DISSIDIA DUELLUM FINAL FANTASY Preview – Not really a Dissidia or Duellum game

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When I think of “Dissidia,” I immediately remember soaring around arenas as Cecil Harvey and powerfully colliding with characters like Gardland and Cloud, sending them crashing into the distance. The first two Dissidia games were favorites on my PSP, and I’ve been hoping for a new installment that recreates those epic battles. After playing in a recent closed beta for next year’s free-to-play DISSIDIA DUELLUM FINAL FANTASY, I don’t think my wait is over just yet.

DISSIDIA DUEL FINAL FANTASY is a new mobile game for iOS and Android where two teams of three players compete to defeat monsters and hinder their opponents. The goal is to level up quickly and be the first team to defeat the stage boss. It’s different from the Dissidia games I remember. When I started playing, I was impressed by the graphics. I chose Cloud as my initial character and learned the story behind why Final Fantasy heroes are battling in modern Tokyo, then I went through the standard mobile game tutorial.

Let’s talk about how the game looks before we get into how it plays. I really like the art style – the characters have realistic bodies but with a slight anime influence, and everything has a soft, watercolor-like quality. I wasn’t as impressed with the decision to set the game in modern times and dress these classic characters in contemporary clothes; it felt a bit strange, like that time Lightning from Final Fantasy did a collaboration with Louis Vuitton, or the reveal of Kingdom Hearts IV. However, players who prefer the traditional look will be happy to know that everyone can still wear their classic fantasy outfits.

The gameplay is quite different from previous titles, shifting the focus to boss battles instead of player-versus-player combat. While the Bravery resource returns, some familiar features like Bravery Attacks are gone. To deal damage to the boss, you need to collect 9,999 Bravery, which then unlocks a powerful Burst attack that makes the boss vulnerable. You earn Bravery by defeating smaller enemies near crystals – essentially purifying them – and by attacking the other team. The game’s interface is well-designed and, as Square Enix claims, it appears to be easily playable with just one hand.

The game has changed to a boss-battling format, and characters now have specific roles: Ranged, Melee, Support, and Agile. Terra (from Final Fantasy VI), Cloud (FF7), the Hero of Light (FF1), and Lightning (FF13) each fill one of these roles. This, combined with the map design, gave me a surprising impression that Duodellum played a bit like a simplified MOBA. I think a Final Fantasy MOBA could actually be really good, and I definitely felt elements of that genre throughout the game, similar to how Ultros’ tentacles reach out. Fighting bosses like Behemoth and Iron Giant felt reminiscent of taking down Atakhan in League of Legends.

I haven’t spent much time with DISSIDIA DUELLUM FINAL FANTASY, but it feels like getting exactly what you asked for, but not what you wanted. It’s definitely a Dissidia game – you can play as iconic Final Fantasy characters and battle it out – but it feels so different from previous titles that I’m not sure if the ‘Dissidia’ name is just there to attract fans.

I’ve played a good amount of DISSIDIA DUELUM FINAL FANTASY and I’m interested in seeing how the full game turns out next year. However, I think the game would be better off without the “DISSIDIA” name. Even “Duellum” feels a little off, since it usually means a one-on-one duel, and this game is a 3v3 team battle. As someone who prefers playing on PC, I’m hoping they announce a PC version too. But for fans who are hoping for a return to the classic Dissidia fighting game style, it looks like we’ll have to keep waiting.













Dissidia Duellum Final Fantasy launches on iOS and Android next year.

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2025-12-11 16:56