Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII | |
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Developer(s) |
Square Enix Monolith Soft |
Publisher(s) | Square Enix |
Director(s) | Takayoshi Nakazato |
Producer(s) | Yoshinori Kitase |
Programmer(s) | Yoshiki Kashitani |
Artist(s) | Yukio Nakatani |
Writer(s) | Hiroki Chiba |
Composer(s) | Masashi Hamauzu |
Series |
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII Final Fantasy |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
Release |
International
|
Genre(s) | Action role-playing, third-person shooter |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer (Japanese version only) |
Aggregate scores | |
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Aggregator | Score |
GameRankings | 60.20% |
Metacritic | 57/100 |
Review scores | |
Publication | Score |
1UP.com | D+ |
EGM | C |
Eurogamer | 5/10 |
Famitsu | 28/40 |
GameSpot | 6.0/10 |
GameSpy | |
GameTrailers | 7.2/10 |
IGN | 7.0/10 |
X-Play |
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (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 an action role-playing third-person shooter developed and published by Square Enix in 2006 for the PlayStation 2. It is part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII metaseries, a multimedia collection set within the universe of the popular 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII. The game is set three years after the events of the original game, and focuses on one of the game's playable characters, Vincent Valentine. In the story, Vincent is targeted by Deepground, a mysterious organization that plans to awaken a creature known as Omega, with the ability to destroy the Planet.
As the first shooter game in the Final Fantasy series, the game's staff had various problems during development, although producer Yoshinori Kitase found the experience challenging, and added role-playing elements in order to make the game more entertaining for traditional fans of the main series. When Dirge of Cerberus was released outside Japan, several aspects of the gameplay were modified in order to make it more appealing. A mobile phone tie-in was also released in 2006, while in 2008, Square republished the game in Japan with the updates made for the Western versions. Although the game has sold 1.5 million copies worldwide as of 2011, it has received a mixed critical reaction.
Dirge of Cerberus is an action role-playing third-person shooter. Battles occur in real-time, with the HUD displaying information such as Vincent's hit points and magic points, the currently selected item and quantity thereof, and a cross-hair to aid in targeting enemies. The action is viewed from an over-the-shoulder perspective similar to Resident Evil 4, although players can switch to a first-person perspective if they wish. Defeating enemies yields EXP, and at the end of each stage, the player can either use that EXP to level up, increasing Vincent's stats, or convert it to Gil (the in-game currency), which can then be used to purchase items and equipment upgrades.