Crisis Core

I was never really that big of a Final Fantasy fan but I’ve always been amazed of the storylines that Squeenix has for each installment of the largest console RPG franchise to date. And Final Fantasy VII is the one that really stands out among all of them. FFVII alone was already big as it is, with a very deep and well-developed story and more-than-large fanbase. And then they released Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, the movie set two years after the events of FFVII as well as a lot of other FFVII-related games like Before Crisis which is a mobile phone exclusive and the Crisis Core which is what I am going to talk about now.

Crisis Core’s protagonist is Zack, the spiky dark-haired SOLDIER in Cloud’s flashbacks in FFVII and the ghost beside Aerith in Advent Children. For those who played FFVII or are aware of its storyline know that Cloud’s popular Buster Sword was inherited from Zack. In Crisis Core, more light is shed on how Zack Fair rose up the ranks of SOLDIER, the people who influenced him through his time as a member of that organization and how all this relates to the events of FFVII. You also encounter three 1st-class SOLDIERs in this game: Angeal who is supposed to be Zack’s mentor and the original bearer of the Buster Sword (you’ll also know what the sword stood for), Genesis who was the first genetically modified SOLDIER operative with a similar birth to Sephiroth although instead of Jenova’s cells, he was infused with G-cells. Unlike Sephiroth though, Genesis suffers from degredation after some time and needed the aid of Dr. Hollander to prevent this; and finally, Sephiroth, who was considered the hero among the three and the most popular and powerful among the ranks of SOLDIER. There’s a movie clip in the game that shows Sephiroth fiercely sparring with Angeal and Genesis simultaneously and still being able to trump both which just goes to show how superior Sephiroth is compared to the other two 1st-class SOLDIERs.

Gameplay is a mix of three spinning numbers, materia and some good ol’ dodging. Your dodge can break any spell that you are currently casting so that means if you are in mid-cast and let’s say an anti-SOLDIER Wutai freak decides to swing at you while you’re casting Blizzaga Lv. 3, you can dodge and try casting it again. Broken spells carry no MP expense which is good so dodge away.

The game is long but worth it, at least for PSP standards, and by my standards *ahem*. From where I’m at right now, I doubt I’m even halfway.

If you’re a big fan of the franchise, this is definitely a must-buy. I’m enjoying the gameplay, the side missions and the movie clips which are of Advent Children quality.

Personal Byte: I’m still playing the game and am constantly trying to find time to be able to complete as many side missions as humanly possible. As of this update, Zack’s on Lv. 41 already. Whenever I encounter any monsters, I make sure to jump around and try to get a Modulating Phase as often as possible so that if it’s not my level going up, it’s my materia. My Quake materia is already instantly killing grounded units below 10,000 HP so I try to hack and slash and dodge as much as possible to get modulating phases. Getting Cissnei’s Lucky Stars DMW helps also since it sets your limit to Heavenly every time.