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PSP players back in the day are all too familiar with Square Enix's absolute smash hit Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. Now players can set out on the iconic journey that took place in that game once more as Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion takes the game from handheld to the big screen.
That said, critics have gotten their hands on the game and given us some insight into what to expect. So we've rounded up all the reviews needed to help you decide if Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - Reunion is worth picking up in-store.
Is Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion Worth Buying? The Reviews Are In!
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion is a prequel to the remaster of Final Fantasy VII, and although it's a remaster, it is also a remake in some sense, as the game has been tweaked in various ways to improve the experience. If you haven't played the original on PSP, it can be tricky to see the enhanced looks, but even the gameplay has been changed to bring the remaster up to par with modern titles.
The game sees you play as, Zack Fair, a peppy, cocky, and impressively skilled mercenary working for the paramilitary group SOLDIER, which exists to protect the interests of the hegemonic Shinra Electric Power Company. Though Shinra is the evil mega-corp we all expect them to be, Zack genuinely wants to be a hero and do the right thing. However, his world begins to fall apart when a high-level SOLDIER operative named Genesis goes rogue and takes a stand against Shinra.
What follows is an increasingly bizarre journey into a world of aliens, clones, and genetic modification that manages to remain coherent and alluring throughout. It's also worth noting that Zack plays a huge role in the story of Cloud, the Final Fantasy VII protagonist, and this story does touch on their relationship as well.
The gameplay is more hack and slash than the turn-based RPG we've seen in other Final Fantasy titles. It reminds many players of Kingdom Hearts gameplay, with powerful combos and dazzling finishers that are as satisfying as they are easy to pull off even for beginners.
There have also been some overall redesigns when it comes to certain gameplay aspects, for instance, you can immediately retry any battle after dying, making the game more accessible and less frustrating. You can also attempt to weaken or outright prevent enemies’ super attacks before they trigger, just to name a few of the changes made.
Overall, the game is pretty much-staying true to the original in terms of its story and even gameplay elements, but considerable improvements made, such as cleaner visuals and a more refined combat system. That said, reviewers and critics have shared that the improvements made to the mechanics and visuals of the game are worth the price of entry and make an old classic worth revisiting.
Below are some of the more notable reviews we've rounded up to inform your purchasing decision, as well as the review scores from each critic:
"Even when its portable roots occasionally distract, Crisis Core –Final Fantasy 7– Reunion is the best way to play one of the PSP’s most beloved games, almost completely modernizing its graphics, combat, and music in the process."
"A remake of the 2007 PSP exclusive Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core Reunion is a faithful retelling of Zack Fair's story with dramatic visual upgrades, full voice acting, and several quality-of-life changes."
"Ultimately, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion doesn’t do anything too crazy beyond massively upgrading the visuals and expanding the audio. And frankly, that’s good enough. By just taking this foundation and freshening up the graphics and sound, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is both one of the most successful video game prequels and one of the best action RPGs in general."
"Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion is an impressive visual upgrade that, above all else, proves the quality of the original game yet again. Much of it can feel dated at times, but thanks primarily to its enjoyable combat system, it remains an easy game to recommend."
"Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core Reunion is an excellent remaster that evolves the original game in ways I didn’t think possible, but even that can’t take away from an experience that even in 2007 was holding itself back to satiate the platform it called home. The repetitive combat and clumsy environmental design serve to make this otherwise spectacular world feel strangely artificial, while its campy dialogue and archetypal character writing don’t exactly gel with the remake it serves to apply greater context to. New audiences deserve to play this game, and I’m so glad they finally get that chance. "
"Repackaged into one of the sharpest Remaster releases I’ve ever seen, it’s a relatively irresistible package - warts and all. The blemishes upon its carefully airbrushed visage are, in many ways, part of the charm. This is a joyous little time capsule of 2000s Square - and perhaps a curious aperitif before Remake part 2. It’s easy to recommend."
