[Review] Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion – A worthy remaster

After the success of Final Fantasy VII Remake, it’s no surprise that Square Enix is ​​looking to come up with more. With the Final Fantasy VII prequel, that’s exactly what Square Enix is ​​doing. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is originally from 2007 and then appeared on the PlayStation Portable. Now, many years later, a remaster has appeared on Nintendo Switch and other platforms. Although it is surprising that it appears for Switch, because Final Fantasy VII Remake is not available for this platform. Only the original Final Fantasy VII is playable on Switch. Is Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion a must-have for today’s Final Fantasy VII fans? You can read about it in our review.

What preceded Final Fantasy VII?

I myself have never played Final Fantasy VII before and therefore had no emotional connection to the characters beforehand. I kind of knew who was who beforehand, but I didn’t know what the story was about. I was a little afraid that Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion would appeal to me due to lack of prior knowledge. Although I can immediately say that it grabbed me from the first moment. The game is therefore definitely playable and fun to follow for newbies. For fans of Final Fantasy VII there will be many recognizable elements. Think of the city of Midgar or the later antagonist Sephiroth. So there’s enough fun for those people to enjoy anyway.

The story is about Zack being a SOLDIER. Zack aims to become a true hero, but before he succeeds he is involved in a great adventure. Besides Zack, Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth also work for the Shinra Electric Power Company. That company aims to install Mako reactors everywhere, but is regularly met with resistance from residents. SOLDIERS have to resolve such conflicts, but more and more SOLDIERS are disappearing. Desertion they say. Or is there more?

With my limited prior knowledge, I really enjoyed seeing how Cloud (yes, he appears in this game) and Sephiroth were molded into the person they are in FF VII. The story grabs you and you really want to keep playing to find out how it ends.

Nice graphics, but small environments

Since Crisis Core was originally a PSP game meant to be played on the go, the level design shows that clearly. The environments are quite simple and not very extensive. The game consists of only ten chapters, but there are many side quests. You usually play a chapter in just over an hour. A side mission, on the other hand, regularly doesn’t take much more than a handful of minutes. So it’s clearly meant to be played in short sessions, which isn’t bad for a PSP game. Of course, this is also something that lends itself well to the Nintendo Switch. I always booted up the Switch to play some mission or piece of the story. Personally, I wouldn’t play it for hours on end, because it gets a bit monotonous. There isn’t an extreme amount of variation in the gameplay, but more on that later.

Graphically, a huge step forward has been made. Characters and environments look nice and sharp on Switch. You no longer notice that it is originally an older game. Also, there is nothing to complain about the frame rate and loading times. All in all it’s a decent game in terms of performance. I just wish I could continue with Final Fantasy VII Remake on Switch, but that will have to happen on another platform.

Action everywhere

Gameplay in Crisis Core mostly consists of combat. You have to explore some environments to find boxes with useful items, for example, but that’s a relatively small part of the game. Every now and then you get thrown into a fight. Some times a little easier than others, but each chapter ends with a big boss fight. The combat itself works very well. With the Y key you can attack, you can also dodge, block and use materia. You can unlock new materia and summons through side quests. That’s why side quests are very useful to do and you almost become addicted to them.

In Normal, the fights are not difficult. Most importantly, you learn to read patterns and take advantage of enemy weaknesses. Random attacks or spamming magic are therefore not useful. You have to dodge or defend yourself to avoid serious damage. It takes a while to get the timing right, but after that it’s a good fight. Especially if you know what you’re doing with Materia fusion and adjust your build, you can quickly become overwhelmed. For those looking for a challenge, there’s also the option to play on Hard from the start.

I find DMW, or Digital Mind Wave, unique to Crisis Core. The DMW system is like a slot machine during fights. In the upper left corner of the screen, those images rotate constantly. When they land on a certain combination of numbers, you get some benefits like magic costing no MP. What’s even more remarkable is that you only level up when the numbers land on a specific combination. It seems very random at first, but you don’t really have to pay attention to it. At one point I even thought ‘DMW runs smoothly on screen, I just pay attention to the benefits I get’.

Conclusion

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion is a good remaster and definitely recommended to fans. Fortunately, the game is understandable even for newbies, but you have to be interested in the series to be able to build a bond with the characters. The story, the combat, the performance, there’s little to fault. Of course it’s sometimes visible that it was originally a PSP game, but it’s not annoying. Even before €59.99 Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion is a must have, especially for FF VII fans.

+ Compelling story
+ Top performance and graphics
+ Combat remains fun
+ DMW is unique, but…

– …sometimes it seems too casual
– The level design is so silly

DN Score: 8.0