Posted on: June 8, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) / 2008 Square Enix / http://www.square-enix.com /

The latest effort on the PSP by Square Enix, Crisis Core has a hell of a back story present. This means that the story that Crisis Core tells is part of the larger Final Fantasy VII mythos, specifically taking place before the actions that took place in the original Final Fantasy VII. Specifically, the plot surrounds around the period after the war with the Wutai all the way to the events that occurred at Nibelheim. The story is further linked to the patchwork of the Final Fantasy world in that any of the parts of the story that are still lacking have the plot holes filled out by the Last Order: Final Fantasy VII.

The game itself focuses around Zack Fair, who starts out as a 2nd Class SOLDIER, and the fact that ey is going to die. Before that happens, Zack meets up with a number of the characters that would ultimately present themselves in Final Fantasy VII (Aerith Gainsborough and Cloud Strife). The game play system is interesting, with the introduction of the Digital Mind Wave, a slot-machine like system that either gives Zach power-ups or a better type of attack. Typical game play elements, such as magic attacks, are still present in Crisis Core. After players finish the game, Square Enix has placed in a “Game Plus” option. This option makes the enemies both stronger and provides them with a better set of attacks, and introduces another element to game play, especially when one considers that the characters are at a distinct disadvantage to the monsters and baddies.

As is the same with a number of Final Fantasy games, the quality of music is incredibly high, and is composed by Takeharu Ishimoto (Legend of Mana, Kingdom Hearts, and The World Ends With You). In much the same way as the quality music that is present, the graphics that are commonplace during Crisis Core push the PSP’s graphic processors to the mix. While a number of the earlier Final Fantasy games had more or less of a balance between graphics and game play, it is really games like Crisis Core that show a perfect blend of awesome graphics and amazing play. Make sure you can find 20-40 hours to spend on the game, because individuals will be spending at least that amount of time before finishing up Crisis Core.

Rating: 7.9/10

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