Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Thread of Manly Tears
 

Also known as a Final Fantasy VII game that doesn't suck balls?! Who knew?!!

So I just finished Crisis Core, a PSP prequel to Final Fantasy VII which the majority of you are going to lambast just because it's by Square and it has Sephiroth in it. Which is okay; although I enjoyed FFVII and thought it great (not perfect and certainly not FFVI), I'm one of those very vocal people who hate all about the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and this will seem pretty hypocritical from me. Let it be known I'm ready for the RT sold out!!s.

The presentation is incredible, which shouldn't be a surprise considering this is a Square-Enix game. The graphics look even better than something on the PS2 and the music has many hummable and rocking tracks. The gameplay of the game, on the other hand, isn't bad, but it also isn't anything noteworthy. You're basically just hitting and dodging stuff while you wait for a random slot machine to give you some numbers with faces from various characters. The results of the slots will let you do different stuff, including summoning and limit breaks. What makes up for the average gameplay is the superb story, which completely blew me away after the travesty that was Advent Children.


Quite an ending. Tears were shed, hearts were shattered, etc. Being able to play as Zack quite literally until the very end is a great touch. I'm curious if you can actually "win" the fight if you've grinded into oblivion or something. Was a little jarring that it switched from super detailed CG when showing the bloodied Zack to the lesser detailed one a few moments later, but eh, still liked it.

I really did not like Genesis at all as a character, but I didn't hate it. He seemed to me to be no more than an excuse to input Gackt into the FFVII universe, which should have been obvious from the ending of Dirge of Cerberus, but he was somehow able to work as a tragic character. I found the premise to be interesting and triumphantly emotional. Not once did I cringe at the soliloquies of DREAMS AND PRIDE. However, the whole cloning stuff was borderline retarded with the degradation bit being the only salvageable element from it. Lazard becoming an Angeal copy? IT'S KINGDOM HEARTS II ALL OVER AGAIN!!!

I was surprised at how much they humanised Sephiroth. Before this game he had always seemed to me too aloof to actually care for his backstory. Seeing him cooperating with the other SOLDIERs and being worried for them gave the character a whole new dimension. What I didn't like, however, was the inclusion of Gackt Genesis GACKT into his mental breakdown. It gives it a little more credibility, but I always liked the fact that his insanity arose spontaneously. Genesis helping it only diminished Sephiroth's importance as the ultimate villain of FFVII in a way that I can't quite pinpoint.

Best parts were the Nibelheim chapter as well the more personal exchanges Zack has with other characters. Pretty much all the scenes with Aerith are fantastic as well as the moments where he's just shooting the breeze with Cloud. Also enjoyed the few exchanges Zack has with Tseng and Cissnei. I very much liked how the ending segues directly into the beginnings of FFVII, playing a remixed version of the PS3 tech demo after the credits is hopefully a hint that you-know-what's brewing (for the Wii!!!). The whole Nibelheim trip was basically a sampler for a potential remake, and hearing all the old FFVII tunes remixed was a fanwank .

Summarised: Music's great. Graphics are great. Gameplay is meh. Zack Fair's the best character in Final Fantasy VII and his game is awesome. Best ending in a Final Fantasy game.

What? Zack dies?! What a totally unexpected twist!

But yeah, neat game looks neat. If I wind up with a PSP when Dissidia comes out, I might give Crisis Core a chance, too.

This makes me sad. I'm a total Final Fantasy fanboy, I know like half the FF titles are over-dramatic silliness, but I can't stop playing them. They're gaming's soap operas.

The thing is I kinda fucking hate Sony. I didn't play anything past IX because they were all like "We are only sending 3 PS2s to the US. You'll have to stand in line for 6 hours to have a chance at getting one." So I was like "Fuck you, I'll just wait for a Gamecube."

And I don't want to buy a PS2 now cause I barely have time to play the games I have(and I only have a Wii and DS, full time jobs suck).

I didn't want to buy a PSP cause there weren't any good games for it so I went with the DS. When I saw the Final Fantasy Tactics port to the PSP I was upset. Then I saw that crazy Final Fantasy fighting game, and now this. So I'm just cursing my over-developed value of nostalgia.
If PSP emulation ever comes along though...

Five hours in...

I've completed two story plot events. Five hours.

The rest of the time I was doing the side missions. This game is going to eat my time. I'm only like 10% done with the missions.

I absolutely love this game. I just met up with Aerith and well, I almost lost it as Aeris's Theme is one of my favourite piece of VG Music.

I alos enjoyed that CG scene between Genesis, Angeal and Sephiroth where Sephiroth and Genesis are fighting in the training room and Sephiroth is hacking off pieces of the Junon Cannon

Good job Square.

NO! If people like those games, it'll only make Square want to make MORE FFVII GAMES! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I played a bit, and it was pretty cool. Very well-made I might say. Music was quite nice, and again, I liked seeing the pre-insanity Sephiroth.

Pre loco Seph is quite cool. I think he is more human and that is a good thing.

Also, I <3 Aerith. She and Zack are so awesome together,

Despite playing through most of Crisis Core at this point, I must confess that I A: still just plain don't like Sephiroth, and B: still prefer Aerith and Cloud as a couple over Aerith and Zack.

Yes, I know. I make absolutely no sense.

:(