Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core is set 4-5 years before the events of FFVII (original). It follows the life of Zack and his rise through SOLDIER, his relationship with Aeris, the fate of his three mentors (Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth), and the rise of Cloud as the main hero of the series.

 

Gameplay - 7/10

 

This is honestly what FFXII's gameplay should have been like. Most of the combat is done by scrolling through different ability/magic materia and a main attack, plus you're given the option to evade or block attacks without consuming a turn. Limit breaks and summons are controlled by a (somewhat unimaginative) slot wheel that constantly spins. I still would have preferred a return to the turn base system from days gone by, but this is Squeenix's best effort to date at moving towards something more real time.

 

Music - 8/10

 

Most of the music is from FFVII, minus a few of the more powerful pieces (Man with the machine gun was clearly the best). Pretty appropriate overall, just nothing new.

 

Graphics - 10/10

 

Hands down one of the prettiest games you can play on PSP. The game is full of CGI cutscenes that flow seemlessly into the regular gameplay. Summons are also all done in CGI (but can be skipped by pressing X, which is nice the 20th time you've done it). Regular gameplay is also rendered beautifully, and the camera never gets stuck in odd places.

 

Story - 10/10

 

Really the reason why this game should be played is the immense story it tells (and alludes to). The first half of the game is dedicated to some of the newer characters (Angeal, Genesis, Lazard), but the second half is a retelling of Sephiroth's descent into madness, and you relive many of VII's key plot events (Sephiroth at Nibelheim, Zack and Cloud at Gongaga, etc.) There are plenty of references to /cameos by familiar characters (Yuffie, Tifa, Reno, Rude, Tseng, Scarlet, Hojo, Rufus, Vincent, Reeve, Weiss, Nero...the list is probably longer), and the game makes reference (explicitly, and in some cases tying up loose ends) to Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerberus, and VII classic. The game ends exactly as VII began, including a remade cut scene of Aeris in the slums next to the fire, then walking out to the streets with her flower basket, ending with Cloud riding the train to the Mako reactor with AVALANCHE.

 

Overall - 9/10

 

The combat system is a little annoying at times (especially when you get interrupted trying to cast), but the story is this game's biggest asset, and it does a wonderful job introducing new story flawlessly into traditional VII lore. If you have a PSP and were a fan of VII, you need to buy this.

as per our earlier conversation

 

kefka is a bastard

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/cheap_shot/signatures%20and%20avatars/ff3.gif

 

Yes, you can put this in your sig Honki.

i've been playin it for around a month now. It's a very nice game

that would be cool if they did that creepy laugh too

Meh I liked FFXII game play I didn't have to play I could just point my group in the right direction and have a sammich.