This ain't no Ehrgeiz.
The story mode unfortunately is a bit weak for each character, and is little more then an excuse to have lots of battles, the way it is set up however is of much more note. Each character has 5 different areas to progress through set up much like a board with enemy pieces set up in places often blocking the way to progress to the next area, engaging them starts a battle.
Like most fighting games the point of Dissidia is to pulverize your opponents life bar in a one on one bout using various attacks till you win. This is however where the similarity ends, as this game is far more RPG then Fighter. Each character gains experience as they fight no matter what mode it's in this includes beating an opponent, getting the first hit or achieving specific tasks for that battle like "winning without losing hp". All this leads to level ups increasing that characters stats as well as learning extra moves at set levels and giving access to higher level weapons and armour available at the shop with gil also earned from fighting.
Attacking opponents in Dissidia is not, however as easy as you would think. Despite each character having an attack parameter in their status screen that is not the sole factor in knowing how much damage they will do. There is a number each character starts with above their hp bar referred to simply as "bravery". The higher that number is, the more damage is dealt. While square deals physical attacks, circle deals bravery type of attacks aimed at that number, as it lowers, your characters increases and vice versa. This leads to some battles being fairly strategic in building up strength while weakening the opponent.
Much like in any Final Fantasy game the equivalent of limit breaks / quickenings etc are in Dissidia with each character having the one they had from their game like Lionheart or Omnislash and look amazing as well as deal devastating damage. Summons are also included in Dissidia though their effect is somewhat weaker in appearance normally effecting bravery recovery / amount though their effect can turn battles around when used right.
In combat Dissidia is incredibly stylishly acrobatic with a lot of fights taking place mainly zooming around in the air with nearly everything on any battlefield completely destructible and it looks simply fantastic because of it. Each character model is highly detailed as are the arenas and thanks to a selective install Dissidia has practically no load times making it an easy to pick up and play title.
The visuals are not the only part of the game where the presentation values shine however as the sound fairs just as well. Each character is fully voiced, many who have been voiced before such as Tidus and Cloud have had their voice actors return, though new comers have been voiced to a similar high standard. The music also fairs with similar treatment with each character having their own theme based off the game they are from, so many favorites have returned like FFX's "Otherworld" and FFVII's "Those who fight further". The soundtrack is simply excellent.
Dissidia is the game that simply doesn't stop giving. In over 80 hours i still have things to unlock or complete. Along with 10 different storylines, added extra areas, wireless battle mode and arcade fighting using 22 characters the unlockables are insane. the amount of weapons, armour, accessories and ways to create accessories, collecting summons to use in battle, unlocking extra costumes, move sets, artwork, avatars etc. It just never seems to stop. The more you play the more you get.
In summery, if you are a Final Fantasy fan of any sort and own a PSP Dissidia should be in your collection. It looks amazing, sounds fantastic, handles brilliantly and has enough content to keep you playing for as long as you could wish. Highly recommended.
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+ Amazing presentation.
+ Near never ending amount of content.
+ Smooth controls.
+ Unique & strategic battle system.
- Story is a bit weak.