Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is Square Enix’s ultimate fan service game, as well as an attempt to dabble in the competitive side of fighting games with their own twist. Originally released in arcades in 2015, the game sold well and was even showcased at EVO 2017.
However, reviews were mixed when the game finally dropped for PS4 in 2018, with a lot of criticism going towards the incredibly shaky online play, the lack of story, and the fact that offline multiplayer didn’t exist; meaning any and all in-person tournaments would require a PS4 console for each player.
Square Enix has made some moves to try and improve the game’s sales and overall quality, with additional content and updates, but it still wouldn’t catch on like it probably should’ve. So in March 2019, Square Enix made a power move by releasing a free-to-play version of the game on PS4 and Windows. A free-to-play version could get people to test the game out…but is it worth it?
Is Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Free Edition Worth Trying?
The short answer is: NOPE.
The free edition lacks the full story mode, as well as only leaving four characters available for play, which rotate every week, meaning that you could be waiting a bit for one of your favorite characters to come around, only for them to be gone almost instantly. You can purchase a starter pack to play any character right away, but that’s already starting to defeat the purpose of a free-to-play version.
There is crossplay with players who own the full game (although Windows and PS4 players cannot crossplay) but the PS4 version requires a PS Plus membership to access the servers. Any saved data will transfer over should you choose to buy the full game.
Unfortunately, none of the glaring issues of the game have been fixed; the online is still atrociously laggy, the free edition features even less story than the already shoddy one in the full game, and the restrictions on character usage severely limit the would-be benefits of a free-to-play version.
All in all, if Dissidia NT was on your list of games to try, you’re better off just biting the bullet and buying the regular or deluxe version rather than the free edition. You’ll get access to everything the game has to offer, which even then, isn’t much.