ll of those U.S. Final Fantasy VII fans out there can finally get their hands on Dirge of Cerberus in just a few weeks. We sat down with Square Enix’s latest title and evaluated some of the tweaks made to the game since it came out in Japan. It’s been smoothed out for sure, but should people play it for more than just the story and beautiful CG cutscenes?
Dirge is almost solely focused on Vincent Valentine, the dark but pretty fan favorite from Final Fanasy VII. Three years after the events of FFVII, a group calling themselves Deepground starts attacking metro areas. When they arrive at his city, Vincent reluctantly agrees to help the WRO (World Regenesis Organization) defend the city. From there he pursues Deepground in search for answers, and we find out more about his past.
We played the Japanese version of Dirge back in January, and have since found that the game hasn’t really made too many drastic changes during localization. Of course, many of the functions have switched the buttons they’re tied to -- that pretty much happens every time a game comes across the sea. But perhaps the most useful update is Vincent’s constant speed throughout combat. He used to slow down considerably whenever he’d pull out a gun, but now that seems to be fixed.
Also, now that we can understand the menus, the gun customization aspect is a lot more useful. Players can choose between a handgun, rifle, and machine gun frame and then attach a long, medium, or short barrel to them. Additional scopes, material charms, and other modifications can be thrown in as well. Square Enix touts that you can customize various guns in three different quick-change slots (switch with the L2 button). But pretty much everyone will fill them up with a pistol, machine gun, and rifle anyway.
Materia help to shake things up a little. You can attach only one type to a gun at a time. Fire is almost like a rocket launcher, while blizzard shoots out icy homing missiles, and thunder launches a close range zap of electricity. MP is only available at the glowing circles of light scattered throughout the stages and from shops (which look like jukeboxes).
Limit breaks are also included in Dirge, but instead of building up your gauge from receiving damage, players simply have to find a limit break item lying around. Once activated, Vincent will (very slowly) transform into the Galian Beast. This refills his health completely and makes him stronger and more resistant to damage. Basically, you can save these for the boss battles and really lay waste to the chumps.
Like many Japanese action games, Dirge ranks your performance on every chapter. Extremely skillful play on any given stage will net you the coveted S rank and a ton of experience. The game looks at everything from kills to damage taken to how much magic you used and more. Plus, you must complete several objectives within the stages to get the best rank. This mostly involves protecting or escorting civilians and WRO soldiers, but sometimes you’ll have to kill a certain amount of snipers or find a specific keycard. The weird part about the experience system is that you don’t level up during gameplay. You have to wait until the stage is completely over to receive your hard earned experience. But if you’d rather have cash for your troubles, you can always trade experience in for Gil and buy that next pricey gun upgrade.
Dirge contains 12 total chapters and takes about as many hours to complete. Normal and hard difficulties are available from the outset, but “ex hard” and possibly another difficulty are unlockable over time. The game supports Dolby Pro Logic II, but not progressive scan or widescreen.
Just like a PC game, players can save anywhere and use a USB keyboard and mouse to play. However, the save file is only temporary. It clears out after you load it up, not unlike a common save tactic on many portable games.
One aspect that didn’t make it over from the Japanese version of Dirge is an online component. But it turns out that the mode was never that popular in the first place. Plus, a hard drive was required to go online (sorry, slimline owners), and players had to pay a monthly fee. In the end it’s probably a good thing that online was dropped.
Overall, Dirge of Cerberus is best example of a great rental game I’ve seen in a long time. Square Enix made the game extremely simple for people who are normally used to wading through menus in RPGs instead of strafing and sniping. It’s worth a quick play through for the story, high production values, and empty calorie fun. Outside of some unlockable extra missions, videos, and art, there really isn’t a whole lot of replay value involved. Would I pay $50 for this? Not a chance. But hardcore Final Fantasy VII nuts will love trying to go for the S rank on every stage, and will watch the Advent Children caliber CG over and over again. Everybody else with even a mild interest in Final Fantasy should definitely check Dirge out from their rental venue of choice, flip on the AC, and enjoy a quick burst of fun away from this ridiculous heat wave we’re having. Look for it August 15.