Final Fantasy VII - Crisis Core
The Final Fantasy series has been around for a while. This goes without saying. Final Fantasy was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1990. It's probably a safe bet in assuming that most of you weren't even around when this hot item showed up on the video rental store shelves.
The franchise has been through several changes in its illustrious time line and this latest instalment is no exception. Staying true to the naming conventions of the series, I will be displaying all the numbers under 100 in this review as roman numerals. Click here if you're having a tough time with it. I'll be droppin' knowledge bombs left and right this whole review so take cover if you're scared.
The evolution of the franchise has seen it blossom from its tried and true turn based style to it's many spin off instances such as FF Tactics and FF Mystic Quest to FF XI and it's journey into the MMORPG lime light. The latest installment revisits the golden ticket in the franchise, Final Fantasy VII for its X year anniversary.
This PSP exclusive monster of a UMD is set VII years prior to the events of Final Fantasy VII. You are Zack, a IInd class SOLDIER working for the Shinra Company. As you may or may not know, the Shinra Company played the role of the protagonist in the PSI (or known as the PSX by other circles...which means ten...that's just confusing...I think I'll knock the whole roman crap off) and as an up and coming soljah, you pretty much will do anything to join the ranks of the elite SOLDIER 1st class. You discover early on that Zack feels undervalued and is getting sick of all of the training exercises he's being put through. That is until about 10 seconds later when he is recommended for a promotion to be a SOLDIER 1st class. The drive that keeps him going through the good and the bad is his aspiration to be a hero like his idol, the ever bad ass Sepheroth. You may recall the face melting cut scene from the original final fantasy VII of him burning down Clouds home town of Nibelheim. Yeah, he's a bad guy. Sorry if that was a spoiler. This is the review of a prelude to a game that's been out for 10 years.
The game wastes no time flaunting its graphical prowess and what kind of juice the PSP can squeeze out. A beautiful cut scene involving our special operative buddy Zack, is called in to stop a hijacked train. He begins this lucrative assignment by beating the shit out of several troops in a very impressive manner. You get your first shot at the new combat system and after a couple of whacks and rolls, you feel right at home. It's a bit hectic trying to select the right combat options using your R and L shoulder buttons but you get the hang of it sooner than later.
The controls are a little daunting at first but things start to tighten up after a couple of battles. Aim at this one, fight it, dodge, block, toss a fireball or two, fight someone else etc. It reminded me of a real slow Ninja Gaiden. Best thing was that this version wasn't half as chaotic allowing some time to regroup and man up. The new ‘action’ type element of the game is definitely a shock to the system for old FF players; however, it soon becomes apparent that this type of style fits nicely when compared to the traditional turn based format.
It takes about 45 minutes before you really start progressing through the game, staying true to the nature of the story driven franchise. You’re eventually advised that a tutorial has been sent to your email which is quite handy. Emails and other notifications are sent to your cell phone adding a nice means of adding side stories and extra content to the game. It's also handy for anyone who didn’t happen to have purchased the game (we here at dashhacks of course do not condone these actions....). You’re given practically everything you’ll need to reference during the progression of the game right from your cell phone.
New elements to the game include SP (soldier points). These are required to make the Digital Mind Wave (DMW) spin. These can be gained by defeating monsters and from DMW results. The DMW is a reel located in the upper right side corner of the battle screen. Once activated, the action stops to allow a sort of slot machine type game to take place. Get lucky and you just might receive a few timely power ups and status effects to help you out with your current predicament. These cause you to gain levels and often come in handy at just the right time.
Those close with the series will be all but familiar with the magic and items system. Accessing them though is slightly different than before. As previously mention, you will need to toggle between attacks, magic and item selection all through a small menu in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. You will select these functions by using your R and L buttons. This at times can be a bit frustrating.
Over shoot your preferred option and you may throw your chances of bitch slappin' that random creature right out the window. Every time you select an action, whether it is magic or other options, your character starts an animated motion that can be interrupted when hit. This leaves it up to you, the seasoned Action-RPG enthusiast to keep a sharp eye on your remaining hit point, triangulate that with the relative locations of your enemies and the current position of your selected action item and you might have the skills required to expose the Shinra Corporation for what they truly are.....Dicks
This is but a small concern on my behalf and was implemented by the developers as a means of challenging you to stay sharp and focused during the most intense battles. I am not exaggerating when I say this. They can get pretty intense. As to be expected with any Final Fantasy series, some battles quickly become marathons and all you're thinking is "I knew I should have F'ing saved"! Thankfully the natural progression of the game ensures you should at least be comfortable with the combat system before the game starts tossing onslaughts of enemies at you.
Moving on to music, the production that goes into this series has been renown for being the industry standard. A long time has passed since this franchise has garnered such attention for it's musical scores and many games have since stepped their game up. I still from time to time get the Kefka theme song stuck in my head from the SNES classic FF III. Crisis Core offers a nice blend of heavy guitar battle sequences to soothing melodic 'walkin tunes' while you cruise around and check out the scenery. You'll recognize a lot of old themes that were associated with certain areas you will revisit in this game but slightly remixed. A very nice touch bringing together a new and old cohesion of tasty sound bites.
Now let's dive head first into what everyone came here to find out about. The story. Final Fantasy holds a very high pedigree in regards to its story driven franchise. Half of the movies that spew from Hollywood typically can't hold a candle to what the fine folks at Square Enix come up with. They certainly paid a great deal of attention to this latest installment keeping it true to its predecessor. Many delightful cameos such as Cid, Hojo and the Turks in the early parts of the game pop up reminding you of the good ol’ days while offering plenty of new material along the way. I can't get into too much detail pertaining to the story without spoiling the gravy in this turkey dinner but rest assured, the quality is right up there were you'd expect it.
The story is pieced together nicely and ensures that a lot of loose ends are tied up before the end of the game. Zack and Clouds relationship is explained and you get to see the progression of Sepheroths decent into madness unfold before your very eyes. New characters such as Angeal are introduced to add a very real and unique sense of depth to this spin off. The game is above average as a standalone but really excels in its ability to tie-in with FF7.
Mad props to the producers of this great title for the PSP. The game pushes the hardware to the brink and can compete head to head with any PS2 title available in terms of graphics and load times. This is truly a remarkable addition to the Final Fantasy catalog and should definitely be in your collection if you're a fan of the series. I encourage other casual fans and video game enthusiasts who may not be up to speed with the progression of the franchise to at least check it out. This game performs wonderfully on the PSP and is a pleasure through and through.
