The highlight of this year's Jump Festa event came in Square Enix's packed booth as 1UP sampled Final Fantasy: Dissidia for the first time -- one of the few games they were able to try, as the company had to close off its lines an hour into the start of the show because of the immense crowds that turned up.

A fighting game based off the Final Fantasy franchise brings up memories of Ehrgeiz, the old arcade and PlayStation 1 fighter that featured several characters from Final Fantasy VII. But to our pleasant surprise, Dissidia is actually nothing like Ehrgeiz, and in fact, we get the feeling it might even be fun enough to stand on its own without the FF characters.

Unlike most traditional versus-style fighters, Dissidia is more akin to a one-on-one combat game. Characters are free to move around the large, varied battlefields, and can jump, evade, and so on. The game even has a lock-on button, as it's possible to lose sight of your foe. Players are encouraged to climb up walls and perform air dashes between fighting platforms through a simple movement system that requires a quick press of the triangle button once you've reached certain hot spots.

bugmenot via 1up.com »