The last game I was able to briefly get some hands-on time with in E3 was from a franchise that I have very little experience with. The original Dissidia was something I had played off and on in a very light manner, but never really understood the mechanics much. It was pretty neat being able to play as a character from one of the Final Fantasy games in a 3D fighting game world, with some over-the-top magical explosions and such.

Coming into this playable demo, I was watching gameplay footage from a TV nearby the stations, showing off the controls, the frantic battle system and the gorgeous summons. It’s a shame that the map I played in was a mostly bland experience compared to the videos playing.

Nonetheless, the frantic nature of turning Dissidia into a 3v3  made for quite a thrilling play session. There’s a lot going on, though I never really felt that lost in the midst of the rush of two Cloud’s dashing towards me with my teammates battling it out in close quarters. Controlling my character (I used Tifa) was tight and responsive throughout everything happening.

The only real issue was the brevity of the match; I waited 45 minutes on line for a 90 second match, at best, so the impressions I got were limited. If anything, I want to boot my PSP up and give Dissidia another go in preparation for what’s to come. Regardless, Dissidia NT felt solid enough in a 3v3 setting and looks promising in terms of strategic possibilities in battle. We are still a while away from Dissidia NT being released stateside, as only a 2018 date was given.