing a player to sacrifice their EX meter to stop an opponent's attack and slow them down temporarily, allowing them to get an attack in instead. A game with a lot of flair, quite a bit of content to experience and plenty of popular characters and little nods to series canon to enjoy make it an enjoyable arena combat experience on the PSP.
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: 2011
Platforms: Playstation Portable