snoozefest until the end
I can't stay mad at this one, man. For all its weird lore inclusions, stilted dialogue, injecting Genesis into one of the most pivotal scenes of the original game, etc., I can't get mad at it.
Zack is still such a fun and endearing character, I think his his interactions with characters like Aerith, Cloud and Sephiroth are all really good. And man, I forgot how much they really hammer home that this game's ending was gonna be heartbreaking.
Combat here is surprisingly nice, too. Not nearly as good as Remake or Rebirth, but I clicked with it way more than the PSP original. Even if I eventually got a really disgusting build with Darkness going on where I was nearly one-shotting everything in my path on Hard mode, but hey, I think more RPGs should let you find ways to one-shot enemies as a hilarious joke. Zack is both the strongest Dragoon AND Dark Knight in the whole franchise even if he's technically neither, it's messed up.
Don't go into this one expecting the exact same level of quality as Remake or Rebirth, though. This is very much still a side project and it stays true to the spirit of the original PSP game, like... shockingly true. At times I like to joke around and call it "Crisis Core Kiwami", as it reminds me of how the Yakuza Kiwami games have a ton of new gameplay features that weren't in the originals, but then you look at stuff like cutscene animations and it's lifted directly from the original game it's remaking.
While we're talking about this still being a PSP game in spirit, expect to do a lot of missions if you wanna unlock the really fancy shit that lets you turn Zack into an overpowered sicko. I only managed to complete 50% of all side missions before I beat the game in my ~20 hour playthrough, there's a LOT to go through.
Anyways, game's a mess, but I can't stay mad at it. It's an endearing mess, it'll probably make you chuckle and smile about as much as it'll make you groan and facepalm. Pick it up on sale if you need more Zack in your life before that third FF7R game drops.
Zack is still such a fun and endearing character, I think his his interactions with characters like Aerith, Cloud and Sephiroth are all really good. And man, I forgot how much they really hammer home that this game's ending was gonna be heartbreaking.
Combat here is surprisingly nice, too. Not nearly as good as Remake or Rebirth, but I clicked with it way more than the PSP original. Even if I eventually got a really disgusting build with Darkness going on where I was nearly one-shotting everything in my path on Hard mode, but hey, I think more RPGs should let you find ways to one-shot enemies as a hilarious joke. Zack is both the strongest Dragoon AND Dark Knight in the whole franchise even if he's technically neither, it's messed up.
Don't go into this one expecting the exact same level of quality as Remake or Rebirth, though. This is very much still a side project and it stays true to the spirit of the original PSP game, like... shockingly true. At times I like to joke around and call it "Crisis Core Kiwami", as it reminds me of how the Yakuza Kiwami games have a ton of new gameplay features that weren't in the originals, but then you look at stuff like cutscene animations and it's lifted directly from the original game it's remaking.
While we're talking about this still being a PSP game in spirit, expect to do a lot of missions if you wanna unlock the really fancy shit that lets you turn Zack into an overpowered sicko. I only managed to complete 50% of all side missions before I beat the game in my ~20 hour playthrough, there's a LOT to go through.
Anyways, game's a mess, but I can't stay mad at it. It's an endearing mess, it'll probably make you chuckle and smile about as much as it'll make you groan and facepalm. Pick it up on sale if you need more Zack in your life before that third FF7R game drops.
This review contains spoilers
(Note) - I played through the majority of this game on the Hard difficulty besides the super boss Minerva (It was a long and tedious boss fight attempting it on Hard). I went in for a 100% achievement run while lightly looking at an achievement guide for missables but played the majority of the game blind. I played the whole game on a Steam Deck as well.
Loved the story, I am not going to go too deep into the story but if you want to know what happens before the original Final Fantasy VII and learn more about Zack Fair, the truth behind Cloud's memories/visions, and a bit more background on the infamous war hero Sephiroth you are in for a fun but a tragic adventure.
The combat gameplay was solid. Had fun experimenting with Materia Fusion the first 10 hours, but once I found out how to break the games mechanics it went into mainly spamming Costly Punch and once you get the Buster Sword, spamming the stance into Costly Punch and the game itself becomes super easy on Hard. It also didn't take that much grinding to get broken pretty quickly, though I had a lot of lucky Moogle rolls throughout my playthrough.
Knowing this was a remake of a PSP and that the missions can feel super repetitive going for the 100% run got me burnt out after a couple of play sessions, but if you are only going through the main story and some side content I say it would be more enjoyable. As a completionist run, I would give this a 3 and a half due to how grindy and brain-numbing doing the 300 repetitive side missions.
Also if you go for all the achievements good luck with the RNG of the DMW slot machine system. I got the achievement related to it by afking in the first mission; luckily I got it rather quickly.
Overall not including my completionist score I would give this game a 4 and would recommend others to give it a shot, especially if you want to get into the Final Fantasy VII lore. The game is not that grindy even on Hard if you want to just do main story and some side content.
As for completing the game's achievements I personally wouldn't recommend it as it feels like a chore doing every mission.
Lastly, this isn't going to be a game would be able to replay after Completing it.
Loved the story, I am not going to go too deep into the story but if you want to know what happens before the original Final Fantasy VII and learn more about Zack Fair, the truth behind Cloud's memories/visions, and a bit more background on the infamous war hero Sephiroth you are in for a fun but a tragic adventure.
The combat gameplay was solid. Had fun experimenting with Materia Fusion the first 10 hours, but once I found out how to break the games mechanics it went into mainly spamming Costly Punch and once you get the Buster Sword, spamming the stance into Costly Punch and the game itself becomes super easy on Hard. It also didn't take that much grinding to get broken pretty quickly, though I had a lot of lucky Moogle rolls throughout my playthrough.
Knowing this was a remake of a PSP and that the missions can feel super repetitive going for the 100% run got me burnt out after a couple of play sessions, but if you are only going through the main story and some side content I say it would be more enjoyable. As a completionist run, I would give this a 3 and a half due to how grindy and brain-numbing doing the 300 repetitive side missions.
Also if you go for all the achievements good luck with the RNG of the DMW slot machine system. I got the achievement related to it by afking in the first mission; luckily I got it rather quickly.
Overall not including my completionist score I would give this game a 4 and would recommend others to give it a shot, especially if you want to get into the Final Fantasy VII lore. The game is not that grindy even on Hard if you want to just do main story and some side content.
As for completing the game's achievements I personally wouldn't recommend it as it feels like a chore doing every mission.
Lastly, this isn't going to be a game would be able to replay after Completing it.
The most embarrassing thing I can say about myself is I cried during the ending.
Despite knowing how the game will end if you are even slightly familiar with the original it was still a beautiful scene.
Fun combat, The story kinda jumps the shark with genesis imo, but I was still invested
I don't see myself replaying this like I do ff7, but I do recommend playing it if you enjoy ff7
It's probably the best final fantasy spin off
Despite knowing how the game will end if you are even slightly familiar with the original it was still a beautiful scene.
Fun combat, The story kinda jumps the shark with genesis imo, but I was still invested
I don't see myself replaying this like I do ff7, but I do recommend playing it if you enjoy ff7
It's probably the best final fantasy spin off
Lord above, this game had me bawling at the end. I knew what would happen. But still, I could not hold back my adult tears.
Zack deserves the world. It was precious to see his relationships and interactions with others.
Zack deserves the world. It was precious to see his relationships and interactions with others.
What was it with Tetsuya Nomura in the late 2000s and tragedies?
God, I fucking love Zack Fair. This game is very fun. It's also very sad. I think it has a little too much repetitive content for its own good - it eventually gets tiring killing the same 5 enemies on the same 5 maps - but the story itself is incredibly strong, well-paced, and fun to play.
Unfortunately, the final chapter implements my favorite game design philosophy, which is what I like to call "putting a really ridiculously complicated, overdesigned dungeon right at the end". It's the slowest part of the game and a little tedious.
But really, I did enjoy this game a lot. And while Zack's new voice actor definitely sounds a little goofy in parts, he absolutely nails the final scene, which I have rewatched maybe 200 times. I love you Zack Fair.
God, I fucking love Zack Fair. This game is very fun. It's also very sad. I think it has a little too much repetitive content for its own good - it eventually gets tiring killing the same 5 enemies on the same 5 maps - but the story itself is incredibly strong, well-paced, and fun to play.
Unfortunately, the final chapter implements my favorite game design philosophy, which is what I like to call "putting a really ridiculously complicated, overdesigned dungeon right at the end". It's the slowest part of the game and a little tedious.
But really, I did enjoy this game a lot. And while Zack's new voice actor definitely sounds a little goofy in parts, he absolutely nails the final scene, which I have rewatched maybe 200 times. I love you Zack Fair.
Crisis Core is one of the most frustrating games Ive ever played because for 90% of the game I thought it was mediocre, and then the last 30 minutes made me cry some of the hardest tears I ever have at a video game.
This was always a game I was curious about because I always heard mixed to bad things about every aspect of it except its characterizations of Zack. After playing it, I can't help but 100% agree with those takes.
Crisis Core is a very confused game. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a prequel to the events of FF7, or its own separate story within the FF7 universe. This is a massive problem because it tries to do both, and it just doesnt work for me. I honestly really enjoyed when they stuck to just being a prequel, as the added character depth to Aerith and Cloud really made me respect and love them as characters even more. But when the game ends up switching over to being about new characters like Genesis or Hollander, I check out so hard. I don't find them interesting at all, and they sadly take up around 70% of the focus of the entire game. Angeal is a nice addition though and I thought he worked as a nice motivator for Zack.
The gameplay is also just fine. Its originally a handheld game so a lot of the design is mission based and very repetitive. The DMV was an interesting idea but I really didnt find myself paying attention to it much in combat. Honestly, there isnt really much for me to say about the combat. It is just there and its mostly boring. That is also my honest take on the music as well. Most tracks in the game are just exceptionally bland, and it sucks because Zack's theme is the most repetitive song in the entire game. I genuinely thought about muting the music multiple times.
Genuinely the only thing that kept me going through this game was Zack. When the game took away the boring Genesis or Hollander plotlines, and just focused on building Zacks relationship with characters like Cloud, Aerith, or even Angeal, I was incredibly onboard. He is an exceptional character that you can not help but root for the entire game, and its a shame his game was bogged down by so many problems.
The conclusion to his story in the last 30 minutes legitimately had me crying some of the hardest tears I ever had at a game. Crisis Core goes out of its way to both use gameplay and cutscenes to fully develop a scene that was only barely shown in the original game, and it is some of the best shit I have seen in a Final Fantasy game
It really left me yearning for a game that was that good the entire time, and not one that just felt like it was meandering and wasting its time until it needed to lock in at the end. I have yet to play the Remake or Rebirth, but I really do feel like they should spend more time with this character.
As it stands now, Zack deserves a better game.
This was always a game I was curious about because I always heard mixed to bad things about every aspect of it except its characterizations of Zack. After playing it, I can't help but 100% agree with those takes.
Crisis Core is a very confused game. It doesn't know whether it wants to be a prequel to the events of FF7, or its own separate story within the FF7 universe. This is a massive problem because it tries to do both, and it just doesnt work for me. I honestly really enjoyed when they stuck to just being a prequel, as the added character depth to Aerith and Cloud really made me respect and love them as characters even more. But when the game ends up switching over to being about new characters like Genesis or Hollander, I check out so hard. I don't find them interesting at all, and they sadly take up around 70% of the focus of the entire game. Angeal is a nice addition though and I thought he worked as a nice motivator for Zack.
The gameplay is also just fine. Its originally a handheld game so a lot of the design is mission based and very repetitive. The DMV was an interesting idea but I really didnt find myself paying attention to it much in combat. Honestly, there isnt really much for me to say about the combat. It is just there and its mostly boring. That is also my honest take on the music as well. Most tracks in the game are just exceptionally bland, and it sucks because Zack's theme is the most repetitive song in the entire game. I genuinely thought about muting the music multiple times.
Genuinely the only thing that kept me going through this game was Zack. When the game took away the boring Genesis or Hollander plotlines, and just focused on building Zacks relationship with characters like Cloud, Aerith, or even Angeal, I was incredibly onboard. He is an exceptional character that you can not help but root for the entire game, and its a shame his game was bogged down by so many problems.
The conclusion to his story in the last 30 minutes legitimately had me crying some of the hardest tears I ever had at a game. Crisis Core goes out of its way to both use gameplay and cutscenes to fully develop a scene that was only barely shown in the original game, and it is some of the best shit I have seen in a Final Fantasy game
It really left me yearning for a game that was that good the entire time, and not one that just felt like it was meandering and wasting its time until it needed to lock in at the end. I have yet to play the Remake or Rebirth, but I really do feel like they should spend more time with this character.
As it stands now, Zack deserves a better game.
ZACK YOU ARE A FUCKING GOAT
I had an urge to play more FF7 related stuff after finishing Rebirth and i picked this one up and wonder how much different it was from the original PSP game which I played way back and boy, this one is this a blast. The game already looked so good for a portable game from the 00`s, but they made it look and play even better now.
Honestly, this remaster changes very little from the story; the bulk is still there, but the voice cast has been updated to feature the same actors from the Remake sequence (and they hit the jackpot with the casting selection, dear God) and the game now is fully voiced, so it`s even better to play.
It`s in the combat that you`re gonna feel that they made a lot of changes, if you played the original version. In this remaster, the combat feels way more smoother and it is much more refined - the DMW limit`s animation doesn`t interrupt the gameplay anymore and it seems like you`re playing a whole different game now.
The graphics look and sound much better, although i ran into some tearing and slow loading textures - granted I played arguably the "worst" version, which is the Switch one, so if i had to guess, these issues won`t bother at all if you play this on PS5 or PC.
If you just got introduced to the FF7 lore and universe through the Remake and Rebirth games, this one is a must play if you liked the characters. You see so much backstory from most of the cast - Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, the Turks and especially the main protagonist, Zack Fair, which is just delightful to accompany. You still have to deal with some repetitive gameplay and awkward transitions, as this is still an old game from a portable console, but at it`s core (yeah, I just did that), this is still an amazing experience.
Honestly, this remaster changes very little from the story; the bulk is still there, but the voice cast has been updated to feature the same actors from the Remake sequence (and they hit the jackpot with the casting selection, dear God) and the game now is fully voiced, so it`s even better to play.
It`s in the combat that you`re gonna feel that they made a lot of changes, if you played the original version. In this remaster, the combat feels way more smoother and it is much more refined - the DMW limit`s animation doesn`t interrupt the gameplay anymore and it seems like you`re playing a whole different game now.
The graphics look and sound much better, although i ran into some tearing and slow loading textures - granted I played arguably the "worst" version, which is the Switch one, so if i had to guess, these issues won`t bother at all if you play this on PS5 or PC.
If you just got introduced to the FF7 lore and universe through the Remake and Rebirth games, this one is a must play if you liked the characters. You see so much backstory from most of the cast - Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, the Turks and especially the main protagonist, Zack Fair, which is just delightful to accompany. You still have to deal with some repetitive gameplay and awkward transitions, as this is still an old game from a portable console, but at it`s core (yeah, I just did that), this is still an amazing experience.
omg :(
i love zack fair but theres so many missions why
Brilliant remake of the og Crisis Core.
Happy its now accessible again.
Still very junky, but so important to the lore of FF7.
Happy its now accessible again.
Still very junky, but so important to the lore of FF7.
I can't take even one more ACTIVATING COMBAT MODE, shelving and likely abandoning