View full sizeDissidia's fighting is tactically engaging. (Square Enix)Dissidia 012 (duodecim) Final Fantasy is surprisingly aptly named. It's confusing, nonsensical and staggeringly difficult unless you're a Final Fantasy fanatic. If you're a Final Fantasy fanatic, then it's the best thing since -- well, since the last Final Fantasy game.
Dissidia 012 brings together characters from across the long-running Final Fantasy RPG series to fight in the latest cycle of the perpetual war between the Chaos, the god of discord, and Cosmos, the goddess of harmony. It's a prequel to 2009's Dissidia Final Fantasy, which did the same thing but was a later cycle in the conflict, and -- never mind. It's not supposed to make much sense. You pick a character, you run around, you fight, you unlock more characters and special attacks. The game can be played single player, in Story Mode or Battle Mode, but it's built for multiplayer fights.
RPG/Fighting.
.
PlayStation Portable.
The combat at the heart of the game is tactically engaging. The standard attack command, "Fight," reduces your opponent's Bravery score and boosts your own Bravery score. When your Bravery is high and your opponent's is low, you can use the "Finisher" attack to inflict Hit Point damage, which is how you win. But each Finisher adds to your opponent's Bravery and reduces yours. In every fight you gradually wear away at your enemy's Hit Points while Bravery scores go up and down.
A broad array of extras flesh that basic system out. An "Assist" summons an ally for help. You can grab EX Cores for special attacks. (Why is it called an EX Core? No clue. It doesn't matter.) As you level up you gain new and better attacks.
Oh, and if you complete the game on Story Mode, it unlocks the entire Story Mode from the first Dissidia Final Fantasy game. This is definitely a game that rewards you for being good at it.
After a cursory tutorial, Dissidia 012 plunges you into frenetic action where a million things are always happening with no explanation. It has plenty of detailed help files, so it's possible to gradually get the hang of things. But if you're not coming into it with a deep background in Final Fantasy games, the gameplay is going to make just as little sense as the storyline.
Teen
If you're a Final Fantasy fanatic, you already love this game. The meaningless storyline and confusing gameplay are part of its charm. If you're not already a Final Fantasy fanatic, skip it unless you have an awful lot of time and patience to invest.
A-, but only if you're already a fan.
Copy editor Shane Ivey has played a few Final Fantasy games but he's no expert, kupo. Are you, kupo? If you're not, ending every sentence with "kupo" must drive you crazy, kupo. Right, kupo? sivey@bhamnews.com