Ranking Every Final Fantasy Spin-Off Game

In retrospect, the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII was very hit and miss, veering more towards the latter. Square Enix planned to capitalise on the enduring popularity of their most successful title with the release of prequels and sequels across four different mediums – film, the PSP, the PS2 and mobile phones. Barely anybody outside of Japan got to experience the first of these, Before Crisis, the Turks-focused prequel that was only available on selected devices in 2004. Advent Children then largely succeeded as a visually impressive piece of fanservice in 2005 (though it attracted derision from non-fans) before Dirge Of Cerberus arrived on the scene in 2006.

It’s hard to describe Vincent Valentine’s moment in the spotlight as anything less than underwhelming. As the first Final Fantasy game to hit the PS2 in three years, expectations were high, but they were quickly shattered by a game that highlighted Square Enix’s developmental limitations outside of the RPG genre. A poor man’s Devil May Cry, Dirge of Cerberus suffered from bad targeting, camera work and manoeuvrability, making completion of its short story an arduous chore rather than an entertaining experience.

Said story was well-crafted, wrapping up Vincent’s arc neatly, whilst customisable weapons and the ability to switch to Vincent’s demon forms did create some gameplay variety. This could do little to improve a flawed base game however, even after Square Enix made a myriad of modifications for the Western release after extensive criticism of the domestic original.