TGS: Dissidia 2 At Last The Final Fantasy mash-up returns, now with 100 percent more Lightning.

Anyone that listens to IGN's Podcast Beyond knows by now that I'm the biggest Dissidia fan in the office. This doesn't mean I'm an expert at the game or I've reached the lofty status of "tournament level," but I've spent more than 100 hours with the first fighting game/RPG, and I still dig it. So you can imagine my excitement when we heard that Dissidia 2 (officially Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy... or Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy...) was going to be at this year's Tokyo Game Show. I was even more excited to get my hands on it, especially because the two new playable characters, Lightning and Kain, were available.

She doesn't look happy...

Unfortunately, the playing conditions for me were not ideal, as is usually the case here at TGS. The demo was in Japanese, I had a time limit of 15 minutes and there was no way for me to fully understand how the new characters work. But there were a few obvious features present that rekindled my love of the Dissidia experience; the first of which was a bit of a surprise: character assists. 

Now it's difficult for me to confirm specifics on this gameplay feature, but during one of my battles as I took control of Final Fantasy XIII heroine Lightning, my AI opponent called in a different character to catch me off guard. Just like the countless tag team abilities in such titles as Marvel vs. Capcom and Dead or Alive, it looks like players will be able to call in support during a match, which of course immediately adds a layer of complexity not seen in the original. 

I also noticed that the hang time experienced by a player immediately after a successful "chase" (when you fly after an opponent that has been knocked into the air) has been greatly reduced. This speeds up the pacing of the combat, especially for frequent chasers, though this could have been due to an extraneous circumstance like a special item or rule set in play -- there's no way to tell at this point in time. 

But playing as Lightning was a lot of fun. I've always thought that the Dissidia roster was seriously lacking female fighters, so having Lightning on board is excellent. Just like before, characters have access to Bravery attacks, which build up attack strength, and HP attacks, which act on that accumulated attack strength and damage your opponent. Lightning's attacks were mid to close range affairs, as she quickly charges her opponents, weapon in hand, and pounds on them with stylish combos. Lightning also has access to some recognizable magic from Final Fantasy XIII, which launches an enemy into the air. She can string this move together three times in a row at first, making it an especially promising technique. 

Lightning's HP attacks are nods to her summon abilities from Final Fantasy XIII, as she wields the massive blades of Odin and covers the screen in flower petals. Cool stuff, and powerful too. 

Duck and cover!

I didn't have as much time to play with Kain (or Cain, as it was spelled in the game), but he also felt like a melee character with a handy wind spell for launching opponents. I can only imagine that the dragoon's iconic Jump ability will somehow make an appearance, but I didn't have a chance to see it for myself. 

One of the most exciting things about the inclusion of new characters in Dissidia 2 is the obvious logic that follows: there will undoubtedly be more fighters announced down the line. Will we finally see Tifa enter the ring, or perhaps Ashe from XII? We're also missing a bevy of remarkable characters from Final Fantasy VI, so we'll have to keep our fingers crossed for more information in the months to come. 

As soon as we have more on Dissidia 2, you'll be the first to know. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to attempt to rip the demo PSP out of the kiosk and make a break for it.