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Plot:
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is the prequel to the PSone's Final Fantasy VII role-playing game. It's exclusive to the Sony PlayStation Portable system. In Crisis Core, you play as Zack, a Shinra SOLDIER with a burning passion to not only rise to the rank of 1st class SOLDIER, but to be a hero. Zack is often scoffed at throughout the game for such a lofty goal. The bigger picture of Crisis Core is man's creations vs. nature. Crisis Core is an engaging story that provides a solid backdrop to Final Fantasy VII.
Gameplay:
Crisis Core is a mix of action and RPG gameplay. The first option you'll have to decide on is whether to take the adventure on in Normal or Hard Mode. The difference between the two is that battles will be more difficult in Hard Mode.
Zack is the only character you control, as there is no party system traditionally found in Final Fantasy RPGs. Gameplay takes place in third-person mode. The characters are not super deformed as in Final Fantasy VII, but more along the scale of Final Fantasy 8+ RPGs.
Enemy encounters happen randomly in the playing field, but the "boss" or other primary enemies can sometimes be spotted. You can execute evasive or defense actions, or keep at a distance from enemies and use magic. If you attack enemies from behind, you're likely to land some "critical" blows. Preset equipping options include Magic, Offense or Defense. I stuck through magic pretty much the whole play through of the game, mastering a few of them.
Camera controls sometimes get stuck. Meaning, when pressing the L or R button to rotate the camera (particularly useful when looking for treasure chests and pathways), the camera gets jammed and doesn't fully rotate. Sometimes hitting the L instead of R or, or vice-versa, may work. Other times it takes moving Zack a little to try again.
There are frequent save points, which is a good thing for the portable format. Shops are accessible any time through the menu, so you have no need to worry about venturing out without enough supplies. Gil never seemed short either. Zone Maps are also accessible at any time, so you won't have too much problems finding your way around.
You'll meet some of the characters you may remember from Final Fantasy VII, including Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie and Sephiroth. Add Genesis, Angeal, Cissnei and Tseng to the list of memorable characters you'll find in Crisis Core. As you meet characters, they are added to your DMV. DMV, short for "Digital Mind Wave," is a strange part of Crisis Core. When the roulette wheel of characters first popped up on the screen, I thought I had to hit a button to make it stop, but it is totally non-interactive and random. The DMV results in status effects (aka "Power Surge") which give you invincibility, level ups, no MP costs, summons and even more cutscene animations that fill in the story. You'll hear "Modulating Phase" frequently.
One part of the game that didn't capture me too much was the Materia Fusion. Various materia can be combined to upgrade to more powerful materia. It'll give you a preview of what will result, so you don't have to worry about wasting materia to find out. You will have to figure out how to combine them best. Probably the hardcore Final Fantasy gamers will use this most, but it isn't required to advance in the game. I dabbled in it, but wanted to keep the story and action going rather than working on the stat screen. That's what it felt like. More work than fun. There are some surprise mini-games throughout Crisis Core. I won't spoil them for you, but they provide a mix to keep the action fresh.
Graphics:
Although the palette may be primarily dark, the graphics look exceptional on the PSP. Mechs and monsters are nicely detailed, with some bosses overshadowing the scale of Zack. There's a few cutscenes and summon spells that show some high quality 3D rendered animation, equal to the animation and quality found in the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children UMD/DVD Movie. There aren't many of those sequences, but the few that are there look amazing. Other cutscenes are done using the in-game graphics. There are some parts later in the game where cutscenes can be an annoyance. That's when you have to repeat a boss battle previously lost. There's no way to skip several minute-long segments.
Audio:
The soundtrack is a treat, with a few themes likely to stick in your head throughout the adventure. Crisis Core's soundtrack is created by composer Takeharu Ishimoto. The music is a fuze of techno and rock. There are original compositions and remakes of some Final Fantasy VII tracks. Character dialogue is a mix of text and voice acting. Voice acting was well done, also similar to that found in the Advent Children movie.
Replay Value:
The primary quest is linear, but there's plenty more to experience in the Mission Mode. You can access the Mission Mode from any save point. While finishing all the missions are not required, there's a few exclusive items, summons and characters you'll only find while on the missions. The missions vary from Very Easy to Very Hard. Most offer brief subplots. You can easily get wrapped up in hours of the Mission Mode. This is one part you'll want to come back to even after finishing the game, so keep a few save slots to go back to.
The individual missions aren't too long themselves. You can complete some in minutes, but there are many of them. The main game may last about 20 or so hours, but factor in Mission Mode and you'll easily triple the entertainment time you'll get from Crisis Core. After 25 hours of gameplay, I had only cleared 19% of the Mission Mode by the end. You can always go back and play in Hard Mode for more of a challenge, and play on the big screen if you have a PSP-2000 with video out. So yes, there is replay value in this RPG.
Buy It, Rent It or Hardcore Only?
As hardcore as the dedicated Final Fantasy RPG player may be, just as Final Fantasy VII opened the genre to many so will Crisis Core. Detailed gameplay elements like Materia Fusion and Mission Mode won't hold you back if you opt to skip them. If you own a PSP, add this to your collection. If not, consider this game as your door into the PSP. By the end, the story ties right into the beginning of Final Fantasy VII. Just as Final Fantasy VII struck emotional chords in gamers, so will Crisis Core. Buy it and you'll feel rewarded by the end.
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