Square Enix has made an incredibly surprising announcement that has the Final Fantasy community very excited. The new Dissidia Final Fantasy game is coming to mobile devices, and a title reveal is scheduled for Tuesday, October 14th at 10:00 UTC. The announcement might be perceived as a very enthralling one by the fans of the iconic fighting game series, but the players’ reactions have been… complicated, to say the least.
The news was broken by the official Dissidia Final Fantasy Twitter account, which also shared a link to a website where a teaser was posted. However, as soon as the word ‘mobile’ was seen in the announcement, it seemed like the whole disappointment that came with the news had spilled over. No kidding, if you take a look at some of these replies, they are just so relatable.
What is it, then, that the majority of players disapproves of so strongly? Here is the situation. Dissidia created its first footprint in 2008 with the release for PSP, followed by Dissidia 012 in 2011, both being very well received for their revolutionary combat system which blended fighting game techniques and RPG elements. After this, the franchise shifted to consoles in 2018 with Dissidia Final Fantasy NT; this game, however, faced its own struggles as the competitive 3v3 nature of this game was gamer segregating. With the making of a mobile-only title, the “old” players’ generation feels that Square Enix is brushing over the iconic qualities of the original games.
There was a user, TinaClarkwinkel, who described the muddled feelings of the majority in the best way when she said, “Mobile slop aside, SCREEEEE RINOA MY QUEEN” and attached a GIF of a person having fun. This is the gamers’ usual situation—on the one hand, we are thrilled about the new Dissidia stuff but on the other hand, we are devastated as it is only for mobile. At least can we not have a proper console sequel?
The suspicion is pretty strong and rightly so. The past of Square Enix with Final Fantasy mobile games is not a very encouraging one. DeadWafflez mentioned the obvious problem in the comment: “I would be overjoyed but every other FF mobile game has been cancelled. RIP Record Keeper.” And indeed they are; over the years, multiple Final Fantasy mobile games have been launched and later closed down, cutting off the players—those who spent their time and money on this game—full support.
DoomedReaper was echoing these concerns; “This is gonna be Gacha isn’t it? It’s gonna shut down after barely a year. Isn’t it?” That gacha paranoia is people. The mobile gaming market is full of user-unfriendly games with greed-driven monetization and having gone through the closure of Opera Omnia, gamers have quite reasonably turned suspicious of any upcoming Square Enix mobile game that could last little time.
However, the players’ discontent was not only a matter of platform choice. Drazon333 just stated, “Can we just get a proper sequel to duodecim. No mobile or multiplayer pls.” This was a very common feeling because many players were willing to get back the single-play experience which made the PSP games unforgettable. Just think of all times you chose an FF character and grinded through an RPG-style campaign? Amazing times!
There were, however, situations where people just cracked up laughing about it. @Lygerkiryu_Rex compared the horrible Blizzard incident to his question, “SE: you guys don’t have phones?” which, to be honest, is a very connecting situation. On the other hand, @acidcross1 came up with “Mobile? Really?💀💀💀💀💀💀” and all those skulls’ powerful imagery indeed was the very best way to illustrate the community’s hopelessness.
Despite this, there were a few persons who tried to find the silver lining. davidbecerra303 wrote “I’ll take whatever I can get man,” he was speaking for that tiny but optimistic part of the community that is just thankful for the series to carry on in any form. neko_sier was, on the other hand, expressing his hope in Spanish that the service will last long and not be cut short like other Square Enix mobile games in certain places.
However, the majority view was? Disappointment. Unadulterated, universal disappointment. The response of @AyumiUT, “Mobile?? We’re finally getting a new DISSIDIA and it’s fucking MOBILE??” vividly illustrates the sense of betrayal from which many long-time fans suffer. It is like when you wait a long time for your favorite band to drop a new single and then you find out that it will be a TikTok exclusive or something.
The business side of the argument is quite straightforward—mobile game sales are extraordinarily high compared to those of consoles in Japan, and they are also less expensive to produce. Nevertheless, it still feels like Square Enix is turning a blind eye to the majority of gamers-the ones who made the original Dissidia popular. @CatFoxTales just rephrased it when he asked, “How hard is it for SQEX to just do mobile AND console/PC?” I mean, why there is always a need to choose one over another?
In light of Square Enix’s recent mobile history, it is very clear that the game’s server life span concerns are justified. The story of Final Fantasy Record Keeper lasted long but eventually it got to the point of shutting down its doors which Opera Omnia was just pronounced dead, and so on. Mobile titles keep in and out one after the other in this aspect. It would be so irritating to invest your time and money in a game and then watch it die on you just after a year or two.
The teaser website is still pretty much unclear to provide precise insight, rather it is only building up the impatience over the title unveiling on October 14th. Nonetheless, the community’s response has already given the Square Enix crew a specific indication of the players’ wish—and it is certainly not for a new mobile-exclusive gacha game. Whether the developers will respond to the players’ wish is still uncertain; but for now the Dissidia fandom is left to think what could have been if the announcement saying a proper console sequel were made instead.
So in the end it is another instance of a classic gaming franchise going mobile and the dedicated audience taking the hit. This pattern is getting tiring and the players are no longer prepared to put up with their favorite titles being turned into cash cows with no regard for the gaming experience. While the skeptics wait for the opposite at the game reveal on October 14th, the current response implies that Square Enix has a long way to go before regaining the trust of the Dissidia community.
