Final Fantasy: VII Crisis Core Reunion Review
Reviewed on PlayStation 5
A Blast from The Past
Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core Reunion is a single-player action RPG developed by Square Enix. It’s the remastered version of its original release 14 years ago on the PSP (Playstation Portable). As a fan of the Final Fantasy stories I never thought we would get an updated version of Crisis Core, but let me tell you, I’m glad Square Enix decided to give us this present before the New Year of 2023. Especially since I personally never got to finish this story from over a decade ago.
To Be a Hero
In Crisis Core Reunion, players will be following the journey of a young man named Zack Fair, which takes place before the events in Final Fantasy VII. Zack works for a military group called Shinra; they have a major influence over a region called Midgar. Zack dreams of becoming a hero and in order to do this he believes that it’s necessary to become Soldier 1st Class, one of the highest ranks in the military. While Zack is aiming to fulfill his dreams, he is tasked to look for a missing Soldier 1st Class. This task sets the wheels in motion for Zack’s journey as he continues to discover what it means to be a hero and the secrets revealed to him as he pursues his missing comrade from Shinra.
It’s Buster Time!
The combat is similar to how it was from its original PSP release. Players could customize their hot-bar keys/input with various weapon skills, magic, or stat enhancements through equipping Materia. There is even a system that allows you to fuse Materia together in order to come up with something new. This allowed players to make very unique builds for whatever playstyle they preferred. The combat feels very smooth and looks beautiful with the updated graphics. I know Final Fantasy has a history of turn-based games, but I think they hit the nail on the head with this action style of combat!
Are you Feeling Lucky?
Crisis Core introduces an interesting combat mechanic called DMW (Digital Mind Wave). During combat, you will have a constant rolling slot machine going. Depending on the characters/numbers rolled you could receive a buff or be able to cast a cinematic special move called “Limit Break”. There are times when the DMV enters a summoning mode that will give you a chance to summon a primal creature/character in a cinematic that devastates the battlefield. The DMV adds a really nice flair to the combat system. You never know what’s going to proc during a fight and it comes in handy with some of the more challenging fights in the game.
The Journey’s End
Being able to finally see the ending of this game after not being able to do so on the PSP was truly a satisfying experience. I won’t go into spoilers, but I will say this game had some of the best music during cutscenes that helped with setting the mood/tone of each scene.
I was very drawn into the characters themselves emotionally while playing as well; not many games can do that for me. In all, I think the story was pretty solid; there were parts that left me personally a little confused about what was happening toward the end. However, the wow factor for me was the combat. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys RPGs or is a fan of the Final Fantasy series.
Let me know what you guys think of the game in the comment section below!
