Meet the Protagonist: Zack Fair

Look, I already know what you’re going to have to say, so you don’t have to say it. Crisis Core IS NOT a retro game. In fact, the game was released in 2007 in Japan and 2008 here in the US, so it isn’t even borderline retro. However, following my FFVII review, my plan was to take a crack at possibly the most polarizing of Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy VIII. Unfortunately, Final Fantasy VII left me wanting more, possibly due to the game being so overhyped and so I decided to break out my copy of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, which I had put on hold after losing my data when my old PSP was stolen. And, finally having Final Fantasy VII under my belt, I felt it was finally time to go through it once more and finish what I started. So, consider this a supplement to my Final Fantasy VII review as I delve further into the mythology of the world of Final Fantasy VII.

Although most Final Fantasy games tend to be stand-alone, there have been a few exceptions to the rule. In 2003, Square Enix decided to expand Final Fantasy X with a sequel, Final Fantasy X-2 and, luckily, or not, depending on how you may feel about it, it would not be the last direct FF sequel/spin-off released. When the time came to expand into sequel territory, Final Fantasy VII was ultimately chosen due to its status as one of the most popular Final Fantasy games in series. In 2004, the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series launched with the Japan-only mobile phone game, Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, also prequel to the original game, paving the way for entries such as Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-, both sequels, which pick up where the game left off. The most recent entry in the Compilation series, not counting Advent Children Complete, is Crisis Core, a prequel focused around former Shrina SOLDIER 1^st Class Zack Fair and the events leading up to Final Fantasy VII.

Story

I’m not sure if it has to do with the fact that I had already played through a good portion of the game before playing Final Fantasy VII or the fact that everyone and their mother was telling just how amazing FFVII was, but I found Crisis Core’s storyline to be much more fulfilling. Unlike Final Fantasy VII, which I criticized for that lack of character development that Sephiroth was given, Crisis Core’s overall villain, Genesis Rhapsodos is a very well defined character. Aside from his desertion of SOLDIER, his true intentions are kept a mystery for most of the game, though a good deal of it revolves around LOVELESS, an original poem from the FFVII world that Genesis is quite fond of and quotes as often as possible throughout the game. Though it may seem like Genesis is just spouting nonsense when he quotes LOVELESS, but it has more to do with his plan than you might think. But, thankfully, I won’t spoil it. Unlike Sephiroth, whose role in Final Fantasy VII was mostly passive, Genesis is very involved in the game’s events.

Genesis (right), Angeal (left), and Sephiroth (obvious) spar in a flashback.

Speaking of Sephiroth, while I’ve already admitted that I consider him a boring villain, Crisis Core really makes up for that. Since the game revolves around the events leading up to Final Fantasy VII, the incident at Nibelheim, where Sephiroth’s infamous descent into madness occurs, is also visited, but as it happens late in the game, you spend a lot of time with a heroic Sephiroth. To be honest, it was a bit odd at first, but you actually can’t help but like him as a character. Here, he isn’t the boring, one-dimensional villain with dreams of becoming a god. No, in Crisis Core, you actually see Sephiroth as a person, who generally seems to care about what’s going on with the other characters, including Genesis, whom he was acquainted with. Accompanying Zack on some of his missions, the two of them actually seem to bond and confide in each other. Again, if you’ve played Final Fantasy VII, having Sephiroth act this way may seem odd, but it helps make him a much better character and his eventual Face Heel Turn in Nibelheim becomes all the more tragic as a result.

Sephiroth's iconic burning of Nibelheim recreated.

Zack is also aided by several other characters along the way, such as his mentor and original owner of the Buster Sword, which would eventually come into Cloud Strife’s possession, Angeal Hewley. Angeal’s story is also rather complex, as it intertwines heavily with Genesis’ plot, the two of them having been rather close. Also aiding him are Tseng and Cissnei, two members of the Turks, a special organization within Shinra that is kind of like the FBI, which Zack becomes somewhat close to throughout the course of the game. Also making an appearance are both a younger Cloud Strife, who at the time of the game is a somewhat shy, unconfident Shinra Infantryman hoping to join SOLDIER, and Aerith Gainsborough, the last of a race known as the Cetra or Ancients, whose relationship with Zack, alluded to in the original Final Fantasy VII, becomes a prominent part of the story. Thankfully, the love story doesn’t become the entire focus of the story.

If there is one major fault I found within the story, it’s some of the slower parts. While it may be a nice change of pace for some, it somewhat breaks the flow of the story. The game is divided into several chapters and, after one chapter has reached its climax, the following chapter usually starts off a bit calm and slow. It’s not a horrible thing, but sometimes it feels too slow, like the part where you have to build Aerith a flower wagon. Still, overall, the story is rather solid. It makes for a good prequel, though, in a way, it’s also sort of a retcon, slightly going against a few things that were established in Final Fantasy VII, though not by much.

Gameplay

Unlike Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core takes a step away from the standard turn-based combat system of old, utilizing instead a real-time combat system. Also, unlike most Final Fantasy games, you have no additional party members, controlling only Zack. The Materia system from FFVII does return, but in an altered form that’s somewhat different than in the original. While you have the standard materia, such as Fire, Blizzard, etc., you also have the option to fuse materia, resulting in things such as Thundara Blade, or other unique materia combinations. Also, since you only use two different weapons throughout the course of the game, you tend to have a set number of materia slots, starting with four and gaining two more as part of the story, but that’s pretty much all you get. In addition, you have two accessory slots to add equipment, with some providing you with stat boosts and/or resistance to status ailments, such as the standard Poison or Silence.

Your standard equipment screen.

The combat itself is fairly intuitive. When an enemy appears, you enter combat mode and the screen changes slightly, with a small command menu appearing on the lower right hand side of your screen, which allows you to choose between regular attack, your materia, and your items, such as healing potions. On the left side of the screen are you Hit Points (HP), your overall health, Magic Points (MP), which enables you to use green magic materia, and Ability Points (AP), which allows you to block, dodge, and use yellow materia, along with what appears to be a series of three rotating images, which resembles a slot machine. That’s the DMW (Digital Mind Wave), which is essentially your limit system in the game, and a very important part of the gameplay.

During combat, the DMW rotates based on how much SP you have. SP is collected through out the game by defeating monsters or converting unused material to SP. Whenever the DMW spins, it uses 10 SP. Like a slot machine, the DMW spins, showing off three images and three numbers. Certain number combinations grant you beneficial effects, such as no MP cost for magic or temporary invincibility. When two of the three slots stop spinning and reveal the same character image, it begins “Modulating Phase,” in which the third slot slowly stops. If the character image matches the other two, then you enter into that character’s limit break, such as Sephiroth’s Octoslash or Cloud’s Meteor Shot. Also, the numbers on the slots range from 1-7 and their effects change while Modulating Phase. If two of the same number from 1-6 appears, the materia in that slot will level up. If three of the same number appears, the materia in that slot will go up two levels. And, if you get a triple 7, then you level up. So a bit of luck is involved. Now, while the only way to level up is through the DMW, it doesn’t mean that it is all based on luck. There is a method to leveling up that is not seen by the player, including a hidden experience counter that is unseen by the character. That said, experience points only increase the chances that you’ll level up, and sometimes, you’ll level up multiple times back-to-back.

A successful DMW spin, summoning Bahamut and a Level Up.

Now, despite the “Luck” part of it, I really like the DMW system. Essentially, it is based on Zack’s memories and, as you encounter key characters in the game, they are added to the DMW and you gain their limit. In particular, the DMW system winds up playing a very big role in the game’s finale and its implementation is rather amazing. However, the DMW system is rather flawed. As I said before, while EXP increases your chances to level, you sometimes go quite awhile before leveling up, or you level up too quickly. Also, while you can go out of your way and collect Summon Materia, such as Ifrit, Bahamut, and Odin, all the materia does is add them to your DMW, meaning you can’t use summons unless the game itself tells you that you can, making the work that you do to obtain Summon Materia rather unrewarding unless you’re really lucky. Also, since materia leveling also relies on the DMW, it means that you’ll sometimes wind up with low-level materia. Still, it’s a rather interesting system, especially when certain events heighten Zack’s emotions. When the message “Heightened Emotions have Affected the DMW” is displayed, you’re much more likely to receive a certain character’s limit break due to Zack’s memories of and emotions towards that specific person. So, while the DMW system isn’t perfect, it’s a rather interesting system.

In addition to the main story campaign, which can last a good 15 hours, you’re presented with a few side-quests and bonus missions, which are accessible from points. Completing in about 22 hours, I had only completed about 15% of the side missions, which just goes to show how many there really are. Completing missions gives you different bonuses you don’t normally come across in the main game, such as new summon materia and bosses not normally encountered in the game (which includes the standard “Superboss,” something found in most Final Fantasy games). Missions are a great way to gain experience to level up, but if you’re playing on normal mode, it’s not really necessary. While the level cap for the game is the standard level 99, I beat the game at a mere level 37 with very little effort, so the game really isn’t all that difficult and the level grinding most would accomplish from the missions isn’t all that vital unless you’re playing on hard difficulty. Still, the game is rather fun Action RPG, which is definitely a step up from Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- and its abysmal third-person shooter gameplay.

Visuals

The graphics for Crisis Core were something that really wowed me. The gameplay graphics themselves are fairly close to what you would find on the PS2, and the CGI cutscenes included in the game are rather impressive, similar, if not better than the graphics from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. As is standard, most of the scenes in the game are rendered using the in game engine, with the CGI scenes sprinkled about for some of the more important scenes. Still, the game is just a delight to watch as well as play, with well-animated scenes that really help to drive the story.

A cutscene rendered in the in-game engine.

Sound

Another fault with Crisis Core is the voice acting. It’s not really much of a complaint, since a majority of the voice acting is actual really superb, but there are definitely some awkward moments with the dialogue that can make you want to laugh. Still, Rick Gomez does an amazing job in voicing Zack, including some of the more emotional scenes (one of my favorite moments is when he yells “What happened to honor?!”). George Newbern returns as Sephiroth, who has voiced the character since the Advent Children film. His delivery of Sephiroth’s lines with a nonchalant, almost dismissive tone that you would expect from him is great, but there are definitely more than a few lines that sound rather forced. Genesis and Angeal’s voice actors definitely deliver a great performance, and Steve Burton returns as Cloud, managing to deliver a younger, slightly more fragile version of the character. Mena Suvari, who voiced Aerith in Advent Children, does not return however, replaced by Andrea Bowen, who’s cheery, upbeat portrayal of the character is rather welcome, especially due to how much screen time Aerith is given. Overall, the voice cast does a pretty good job.

The music is definitely an excellent part of the game, with the main theme being one of my favorites. And, while certain songs from the original game are remixed, such as the Turks’ theme or the original battle music, which appears during certain scenes, some of the music is a bit annoying, like the generic rock tracks that play during most random monster encounters. Also, aside from being played at the end of side-missions, the Final Fantasy Victory Fanfare is noticeably absent, which comes as a big disappointment when you win your first battle and don’t hear it play. Overall, the soundtrack is really good, with a few exceptions, and many tracks definitely help enhance the experience, especially during the more emotional scenes.

Overall

Crisis Core was definitely an enjoyable experience for me. It’ story really helps to supplement the events of Final Fantasy VII, even going as far as making one appreciate its story even more. As I said, while Sephiroth was rather boring in Final Fantasy VII, his story arc in Crisis Core makes him a much more likable character, adding a lot more substance that wasn’t really present in the original game. The gameplay has its flaws, but overall, this is one game that Final Fantasy VII in general should not skip over, especially those that are apprehensive after playing the rather bad Dirge of Cerberus.