Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
Developer(s)	Square Enix
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Designer(s)	Yoshinori Kitase (game producer) Takayoshi Nakazato (game director) Hiroki Chiba (scenario writer) Tetsuya Nomura (character designer) Yukio Nakatani (art director) Yusuke Naora (art supervisor) Yoshiki Kashitani (main programmer) Masashi Hamauzu (composer)
Series	Final Fantasy series Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Released	JPN January 26, 2006 NA August 15 2006 PAL November 17 2006 [1]
Genre	TPS
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer (Japanese Version only)
Ratings	PEGI: 16+ CERO: B (12+) ESRB: Teen OFLC: M BBFC: 15
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Media	DVD-ROM
Input methods	DualShock 2 USB Mouse & Keyboard

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII^[2] (ダージュ オブ ケルベロス -ファイナルファンタジーVII-, Dāju obu Keruberosu -Fainaru Fantajī Sebun-^?) is a third person shooter developed and published by Square Enix, which is a sequel to the popular 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII, developed by Squaresoft (now Square Enix). The game was released in Japan on January 26, 2006, on August 15, 2006 in North America and on November 17 2006 in Europe and in Australasia. It is part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series, a collection of video games and animated videos set within the Final Fantasy VII universe.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Battle system 1.2 Miscellaneous 2 Plot 2.1 Characters 2.2 Story 3 Development 4 Audio 5 Reception 6 Mobile phone tie-in 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

Gameplay

The game is a third-person shooter, with a first-person viewpoint that is also selectable. A cross hair is utilized as an aid to shoot enemies.

Battle system

Battle can be initiated at any time during exploration. Vincent has an HP Bar, as well as mako points (MP), akin to that of magic points. Leveling up is possible, though the opportunity to do so is given either at the end of the chapter or dying mid-chapter. The result of either event yields points, the value of which are decided based on Vincent's performance and whether certain conditions are met. The points can then be converted into experience or into gil. Vincent's main weapons are a set of three guns: a handgun, a machine gun and a rifle. All are upgradable during many points in the game. Ammo is obtained either through shops or in the field. The weapons can also be customized, using a variety of accessories that increase power or reduce weight. Materia is used to provide magic shots that consume MP. The option using Limit Breaks is also available. Vincent's first limit break, the Galian Beast is available by using up MP (Japanese version) or a single-use item called "Limit Breaker" (US and PAL versions). Another limit breaker is Chaos, though it is not available up until the game's final chapter; it is automatically given to the player at that point.

Miscellaneous

Being modeled after many first-person and third-person shooters, the game takes a few liberties and implements minor features that are featured in many games that are similar in genre. A blinking disc icon appears whenever the game loads data from the disc, something akin to many console shooter games. The game can also be controlled using either the DualShock 2 controller or a USB mouse and keyboard. Bonus material is available in the game, and the method of unlocking bonus material consists of shooting Memory Capsules, which are well hidden and found during the course of the game. Memory Capsules found during the story mode unlock the game's cutscenes, while a variety of Memory Capsules found in the Extra Missions mode unlock various other features, such as a music player, an artwork viewer, a character model viewer and additional extra missions.

Plot

Characters

Main article: List of Dirge of Cerberus Characters

Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerebrus's main character is Vincent Valentine. His story and his past are both explained in the game, as well as his origins. Reeve Tuesti, the former head of Shinra's Urban Development Department, leads the World Regenesis Organization (WRO; called World Restoration Organization in the Japanese version of the game), an operation dedicated to restoring the world and undoing the mistakes made by Shinra. Prominent members of WRO include Cait Sith, assisting both Reeve and Vincent in certain parts of the game; Yuffie Kisaragi, in charge of espionage and intelligence gathering; Shalua Rui, WRO's chief scientist; and Cid Highwind, head of the WRO's airship division. Cloud Strife, Barret Wallace, and Tifa Lockhart also lend their support to the WRO during the second half of the game. The Tsviets are the main antagonistic forces in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. The Tsviets consist of the following members: Azul the Cerulian, Shelke the Transparent, Rosso the Crimson, Nero the Sable, and Weiss the Immaculate. Vincent fights these enigmatic forces during the course of the game. Other characters that were featured prominently or otherwise in Final Fantasy VII also return. Lucrecia Crescent is shown mainly in flashbacks, further fleshing out her story. Hojo returns as well in flashbacks, and he then reappears in the penultimate moments of the game. Red XIII also makes a brief cameo in the game's ending, though he does not speak.

Grimoire Valentine, Vincent Valentine's father, is introduced in Dirge of Cerberus. He appears in the game's flashbacks with Lucrecia Crescent, serving as her mentor. Omega WEAPON appears as the game's final boss and is the result of Professor Hojo's plans to merge with Weiss and bring destruction upon the earth. A new character, Genesis, appears in the secret ending of the game. An enigmatic character, the Deep Ground soldiers and the Tsviets are the result of his evolution. Usher and Argento are two characters who are featured only in the Japanese version of the game, specifically in the multiplayer mode; Usher gives assistance to the player many times throughout and Argento serves as an instructor. The Restrictors are also a set of characters that appear in the Multiplayer mode; they serve as the commanding force of Deep Ground, before they are succeeded by the Tsviets.

Story

The opening scene shows previously unseen events taking place at the end of Final Fantasy VII. While Cloud Strife and his main party are in the midst of their final battle with Sephiroth to the north, Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kisaragi are shown assisting the evacuation of Midgar as Meteor approaches the city. Shortly after the evacuation of the populace is complete Yuffie detects signs of life upon the Mako Cannon. Vincent instructs her to leave and rendezvous with Cloud and the party while he checks it out, knowing full well who is up there. Sure enough, Vincent arrives atop the cannon to find the near-lifeless body of Professor Hojo still slumped at the controls where he was left for dead after his battle with Cloud's group. Vincent prepares to finish Hojo off for good but his plans are scuppered as Meteor descends upon Midgar and begins tearing the place apart, forcing a hasty retreat from the city aboard a flying hoverbike piloted by Yuffie. As the two of them make their escape, a computer monitor on the Cannon's control panel shows that Hojo was able to upload his mind onto the World Network before the Meteor impact knocked it offline. The game picks up again three years after the events of Final Fantasy VII. An unknown group of powerful SOLDIERs appear, bringing a swift and bitter end to the peace enjoyed by the people of world. The members of this enigmatic group are the ones who were trapped under the ruins of Midgar for three long years; the Deepground SOLDIERs, their intention is to call forth the final WEAPON, Omega, before its time. However, to do that, the DGS need Vincent to lead the way to Omega. Vincent finds himself pursued by several elite members of the mysterious organization. An unrelenting chain of events leads Vincent to the truth behind his past and forces him once again to be the key player in a battle for the planet itself and all those living in it. Reeve Tuesti, former Head of Urban Development at Shinra (as well as the remote pilot of Cait Sith), is now the leader of the World Regenesis Organization, which looks after the planet and prevents people from damaging it further. Yuffie Kisaragi is another member of the organization, and several other characters from the original game provide the WRO with outside assistance. The game begins with an FMV depicting the attack on the town of Kalm, an attack carried out by Deepground soldiers. Vincent thwarts the attack, but not before encountering Azul and Shelke, members of the Tsviets, Deepground's elite force of supersoldiers.

Vincent makes his way through Kalm, taking down the Deepground soldiers, and saving many of the Kalm town's people from being killed or kidnapped. As Vincent reached the town centre, a Deepground helicopter, called Dragonfly, attacks. Vincent fights it off, and makes his way into a nearby residence where he meets Azul, and an endless amount of soldiers. Vincent must now meet Reeve at the church, and heads back through Kalm, assisting the WRO on the way. As he reached the church the Dragonfly returns, this time known as Dragonfly GL. Once it is taken down, Vincent and Reeve meet, and the mission ends. As Vincent and Reeve speed across the desert to Edge, Reeve tells Vincent about the Deep Ground soldiers, and that they were a secret project that only President Shinra, Heidegger, Scarlet and Hojo knew about. When Rufus took over after his father's death, the ascension was so quick that he didn't have a chance to be told about the Deep Ground soldiers, and the deaths of the other Shinra executives eliminated all outside knowledge of the project, causing the soldiers to languish in the research facility for three years. Reeve then tells Vincent that 1200 people disappeared from Junon. The conversation is then interrupted by a transmission from a mysterious figure that states his desire to 'cleanse' the world, and the tainted shall be killed. After the transmission ends, the van is attacked by Guard Hounds. Vincent saddles up on the machine gun and fends them off before making his way on top of the van, where he continues to defend it with his own firearms. With the van damaged, Vincent is forced to make his way to Edge by foot while under constant assault from more Guard Hounds and their pack leader, Crimson Hound. Near the entrance to Edge, he is confronted again, this time by several Deep Ground soldiers on bikes. After defeating the soldiers, he crosses the border into Edge. Rosso sits on a crate in a factory laughing to herself about Weiss' talk, then the camera zooms out to show dead WRO members surrounding her. Vincent is peering around a corner, when a woman wearing a labcoat points her gun at his head, but he turns pointing his gun at hers. He notices a WRO badge and puts his gun down. She introduces herself as Shalua Rui. Shalua says that Edge is too quiet, and that the WRO troops and 500 townspeople are nowhere to be seen. She then walks off talking about finding her 'reason to live.' Vincent fights his way through town, and finds a dying WRO member, who mentions a soldier in red and a warehouse at the edge of town, before dying. Eventually, he makes his way into a central area, where he takes down many snipers around the area, and saving a child, who leads him to someone who has a card key to get into the warehouse. In the warehouse Vincent must fight a Heavy Armoured Soldier. Rosso is outside, and calls Vincent the 'Keeper of the Protomateria.' The two fight, and she smashes Vincent into the wall, where he begins to glow red and transforms into Chaos. He knocks Rosso away, and then falls to the ground, Shalua coming up behind him. The scene switches to a flashback, with Vincent in Lucrecia's cave, she keeps saying 'sorry' and Vincent questions why. The scene then goes further back to when Vincent was a Turk, and is arguing with Hojo. It ends in Hojo shooting him, and then muttering to himself about experiments. When Vincent eventually awakens, he stumbles, and falls before it fades to black, Vincent screaming. The final flashback, shows him in regenerative tube, with Lucrecia looking in on him.

Development

Director Takayoshi Nakazato said that he was a big fan of the PC game Half-Life and wanted to turn it into an RPG, and he has done so, in the form of Dirge of Cerberus. This is the last game in chronological order in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, and is often referred to by the staff of the game as "the ending finale to Final Fantasy VII". However, producer Yoshinori Kitase has recently stated in an interview with Electronic Gaming Monthly that it's not necessarily the end of Final Fantasy VII's story, but will provide resolution to Vincent's personal story, just as Advent Children resolves Cloud's. The game's secret epilogue also leaves the door open, introducing a mysterious character named Genesis, or "G", who speaks in a cryptic fashion that suggests the story is not yet over. The North American and European releases of Dirge of Cerberus received a major overhaul due to the fact that the developers were not satisfied with the final Japanese version; the developers also wanted to make the game more single player oriented.

• Vincent's running speed is 1.2 times faster, and he can perform a double-jump and do ranged and melee attacks in midair. Also, his dive-roll dodge move is supplanted with a dash move.
• Vincent's weapon can be customized to make it lighter, so there is no sluggishness when drawing his weapon.
• Limit Breaks no longer detract from the magic bar; instead, a single-use item can be used to perform the attack.
• "Easy Mode" has been removed, replaced with an "Extra Hard" mode. This new mode includes unlockables such as 40 special missions, a character-model viewer, and artwork and sound galleries.
• Online Multiplayer support was removed due to the poor popularity of PlayOnline in America, and lack of PS2 HDD support in the U.S. Missions from the Online Mode were reworked into some of the missions that can be unlocked in "Extra Hard" mode. However, this contains none of the additional storyline presented in the Japanese Online mode.
• The game retains support for mouse and keyboard peripherals for PC First-person shooter-style gameplay.

Audio

Main article: Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the game was composed by Masashi Hamauzu. Vocal tracks were performed and composed by J-Rock singer, Gackt Camui for the theme songs, 'Longing' and 'Redemption'. The soundtrack was released on February 15 2006 in Japan with a price of ¥ 3,300 bearing and the limited edition of the soundtrack will be released on the same day with a price of ¥ 3,900 bearing the catalog number. The CD consists of 2 CDs with 53 tracks. The limited edition of the soundtrack includes a 'Cerberus Complete Case' deluxe box which is designed to hold the soundtrack along with the 'Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII' PS2 game and the limited edition of Gackt's single for the game, 'Redemption'. The CD single for Gackt's single for the game, 'Redemption' was released on January 25 2006, with a price of ¥1,200 (roughly USD 10.17). A limited edition was also released featuring two 'Redemption' video clips, one being Gackt's promotional music video and one being set to animation from the game, with a price of ¥1,950 (roughly USD 16.53). A supplemental soundtrack was released through the Japanese iTunes service and the Square-Enix Music Download page on August 22nd, 2006, for the price of ¥1,500. Titled "Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Multiplayer Mode Original Sound Collections", this album consists of 27 tracks, including a handful of songs from the single player game which weren't included in the official sound track, as well as all of the original music composed for the multiplayer mode and two new songs composed by Ryo Yamazaki for the North American release of the game.

Reception

Upon its release in Japan, the game received mixed reviews. Gaming magazine Dengeki PS2^[3] rewarded the game with a 313/400 while Famitsu scored it a lower 28/40^[4]. The Famitsu review wasn't made available until three weeks after Dirge of Cerberus was released, contrary to the Dengeki PS2 score. Speculation arose that Square Enix had perhaps forced Famitsu to delay its review in an attempt to avoid discouraging gamers. Nevertheless, the game managed to ship 392,000 units in its first week.^[5] Though sales were moderately successful, they paled in comparison to sales of other games in the Final Fantasy series. Dirge of Cerberus received similarly mixed reviews from American critics. Though popular gaming review sites IGN and Gamespot scored the game with a more forgiving 7.0^[6] and 6.0^[7] (respectively), 1UP.com gave the game a 4.0^[8] while Electronic Gaming Monthly collectively scored the game with a 4.6 average from three reviews (with one score of 4.0 and two scores of 5.0)^[9]. G4's game review show, X-Play, gave the game a 2 out of 5 due to poor level designs, weak gunplay, a tremendous amount of cutscenes (Adam Sessler cited this as "The game is so in love with its story, it won't even let you play the game") and bad AI^[10]. Similar reviews also cited poor gameplay as a major criticism. At Game Rankings, the combined reviews for the game are currently 60%^[11]. The combined score from Metacritic is currently 57 out of 100 based on 51 reviews^[12].

Mobile phone tie-in

Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode: Final Fantasy VII (ダージュ オブ ケルベロス ロスト エピソード -ファイナルファンタジーVII-, Dāju obu Keruberosu Rosuto Episōdo -Fainaru Fantajī Sebun-^?) is a Japanese third person shooter role-playing game was co-developed by Square Enix and Ideaworks3D, and published by Square Enix. Unveiled at E³ '06, the game was released on August 18 in North America. First only available on Amp'd mobile phones, the game was eventually also made available on Verizon's V Cast network. It was also unveiled as a flagship title for NTT DoCoMo’s Foma 903i handset at the 2006 Tokyo Game Show. The title initially released a single player mode, with a multiplayer function launching at a later date. Lost Episode reveals a missing chapter of Dirge of Cerberus taking place between two events of the latter. It involves the adventures of Vincent struggling to save the world from the evil Deepground Soldiers, a mysterious army of soldiers. Three years after Meteorfall from the original Final Fantasy VII, the world is threatened by the Deepground soldiers, a mysterious army of bloodthirsty warriors. Vincent Valentine learns that the soldiers are searching for him in the hopes of harvesting the Protomateria from his body. He decides to investigate the Shinra Mansion in an effort to uncover the truth about his own past—and the mystery behind the Protomateria as well. Reeve Tuesti's goal is to find information on the DG written by Dr. Lucrecia Crescent. On his way to the mansion, his chopper is attacked by the Deepground. He survives and makes his way to the Shinra Manor, fighting countless Deepground Soldiers.

Notes

References

• IGN Preview
• Press release
• Billy Young. "Details Arise From Tetsuya Nomura Interview." RPGamer. December 1, 2004. Accessed on January 9, 2005.

External links

• Official European site
• Official US site
• Official Japanese site
• Official Japanese PlayOnline site
• Dirge Of Cerberus Lost Episode: Final Fantasy VII E³ 2006 page at SQUARE ENIX
• Dirge of Cerberus at the Open Directory Project

•  • e Final Fantasy VII and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Before Crisis · Advent Children · Dirge of Cerberus · Crisis Core Characters · Gaia · Music Cloud · Sephiroth · Vincent · Aerith · Tifa · Zack