Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is an RPG exclusive to the PlayStation Portable released in Japan in 2007 and worldwide in 2008.
In Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII players assume the role of SOLDIER 2nd Class Zack Fair who then shortly switches to 1st Class. Throughout the game players will learn the past of Final Fantasy VII, get more detail on who the "Zack" fella from the original actually is, and learn more about the history of essential characters like Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Sephiroth.
After playing the game twice I am able to point out all the good things to be had about it. First off I can say the graphics are definitely nice considering this is a PSP game developed around 9 years ago. The CG looks as good as the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children film and the gameplay and normal look are on par with PS2 graphics. Environments look quite crisp and lend well to the PSP's display. The PSP's limited hardware result in a fair amount of cutscenes needing to use speech bubbles, but the important scenes and a fair amount of non-important scenes will also give you voices.
The story is quite great. We finally delve into the past of Zack Fair who only briefly appeared in the original Final Fantasy VII. We also see a good bit of Cloud's past along the way, and how he himself became a part of SOLDIER. During the game it seems that Cloud is a little less shy than he was when we first met him, which is understandable since many things have yet to occur. We learn that Aerith (or in original Final Fantasy VII terms Aeris) used to have a close relationship with Zack. Even turning romantic at a certain point, but not in a heavily emphasized way. Tifa's appearances aren't critical to the story (except for one certain event with Sephiroth which is a recap of something we saw previously), but they do show us that she used to be much different than we previously knew, but at the same time relatively the same. Sephiroth, believe it or not, was a somewhat nice guy back then! Well, for awhile anyway... But even then he was definitely one of the most skilled people at Shinra. I can't go into much detail beyond that as I would spoil critical story elements, but I can say that the story is deep, thrilling, exciting, and offers a whole new background to the world of Final Fantasy VII! The ending is quite emotional, and is something that is certain to make you shed a tear.
The gameplay was something I found quite enjoyable, Zack has many Materia commands available for use. Some slow, some fast. Some are even for stat improvement. The Materia Fusion system allows Zack to combine two materia to make a completely new type of materia, which at times is very useful for things like obtaining powerful attacks early on in the game. There's a unique mechanic that comes in handy on a number of occasions called DMW (Digital Mind Wave.) This is where Zack uses his memories of a certain character to activate a special attack. Each character activates a different attack and is unlocked on the DMW as the story progresses. Some entries are optional. The DMW is activated at random, but it's chances of activating can be heightened depending on the situation. During events where Zack is thinking heavily of a certain character he will have a better chance of activating them in the DMW and using their attack. Though the DMW has a chance of failing it is mostly successful. This mechanic is also how Zack himself levels up by getting all 7's for the numbers. Everything is somewhat strategic, yet action-packed. Ultimate attacks used by summoned creatures such as Bahamut or Ifrit include CG scenes which also look very nice and add to the intensity to the battles. There are no optional weapons, but Zack does start to use the Buster Sword at a certain point.
Music and sound effects are definitely a fitting tribute to the series. Many of the tracks are new, but some are revised versions of old ones. They all capture the essential feel of game's universe and bring us right back to those spine-chilling moments from the original PlayStation title. Sound effects such as menu scrolling and walking are spot on as well. Voice acting is no doubt right on the mark. Every character sounds completely authentic and the actors did a good job capturing necessary emotion in both the Japanese and English voice cast! However one scene with Cloud in the English VA during the ending did lack intensity, but it's not a huge problem.
Verdict: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is a wonderful edition to the Final Fantasy VII storyline that fully utilizes the PSP's hardware to offer unique gameplay, a thrilling and emotional story, and a whole new light on the Final Fantasy VII franchise. It is a journey that any fan of the series or JRPG goer in general should take. I would LOVE to see an HD remaster on PS4.
10/10