Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core is the highly awaited prequel to the most enjoyed Final Fantasy game of all time. With intense graphics, exciting storyline, unique battle system, joined with mysterious characters, players will discover many new secrets hidden in the world of Final Fantasy VII.
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I agree to what John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. comments, “CRISIS CORE -FINAL FANTASY VII- is one of the most anticipated FINAL FANTASY releases of all times. Pushing the boundaries of the PSP hardware, it offers a truly fantastic gameplay experience to not only existing fans, but new ones as well.”

This game will really push the boundaries of the PSP. Having awe-inspiring visuals, full 16:9 widescreen presentation, an interesting battle system, and additional gameplay challenges not present in other versions, fans and newcomers alike can definitely experience Final Fantasy from a whole new perspective.

The Storyline
Set seven years prior to the events of the first Final Fantasy VII, the Shinra Company is rapidly increasing its influence through its monopoly on mako energy and military might. With the burgeoning city of Midgar as its base and symbol of prosperity, Shinra is on the verge of establishing absolute dominance over the world.

SOLDIER is a group of skilled combat operatives within Shinra. The elite within the group — those strong enough to be deemed SOLDIER 1st Class — are respected and idolized by the citizenry.

Zack is a young SOLDIER 2nd Class who aspires to become a 1st. He spends his days carrying out assignments under the guidance of his 1st Class mentor, Angeal. During an operation in Wutai, a large number of SOLDIER members, led by 1st Class operative Genesis, go missing. The severity of the situation prompts Shinra executives to deploy even more SOLDIER operatives in hopes of bringing an end to the war with Wutai—and conducting an investigation into the mass desertion. The ones assigned to the mission are Zack, Angeal, and the 1st Class hero who is known the world over as Sephiroth.

What truths lie behind Genesis’s disappearance? What secrets bind the three SOLDIER 1st Class operatives? For Zack, a cruel and fateful struggle awaits.

The Gameplay
The battle system of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core will take players to a new level of gaming. It’s not your ordinary RPG game wherein you attack, then wait for the enemy to attack, etc. Here, you can move your character around, then attack whenever you want to. You can even dodge your enemy’s attacks, and even go behind the enemy to get a critical hit.

And of course, every Final Fantasy has magic, and like FFVII, players get to equip materia for their magic powers. The items are very much the same (potions, ethers, the usual), the weapons and the accessories too.

You can also acquire aeons like Ifrit, Bahamut, and Odin; but unlike other FF versions, players don’t get to summon their choice of monster. Aeons and limit breaks (similar to FFX’s overdrive) come out by chance depending on the rolling slots during battles, which can sometimes be a downer during boss battles because that’s when you need to summon the most.

There are also missions for Zack to complete. Though these are not required to finish the game, gamers would most likely want to complete the missions since this is where you get the rare weapons, accessories, and even materias. These missions make it easier to hunt for treasures.

Another thing different about Crisis Core, is that players only get to handle Zack all throughout the game. When you meet new characters along the way, they sort of just become part of your limit break, but Zack is still the only one you handle. Now that’s what I call a main character. One thing good about this though, is even at the very beginning, Zack starts out strong already. Unlike in FFVII, Cloud has to level up a lot just to get strong shots. Zack is really enough even for a group of enemies.

Characters
There are only six main characters in Crisis Core: Zack, his best friend Angeal, Cloud, Genesis, Sephiroth, and of course, Aerith. Fans of FFVII will remember Aerith, Cloud, and the infamous Sephiroth. In Crisis Core, we get to see what their lives were like seven years before Final Fantasy VII, and I can say it was really interesting.

There are also sub characters like Yuffie, the ninja in FFVII; Lazard, the director of SOLDIER; Cissnei, a member of the Turks; and Tifa, who will appear at the latter part of the game.

I’m sure RPG fans will agree with me, that the Final Fantasy series is one of the best RPG games out there, and Square Enix once again proved themselves to be one of the best with Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core.
For more information about Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, you can visit the official site at www.crisiscore.com