Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion Review – Essential Preparation

This vastly improved remake of the original 2008 handheld (PSP) game is clearly aimed at new fans of Final Fantasy VII who have discovered it thanks to its 2020 return. Crisis Core adds an absolutely necessary passage (prelude) to the story of the seven main characters, who, apparently, will play a very important role in the upcoming sequel to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. So if you are among the new fans and you are even slightly interested in the history of the entire saga, you simply cannot miss this “prequel”. However, many old veterans will also want to refresh it, which will help in addition to radically improved processing, as well as many improvements to the gameplay itself.

• Platform: PS5 (review) PS4, XSX|S, X1, PC, Switch
• Publication date: 12.13.2022
• Producer: Square Enix (Japan)
• Genre: japanese role playing game
• Czech localization: Not
• Multiplayer: Not
• Data to download: 21 GB
• Game time: 20+ hours
• Price: 1199 CZK (couples)

Zack’s story

If you’ve played the Final Fantasy VII remake, then you’re probably a little confused by the dark-haired warrior that flickers at the end of this game. Not only because his hair or uniform was strikingly reminiscent of the main character, the blond-haired Cloud, but mainly because he carried the unmistakable Buster sword. Zach, Cloud’s enigmatic “doppelgänger”, will of course be properly introduced in one of the future installments of the series, but if you want to learn much more about his story and even play through his best moments, Crisis Core is for you, which takes place before the events. the titles of Final Fantasy VII.

Zack is a recruit in the private Shinra army, trying to work his way up to the highest rank to become a hero like his role model Sephiroth. Therefore, he undertakes a series of dangerous combat missions across the continent, coming into contact not only with Sephiroth, but also with other extraordinary fighters such as Angeal or Genesis. At the same time, he also begins to become entangled in the Shinra Corporation’s dark web of scientific experiments, revealing, among other things, the truth about a terrifying threat that the company has found in the thousand-year-old ruins. However, he does not forget his past and the countryside from which he came to the city.

This takes place before the events of Final Fantasy VII.

One of the game’s biggest attractions is meeting many of the series’ popular characters, including Aerith or Cloud himself. At the same time, for all the characters involved, you will see a key addition to their story, thanks to which you will further appreciate the connections and fates involved in the main series. RPGs are mostly played primarily for the sake of the story, and from that point of view, Crisis Core is an absolutely necessary part of the Final Fantasy VII saga, especially considering that the creators apparently intend to significantly enrich or even change it in the next game. However, Crisis Core itself tells a great story without even knowing the rest. While at times it slides into rather funny or downright comedic anime clichés (which further emphasizes the somewhat inappropriate rock or country style, noticeably worse than the epic compositions from the main game of the series), other passages, on the contrary, are shockingly serious or violent.

Improvements on all fronts

Of course, the developers know very well that the purpose of this remake is primarily a new audience that only discovered the series with the 2020 version of Final Fantasy 7. That is why they have gone to great lengths to make Crisis Core Reunion as compatible as possible. with this new version of the game – whether it be identical character models (greatly improved over the original Crisis Core), duplication of all the dialogue of the new version of the seven, a general modification of the user interface, or even interventions in Crisis Core’s unique combat system to make it more like a remake Final Fantasy VII (the main difference is the unique “random roulette” element, which you can completely ignore once you’ve upgraded your gear enough). The result of all these efforts is that the two modernized games fit together very well. The only downside to the game’s beauty is the fact that the cinematic sequences aren’t rendered in as high resolution as the rest of the game (apparently it’s just upscaling the original sources).

However, one cannot completely hide the fact that Crisis Core was originally a “mobile” game that could be played on the go, albeit on a powerful UMD-equipped PlayStation Portable (thanks to which the game has many long “cinematic” » episodes). Therefore, the structure of the entire game is divided into chapters of several minutes, which either form a system of interconnected sequences in one of the longer story missions, or, conversely, represent one of three hundred (!) Optional side missions. So the dosage of the game is relatively uncommon, but once you get into it, it can sit very comfortably, especially if you are a finisher.

Both modernized games fit together very well.

Since here, too, you will find the ability to collect and combine magical “matter” stones that give you unique abilities, attacks, or spells, you can very easily fall into the urge to collect them all and become an absolutely unstoppable force on the battlefield. Of course, the game has such players in mind as well, and some of these 300 optional missions will torment even the most heavily armed players. If, on the other hand, you only do the main story missions divided into ten chapters, you’ll probably be fighting some bosses and the game will make you jump into at least a few side missions for some reinforcements. As a result, depending on your approach, you can easily spend from 15 to 50 hours in the game.