Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII: Final Fantasy VII prequel?
SMIDNIGHT
95% score
Ya know, a prequel to a popular story can be a double edged sword in many ways. For example, the prequel Star Wars trilogy showed how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. Prequels expand on the mythos of a story, but there can be a certain feeling of either dread of helplessness in the fact that the main character is going to meet a fate they may not deserve or can be changed. That is what I felt while playing Crisis Core. Set before the events of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core tells the events leading up to the destruction of Nibelheim at the hands of Sephiroth as well as it's aftermath. Zack Fair is the protagionaist, and we all know what happens to him in the end. It is the object of the gane to see him get there. The game shys away from the turn based system of it's predecessor and goes for more of an action/RPG style similar to Dirge of Cereberus. As Zack, you fight your way through monsters, enemy soldiers, and other baddies to complete the game. The fighting is a bit repetive and does not offer a lot of depth to the action, usually combat is pressing the X button over and over until all enemies are dead by hacking away at them with your sword. The materia system of the FFVII universe returns but is not as important as it was in FFVII. Limit Breaks, summons, and even leveling up are left to chance via the Digital Mind Wave system, a constantly revolving slot machine that determines when Zack uses limits, summons, levels up himself or his materia, or even gains certain status. A strange idea to leave abilities that can be the difference in winning and the game over screen to chance, but it worked out. The game is a bit linear with some sidequests thrown in and the story is not very complicated and fits in well into the FFVII mythos. Familiar faces make an appearance ranging from returning characters to monsters as well as the introduction of new characters. As well as some answers to some questions you may have had, like how Genesis came to know the members of Deepground. Also, the reimaging of the events of Nibelheim were a treat to see. Sound is a fine point as well. The music score has some nice new additons to it as well as the return of classic tracks from the other games. The voice acting is crisp and nicely worked. The voice actors from Advent Children make their return for the game as well as some actors who are new and some from Dirge of Cereberus appear as well. Not a lot of gripes here, well almost none. One would be the simplistic combat scheme, but with all the overall good points of this game, it it easily overlooked. Especially if your a Final Fantasy VII fan, like me. For any FFVII fan, Crisis Core is a must, as well as a no brainer.
