Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy

Gameplay is largely reminiscent of Dissidia Final Fantasy along with a few changes. The game consists primarily of one-on-one battles, taking place on what is known as a battle map where the two characters duel. Players are able to perform two types of attacks: a Bravery attack and an HP attack. Both characters start with a set number of Bravery points, the number of Bravery points being equivalent to the amount of damage dealt by an HP attack. Thus, the player must perform several Bravery attacks to steal Bravery points from the opponent so as to increase the power of their HP attack, as Bravery attacks do not cause any damage.

The mechanics of the battle system include "EX Revenge" and "Assist". EX Mode functions exactly the same as the first game by collecting EX Cores around the battle map to fill up the EX gauge and transform the character into a more powerful state, which allows players to perform a powerful EX Burst attack should an HP attack land during EX Mode. The Assist system is a new element to the game which allows the player to summon an additional ally into battle to either assist in attacking the enemy or defend from an oncoming attack. It is performed using the Assist Gauge, which is built up by using Bravery Attacks. Both modes are supposed to balance each other, because when an EX Burst is executed, the opponent's Assist Gauge is reduced to zero.

The game's main story revolves around the twelfth cycle of the eternal conflict between the gods Cosmos and Chaos, who have both summoned several warriors from different worlds to fight for them in "World B", a mirror dimension to the realm of World A. It features the entire cast of the original Dissidia with new and tweaked abilities, and introduces nine new playable characters for a total of thirty-one. Six of the new characters are available from the start of the game: Lightning, a former soldier and the protagonist of Final Fantasy XIII; Vaan, a sky pirate and the protagonist of XII; Laguna Loire, the man who appears in Squall's dreams and the secondary protagonist of VIII; Yuna, Tidus's love interest and female protagonist of X; Kain Highwind, Cecil Harvey's childhood friend and rival from IV; and Tifa Lockhart, Cloud Strife's childhood friend from VII. The remaining three characters, which can be unlocked through various means of gameplay, are Prishe, a supporting character from Final Fantasy XI; Gilgamesh, a recurring villain from Final Fantasy V; and Feral Chaos, an alternate form of Chaos.

e. not fully playable in the game) through the purchase of Dissidia 012 Prologus Final Fantasy on the PlayStation Network.

Ideas for a sequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy were already conceived shortly after its release in Japan with creative producer Tetsuya Nomura wishing to feature Kain Highwind on it. Development of the game started in August 2009 shortly before the release of Dissidia Final Fantasy Universal Tuning, the international version from the predecessor. Director Mitsunori Takahashi said that the team wanted the sequel to have more changes than just new characters. This resulted in changes to gameplay features and the inclusion of new ones.

The Assist feature was made to add more entertainment to the fights, as well as to act as a counterbalance to the EX Mode that was the strongest area from the first game. This was done in response to feedback commenting that the EX Mode was too powerful in the original game. The world map was created in order to appeal more the RPG fans. Returning characters had their movesets modified to provide the player with new strategies when fighting.

Upon its first week of release Dissidia 012 sold 286,117 units in Japan, topping the Media Create's charts by replacing Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity. Although it managed first place, Dissidia 012 performed far below its predecessor. The original sold close to 500,000 units in its first week on December 18, 2008. It has sold 465,198 units in Japan as of January 2012.

It has received positive reception. Dissidia 012 was scored a 38/40 by Famitsu, composed of a 10, 9, 10, 9 score by the four reviewers, two points higher than the original. 2, calling it an "improvement on the original, with some great Final Fantasy fan service thrown in". 0 (one point higher than the original), praising the game's graphics and improved gameplay, but criticizing its story.