The next Final Fantasy fighting game is unleashed in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT. Featuring a generational roster spread across multiple Final Fantasy entries including the recently released XV, NT has players brawl in a 3V3 tag team battle. However the difference here is while most trio tag fighters have players controlling one character on the stage at a time, in NT you can switch between which three characters you control, while AI controls the remaining two. Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is a 2018 fighting game, it is developed by Team Ninja and published by Square Enix. It is currently available exclusively on Playstation 4 in the West.

Of the more recent trio tag fighting games, NT provides a different spin with all three team members on stage.

From Final Fantasy I to Final Fantasy Type-0, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT boasts an impressive roster of over 20 characters from the Final Fantasy franchise. More characters are currently expected sometime within the future outside of the previously announced Noctis and co. with a planned final roster of 50 in-game and DLC characters.

The character select screen.

THE GOOD: With a current roster of 20+ characters in-game there’s at least one Final Fantasy character featured to make die hard fans happy. Dissidia also has the extremely rare case of being a fighting game with a competent story mode that has a ton of effort and care put into it, not mention it’s pretty lengthy compared to most story modes in fighting games. RPG elements and customization are both rather deep for a fighting game as well. I do also like that Dissidia Final Fantasy NT makes an effort to have players play & enjoy it’s content through unlocking story mode via in-game currency known as “Memoria”, which is unlocked through playing the other modes in the game.

Not the Final Fantasy you’re used to.

THE BAD: While I’m a fan of the story mode method I must admit that it can get incredibly grinding. Not to go into specifics as far as Memoria cost goes, but having to switch modes multiple times to further story, especially if you’re a gamer who appreciates a game’s story it can be a bit too much. Still though the new approach felt bold and fresh despite its faults. Some of the roster choices also felt a bit odd to say the least while some fan favorites are likely going to be DLC, others will be completely missing due to what seemed like random placement. Gameplay can also be a bit all over the place and in the way, if the screenshots above are any indication you’ll understand what I mean.

A solid, but somewhat flawed effort.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is a great blend of story, fan-service, and interesting mechanics. However, it doesn’t always feel like much of a love letter for core RPG Final Fantasy fans, and most likely only 100% die hards of the overall franchise will give a go at launch.  The flaws while not necessarily outweighing what’s good about the game, does make it hard to pitch to a fan of the main games.