Fighting Fantasy

Well, Final Fantasy Dissidia no.2 is finally upon us – and once again, everyone is more than willing to bring the knives out and into the fighting roster. Great to see Yuna and Laguna present but I grumble at the lack of Cid Highwind, Freya Crescent and anyone from FF6. It would’ve been nice if SqueeEnix had stuck to the spirit of the game and had more selections based on the long-standing Job System (like having a Ninja character or a Red Mage character) but they blotched that the first time around with the over-abundance of paladin characters.
Ideally this could present a perfect opportunity to introduce some DLC characters: That way fans can have their favourite characters to download and really build a dream fighting roster. True a large roster may be unwieldy but, should enough effort be put in to character development, it can work - One only needs to look at the Soul Calibur series – or even Marvel vs Capcom - for proof.
But ultimately, I won’t hold my breath waiting for such an opportunity to be realised. Damn…

And then there’s the ever contentious issue of Aerith Gainsborough – only present as DLC and even then as an assist character as opposed to a fully-fledged one. I can imagine some fans are annoyed by this but me, I’m not sure what this is meant to represent.
You see, on one hand, at least SqueeEnix are sticking to their guns and not caving into a decade+ for fan demands to see a resurrection of the Flower Girl. It’s a rare thing to do in a profit-driven industry such as gaming. HOWEVER! On the other hand, if the Dissidia series is meant to be some kind of tribute to the fans (never a good sign), you think SqueeEnix would’ve given in and made Aerith a playable character? By not doing so, it seems a big FUCK YOU to the fanbase who buy their games (which is never a good business move). I mean, if SqueeEnix are willing the milk the FF7 cash cow for every last drop then they could’ve at least made Aerith a playable character. Still one can only how much money SqueeEnix would’ve made if they did (particularly as they seem to so love selling out).

Personally, the thinking of Dissidia is a good one: A tribute to the series in the form of a fighting game. Yes that idea has potential but in the end, anyone can have an idea: A good idea can be screwed around with just as easily as it can be made to work.
And if SqueeEnix's recent efforts to the Final Fantasy franchise are anything to go by, they show glimpses of promise squashed by timidness to do something radical. Time to pack it in perhaps?