Dissidia Duellum Ultimate Fantasy works higher on cell than I anticipated

Like many individuals, my intuition each time a cell entry in a beloved sequence is introduced is to recoil in distaste. That was actually what I did after I first noticed Dissidia Duellum Ultimate Fantasy. It’s the second cell offshoot of Ultimate Fantasy‘s Dissidia crossover subseries, following the surprisingly strong turn-based RPG Opera Omnia which was shuttered in 2024.

However getting one other Dissidia recreation that’s a far cry from the unique wonderful PSP fighters was admittedly disappointing, and that’s earlier than I even noticed the questionable modern-day clothes apparel for fan-favourite characters who had been, for some cause, in Tokyo of all locations. Having now performed a few of Duellum, I discover my early issues each unfounded and validated.

When it comes to the positives, I used to be happy to find there’s some inherent enjoyable to the core gameplay, which focuses on a 3v3 battle enviornment expertise. The place the trios-focused skirmishes of the decidedly disappointing Dissidia NT may really feel clunky, the smaller, mobile-friendly scale of Duellum‘s arenas is a marked enchancment. What’s extra, the main target is now on PvPvE, as you need to deal with human opponents whereas making an attempt to tackle a CPU-controlled large boss, like a Behemoth.

To try this, you’ll should combat smaller grunts to smash Crystals, and clearing these areas will reward you with Bravery Factors (BP), the Dissidia sequence’ signature mechanic. After you have sufficient BP, you possibly can head to the boss and enter a Bravery Burst mode which, for a restricted time, helps you to use extra highly effective talents to break the boss. The crew that defeats the boss first wins.

It’s a easy premise that makes for some frenetic and fast-paced mobile-friendly battles. For one, it encourages teamwork, as you typically received’t get very far should you simply run off as an alternative of creating coordinated efforts to acquire BP. As a pleasant contact, you too can deplete the HP of opposing gamers to briefly incapacitate them and decrease their BP. Naturally, this will create a fascinating rhythm of teammates alternating between dashing the Crystals or boss and warding off different gamers. All of the whereas, the boss can launch MMO-esque AoE assaults that may wreak havoc on all gamers.

The controls are additionally satisfyingly easy for a cell recreation, with you steering your character and the digital camera whereas tapping the display screen to extend the velocity of computerized customary assaults when you’re close to and enemy. Your particular talents, in the meantime, are executed by flicking up on their icons.

There’s additionally a little bit of depth within the talents system itself, as you possibly can unlock and improve extra of them through the use of assets you’ll accrue whereas taking part in. (Naturally, that is the place the microtransactions are available.) Enhancing spells like Fireplace and Thunder, in addition to distinctive talents like Cloud’s Omnislash, Lightning’s Blaze Rush and Zidane’s Swift Strike. These character-specific talents, in addition to the general really feel of every character, make it worthwhile to experiment with them. (I’ll all the time be keen on my boi Cloud, however I particularly favored the ranged playstyle of XV‘s Prompto.)

With all of that stated, I do have some main gripes to date. Admittedly, solely ten characters at launch is fairly restricted, though I do respect getting a bit extra artistic with a few of every recreation’s representatives, like Rinoa for VIII or Gaia from XIV. Sq. Enix has promised six new fighters inside the first two months of launch (together with X‘s Rikku, XII‘s Balthier and XVI‘s Clive), plus extra past that, so the standard and consistency of these new additions stays to be seen. It also needs to be famous that they’re just about all voiced by their authentic Japanese actors — a pleasant contact, however one I’ve no connection to since I’ve solely ever performed the sport in English.

Duellum additionally has some irritating design decisions. For one, I actually don’t look after the isekai premise that has these icons showing in Tokyo trying like Scorching Matter rejects. I’m all for alternate outfits, particularly for characters like Cloud who’ve been round for almost 30 years, however he doesn’t even really feel like the identical particular person sporting a dishevelled t-shirt, loose-fitting tie and ripped denims. And since this can be a cell title, you’ll should preserve spending foreign money on loot bins within the hope that you simply’ll unlock extra outfits for characters, like their authentic apparel.

As regards to cell design, the story — which sees the characters working collectively to regain their powers and discover a manner residence — is intentionally fragmented. Basically, you’ll should preserve collaborating in common battles to earn Season Factors that may be spent on each fundamental and facet story content material. In fact, I wasn’t anticipating a top quality narrative on the extent of a mainline FF recreation, however I a minimum of was trying ahead to seeing the little interactions between the characters. Sadly, although, forcing me to grind simply to see yet one more fundamental cutscene or non-obligatory interactions does the other of encourage me to maintain taking part in.

General, although, the core of Duellum is fairly entertaining, and I can actually see myself choosing it up right here and there for the occasional match, particularly when new characters are launched. I’m undoubtedly curious to see how Sq. Enix builds upon it within the coming months.

Dissidia Duellum Ultimate Fantasy could be downloaded at no cost on Android and iOS.

Picture credit score: Sq. Enix