Dissidia 012[duodecim] Final Fantasy, the weirdly titled sequel to PSP fighting game Dissidia: Final Fantasy, has a date with U.S. retailers, with Square Enix announcing a launch date of March 22nd. Per usual with Square Enix PSP releases, it doesn’t appear that the game will be available on PSN, at least not at launch. But it will only cost $29.99 at retail, which is cheaper than the $40 Square Enix typically charges for its new PSP games.
As for the game, it should be an upgrade over the original in every way — the original game which both Mike and I agreed was fun in spurts but flawed and largely forgettable. Lightning, Kain, Tifa, Laguna, Yuna, Vaan, Gilgamesh and Prishe are joining the original cast of Final Fantasy heroes and villains in an engaging new storyline chronicling the ongoing battle between Cosmos and Chaos. A number of improvements have also been made to hopefully bring greater depth and strategy to the action-RPG meets fighting game hybrid gameplay, including a command mode for traditional menu-based Final Fantasy battles, a full JRPG-style world map to explore in place of the original’s chess board setup, and an Assist feature that lets you choose a back-up fighter to call in if needed during a tough bout. Beyond that, duodecim will simply offer more of everything: more alternate costumes, more customization options, more multiplayer modes and communication functions, more game modes, more story missions, more items to collect, more…well, I think you get the picture.
Of course, this is a Square Enix game, and a Final Fantasy at that. So you can also expect gorgeous graphics and spectacular production values. Here are some screenshots to prove it.
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Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
