The latest entry in Square Enix’s fighting game spinoff series, Dissidia Final Fantasy, has been revealed. Well. Sort of. Some teaser images are out, and we’ll get our first full-fledged look at it on October 14, but as a leading scholar in the “Final Fantasy fandom who also happens to be a video games journalist” niche, I just had to write about it ahead of time.
Are you surprised that it appears to be slated exclusively for mobile platforms? Are you amazed that Square would have the courage, the conviction, the gumption, to exclude consoles and PCs in favor of an iOS/Android strategy?
Could it be that the company behind such service-ended marvels as Pictlogica: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade, Mobius Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, and literally a different Dissidia game, knows something about the brilliance of a mobile-only initiative that few of us fools are privy to?
What A Lovely-Looking Restaurant, I Suppose
One thing that immediately stands out about what Square’s coyly calling ‘NEW DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY’ right now is that the backgrounds – which have been found on the game’s Japanese teaser site – are all remarkably modern. There’s nothing here, in any of these, that screams Final Fantasy to me in any way. And, yeah, I know, Final Fantasy’s identity is purposefully malleable. What “looks like Final Fantasy” to one fan might be totally off-base to another.
But look at these. A strikingly modern city without a hint of magic about the place. A pleasant little café with no excitable Queen’s Blood enthusiasts among the clientele. A cute little park with nary a chocobo in sight. Something’s going on here. Something that is, in all likelihood, designed to make us scratch our collective fandom head until October 14’s debut trailer provides some much-needed context.
And what’s up with these character silhouettes? Wait, never mind. These actually feel like Final Fantasy folks, right? That’s Rinoa with her vintage finger-up stance, surely. The rest are more enigmatic, but reasonable guesses can be made. Is that Cloud’s spiky hair? Is that Irvine’s cowboy hat? Is Clive popping up for another fighting game, this time one which is more distinctly suited to his origins?
There’s a YouTube link where you can join hundreds of fellow FF aficionados in awaiting the reveal, which, as of this writing, is 43 hours away. Let’s all keep an open mind, I suppose. Opera Omnia was surprisingly good, although I reckon this won’t be another turn-based affair like that one, as Square’s calling this a “Team Boss Battle Arena”. Why they couldn’t just make a new console entry that’s less like Dissidia NT, and more like the beloved Dissidia 012 Duodecim Final Fantasy, I cannot say. But c’est la Vivi.
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