Squeenix (Square-Enix) have brought to the PSP one of the most fan service filled games of the decade, (and I'm not talking about gratuitous shots of the female anatomy either). If you need a Final Fantasy fix before FF XIII is released in March next year, Dissidia is the game to go for. While it may not have all of the traditional game play to be found in an FF title, it has enough and a gloriously physics defying battle system mixed with an extremely nostalgic story and character roster.

Dissidia features all of the main protagonists and antagonists from FF I to FF X. All of the characters have varying strengths and weaknesses; no two characters can be played in the same way.

Despite initial appearances as just some fighting game, Dissidia has far more action RPG elements than you would think. Going into Quick Battle Mode, obviously does not bring out the RPG nature of the game, but going through Story Mode does, and it is in Story Mode that you learn just why all these different characters have been brought together.

The game in action.

In Dissidia, the goddess Cosmos is at war with the god Chaos. Cosmos represents all of harmony in existence and Chaos is disharmony. The story draws on the main binary opposites to be found in this pairing, to explain why the world can and cannot be saved, why good fights for light and evil for darkness.

An aspect of Dissidia that is useful is that battles done outside of Story Mode, in Quick Battle or fighting against another player, add experience, items, player points and GIL to the character and profile used. So if you are finding part of the main story difficult due to your character not being of a high enough level, you can always go into Quick Battle Mode and level up to your heart's content. With the wide-ranging possibilities in each character's fighting style and attacks, sometimes it pays to practice outside of Story Mode.