Game Details
Price
  • $39.99
Available on
Genre
More details

Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)

common sense media says

Admirable mix of RPG and fighting creates complex game.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this game combines role-playing and combat elements to create a complex gaming experience. But there is a thorough tutorial to help newbies out. The violence is mostly magical with some sword play, and it is never bloody. Scantily clad female characters can be seen. And light cussing is part of the dialogue.The message is positive, going beyond the usual save-the-world pablum. If you don't like the RPG element, you can just play the game as a fighter.

Educational value: Not applicable.
Positive messages: The message is that peace can be accomplished through war, tempered by ethics and morals. But war, even the one-on-one variety, is hell.
Positive role models: While some of the godly and heroic characters are complex regarding morals, they all work together to form a team that defeats evil.
Ease of play: Medium. This is a complex game with role-playing elements, card trading, and fighting aspects that is made easier through tutorials.
Violence: Fantasy violence abounds here with fireworks-like magic used to hit your foes. Players participate in battles during which they can summon magical creatures, cast their own magic, or use swords, axes, or boomerangs. The Final Blow -- the end of the battle -- is particularly over-the-top because it is shown in slow motion. But there is never any blood or guts.
Sex: There is a handful of female playable characters and a couple of these are dressed in teen dream video game staples: tight corsets and short pants, partially displaying breasts and buttocks.
Language: Mild language includes "damn," "hell," and "bastard."
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on Dissidia: Final Fantasy

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • After playing Dissidia, would you like to play other Final Fantasy games? Would you rather play a new unique game or a sequel involving a familar world?

  • Would you like to live in a world of ruled by gods? Why or why not? Which of the godly characters would you like to be?

  • Do the opening movie and the cut scenes add or detract from the gameplay? How so?

What's the story?

What's the story?

There may never have been a more powerful battle of the gods for Sony’s PSP. In DISSIDIA: FINAL FANTASY, goddess of harmony Cosmos and god of destruction Chaos have come to tragic blows. Brutal Chaos seemingly has won over the peaceful Cosmos. In this role-playing game with gigantic, over-the-top battles on earth, in the sky, and in space, you fight so that your character can become stonger or "level-up." You can play as about two dozen characters, who all try to save the universe and restore peace to a very troubled planet.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Dissidia sports one of the most awesome, most stunning opening movies ever seen. That’s saying a lot since the game’s presented on the smaller PSP screen and made by Square/Enix, a gaming company known for its detailed, film-like sequences.

But once you get into the gameplay, there’s a feeling of repetitiveness as you fight to try to level-up and become more powerful. While there’s no blood, the fighting is tough, glorious, and ego-filled, full of hubris at the end of each battle. The oft thin dialogue is godly, full of talk about ethics and morality, and has you thinking about what’s right and wrong. While the fighting can be banal if you don’t try new moves, the amount of things you can do with powerups and collected treasures is impressive. Overall, this is an admirable, though not perfect, addition to the ever-broadening Final Fantasy series.

Online interaction: You can fight others and trade cards online. You might have to wait a while before you can find a partner to play with.

Game themes & details

Game Details
Available on: PSP
Available online
Genre: Role Playing
Developer: Square Enix
Released on: August 25, 2009
Price: 39.99
ESRB Rating: T for Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Partial Nudity
Screenshots

This review was written by Harold Goldberg
 
 

Review It

 

Review Dissidia: Final Fantasy





Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
 

Most useful reviews by all members

chrrr
parent of 15 year old
 
ok for teens
love it

The Informer
teen, 18 years old
 
An extremely addictive and fun game for the PSP/
Dissidia is a very fun and exciting game with great fighting mechanics that most people will be able to pick up. It also features tons of replay value to ensure that it will stay in your PSP for quite a while. The violence is typical for your regular FF game. Some of the characters are suggestive though, and there is some partial nudity, but otherwise, this is a great new entry in the Final Fantasy saga that any fan of the series should own.

FunHorror
teen, 18 years old
 
Fabulous game, but some things might put parents off.
Ah, Dissidia. A fanboy's dream. Its fun, over-the-top combat and gorgeous effects make it a very fun fighter, although it's not very complex. Forgoing complex button combinations in favor of simpler moves, Dissidia is definitely more accessible to more impatient or young fighting game fans - this isn't a bad thing, mind, but it's something to consider. Now, on to the various things that parents may not consider good for their children. First off, I wouldn't recommend this for kiddies because of the creep factor of some of the villains. Whether it's Emperor Palamecia's god complex, Sephiroth's calm, cold murderous intent, Kefka's desire to blow everything up, or Exdeath's goal to bring everything into a state of nothing, including himself, there's something for everyone to be afraid of. Now, if you're one of those parents who are mortally terrified of your child seeing the edge of a breast or skirts that cut off at a length that is very common nowadays, then this might not be the game to give your child, as Ultimecia has absolute cleavage, the Cloud of Darkness (despite being genderless) is wearing what basically amounts to a few ribbons and a cape, and Terra is wearing a short skirt and, if you're using her default outfit, tights. Oh! I'm forgetting Kuja's man thong. As for violence, the game has plenty of slashing and explosions, but nobody actually gets dismembered or disfigured, even after Shantotto rains lightning on them, laughing all the while. Ultimately, Dissidia is a pretty tame game, but the difficulty of the endgame (provided you don't take Chaos on with a character 20 levels stronger than him) restricts it to slightly older kids.

shiryuu
teen, 17 years old
 
Long, fun, it's the ultimate Final Fantasy!
Easily one of the most dominant games on the PSP, with literally hundreds of hours of gameplay, as the main story spans ten different Destiny Odysseys and four chapters of a mode called Shade Impulse. Along with the fact that there are twenty characters (and two secret ones) to level all the way to one-hundred...well, the problem here would be tearing ourselves away from the PSP. This game is also far more understandable if one is already a fan of the series. It was made for fans, and there's plenty of fanservice (not the sexual kind!!), but the story is still quite understandable. Being a fan just gives an added bonus of catching all the little details and references. Also--Golbez's English voice rocks.

haloodst
teen, 14 years old
 
love it

thependaz
teen, 13 years old
 
Good game, clothing slight issue
This is a great game, while there are some female characters clothing that display partial breasts or maybe some short shorts, there is not any full nudity, the controls aren't exceedingly hard but they are a bit frustrating at times to use certain moves. There is violence but no blood.

bonso
kid, 11 years old
 
best final fantasy game on psp!!!
this game rocked my world with awesome graphics and the greatest story mode in fighter history this makes this game a must buy for psp!

Cm20014
teen, 16 years old
 
Best For Teens.
I hav this game too it has 2 female characters that show side breasts. 1.ff3:cloud of darkness. 2.FF8:Ultimecia. Some of their cutscenes include a little bit of mild language. the violence is not graphic. its still a good game thou.

golder
teen, 17 years old
 
hitler is back from the dead
ht

An independent voice for families
Age-appropriate reviews
 

vote now

Will you play Dissidia: Final Fantasy?


Already played it? What do you think?

 

About our rating system
ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age