Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

[Shadow Fire]

<div align="center"><img src="http://core.the-gcn.com/reviews/CCFFVII.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div><br /><br /><b>Director:</b> Hajime Tabata<br /><br /><b>Producers:</b> Hideki Imaizumi, Yoshinori Kitase, Shinji Hashimoto<br /><br /><b>Music:</b> Ayaka, Takeharu Ishimoto<br /><br /><b>Starring:</b> Rick Gomez, George Newbern, Josh Gilman, Oliver Quinn, Steve Burton, Andrea Bowen<br /><br /><b>Rating:</b> <img src="http://core.the-gcn.com/reviews/rating/4-5stars.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /><br /><br /><br /><u><b>Plot</b></u><br /><br />As the Shinra Electric Power Company continues with its war against Wutai, it receives intel that one of its 1st Class SOLDIER operatives has gone AWOL, taking a bunch of 2nd and 3rd Class SOLDIER operatives with him. It's up to Zack Fair, an upbeat 2nd Class with aspiration to be 1st Class, and a hero, just like the famed Sephiroth, to find out what happened, and to bring Genesis back. Set seven years before the events of Final Fantasy VII, this game puts the pieces together as to the history of the events in Final Fantasy VII. Find out the truth behind Cloud and Zack's relationship. What was the true motivation for Sephiroth's destructive mutiny? Play the game and you'll discover all this and more.<br /><br /><br /><u><b>Review</b></u><br /><br />Okay, this has got to be one of my favourite Final Fantasy games ever. In fact, I would have to say it now IS my new favourite. The storyline is so deep, and while it doesn't necessarily take too long to complete the storyline part of the game, you have several sidequests to keep you amused, many of which can be a great help to your battle experience.<br /><br />

Crisis Core, like most of Square Enix's newer games, utilises the Real Time Battle system. Basically, this means that your random encounters will not effect gameplay too much. Once you step into a zone where a random encounter will occur, a voice will announce "Activating Combat Mode", and Zack will draw his weapon. Within seconds, you have control of the battle, and must think quickly, utilising several techniques in order to defeat your enemy. The Limit Break system has been replaced with the DMW (Digital Mind Wave), a slot machine system using character's faces and numbers between 1 and 7. However, it's not just used for Limit Breaks. The DMW can also give many positive effects to Zack... and can even help level him up. It's tricky to explain, but as you play the game, you get used to how it works. As is the case with Final Fantasy games, if you are killed, you must reload from the most recent save point.<br /><br />

In order to level up, the DMW must initiate a Modulating Phase. This freezes the battle and enlarges the slot system. This occurs when the DMW shows the same character on the left and right slot. The middle slot will spin during the Modulating Phase, and if it stops on the same character, you will use that character's Limit Break. However, even if you don't get the same character, if you get two matching numbers on the DMW, you will level up the materia in the slot of the number you have paired up. If you get three 7's, Zack will go up one level.<br /><br />

Graphics are awesome, and some cutscenes use the same CGI utilised in Advent Children, and the more recent Final Fantasy games. Otherwise, graphics are quite similar to Final Fantasy X when not in a pre-rendered cutscene, which in itself is a fantastic feat, considering the size of the PSP's screen. Everything has great detail, and is awe inspiring.<br /><br />

Many of the musical compositions are remakes of the original Final Fantasy VII tunes, while others are completely original. However, instead of losing points for this, it gets more, as the remade tunes sound much better than the originals, due to the limited hardware capabilities of the original PlayStation system. As is the case with Final Fantasy, the common bleep sound is present, therefore retaining the nostalgia that is Final Fantasy. The game's theme song, known as Why, is a beautiful song sung by the wonderful Ayaka. It plays at the end of the game, when... well... if you've played Final Fantasy VII, you'll know. I'm not gonna spoil it for you. =P<br /><br /><br /><u><b>Overall</b></u><br /><br />If you've played the other Final Fantasy games, you should definitely give this a try. If you don't have the game, I suggest you buy it, and if you don't even have a PSP, I suggest you purchase one, as well as the game. It is well worth the money. I'm glad I bought my copy. It easily surpasses most, if not all of the Final Fantasy games. Square Enix have truly earned my respect.