So we've had a weekend to settle to Duodecim, to learn new ropes, get to grips with new characters, find out what has been tweaked and what has remained untouched. What are we all thinking?
So far, I am loving it.
Gameplay
Compared to the original Dissidia, Duodecim is much faster. As a fan of fast and furious battles, this completely appeals. Not only are actions faster, but the characters themselves have gained some extra speed too, and I say this at a level before having gained many speed boosts. This is good news.
Possible the biggest new addition to the gameplay is the Assist system, which allows the player to call in another AI character to attack and/or distract the enemy for a (very) limited amount of time. This was probably the feature I was most dubious about, but I completely take that back now. Assists, when well-timed, can be used very strategically to alter the flow of a whole battle, and changing up Assist pairings can make for some very interesting and unique combinations. Somehow the Assist system, Summons and EX Force manage to not get confused, and all together they remain very intuitive!
And of course, speaking of EX Force, the EX Cancel has been, well, cancelled! In its place now, if a player triggers their EX Mode during an enemy attack, rather than immediately going into an EX Burst the arena will turn black and white and time will slow for several seconds, giving the EX character a chance to retaliate or back away. This new system corrects a massive loopwhole from the former game, and as much as I was one of those awful EX Cancelling players I don't feel that anything has been unfairly taken away from us.
Story Mode
Without any of my normal Dissidia-playing warriors on hand this weekend I have been diligently working away at the new Story Mode, and although I am only 7 chapters in, the difference is remarkable. Reception of the body of the story itself will be totally subjective* of course, but the most significant difference is that particular chapters are - so far - devoted to particular characters. Before the game's release I had planned out whose story to play through first, but instead there appears to be one story that dictates who you play as and when. This might not sound fun, but it is actually a great way to make sure you're trying your hand with different characters and getting some level experience across the board.
As you play through the Story Mode you also unlock various Reports. Not only can you read these but they also contain extra videos and playable scenarios that flesh out the story from other characters' perspectives.
(*for the record I'm loving the story so far, so much more than in the first game!)
New Characters
I haven't yet unlocked the last three of the new characters, but through Story Mode I've tried my hand at the others, and have definitely been gathering opinions.
I'm struggling with Tifa, I really am. I lean towards a mid- close-range vicious fighting style and I also favour faster characters, so really Tifa should encompass everything I love, but I can't get to grips with how weak she is. She ironically enough just doesn't pack any punch, which is quite a disappointment.
As for Yuna, I never expected to like her in the first place. I do not like to use magic-users, I dislike slow characters, and I hate moves that fill the screen so much. In sharp contrast to Tifa, Yuna represents a tonne of things I hate about a character. And I really hope I don't have to play as her again. It doesn't help that I really liked her in FFX!
Vaan and Lightning I'm rather unsure about. I've been pretty successful with both characters, but I don't feel that any particular level of skill has been involved in these successes, just luck. And luck simply isn't going to cut it! I'm particularly fond of Lightning's Paradigm shifts, as these make for some pretty fast-paced and interesting fights.
(notice how the two characters I'm unsure of are the leads in two Final Fantasy's I've never completed!)
And here is the comedy. Kain and Laguna, the two characters I've been most excited about from the start, are currently my two best. What is unusual is that while - as stated above - my normal behaviour is vicious, both of these characters currently stand as tacticians! Also, neither of these characters are particularly fast.
Kain is quite similar to Dissidia Cloud, in that he is not especially fast but packs one hell of a punch when he hits. He also shares some similarity with Jecht with his fantastic and customisable combos. Kain is a character who makes it easy to switch between vicious and tactician, and the only downfall is that - as I was informed by my warrior-in-arms - he sounds distressingly like Master Miller in the Metal Gear series. Don't get me wrong, I am a Complete Girl for Master Miller ... but if they couldn't put Solid Snake in Duodecim I don't see how they should get the Master in instead!
As for Laguna, his character is absolutely perfect when compared to his original role in FFVIII (right down to the leg cramp!). He is a delight to watch in Story Mode and also very interesting to play as, especially when one customs him eough to hold his own in close combat too. So far, neither of my characters have let me down!
I'm only half-way through Story Mode, and I haven't explored the game much outside of that, but so far I am very very pleased indeed with the transformation between Dissidia and Duodecim! Expect to hear more in the none-too-distant!
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