Final Fantasy is undoubtedly one of the largest gaming franchises around. As is the norm with a franchise of this caliber, there is substantial branching out and re-releases that many would argue are simply created to milk the hardcore fans of their money. While that notion is disputable, it shouldn’t be a big deal if these releases are of a certain quality. The latest title to fall under the category of “branching out" is Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core for the Sony PSP. As luck would have it, Crisis Core is definitely a top-notch title worthy of being a part of the Final Fantasy VII franchise.

Final Fantasy VII is the most popular title in the long-running line of Final Fantasy games. Many consider it to be one of, if not the greatest game of all time. The game was renowned upon release, but it didn’t seem to truly flourish until years later. The quick and massive increase in popularity led to an increase in demand; causing prices to skyrocket on Ebay. Square recognized this increase in popularity with the release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children; a CGI movie that for the most part the fans enjoyed. Soon after, Square released Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus; a shooter that suffered from cliché controls and a not-so-enticing storyline. On top of this, a cell-phone game called Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII was released in Japan for cell phones in 2004. To sum it up, that FFVII franchise is one that Square appears to have no problem keeping alive.

In Crisis Core you play as Zack Fair, a young hopeful in the Soldier operative. Zack is a 2nd-rank Soldier who is hoping to become 1st in rank. Near the beginning of the game, members of Soldier start to disappear; including a few first-rank Soldiers. From this unwinds a well-structured plot that does an excellent job of leading up to the events in Final Fantasy VII. Unfortunately, these details cannot be given without ruining the plot. But to name a few exciting points: there is plenty of Cloud, there is in fact a battle with one of the most infamous bosses in videogame history, and there is indeed a love-interest.

Crisis Core, while not perfect, is one of the best games the PSP has to offer. In terms of graphics, there is no portable game better. The cut scenes are pristine and are in the same style seen in FFVII: Advent Children. The actual gameplay graphics could easily be compared to an early PS2 game. It’s impossible to not be caught up in the beauty of the scenery. Square clearly pushed the PSP to its limits with this release.

The music, while certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, is definitely light-years ahead of most music that games have to offer. The songs range from intense electronica to beautifully-orchestrated pieces to peaceful acoustics. It is one of the few videogame soundtracks that I would honestly recommend purchasing. The voice-acting, while not as strong as the soundtrack, is thoroughly convincing; sans a few instances that occur with smaller characters.

The control scheme is simple and intuitive. There is a bit of button-mashing involved, but not to the point where it becomes too much of a nuisance to lead to the player wanting to quit. It’s very much in the vain of Kingdom Hearts in that it is action-based and you randomly stumble upon enemies.

The leveling-up system is by far one of the oddest ever in an RPG. A set of reels known as the DMW (Digital Mind Wave) spins constantly during battle. On each part there is a character from the game. Depending on who the wheel stops on, you can use a summon or obtain some form of a power-up. For example, if all three parts of the reel land on Aerith, then Zack’s HP doubles and he is invincible for a short amount of time. In order to level up, the reels must all land on the number 7; similar to winning the jackpot. The system isn’t entirely random though, as the more SP Zack gains through battle then the better chance he has of leveling-up.

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core is one of those games that is worth buying a system for. The specs are phenomenal for a PSP game, and the game is exciting even for those who aren’t fans of the original game. While not everything is spot-on (such as the lack of ability to skip cutscenes,) the game is a memorable experience worth the time of any gamer looking for a great action-RPG or just a great game in general. If Square continues to create games this good within the Final Fantasy VII world, then I fully support the decision.

Links:

Official US FFVII: Crisis Core Website