Crisis Core is a game I knew about many years back when it was on the PSP. However, I had no chance to play it since Crisis Core was physical only with the UMD and I had a PSP Go, which if anyone remembers, it's digital only. So I ultimately missed out on Crisis Core...until Reunion was released with brand new graphics and new quality-of-life improvements while retaining the same story and gameplay of the original.
Never playing the original, I have no frame of reference for comparison. So I will be treating Reunion as its own seperate game. First of all, this has to be one of the highest-effort remasters I've played. Although the graphics aren't as high-end and detailed compared to Final Fantasy VII Remake, the difference is still night and day despite keeping all of the original animations. Not to mention a newly rerecorded soundtrack considering both original songs for Crisis Core as well as remixes of some of the iconic scores from the original Final Fantasy VII.
Gameplay is action-based RPG as players assume control of SOLDIER Zack Fair, although it may seem simple at first, granted there is only a single button for attacking, the true meat of Crisis Code's gameplay is the Digital Mind Wave and Materia Fusion.
The Digital Mind Wave is a nonstop spinning RNG-based mechanic that grants Zack different status buffs, limit breaks, and even summons based on what three-digit number is chosen alongside a picture of the character or summon. You can even level up by hitting the three digits "777". I personally think that an odd way to level up but also in my opinion, levels hardly matter in Crisis Code as Materia Fusion is the bulk of buffering Zack's stats.
The materia system is similar to the original FFVII at its core but what makes Crisis Core unique is the fusion system. For example, fusing a fire material and a poison material will create a dark fire material. This means it's the fire spell but with added poison and silence status debuffs.
In addition, there are also stat attachments with materia. For example, fusing two blizzard materia with 2+ mag will result in blizzard materia with 3+ mag, and equipping that on Zack will grant him an extra 3+ for the magic stat. Also at certain random times, each equipped material can level up to 5 stars, which is mastery and every level will increase the power and attached stat to the materia.
Between the DWM and the materia system, Crisis Core offers the player incredible depth by creating various kinds of materia and huge stat boosts attached to them. In fact, it's rather very easy to overpower Zack within the midpoint of the game if the player constantly engages in fusion and mastering material.
Especially if the player engages in mission mode. While it's very repetitive, they are brief levels when the objective is to defeat the boss enemy and seek out treasure for new materia and items. Completing certain missions will result in new equipment and unlock new shops that the player will not get in the main story. Personally I enjoy the gameplay loop for mission mode, perhaps thanks to its new QoL improvements for Reunion.
Speaking of the main story, and it's very easy to go in-depth with Crisis Core's gameplay but Final Fantasy has always been known for its stories and the main purpose of Crisis Core is to be a prequel game that leads up to the very beginning of the original FFVII. It starts off with SOLDIER Zack Fair being deployed to end the war between Shiina and Wutai alongside fellow SOLDIER operatives Sephiroth and Angeal.
From a worldbuilding perspective, it's nice to see the universe of Final Fantasy VII a few years before the start of the original game and most of the main and supporting cast such as Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith appear in Crisis Core, although with smaller roles this time around.
However, I was very surprised to see how Sephiroth behaved as a calm and collected character before he became a "fallen hero" and his descent into madness as a villain. Not to mention there are little nods throughout the game that strongly foreshadow locations, organizations, and people that appear in Final Fantasy VII.
As far as using Zack and his journey as a catalyst to depict what happened before the events of Final Fantasy VII, I say the story serves him well and expands him greatly as a character. Considering he was just a minor character in the original game that mainly was there as a flashback when he was saving Cloud's life. Zack is filled with personality as someone who wants to be a hero for his dream and wants to protect his SOLDER's pride with honor all the way up to the very end.
The overall plot for Crisis Core, while it's still connected to the overall Final Fantasy VII universe, it works well enough as a standalone story since the main conflict with Genesis and his forces is fairly detached enough. Although I do find Genesis himself as overly operatic to the point he just didn't quite gel well with the rest of the cast, he is still severable enough as a constant thorn to Zack.
However, one of my biggest complaints about Crisis Code is the final chapter, I just felt it was very rushed and forceful in connecting the ending of Crisis Core to the beginning of FFVII. While the final moments are very emotional despite Zack's fate having been pre-determined due to Crisis Core being a prequel game.
There are just several questions that don't get answered within the game. Naturally, huge plot points like what is next for Sephiroth and Cloud are answered in FFVII. But more some of the finer details that are explicitly related to Crisis Core and less so the other installments of FFVII that don't get an answer, especially during the final chapters.
Also, and this is more for completists, but the DMW system is quite annoying to work with if you want to 100% the system by viewing all DMW flashbacks and summon scenes due to its RNG nature. There are ways to boost a specific character's DMW triggering by equipping multiple mastered materia with thier limit breaks. But even then, it's not a guarantee you will view a flashback when thier DMW is selected.
Personally, I found Genesis in particular very stubborn to trigger and I had to do about an hour of letting the game sit during combat and restarting the battle just for his DMW flashback to trigger. Abit this is a flaw most people will not encounter but it's still a flaw the player can possibly run into and there's nothing to do about it besides having good luck.
Crisis Core may have a few fumbles toward the end of its run but it's otherwise a great entry in the Final Fantasy VII universe with its expanded characterization and worldbuilding and the best usage of the materia system thanks to its in depth materia fusion with plenty of strong RPG elements to experiment. Either way, Reunion does a great job at being a prequel game with its own narrative while also being pleasing enough. Whatever Reunion is used to build excitement for FFVII Rebirth or to revisit a game with a fresh new coat of paint or experiencing Zack's story for the first time. Crisis Core is a well-done compliment for Final Fantasy VII.
Never playing the original, I have no frame of reference for comparison. So I will be treating Reunion as its own seperate game. First of all, this has to be one of the highest-effort remasters I've played. Although the graphics aren't as high-end and detailed compared to Final Fantasy VII Remake, the difference is still night and day despite keeping all of the original animations. Not to mention a newly rerecorded soundtrack considering both original songs for Crisis Core as well as remixes of some of the iconic scores from the original Final Fantasy VII.
Gameplay is action-based RPG as players assume control of SOLDIER Zack Fair, although it may seem simple at first, granted there is only a single button for attacking, the true meat of Crisis Code's gameplay is the Digital Mind Wave and Materia Fusion.
The Digital Mind Wave is a nonstop spinning RNG-based mechanic that grants Zack different status buffs, limit breaks, and even summons based on what three-digit number is chosen alongside a picture of the character or summon. You can even level up by hitting the three digits "777". I personally think that an odd way to level up but also in my opinion, levels hardly matter in Crisis Code as Materia Fusion is the bulk of buffering Zack's stats.
The materia system is similar to the original FFVII at its core but what makes Crisis Core unique is the fusion system. For example, fusing a fire material and a poison material will create a dark fire material. This means it's the fire spell but with added poison and silence status debuffs.
In addition, there are also stat attachments with materia. For example, fusing two blizzard materia with 2+ mag will result in blizzard materia with 3+ mag, and equipping that on Zack will grant him an extra 3+ for the magic stat. Also at certain random times, each equipped material can level up to 5 stars, which is mastery and every level will increase the power and attached stat to the materia.
Between the DWM and the materia system, Crisis Core offers the player incredible depth by creating various kinds of materia and huge stat boosts attached to them. In fact, it's rather very easy to overpower Zack within the midpoint of the game if the player constantly engages in fusion and mastering material.
Especially if the player engages in mission mode. While it's very repetitive, they are brief levels when the objective is to defeat the boss enemy and seek out treasure for new materia and items. Completing certain missions will result in new equipment and unlock new shops that the player will not get in the main story. Personally I enjoy the gameplay loop for mission mode, perhaps thanks to its new QoL improvements for Reunion.
Speaking of the main story, and it's very easy to go in-depth with Crisis Core's gameplay but Final Fantasy has always been known for its stories and the main purpose of Crisis Core is to be a prequel game that leads up to the very beginning of the original FFVII. It starts off with SOLDIER Zack Fair being deployed to end the war between Shiina and Wutai alongside fellow SOLDIER operatives Sephiroth and Angeal.
From a worldbuilding perspective, it's nice to see the universe of Final Fantasy VII a few years before the start of the original game and most of the main and supporting cast such as Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith appear in Crisis Core, although with smaller roles this time around.
However, I was very surprised to see how Sephiroth behaved as a calm and collected character before he became a "fallen hero" and his descent into madness as a villain. Not to mention there are little nods throughout the game that strongly foreshadow locations, organizations, and people that appear in Final Fantasy VII.
As far as using Zack and his journey as a catalyst to depict what happened before the events of Final Fantasy VII, I say the story serves him well and expands him greatly as a character. Considering he was just a minor character in the original game that mainly was there as a flashback when he was saving Cloud's life. Zack is filled with personality as someone who wants to be a hero for his dream and wants to protect his SOLDER's pride with honor all the way up to the very end.
The overall plot for Crisis Core, while it's still connected to the overall Final Fantasy VII universe, it works well enough as a standalone story since the main conflict with Genesis and his forces is fairly detached enough. Although I do find Genesis himself as overly operatic to the point he just didn't quite gel well with the rest of the cast, he is still severable enough as a constant thorn to Zack.
However, one of my biggest complaints about Crisis Code is the final chapter, I just felt it was very rushed and forceful in connecting the ending of Crisis Core to the beginning of FFVII. While the final moments are very emotional despite Zack's fate having been pre-determined due to Crisis Core being a prequel game.
There are just several questions that don't get answered within the game. Naturally, huge plot points like what is next for Sephiroth and Cloud are answered in FFVII. But more some of the finer details that are explicitly related to Crisis Core and less so the other installments of FFVII that don't get an answer, especially during the final chapters.
Also, and this is more for completists, but the DMW system is quite annoying to work with if you want to 100% the system by viewing all DMW flashbacks and summon scenes due to its RNG nature. There are ways to boost a specific character's DMW triggering by equipping multiple mastered materia with thier limit breaks. But even then, it's not a guarantee you will view a flashback when thier DMW is selected.
Personally, I found Genesis in particular very stubborn to trigger and I had to do about an hour of letting the game sit during combat and restarting the battle just for his DMW flashback to trigger. Abit this is a flaw most people will not encounter but it's still a flaw the player can possibly run into and there's nothing to do about it besides having good luck.
Crisis Core may have a few fumbles toward the end of its run but it's otherwise a great entry in the Final Fantasy VII universe with its expanded characterization and worldbuilding and the best usage of the materia system thanks to its in depth materia fusion with plenty of strong RPG elements to experiment. Either way, Reunion does a great job at being a prequel game with its own narrative while also being pleasing enough. Whatever Reunion is used to build excitement for FFVII Rebirth or to revisit a game with a fresh new coat of paint or experiencing Zack's story for the first time. Crisis Core is a well-done compliment for Final Fantasy VII.