For a game first described as Final Fantasy Fighter, Square-Enix sure hasn't lost their passion for cut scenes. Dissidia: Final Fantasy features the most cut scenes for any of their PSP games so far, all of which pit the very best selection of heroes and villains from the long term franchise against each other; the whole point of the game. With this in mind, is Dissidia designed purely for the fans, or can newcomers also enjoy the incredibly deep combat and customization that the game holds?

You would expect that the narrative found in Dissidia would require extensive background knowledge of the other Final Fantasy games to fully understand, but surprisingly, the plot is pretty self explanatory. The 10 piece hero team is split into smaller groups that travel together in their mission to save what's left of the world, with these teams interacting in cut scenes following most encounters. Obviously seeing FFVII's Cloud conversing with Tidus from FFX will mean very little to non fans, but through some well paced dialogue and effective characterisation, the relationships come across just fine even as a newcomer. I went into Dissidia expecting a lacklustre narrative, due to the battle royale style the game seemed to have, but the result is much more interesting, exploring emotional issues and creating cross game relationships that don't feel offensive to the memories of these characters. As a tribute of sorts to the style of Final Fantasy, Dissidia's narrative was a real surprise. It's not Final Fantasy XII quality, but is well executed and never becomes frustrating.

Going into Dissidia: Final Fantasy I was expecting a game inspired by arena based beat 'em ups like Dragon Ball Z, but the final game takes much more inspiration from Square-Enix's own Kingdom Hearts. In fact, many would be mistaken for thinking this was a Kingdom Hearts game, due to the amount of androgynous gendered characters on screen at any one time. Retaining what made the battle system in Kingdom Hearts so interesting, you have a variety of moves available to you as any character. You have two methods of attacking your foe, Bravery and HP moves. Bravery is a defensive stat seen as a number above each player's health bar, and the greater the gap between you and your opponent's values, the more damage you pull off. Knock their Bravery down to zero however, and they enter Break mode, where attacks cause huge amounts of damage. This adds a distinctly tactical edge to battles, as you must decide whether to whittle you opponents HP down bit by bit, or focus on Bravery attacks to secure a quick victory. In doing this, the battles in Dissidia-one on one battles throughout-can be over in mere seconds, or can become a trial of pushing and pulling until someone literally breaks. Much deeper than expected, it's an easy system for beginners. On the flipside, mastering the battle system is a tough job, requiring hours of levelling up and grinding. Yes, grinding levels in a 'Fighting' game.

At this point it would be best to stop referring to Dissidia: Final Fantasy as a Fighter. There is no other game on PSP so filled with stats and numbers as Dissidia is, making it an RPG through and through. It's a lengthy RPG too, with 10 stories to follow, each of which taking over 3 hours to complete. Add in the equally sized villain side of this campaign, and the near endless amount of battles you can partake in through arcade, quick and Wi-Fi battle modes and you have a huge game. The amount of content in Dissidia: Final Fantasy is simply outstanding. It can feel quite daunting at first, and even though you technically only need to complete the first half of story mode with one character, using all 20 heroes and villains is where the game really makes sense. Having the interest in the franchise already made it incredibly enjoyable to level each character up to a point where I could choose from any of those available and feel comfortable, but I can see how non fans would lack this drive to fully explore all that Dissidia has to offer.

The characters themselves include those from all the Final Fantasy titles up to and including X. This means that obvious choices like Cloud and Sephiroth make their appearance, but older characters, like FFII's Firion and FFV's Bartz. Each character utilises unique weapons, abilities and levelling efficiencies too, which creates a whole set of customizable options for you to play with. The complexity of this customization is one of the game's flaws however, with uneven design choices marring what would otherwise be a top class system. There are just too many complicated menus to navigate, and badly explained sections of the game to deal with. Features of the game such as the PP Catalog, where you purchase new characters and helpful items are sufficiently explained, while others, like the vaguely introduced BattleGen are little more than screens full of numbers and percentages. The tutorials in the game are full of personality, told from the perspective of the Final Fantasy characters that didn't make the cut, but in doing this they become impossible to understand. It's a shame that just a few of the features here are overly complicated, as with a small amount more focus, Dissidia could have been fantastic throughout.

In what is now customary for Square-Enix handheld titles, the presentation of Dissidia is second to none. If it was being played on a HD TV, some would be none the wiser, the graphics look that great. The game is aesthetically pleasing, bringing back memories of the first two Kingdom Hearts games with its clean character design. The game has the slick feel that Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII did too, with menus and transitions seamlessly blending. The audio is just as effective too, with a large repertoire of past FF tunes played through each of the character's stories. Hearing a revitalised version of the Final Fantasy V score was a special moment, and the PSP handles the sweeping score effortlessly. Technically though, the game does have to work hard, as the loading times are often excessively long. Waiting up to 20 seconds before each battle is annoying, but luckily you can install a small amount of data to the hard drive to reduce such issues. Aesthetically pleasing throughout, Dissidia just exudes Final Fantasy class.

As a fan of the series, Dissidia: Final Fantasy is my perfect slice of gaming for PSP. Utilising all the things done well in the previous games, while being inventive in all areas too, it should be a must buy for every PSP owner. This won't be the case though as not everyone is familiar with characters like Kefka and Ultemecia, making Dissidia a game for fans through and through. Those who enjoy RPGs should give it a try though, as with slick combat and some stellar production values, it would be a great game even without the fan service. That said, a Final Fantasy fan only needs to see a video of Garland against Squall to froth at the mouth. If that's you, then buy Dissidia right now.

Reviewed by Sam Atkins for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).